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Specialty Definition: Calvin Coolidge

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Calvin Coolidge Order: 30th President Term of Office: August 3, 1923 - March 4, 1929 Followed: Warren G. Harding Succeeded by: Herbert Hoover Date of Birth Thursday, July 4, 1872 Place of Birth: Plymouth, Vermont Date of Death: Tuesday, January 5, 1933 Place of Death: Northampton, Massachusetts First Lady: Grace Anna Goodhue Profession: lawyer Political Party: Republican Vice President: Charles G. Dawes Nicknames: Silent Cal

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. (July 4, 1872 - January 5, 1933) was the twenty-ninth (1921-1923) Vice President and the thirtieth (1923-1929) President of the United States, succeeding to that office upon the death of Warren Harding.

Biography

He was born in Plymouth, Windsor County, Vermont on July 4, 1872, but dropped John from his name upon graduating from college. He attended Amherst College, Massachusetts, graduating in 1895. He practiced law in Northampton, Massachusetts, and was a member of the city council in 1899, city solicitor from 1900-1902, clerk of courts in 1904, and a member of the State house of representatives 1907-1908.

Coolidge was elected mayor of Northampton in 1910 and 1911, was a member of the State senate 1912-1915, serving as president of that body in 1914 and 1915. He was lieutenant governor of the state 1916-1918, and Governor 1919-1920. He was elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket headed by Warren G. Harding in 1920. He was inaugurated on March 4, 1921, and served until August 3, 1923. Upon the death of President Harding, Coolidge became President of the United States on August 3, 1923.

Unusually for a prominent politician, Coolidge was a man of few words, earning him the nickname "Silent Cal".

He was elected President of the United States in 1924 for the term expiring March 4, 1929. Coolidge made use of the new medium of radio and made radio history several times while president: his inauguration was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio, on February 12, 1924 he became the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio and on February 22 he also became the first to deliver such a speech from the White House.

Coolidge was the last President of the United States who did not attempt to intervene in free markets, letting business cycles run their course. During his Presidency, the United States experienced a wildly successful period of economic growth: the so-called "Roaring Twenties". Coolidge was not only able to lower taxes, but also to reduce the national debt.

He was not a candidate for renomination in 1928; he announced his decision not to stand for reelection with the succinct statement "I do not choose to run". He served as chairman of the Nonpartisan Railroad Commission and as honorary president of the Foundation of the Blind. He died at "The Beeches", Northampton, Massachusetts, January 5, 1933. Interment is in Notch Cemetery, Plymouth, Vermont.

Supreme Court appointments

• Harlan Fiske Stone - 1925

Related articles

• U.S. presidential election, 1920
• U.S. presidential election, 1924

External links

• Inaugural Address

Preceded by: Warren G. Harding

Presidents of the United States

Succeeded by: Herbert Hoover

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Calvin Coolidge."

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Characters in Atlas Shrugged

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers -- reading these character summaries unravels some of the central mysteries in the novel.

Characters in Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged

(in alphabetical order by first name):

see also Minor Characters in Atlas Shrugged

Balph Eubank is called "the literary leader of the age", despite the fact that he is incapable of writing anything that people actually want to read. What people want to read, he says, is irrelevant. He complains that it is disgraceful that artists are treated as peddlers, and that there should be a law limiting the sales of books to ten thousand copies. He is a member of the Looters.

• Balph Eubank appears in section 161.

Ben Nealy is a railroad contractor who Dagny Taggart hires to replace the track on the Rio Norte Line with Rearden Metal. Nealy is incompetent, but Dagny can find no one better in all the country. Nealy believes that anything can get done with enough muscle power. He sees no role for intelligence in human achievement, and this is manifest in his inabillity to organize the project and to make decisions. He relies on Dagny and Ellis Wyatt to run things, and resents them for doing it, because it appears to him like they are just bossing people around.

• Ben Nealy appears in section 171.

Bertram Scudder writes editorials for the magazine The Future. He typically bashes business and businessmen, but he never says anything specific in his articles, relying on innuendo, sneers, and denunciation. He wrote a hatchet job on Hank Rearden called The Octopus. He is also vocal in support of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill.

• Bertram Scudder appears in section 161.

Betty Pope is a wealthy socialite who is having a meaningless sexual affair with James Taggart that coincides with the overall meaninglessness of her life. She regrets having to wake up every morning because she has to face another empty day. She is deliberately crude in a way that casts ridicule on her high social position.

• Betty Pope appears in sections 142 and 161.

Brakeman is an unnamed employee working on the Taggart Comet train. Dagny Taggart hears Brakeman whistling the theme of a concerto. When she asks him what piece it's from, he says Halley's Fifth Concerto. When Dagny points out that Richard Halley only wrote four concertos, Brakeman claims he made a mistake and he doesn't recall where he heard the piece.

Later, after Dagny instructs the train crew how to proceed, he asks a co-worker who she is, and learns she is the one who runs Taggart Transcontinental.

It is later discovered that the unknown brakeman is one of the strikers, when Dagny meets him in the valley.

• Brakeman appears in sections 112 and 113.

Claude Slagenhop is the president of political organization Friends of Global Progress (which is supported by Philip Rearden), and one of Lillian Rearden's friends. He believes that ideas are just air, that this is no time for talk, but for action. He is not bothered by the fact that action unguided by ideas is random and pointless. Global Progress is a sponsor of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill.

• Claude Slagenhop appears in section 161.

Dagny Taggart is the main character in Atlas Shrugged (also the name of her namesake Mrs. Nathaniel Taggart). Dagny is Vice-President in Charge of Operation at Taggart Transcontinental. Those in the know know she is the one who really runs the railroad. In the course of the novel, she forms numerous romantic liaisons with men of ability, which is to say corporate CEOs.

• Dagny appears in sections 112, 113, 114, 132, 133, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148, 151, 152, and 161.

Dan Conway is the middle-aged president of the Phoenix-Durango railroad. Running a railroad is just about the only thing he knows. When the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is used to drive his business out of Colorado, he loses the will to fight, and resigns himself to a quiet life of books and fishing. He claims that somebody had to be sacrificed, it turned out to be him, and he has no right to complain, bowing to the will of the majority. When pressed he says he doesn't really believe this is right, but he can't understand why it is wrong and what the alternative might be. He is trapped by a moral code that makes him a willing victim, and rather than challenge that morality, he simply gives up.

• Dan Conway appears in sections 145 and 146, and is mentioned in section 148.

Dick McNamara is a contractor who finished the San Sebastian Line and who is hired to lay the new Rearden Metal track for the Rio Norte Line. Before he gets a chance to do so, he mysteriously disappears.

• Dick McNamara is mentioned in sections 133 and 141.

Eddie Willers is Special Assistant to the Vice-President in Charge of Operation at Taggart Transcontinental. He grew up with Dagny Taggart. His father and grandfather worked for the Taggarts, and he followed in their footsteps. He is completely loyal to Dagny and to Taggart Transcontinental. He is also secretly in love with Dagny. Willers is generally assumed to represent the common man.

• Eddie Willers appears in sections 111, 114, 132, 133, 141, 151, and 152.

Ellis Wyatt is the head of Wyatt Oil. He has almost single-handedly revived the economy of Colorado by discovering a way of extracting oil from wells that had been abandoned.

• Ellis Wyatt is mentioned or appears in sections 111, 114, 132, 146, 147, 148, and 152.

Francisco d'Anconia is one of the central characters in Atlas Shrugged. By all accounts, he is a worthless millionaire playboy, owner by inheritance of the world's largest copper mining empire, the man behind the San Sebastian Mines, and a childhood friend and first love of Dagny Taggart.

Francisco began working on the sly as a teenager in order to learn all he could about business. While still a student at Patrick Henry University, he began working at a copper foundry, and investing in the stock market. By the time he was twenty he had made enough to purchase the foundry. He began working for d'Anconia Copper as assistant superintendent of a mine in Montana, but was quickly promoted to head of the New York office. He took over d'Anconia Copper at age 23, after the death of his father.

When he was 26, Francisco secretly joined the Strikers and began to slowly destroy the d'Anconia empire so the Looters could not get it. He adopted the persona of a worthless playboy, by which he is known to the world, as an effective cover.

His full name is Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia.

According to Adam Reed ( Who is Francisco D'Anconia?), d'Anconia is the only Hero-class character who is recognizably Jewish (not in the religious, but in the historical sense, like Ayn Rand herself).

• Francisco D'Anconia appears or is mentioned in sections 132, 141, 144, 151, and 152 - this last section includes a detailed history of his life.

Hank Rearden is one of the central characters in Atlas Shrugged. He is the founder of Rearden Steel and the inventor of Rearden Metal. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Lillian, his brother Philip, and an elderly woman known only as Rearden's Mother, all of whom he supports. Gwen Ives is his secretary.

The character of Hank Rearden has two important roles to play in the novel. First, he is in the same position as the reader in that he is aware that there is something wrong with the world but is not sure what it is. Rearden is guided toward an understanding of the solution through his friendship with Francisco d'Anconia, who does know the secret, and by this mechanism the reader is also prepared to understand the secret when it is revealed explicitly in Galt's Speech.

Second, Rearden is used to illustrate Rand's theory of sex. Lillian Rearden cannot appreciate Hank Rearden's virtues, and she is portrayed as being disgusted by sex. Dagny Taggart clearly does appreciate Rearden's virtues, and this appreciation evolves into a sexual desire. Rearden is torn by a contradiction because he accepts the premises of the traditional view of sex as a lower instinct, while responding sexually to Dagny, who represents his highest values. Rearden struggles to resolve this internal conflict and in doing so illustrates Rand's sexual theory.

• Rearden appears in sections 121, 132, 147, and 161, and is mentioned in sections 114 and 131.

Hugh Akston is identified as "One of the last great advocates of reason." He was a renowned philosopher and the head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University, where he taught Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt, and Ragnar Danneskjold. He was, along with Robert Stadler, a father figure to these three. Akston's name is so hallowed that a young lady, on hearing that Francisco had studied under him, is shocked. She thought he must have been one of those great names from an earlier century.

• Hugh Akston is mentioned in section 161.

James Taggart is the President of Taggart Transcontinental and a leader of the Looters. Taggart is an expert influence peddler who is incapable of making decisions on his own. He relies on his sister Dagny Taggart to actually run the railroad, but nonetheless opposes her in almost every endeavor.

As the novel progresses, the moral philosophy of the Looters is revealed: it is a code of nihilism. The goal of this code is to not exist, to become a zero. Taggart struggles to remain unaware that this is his goal. He maintains his pretence that he wants to live, and becomes horrified whenever his mind starts to grasp the truth about himself. This contradiction leads to the recurring absurdity of his life: the desire to destroy those on whom his life depends, and the horror that he will succeed at this.

• James Taggart appears in sections 111, 114, 131, 132, 143, 144, 152 and 161, and is mentioned in sections 146 and 148.

The question "Who is John Galt?" is asked repeatedly throughout Atlas Shrugged. Late into the book we learn that John Galt is the man who stopped the motor of the world and the leader of the Strikers. He is also the same character as the Mystery Worker.

John Galt was the son of a garage mechanic in Ohio. He left home at age 12 and began college at Patrick Henry University at age 16. There he befriended Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjold, all three of whom double-majored in physics and philosophy. They were the cherished students of Robert Stadler and Hugh Akston.

After graduating, Galt become an engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Works where he designed a revolutionary new motor that had the potential to change the world. When the owners of the company decided to run the factory by the maxim, 'By each according to his ability, to each according to his need', Galt perceived what was wrong with the world and what had to be done to stop it. He put his mind on strike, and set about persuading the other men of the mind to go on strike as well.

Since everyone across the country is repeating the phrase, "Who is John Galt?", it is natural that many people have attempted to answer that question. Dagny Taggart hears a number of John Galt Legends before finding the real John Galt.

There is a clothing store in Vail Village, Colorado called John Galt Ltd. One presumes that, on occasion, a customer unknowingly walks in and asks, "Who is John Galt?"

Lillian Rearden is the wildly unsupportive wife of Hank Rearden. They have been married eight years as the novel begins.

Lillian is a Moocher who seeks to destroy her husband. She compares being Rearden's wife with owning the world's most powerful horse. Since she cannot comfortably ride a horse that goes too fast, she must bridle it down to her level, even if that means it will never reach its potential and its power will be wasted.

Lillian also serves to illustrate Rand's Theory of sex. She believes sex is a base animal instinct and that sexual indulgence is a sign of moral weakness. She is incapable of feeling this kind of desire, which she believes testifies to her moral superiority. However, according to the theory of sex Lillian's lack of sexual capacity results from her inability to experience value in herself; she is therefore unable to respond sexually when she experiences value in others.

Lillian tolerates sex with her husband only because she is 'realistic' enough to know he is just a brute who requires satisfaction of his brute instincts. In section 161 she indicates that she abhors Francisco d'Anconia, because she believes he is a sexual adventurer.

• Lillian Rearden appears in sections 121 and 161.

The Looters are a group of evil characters sometimes referred to as "James Taggart and his friends". They are similar to the Moochers. The Looters consist of men and women who use force to obtain value from those who produce it. They seek to destroy the producers despite the fact that they are dependent upon them.

The Looters include: Mr. Thompson, Balph Eubank, Floyd Ferris, James Taggart, Orren Boyle, Paul Larkin, Robert Stadler, Simon Pritchett, Wesley Mouch, and Cuffy Miegs. Midas Mulligan is a wealthy banker who mysteriously disappears in protest after he is given a court order to loan money to an incompetent loan applicant. The Moochers are a group of evil characters, similar to the Looters, who use guilt as a weapon against those who produce value. They seek to destroy the producers despite the fact that they are dependent upon them.

The Moochers include Lillian Rearden, Philip Rearden, and Hank Rearden's mother. Mort Liddy is a hack composer that writes trite scores for movies and modern symphonies that no one listens to. He believes melody is a primitive vulgarity. He is one of Lillian Rearden's friends and a member of the cultural elite.

• Mort Liddy appears in section 161.

Mr. Mowen is the president of the Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc of Connecticut. He is a businessman who sees nothing wrong with the moral code that is destroying society and would never dream of saying he is in business for any reason other than the good of society. He is unable to grapple with abstract issues, and is frightened of anything controversial. Dagny Taggart hires Mr. Mowen to produce switches made of Rearden Metal. He is reluctant to build anything with this unproven technology, and has to be ridden and cajoled before he is willing to accept the contract.

• Mr. Mowen appears in section 171.

Mystery Worker is a menial worker for Taggart Transcontinental who often dines with Eddie Willers in the employee's cafeteria. Eddie finds him very easy to talk to, and Mystery Worker not-so-subtly leads him on so that Eddie reveals important information about Dagny Taggart and Taggart Transcontinental. Eddie tells him which suppliers and contractors Dagny is most dependent on, and with remarkable consistency, those are the next men to mysteriously disappear. Mystery Worker will turn out to be one of the novel's central characters.

• Mystery Worker appears in section 133.

The unnamed Newsstand Owner works in the Taggart Terminal. Twenty years ago he owned a cigarette factory but it went under, and he's been working at his newsstand ever since. He is a collector of cigarettes, and knows every brand ever made. He occasionally chats with Dagny Taggart when she comes by. On one occasion, in section section 132, after Dagny asks him about his collection, he bemoans the fact that there are no new brands and the old brands are all disappearing. He examines a cigarette given to Dagny by Hugh Akston, but it is a new brand that he has never seen before. It carries the sign of the dollar.

In his first appearance, the Newsstand Owner likens the fire of a cigarette to the fire of the mind. This alludes to the Greek myth of Prometheus, who gave mankind the gift of fire, allowing it to raise itself up and become civilized. In Atlas Shrugged, it is the mind of man that raises mankind. Thus the cigarettes become symbolic of the men of the mind. The disappearance of the old brands represents the disappearance of the men of the mind, and the Newsstand Owner's discovery of the new brand foreshadows Dagny's discovery of a new kind of men of the mind. Orren Boyle is the head of Associated Steel and a friend of James Taggart. He is one of the Looters. He is an investor in the San Sebastian Mines.

• Orren Boyle appears or is mentioned in sections 111, 114, 131, 132, 144, and 152.

Owen Kellogg is Assistant to the Manager of the Taggart Terminal in New York. He catches Dagny Taggart's eye as one of the few competent men on staff. After seeing the sorry state of the Ohio Division she decides to make him to its new Superintendent. However, as soon as she returns to New York, Kellogg informs her that he is quiting his job. He admits that he loves his work, but that's not enough to keep him. He won't say why he is leaving or what he will do. Later, he is noticed working as transient labor by the unsuccessful/unmotivated businessman Mr. Mowen.

• Owen Kellogg appears in sections 112 and 114.

Paul Larkin is an unsuccessful, middle-aged businessman, a friend of the Rearden family, and a member of the Looters. In section 121 Larkin visits Philadelphia to warn Hank Rearden of possible trouble from Washington. In section 131 he meets with the other Looters to work out a plan to bring Rearden down. James Taggart knows he is friends with Hank Rearden and challenges his loyalty, and Larkin assures Taggart that he will go along with them.

• Paul Larkin appears in sections 121 and 132.

Philip Rearden is the younger brother of Hank Rearden, and a Moocher. He lives in his brother's home in Philadelphia and is completely dependent on him. He believes that the source of his sustenence is evil and would love to see him destroyed. He has never had a career and spends his time perfunctorily working for various social groups.

• Philip Rearden appears in sections 121 and 161.

Ragnar Danneskjold is one of the original Strikers. He is now world famous as a pirate. Ragnar was from Norway, the son of a bishop and the scion of one of Norway's most ancient, noble families. He attended Patrick Henry University and became friends with John Galt and Francisco d'Anconia, while studying under Hugh Akston and Robert Stadler.

Ragnar seizes relief ships that are being sent from the United States to Europe. No one knows what he does with the goods he seizes. As the novel progresses, Ragnar begins, for the first time, to become active in American waters, and is even spotted in Delaware Bay. Reportedly, his ship is better than any available in the fleets of the world's navies.

When he became a pirate, he was disowned and excommunicated. There is a price on his head in Norway, Portugal, Turkey.

His name may be a pun on 'Dane's Gold', although "skjold" means shield, not gold.

• Ragnar Danneskjold appears in section 161.

Rearden's mother is unnamed in Atlas Shrugged. She is a Moocher who lives with her son Hank Rearden at his home in Philadelphia. She is involved in church-based charity work, and berates Rearden whenever she can. She insults him by saying he was always selfish, even as a child. She dotes on her weak son Philip Rearden.

• Rearden's mother appears in section 121.

Richard Halley is Dagny Taggart's favorite composer, who mysteriously disappeared after the evening of his greatest triumph.

In section 141 we learn that Richard Halley spent years as a struggling and unappreciated composer. At age 24 his opera Phaethon was performed for the first time, to an audience who booed and heckled it. (It was based on the Greek myth in which Phaethon steals his father's chariot, and dies in an audacious attempt to drive the sun across the sky. Halley changed the story, though, into one of triumph, in which Phaethon succeeds.) For years Halley wrote in obscurity. After nineteen years, Phaethon was performed again, but this time it was received to the greatest ovation the opera house had ever heard. It appears his critics felt he had paid his dues long enough that he was at last worthy of their approval. The following day, Halley retired, sold the rights to his music, and disappeared.

• Richard Halley is mentioned in sections 112, 114, 133, and 141, and appears in section 152.

Dr. Robert Stadler is a former professor at Patrick Henry University, mentor to Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjold. He has since become a sell-out, one who had great promise but squandered it for social approval, to the detriment of the free. He works at the State Science Institute where all his inventions are perverted for use by the military, including the instrument of his demise: Project X. Dr. Simon Pritchett is the prestigious head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University and is considered the leading philosopher of the age. He is also a Looter. He is certainly representative of the philosophy of the age - he is a crude reductionist who believes man is nothing but a collection of chemicals; he believes there are no standards, that definitions are fluid, reason is a superstition, that it is futile to seek meaning in life, and that the duty of a philosopher is to show that nothing can be understood. He explains all this in his book The Metaphysical Contradictions of the Universe, and at cocktail parties.

• Dr. Pritchett appears in section 161.

The Strikers were people of the mind who go on strike because they do not appreciate being exploited by the Looters and demonized by a society who depends on them for its very existence.

The leader of the Strikers is John Galt. Other Strikers include: Hugh Akston, Francisco d'Anconia, Ragnar Danneskjold, Richard Halley, and the Brakeman. Characters who join the Strikers in the course of the book include: Dagny Taggart, Ellis Wyatt, Hank Rearden, Dick McNamara, and Owen Kellogg. Mr. Thompson is the "Head of the State," which essentially means that he's the President of the United States, though he's never referred to as such. One of the Looters, he's not particularly intelligent and has a very undistunguished look. He knows politics, however, and is a master of public relations and back-room deals. Cuffy Miegs is a Looter who's assigned by Wesley Mouch to keep watch over the workings of Taggart Transcontinental, and later assumes control over the company after Dagny Taggart leaves. He carries a pistol and wears a military uniform. The "intellectual heir" of Dr. Robert Stadler, Miegs comes to a fitting end at the hands of Project X. Wesley Mouch is a member of the Looters and Hank Rearden's man in Washington. Initially Wesley Mouch is the least powerful and least significant of the Looters - the other members of this group feel they can look down upon him with impunity. Eventually he becomes the most powerful Looter, and the country's economic dictator.

• Wesley Mouch appears in section 131 and is mentioned in section 161.

see also Minor Characters in Atlas Shrugged

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Characters in Atlas Shrugged."

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Roosevelt in 1944 Order: 32nd President Term of Office: March 4, 1933 - April 12, 1945 Followed: Herbert Hoover Succeeded by: Harry S. Truman Date of Birth Monday, January 30, 1882 Place of Birth: Hyde Park, New York Date of Death: Thursday, April 12, 1945 Place of Death: Warm Springs, Georgia First Lady: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Profession: lawyer Political Party: Democrat Vice President: John N. Garner (1933-1941) Henry A. Wallace (1941-1945) Harry S Truman (1945) Nicknames: FDR

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945), often referred to as FDR, was the 32nd (1933-1945) President of the United States. He was elected to an unprecedented four terms of office - the only U.S. president elected more than twice, and part of the reason the United States Constitution was amended to limit presidents to 2½ terms (10 years). His main contributions were the instituting of major economic and social assistance programs, leading the country through a successful involvement in World War II, and the formation of the United Nations.

Biography

He was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York, and died on April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs, Georgia of a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving the famous Unfinished Portrait. He suffered from polio at the age of 39, which left him with severe difficulty in moving his legs. He often used a wheelchair when moving from one place or another. He took efforts to hide this disability throughout his life, and he tried not to be seen in his wheelchair. When a statue in his honor was commissioned in Washington, DC in 2001, controversy erupted because the statue consisted of Roosevelt sitting in a wheelchair. This was seen by many as a move towards political correctness, while some have even described it as a form of historical revisionism. From the age of one, through until 1936, Roosevelt spent his summers at Campobello Island, New Brunswick but because of his worsening polio, in later years he had to spend much of his time in Warm Springs, whose namesake warm springs provided him and others relief from their symptoms, and where he built the Little White House, now a Georgia state historic site. [1] He also created the town's Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, which continues to help others with disabilities to this day. [1]

He graduated from Ivy League Harvard University in 1904, and from Ivy League Columbia Law School with a J.D. in 1908 before taking a job with a prestigious Wall Street firm. On St. Patrick's Day, 1905, he married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, a distant cousin, who was the favorite niece of Theodore Roosevelt, his fifth cousin. They would have six children:

1. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt May 3, 1906 - December 1, 1975
2. James Roosevelt, December 23, 1907 - August 13, 1991
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr, March 18, 1909 - November 1, 1909
4. Elliott Roosevelt, September 23, 1910 - October 27, 1990
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr, August 17, 1914 - August 17, 1988
6. John Aspinwall Roosevelt, March 13, 1916 - April 27, 1981

Government Positions include: Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913-1920; Governor of New York, 1929-1933. Roosevelt's Presidential campaign in 1932 saw the New York governor committing himself to battling the Great Depression, promoting a platform with "Three R's - relief, recovery and reform." He coined the term "New Deal" when he stated: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people." On February 15, 1933 after his victory in the 1932 election, President-elect Roosevelt was nearly assassinated in Miami, Florida (the assassin did manage to kill Chicago, Illinois Mayor Anton J. Cermak). In reference to the Great Depression, Roosevelt gave his "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself" inauguration speech (March 4, 1933). Roosevelt's first weeks in office were called The Hundred Days, as during the first part of his administration he authored and approved a flurry of Congressional acts to institute immediate change and keep the nation's economy from destabilizing. He insituted a four-day "banking holiday" two days after he took office: a four-day period in which all banks in the country closed, allowing the institutions a brief period to recover and reorganize. During this time of crisis Roosevelt addressed the nation for the first time as President on March 12, 1933 in the first of many "Fireside Chats."

Of the various reform programs initiated by the Roosevelt administration, the most far-reaching and influential was the institution of the Social Security system, a form of welfare that was meant to provide support for low-income and elderly citizens.

In 1935-1936, the Supreme Court, which was dominated by conservatives with a narrow view of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution, the basis of much New Deal legislation, struck down eight of FDR's New Deal programs. In response Roosevelt submitted to Congress in February of 1937 a plan for "judicial reform," which proposed adding a justice for every justice over the age of 70 who refused to retire, up to a maximum of 15 total. This came to be known as his attempt to "pack" the Court. Though the plan failed in Congress, as a threat to the Court it may have had its desired effect. In a move cynically referred to as "the switch in time that saved nine," one of the conservative justices inexplicably shifted his vote in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, changing the ideological balance of the Court. It wasn't long before time allowed Roosevelt to further have his way on the bench, as vacancies allowed Roosevelt to eventually fill all nine seats with his appointments--the most of any presidency except George Washington's.

In 1937, Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to be inaugurated on January 20th, following adoption of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Prior to this, presidents had been sworn into office on March 4th.

Campaigning for re-election in 1940 against Wendell L. Willkie, Roosevelt said that he would not send American boys to fight in foreign wars. However, in 1941 the conflicting interests of Japan and the United States in Asia and the Pacific, especially in China, resulted in a breakdown of diplomatic relations to the point where war seemed inevitable (see entry for Hull note). Some have suggested Roosevelt had prior knowledge of the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and welcomed it as a way to get the U.S. into World War II. Others point out, that while U.S. code-breakers had broken Japanese codes in Washington, D.C and knew something was about to happen, communication delays prevented the messages from getting to Pearl Harbor until 4 hours after the attack.

On January 14, 1943 Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office with his flight from Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill to discuss World War II. The meeting was concluded on January 24.

In hindsight, perhaps the most controversial decision Roosevelt made was Executive Order 9066 which resulted in the internment in concentration camps of 110,000 Japanese nationals and American citizens of Japanese descent on the West Coast. Considered a major violation of civil liberties, it was even opposed at the time by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover as well as Eleanor Roosevelt as well as many other groups. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Executive Order. Others have criticised him for failing to do anything to disrupt the Nazi operations in perpetrating the Holocaust despite having intelligence of the atrocity.

Some have said of all the American Presidents of the 20th century, that he was the most loved and most hated. He was so well known, he was referred to by his initials, FDR. Historians have often cited him as one of the three United States Presidents whose influence and leadership set a standard for greatness, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Roosevelt was the first President to regularly address the American public through the medium of radio. He instituted a tradition of weekly radio speeches, which he called "fireside chats." These "chats" gave him the opportunity to take his opinions to the American people, and they often bolstered his popularity as he campaigned for various changes. During World War II the fireside chats were seen as important morale boosters for Americans at home.

One speech he is famous for delivering was his State of the Union Address in 1941. This speech is also known as the Four Freedoms Speech. His address to Congress and the nation on December 8, 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor entered history with the phrase, "December Seventh, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy."

He was elected to an unprecedented fourth term on November 7, 1944, beating Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey. However, during the painting of his portrait, he died of a brain hemorrhage on April 12, 1945 and was succeeded by his vice president Harry S. Truman. In 1951 the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, which limited all presidents from that point forward to two terms (this was previously just a custom that was established by George Washington and followed by every president up to Roosevelt).

Agencies founded during Roosevelt's Presidency

• Tennessee Valley Authority (1933)
• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
• Public Works Administration (PWA)
• Works Progress Administration (WPA)
• Social Security Administration
• Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

Supreme Court appointments

• Hugo Black (AL) August 19, 1937 - September 17, 1971
• Stanley Forman Reed (KY) January 31, 1938 - February 25, 1957
• Felix Frankfurter (MA) January 30, 1939 - August 28, 1962
• William O. Douglas (CT) April 17, 1939 - November 12, 1975
• Frank Murphy (MI) February 5, 1940 - July 19, 1949
• Harlan Fiske Stone (Chief Justice, NY) July 3, 1941 - April 22, 1946
• James Francis Byrnes (SC) July 8, 1941 - October 3, 1942
• Robert H. Jackson (NY) July 11, 1941 - October 9, 1954
• Wiley Blount Rutledge (IA) February 15, 1943 - September 10, 1949

Related articles

• U.S. presidential election, 1920
• U.S. presidential election, 1932
• U.S. presidential election, 1936
• U.S. presidential election, 1940
• U.S. presidential election, 1944
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York

External links

• First Inaugural Address
• Second Inaugural Address
• Third Inaugural Address
• Fourth Inaugural Address
• IPL POTUS -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Encyclopedia Americana: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Preceded by: Herbert Hoover

Presidents of the United States

Succeeded by: Harry S. Truman

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Franklin Delano Roosevelt."

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George W. Bush

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

George W. Bush Order: 43rd President Term of Office: January 20, 2001–present Predecessor: Bill Clinton Date of Birth: Saturday, July 6, 1946 Place of Birth: New Haven, Connecticut First Lady: Laura Welch Bush Profession: Businessman Political Party: Republican Vice President: Richard Bruce Cheney Nicknames: Dubya, 43, Junior, Shrub

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. Immediately before becoming President, he was Governor of Texas.

The name George W. Bush is commonly used (and the nicknames "Bush 43", "W.", and "Dubya" are used) to distinguish him from his father, George H. W. Bush, who was the 41st President of the United States. (Derogatory nicknames for George W. Bush include "Shrub", "Bush II", and "King George".)

Personal Life and Education

Bush was born in Connecticut and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He has four younger siblings: Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. A younger sister, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of three.

George Jr. followed his father and grandfather in education at Phillips Academy and Yale University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1968 and where he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon and the Skull and Bones Society. He then received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. He is the first president with an MBA degree.

Bush enrolled in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, and served as an F-102 pilot until being grounded after failing to appear for a mandatory physical exam and drug test. Controversy exists over whether he broke the law by going absent without leave (AWOL). Bush insists that he served as a pilot during his entire tour of duty, but no supporting documents have been made available.

Bush had serious problems with alcohol for years after college, including a drunk driving arrest in Maine in 1976. Allegations of past cocaine use have been widely circulated. Bush himself has refused to comment on any past history of drug use.

Bush married Laura Welch in 1977. In 1986, he forswore alcohol and became a born-again Christian, converting from Episcopalian Christianity to his wife's denomination, Methodism. They have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

See also Bush political family.

Business and Political Career

Bush began his career in the oil industry in 1975 when he formed the oil and gas exploration company Arbusto Energy and continued working in the energy industry until 1986. His forays into the industry were disastrous, losing millions of dollars.

In 1978 Bush ran for the House of Representatives and was defeated by the Democratic State Senator Kent Hance.

After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled a group of partners from his father's close friends and purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989.

Bush was involved in controversial stock trades while serving on the board of directors of Harken Energy Corp. in 1990. Bush has claimed that he sold Harken stock on the assumption of a positive corporate outlook. However, on April 20 of that year, company President Mikel D. Faulkner told the directors that the company was facing grave financial problems, including a serious cash crisis that was exacerbated by pressure from lenders, as well as a slumping oil market. After receiving this dire news, in June Bush sold 212,140 shares of Harken stock. Shortly thereafter, on August 20, Harken reported a $23.2 million quarterly loss. Bush waited 36 weeks to file an SEC form about his sale. An SEC investigation, conducted while Bush's father was President of the United States, declared "the investigation has been terminated as to the conduct of Mr. Bush, and that, at this time, no enforcement action is contemplated with respect to him." but the investigation's termination "must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result." As President, Bush has refused to authorize the SEC to release its full report on the investigation. When reporters asked Bush about his Harken activities, he told them that they "need to look back on the director's minutes", although this would in fact be impossible because Harken has declined to release its board records ever since questions were first raised concerning Bush's activities there.

The sale of Harken stock helped pay off a loan for his purchase of a partial interest in the Texas Rangers. He served as managing general partner of the Rangers until he was elected Governor of Texas on November 8, 1994 over incumbent Ann Richards. When the team was sold in 1998, Bush had earned $15,000,000.

He went on to become the first Texas governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms. His tenure in office featured a reputation for bipartisan leadership, and some controversy, even international controversy. During Bush's tenure, Texas saw a sharp rise in capital punishment.

Bush became President on January 20, 2001, as the winner of one of the closest general elections in American history -- defeating Democratic Vice President Al Gore by only five electoral votes, while receiving fewer popular votes. (Until then, the most recent election in which a candidate lost the popular vote and won the election was in 1888.) The election results were hotly contested by Gore for several weeks, and are still disputed by some (see U.S. presidential election, 2000).

As the son of George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush is the second U.S. President to be the son of a President. The first was John Quincy Adams (the sixth President), who was the son of John Adams (the second President).

Public Image and Personality

According to some reports, George W. Bush's nickname with his family and close friends is "Junior" since he is the eldest son of George H.W. Bush. George W. Bush is also known for his like of nicknames and his practice of bestowing others with them.

Bush himself bestows nicknames on nearly everyone he meets. The best known nickname is probably "Pootie-Poot", bestowed by Bush on Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. Another reported example was one given to Jean Chrétien, prime minister of Canada, is reputedly "Dino" (short for "Dinosaur"). This flippancy sometimes is picked up by others and is purported to occasionally backfire either on Bush or on them.

Questions about the intelligence of major candidates also became an issue during the 2000 election. Bush and Al Gore were both ridiculed with collections of assorted oddities. Some have attempted to compare their current respective intellectual capacities by going decades back to their academic achievements. According to that criterion, Bush's academic record and background was by and large comparable to Gore's. For example, Bush's verbal SAT score was 566, Al Gore's was 625. In addition, Gore received lower grades in his second year at Harvard University than any semester recorded on Bush's transcript from Yale, and Gore earned no degrees higher than a Bachelor of Arts in Government (Gore having flunked out of graduate school twice), while Bush earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard. However, neither the correlation between SAT verbal scores and academic excellence, nor between academic excellence and intelligence, can be established; for example, Rhodes Scholar Bill Bradley's verbal SAT was a low 485, and an academic record does not take into account the difficulty of the classes taken or other factors that might impinge on a college record.

Popularity

Following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, President Bush enjoyed the highest approval ratings in history, upwards of 90 percent, according to most polls. High approval ratings are historically common for war-time Presidents, but Bush was able to maintain his high approval ratings a year later and, as of November 2002, had the highest approval rating of any President during a mid-term election, since Dwight Eisenhower. The polls were not universally favorable, however, and at least one poll showed that only a minority of the electorate would vote to re-elect him in 2004. Polls conducted during 2003 showed similar results, leading both Democratic and Republican pollsters to believe that his campaign for re-election could be as competitive as the 2000 race was.

In the 2002 mid-term elections, the Republican Party retook control of the U.S. Senate and added to their majority in the House of Representatives, bucking the historic trend. Historically, the party in the White House loses seats in the mid-term elections. It marked just the third time since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress in a mid-term election (others were 1902 and 1934). Some have suggested that the historic victory was due to Bush's popularity and his heavy campaigning for Republicans in numerous close races. However, others have argued that the Democrats lost seats in the election because of their timidity in criticizing Bush as a popular "war-time" President.

In 2003, Bush's approval ratings continued their slow descent from the 2001 highs. By late 2003, his approval numbers were in the low to middle 50's, around the lows of his Presidency. Nevertheless, his numbers were still historically solid for the third year of a Presidency, when the President's opponents typically begin their campaigns in earnest. Most polls tied the decline to growing concern over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and the economy's slow recovery from the 2001 recession.

A graphical summary of the trend of Bush's poll numbers can be seen at [1].

Platform

Main article: George W. Bush's 2000 Election Platform

September 11, 2001 radically modified his policy goals after the election.

Foreign policy

Bush's most significant foreign policy platform before coming to office involved support of a stronger economic and political relationship with Latin America, in particular Mexico, and a reduction in involvement in "nation-building" and other small-scale military engagements.

Bush's decision to impose a tariff on imported steel (ruled illegal by the W.T.O in November 2003, and withdrawn the following month), and to withdraw from global initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol, ABM Treaty, an international land mine treaty and other multinational efforts, have convinced many that he (and his administration) has a policy of acting unilaterally, thus evading international responsibilities. Bush has justified these policies by arguing that these actions are in America's best interest. He has asserted, for example, that the Kyoto Protocol is "unfair and ineffective" because it would exempt 80 percent of the world and "cause serious harm to the U.S. economy."

Many governments have expressed their concern and dismay at what they see as a failure to ratify what they consider to be a key international environmental treaty and many nations (including the composite national grouping, the EU) are actively considering imposing sanctions against the US. However, blaming Bush for a failure to ratify may be rather off the mark. In 1997, the US Senate voted 95-0 that the United States should not become a party to the Kyoto Protocol unless developing nations were subject to scheduled limits or reductions of greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol does not meet those criteria.

A change of focus immediately followed the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack. His foreign (and domestic, to a lesser degree) policy was subsequently defined, above all, by the "War on Terrorism". This was first described in a special "Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People" on September 20, 2001 in which Bush announced that America was fighting a war on terrorism.

In July, 2002, Bush cut off $34 million in funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This funding had been allocated by Congress the previous December. Bush claimed that the UNFPA supported forced abortions and sterilizations in mainland China. His justification came from a bipartisan group of anti-abortion members of Congress and an anti-abortion organization called The Population Research Institute, which claimed to have obtained first-hand video taped evidence from victims of forced abortion and forced sterilization in county where the UNFPA operates in the PRC. The decision was praised by many in pro-life movement, including the United States' largest public policy women's organization, Concerned Women For America.

Abortion-rights supporters criticized the decision and point out that the PRI refused to release information that would allow the team to locate the women, and thus no independent verification of PRI's claims was possible. Nor was it possible to confirm that UNFPA funding was actually behind the abortion and forced sterilizations alleged in the video. However, he sent a fact finding team to the PRC to investigate the situation there, and the team reported that UNFPA funding did not go towards forced abortions or sterilizations. Bush thus disregarded the findings of his own investigatory mission on this matter. See [1] for more information on the PRI.

The Bush presidency has also been marked by diplomatic tensions with the People's Republic of China and North Korea, the latter of which admitted in 2003 to possessing nuclear weapons and threatened to use them if provoked by the US.

Bush has also maintained a desire to resume the peace process in Israel, and openly proclaimed his desire for a Palestinian state to be created before 2005. He outlined a "roadmap for peace" that featuring compromises that had to be made by both sides before Palestinian statehood could become a reality. One particular proposal was his instance for new Palestinian leadership; a stance that saw the appointment of the first ever Palestinian Prime Minister on April 29, 2003.

Military Campaigns

Once the source of the September 11 terrorist attacks was traced to Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network operating out of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Bush launched a military campaign against the country. Though the original intent of the strikes was to destroy terrorist infrastructures and training camps, it soon became clear that Afghanistan's Taliban government was deeply connected to Bin Laden's terrorist organization. On November 13, 2001 American troops seized control of the capital city, Kabul, and overthrew the Taliban government. Exiled President Burhanuddin Rabbani was returned to office, and was soon followed by a special interim government headed by former Afghani territorial governor Hamid Karzai. Diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and the United States resumed, and Karzai became a close ally of Washington in the continued fight against terrorism.

The Bush Administration has been criticized for holding several hundred individuals accused of connections to Al-Qaeda or the Taliban at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba without trial. Under the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war cannot be held after the war has ended. The Bush Administration and its supporters, however, have countered that the war against America by Al-Qaeda is ongoing, that it is unconventional, and that the "battlefield" extends into America itself. George W. Bush is unapologetic about the detentions, labeling the detainees as "enemy combatants" and insisting that their detention is necessary.

The experiences encountered in dealing with the Taliban government inspired a new attitude in the Bush Administration's attitude towards foreign policy. Bush asserted that in America's continuing war against terror, the United States should not differentiate between terrorist groups, and the governments that support them. This view was highlighted in Bush's second State of the Union Address, in which he specifically singled out the nations of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as particularly distressing examples of states that sponsor terrorism, dubbing them an Axis of Evil.

By early 2002 Bush began actively pressing for regime change in the nation of Iraq, indicating that his government had reason to believe that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had ties to terrorist groups and was developing weapons of mass destruction. This proposal was controversial with much of the world, and significant portions of the American public. Upon the advice of Secretary of State Colin Powell Bush agreed to pursue the "UN route" to disarming Iraq. On November 8, 2002 a US-proposed United Nations Security Council was unanimously passed, condemning the Iraqi regime and re-instating a team of UN weapons inspectors. The inspectors did not make any significant finds, but the Bush administration claimed they were being manipulated and deceived by the Iraqi regime. Powell made an appeal to the Security Council, showing photographs and conversations which the administration presented as proof that Iraq's government was engaging in widespread deception. As the Security Council did not react in favour of a military action against Iraq, Bush declared that the Council rendered itself "obsolete".

On March 20, 2003 Bush gave the go ahead for a full-scale military invasion of Iraq to overthrow the Iraqi regime. He did so using powers that had been granted to him by congress on October 16 of the previous year. After a few weeks of fighting, the Iraqi government was successfully overthrown on April 9, 2003 and US forces occupied the Iraqi capital. The military effort has now switched to an effort of maintaining Iraqi security, strengthening the nation's infrastructure, privatizing sectors of industry (notably not oil), and preparing to hand over power to a democratically elected government. As this process shows to be more difficult and expensive than previously predicted the US government turned again toward the UN, asking for financial and military support in Iraq.

Throughout the course of the Iraqi war Bush was often the target of harsh criticism. Both in America and in the rest of the world there were numerous anti-war protests. On February 15 2003 there were over 10 million people in the streets all over the world. Many of the protesters were vehemently critical of Bush, calling him a "warmonger," an oil-hungry "imperialist," a "fascist." Bush dismissed the protesters as being merely "a focus group". European leaders were also critical of the President, especially French President Jacques Chirac who soon became the leading international voice of opposition to the Bush plan of Iraqi regime change. German Justice Minister, Herta Däubler-Gmelin compared the methods of Bush to those of Hitler. These remarks drew strong condemnation from both the United States and Europe; the minister resigned.

There were also in the United States rallies that supported the President's actions in Iraq and also supporting the US and coalition forces. The people who participated in these rallies praised Bush's leadership and courage in confronting Iraq. In stark contrast, however, these rallies were much less attended, in some cases amounting to only a few dozen.

Before the war, polls of Americans themselves tended to indicate a 50/50 split on invading Iraq, with the lowest rankings tending to come from polls that broke the question down into three options -- opposition to the war with or without United Nations weapons inspections, support only if the United Nations agrees and has had adequate time to search for weapons of mass destruction, and unconditional support of the war. After the war began, however, a solid majority of the American people and their representatives in Congress, in striking contrast to international opinion, backed Bush's decision to invade Iraq, with poll numbers ranging from 62% to as high as 70% in favor of the war. The inability of the U.S. to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, however, has led to greater domestic criticism of the administration's Iraq policy.

Domestic Security

Following the September 11 terrorist attacks the Bush administration asked Congress to approve a series of laws that it stated were necessary to prosecute the War on Terror. These included a wide variety of surveillance programs, some of which came under heavy fire from civil libertarians who criticized the Bush administration of scaling back civil liberties.

Bush Security Initiatives

• Through an act of Congress, the creation of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a cabinet-level agency designed to streamline and co-ordinate the various agents of federal government bureaucracy charged with protecting the American homeland from foreign attacks.

• A Total Information Awareness (TIA) program was proposed by the Defense Department. The TIA program did not receive funding from Congress, however, and is not currently operating.

• The USA PATRIOT Act which expands the government's powers of surveillance and arrest. The USA PATRIOT act passed soon after September 11, 2001.

• Creation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review which will review government acts of domestic spying.

• "Project Lookout", which distributes "watch lists" of people alleged to be suspicious, or have ties to terrorist groups to a variety of different organizations and institutions. These included specific "No-fly" lists of American residents who should not be allowed to board any airport into or out of the United States.

• "Operation TIPS", which would have created a vast network of amateur spies, in which Americans would spy on one another. This proposal was rejected after an initial outcry.

• "NewRuleSets.project", which provides a strategic framework for intervening in countries to move them into the "functioning core" of world societies and out of the "non-integrating gap" from which national security threats arise.

As mentioned, many of these actions were very controversial. Some accused the Bush administration of using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to clamp down on political dissent; indeed, many of Bush's critics were quick to allege that they were being unfairly targeted by the new security measures. Others accused the administration of over-reacting to the threat of terrorism, and participating in Big Brother style tactics with little justification.

Currently, a major controversy in the United States Congress is the debate over whether or not to expand the Patriot Act into a new Act known as Patriot Act II. This proposal would increase government surveillance on people in the United States suspected of terrorist activities and reduce judicial oversight over surveillance; authorize secret trials; and give the Justice Department the authority to revoke the American citizenship of anyone who belonged to an organization that the government deemed subversive. [1]

These laws are undoubtedly controversial. But many argue that in a world where well-funded, international conspiracies exist with the goal of, for instance, setting off a nuclear weapon in a major American city, the balance between security and liberty must shift somewhat. Supporters of the new law enforcement powers, such as Attorney General John Ashcroft have pointed out that against earlier predictions, nearly two years have passed without a single terrorist atrocity in the United States.

In any event, the debate over the proper role of government in people's lives will continue. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower Federal courts will rule on the constitutionality of the new laws.

Cabinet and Advisors

Main article: the Bush Administration

Among the most prominent cabinet members and Bush advisors are Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Treasury John Snow, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (not cabinet rank), and Attorney General John Ashcroft. Bush also took part in creating the Department of Homeland Security, which is led by Tom Ridge.

Legislation signed

Partial list:

• June 7, 2001: Economic Recovery and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
• September 18, 2001: Authorization for Use of Military Force
• September 28, 2001: United States-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act
• October 26, 2001: USA PATRIOT Act
• November 28, 2001: Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act
• January 8, 2002: No Child Left Behind Act
• March 9, 2002: Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002
• March 27, 2002: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
• May 13, 2002: Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
• July 30, 2002: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
• October 16, 2002: Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
• November 25, 2002: Homeland Security Act of 2002
• March 11, 2003: Do-Not-Call Implementation Act
• April 30, 2003: PROTECT Act of 2003
• May 27, 2003: United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003
• May 28, 2003: Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
• September 3, 2003: United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
• September 3, 2003: United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
• November 5, 2003: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

Related articles

• 2000 Presidential Election
• 2004 Presidential Election
• Bush Doctrine
• Patriot Day
• Bush Family Conspiracy Theory
• VoteToImpeach

External links

• Wikiquote - Quotes by George W. Bush
• Re-election website for George W. Bush
• Inaugural Address
• Declaration of War on Terrorism
• 2002 State of the Union Address
• 2003 State of the Union Address
• Presidential Prayer Team
• Newsmax on the Bush Administration

Oppositional Bush links

• "History of Bush's political career"
• Negative History of Bush's political career
• bushnews.com - Anti-Bush News Site
• "President Moron" - satire site
• Unofficial Petition For Impeaching Bush
• Smirking Chimp
• Too stupid to be President - satire site
• - On Bush's Foreign Policy
• AWOLBush - examines Bush's military service record
• Reader submissions of nicknames for George W. Bush in a contest on www.talkleft.com

Preceded by : Bill Clinton

Presidents of the United States

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "George W. Bush."

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List of Federal Presidents of Austria

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Federal Presidents of Austria since the founding of the Republic

Federal President (Bundespräsident)	Born-Died	From-To
Karl Seitz	1869 - 1950	1918 - 1920
Michael Hainisch	1858 - 1940	1920 - 1928
Wilhelm Miklas	1872 - 1956	1928 - 1938
Karl Renner	1870 - 1950	1945 - 1950
Theodor Körner	1873 - 1957	1951 - 1957
Adolf Schärf	1890 - 1965	1957 - 1965
Franz Jonas	1899 - 1974	1965 - 1974
Rudolf Kirchschläger	1915 - 2000	1974 - 1986
Kurt Waldheim	1918 -	1986 - 1992
Thomas Klestil	1932 -	1992 -

See also: Politics of Austria, Chancellor of Austria, Lists of incumbents

External link

• Official site

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Federal Presidents of Austria."

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List of Hungarian rulers

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The following table enlists all rulers of Hungary since Arpad.

Affiliation	Ruler	Reigns of rulers	Remarks
Árpád	Árpád	896-907	founder, led Magyars into Eastern Europe
Árpád	Zoltan	907-946
non-dynastic	Val	946-952
Árpád	Taksony	952-972
Árpád	Geza	972-997
Árpád	St. Stephen (István)	997-1038	first king of Hungary
dynastic struggle 1038-1046
non dynastic	Peter Urseolo	1038-1041, 1044-1046	(Géza's grandson)
non dynastic	Sámuel Aba	1041-1044	(Husband of Géza's daughter)
Vatha pagan rising 1046-1047 ?
Árpád	Andrew I	1047-1061	Arpad dynasty restored
Árpád	Bela I	1061-1063
Árpád	Solomon (Salamon)	1063-1074
Árpád	Géza I	1074-1077
Árpád	St. Ladislaus (László)	1077-1095	All Ladislaus' are spelled with "laus" as in 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, see talk page
Árpád	Coloman or Kálmán	1095-1114	King of Hungary, & Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia
Árpád	Stephen II	1114-1131
Árpád	Béla II	1131-1141
Árpád	Géza II	1141-1161
Árpád	Stephen III	1161-1162
Árpád	Ladislaus II	1162-1163
Árpád	Stephen IV	1163
Árpád	Stephen III, restored	1163-1172
Árpád	Béla III	1172-1196
Árpád	Emeric (Imre)	1196-1204
Árpád	Ladislaus III	1204-1205
Árpád	Andrew (András) II	1205-1235
Árpád	Béla IV the Great	1235-1270	Mongol invasion
Árpád	Stephen V	1270-1272
Árpád	Ladislaus IV	1272-1290
Árpád	Andrew III	1290-1301	last of Arpad dynasty
Premyslid	Wenceslas (Vencel) III of Bohemia	1301-1305	Bohemian king, elected as King of Hungary
Wittelsbach	Otto III of Bavaria	1305-1308
Angevin	Charles (Károly) I	1308-1342	founded the Anjou line and established the Angevin dynasty in Hungary.
Angevin	Louis I the Great (Nagy Lajos)	1342-1382
Angevin	Mary	1382-1395
Angevin	Charles II	1385-1386	also King of Naples as Charles III, in opposition to Mary
Luxembourg	Sigismund (Zsigmond)	1387-1437	also Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia
Habsburg	Albert	1437-1439	son-in-law of the precedent, also German King and Albert V of Austria
Interregnum			title dispute between Vladislav and Ladislaus
Jagiellon	Ulászló I	1440-1444
Habsburg	Ladislaus Posthumus	1444-1457	also King of Bohemia
non dynastic	Matthias Corvinus the Just (Igazságos Mátyás)	1458-1490
Jagiellon	Ulászló II	1490-1516
Jagiellon	Louis II	1516-1526	killed in the Battle of Mohacs
Rival kings of Emperor Ferdinand and John Zápolya both claimed themselves as ruler of Hungary.
Habsburg	Ferdinand (Ferdinánd) I	1526-1564	brother in law of Louis II, also Holy Roman Emperor. Ottoman invasion
Zápolya	John Zápolya (Zápolya János)	1526-1540	Leader of groups of Hungarian nobles claiming no foreign ruler should be chosen King of Hungary. Claimed the throne with support of Hungarian nobles, and later the Ottoman Sultan. Ottoman invasion. (Zápolya is alternatively spelled as Szapolyai.)
Zápolya	Isabel (Izabella)	1556-1559	After the death of his husband Zápolya János the areas was mainly controlled by nobles (with the lead of Fráter György), until the nobles recalled her with her child (II Zápolya Zsigmond) as Queen.
Zápolya	John II Sigismund (Zsigmond) Zápolya	1540-1571	Son of precedents. King of Hungary and Prince of Transylvania (Erdély).
Hungary was effectively split into 3 parts: a Habsburg domain in the north and west, Ottoman domain in the center, and the Ottoman satellite Transylvania in the east after 1562.
Habsburg	Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor	1563-1576
Habsburg	Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor	1572-1608
Báthory	Stephen Bathory	1571-1575	Prince of Transylvania
Báthory	Christopher (Kristóf) Bathory	1575-1581	Prince of Transylvania and brother of precedent
Báthory	Sigismund Bathory	1581-1597, August 1598- March 1599, 1599-1602	Prince of Transylvania and son of precedent. Abdicated three times, twice (1597, 1602), in favor of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and once (1599) of his cousin Andrew Cardinal Bathory.
Báthory	Andrew Cardinal Bathory	1599	Prince of Transylvania
non dynastic	Stephen Bocskay	1604-1606	Governor(1604) and Prince (1605) of Transylvania
Rákóczy	Sigismund Rákóczy	1607-1608	elected Prince of Transylvania
Habsburg	Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor	1608-1619
Báthory	Gabriel (Gábor) Bathory	1608-1613	Prince of Transylvania
non dynastic	Gábor Bethlen	1613-1629	Prince of Transylvania
Habsburg	Ferdinand II	1618-1637
Rákóczy	George (György) I Rákóczy	1630-1648	elected Prince of Transylvania
Habsburg	Ferdinand III	1625-1657
Habsburg	Ferdinand IV	1647-1654
Rákóczy	George II Rákóczy	1648-1657	Prince of Transylvania
Habsburg	Leopold I	1655-1705
non dynastic	Emeric Thököly (or Tökölli)	1660-1682	against Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
Movements of Hungarian liberation as a result of a prolonged war against Turks. Habsburgs began colonization of Serbs (1690) and Germans (1682-1699) in Southern Hungary.
Habsburg	Joseph I	1687-1711
Rákóczy	Francis II Rákóczy		head of liberation movement (1703-1711) and elected Ruling Prince of Transylvania
Habsburg	Charles III	1711-1740
Large scale German settlements in Hungary (1720-1800)
Habsburg	Maria Theresa (Mária Terézia)	1740-1780
Habsburg	Joseph II	1780-1790
Habsburg	Leopold II	1790-1792
Habsburg	Francis	1792-1835
Habsburg	Ferdinand V	1835-1848
The Hungarian Republic (14 April - 13 August 1849) was proclaimed, with Louis Kossuth as Governor-President. Croats sought autonomous government and separation from Hungary. In 1849, the Habsburgs reasserted their authority with the help of Russian troops
Habsburg	Francis Joseph I (Ferenc József)	2 December 1848- 21 November 1916
Habsburg	Charles IV	21 November 1916 - 13 November 1918
Hungary declared complete independence from Austria on October 17 1918 and forms the Second Republic.
	Károlyi Mihály	16 November 1918- 21 March 1919
Communist	Sandor Garbai	21 March - 1 August 1919	Romania invades Hungary.
Acting Head of State	Gyula Peidl	1 August - 6 August 1919
Second Republic abolished.
	Archduke Joseph	6 August - 23 October 1919	Regent
	Istvan Friedrich	23 October - 24 November 1919
	Karoly Huszar	24 November 1919 - 1 March 1920
Monarchy Restored
"Monarchy"	Miklos Horthy	1 March 1920 - 3 November 1944	Acting as regent.
pro-Nazi	Ferenc Szalasi	4 November 1944 - 28 March 1945	Hungary is occupied by Nazi Germany.
anti-Nazi government in opposition to March 1945	Béla Zsedényi	21 December 1944 - 2 February 1946	Hungary is occupied by the Red Army.
Third Hungarian Republic
Communist	Zoltan Tildy	2 February 1946 - 2 August 1948
	Árpád Szakasits	2 August 1948- 26 April 1950
Renamed the "Hungarian Peoples Republic"
Communist	Sándor Rónai	26 April 1950 - 14 August 1952
Socialist	István Dobi	14 August 1952- 13 April 1967
Hungarian Revolt of 1956
Socialist	Pál Losonczi	13 April 1967 - 25 June 1987
Socialist	Károly Németh	25 June 1987 - 29 June 1988
Socialist	Brunó Ferenc Straub	29 June 1988 - 18 October 1989
Fourth Hungarian Republic
Socialist	Mátyás Szürös	18 October 1989 - 2 May 1990	Interim President
Democrat	Árpád Göncz	2 May 1990 - 4 August 2000
Non-party	Ferenc Mádl	4 August 2000-Present

General Secretaries of the Hungarian Communist/Socialist Workers' Party, 1945-1989

• Mátyás Rákosi: February 1945 - 18 July 1956
• Ernö Gerö: 21 July - 25 October 1956
• János Kádár: 25 October 1956 - 22 May 1988
• Károly Grósz: 22 May 1988 - 7 October 1989

External links

https://secure.magyarorszag.hu/orszaginfo/tortenelem/uralkodokesallamfok/uralkodoallamfo.html

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Hungarian rulers."

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List of Presidents of Albania

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Albania

• Ahmet Zogu (1925-1928)
• Ramiz Alia (1991-1992)
• Sali Berisha (1992-1997)
• Rexhep Meidani (1997-2002)
• Alfred Moisiu (2002-Present)

See Also

• Albania
• Kings of Albania
• Prime Ministers of Albania
• Princes of Albania

External Links

• Presidency of Albania (official site)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Albania."

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List of Presidents of Algeria

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Algeria

Presidents of Algeria, 1962-present

• Ahmed Ben Bella: 29 September 1962 - 19 June 1965
• Houari Boumédiènne: 19 June 1965 - 27 December 1978
• Rabah Bitat: 27 December 1978 - 9 February 1979
• Chadli Bendjedid: 9 February 1979 - 11 January 1992
• High State Council: 14 January 1992 - 31 January 1994
• Liamine Zéroual: 31 January 1994 - 27 April 1999
• Abdelaziz Bouteflika: 27 April 1999 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Algeria."

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List of Presidents of Argentina

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Argentina

Term	President
1826 - 1827	Bernardino Rivadavia
1827 - 1827	Vicente López y Planes
1854 - 1860	Justo José de Urquiza
1860 - 1861	Santiago Derqui
1862 - 1868	Bartolomé Mitre
1868 - 1874	Domingo F. Sarmiento
1874 - 1880	Nicolás Avellaneda
1880 - 1886	Julio Argentino Roca
1886 - 1890	Miguel Juárez Celman
1890 - 1892	Carlos Pellegrini
1892 - 1895	Luis Sáenz Peña
1895 - 1898	José Evaristo Uriburu
1898 - 1904	Julio Argentino Roca
1904 - 1906	Manuel Quintana
1906 - 1910	José Figueroa Alcorta
1910 - 1914	Roque Sáenz Peña
1914 - 1916	Victorino de la Plaza
1916 - 1922	Hipólito Yrigoyen
1922 - 1928	Marcelo T. de Alvear
1928 - 1930	Hipólito Yrigoyen
1930 - 1932	José Félix Uriburu
1932 - 1938	Agustín Pedro Justo
1938 - 1942	Roberto María Ortiz
1942 - 1943	Ramón Castillo
1943 - 1944	Pedro Pablo Ramírez (de facto)
1944 - 1946	Edelmiro Julián Farrell (de facto)
1946 - 1955	Juan Domingo Perón
1955	Eduardo Lonardi (de facto)
1955 - 1958	Pedro Eugenio Aramburu (de facto)
1958 - 1962	Arturo Frondizi
1962 - 1963	José María Guido (de facto)
1963 - 1966	Arturo Umberto Illia
1966 - 1970	Juan Carlos Onganía
1970 - 1971	Roberto M. Levingston (de facto)
1971 - 1973	Alejandro A. Lanusse (de facto)
1973	Héctor José Cámpora
1973	Raúl Alberto Lastiri
1973 - 1974	Juan Domingo Perón (2nd time)
1974 - 1976	Isabel Perón
1976	Military Junta (de facto)
1976 - 1981	Jorge Rafael Videla (de facto)
1981	Roberto Eduardo Viola (de facto)
1981 - 1982	Leopoldo Galtieri (de facto)
1982 - 1983	Reynaldo Bignone (de facto)
1983 - 1989	Raúl Alfonsín
1989 - 1999	Carlos Menem
1999 - 2001	Fernando de la Rúa
2001	Ramón Puerta (interim)
2001 - 2002	Adolfo Rodríguez Saá (interim)
2002	Eduardo Camaño (interim)
2002 - 2003	Eduardo Duhalde (interim)
From May 25, 2003	Néstor Kirchner

See also: Politics of Argentina, lists of incumbents

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Argentina."

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List of Presidents of Benin

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Benin.

Presidents of Benin, 1960-present

• Hubert Maga: 1 August 1960 - 27 October 1963
• Christophe Soglo (Head of Provisional Government): 27 October 1963 - 25 January 1964
• Sourou Migan Apithy: 25 January 1964 - 27 November 1965
• Justin Ahomadegbé (acting): 27 November - 29 November 1965
• Tahirou Congacou (acting): 29 November - 22 December 1965
• Christophe Soglo: 22 December 1965 - 19 December 1967
• Jean-Baptiste Hachème (Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee): 19 December - 20 December 1967
• Maurice Kounadété (Head of State): 20 December - 21 December 1967
• Alphonse Alley (Head of State): 21 December 1967 - 17 July 1968
• Émile Zinsou: 17 July 1968 - 10 December 1969
• Paul-Émile de Souza (Chairman of the Directory): 13 December 1969 - 7 May 1970
• Hubert Maga (Chairman of the Presidential Council): 7 May 1970 - 7 May 1972
• Justin Ahomadegbé (Chairman of the Presidential Council): 7 May - 26 October 1972
• Mathieu Kérékou: 26 October 1972 - 4 April 1991
• Nicéphore Soglo: 4 April 1991 - 4 April 1996
• Mathieu Kérékou: 4 April 1996 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Benin."

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List of presidents of Bolivia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of presidents of Bolivia :

• Alfredo Ovando Candia
• Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas

René* Barrientos Ortuño

• Alfredo Ovando Candia
• Juan José Torres Gonzáles
• Hugo Banzer Suárez
• Juan Pereda Asbún
• David Padilla Arancibia
• Wálter Guevara Arze
• Alberto Natush Bush
• Lidia Gueiler Tejada
• Luis García Meza Tejada
• Guido Vildoso Calderón
• Hernán Siles Zuazo
• Víctor Paz Estenssoro
• Jaime Paz Zamora
• Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
• Hugo Banzer Suarez
• Jorge Quiroga
• Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
• Carlos Mesa

See also: History of Bolivia, Politics of Bolivia, Bolivia

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of presidents of Bolivia."

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List of Presidents of Botswana

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Botswana

Presidents of Botswana, 1966-present

• Sir Seretse Khama: 30 September 1966 - 13 July 1980
• Sir Ketumile Masire: 13 July 1980 - 31 March 1998
• Festus Mogae: 31 March 1998 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Botswana."

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List of Presidents of Brazil

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is a list of the Presidents of Brazil.

• 1889-1891 Deodoro da Fonseca
• 1891-1894 Floriano Peixoto
• 1894-1898 Prudente de Moraes
• 1898-1902 Campos Sales
• 1902-1906 Rodrigues Alves
• 1906-1909 Afonso Pena
• 1909-1910 Nilo Peçanha
• 1910-1914 Hermes da Fonseca
• 1914-1918 Venceslau Brás
• 1918- Rodrigues Alves (Died before assuming)
• 1918-1919 Delfim Moreira
• 1919-1922 Epitácio Moreira
• 1922-1926 Artur Bernades
• 1926-1930 Washington Luís
• 1930-1934 Getúlio Dorneles Vargas Temporary Government
• 1934-1937 Getúlio Dorneles Vargas - Constitutional Government
• 1937-1945 Getúlio Dorneles Vargas - Dictatorship
• 1945-1946 José Linhares
• 1946-1951 Eurico Gaspar Dutra
• 1951-1954 Getúlio Dorneles Vargas
• 1954-1956 Café Filho, Carlos Luz, Nereu Ramos
• 1956-1961 Juscelino Kubitschek
• 1961- Jânio Quadros
• 1961-1964 João Goulart
• 1964-1967 Humberto Castelo Branco
• 1967-1969 Arthur da Costa e Silva
• 1969-1974 Emilio Garrastazu Médici
• 1974-1979 Ernesto Geisel
• 1979-1985 João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo
• 1985- Tancredo Neves (Died before assuming)
• 1985-1990 José Sarney
• 1990-1992 Fernando Collor de Mello
• 1992-1995 Itamar Franco
• 1995-2003 Fernando Henrique Cardoso
• 2003- Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva

See also

• History of Brazil
• List of Brazilian monarchs
• List of Brazilians

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Brazil."

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List of Presidents of Bulgaria

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page will list the various republican heads of state of Bulgaria, as well as leaders of Bulgaria's communist party during the time when it played the "leading role" in the Bulgarian state.

Heads of State

Chairman of the Provisional Presidency, 1946-1947

• Vasil Kolarov 15 September 1946 - 9 December 1947

Chairmen of the Presidium of the National Assembly, 1947-1971

• Mincho Neychev 9 December 1947 - 27 May 1950
• Georgi Damyanov 27 May 1950 - 27 November 1958
• Dimitur Vurbanov 30 November 1958 - 20 April 1964
• Georgi Girovski 23 April 1964 - 7 July 1971

Chairmen of the State Council, 1971-1990

• Todor Zhivkov 7 July 1971 - 17 November 1989
• Petur Mladenov 17 November 1989 - 3 April 1990

Presidents, 1990-present

• Petur Mladenov 3 April - 6 July 1990
• Stanko Georgiev (acting) 6 - 17 July 1990
• Nikolay Todorov (acting) 17 July - 1 August 1990
• Zhelyu Zhelev 1 August 1990 - 22 January 1997
• Petur Stoyanov 22 January 1997 - 22 January 2002
• Georgi Purvanov 22 January 2002 -

General Secretaries of the Bulgarian Communist Party, 1948-1990

• Georgi Dimitrov 11 August 1948 - 2 July 1949
• Vulko Chervenkov 2 July 1949 - 4 March 1954
• Todor Zhivkov 4 March 1954 - 10 November 1989
• Petur Mladenov 10 November 1989 - 2 February 1990

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Bulgaria."

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List of Presidents of Chad

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This contains a list of presidents of Chad.

see also lists of incumbents

Presidents of Chad, 1960-present

• François Tombalbaye (changed his name to N'Garta Tombalbaye in 1973): 11 August 1960 - 13 April 1975
• Félix Malloum: 15 April 1975 - 23 March 1979
• Goukouni Oueddei: 23 March - 29 April 1979
• Lol Mohamed Shawa: 29 April - 3 September 1979
• Goukouni Oueddei: 3 September 1979 - 7 June 1982
• Hissène Habré: 7 June 1982 - 1 December 1990
• Idriss Déby: 2 December 1990 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Chad."

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List of Presidents of Chile

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Unlike many of the other countries in the region, Chile has a long history of democratic Presidents. The President of Chile is both the chief of state and the chief of goverment.

Here is the full list of them:

• Manuel Blanco Encalda 1826
• Agustín Eyzaguirre 1826 - 1827
• Ramón Freire y Serrano 1827
• Francisco Antonio Pinto Díaz 1827 - 1829
• José Tomás Ovalle 1830 - 1831
• José Joaquín Prieto Vial 1831 - 1841
• Manuel Bulnes Prieto 1841 - 1851
• Manuel Montt Torres 1851 - 1861
• José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano 1861 - 1871
• Federico Errázuriz Zañartu 1871 - 1876
• Anibal Pinto Garmendia 1876 - 1881
• Domingo Santa María 1881 - 1886
• José Manuel Balmaceda 1886 - 1891
• Jorge Montt Alvarez 1891 - 1896
• Federico Errázuriz Echaurren 1896 - 1901
• Germán Riesco Errázuriz 1901 - 1906
• Pedro Montt Montt 1906 - 1910
• Ramón Barros Luco 1910 - 1915
• Juan Luis Sanfuentes 1915 - 1920
• Arturo Alessandri Palma 1920 - 1925
• Luis Barros Borgoño 1925
• Emiliano Figueroa Larraín 1925 - 1927
• Carlos Ibáñez del Campo 1927 - 1931
• Juan Esteban Montero 1931 - 1932
• Arturo Alessandri Palma 1932-1938
• Pedro Aguirre Cerda 1938 - 1941
• Jerónimo Méndez 1941 - 1942 (interin)
• Juan Antonio Ríos 1942 - 1946
• Gabriel González Videla 1946 - 1952
• Carlos Ibañez del Campo 1952 - 1958
• Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez 1958 - 1964
• Eduardo Frei Montalva 1964 - 1970
• Salvador Allende Gossens 1970 - 1973
• Augusto Pinochet Ugarte 1973 - 1990 (came to power in a coup d'etat)
• Patricio Aylwin Azócar 1990 - 1994
• Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle 1994 - 2000
• Ricardo Lagos Escobar 2000 - 2006 (end of the period)

Before the presidential institution (at the beginning of the Republican and independent state), there was the figure of Director Supremo (Supreme Director). There were XX of them:

• Bernardo O´Higgins Riquelme 1820-1823
• Agustín Manuel de Eyzaguirre y Arechavala 1823-1823
• Plenipotentiary Congress: Juan Egaña Risco, Manuel Fernando Vásquez de Novoa y López de Artigas, Manuel Antonio González Valenzuela 1823
• Ramón Freire Serrano 1823
• Supreme Junta of diputados: Mariano Egaña Fabres, Santiago Fernández y González Barriga, Diego José Benavente y García de Bustamante 1823
• Ramón Freire Serrano 1826

People who temporary fulfilled the role of President

• Francisco R. Vicuña (1829)
• Francisco Ruiz Tagle (1830)
• F. Errázuriz (1831)
• E. Fernández Albano (1910)
• E. Figueroa (1910)
• Luis Altamirano (1924-1925)
• Emiliano Bello C (1925)
• Pedro Opazo (1931)
• Manuel Trucco (1931)
• Carlos Dávila (1932)
• Guillermo Blanche (1932)
• Abraham Oyanedel (1932)
• Alfredo Duhalde (1946)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Chile."

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List of Presidents of Colombia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of the Republic of Colombia

(1898) Guillermo Qunitero Calderón, José Manuel Marroquín

(1898-1900) Manuel Antonio Sanclemente

(1900-1904) José Manuel Marroquín

(1904-1909) Rafael Reyes

(1909) Jorge Holguín

(1909-1910) Ramón González Valencia

(1910-1914) Carlos Emilio Restrepo

(1914-1918) José Vicente Concha

(1918-1921) Marco Fidel Suárez

(1921-1922) Jorge Holguín

(1922-1926) Pedro Nel Ospina

(1926-1930) Miguel Abadia Méndez

(1930-1934) Enrique Olaya Herrera

(1934-1938) Alfonso López Pumarejo

(1938-1942) Eduardo Santos

(1942-1945) Alfonso López Pumarejo

(1945-1946) Alberto Lleras Camargo

(1946-1950) Mariano Ospina Pérez

(1950-1951) Laureano Gómez

(1951-1953) Roberto Udarneta Arbelaez

(1953-1957) Gustavo Rojas Pinilla

(1957-1958) Military Junta

(1958-1962) Alberto Lleras Camargo

(1962-1966) Guillermo Leon Valencia

(1966-1970) Carlos Lleras Restrepo

(1970-1974) Misael Pastrana Borrero

(1974-1978) Alfonso López Michelsen

(1978-1982) Julio César Turbay Ayala

(1982-1986) Belisario Betancur

(1986-1990) Virgilo Barco Vargas

(1990-1994) César Gaviria Trujillo

(1994-1998) Ernesto Samper Pizano

(1998-2002) Andrés Pastrana Arango

(2002- Álvaro Uribe Vélez

See also: Politics of Colombia, president, lists of incumbents

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Colombia."

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List of Presidents of Côte d'Ivoire

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Côte d'Ivoire.

See also lists of incumbents

Presidents of Côte d'Ivoire, 1960-present

• Félix Houphouët-Boigny: 7 August 1960 - 7 December 1993
• Henri Konan Bédié: 7 December 1993 - 24 December 1999
• Robert Guéï: 25 December 1999 - 25 October 2000
• Laurent Gbagbo: 26 October 2000 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of C�te d'Ivoire."

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List of Presidents of Djibouti

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Djibouti.

See also lists of incumbents.

Presidents of Djibouti, 1977-present

• Hassan Gouled Aptidon: 27 June 1977 - 8 May 1999
• Ismail Omar Guelleh: 8 May 1999 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Djibouti."

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List of Presidents of Ecuador

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

• Juan José Flores 1830-1834
• Vicente Rocafuerte 1834-1839
• Juan José Flores 1839-1845
• José Joaquín de Olmedo 1845
• Vicente Ramón Roca 1845-1849
• Manuel de Ascásubi 1849-1850
• Diego Noboa 1850-1851
• José María Urbina 1851-1856
• Francisco Robles 1856-1859
• Gabriel García 1859-1865
• Rafael Carvajal 1865
• Jerónimo Carrión 1865-1867
• Pedro José de Arteta 1867-1868
• Juan Javier Espinosa 1868-1869
• Gabriel García 1869
• Manuel de Ascásubi 1869
• Gabriel García 1869-1875
• Francisco León Franco 1875
• José Javier Eguiguren 1875
• Rafael Pólit 1875
• Antonio Borrero 1875-1876
• Ignacio de Veintemilla 1876-1883
• Eloy Alfaro Delgado 1883
• Provisional Government 1883
• Rafael Pérez 1883
• José Plácido Caamaño 1883-1888
• Pedro José Cevallos 1888
• Antonio Flores Jijón 1888-1892
• Luis Cordero Crespo 1892-1895
• Vicente Lucio Salazar 1895
• Eloy Alfaro Delgado 1895-1901
• Leonidas Plaza 1901-1905
• Lizardo García 1905-1906
• Eloy Alfaro Delgado 1906-1911
• Carlos Freire Zaldumbide 1911
• Emilio Estrada 1911
• Carlos Freire Zaldumbide 1911-1912
• Francisco Andrade Marín 1912
• Leonidas Plaza 1912-1916
• Alfredo Baquerizo 1916-1920
• José Luis Tamayo 1920-1924
• Gonzalo Córdova 1924-1925
• Military Junta 1925-1926
• Humberto Albornoz 1926
• Julio Enrique Moreno 1926
• Isidro Ayora Cueva 1926-1931
• Luis Larrea Alba 1931
• Alfredo Baquerizo 1931-1932
• Alberto Guerrero Marines 1932
• Juan de Dios Martínez 1932-1933
• Albelardo Montalvo 1933-1934
• José María Velasco Ibarra 1934-1935
• Antonio Pons 1935
• Federico Páez 1935-1937
• Gil Alberto Enríquez 1937-1938
• Manuel María Borrero 1938
• Aurelio Mosquera 1938-1939
• Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río 1939
• Andrés Córdova 1939-1940
• Julio Enrique Moreno 1940
• Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río 1940-1944
• José María Velasco Ibarra 1944-1947
• Carlos Mancheno Cajas 1947
• Mariano Suárez 1947
• Carlos Julio Arosemena 1947-1948
• Galo Plaza Lasso 1948-1952
• José María Velasco Ibarra 1952-1956
• Camilo Ponce Enríquez 1956-1960
• José María Velasco Ibarra 1960-1961
• Carlos Julio Arosemena 1961-963
• Ramón Castro Jijón 1963-1966
• Clemente Yerovi 1966
• Otto Arosemena 1966-1968
• José María Velasco Ibarra 1968-1972
• Guillermo Rodríguez 1972-1976
• Alfredo Poveda 1976-1979
• Jaime Roldós Aguilera 1979-1981
• Osvaldo Hurtado 1981-1984
• León Febres Cordero 1984-1988
• Rodrigo Borja Cevallos 1988-1992
• Sixto Durán-Ballén 1992-1996
• Abdalá Bucaram 1996-1997
• Fabián Alarcón 1997-1998
• Jamil Mahuad Witt 1998-2000
• Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa 2000
• Gustavo Noboa Bejarano 2000-2003
• Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa 2003-

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Ecuador."

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List of Presidents of Eritrea

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Eritrea.

See also lists of incumbents.

Presidents of Eritrea, 1993-present

• Isaias Afwerki: 24 May 1993 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Eritrea."

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List of Presidents of Ethiopia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of heads of state of Ethiopia since 1974.

See also lists of incumbents, List of Emperors of Ethiopia

List of Heads of State of Ethiopia, 1974-present

Chairmen of the Provisional Military Administrative Council, 1974-1987

• Aman Mikael Andom: 12 September - 17 November 1974
• Mengistu Haile Mariam: 17 November - 28 November 1974
• Tafari Benti: 28 November 1974 - 3 February 1977
• Mengistu Haile Mariam: 11 February 1977 - 10 September 1987

Presidents of Ethiopia, 1987-present

• Mengistu Haile Mariam: 10 September 1987 - 21 May 1991
• Tesfaye Gebre Kidan: 21 May - 28 May 1991
• Meles Zenawi: 28 May 1991 - 22 August 1995
• Negasso Gidada: 22 August 1995 - 8 October 2001
• Girma Wolde-Giyorgis Lucha: 8 October 2001 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Ethiopia."

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List of Presidents of Gabon

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Gabon

See also lists of incumbents

Presidents of Gabon, 1960 - present

• Léon M'ba: 17 August 1960 - 28 November 1967
• Albert-Bernard Bongo (Omar Bongo from 1973): 28 November 1967 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Gabon."

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List of Presidents of Guinea-Bissau

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This page contains a list of presidents of Guinea-Bissau.

See also lists of incumbents, List of national leaders

Presidents of Guinea-Bissau, 1973-present

• Luís de Almeida Cabral: 24 September 1973 - 14 November 1980
• João Bernardo Vieira: 14 November 1980 - 7 May 1999
• Malam Bacai Sanhá (acting): 14 May 1999 - 17 February 2000
• Kumba Ialá: 17 February 2000 - 14 September 2003
• Veríssimo Correia Seabra (interim): 14 September - 28 September 2003
• Henrique Rosa (interim): 28 September 2003 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Guinea-Bissau."

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List of Presidents of Iceland

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Iceland

• Sveinn Björnsson (1944-1952)
• Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (1952-1968)
• Kristján Eldjárn (1968-1980)
• Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1980-1996)
• Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson (1996-present)

see also: Politics of Iceland, list of Prime Ministers of Iceland, list of Icelandic rulers, lists of incumbents

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Iceland."

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List of Presidents of Indonesia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Indonesia

• Sukarno (1945-1967)
• Suharto (1967-1998)
• Baharuddin Jusuf Habibie (1998-1999)
• Abdurrahman Wahid (1999-2001)
• Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001- )

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Indonesia."

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List of Presidents of Italy

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Italy

• Enrico de Nicola (1946-1948)
• Luigi Einaudi (1948-1955)
• Giovanni Gronchi (1955-1962)
• Antonio Segni (1962-1964)
• Giuseppe Saragat (1964-1971)
• Giovanni Leone (1971-1978)
• Alessandro Pertini (1978-1985)
• Francesco Cossiga (1985-1992)
• Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (1992-1999)
• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1999-present)

See also: Politics of Italy, List of Prime Ministers of Italy, Lists of incumbents

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Italy."

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List of Presidents of Latvia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

• Karlis Ulmanis (1918-1919)
• Janis Cakste (1922-1927)
• Gustav Zamgals (1927-1930)
• Albert Kviesis (1930-1936)
• Karlis Ulmanis (1936-1940)

Nazi and Soviet occupation (1940-1990)

• Anatolijs Gorbunovs (1990-1993)
• Guntis Ulmanis (1993-1999)
• Vaira Vike-Freiberga (1999-present)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Latvia."

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List of Presidents of Liberia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The following is a list of Presidents of Liberia:

• Joseph Jenkins Roberts 1847-1856
• Stephen Allen Benson 1856-1864
• Daniel Bashiel Warner 1864-1868
• James Spriggs Payne 1868-1870
• Edward J. Roye 1870-1871
• Joseph Jenkins Roberts 1871-1876
• James Spriggs Payne 1876-1878
• Anthony W. Gardiner 1878-1883
• Alfred F. Russell 1883-1884
• Hillary R.W. Johnson 1884-1892
• Joseph James Cheeseman 1892-1896
• William D. Coleman 1896-1900
• Garretson W. Gibson 1900-1904
• Arthur Barclay 1904-1912
• Daniel E. Howard 1912-1920
• Charles D.B. King 1920-1930
• Edwin Barclay 1930-1944
• William V.S. Tubman 1944-1971
• William R. Tolbert, Jr 1971-1980
• Samuel K. Doe 1980-1990
• Amos Sawyer 1990-1996
• Ruth Perry (acting) 1996-1997
• Charles Taylor 1997-2003
• Moses Blah 2003-
• Gyude Bryant 2003

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Liberia."

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List of Presidents of Lithuania

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Holders of the post of President of Lithuania.

• Antanas Smetona (1918-1920)
• Aleksandras Stulginskis (1920-1926)
• Kazys Grinius (1926)
• Jonas Staugaitis (1926)
• Aleksandras Stulginskis (1926) - only for a few hours
• Antanas Smetona (1926-1940)
• Antanas Merkys (1940)
• Justas Paleckis (1940)
• Vytautas Landsbergis (1990-1993)
• Algirdas Brazauskas (1993-1998)
• Valdas Adamkus (1998-2003)
• Rolandas Paksas (in office since 26th February 2003)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Lithuania."

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List of Presidents of Mexico

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is a list of presidents of Mexico.

See also List of Aztec rulers and List of Viceroys of New Spain. The first leader of independent Mexico was Agustín de Iturbide, he was emperor, ruling from 1821-1823.

Presidents from the declaration of the Republic of Mexico to the 1917 Constitution:

• 1823-1824: Pedro Celestino Negrete
• 1824-1829: Guadalupe Victoria
• 1829-1829: Vicente Guerrero
• 1829-1829: José María Bocanegra
• 1829-1829: Pedro Vélez
• 1830-1832: Anastasio Bustamante
• 1832-1832: Melchor Múzquiz
• 1832-1833: Manuel Gómez Pedraza
• 1833-1833: Valentín Gómez Farías
• 1833-1835: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1835-1836: Miguel Barragán
• 1836-1837: José Justo Corro
• 1837-1839: Anastasio Bustamante
• 1839-1839: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1839-1839: Nicolás Bravo
• 1839-1841: Anastasio Bustamante
• 1841-1841: Francisco Javier Echeverría
• 1841-1842: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1842-1843: Nicolás Bravo
• 1843-1843: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1843-1844: Valentín Canalizo
• 1844-1844: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1844-1844: Valentín Canalizo
• 1844-1844: José Joaquín de Herrera
• 1846-1846: Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga
• 1846-1846: Nicolás Bravo
• 1846-1846: Mariano Salas
• 1846-1847: Valentín Gómez Farías
• 1847-1847: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1847-1847: Pedro María Anaya
• 1847-1848: Manuel de la Peña y Peña
• 1848-1851: José Joaquín de Herrera
• 1851-1853: Mariano Arista
• 1853-1853: Juan Bautista Ceballos
• 1853-1853: Manuel María Lombardini
• 1853-1855: Antonio López de Santa Anna
• 1855-1855: Martín Carrera
• 1855-1855: Rómulo Díaz de la Vega
• 1855-1855: Juan Álvarez Benítez
• 1855-1857: Ignacio Comonfort
• 1858-1858: Félix María Zuloaga
• 1858-1859: Manuel Robles Pezuela
• 1859-1860: Miguel Miramón
• 1861-1863: Benito Juárez
• 1863-1864: Juan Nepomuceno Almonte

• From 1863 to 1867 most of Mexico was ruled by Maximilian of Habsburg, emperor imposed by Napoleon III of France. During this time Benito Juárez continued a government in the north of the country, which some nations recognized as the legitimate government of Mexico.

• 1867 - 1872: Benito Juárez
• 1872 - 1876: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
• 1876 - 1880: Porfirio Díaz
• 1880 - 1884: Manuel González
• 1884 - 1911: Porfirio Díaz
• 1911 - 1911: Francisco León de la Barra
• 1911 - 1913: Francisco Madero
• February 18, 1913 - February 18, 1913: Pedro Lascuráin Paredes (president for less than one hour)
• 1913 - July 14, 1914 : Victoriano Huerta
• July 15, 1914 - August 1914: Francisco S. Carvajal
• 1914 - 1920: Venustiano Carranza

This is a list of Presidents of Mexico since the adoption of the 1917 Constitution.

President	From	To
Venustiano Carranza	1917	1920
Adolfo de la Huerta	1920	1920
Álvaro Obregón	1920	1924
Plutarco Elías Calles	1924	1928
Emilio Portes Gil	1928	1930
Pascual Ortiz Rubio	1930	1932
Abelardo L. Rodríguez	1932	1934
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río	1934	1940
Manuel Ávila Camacho	1940	1946
Miguel Alemán	1946	1952
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines	1952	1958
Adolfo López Mateos	1958	1964
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz	1964	1970
Luis Echeverría Álvarez	1970	1976
José López Portillo	1976	1982
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado	1982	1988
Carlos Salinas de Gortari	1988	1994
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León	1994	2000
Vicente Fox Quesada	2000	N/A

See also

• History of Mexico

• Politics of Mexico
• List of Mexicans

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Mexico."

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List of Presidents of Nicaragua

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Nicaragua

1. 1984-1990: Daniel Ortega Saavedra
2. 1990-1996: Violeta Barrios de Chamorro
3. 1997-2001: Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo
4. From 2001: Enrique Bolaños

   Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Nicaragua."

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List of Presidents of Peru

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of presidents of Peru :

• 1821-1822: José de San Martín
• 1822-1823: José de La Mar
• 1823: Manuel Salazar y Baquíjano
• 1823: José de la Riva Agüero
• 1823-1824: José Bernardo de Tagle
• 1824-1826: Simón Bolívar
• 1826-1827: Andrés de Santa Cruz
• 1827-1829: José de La Mar
• 1829-1833: Agustín Gamarra
• 1834: Pedro Pablo Bermúdez
• 1834-1835: Luis José de Orbegoso
• 1835-1836: Felipe Santiago Salaverry
• 1837: Andrés de Santa Cruz
• 1838-1841: Agustín Gamarra
• 1842: Juan Crisóstomo Torrico
• 1842-1843: Francisco Vidal
• 1843: Domingo Elías
• 1843-1844: Domingo Nieto
• 1844: Justo Figueroa
• 1844: Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco
• 1845-1851: Ramón Castilla
• 1851-1855: José Rufino Echenique
• 1855-1862: Ramón Castilla
• 1862-1863: Miguel de San Román
• 1863-1865: Juan Antonio Pezet
• 1865-1868: Mariano Ignacio Prado
• 1868: Pedro Diez Canseco
• 1868-1872: José Balta
• 1872: Mariano Herencia Zevallos
• 1872-1876: Manuel Pardo
• 1876-1879: Mariano Ignacio Prado
• 1879: Luis La Puerta
• 1879-1881: Nicolás de Piérola
• 1881: Francisco García Calderón
• 1881-1883: Lizardo Montero
• 1883-1886: Miguel Iglesias
• 1886: Antonio Arenas
• 1886-1890: Andrés Avelino Cáceres
• 1890-1894: Remigio Morales Bermúdez
• 1894: Justiniano Borgoño
• 1894-1895: Andrés Avelino Cáceres
• 1895-1899: Nicolás de Piérola
• 1899-1903: Eduardo López de Romaña
• 1903-1904: Manuel Candamo
• 1904: Serapio Calderón
• 1904-1908: José Pardo y Barreda
• 1908-1912: Augusto B. Leguía y Salcedo
• 1912-1914: Guillermo Bilingurst
• 1914-1915: Oscar R. Benavides
• 1915-1919: José Pardo y Barreda
• 1919-1930: Augusto B. Leguía y Salcedo
• 1930-1931: Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro
• 1931: David Samanez Ocampo
• 1931-1933: Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro
• 1933-1939: Oscar R. Benavides
• 1939-1945: Manuel Prado Ugarteche
• 1945-1948: José Luis Bustamante y Rivero
• 1948-1956: Manuel A. Odría
• 1956-1962: Manuel Prado Ugarteche
• 1962-1963: Ricardo Pérez Godoy
• 1963: Nicolás Lindley
• 1963-1968: Fernando Belaunde Terry
• 1968-1975: Juan Velasco Alvarado
• 1975-1980: Francisco Morales Bermudez Cerruti
• 1980-1985: Fernando Belaunde Terry
• 1985-1990: Alan García Pérez
• 1990-2000: Alberto Kenya Fujimori Fujimori
• 2000-2001: Valentín Paniagua Corazao
• 2001- : Alejandro Toledo Manrique

See also

• Politics of Peru
• History of Peru

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Peru."

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List of Presidents of Poland

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Heads of the Polish state:

See also: List of Polish rulers, List of Polish Prime Ministers

Second Republic - Druga Rzeczpospolita (1918 - 1939)

President of the Republic of Poland - Prezydent RP:

• Józef Piłsudski (Nov. 14, 1918 - Dec. 9, 1922 as Chief of State - Naczelnik Państwa)
• Gabriel Narutowicz (Dec. 9-16, 1922) assasinated
• Stanisław Wojciechowski (Dec. 1922 - May 1926)
• Ignacy Mościcki (1926 - Sept. 1939)

Polish Government in Exile - Rząd Polski na Wychodzstwie (1939 - 1990)

President of the Republic of Poland - Prezydent RP:

• Władysław Raczkiewicz (1939 - 1947)
• August Zaleski (1947 - 1972)
• Stanisław Ostrowski (1972 - 1979)
• Edward Raczyński (1979 - 1986)
• Kazimierz Sabbat (1986 - 1989)
• Ryszard Kaczorowski (1989 - 1990; resigned after the election of Lech Wałęsa)

Communistic Poland - Polska Ludowa (1944 - 1952)

• Bolesław Bierut (1944 - 1947 as President of National Country Council - Prezydent Krajowej Rady Narodowej; 1947 - 1952 as President of the Republic of Poland - Prezydent RP)

People's Republic of Poland - Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa (1952 - 1989)

The Council of State was theoretically collective head of state, however de facto the most important person was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of Polish United Workers Party

President of Council of State - Przewodniczący Rady Państwa:

• Aleksander Zawadzki (1952 - 1964)
• Edward Ochab (1964 - 1968)
• Marian Spychalski (1968 - 1970)
• Józef Cyrankiewicz (1970 - 1972)
• Henryk Jabłonski (1972 - 1985)
• Wojciech Jaruzelski (1985 - 1989)

First Secretary of the Central Committee of PUWP - Pierwszy Sekretarz KC PZPR:

• Bolesław Bierut (1948 - 1956)
• Edward Ochab (March 1956 - Oct. 1956)
• Władysław Gomułka (1956 - 1970)
• Edward Gierek (1970 - 1980)
• Stanisław Kania (1980 - 1981)
• Wojciech Jaruzelski (1981 - 1989)

Third Republic - Trzecia Rzeczpospolita (since 1989)

President of the Republic of Poland - Prezydent RP:

• Wojciech Jaruzelski (July 16, 1989 - Dec. 31, 1989 as President of the People's Republic of Poland - Prezydent PRL; Jan. 1, 1990 - Dec. 21, 1990 as President of the Republic of Poland - Prezydent RP)
• Lech Wałęsa (1990 - 1995)
• Aleksander Kwaśniewski (since 1995)

;RP = Rzeczpospolita Polska : Republic of Poland (official name 1918 - 1952 and since 1990) ;PRL = Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa : People's Republic of Poland (official name 1952 - 1989) ;KC PZPR = Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej : Central Committee of Polish United Workers Party See also Lists of incumbents

External links

• President of Poland site(Polish+English)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Poland."

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List of Presidents of Portugal

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Presidents of Portugal

Alignment	Leader	Position	Start	End
	Manuel José de Arriaga	Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic	1910	1912
	Manuel José de Arriaga	President	1912	1915
	Bernardino Machado	President	1915	1917
	Sidónio Pais	Gen. President-Dictator	1917	1918
	João do Canto e Castro	Provisional President	1918	1919
	António José de Almeida	President	1919	1923
	Teixeira Gomes		1923	1925
	Bernardino Machado		1925	1926
Military	António de Fragoso Carmona	Gen. Dictator	1926	1928
Military	António de Fragoso Carmona	President	1928	1932
Military	António de Fragoso Carmona	Presidency under dictator António de Oliveira Salazar	1932	1951
Military	Francisco Craveiro Lopes	Presidency under dictator António de Oliveira Salazar	1951	1958
Military	Américo Deus Tomás		1958	1974
Military	António de Spínola	military coup of April 25 - Carnation revolution	1974	1974
Military	Francisco da Costa Gomes		1974	1976
Military	António Ramalho Eanes		1976	1986
Socialist	Mário Soares		1986	1996
Socialist	Jorge Sampaio		1996	Present

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Portugal."

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List of Presidents of Romania

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

• Constantin Ion Parhon - 1947-1952
• Petru Groza - 1952-1958
• Ion Gheorghe Maurer - 1958-1961
• Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej - 1961-1965
• Chivu Stoica - 1965-1967
• Nicolae Ceausescu - 1967-1989
• Ion Iliescu - 1989-1996
• Emil Constantinescu - 1996-2000
• Ion Iliescu - 2000-present

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Romania."

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List of Presidents of Slovenia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Presidents of Slovenia:

• Milan Kučan (1990-2002)
• Janez Drnovšek (2002-2008)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Slovenia."

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List of Presidents of Sri Lanka

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The following is a list of Sri Lankan presidents:

• William Gopallawa (May 22, 1972 - February 4, 1978)
• Junius Richard Jayawardene (February 4, 1978 - January 2, 1989)
• Ranasinghe Premadasa (January 2, 1989 - May 1, 1993)
• Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (May 1, 1993 - November 12, 1994)
• Chandrika Kumaratunga (November 12, 1994 - )

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Sri Lanka."

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List of Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This contains a list of presidents of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (also known as the Republic of the Congo, 1960-1966, and the Republic of Zaire, 1971-1997.

See also lists of incumbents.

Presidents of Congo (Kinshasa), 1960-present

• Joseph Kasavubu: 1 July 1960 - 25 November 1965
• Joseph Mobutu (Mobutu Sese Seko from 1972): 25 November 1965 - 16 May 1997
• Laurent-Désiré Kabila: 17 May 1997 - 16 January 2001
• Joseph Kabila: 17 January 2001 -

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

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List of Presidents of Turkey

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Here is a list of Turkish presidents since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk: (October 29, 1923 - November 10, 1938)
• Mustafa Abdülhalik Renda: (acting) (November 10, 1938 - November 11, 1938)
• Mustafa Ismet Inonu: (November 11, 1938 - May 22, 1950)
• Celal Bayar: (May 22, 1950 - May 27, 1960)
• Cemal Gursel: (May 27, 1960 - March 28, 1966)
• Cevdet Sunay: (March 28, 1966 - March 29, 1973)
• Tekin Ariburun: (acting) (March 29, 1973 - April 6, 1973)
• Fahri Koruturk: (April 6, 1973 - April 6, 1980)
• Ihsan Sabri Çaglayangil: (acting) (April 6, 1980 - September 12, 1980)
• Kenan Evren: (September 12, 1980 - November 9, 1989)
• Turgut Ozal: (November 9, 1989 - April 17, 1993)
• Hüsamettin Cindoruk: (acting) (April 17, 1993 - May 16, 1993)
• Suleyman Demirel: (May 16, 1993 - May 16, 2000)
• Ahmet Necdet Sezer: (May 16, 2000 - present)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Turkey."

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List of Presidents of Uruguay

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is a list of Presidents of Uruguay.

From-To	President	Term	Party
1903-1907	José Batlle y Ordoñez	1
1911-1915	José Batlle y Ordoñez	2
1973-1985
1985-1990	Julio María Sanguinetti	1	Colorado Party
1990-1995	Luis Alberto Lacalle	1	National Party
1995-2000	Julio María Sanguinetti	2	Colorado Party
2000-	Jorge Batlle	1

See also: History of Uruguay, Politics of Uruguay

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Uruguay."

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List of Presidents of Venezuela

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Venezuela

• José Antonio Páez (1830-1835)
• José María Vargas (1835-1837)
• Carlos Soublette (1837-1839)
• José Antonio Páez (1839-1843)
• Carlos Soublette (1843-1847)
• José Tadeo Monagas (1847-1851)
• José Gregorio Monagas (1851-1855)
• José Tadeo Monagas (1855-1858)
• Julián Castro (1858-1859)
• Pedro Gual (1859)
• Manuel Felipe Tovar (1859-1861)
• Pedro Gual (1861)
• José Antonio Páez (1861-1863)
• Juan Crisóstomo Falcón (1863-1868)
• José Tadeo Monagas (1868)
• José Ruperto Monagas (1868-1870)
• Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1870-1877)
• Francisco Linares Alcántara (1877-1878)
• José Gregorio Varela (1878)
• Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1879-1884)
• Joaquín Crespo (1884-1886)
• Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1886-1887)
• Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl (1888-1890)
• Raimundo Andueza Palacio (1890-1892)
• Joaquín Crespo (1892-1898)
• Ignacio Andrade (1898-1899)
• Cipriano Castro (1899-1908)
• Juan Vicente Gómez (1908-1935)
• Eleazar López Contreras (1935-1941)
• Isaías Medina Angarita (1941-1945)
• Rómulo Betancourt (1945-1948)
• Rómulo Gallegos (1948)
• Carlos Delgado Chalbaud (1948-1950)
• Germán Suárez Flamerich (1950-1952)
• Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1952-1958)
• Wolfgang Larrazábal (1958-1959)
• Edgard Sanabria (1959)
• Rómulo Betancourt (1959-1964)
• Raúl Leoni (1964-1969)
• Rafael Caldera (1969-1974)
• Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974-1979)
• Luís Herrera Campíns (1979-1984)
• Jaime Lusinchi (1984-1989)
• Carlos Andrés Pérez (1989-1993)
• Rafael Caldera (1994-1999)
• Hugo Chávez Frías [1] (1999-

[1] Note: On April 12 2002 Chávez was temporarily overthrown by a military junta which placed Pedro Carmona Estanga in charge of the nation. Carmona was proptly forced to step down however, making Vice President Diosdado Cabello briefly president. Cabello in turn appointed Chavez as his Vice President, and prompty resigned.

See also: Politics of Venezuela | History of Venezuela | Venezuela | lists of incumbents

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Presidents of Venezuela."

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Politics of Senegal

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Senegal is a secular republic with a strong presidency, weak legislature, reasonably independent judiciary, and multiple political parties. Senegal is one of the few African states that has never experienced a coup d'etat. As noted above, power was transferred peacefully, if not altogether democratically, from Léopold Senghor to Diouf in 1981, and once again, this time in fully democratic elections, from Abdou Diouf to Abdoulaye Wade in March 2000.

The President is elected by universal adult suffrage to a 5-year term. The unicameral National Assembly has 120 members, who are elected separately from the President. The Socialist Party dominated the National Assembly until April 2001, when in free and fair legislative elections, President Wade's coalition won a majority (89 of 120 seats). The Cour de Cassation (Highest Appeals Court, equivalent to the U.S. Supreme Court) and the Constitutional Council, the justices of which are named by the President, are the nation's highest tribunals. Senegal is divided into 10 administrative regions, each headed by a governor appointed by and responsible to the President. The law on decentralization, which came into effect in January 1997, distributed significant central government authority to regional assemblies.

Senegal’s principal political party was for 40 years the Socialist Party (PS). Its domination of political life came to an end in March 2000, when Abdoulaye Wade, the leader of the Senegalese Democractic Party (PDS) and leader of the opposition for more than 25 years, won the presidency. Under the terms of the 2001 constitution, future presidents will serve for 5 years and be limited to two terms. Wade was the last President to be elected to a 7-year term.

President Wade has advanced a liberal agenda for Senegal, including privatizations and other market-opening measures. He has a strong interest in raising Senegal’s regional and international profile. The country, nevertheless, has limited means with which to implement ambitious ideas. The liberalization of the economy is proceeding, but at a slow pace. Senegal continues to play a significant role in regional and international organizations. President Wade has made excellent relations with the United States a high priority.

There are presently some 65 political parties, most of which are marginal and little more than platforms for their leaders. The principal political parties, however, constitute a true multiparty, democratic political culture, and they have contributed to one of the most successful democratic transitions in Africa, even among all developing countries. A flourishing independent media, largely free from official or informal control, also contributes to the democratic politics of Senegal. The country’s generally tolerant culture, largely free from ethnic or religious tensions, has provided a resilient base for democratic politics.

Country name:

Conventional long form: Republic of Senegal

Conventional short form: Senegal

Local long form: Republique du Senegal

Local short form: Senegal

'Data code: SG

Government type: Republic under multiparty democratic rule

Capital: Dakar

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor

Independence: 4 April 1960 from France; complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 (The Gambia and Senegal signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 (constituted February 1982) that called for the creation of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

Constitution: 3 March 1963, revised 1991

Legal system: Based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; Senegal has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

Chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since NA 2000)

Head of government: Prime Minister Niasse MOUSTAPHA (since NA 2000)

Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president

Elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 27 February 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2007); prime minister appointed by the president

Election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) NA%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) NA%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (140 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Elections: last held 24 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003)

Election results: percent of vote by party - PS 50%, PDS 19%, UDS-R 13%, And Jef 5%, LD-MPT 4%, CDP 2%, FSD 1%, PDS-R 1%, RND 1%, BGC 1%, PIT 1%, other 2%; seats by party - PS 93, PDS 23, UDS-R 11, And Jef 4, LD-MPT 3, CDP 1, FSD 1, PDS-R 1, RND 1, BGC 1, PIT 1

Judicial branch: under the terms of a reform of the judicial system implemented in 1992, the principal organs of the judiciary are as follows: Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals

Political parties and leaders:

• African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general];
• African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP];

• Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM];
• Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY];
• Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE];
• Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS];
• Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO];
• National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF];
• Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE];
• Senegalese Democratic Party-Renewal or PDS-R [Serigne Lamine DIOP, secretary general];
• Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal or UDS-R [Mamadou Puritain FALL];
• Socialist Party or PS [President Abdou DIOUF];
• Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA];
• other small parties

Political pressure groups and leaders: labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

See also : Senegal

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Politics of Senegal."

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President

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A President is the head of state of a republic. He or she may be elected by a popular vote of the people, by the legislature, by a special electoral college or by another means, including dictatorship.

Theodore Roosevelt
President of the United States
(1901-1909)

Only a tiny minority of modern republics do not have a head of state; examples include the systems used in Switzerland and San Marino. While the Swiss system has a President of the Confederation, the headship of state is actually collectively vested in the seven-member Swiss Federal Council. The President is a member of the Federal Council elected by the Swiss Federal Assembly (the Swiss Parliament) for a year; and the President is merely primus inter pares (first among equals). Nevertheless, on the international stage he or she is treated as head of state. Letters of Credence appointing ambassadors are formally addressed to him or her by other heads of state.

Presidential systems

In states with what is called a Presidential system of government, the President is also the head of government, as well as the head of state. Countries with such a system include the United States and most nations in South America. In this system the office of President is very powerful, both in practice and theory. In the United States, the President is indirectly elected by the U.S. Electoral College made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In most U.S. states, each elector is committed to voting for a specified candidate determined by the popular vote in each state, so that the people, in voting for each elector, is in effect voting for the candidate. However, in several close U.S. elections (notably 1876, 1888, 2000), while one candidate received the most popular votes, another candidate managed to win more electoral votes in the Electoral College and so win the presidency.

Parliamentary systems

Mary McAleese
President of Ireland
(1997- present)

Other states have what is called a Parliamentary system of government, in which the President is only head of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of government. Countries with such systems include India, Ireland and Italy. Under such a system, executive authority if often vested in the president, with the Government governing in his or her name. However a president may also possess some reserve powers.

In parliamentary systems, the president's role is usually primarily ceremonial. However, due the combination of constitutionally established "reserve powers," protocol (which may require them to formally chair cabinet meetings and/or have access to all cabinet memoranda), and his or her role as the person in whose name executive authority is vested, often gives the president a degree of informal influence not often publicly realised.

Semi-presidential systems

A third system is the semi-presidential system, also known as the French system, in which like the Parliamentary system there is both a President and a Prime Minister, but unlike the Parliamentary system the President has significant day-to-day power. When his party controls the majority of seats in the National Assembly the president can operate closely with the parliament and prime minister, and work towards a common agenda. When the National Assembly is controlled by opponents of the President however, the president can find himself marginalized with the opposition party prime minister exercising most of the power. Though the prime minister remains an appointee of the president, the president must obey the rules of parliament, and select a leader from the house's majority holding party. Thus, sometimes the president and PM can be friends, sometimes bitter rivals. This situation is known as cohabitation. The French semi-presidential system, which can be considered a hybrid between the first two, was developed at the beginning of the Fifth Republic by Charles de Gaulle. It is used (of course) in France, Russia, and several other post-colonial countries which have emulated the French model.

Charles de Gaulle
President of the Fifth French Republic
(1958-1969)

Between 1870 and 1940, and again from 1945 to 1958, France operated a classic parliamentary system of government, with power in a cabinet chosen by the National Assembly, and a largely though not totally symbolic president. In 1877, President MacMahon showed that his office was constitutionally significant when he dismissed the then prime minister before calling new elections, in the hope of achieving a royalist majority to restore the monarchy. (In earlier periods, France operated under systems of absolute monarchy (pre the 1789 revolution), constitutional monarchy (1815-1848), a presidential system (1848-52) and an empire (early 1800s to 1815; 1852-1870).

In dictatorships, the title is frequently taken by self-appointed and/or military-backed leaders. Such is the case in many African states; Idi Amin in Uganda, for example. Sometimes the title is even extended into the more presumptuous form of "president for life." In some communist states the head of the Communist party was also given the presidency, Fidel Castro in Cuba, Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union. On other occasions in the Soviet Union, the real power was exercised by the General Secretary of the Communist Party, with some local notable holding the presidency.

Presidential symbols

As the country's head of state, in most countries the president is entitled to certain symbolic honors, as well as luxury perks that come with the office. For example, most of the world's presidents have a special residence; often a lavish mansion or palace. The President of the United States for example resides in the famous White House.

As well as an official residence, in some nations the Presidency brings with it certain symbols of office, such as an official uniform, decorations, or other accessories. Perhaps the most common presidential symbol are the presidential sashes worn by the presidents of South America. In these countries, the sash is a symbol of the presidency's continuity, and presting the sash to the new president is a key part of the inauguration ceremony.

Non-Governmental Presidents

President is also used as a title in a number of non-governmental circumstances. The head of a university or non-profit corporation, particularly in the United States of America, is often known as president. President is also a title in many corporations. In some cases the president acts as chief operating officer under the direction of the chief executive officer.

see also: CEOs of major corporations

Presidential chronologies

Albania Algeria Angola Argentina Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile Colombia Comoros Ecuador European Commission Ethiopia Finland France Germany Guatemala Honduras Iceland India Indonesia

Ireland Iraq Italy Kenya Latvia Liberia Lithuania Mexico Nicaragua North Korea North Yemen Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Slovenia South Korea South Yemen Sri Lanka Swiss Confederation Tajikistan Turkey United States Uruguay Venezuela Yemen

Specific information

• President of Germany
• President of India
• President of Ireland
• President of Malta
• President of the People's Republic of China
• President of the Philippines
• President of the Republic of China
• President of the United States

Additional reading

The powers, functions and functioning of presidents were reviewed by six international experts for Australia's Republic Advisory Committee in 1993. Reports by among others Professor Klaus Von Beyme (on Germany), A.G Noorani (on India), Jim Duffy (on Ireland) and Sir Ellis Clarke (on Trinidad and Tobago) outline the role of various presidencies. The full report is called An Australian Republic: The Options - The Appendices (ISBN 0644325895)

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President."

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President (game)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

President (also known as "Asshole" or "The Great Dalmuti") (or even Scum) is a card game for 3 or more players in which the object is to get rid of all of one's cards. There are many different variations, but the basic principles remain the same. This game is usually a drinking game. Or, score can be kept, with the asshole being given a score a 0, the vice-asshole a score of 1, and so on until the president scores 1 less than the number of players. (If there are 5 players, the president scores 4.) The total score for all hands played determines the winner.

The game can be played with any number of players. Usually 1 standard deck of cards (optionally including 1 or more jokers) is used per six or seven players. All cards are dealt out. The order of cards, from highest to lowest, is Joker, 2, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Before each round of play there is a settlement of cards depending on the players' order of finish in the previous hand. The "President", or player who got rid of all of his cards earliest, receives a set number of cards (typically 1 or 2) from the player who was not able to get rid of all of his cards (typically called the "Asshole"). The President then gives the same number of cards back to the Asshole, potentially getting rid of weak cards (i.e. singles). There may be other card exchanges depending on the number of players in the game.

Play proceeds as follows: The "Asshole" plays first. (Variant: The "President" plays first, giving the "President" an additional advantage.) Play proceeds in clockwise order. Each player must play a higher card or card combination than the previous player. A player may elect not to play, even if he is able to. Cards can be played either singly or in pairs, triples, etc. A pair ranks higher than a single card, and a triple ranks higher than a pair, etc. A Joker is the highest card of all. There are usually special rules concerning the 2. Some play that a single 2 beats any pair (and a pair of 2s beats a triple), while some play that a single 2 beats only other singles. Some variations hold that the only cards that can beat a 2 are a pair or triple of 2s or the joker.

The play proceeds around the table. In some variations the play continues around the table until all players pass. In other variations each player plays once in a round. The last player to play to a round leads to the next round. The first player to get rid of all of his cards becomes the "President" for the next hand. After the President has been determined, the remaining players continue to determine "Vice-President", "Vice-Asshole" and "Asshole". (With more than 4 players, make up additional names for the middle players.) Normally, there is no scoring and no way to win the game, other than the general satisfaction of being "President" as much as possible. For those who insist on keeping score, the method indicated above is best.

On the first hand, there is no "President", and no cards are exchanged. The person with the lowest card (usually the 3 of clubs) leads.

Optional Rules

Skip Rule

When a card is played that matches the rank of the previously played card, the next player must pass. For example, if the ten of hearts is played on the ten of clubs, the next player must pass, even if he wished to play a jack. This rule also applies when a pair is played on a pair of the same rank.

The skip rule allows one unusual situation. If only 2 players remain, skipping a player ends the round. For example, a six has just been played by player B. Player A has two sixes and a seven. Player B has an eight. Player A may now play a six, forcing player B to skip. This ends the round. Player A may start the new round by playing another six. However, this does not cause player B to skip again, because the end of the previous round removed the six from the table. Notice that player A would have been able to avoid becoming Asshole if he could force player B to skip twice.

Poker Hands

In addition to playing pairs and triples, you are allowed to play a 5-card poker hand. This includes straight, flush, full house, etc.. When you play 4 of a kind, you must also play any 5th card to complete the hand.

Suit Ranks Count

Ordinarily, the suits do not matter. Optinally, suits rank in alphabetical order, same as in Bridge. Diamonds beats clubs, hearts beats diamonds, and spades beats hearts. So, the ten of spades may be played on the ten of diamonds, but the ten of clubs may not be played on the ten of diamonds. Of course, the jack of clubs may still be played on the ten of diamonds.

Change Seats After Every Round

After every round, the seating changes, based on the order of finish in the prior round. The "President" gets the most comfortable chair. The vice-President sits to his left, and so on, until the "Asshole" sits to the "President"'s right, in the least comfortable chair. Since the President plays first, this gives a slight advantage to the players seated to the President's left

Deal All The Cards

If the number of cards is not evenly divisible but the number of players, the lowest ranked players get the extra cards. For example, with 5 players and a 52 card deck, the "Asshole" and "vice-Asshole" get 11 cards, and the other 3 players get only 10 cards. Some players remove the odd cards from the deck.

Must Match Previous Type

If the last person played a single card, then all plays for the rest of the round must be a single card. For example, a pair of threes may not be played on a seven. Similarly, three fours may not be played on a pair of sixes. The player who starts a new round (after all other players pass) may play anything he chooses.

Twos Beat Everything

When you play a two, that beats any other hand, including a pair, three-of-a-kind, or poker hand. The person who played the two immediately wins the round and leads to the next round, playing anything he wishes.

Threes Hold, Twos Clear

In this variation, threes are the second-highest card and twos are the highest (this version is played without jokers). A single three "holds the pile" and can only be beaten with another single three or a single two. A pair of threes or a single two "clears the pile" and wins the round.

Social Rule (or Socialism)

When this rule is in effect, the round can instantly be won by "socialing." Socialing is the act of playing cards out of turn in order to create a four-of-a-kind on the table. The opportunity to social is lost if higher cards are played before the opportunity is taken. Here is an example: You have two sevens, and the last two people to play each put a single seven on the table. You may then play out of turn and plonk down your two sevens. (In some circles you would be required to yell "SOCIAL!" while doing this or else it wouldn't count.) If someone else played on top of the sevens before you had the chance to social, you wouldn't be able to do it. The 'special cards' (twos, threes, jokers, or whatever you are using) cannot be socialed. Leading with a four of a kind is an instant social, so a hand with a four-of-a-kind is a good thing to be dealt.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President (game)."

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President of Armenia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

There have been two Presidents of Armenia since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

• Levin Ter-Petrosian (1991-1998)
• Robert Kocharian (1998-to date)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Armenia."

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President of Estonia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Powers and Responsibilities

1. Election of the President of the Republic

An Estonian citizen by birth who has attained forty years of age may be nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic. The President of the Republic shall be elected for a term of five years. No one shall be elected to the office of President of the Republic for more than two consecutive terms. The right to nominate a candidate for President of the Republic rests with not less than one-fifth of the membership of the Riigikogu. According to Section 79 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, the President of the Republic shall be elected by the Riigikogu by secret ballot. Each member of the Riigikogu shall have one vote. A candidate in favour of whom a two-thirds majority of the membership of the Riigikogu votes shall be considered elected. If no candidate receives the required majority, a new round of voting shall be held on the next day. Before the second round of voting, a new nomination of candidates shall be held. If no candidate receives the required majority in the second round of voting, a third round of voting shall be held on the same day between the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes in the second round. If the President of the Republic is still not elected in the third round of voting, the Chairman of the Riigikogu shall, within one month, convene an electoral body to elect the President of the Republic. The electoral body shall be comprised of members of the Riigikogu and representatives of the local government councils. Each local government council shall elect at least one representative, who must be an Estonian citizen, to the electoral body. The Riigikogu shall present the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes in the Riigikogu to the electoral body as candidates for President. The right to nominate a candidate for President also rests with not less than twenty-one members of the electoral body. The electoral body shall elect the President of the Republic by a majority of the voting electoral body members. If no candidate is elected in the first round, a second round of voting shall be held on the same day between the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes. The specific procedure for the election of the President of the Republic is established by the President of the Republic Election Act.

2. Assuming office, legal status, and termination of powers

The beginning and expiry of the powers of the President of the Republic shall be established by The President of the Republic Rules of Procedure Act. The President of the Republic shall assume office by swearing the following oath of office at the Riigikogu:

"In assuming the office of President of the Republic, I (given name and surname), solemnly swear to steadfastly defend the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Estonia, to exercise the power entrusted to me in a just and impartial manner, and to faithfully perform my duties with all of my abilities and to the best of my understanding, for the benefit of the people of Estonia and the Republic of Estonia."

Upon assuming office, the authority and duties of the President of the Republic in all elected and appointed offices shall terminate, and he or she shall suspend his membership in political parties for the duration of his term of office.

The President of the Republic enjoys immunity in accordance with Section 85 of the Constitution. Criminal charges may be brought against the President of the Republic only on the proposal of the Legal Chancellor, and with the consent of the majority of the membership of the Riigikogu. This issue is more specifically regulated by the Institution of Court Proceedings against the President of the Republic and Members of the Government Act. The powers of the President of the Republic shall be suspended when criminal charges are brought against him.

The powers of the President of the Republic shall terminate upon his resignation from office (not applicable during a state of emergency or a state of war), the entry into force of a conviction by a court against him or her, his or her death, and the assumption of office of the new President of the Republic.

If the President of the Republic is incapable of performing his duties for an extended period as decided by the Supreme Court, or if he or she is temporarily unable to perform them as in cases specified in the President of the Republic Rules of Procedure Act, his powers shall be suspended. In such cases, his or her duties shall temporarily be transferred to the Chairman of the Riigikogu. During the time when the Chairman of the Riigikogu is performing the duties of the President of the Republic, his powers as a member of the Riigikogu shall be suspended. The Chairman of the Riigikogu, acting as President of the Republic, has a more restricted competence, as he does not have the right, without the consent of the Supreme Court, to declare extraordinary elections to the Riigikogu or to refuse to proclaim laws. If the President of the Republic is unable to perform his official duties for longer than three consecutive months, or if his powers terminate prematurely, the Riigikogu shall elect a new President of the Republic within fourteen days.

3. Powers of the President of the Republic

The powers of the President of the Republic as the Head of State are established in Section 78 of the Constitution and more specifically in the President of the Republic Working Procedures Act and other specific laws.

3.1. Powers and responsibilities in international relations

The President of the Republic represents the Republic of Estonia in international relations. Proceeding from the fact that the Government of the Republic organises relations with other states, the President of the Republic co-ordinates his activities with the Government. The President of the Republic has both active and passive right of embassy. He or she shall appoint and recall diplomatic agents of the Republic of Estonia, on the proposal of the Government of the Republic, and receive the credentials of diplomatic agents accredited to Estonia. In concluding international treaties, it is the competence of the President of the Republic to ratify or denounce treaties, i.e. to sign them after they have been approved by the Riigikogu. According to Section 121 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, such treaties are those, which alter state boundaries; the implementation of which requires the passage, amendment or repeal of Estonian laws; those by which the Republic of Estonia joins international organisations or unions; those by which the Republic of Estonia assumes military or proprietary obligations; and those in which ratification is prescribed. The President’s sole competence in foreign relations is declaring a state of war and proceeding therefrom, also the end of the war, in the case of aggression against Estonia, as well as making the proposal to the Riigikogu to declare a state of war, to order mobilisation or demobilisation, and a state of emergency.

On the proposal of the Government of the Republic the President confers diplomatic ranks that are conferred for life.

The President’s role, as well as his relations with other constitutional institutions are set down more specifically in the Foreign Relations Act and the Foreign Service Act.

3.2. The President’s Role in Domestic Affairs

3.2.1. Powers in National Defence

President of the Republic is the supreme commander of national defence. He has the specific task to make the proposal to the Riigikogu to declare a state of war, mobilisation and demobilisation, as well as to end the state of war. In enacting his competence in national defence, the President is assisted by the National Defence Council, which acts as an advisory body to the President and consists, as provided by law, of the Chairman of the Riigikogu, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Commander (in wartime the Commander-in-Chief) of the defence forces. The President of the Republic shall, on the proposal of the Government of the Republic and the Commander of the defence forces, appoint and release from office the leadership of the defence forces consisting of the Commander of the General Staff of the Defence Forces, the commander of the Defence League and the commanders of air, land and naval forces. The President of the Republic as the Supreme Commander of the defence forces shall, on the proposal of the Commander of the defence forces, issue orders for conferring officers’ ranks and for the substitution of the Commander of the defence forces. The competence of the President of the Republic in the field of national defence shall be specified by the Peacetime National Defence Act, the Wartime National Defence Act, and the Emergencies Act.

3.2.2. Responsibilities in regard to the Riigikogu

The President and the Riigikogu are connected by several formal and substantive powers of the President. The President of the Republic declares the regular elections to the Riigikogu, convenes and opens the first session of the new membership of the Riigikogu. The President has the right to convene additional and extraordinary sessions of the Riigikogu in cases as stated by law. In cases provided in the Constitution, the President of the Republic shall dissolve the Riigikogu and declare the extraordinary elections of the Riigikogu. The President of the Republic shall declare the extraordinary elections of the Riigikogu after the Prime Minister candidate designated by the President has two times failed to form a government, and the Riigikogu has presented its own candidate, who has in his turn failed to present his government membership to the President. The President shall also declare extraordinary elections to the Riigikogu if a referendum initiated by the Riigikogu does not receive a majority of votes in favour. The powers of the Riigikogu terminate prematurely also if the Riigikogu has not passed the state budget within two months after the beginning of the budgetary year; also in this case the President of the Republic shall declare extraordinary elections to the Riigikogu. The third reason for terminating the powers of the Riigikogu differs from the first two, as here the President of the Republic has to decide whether to declare the extraordinary elections of the Riigikogu or not. The President may declare extraordinary elections also in case of the expression of no confidence in the Government of the Republic or the Prime Minister by the Riigikogu. The relations between the President and the Riigikogu are specified in The Riigikogu Procedure Act.

3.2.3. Responsibilities in regard to the Government of the Republic

President of the Republic designates the Prime Minister candidate, to whom he assigns the task of forming the Government. The Prime Minister candidate, who has been authorised by the Riigikogu to form the Government, presents the membership of the government to the president of the Republic, who shall appoint the government to office. The President shall make changes to the appointed membership of the Government of the Republic i.e. release and appoint ministers, on the proposal of the Prime Minister.

The relations between the Government of the Republic and the President of the Republic are specified in the Government of the Republic Act.

3.2.4. Responsibility in regard to legislation

The President of the Republic shall proclaim the laws passed in the Riigikogu. This is the sole competence of the President of the Republic in which no other constitutional institution is involved. The President of the Republic may also refuse to proclaim a law passed by the Riigikogu and return it together with his reasoned resolution to the Riigikogu for a new debate and decision. The President has the right to control both the provisions of substantive and procedural law. If the Riigikogu again passes the law, which is returned to it by the President of the Republic, unamended, the President of the Republic shall proclaim the law or shall propose to the Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court declares the law constitutional, the President of the Republic shall proclaim the law. During the term of office of the VII and the VIII Riigikogu the President of the Republic has refused to proclaim 35 laws, and turned to the Supreme Court on 8 cases. The Supreme Court decided in favour of the Head of State on 7 cases. During the working period of the IX membership of the Riigikogu, the President of the Republic has refused to proclaim 6 laws.

If the Riigikogu is unable to convene in a situation of emergency, the President of the Republic may, in matters of urgent state need, issue decrees which have the force of law, and which shall bear the counter-signatures of the Chairman of the Riigikogu and the Prime Minister. These decrees can not be used to amend the Constitution or the so-called constitutional laws (see Section 104 of the Constitution). The Riigikogu shall pass a law for the confirmation or repeal of these decrees on the next meeting. Thus, the decrees are a specific measure for maintaining governmental order, and in this case the President is acting as the guarantor of the rule of law in the state.

According to the Constitution, President of the Republic does not have the right to initiate laws, with the exception of amendments of the Constitution.

3.2.5 Powers to appoint and release public servants

The Head of State designates the Prime Minister Candidate, whom the Riigikogu shall authorise to form the Government of the Republic. He or she appoints and releases members of the Government on the proposal of the Prime Minister, the President of the Bank of Estonia on the proposal of the Board of the Bank of Estonia, county and city justices, administrative justices and circuit justices (i.e. the justices of I and II level) on the proposal of the Supreme Court, and the leadership of the defence forces on the proposal of the Government and the Commander of the defence forces. Being appointed by the President gives certain social respect to the public servant, enables control over the legality of the appointment, and provides the appointment with more publicity and gives a sense of stability to the public servant. The President shall make proposals to the Riigikogu for the appointment of the following senior public servants: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Estonia, Auditor General, Legal Chancellor, and Commander or (in wartime) Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces. The appointment and release of public servants is executed in accordance with the procedures established by the President of the Republic Working Procedures Act.

3.2.6. Responsibilities regarding decorations

Conferring state decorations is the sole competence of the President of the Republic, and he is assisted by the Committee of Decorations as an advisory body. It is a common practice in the world that the Head of State confers state decorations. The state decorations of the Republic of Estonia, as well as the procedures for applying for decorations and conferring decorations are provided by the Decorations Act.

3.2.7. The President’s right of clemency

The President has the sole right to release or grant commutation to convicted offenders at their request by way of clemency. Clemency presumes that the court has already pronounced the convicting sentence and the individual in question has been transferred to the hands of executive bodies for the enactment of penalty. It is an international tradition that the Head of State may use his free will to enact justice after the court has guaranteed the enactment of law.

3.2.8. Criminal charges against the Legal Chancellor

The President makes the proposal to bring criminal charges against the legal chancellor. The President shall make the proposal to the Riigikogu on the application of the public prosecutor. He or she has the right to study the documents relevant to the case. The President’s role is provided in the Bringing Criminal Charges against a Member of the Riigikogu, Auditor General, Legal Chancellor, Chairman of the Supreme Court and a Member of the Supreme Court Act.

4. Benefits related to the President’s office

The benefits related to the office of the President of the Republic are the President’s salary and other advantages of the individual who has been elected President. The benefits related to the office are provided by the Benefits Related to the Office of the President of the Republic Act.

The President’s salary rate equals the double of the highest salary rate in the public servants’ salary scale, which is established annually by the State budget. In 1999, the respective rate was 12,500 EEK and the President’s salary thus 25,000 EEK. Besides that, the President receives representation allowance to cover his representational costs, in the amount of 20% of his salary.

During his term as the President of the Republic, the President has the right to use the official apartment, the office car and chauffeur services. He is entitled to a holiday of 35 days a year. The President himself shall decide the time and duration of his holiday. The President’s salary is maintained during the holiday. During his term of office as the President, he or she is protected by police (a security service).

After the termination of his powers as the President, the President shall receive a pension in the amount of 75% of the current rate of the President’ salary. If the President has completely lost the capacity for work during his powers as the President, the pension shall be increased by 25%. In case of the President’s death, also his family members incapacitated for work and his spouse are entitled to survivor’s pension. The pension of the President’s family member is one quarter of the President’s pension. After the termination of his powers as the President, the President is entitled to office space (the rent and stationary expenses shall be paid by the State), to a secretary at his disposal, to a single benefit in the amount of his one year’s salary and to the office car and chauffeur services. If necessary, the Prime Minister shall arrange protection for him.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Estonia."

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President of Finland

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of Finland is the Head of State in Finland. The office was created in 1919. The president is elected for the term of six years. Since 1994, no president may be in office for more than two consecutive terms.

After Finland's independence and the Civil War in Finland the matter of republic or constitutional monarchy was much debated (see Väinö I of Finland), and the outcome was a compromise: a rather monarchy-like, strong presidency with great powers over Finland's foreign affairs and appointment of cabinet and officers of the civil service. The constitution was changed in year 2000, to distribute some of this power to the parliament and the cabinet. The new constitution specifies how principles of Parliamentarism are to be followed (which Finland's presidents have done since 1937 anyway).

Between 1919 and 1987, the president was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In the 1987 presidential election, a direct and an indirect election were conducted in parallel: if no candidate would gain majority, the president was elected by an electoral college formed in the same elections. Since then, presidential elections have been two-staged: if no candidate wins majority in the first stage, the top two candidates rerun in the second stage.

There have been several exceptional presidential elections. The first president (Ståhlberg) was chosen by the parliament due to the transition rule of the constitution. In 1940 and 1943, the 1937 electoral college chose the president, as it was felt that a popular election could not be arranged due to war. In 1946 and 1973 the parliament appointed the president under special laws.

In the first years of Finland's independence Finland had two regents and an elected king, although the latter renounced the throne:

• Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, regent (May-December 1918)
• Väinö I of Finland, renounced the throne after Germany's defeat in World War I
• Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, regent (December 1918-July 1919)

List of Presidents of Finland

• Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg (1919-1925)
• Lauri Kristian Relander (1925-1931)
• Pehr Evind Svinhufvud (1931-1937)
• Kyösti Kallio (1937-1940)
• Risto Ryti (1940-1944)
• Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1944-1946)
• Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1946-1956)
• Urho Kekkonen (1956-1982)
• Mauno Koivisto (1982-1994)
• Martti Ahtisaari (1994-2000)
• Tarja Halonen (2000--)

External links

• Official site
• The Constitution of Finland

See also

• Prime Minister of Finland
• Politics of Finland
• Parliament of Finland
• Government of Finland
• Elections in Finland
• Political parties in Finland
• Lists of incumbents

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Finland."

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President of France

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of France is France's elected Head of State, currently Jacques Chirac.

Presidential attributions

Unlike many other European presidents, the office of the French President is quite a powerful one, especially in matters of foreign policy. However, it is the prime minister and his gouvernement that run the country.

Current constitutional attributions

The constitutional attributions of the president are defined in Title II of the Constitution of France.

Article 5 The President of the Republic shall see that the Constitution is observed. He shall ensure, by his arbitration, the proper functioning of the public authorities and the continuity of the State. He shall be the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity and observance of treaties.

Article 8 The President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister. He shall terminate the appointment of the Prime Minister when the latter tenders the resignation of the Government. On the proposal of the Prime Minister, he shall appoint the other members of the Government and terminate their appointments.

Article 9 The President of the Republic shall preside over the Council of Ministers.

Article 10 The President of the Republic shall promulgate Acts of Parliament within fifteen days following the final adoption of an Act and its transmission to the Government. He may, before the expiry of this time limit, ask Parliament to reconsider the Act or sections of the Act. Reconsideration shall not be refused.

Article 11 [the president may submit laws to the citizens in a referendum]

Article 12 The President of the Republic may, after consulting the Prime Minister and the Presidents of the assemblies, declare the National Assembly dissolved. A general election shall take place not less than twenty days and not more than forty days after the dissolution. The National Assembly shall convene as of right on the second Thursday following its election. Should it so convene outside the period prescribed for the ordinary session, a session shall be called by right for a fifteen-day period. No further dissolution shall take place within a year following this election.

Article 13 The President of the Republic shall sign the ordinances and decrees deliberated upon in the Council of Ministers. He shall make appointments to the civil and military posts of the State. [...]

Article 14 The President of the Republic shall accredit ambassadors and envoys extraordinary to foreign powers ; foreign ambassadors and envoys extraordinary shall be accredited to him.

Article 15 The President of the Republic shall be commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He shall preside over the higher national defence councils and committees.

Article 16 Where the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the Nation, the integrity of its territory or the fulfilment of its international commitments are under serious and immediate threat, and where the proper functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted, the President of the Republic shall take the measures required by these circumstances, after formally consulting the Prime Minister, the Presidents of the assemblies and the Constitutional Council. He shall inform the Nation of these measures in a message. The measures must stem from the desire to provide the constitutional public authorities, in the shortest possible time, with the means to carry out their duties. The Constitutional Council shall be consulted with regard to such measures. Parliament shall convene as of right. The National Assembly shall not be dissolved during the exercise of the emergency powers.

Article 16 has been used only once, by Charles de Gaulle during the Algerian War, from April 23 to au September 29, 1961.

Article 17 The President of the Republic has the right to grant pardon.

Article 18 The President of the Republic shall communicate with the two assemblies of Parliament by means of messages, which he shall cause to be read and which shall not be the occasion for any debate. Outside sessions, Parliament shall be convened especially for this purpose.

Since 1875, the President is prohibited from entering the houses of Parliament.

Article 19 Acts of the President of the Republic, other than those provided for under articles 8 (first paragraph), 11, 12, 16, 18, 54, 56 and 61, shall be countersigned by the Prime Minister and, where required, by the appropriate ministers.

The fluctuating power of the French presidency

The position of France's presidents has grown and reduced in importance depending on the French constitution in place. Under the Second Republic the President possessed considerable power. Under the Third Republic France adopted a classic parliamentary system of government, with a weak presidency akin to a constitutional monarch. Though with somewhat different powers, the President under the Fourth Republic was also a weak, marginalised figure.

One of the major critics of that system was General Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French during the German occupation in World War II who had urged the creation of a stronger presidency in the drafting of the Fourth Republic's constitution. De Gaulle's vision was reflected in the constitution of the Fifth Republic, which provided a classic dyarchy, with a strong president and a Prime Minister answerable to both parliament in the President (see semi-presidential system). Where the President's party controls the French National Assembly, he is the dominant political figure, controlling what is in effect his government. Where however the opposition control parliament, the President is forced to choose a prime minister from, or acceptable to, the opposition, leading to the sharing of power, a process known as cohabitation. Usually that involves the opposition-orientated prime minister and government dealing with the internal governance of France, without major policy involvement from the President. In turn the government give the President considerable freedom to represent France on the international stage, shaping foreign policy, with both the President and Prime Minister representing France at European Council meetings.

The changing fortune of presidents is reflected in their role with the Council of Ministers. All presidents since the Second Republic (1848-1852) have chaired the Council of Ministers. In most of the Republics, the Council operated as little more than a rubber stamp, to which decisions taken by ministers at separate extra-constitutional cabinet meetings chaired by the Prime Ministers were taken for formal adoption. Under the Fourth Republic the informal cabinet was given constitutional status as the Cabinet Council. However under the Fifth Republic, Council of Ministers' meetings under the President's chairmanship became the main and real formulator of governmental policy and not just a technical rubber stamp for decisions taken elsewhere.

Other information

The official residence and office of the president is the Élysée Palace in Paris. Other presidential residences include:

• the Fort de Bregançon, in southeastern France, is the current official presidential vacationing residence;
• the Hôtel de Marigny; standing next to the Élysée Palace, it houses foreign official guests;
• the Château de Rambouillet is normally open to visitors when not used for (rare) official meetings;
• the Domaine National de Marly is normally open to visitors when not used for (rare) official meetings;
• the Domaine de Souzy-la-Briche, not a historical monument, is a private residence.

Presidents of France are de jure Co-Prince of Andorra.

Presidents of France

The list below follows on from List of French monarchs.

• Second Republic
  • Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, (1848-1852)

• Third Republic
  • Adolphe Thiers, 1871-1873 (Thiers became president before the adoption of the Constitution of 1875 so his constitutional position was different to later presidents.)
  • Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta, 1873-1879
  • Jules Grévy, 1879-1887
  • Marie François Sadi Carnot, 1887-1894
  • Jean Casimir-Périer, 1894-1895
  • Félix Faure, 1895-1899
  • Émile Loubet, 1899-1906
  • Armand Fallières, 1906-1913
  • Raymond Poincaré, 1913-1920
  • Paul Deschanel, February 18 1920 - September 21 1920
  • Alexandre Millerand, 1920-1924
  • Gaston Doumergue, 1924-1931
  • Paul Doumer, 1931-1932
  • Albert Lebrun, 1932-1940

• Vichy France
  • Henri Philippe Pétain, 1940-1944 ("Head of State", not President)

• Free France
  • Charles de Gaulle, 1940-1944 ("Head of the Free French", not President)

• Provisional Government of the Republic ("Head of the Provisional Government", not President)
  • Charles de Gaulle, 1944-1946
  • Félix Gouin, Georges Bidault and Léon Blum, 1946-1947

• Fourth Republic
  • Vincent Auriol, 1947-1954
  • René Coty, 1954-1959

• Fifth Republic
  • Charles de Gaulle, 1959-1969
  • Georges Pompidou, 1969-1974
  • Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 1974-1981
  • François Mitterrand, 1981-1995
  • Jacques Chirac, from 1995

Presidential elections results

French presidential election, 2002

Election results, first ballot (April 21, 2002):
Registered voters : 41 194 689
Number of voters : 29 495 733
Valid votes : 28 498 471

• Jacques Chirac 19.88%
• Jean-Marie Le Pen 16.86%
• Lionel Jospin 16.18%
• François Bayrou 6.84%
• Arlette Laguiller 5.72%
• Jean-Pierre Chevenement 5.33%
• Noël Mamere 5.25%
• Olivier Besancenot 4.25%
• Jean Saint-Josse 4.23%
• Alain Madelin 3.91%
• Robert Hue 3.37%
• Bruno Megret 2.34%
• Christine Taubira 2.32%
• Christine Boutin 1.19%
• Corinne Lepage 1.88%
• Daniel Gluckstein 0.47%

Election results, second ballot :

• Jacques Chirac (RPR) 82.21%
• Jean-Marie Le Pen (FN) 17.71%

See also : Politics of France, List of French prime ministers, List of Foreign Ministers of France

External link

• Web page of the President

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of France."

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President of Georgia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

• 1991-1992 Zviad Gamsakhurdia
• 1992-1995 Presidency abolished, Eduard Shevardnadze was appointed acting chairman of the Georgian state council
• November 1995 Presidency restored.
• 1995-23 November 2003 Eduard Shevardnadze
• 24 November 2003 Nino Burdzhanadze as interim president.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Georgia."

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President of Germany

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident) is the head of state of the Federal Republic of Germany. The office today is largely ceremonial, and to prevent the problems that occurred with the Weimar Republic, the Basic Law carefully limits the President's power.

Description

In international relations, the president's duties include signing treaties, representing Germany abroad, and receiving foreign dignitaries. In the domestic sphere, the president has largely ceremonial functions. Although this official signs legislation into law, grants pardons, and appoints federal judges, federal civil servants, and military officers, each of these actions requires the countersignature of the chancellor or the relevant cabinet minister. The president formally proposes to the Bundestag a chancellor candidate and formally appoints the chancellor's cabinet members, but the president follows the choice of the Bundestag in the first case and of the chancellor in the second. If the government loses a simple no-confidence vote, the president dissolves the Bundestag, but here, too, the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) limits the president's ability to act independently. In the event of a national crisis, the emergency law reforms of 1968 designate the president as a mediator who can declare a state of emergency.

There is disagreement about whether the president, in fact, has greater powers than the above description would suggest. Some argue that nothing in the Basic Law suggests that a president must follow government directives. For instance, the president could refuse to sign legislation, thus vetoing it, or refuse to approve certain cabinet appointments. As of mid-2003, no president had ever taken such action, and thus the constitutionality of these points had never been tested.

The president is selected by secret ballot at a Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) that includes all Bundestag members and an equal number of delegates chosen by the Land legislatures. This assemblage, which totals more than 1,000 people, is convened every five years. It may select a president for a second, but not a third, five-year term. The authors of the Basic Law preferred this indirect form of presidential election because they believed it would produce a head of state who was widely acceptable and insulated from popular pressure, while at the same time not giving the President the popular legitimacy which could be used to attack other institutions. Candidates for the presidency must be at least forty years old.

The Basic Law did not create an office of vice president. If the president is outside the country or if the position is vacant, the president of the Bundesrat fills in as the temporary head of state. If the president dies in office, a successor is elected within thirty days. As with many other provisions of the Basic Law, this provision was drafted in response to a weakness in the Weimar Constitution in which the Chancellor would act as President in his absence. This allowed Adolf Hitler to combine the two offices.

Usually one of the senior leaders of the largest party in the Bundestag, the president nonetheless is expected to be nonpartisan after assuming office. Although the formal powers of the president are limited, the president's role can be quite significant depending on his or her own activities.

History

During the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), the Reichspräsident was elected by popular vote and intended to be a figurehead. However, in the later years of the republic, the difficulty in creating a workable parliamentary majority allowed President Paul von Hindenburg to rule by decree, bypassing both the Chancellor and the Reichstag (parliament).

In 1934, after the death of Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, who had previously been appointed Reichskanzler (Chancellor) by Hindenburg on January 30, 1933, solidified his hold on power by merging the offices of Chancellor and President to form a new office called Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Reich Chancellor; see Gleichschaltung). After Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, days before World War II formally ended in Germany, the office was briefly held by Karl Doenitz, who surrendered Germany to the Allies on May 5.

Office holders

Weimar Republic

1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert

1925-1934 Paul von Hindenburg

Nazi Era

1934-1945 Adolf Hitler

1945 Karl Doenitz

Federal Republic of Germany

1949 Karl Arnold (Acting)

1949-1959 Theodor Heuss

1959-1969 Heinrich Lübke

1969-1974 Gustav Heinemann

1974-1979 Walter Scheel

1979-1984 Karl Carstens

1984-1994 Richard von Weizsäcker

1994-1999 Roman Herzog

1999- Johannes Rau

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Germany."

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President of Guatemala

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1851, when that title was assumed by José Rafael Carrera, who had been acting as head of government as general and Caudillo since 1840. Earlier, Guatemala had been a state within the United Provinces of Central America since 1823, before that part of the Mexican Empire under Augustin de Iturbide, and before 1821 ruled by the Captain General of Guatemala, a Spanish colonial official owing allegence to the Viceroy of New Spain and the King of Spain, back to the Spanish conquest of the region in the early 16th century.

The title of "President of Guatemala" has been used by democratically elected leaders, appointed heads of state, and leaders who took power by military coup.

List of Presidents of Guatemala

• José Rafael Carrera Turcios - 6 November, 1851 - 14 April, 1865
• Pedro de Aycinena y Piñol - 14 April, 1865 - 24 May 1865
• Vicente Cerna Sandoval - 24 May 1865 - 29 June, 1871
• Miguel García Granados Zavala - 29 June 1871 - 4 June, 1873
• Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón - 4 June, 1873 - 2 April, 1885
• Alejandro M. Sinibaldi - 2 April 1885 - 5 April 1885
• Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián - 6 April, 1885 - 15 March,1892
• José María Reina Barrios - 15 March 1892 - 8 February 1898
• Manuel José Estrada Cabrera - 8 February 1898 - 15 April 1920
• Carlos Herrera y Luna - 15 April 1920 - 10 December 1921
• José María Orellana Pinto - 10 December 1921 - 26 September 1926
• Lázaro Chacón González - 26 September, 1926 - 2 January, 1931
• José María Reina Andrade 2 January 1931 - 14 February 1931
• Jorge Ubico y Castañeda - 14 February, 1931 - 4 July, 1944
• Juan Federico Ponce Vaides - 4 July 1944 - 20 October 1944

(From 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945 Guatemala was governed by a military Junta consisting of Francisco Javier Arana, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, and Jorge Toriello Garrido)

• Juan José Arévalo Bermejo - 15 March 1945 - 15 March 1951
• Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán - 15 March 1951 - 27 June 1954
• Carlos Enrique Díaz de León - 27 June 1954 - 28 June 1954

(From 29 June 1954 to 8 July 1954 Guatemala was run by a Junta headed by General Elfego Hernán Monzón Aguirre; from then until 26 July 1957 by a Junta headed by Carlos Castillo Armas)

• Luis Arturo González López - 27 July 1957 - 24 October 1957

(From 24 October 1957 to 26 October 1957 Guatemala was ruled by a military Junta headed by Óscar Mendoza Azurdia)

• Guillermo Flores Avendaño - 27 October 1957 - 2 March 1958
• José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuentes - 2 March 1958 - 31 March 1963
• Alfredo Enrique Peralta Azurdia - 31 March 1963 - 1 July 1966
• Julio César Méndez Montenegro - 1 July 1966 - 1 July 1970
• Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio - 1 July 1970 - 1 July 1974
• Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García - 1 July 1974 - 1 July 1978
• Fernando Romeo Lucas García - 1 July 1978 - 23 March 1982
• José Efraín Ríos Montt - 23 March 1982 - 8 August 1983
• Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores - 8 August 1983 - 14 January 1986
• Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo - 14 January 1986 - 14 January 1991
• Jorge Antonio Serrano Elías - 14 January 1991 - 31 May 1993
• Gustavo Adolfo Espina Salguero - 1 June 1993 - 5 June 1993
• Ramiro de León Carpio - 6 June 1993 - 14 January 1996
• Álvaro Enrique Arzú Irigoyen - 14 January 1996 - 14 January 2000
• Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera - 14 January 2000 -

The presidential election of 9 November, 2003 produced no candidate getting a majority of votes; top vote getters Óscar Berger and Alvaro Colom will face each other in a run-off election on 28 December.

See also: History of Guatemala

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Guatemala."

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President of India

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of India is the ceremonial head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The current President of India is Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Article 52 of the Constitution of India provides for a President of India. "There shall be a President of India". Article 53 states that executive power of the Union shall vest in the President, who shall exercise directly or through officers under him, this power in accordance with the Constitution. This provision is similar to the provision under Article II of the US Constitution. A remarkable feature under the Indian constitution could be seen under Article 53 whereby parliament has the authority to confer powers and functions exercised by the president to any other authority. Unlike 22nd amendment to US Constitution Indian President could be elected for any number of terms. the Constitution requires that the President must be a citizen of India but it is not a condition that he must be born citizen. In fact Indian president is a part of the Parliament (Article 79) and literally a nominal head of state. Although the Constitution explicitly says that the president is the executive head of the state but this real executive power is exercised by the council of ministers and Prime minister at the helm of it. This has to be inferred from Article 74 of the Indian Constitution ".. council of ministers to aid and advise the President who shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advise".

The President is elected whenever the office becomes vacant by an electoral college consisting of:

• Members of both Houses of Parliament
• Members of the Unicameral Legislature or the Lower House of the Bicameral Legislature of each State

Each elector casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total votes cast by Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states. Finally, the number of legislators in a state matters; if a state has a few legislators, then each legislator has relatively more votes; if a state has many legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes. The actual calculation for votes cast is as follows: First, determine the population of a certain State. Then, divide the population by one thousand. Finally, divide this quotient again by the number of legislators from the State voting in the electoral college. This number is the number of votes per legislator in a given state. For votes cast by those in Parliament, determine the total number of votes cast by all state legislators. Then, divide the sum by the number of members of both Houses of Parliament. This is the number of votes per member of either house of Parliament. (Note that India's electoral college is provided by law, not by the Constitution)

The constitution also provides the mechanism for the impeachment of the President (Article 61) for the violation of the Constitution. The place of the president is peculiar in the Indian governmental setup. His functions are to be exercised in accordance with the aid and advice of the council of ministers but powers are to be exercised by the President however the rider in favour of parliament vides Article 53 of the Constitution. The president of India swears before entering the office of the president that he shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution (Article 60) which provides for an executive head of state who is nominal or ceremonial. The Indian Constitution must be seen as a purveyor of a system of governance where a mixture of presidential and parliamentary systems could be located.

Governors General of India after independence

Louis Mountbatten,   Earl Mountbatten of Burma	1947-08-15 to 1948-06-21
Chhakravarthi Rajagopalachari)	1948-06-21 to 1950-01-26

Presidents of India

Dr. Rajendra Prasad	1950-01-26 to 1962-05-13
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan	1962-05-13 to 1967-05-13
Dr. Zakir Hussain	1967-05-13 to 1969-05-03
V.V.Giri (acting)	1969-05-03 to 1969-07-20
Muhammad Hidayat Ullah (acting)	1969-07-20 to 1969-08-24
V.V.Giri	1969-08-24 to 1974-08-24
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed	1974-08-24 to 1977-02-11
Basappa Danappa Jatti (acting)	1977-02-11 to 1977-07-25
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	1977-07-25 to 1982-07-25
Giani Zail Singh	1982-07-25 to 1987-07-25
Ramaswamy Venkataraman	1987-07-25 to 1992-07-25
Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma	1992-07-25 to 1997-07-25
K. R. Narayanan	1997-07-25 to 2002-07-25
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam	2002-07-25 to present

External link

• Indian Parliament & constitution

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of India."

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President of Iran

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, Iran has been a republic. However, unlike most republics, Iran's head of state is not the president, but rather the Supreme Leader, who is a religous figure chosen by a council of Islamic clerics.

Iran still has a president, however and in recent years this once figurehead post has become a position of significant government influence, especially since the election of reformist president Mohammad Khatami in 1997.

The President of Iran was once appointed directly by the Supreme Leader and the council of clerics, but is now elected in a national election. There remain some obstacles to the election being truly democratic however. Only candidates and parties approved by the council are permitted to run.

When the President dies or is impeached a special provisional Presidential Council temporarily rules in his place until an election can be held.

Iran's Presidents

• Abolhassan Bani-Sadr- President from January 1980 to his impeachment in June of 1981.

• Mohammad Ali Rajai- elected president om August 2, 1981 in the wake of Bani-Sadr's impeachment. Assasinated by socialist opposition group on August 30 of the same year.

• Ali Khamenei- elected president in October, 1981. Re-elected in 1985.

• Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani- elected president in August of 1989 re-elected twice, served until January 1997.

• Mohammad Khatami- elected president in August of 1997. First reformist to hold office.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Iran."

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President of Ireland

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of Ireland is the Irish head of state. The office was created in Bunreacht na hÉireann, the 1937 constitution of Éire. The office is open to every Irish citizen aged 35 and over. Though the constitution uses the male terms 'he' and 'him', the office can be held by either gender; of the eight presidents to date, six were men, and two women. Given the language of the constitution, this article uses 'he' or 'him' when quoting to the constitution, and 'she' elsewhere, to match the gender of the current president, Mary McAleese.

Presidents of Ireland

President	Lifetime	Term of office	Party
Dr. Douglas Hyde	1860-1949	1937-'45	Multi-party nomination
Sean T. O'Kelly	1882-1966	1945-'59	Fianna Fáil
Eamon de Valera	1882-1975	1959-'73	Fianna Fáil
Erskine Hamilton Childers	1905-1974	1973-'74	Fianna Fáil
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh	1911-1978	1974-'76	Fianna Fáil
Dr. Patrick Hillery	1923-	1976-'90	Fianna Fáil
Mary Robinson	1944-	1990-'97	Labour
Mary McAleese	1951-	1997-	Fianna Fáil

Presidential Powers

The President, in Irish 'an tUachtarán' (pronounced 'on t-ook-tar-on'), has a largely ceremonial role with relatively little real political power. Among her major powers (most unused) are

• The right, after consultation with the Council of State, to refer a Bill (other than a Money Bill or a Bill to amend the Constitution) to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality;

(This is the most widely used presidential power.)

• The right, after consultation with the Council of State, to set up a Committee on Privileges to solve a dispute between the two houses of the Oireachtas (parliament) over whether a Bill is a Money Bill;

(This power has never been used.)

• The right, after consultation with the Council of State, to impose time-limits on the period during which Seanad Éireann can discuss a Bill.

(This power has never been used)

• The right, after consultation with the Council of State, to decline to sign a Bill into law (other than a Money Bill, a Bill whose time for discussion in the Senate has been limited by the President, or a Bill to amend the Constitution) until it has been approved by the people in either a (a) referendum, or a (b) general election, held within eight months;

(This power has never been used.)

• The right, after consultation with the Council of State and having had the text approved en bloc by the Government, to address, or send a message to, either or both Houses of the Oireachtas;

(This power has been used 4 times; by President de Valera once,

President Robinson twice and President McAleese once.)

• The right, after consultation with the Council of State and having had the text approved en bloc by the Government, to address, or send a message to, the Nation;

(This power has not been used.)

• The right to refuse a Dáil dissolution to a Taoiseach who has "ceased to retain the support of a majority" in Dáil Éireann. (In such an event, another constitutional article requires the Taoiseach to submit his resignation immediately.)

(This power has not been used, but has been considered for use in 1944, 1982 (twice) and 1994.)

Selecting the President

The President is formally elected by the citizens of Ireland every seven years (or when a vacancy occurs). Candidates can be nominated by

• Twenty TDs and/or Senators
• Four local authorities
• Themselves, if they are the current or former president who has served only one term.

Where only one candidate is nominated, he or she is deemed elected without the need for a ballot.

Presidential Elections

Presidentials elections (victors in italics) [Note: The years link up to sites on the various Irish presidential elections]

1938 - 1 candidate

Douglas Hyde ( Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael agreed candidate -

elected unopposed)

1945 - 3 candidates

Sean T. O'Kelly (Fianna Fáil)

Sean MacEoin (Fine Gael);

Patrick MacCartan (independent)

1952 - 1 candidate

President O'Kelly (own nomination - elected unopposed)

1959 - 2 candidates

Eamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil);

Sean MacEoin (Fine Gael)

1966 - 2 candidates

President de Valera (Fianna Fáil);

Tom O'Higgins (Fine Gael)

1973 - 2 candidates

Erskine Hamilton Childers (Fianna Fáil);

Tom O'Higgins (Fine Gael)

1974 - 1 candidate

Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (agreed FF, FG and Labour party

candidate- elected unopposed - replacing the late President Childers)

1976 - 1 candidate

Patrick Hillery (Fianna Fáil - replaced

President Ó Dálaigh, who had resigned)

1983 - 1 candidate

President Hillery (own nomination - elected unopposed)

1990 - 3 candidates

Brian Lenihan (Fianna Fáil);

Austin Currie (Fine Gael);

Mary Robinson (Labour)

1997 - 5 candidates:

Mary McAleese (Fianna Fáil);

Mary Banotti (Fine Gael);

Adi Roche (Labour);

Dana Rosemary Scallon (independent);

Derek Nally (independent).

(President Robinson had resigned the presidency one month early

to become United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.)

See List of Presidents of Ireland

Presidential Residence

The residence of the President of Ireland is the ninety-two room Áras an Uachtaráin, (pronounced 'Or-us an ook-tar-on' , the gaelic for the President's house) in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. The building formerly served as the 'out of season' residence of the Irish Lord Lieutenant and the residence of two of the three Governors-General, Tim Healy and James McNeill.

The President's Address & Style

The President is formally addressed as: 'President' (not 'Mr/Madam President', as in the United States) or Uachtarán (the Irish language version). Sometimes people use the version 'Your Excellency'.

The President's style is normally 'Her Excellency''.

The Presidential Oath

Article 12.8 of Bunreacht na hÉireann states that: ''The President shall enter upon his office by taking and subscribing publicly, in the presence of members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, of Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court, and other public personages, the following declaration:

As Gaeilge I láthair Dia na nUilechumhacht, táimse á ghealladh agus á dhearbhú go sollúnta is go fírinneach bheith i mo thaca agus i mo dhidín do Bhunreacht Éireann, agus dlíthe a chaomhnú, mo dhualgais a chomhlíonadh go dilís coinsiasach de réir an Bhunreacht is an dlí, agus mo lándícheall a dhéanamh ar son leasa is fónaimh mhuintir na hÉireann. Dia do mo stiúradh agus do mo chumhdach.

In English In the presence of Almighty God I do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will maintain the Constitution of Ireland and uphold its laws, that I will fulfil my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and the welfare of the people of Ireland. May God direct and sustain me.

The Presidential Anthem

The Irish presidential anthem is taken from the Irish National Anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann (in english, the Soldier's Song) and involves playing the first two and last two lines of the anthem.

Problems over the term 'President of Ireland'

The original version of Bunreacht na hÉireann as adopted in 1937, in its controversial Articles 2 and 3, mentioned two geopolitical entities, a thirty-two county 'National Territory' (i.e., the island of Ireland) and a twenty-six county 'state' formerly known as the Irish Free State. (These Articles have since been changed!) The implication behind the title 'President of Ireland' was that the President would function as the head of all Ireland. However this implication was challenged by the Ulster Unionists and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which was the state internationally acknowledged as governing Northern Ireland, a fact enshrined in the Better Government of Ireland Act, 1920, which created Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, the latter of which became the Irish Free State in 1922, Éire in 1937 and the Republic of Ireland in 1949.

Ireland in turn challenged the proclamation by the British parliament of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 as 'queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government of the Republic of Ireland refused to attend royal functions as a result; for example, President Hillery (1976-90) declined on Government advice to attend the wedding of the Prince of Wales to the late Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, to which he had been invited by Queen Elizabeth, while President Sean T. Ó Ceallaigh declined on government advice to attend the Coronation Garden Party at the British Embassy in 1953. Britain in turn insisted on referring to the President as 'President of the Republic of Ireland' or 'President of the Irish Republic.' Letters of Credence from Queen Elizabeth, on Her Majesty's Government's advice, appointing United Kingdom ambassadors to Ireland were not addressed to the 'President of Ireland' but to the president personally (e.g., 'President Hillery'.)

This dispute has largely been forgotten in recent years. President Robinson (1990-97) chose unilaterally to break the taboo by regularly visiting Britain for public functions, frequently to do with Anglo-Irish Relations or to visit the Irish emigrant community in Britain. In another breaking of precedent, she was invited to Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II. Interestingly, the Palace accreditation supplied to journalists covering the history-making visit referred to the visit of the President of Ireland. In recent times, both Presidents Robinson and her successor Mary McAleese (1997- ) have visited the Palace on numerous occasions, while the Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Earl of Wessex and Duke of Edinburgh have all visited successive presidents of Ireland in Áras an Uachtaráin (the presidential palace). Presidents have also have attended functions with the Princess Royal. Her Majesty the Queen and Her Excellency the President even jointly hosted a reception in St. James's Palace in London in 1995, to commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Queen's Colleges in 1850. (The Queen's Colleges are now known as Queen's University, Belfast, the National University of Ireland, Cork (formerly University College, Cork) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (formerly University College, Galway).)

Though the president's title implicitly claimed authority in Northern Ireland, in reality the Irish President needed government permission to visit Northern Ireland, it being treated as a 'foreign visit.' (The Irish state in Article 3 explicitly stated that its authority was limited to the twenty-six counties and did not apply to the six counties of Northern Ireland. Presidents up to the presidency of Mary Robinson (1990-97) were regularly refused permission by the Government of the Republic of Ireland to visit Northern Ireland.)

Since the 1990s under President Robinson, but in particular since the Good Friday Agreement the current president, Mary McAleese, who is herself the first President of Ireland from Northern Ireland, regularly visits the six counties. In a sign of the warmth of the modern Anglo-Irish Relationship, she has been warmly welcomed by leading Unionists. At the funeral for a child murdered by the Real IRA in Omagh she symbolically walked up the main aisle of the Roman Catholic Church hand-in-hand with the Ulster Unionist leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland, David Trimble, MP. Similarly when Queen Elizabeth II visited the Stormont Parliament Buildings on a trip to Northern Ireland as part of her Golden Jubilee Tour in 2002, and spoke of the sense of Irish identity of Northern nationalists, Sinn Féin chose not to launch any public pickets or protests, stating that the Queen, as a symbol cherished by unionists, was entitled to visit.

As a result of the repeal of Articles 2 and 3 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, though technically Mary McAleese's title is 'President of Ireland', in reality she is strictly speaking the 'President of the Republic of Ireland.

Who was the Irish Head of State between 1937 and 1949?

Before the adoption of the 1937 constitution the Irish Free State had the British monarch also as its monarch and head of state. In exercising their role in Ireland, in particular from the end of the 1920s, Kings George V, Edward VIII and George VI were unambiguously doing so as King of Ireland, with no role whatsoever for the British state, British government, British Crown or even from 1931 the British Great Seal of the Realm which the Irish replaced with their own Seal (on which the Irish King appeared with the harp and the words 'Saorstát Éireann)'. The person who wore the Irish and British Crowns may have been the same, but in law they were different entities, as shown when from 1931 not merely did British ministers not have to be present at meetings between Irish ministers and the King, they were barred from attendance, to their fury.

It is a matter of considerable historical, legal and political debate as to who was Irish head of state between 1936/7 and 1949. For the functions normally performed by a head of state were spread over three different elements by the new constitution and statute law; the President of Ireland, the King of Ireland (an office created by the Royal Titles Act) and the Government of Ireland. The President was the state's 'first citizen.' Executive authority, which in most constitutional systems is vested in the head of state, in Bunreacht na hÉireann is vested in the Government, while the role of representing the Irish state abroad (signing treaties, accrediting ambassadors, receiving credentials from ambassadors to Ireland, etc) was exercised by the King of Ireland under Section 3 of the External Relations Act, 1936.

Generally, the latter function, of representing the state in international diplomacy, is presumed to be the key defining characteristic of a head of state. As a result, almost every state with which Éire (as Ireland is formally described in Article 4 of Bunreacht na hÉireann) had diplomatic relations with between 1937 and 1949 concluded that the Irish head of state was the man proclaimed King of Ireland in December 1936, King George VI. This view was echoed by then taoiseach John A. Costello in a debate in Seanad Éireann (the Irish senate) in December 1948, where he stressed the fact that the Republic of Ireland Act he was introducing would make Irish head of state the man who ought to have been but wasn't, the President of Ireland. Until the Republic of Ireland came into force in April 1949, the President of Ireland had no international role, and such an inferior status that he never dared set foot outside the state. The fact that he was now clearly and unambiguously the Irish head of state was celebrated by President Ó Ceallaigh by visits to the Holy See and France. A visit to meet King George in Buckingham Palace was also provisionally planned, but timetabling problems with the President's schedule prevented the meeting.

On balance, the weight of evidence would suggest that King George VI, as King of Ireland, remained on as Irish head of state until 1949, when the key international representional role previously performed by the King was vested instead in the President of Ireland under the Republic of Ireland Act, 1948.

See also

Republic of Ireland, Éire, Irish Republic, President of Dáil Éireann, President of the Republic, Áras an Uachtaráin, Amhrán na bhFiann, Governor-General of the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland Elizabeth II, Eamon de Valera, Irish Free State, King of Ireland Irish presidential election, 2004

External Link

Áras an Uachtaráin website

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Ireland."

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President of Israel

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of the State of Israel has a largely ceremonial role. The President has few powers and is elected to a seven-year term by a simple majority of the Knesset. A president cannot be re-elected to a second term. Until recently, the president was elected for a five-year term, and was allowed to serve up to two terms in office.

• Chaim Weizmann 1949-1952
• Itzhak Ben-Zvi 1952-1963
• Zalman Shazar 1963-1973
• Ephraim Katzir 1973-1978
• Yitzhak Navon 1978-1983
• Chaim Herzog 1983-1993
• Ezer Weizmann 1993-2000
• Moshe Katsav since 2000

External link

• Site of the President of Israel (English)
• Site of the President of Israel (Main Page)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Israel."

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President of Malta

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Sir Anthony Mamo

The office of the President of Malta, known in Maltese as President ta' Malta, came into being on 13th December 1974, when Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth. The last Governor-General, Sir Anthony Mamo, became the first President of the Republic, and replaced Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. He served as President until 1976.

Like the British monarch, however, the President of Malta is a constitutional head of state, with executive power remaining with the Prime Minister. The President is elected by the unicameral House of Representatives, known in Maltese as Kamra tar-Rappreżentanti. The first woman to hold the post of President was the late Agatha Barbara, a former Labour government minister. The current President is Guido de Marco.

President's Flag

President's Flag 1988-

Until 1988, there was no flag for the President of Malta, who instead used the national flag, but in that year a new flag was introduced, with the coat of arms on a blue field, and a traditional Maltese cross in gold in each corner.

List of Presidents

• 1974-1976: Anthony Mamo (born 1909)
• 1976-1981: Anton Buttigieg (1912-1983)
• 1981-1982: Acting President Albert Hyzler
• 1982-1987: Agatha Barbara (1923-2002)
• 1987-1989: Acting President Paul Xuereb (1923-1994)
• 1989-1994: Censu Tabone (born 1913)
• 1994-1999: Ugo Mifsud Bonnici (born 1932)
• From 1999: Guido de Marco (born 1931)

External link

• President of Malta

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Malta."

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President of Russia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Presidents of Russia

• Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999)
• Vladimir Putin¹ (1999-

See also: Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR

[1] Vladimir Putin was the acting president after Yeltsin's resignation, and in 2000, he was elected President of Russia.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Russia."

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President of Singapore

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of Singapore is the head of state, being elected by universal suffrage since 1993. Previously, the President was elected by the unicameral Parliament, with executive power remaining with the Prime Minister. The President's official residence is called the Istana.

The office of President was created in 1965 after Singapore became a Republic on its departure from the Federation of Malaysia in that year. It replaced the office of Yang di-Pertua Negara, which had been created when Singapoe gained self-government in 1959. The last Yang di-Pertua Negara, Yusuf Ishak, became the first President. He was replaced by Benjamin Sheares, who served as President until his death in 1981, when he was succeeded by CV Devan Nair. Owing to personal problems, Nair stepped down in 1985 and was replaced by Wee Kim Wee, who served as President until 1993. In 1992, the Constitution was amended to allow for the direct election of the President, who would have the right of veto over civil service appointments and the use of government reserves. The first directly elected President was Ong Teng Cheong, a former government minister.

The incumbent President is SR Nathan.

List of presidents

1. 1965-1970: Yusuf Ishak (1910-1970)
2. 1970-1981: Benjamin Sheares (1907-1981)
3. 1981-1985: CV Devan Nair (born 1923)
4. 1985-1993: Wee Kim Wee (born 1915)
5. 1993-1999: Ong Teng Cheong (1936-2002)
6. From 1999: SR Nathan (born 1924)

External link

• Office of the President of the Republic of Singapore

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of Singapore."

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President of South Africa

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans.

The President is elected by members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, usually being the leader of the largest party, which has been the African National Congress since the first non-racial elections were held of April 27, 1994. The first President to be elected under the new Constitution was Nelson Mandela, who was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki in 1999.

Under the interim Constitution, there was a Government of National Unity, in which the last State President, F.W De Klerk served as Deputy President, along with Mbeki, but he later resigned and went into opposition.

See also

• List of Presidents of South Africa
• State President
• List of Prime Ministers of South Africa

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of South Africa."

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President of the Continental Congress

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of the Continental Congress was the leader of the Continental Congress elected by the delegates to the congress. The office was replaced with the President of the United States in Congress Assembled after the adoption of the Articles of Confederation.

The following men served as the President of the Continental Congress:

1. Peyton Randolph (September 5, 1774 - October 21, 1774)
2. Henry Middleton (October 22, 1774 - May 10, 1775)
3. Peyton Randolph (May 10, 1775 - May 23, 1775) (same as #1)
4. John Hancock (May 24, 1775 - October 30, 1777)
5. Henry Laurens (November 1, 1777 - December 9, 1778)
6. John Jay (December 10, 1778 - September 27, 1779)
7. Samuel Huntington (September 28, 1779 - February 28, 1781)

Samuel Huntington was the last President of the Continental Congress by virtue of the fact that the Articles of Confederation were ratified on March 1, 1781 under his watch. Thus, he became the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled under the newly ratified Articles.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of the Continental Congress."

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President of the European Commission

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Presidents of the High Authority of the ECSC (prior to entry into force of Merger Treaty of 1967)

• Jean Monnet (France, 1952-1955)

Presidents of the European Commission

• Walter Hallstein (West Germany, 1958-1967), 1st President
• Jean Ray (Belgium, 1967-1970)
• Franco Maria Malfatti (Italy, 1970-1972)
• Sicco L. Mansholt (Netherlands, 1972-1972)
• Francois-Xavier Ortoli (France, 1973-1976)
• Roy Jenkins (United Kingdom, 1977-1980)
• Gaston Edmont Thorn (Luxembourg, 1981-1984)
• Jacques Delors (France, 1985-1995)
• Jacques Santer (Luxembourg, 1994-1999), resigned
• Romano Prodi (Italy, 1999-)

The President of the Commission is currently given to one of the Commissioners, by the European Council

Under the new European constitution, the President of the Commission will be elected by the European Council, subject to a veto by the European Parliament.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of the European Commission."

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President of the People's Republic of China

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President (国家主席 Gúojiā Zhŭxí) is the head of state of the People's Republic of China. The office was created by the 1982 Constitution. Formally, the President is elected by the National People's Congress in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution. In practice, who is President is determined after negotiations among the top leaders of the Communist Party of China.

The term President is the official translation for the term zhuxi (主席 zhŭxí) instead of the term zongtong (总统 zŏng tŏng) which is the usual translation for the term President. More confusingly zhuxi is usually translated Chairman in other contexts. The reason for the confusing translation was that the authors of the 1982 constitution considered the term zongtong to be too bourgeois while the English term Chairman had too many associations with Mao Zedong or was too informal.

The President and the State

Since the early 1990s, the President has generally be responsible for establishing general policy and direction for the state and leaves responsibility for the implementation details to the Premier of the People's Republic of China. In marked contrast to the system of the Soviet Union when the President was a powerless figurehead, the Chinese Presidency has grown be a quite powerful position.

The President and the Party

Also since the 1990s, it has been general practice for the President to also serve as the General Secretary of the Communist Party.

It is key for the general secretary to seal his power by adding the presidency to his powerful collection of titles. This effectively removes any power tension between the top communist leader and the Head of State.

The President and the Military

The relationship between the President and the military is a bit more murky. The potential for conflict is lessened when as during the Jiang era, the President is also chairman of the state Central Military Commission. However, there is a source of potential conflict when this is not the case as the situation in 2003 when top communist leader Hu Jintao was elected President without being elected the CMC. In addition, most of the members of both the Party and the State Central Military Commission are uniformed senior general which gives the People's Liberation Army a some degree of autonomy, which however is limited by the existence of political officers.

In principle, when the President is also party general secretary, he could order the Party Central Military Commission to order the state Central Military Commission to do something, however how this would work in a crisis in unclear.

There have been proposals to constitutionally change the system of command to form a National Security Council which is modelled after the National Security Council of the United States which would give the President undisputed command of the military which would then be just another ministry. These proposals are currently not being actively discussed because of opposition from senior generals and because such acts would be seen as a political attack against the Chairman of the CMC, Jiang Zemin.

The History of the Presidency

Originally, in the constitution of 1954, the President (or Chairman) of the PRC was intended to be very powerful. Serving both as the Head of State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The president had special powers to call upon emergency meetings during a crisis or concerns of national security. This was not a problem during Mao Zedong's tenure as Head of State due to the fact that he concurrently served as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. However, when Liu Shaoqi was President, it was evident in that the presidency was little more than a figurehead. The most notorious example of the disregard for the position was shown during the Cultural Revolution when President Liu Shaoqi was arrested and humiliated by the Red Guards.

During the period from 1969-1982, the presidency was abolished mainly due to the arrest of the President Liu Shaoqi. The duties associated with the Head of State were passed to the Chairman of the National People's Congress. The exact reason why Mao Zedong refused to reinstate the presidency was unclear, however it is now known that Mao did not want his political struggle with Liu Shaoqi to be remembered as his attempt to claim the title of the presidency for himself. During the early 1980s, it became clearer that China needed a person to serve as the Head of State. Song Qingling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen and former vice-chairwoman of PRC, was named to be the Honorary President of the PRC before the passage of the constitution of 1982.

In the constitution of 1982, the President was conceived of as a figurehead head of state with actual state power resting in the hands of the Premier of the People's Republic of China and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China both of which were conceived of as being separate people. In the original (1982 constitution) plan, the Party would develop policy, the state would execute it, and the power would be divided to prevent a cult of personality from forming as it did with the case of Mao Zedong.

Subsequent events caused the office to have much larger powers than was originally intended. In 1989, the President Yang Shangkun was able in cooperation with the then head of the Central Military Commission Deng Xiaoping to use the office of the President to declare martial law in Beijing and order the military crackdown of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. This was in direct opposition to the wishes of the Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang and probably a majority of the Politburo Standing Committee.

In the 1990s, the experiment of separating party and state posts was cancelled, and in 1992, the post of President was taken by Jiang Zemin who as General Secretary and chief of the Central Military Commission has continued to make the office of the President a powerful position.

Chairmen of the People's Republic of China

1. Mao Zedong (1954 - 1959)
2. Liu Shaoqi (1959 - 1969)¹

Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress²

1. Zhu De (1975 - 1976)³
2. Ye Jianying (1978 - 1983)

Presidents of the People's Republic of China

1. Li Xiannian (1983 - 1988)
2. Yang Shangkun (1988 - 1993)
3. Jiang Zemin (1993 - 2003)
4. Hu Jintao (since 2003)

Notes

1. No successor of Liu Shaoqi was selected, so vice-chairman Dong Biwu acted as head of the State (alone from 1969-1972, together with vice-chairwoman Song Qingling from 1972-1975).
2. The position of Chairman was officially abolished in 1975 and the functions of head of State were formally transmitted to the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
3. From July 6, 1976 to March 5, 1978 the position remained vacant. The 20 vice chairmen of the Standing Committee of the NPC collectively executed the duties of head of state.

See also

• Politics of China
• President of the Republic of China
• Political position ranking of PRC

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of the People's Republic of China."

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President of the Philippines

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President is the head of state and of the government of the Republic of the Philippines. The president heads the Executive branch of the government, which includes the Cabinet, and is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

According to the current constitution (1987), the President must be at least 40 years of age, a Filipino citizen by birth, and is a resident of the Philippines for the past 10 years prior to election. The Filipinos directly elect the president who wins on a plurality vote. The president serves a term of six years and may no longer run for re-election, unless he/she becomes president through constitutional succession and have served for no more than 4 years as president.

The Presidents

The Philippines has had a total of fourteen presidents. Despite the differences in constitutions and government, the line of presidents is considered to be continuous. For instance, the current president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is considered the 14th president.

While Filipinos consider Aguinaldo to be the first president, he is not internationally recognized because the First Republic fell under the United States following the Philippine-American War. Manuel L. Quezon is considered to be the first president (and the first to win an election—Aguinaldo was appointed) in international diplomatic circles.

First Republic

• Emilio Aguinaldo

Commonwealth of the Philippines

• Manuel L. Quezon
• Sergio Osmeña

Second Republic (under Japan)

• Jose Laurel

Third Republic

• Manuel Roxas
• Elpidio Quirino
• Ramon Magsaysay
• Carlos P. Garcia
• Diosdado Macapagal
• Ferdinand Marcos
• Corazon Aquino
• Fidel V. Ramos
• Joseph Ejercito Estrada
• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

External Links

• Office of the President of the Philippines
• Official Government Portal of the Philippines

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of the Philippines."

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President of the Republic of China

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of the Republic of China (中華民國總統) is the head of state of the Republic of China, the government which administered Mainland China from 1912 to 1949 and has administered Taiwan and several outlying islands from 1945 until the present. The President of the ROC is now commonly referred to as -- technically incorrect -- the "President of Taiwan" (台灣總統).

The President is currently selected by a first past the post direct election of the areas administered by the Republic of China (i.e., Taiwan province, and Kinmen and Lienchiang counties of Fujian province) for a term of four years. Before 1991, the President was selected by the National Assembly of the Republic of China for a term of seven years.

Until the 1980s power in the Republic of China was personalized rather than institutionalized which meant that the power of the President depended largely on who occupied the office. For example, during the tenure of Yen Chia-kan, the office was largely ceremonial with real power in the hands of the Premier of the Republic of China, Chiang Ching-Kuo, and power shifted back to the presidency when Chiang became President.

After 2000, and the election of Chen Shui-bian to the Presidency, the Presidency and the Legislative Yuan were controlled by different parties which brought forth a number of latent constitutional issues such as the role of the legislature in appointing and dismissing a Premier, the right of the President to call a special session of the legislature, and who has the power to call a referendum. Most of these issues have been resolved through inter-party negotiations.

List of Presidents

List of Presidents

Name	Alignment	Start	End	Remark
Provisional Constitution
Sun Yat-Sen	KMT	1912	1913	Provisional government
Yuan Shikai		1913	1915	Declared himself Emperor in 1915, d. 1916
Warlord Government in Beijing¹
Li Yuan-Hung		1916	1917
Feng Kuo-Chang		1917	1918
Hsu Shih-Chang		1918	1922
Li Yuan-Hung		1922	1923
Tsao Kun		1923	1924
Tuan Chi-Jui		1924	1926
Chang Tso-Lin		1926	1928
Rival Government in Guangzhou
Sun Yat-Sen	KMT	1921	1925
Chairman of National Government (Chinese Civil War)²
Chiang Kai-Shek	KMT	1928	1932
Lin Sen	KMT	1932	1943
Chiang Kai-Shek	KMT	1943	1947
Constitution of 1947
Chiang Kai-Shek³	KMT	1947	1975
Yen Chia-kan	KMT	1975	1978
Chiang Ching-kuo	KMT	1978	1988
Lee Teng-hui	KMT	1988	2000	First Popular Election (1996)
Chen Shui-bian	DPP	2000	Present
(1) Warlord government and Yuan Shikai government after the 1913 Second revolution are regarded as illegitimate by the ROC.
(2) Chiang Kai-shek assumed role of "Commander-in-chief" from 1925-1928.
(3) Li Tsung-jen assumed role of "Acting President" following Chiang Kai-shek's resignation in January 1949, but Chiang reassumed presidency after the retreat to Taiwan in December 1949.

Elections

• ROC presidential election, 1996
• ROC presidential election, 2000
• ROC presidential election, 2004

External links

• Office of the President of the ROC

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of the Republic of China."

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President of the United States

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The head of state of the United States is called the President, who also serves the functions of chief executive and commander in chief of the armed forces. By current law, the U.S. president serves a four-year term and may only be re-elected once, as a result of the twenty-second amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

As the most powerful person in the United States, a democratic republic and currently the world's only superpower, the President is sometimes referred to as "the leader of the free world," though this designation was more common during the Cold War. In slang, the President of the United States is sometimes called by the acronym POTUS. The wife of the President is traditionally referred to as the First Lady.

Presidential powers

George Washington
1st President
(1789-1797)

The office of president of the United States is one of the most powerful offices of its kind in the world. The president, the Constitution says, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, the president presides over the executive branch of the federal government — a vast organization numbering about 4 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel. In addition, the president has important legislative and judicial powers.

Presidential executive powers

Within the executive branch itself, the president has broad powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government. The president can issue rules, regulations, and instructions called executive orders, which have the binding force of law upon federal agencies but do not require congressional approval. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, the president may also call into federal service the state units of the National Guard. In times of war or national emergency, the Congress may grant the president even broader powers to manage the national economy and protect the security of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln
16th President
(1861-1865)

The president nominates — and the Senate confirms — the heads of all executive departments and agencies, together with hundreds of other high-ranking federal officials. (See United States Cabinet, Executive Office of the President.) In 2003, more than 3000 executive agency positions were subject to presidential appointment, with more than 1200 requiring Senate approval. The large majority of federal workers, however, are selected through the Civil Service system, in which appointment and promotion are based on ability and experience.

The President is also responsible for preparing the budget of the United States, although the Congress must approve it. (See Office of Management and Budget)

Presidential legislative powers

Despite the constitutional provision that "all legislative powers" shall be vested in the Congress, the president, as the chief formulator of public policy, has a major legislative role. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress and, unless two-thirds of the members of each house vote to override the veto, the bill does not become law.

Much of the legislation dealt with by Congress is drafted at the initiative of the executive branch. In annual and special messages to Congress, the president may propose legislation he believes is necessary. The most important of these is the annual State of the Union Address traditionally given in January. Before a joint session of Congress, the President outlines the status of the country and his legislative proposals for the upcoming year. If Congress should adjourn without acting on those proposals, the president has the power to call it into special session. But beyond this official role, the president, as head of a political party and as principal executive officer of the U.S. government, is primarily in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress.

Theodore Roosevelt
26th President
(1901-1909)

To improve their working relationships with Congress, presidents in recent years have set up a Congressional Liaison Office in the White House. Presidential aides keep abreast of all important legislative activities and try to persuade senators and representatives of both parties to support administration policies.

Presidential judicial powers

Among the president's constitutional powers is that of appointing important public officials. Presidential nomination of federal judges, including members of the Supreme Court, is subject to confirmation by the Senate. Another significant power is that of granting a full or conditional pardon to anyone convicted of breaking a federal law — except in a case of impeachment. The pardoning power has come to embrace the power to shorten prison terms and reduce fines.

Presidential powers in foreign affairs

Under the Constitution, the president is the federal official primarily responsible for the relations of the United States with foreign nations. The president appoints ambassadors, ministers, and consuls — subject to confirmation by the Senate — and receives foreign ambassadors and other public officials. With the secretary of state, the president manages all official contacts with foreign governments. On occasion, the president may personally participate in summit conferences where chiefs of state meet for direct consultation. Thus, President Woodrow Wilson headed the American delegation to the Paris conference at the end of World War I; President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Allied leaders during World War II; and every president since then has sat down with world leaders to discuss economic and political issues and to reach bilateral and multilateral agreements.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd President
(1933-1945)

Through the Department of State, the president is responsible for the protection of Americans abroad and of foreign nationals in the United States. The president decides whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiate treaties with other nations, which become binding on the United States when approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The president may also negotiate "executive agreements" with foreign powers that are not subject to Senate confirmation.

Constraints on Presidential power

Because of the vast array of presidential roles and responsibilities, coupled with a conspicuous presence on the national and international scene, political analysts have tended to place great emphasis on the president's powers. Some have even spoken of "the imperial presidency," referring to the expanded role of the office that Franklin D. Roosevelt maintained during his term.

One of the first sobering realities a new president discovers is an inherited bureaucratic structure that can be difficult to manage and slow to change direction. The president's power to appoint extends only to some 3,000 people out of a civilian government work force of about 3 million.

John F. Kennedy
35th President
(1961-1963)

The president finds that the machinery of government (the civil service) often operates independently of presidential interventions, has done so through earlier administrations, and will continue to do so in the future. New presidents are immediately confronted with a backlog of decisions from the outgoing administration. They inherit a budget formulated and enacted into law long before they came to office, as well as major spending programs (such as veterans' benefits, Social Security payments, and Medicare health insurance for the elderly), which are mandated by law. In foreign affairs, presidents must conform with treaties and informal agreements negotiated by their predecessors in office.

As the happy euphoria of the post-election "honeymoon" dissipates, the new president discovers that Congress has become less cooperative and the media more critical. The president is forced to build at least temporary alliances among diverse, often antagonistic interests — economic, geographic, ethnic, and ideological. Compromises with Congress must be struck if any legislation is to be adopted. "It is very easy to defeat a bill in Congress," lamented President John F. Kennedy. "It is much more difficult to pass one."

Despite these constraints, every president achieves at least some of his legislative goals and prevents by veto the enactment of other laws he believes not to be in the nation's best interests. The president's authority in the conduct of war and peace, including the negotiation of treaties, is substantial. Moreover, the president can use his unique position to articulate ideas and advocate policies, which then have a better chance of entering the public consciousness than those held by his political rivals. President Theodore Roosevelt called this aspect of the presidency "the bully pulpit," for when a president raises an issue, it inevitably becomes subject to public debate. A president's power and influence may be limited, but they are also greater than those of any other American, in or out of office.

Though constrained by various other laws passed by Congress, the President's executive branch conducts most foreign policy, and his power to order and direct troops as commander-in-chief is quite significant. (The exact limits of what a President can do with the military without Congressional authorization are open to debate.)

Requirements to hold office

Article 2, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution sets the requirements one must meet in order to become President:

1. A natural-born citizen of the United States
2. Thirty-five years of age
3. Resident of the United States for 14 years.

Succession

There is a well-defined sequence of who should fill the Presidential office, upon the death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and subsequent conviction) of a sitting President:

1. the Vice President of the United States
2. the Speaker of the House of Representatives
3. the President pro tempore of the United States Senate.

This list is only partial. See the entire United States Presidential line of succession. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified to define how the President is deemed incapable of discharging his powers and duties and when the Vice President becomes Acting President.

Presidents of the United States

1. George Washington (1789-1797) (no political party)
2. John Adams (1797-1801) Federalist
3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Democratic-Republican
4. James Madison (1809-1817) Democratic-Republican
5. James Monroe (1817-1825) Democratic-Republican
6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) Democratic-Republican
7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) Democrat
8. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) Democrat
9. William Henry Harrison (1841) Whig
10. John Tyler (1841-1845) Whig (Democrat on Whig ticket)
11. James Knox Polk (1845-1849) Democrat
12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) Whig
13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) Whig
14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) Democrat
15. James Buchanan (1857-1861) Democrat
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Republican
17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Republican (Democrat on Republican ticket)
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant (1869-1877) Republican
19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-1881) Republican
20. James Abram Garfield (1881) Republican
21. Chester Alan Arthur (1881-1885) Republican
22. (Stephen) Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) Democrat
23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) Republican
24. (Stephen) Grover Cleveland (1893-1897) Democrat (same as #22)
25. William McKinley (1897-1901) Republican
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) Republican
27. William Howard Taft (1909-1913) Republican
28. (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) Democrat
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-1923) Republican
30. (John) Calvin Coolidge, Jr (1923-1929) Republican
31. Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-1933) Republican
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945) Democrat
33. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) Democrat
34. Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-1961) Republican
35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963) Democrat
36. Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969) Democrat
37. Richard Milhous Nixon (1969-1974) Republican
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr (1974-1977) Republican
39. James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, Jr (1977-1981) Democrat
40. Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-1989) Republican
41. George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993) Republican
42. William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001) Democrat
43. George Walker Bush (2001-present) Republican

Timeline

• John Tyler was the first president born after the American Revolution and was thus the first president who was not born as a subject of Britain.
• Millard Fillmore was the first president born in the 19th Century.
• Warren Harding was the first president born after the American Civil War
• John F. Kennedy was the first president born in the 20th Century.
• Jimmy Carter was the first president born after the First World War
• Bill Clinton was the first president born after the Second World War

Former Presidents

After a President leaves office, he continues to be referred to as "President" for the rest of his life. Former Presidents continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to successful post-presidential careers. Notable examples have included former President William Howard Taft's appointment as Chief Justice of the United States and former President Jimmy Carter's current career as a global human rights campaigner.

Currently, there are five living former presidents, which is a record number. They are:

• Former President Gerald Ford
• Former President Jimmy Carter
• Former President Ronald Reagan
• Former President George H. W. Bush
• Former President Bill Clinton

Previously, there have been several occasions where there have been four former presidents simultaneously living.

Presidential salary and perks

Presidential Pay History Date established Salary September 24, 1789 $25,000 March 3, 1873 $50,000 March 4, 1909 $75,000 January 19, 1949 $100,000 January 20, 1969 $200,000 January 20, 2001 $400,000

The first United States Congress voted to pay George Washington a salary of $25,000 a year, a significant sum in 1789. Washington, already a successful man, didn't take the money. Since 2001, the President has earned a salary of $400,000 a year, modest in comparison to the multi-million dollar salaries of most private-sector chief executive officers.

Traditionally, the President, as the most important official in the U.S. government, is to be the highest paid government employee. Consequently, the President's salary serves as a cap of sorts for all other federal officials such as the Chief Justice. The raise for 2001 was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 because other officials who receive annual cost-of-living increases had salaries approaching the President's. Thus, in order to raise the salaries of other federal employees, the President's salary had to be raised to avoid surpassing the President.

Modern Presidents enjoy many non-salary perks such as living and working in the spacious White House mansion in Washington, DC. While travelling, the President is able to conduct all the functions of the office aboard several specially-built Boeing 747s, which take the call-sign Air Force One when the President is aboard. The President travels around Washington in an armored Cadillac limousine, equipped with bullet-proof windows and tires and a self-contained ventilation system in the event of a biological attack. When traveling longer distances around the Washington area, the President travels aboard the Presidential helicopter, Marine One.

Additionally, the President has full use of Camp David in Maryland, a sprawling retreat occasionally used as a casual setting for hosting foreign dignitaries. At all times, the President and his family are protected by an extensive Secret Service detail.

Until the law was changed in 1997, all former Presidents and their family were protected by the Secret Service until their death. The last President to have Secret Service protection for life is Bill Clinton. George Walker Bush and all following Presidents will be protected by the Secret Service for a maximum of 10 years after leaving office.

Presidential facts

Four U.S. Presidents have been assassinated:

• Abraham Lincoln in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth
• James Garfield in 1881 by Charles J. Guiteau (Guiteau shot him but Garfield arguably died due to subsequent incorrect medical care)
• William McKinley in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz
• John F. Kennedy in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald [1] although many theories posit additional gunmen. [1]

Four others died in office of natural causes:

• William Henry Harrison, died of pneumonia in 1841
• Zachary Taylor, died of "acute indigestion" in 1850
• Warren G. Harding, died of heart attack in 1923
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt, died of cerebral hemorrhage in 1945

One President resigned from office:

• Richard Nixon in 1974

Two Presidents have been impeached, though neither was subsequently convicted:

• Andrew Johnson in 1868
• Bill Clinton in 1998

Four Presidents have been elected without a plurality of popular votes:

• John Quincy Adams - trailed Andrew Jackson by 44,804 votes in 1824
• Rutherford B. Hayes - trailed Samuel J. Tilden by 264,292 votes in 1876
• Benjamin Harrison - trailed Grover Cleveland 95,713 votes in 1888
• George W. Bush - trailed Al Gore by 540,520 votes in 2000

Two Presidents have been elected without a majority of electoral votes, and were chosen by the House of Representatives:

• Thomas Jefferson - finished with same number of electoral votes as Aaron Burr in 1800
• John Quincy Adams - trailed Andrew Jackson by 15 electoral votes in 1824

Five Presidents were not elected at all, although with the exception of Gerald Ford all were elected Vice President:

• John Tyler - Assumed the Presidency on the death of William Henry Harrison, did not run in 1844.
• Millard Fillmore - Succeeded Zachary Taylor, did not run in 1852.
• Andrew Johnson - Succeeded Abraham Lincoln, did not run in 1868.
• Chester A. Arthur - Succeeded James Garfield, did not run in 1884.
• Gerald Ford - Appointed Vice President on the resignation of Spiro Agnew, sworn in after Nixon's resignation and defeated in the election of 1976 by Jimmy Carter.

While most presidents have been of English descent, there have been a few who came from a different European background:

• Dutch: Martin Van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt
• German: Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower
• Irish: William McKinley, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton

Kennedy was also America's first, and to date only Catholic president.

Presidential residences

The President's residence is the White House, but of course they have had other homes. This is a list of some of those homes:

• George Washington - Mount Vernon
• John Adams - Peacefield
• Thomas Jefferson - Monticello
• James Madison - Montpelier
• James Monroe - Ash Lawn
• Andrew Jackson - The Hermitage
• W. H. Harrison - Berkeley Plantation
• John Tyler - Sherwood Forest Plantation
• Martin Van Buren - Lindenwald
• James Buchanan - Wheatland
• Rutherford Hayes - Spiegel Grove
• Grover Cleveland - Westland Mansion
• Theodore Roosevelt - Sagamore Hill
• Woodrow Wilson - Shadow Lawn
• Calvin Coolidge - The Beeches
• Franklin Roosevelt - Springwood (located in Hyde Park, New York; see note at Hyde Park)
• John Kennedy - Hyannisport
• Richard Nixon - Casa Pacifica
• Ronald Reagan - Rancho Cielo
• George H. W. Bush - Walker's Point
• George W. Bush - Prairie Chapel Ranch

Presidents of the Continental Congress

Main article: President of the Continental Congress

There were six men who served as President of the Continental Congress prior to the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. These men held very few powers that are now associated with the U.S. presidency and cannot be considered to have been heads of state. Their primary duty was to preside over the Congress (hence the original meaning of "president").

Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled

Main article: President of the United States in Congress Assembled

There were ten Presidents under the Articles of Confederation. These men held few powers that are now associated with the U.S. presidency and cannot be considered to have been heads of state or the "Chief Executive". These men were simply heads of government with Congress holding all executive powers.

Miscellaneous information

On a less serious note:

• David Rice Atchison
• Emperor Norton I (1859-1880)
• Tecumseh's curse

Related articles

• Presidential religious affiliations
• U.S. presidential election
• U.S. presidential primary
• U.S. Electoral College

External links

• Official White House website
• Internet Public Library: POTUS
• Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States
• The Masonic Presidents Tour - A listing and profiles of those Presidents who were members of the Freemasonry.

There is also a rock band called The Presidents of the United States of America.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President of the United States."

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President pro tempore of the United States Senate

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The United States Senate, according to the United States Constitution, (Article I), is required to choose a President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time", often shortened to President Pro Tem), who presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice-President. This position is usually given to the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service. Because of the smaller size of the Senate and because Senate rules of procedure give more power to individual senators, the President Pro Tem is not a powerful position especially in comparison to the Speaker of the House of Representatives or even the party leaders of the Senate.

In earlier times, when the Vice President usually presided over the Senate, a President pro tempore was chosen each time there was an absence. More recently, a sitting president pro tempore has been chosen.

Since 1947, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate has been third in line to succeed to the US presidency in the case of death or resignation, after the Vice-President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. (See United States Presidential line of succession.)

The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Ted Stevens of Alaska. Before the Republicans regained control of the Senate on November 5, 2002, the President Pro Tempore was Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Prior to the shift of James Jeffords from Republican to Independent in May 2001, which shifted control of the Senate from the Republican to the Democratic Party, the office was held by J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

Presidents pro Tempore of the United States Senate

1st Congress (1789-1791)

• John Langdon (NH) April 6 - April 21, 1789
• John Langdon (NH) August 7 - August 9, 1789

2nd Congress (1791-1793)

• Richard Henry Lee (VA) April 18 - October 8, 1792
• John Langdon (NH) November 5 - December 4, 1792
• John Langdon (NH) March 1 - March 3, 1793

3rd Congress (1793-1795)

• John Langdon (NH) March 4 - December 2, 1793
• Ralph Izard (SC) May 31 - November 9, 1794
• Henry Tazewell (VA) February 20 - June 7, 1795

4th Congress (1795-1797)

• Henry Tazewell (Republican-VA) December 7 - December 8, 1795
• Samuel Livermore (Federalist-NH) May 6 - December 4, 1796
• William Bingham (Federalist-PA) February 16 - March 3, 1797

5th Congress (1797-1799)

• William Bradford (Federalist-RI) July 6 - October, 1797
• Jacob Read (Federalist-SC) November 22 - December 12, 1797
• Theodore Sedgwick (Federalist-MA) June 27 - December 5, 1798
• John Laurance (Federalist-NY) December 6 - December 27, 1798
• James Ross (Federalist-PA) March 1 - December 1, 1799

6th Congress (1799-1801)

• Samuel Livermore (Federalist-NH) December 2 - December 29, 1799
• Uriah Tracy (Federalist-CT) May 14 - November 16, 1800
• John E. Howard (Federalist-MD) November 21 - November 27, 1800
• James Hillhouse (Federalist-CT) February 28 - March 3, 1801

7th Congress (1801-1803)

• Abraham Baldwin (Republican-GA) December 7, 1801 - January 14, 1802
• Abraham Baldwin (Republican-GA) April 17 - December 13, 1802
• Stephen R. Bradley (Republican-VT) December 14, 1802 - January 18, 1803
• Stephen R. Bradley (Republican-VT) February 25, 1803
• Stephen R. Bradley (Republican-VT) March 2 - October 16, 1803

8th Congress (1803-1805)

• John Brown (Republican-KY) October 17 - December 6, 1803
• John Brown (Republican-KY) January 23 - February 26, 1804
• Jesse Franklin (Republican-KY) March 10 - November 4, 1804
• Joseph Anderson (Republican-TN) January 15 - February 3, 1805
• Joseph Anderson (Republican-TN) February 28 - March 2, 1805
• Joseph Anderson (Republican-TN) March 2 - December 1, 1805

9th Congress (1805-1807)

• Samuel Smith (Republican-MD) December 2 - December 15, 1805
• Samuel Smith (Republican-MD) March 18 - November 30, 1806
• Samuel Smith (Republican-MD) March 2 - October 25, 1807

10th Congress (1807-1809)

• Samuel Smith (Republican-MD) April 16 - November 6, 1808
• Stephen R. Bradley (Republican-VT) December 28, 1808 - January 8, 1809
• John Milledge (Republican-GA) January 30 - March 3, 1809

11th Congress (1809-1811)

• John Milledge (Republican-GA) March 4 - May 21, 1809
• Andrew Gregg (Republican-PA) June 26 - December 18, 1809
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) February 28 - March 2, 1810
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) April 17 - December 11, 1810
• John Pope (Republican-KY) February 23 - November 3, 1811

12th Congress (1811-1813)

• William Crawford (Republican-GA) March 24, 1812 - March 3, 1813

13th Congress (1813-1815)

• William Crawford (Republican-GA) March 4 - March 23, 1813
• Joseph B. Varnum (Republican-MA) December 6, 1813 - February 3, 1814
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) November 25, 1814 - December 3, 1815

14th Congress (1815-1817)

• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) December 4, 1815 - March 3, 1817

15th Congress (1817-1819)

• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) March 4, 1817
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) March 6, 1817 - February 18, 1818
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) March 31, 1818 - January 5, 1819
• James Barbour (Republican-VA) February 15 - December 5, 1819

16th Congress (1819-1821)

• James Barbour (Republican-VA) December 6 - December 26, 1819
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) January 25], 1820 - December 2, 1821

17th Congress (1821-1823)

• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) December 3 - December 27, 1821
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) February 1 - December 2, 1822
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) February 19 - November 30, 1823

18th Congress (1823-1825)

• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) December 1, 1823 - January 20, 1824
• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) May 21, 1824 - March 3, 1825

19th Congress (1825-1827)

• John Gaillard (Republican-SC) March 9 - December 4, 1825
• Nathaniel Macon (Republican-NC) May 20 - December 3, 1826
• Nathaniel Macon (Republican-NC) January 2 - February 13, 1827
• Nathaniel Macon (Republican-NC) March 2 - December 2, 1827

20th Congress (1827-1829)

• Samuel Smith (Jacksonian-MD) May 15 - December 18, 1828

21st Congress (1829-1831)

• Samuel Smith (Democrat-MD) March 13 - December 10, 1829
• Samuel Smith (Democrat-MD) May 20 - December 31, 1830
• Samuel Smith (Democrat-MD) March 1 - December 4, 1831

22nd Congress (1831-1833)

• Samuel Smith (Democrat-MD) December 5 - December 11, 1831
• Littleton Tazewell (Democrat-MD) July 9 - July 16, 1832
• Hugh L. White (Democrat-TN) December 3, 1832 - December 1, 1833

23rd Congress (1833-1835)

• Hugh L. White (Democrat-TN) December 2 - December 15, 1833
• George Poindexter (Whig-MS) June 28 - November 30, 1834
• John Tyler (Whig-VA) March 3 - December 6, 1835

24th Congress (1835-1837)

• William R. King (Democrat-AL) July 1 - December 4, 1836
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) January 28 - March 3, 1837

25th Congress (1837-1839)

• William R. King (Democrat-AL) March 7 - September 3, 1837
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) October 13 - December 3, 1837
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) July 2 - December 18, 1838
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) February 25 - December 1, 1839

26th Congress (1839-1841)

• William R. King (Democrat-AL) December 2 - December 26, 1839
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) July 3 - December 15, 1840
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) March 3, 1841

27th Congress (1841-1843)

• William R. King (Democrat-AL) March 4, 1841
• Samuel Southard (Whig-NJ) March 11 - May 31, 1842
• Willie P. Mangum (Whig-NC) May 31, 1842 - December 3, 1843

28th Congress (1843-1845)

• Willie P. Mangum (Whig-NC) December 4, 1843 - March 3, 1845

29th Congress (1845-1847)

• Willie P. Mangum (Whig-NC) March 4, 1845
• Ambrose H. Sevier (Democrat-AR) December 27, 1845
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) August 8 - December 6, 1846
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) January 11 - January 13, 1847
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) March 3 - December 5, 1847

30th Congress (1847-1849)

• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) February 2 - February 8, 1848
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) June 1 - June 14, 1848
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) June 26 - June 29, 1848
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) July 29 - December 4, 1848
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) December 26, 1848 - January 1, 1849
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) March 2 - March 4, 1849

31st Congress (1849-1851)

• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) March 5, 1849
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) March 16 - December 2, 1849
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) May 6 - May 19, 1850
• William R. King (Democrat-AL) July 11, 1850 - March 3, 1851

32nd Congress (1851-1853)

• William R. King (Democrat-AL) March 4, 1851 - December 20, 1852
• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) December 20, 1852 - March 3, 1853

33rd Congress (1853-1855)

• David R. Atchison (Democrat-MO) March 4, 1853 - December 4, 1854
• Lewis Cass (Democrat-MI) December 4, 1854
• Jesse D. Bright (Democrat-IN) December 5, 1854 - December 2, 1855

34th Congress (1855-1857)

• Jesse D. Bright (Democrat-IN) December 3, 1855 - June 9, 1856
• Charles E. Stuart (Democrat-MI) June 9 - June 10, 1856
• Jesse D. Bright (Democrat-IN) June 11, 1856 - January 6, 1857
• James M. Mason (Democrat-VA) January 6 - March 3, 1857

35th Congress (1857-1859)

• James M. Mason (Democrat-VA) March 4, 1857
• Thomas J. Rusk (Democrat-TX) March 14 - July 29, 1857
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) December 7 - December 20, 1857
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) March 29 - May 2, 1858
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) June 14 - December 5, 1858
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) January 19, 1859
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) January 25 - February 9, 1859

36th Congress (1859-1861)

• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) March 9 - December 4, 1859
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) December 19, 1859 - January 15, 1860
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) February 20 - February 26, 1860
• Jesse D. Bright (Democrat-IN) June 12 - June 13, 1860
• Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democrat-AL) June 26 - December 2, 1860
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) February 16 - February 17, 1861

37th Congress (1861-1863)

• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) March 23 - July 3, 1861
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) July 18 - December 1, 1861
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) January 15, 1862
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) March 31 - May 21, 1862
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) June 19 - December 12, 1862
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) February 18 - March 3, 1863

38th Congress (1863-1865)

• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) March 4 - December 6, 1863
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) December 18 - December 20, 1863
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) February 23, 1864
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) March 11 - March 13, 1864
• Solomon Foot (Republican-VT) April 11 - April 13, 1864
• Daniel Clark (Republican-NH) April 26, 1864 - January 4, 1865
• Daniel Clark (Republican-NH) February 9 - February 19, 1865

39th Congress (1865-1867)

• Lafayette S. Foster (Republican-CT) May 7, 1865 - March 2, 1867
• Benjamin F. Wade (Republican-OH) March 2 - March 3, 1867

40th Congress (1867-1869)

• Benjamin F. Wade (Republican-OH) March 4, 1867 - March 3, 1869

41st Congress (1869-1871)

• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) March 23-28, 1869
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) April 9-December 5, 1869
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) May 28-June 2, 1870
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) July 1-5, 1870
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) July 14-December 4, 1870

'''42nd Congress (1871-1873)

• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) March 10-12, 1871
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) April 17-May 9, 1871
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) May 23-December 3, 1871
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) December 21, 1871 - January 7, 1872
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) February 23-25, 1872
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) June 8-December 1, 1872
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) December 4-8, 1872
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) December 13-15, 1872
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) December 20, 1872 - January 5, 1873
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) January 24, 1873

43rd Congress (1873-1875)

• Matthew H. Carpenter (R-WI) March 12-13, 1873
• Matthew H. Carpenter (R-WI) March 26-November 30, 1873
• Matthew H. Carpenter (R-WI) December 11, 1873 - December 6, 1874
• Matthew H. Carpenter (R-WI) December 23, 1874 - January 4, 1875
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) January 25-31, 1875
• Henry B. Anthony (R-RI) February 15-17, 1875

44th Congress (1875-1877)

• Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) March 9-10, 1875
• Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) March 19, 1875 - March 4, 1877

45th Congress (1877-1879)

• Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) March 5, 1877
• Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) February 26-March 3, 1878
• Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) April 17-December 1, 1878
• Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) March 3-17, 1879

46th Congress (1879-1881)

• Allen G. Thurman (D-OH) April 15-November 30, 1879
• Allen G. Thurman (D-OH) April 7-14, 1880
• Allen G. Thurman (D-OH) May 6-December 5, 1880

47th Congress (1881-1883)

• Thomas F. Bayard (D-DE) October 10-13, 1881
• David Davis (Independent-IL) October 13, 1881-March 3, 1883
• George F. Edmunds (R-VT) March 3-December 2, 1883

48th Congress (1883-1885)

• George F. Edmunds (R-VT) December 3, 1883 - March 3, 1885

49th Congress (1885-1887)

• John Sherman (R-OH) December 7, 1885 - February 26, 1887
• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) February 26-December 4, 1887

50th Congress (1887-1889)

• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) December 5, 1887 - March 3, 1889

51st Congress (1889-1891)

• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) March 17-17, 1889
• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) April 2-December 1, 1889
• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) December 5-10, 1889
• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) February 28-March 18, 1890

At this point, it was decided that presidents pro tempore should serve until a new one was elected. They were as follows:

• John J. Ingalls (R-KS) April 3, 1890 - March 2, 1891
• Charles F. Manderson (R-NE) March 2, 1891 - March 22, 1893
• Isham G. Harris (D-TN) March 22, 1893 - January 7, 1895
• Matt W. Ransom (D-NC) January 7-10, 1895
• Isham G. Harris (D-TN) January 10-March 3, 1895
• William P. Frye (R-ME) February 7, 1896 - April 27, 1911

on Frye's death, it proved difficult to elect a successor. For the remainder of the 62nd Congress (1911-1913), the position alternated among:

• Augustus O. Bacon (D-GA)
• Charles Curtis (R-KS)
• Jacob H. Gallinger (R-NH)
• Frank B. Brandegee (R-CT) and
• Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA)

In the next Congress, things returned to normal:

• James P. Clarke (D-AR) March 13, 1913 - October 1, 1916
• Willard Saulsbury (D-DE) December 14, 1916 - March 3, 1919
• Albert B. Cummins (R-IA) May 19, 1919 - March 6, 1925
• George H. Moses (R-NH) March 6, 1925 - March 3, 1933
• Key Pittman (D-NV) March 9, 1933 - November 10, 1940
• William H. King (D-UT) November 19, 1940 - January 3, 1941
• Pat Harrison (D-MS) January 6 - June 22, 1941
• Carter Glass (D-VA) July 10, 1941 - January 2, 1945
• Kenneth McKellar (D-TN) January 6, 1945 - January 2, 1947
• Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI) January 4, 1947 - January 2, 1949
• Kenneth McKellar (D-TN) January 3, 1949 - January 2, 1953
• Styles Bridges (R-NH) January 3, 1953 - January 4, 1955
• Walter F. George (D-GA) January 5, 1955 - January 2, 1957
• Carl T. Hayden (D-AZ) January 3, 1957 - January 2, 1969
• Richard B. Russell (D-GA) January 3, 1969 - January 21, 1971
• Allen J. Ellender (D-LA) January 22, 1971 - July 27, 1972
• James O. Eastland (D-MS) July 28, 1972 - December 27, 1978
• Warren G. Magnuson (D-WA) January 15, 1979 - December 4, 1980
• Milton R. Young (R-ND) December 5, 1980
• Warren G. Magnuson (D-WA) December 6, 1980 - January 4, 1981
• Strom Thurmond (R-SC) January 5, 1981 - January 5, 1987
• John C. Stennis (D-MS) January 6, 1987 - January 2, 1989
• Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) January 3, 1989 - January 3, 1995
• Strom Thurmond (R-SC) January 4, 1995 - January 3, 2001
• Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) January 3-20, 2001
• Strom Thurmond (R-SC) January 20-June 6, 2001
• Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) June 6, 2001 - January 3, 2003
• Ted Stevens (R-AK) January 3, 2003 - Present

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "President pro tempore of the United States Senate."

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Presidents of Croatia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The President of the Republic of Croatia:

1. represents and stands for the Republic of Croatia at home and abroad
2. takes care of regular and harmonized functioning and stability of the state government
3. is responsible for the defense of independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia
4. takes a solemn oath before the President of the Constitutional Court swearing loyalty to the Constitution
5. calls elections for the Croatian Parliament and convenes their first session
6. calls referenda, in conformity with the Constitution
7. confides the mandate to form the Government to the person who, upon the distribution of the seats in the Croatian Parliament and consultations held, enjoys confidence of the majority of its members
8. grants pardons
9. confers decorations and other awards specified by law
10. cooperates with the Government in formulation and execution of the foreign policy
11. decides on the establishment of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Croatia abroad, at the Government's proposal and with the counter-signature of the Prime Minister
12. appoints and recalls diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Croatia, with the prior counter-signature of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, at the proposal the Government and upon the opinion of the authorized committee of the Croatian Parliament
13. receives letters of credence and the letters of recall from foreign diplomatic representatives
14. appoints and relieves of duty military commanders
15. may declare war and conclude peace, on the basis of the decision of the Croatian Parliament
16. may with the counter signature of the Prime Minister, order the employment of the armed forces even if the state of war has not been declared, in case of an immediate threat to the independence, unity and existence of the State
17. may issue decrees with the force of law on the grounds and within the authority obtained from the Croatian Parliament. If the Croatian Parliament is not in session, the President of the Republic is authorized to regulate all the issues required by the state of war by decrees with the force of law
18. issues decrees with the force of law, at the proposal of the Prime Minister and with his counter-signature, in case of an immediate threat to the independence, unity and existence of the State, or if the governmental bodies are prevented from performing their constitutional duties regularly
19. may call a session of the Government and preside over such a session, during the state of war or in case of an immediate threat to the independence, unity and existence of the State
20. may propose to the Government to hold a session and consider certain issues
21. may be present at the meeting of the Government and take part in deliberations
22. cooperates in directing the operations of the security services with the Government
23. dissolves the Croatian Parliament if the Parliament has passed a vote of no confidence to the Government, or if it has failed to approve the state budget within 120 days from the date when it was proposed, at the proposal of the Government and with the counter-signature of the Prime Minister, after consultations with the representatives of the clubs of parliamentary parties
24. may restrict individual freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution during a state of war or an immediate threat to the independence and unity of the State or in the event of severe natural disasters, if the Croatian Parliament is unable to meet, at the proposal of the Government and upon the counter-signature of the Prime Minister
25. convenes emergency sessions of the Croatian Parliament
26. may call a referendum on a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution or any other issue which he considers to be important for the independence, unity and existence of the Republic of Croatia, at the proposal of the Government and with the counter-signature of the Prime Minister
27. promulgates laws within 8 days from the date when they were passed in the Croatian Parliament.
28. may initiate proceedings to review the constitutionality of the law before the Constitutional Court, if he considers the promulgated law is not in accordance with the Constitution

List of Presidents of the Republic of Croatia:

1. Franjo Tuđman (1990-1999)
2. Stjepan Mesić (2000-)

The office of President of the Republic was declared after ammending the Constitution of Socialist Republic of Croatia (then member of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) in summer 1990. That happened immediatelly after first democratic multi-party elections, transforming the Presidency of SR Croatia. President of the Presidency of SR Croatia Franjo Tudjman was declared President of the Republic of Croatia, according to the Ammendments.

New Constitution was passed on December 22, 1990.

1992 Presidential elections won by Tuđman.

1997 Presidential elections won by Tuđman.

President Tuđman dies at the end of 1999. According to the Constitution, President of the Parliament Vlatko Pavletić was acting president. After parliamentary elections in January 2000 new acting president was newly elected president of the Parliament Zlatko Tomčić.

2000 Presidential elections won by Mesić.

Current President of the Republic of Croatia is Stjepan Mesić. He is serving his 5-year mandate (until 2005).

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Presidents of Croatia."

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Presidents of South Korea

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Presidents of South Korea

Korean Government in exile

The government was based in Shanghai, China). Although the current South Korea insists on being its successor to assert legitimacy, the government was not internationally recognized.

1. Rhee Syngman 이승만
2. Park Eunshik 박은식

Korean Government after Deliveration of 1945

1. Rhee Syngman 이승만 (1948 - 1960)
2. Yoon Boseon 윤보선 (1960 - 1962)
3. Park Chunghee 박정희 (1963 - 1979)
4. Choi Kyuha 최규하 (1979 - 1980)
5. Chun Doohwan 전두환 (1980 - 1988)
6. Roh Tae-woo 노태우 (1988 - 1993)
7. Kim Young-sam 김영삼 (1993 - 1998)
8. Kim Dae-jung 김대중 (1998 - 2003)
9. Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 (2003-present)

   Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Presidents of South Korea."

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Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

1. Joseph Smith (1805-1844), served 1830-1844
2. Brigham Young (1801-1877), served 1847-1877
3. John Taylor (1808-1887), served 1880-1887
4. Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898), served 1889-1898
5. Lorenzo Snow (1814-1800), served 1898-1901
6. Joseph F. Smith (1838-1901), served 1901-1918
7. Heber J. Grant (1856-1918), served 1918-1945
8. George Albert Smith (1870-1945), served 1945-1951
9. David O. Mckay (1873-1970), served 1951-1970
10. Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972), served 1970-1972
11. Harold B. Lee (1899-1973), served 1972-1973
12. Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985), served 1973-1985
13. Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994), served 1985-1994
14. Howard W. Hunter (1907-1995), served 1994-1995
15. Gordon B. Hinckley (b. 1910), served from 1995

    Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

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Proposed President of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

There is no President of Australia. However, as part of a possible move from a constitutional monarchy to a republic Australia has been debating the creation of such an office for many years.

Currently, Australia's Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, called the "Queen of Australia." She is represented by a Governor General, appointed by the Prime Minister. Many Australians resent the fact that the Queen retains constitutional and ceremonial powers over Australia, despite the nation's political independence from Britain. Also, many resent the perceived undemocratic nature of the Governor General's office, and want greater accountability for the person who has the authority to use the Crown's various prerogative powers.

All this has led to the rise of republicanism in Australia. Most members of this movement argue that the Governor General and Queen should be replaced with a President, who would become Australia's new Head of State.

There is much debate over the powers that such an office would have, however, and controversy over the President's appointment (or election) process caused the failure of a referendum in 1999 on the creation of an Australian presidency. The Australian Republican Movement advocated that the President be elected by both Houses of the Parliament of Australia, while other republicans advocated the election of the President by universal suffrage, citing Australians' traditional dislike and distrust of their politicians.

A small minority of republicans have advocated a 'minimalist' approach, known as the McGarvie model, after the former Governor of Victoria. An Australian Head of State would replace the Queen, but would retain the title of 'Governor General' instead of holding the title of President. If this were to happen, it would be a first, as all other former Commonwealth Realms have created presidencies upon becoming republics.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Proposed President of Australia."

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U.S. presidential election, 2004

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Presidential Candidate	Electoral Vote	Popular Vote	Pct	Party	Running Mate (Electoral Votes)
Other elections: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
Source: U.S. Office of the Federal Register

The next U.S. presidential election is scheduled to occur November 2, 2004.

For the same date is scheduled:

• the U.S. House election, 2004, see United States House of Representatives
• the U.S. Senate election, 2004, see United States Senate

(the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are elected simultaneously with the President).

The newly elected or newly re-elected President will be inaugurated on January 20, 2005.

Timeline

• May 31, 2002 - Vermont Governor Howard Dean forms a presidential exploratory committee.
• December 1, 2002 - John Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts announces his plans to form an exploratory committee for a possible 2004 Presidential run on NBC's Meet The Press. Kerry anticipates a formal announcement "down the road some months".
• December 16, 2002 - Former Vice President and 2000 Presidential candidate Al Gore announces on the CBS program 60 Minutes that he will not seek election to the Presidency in 2004. Gore had recently wrapped up a nationwide book tour and had been widely expected to run. Senator Joseph Lieberman, Gore's 2000 Vice Presidential running mate, had previously promised not to run should Gore seek their party's nomination.
• January 2, 2003- Senator John Edwards of North Carolina announces formation of exploratory committee for the Democratic nomination.
• January 4, 2003 - Represenative Richard Gephardt of Missouri, the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, announces his intention to run for the Democratic nomination.
• January 5, 2003 - Reverend Al Sharpton of New York announces his intention to run for the Democratic nomination.
• January 7, 2003 - Tom Daschle, the United States Senate Minority Leader, announces that he will not run for President in 2004. Daschle had been widely expected to run.
• January 13, 2003 - Senator Joseph Lieberman from Connecticut announces his intention to run for the Democratic nomination.
• January 17, 2003 - Libertarian Gary Nolan, former syndicated talk radio host, files papers to form an exploratory committee for a presidential run and announces his candidacy.
• January 22, 2003 - A campaign to draft Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs is launched at http://www.jobs4president.org/. The site was announced on Slashdot, overloading the server within ten minutes. Before the owners of the site could bring the site back up, Jobs declines interest in running. [1]
• February 18, 2003 - Carol Moseley Braun, former Senator from Illinois, announces her intention to run for the Democratic nomination.
• February 19, 2003 - Dennis Kucinich, Representative from Ohio, files papers to form an exploratory committee for a presidential run.
• February 27, 2003 - Senator Bob Graham of Florida announced his candidacy.
• March 3, 2003 Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut announces that he will not run for the 2004 Democratic party presidential nomination.
• May 3, 2003 - Democrats meet at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina in the first formal debate between the nine challengers for the 2004 Democratic party presidential nomination. The candidates disagree on the war against Iraq, health insurance, and even President Bush's tax cuts, but unite in criticizing Bush's handling of the economy.
• May 6, 2003 - Gary Hart, former Senator from Colorado, announces he will not seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2004.
• May 7, 2003 - Vice President Dick Cheney announces he will be President Bush's running mate again in 2004. Cheney's position on the ticket had been the subject of some speculation because he has had four heart attacks, though none as Vice President. Bush had still not formally announced he would seek re-election yet.
• May 16, 2003 - President Bush formally files papers with the Federal Election Commission seeking a second term as President.
• June 17, 2003 - Howard Dean airs the first television advertising of the 2004 campaign. The two week ad campaign will cost more than $300,000.
• June 23, 2003 - Howard Dean formally announces that he is running for President, filing to form a presidential election campaign with the FEC.
• June 24, 2003 - Liberal advocacy website MoveOn holds the first ever online Democratic "primary," which lasts just over 48 hours. It is an unofficial and non-binding affair, but with important symbolic and financial value. Of 317,647 votes, Howard Dean receives 44%, Dennis Kucinich 24%, and John Kerry 16%. Had any candidate received 50% of the vote, the candidate would have received MoveOn's endorsement and financial support. Instead, MoveOn supports all the candidates. [1]
• July 14, 2003 - Edie Bukewihge, Republican, formally filed papers with the Federal Election Commission seeking a first term as President.
• August 11, 2003 - Delaware Senator Joseph Biden announces he will not seek the Democratic nomination, saying his campaign would be "a long shot" and that he could wield the most influence in the Senate.
• September 16, 2003 - John Edwards officially announces his candidacy on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• September 17, 2003 - retired General Wesley Clark announces his candidacy.
• September 25, 2003 - Natural Law Party endorses Dennis Kucinich for President.
• October 6, 2003 - Bob Graham announces on Larry King Live that he is ending his presidential campaign.
• Oct 10-12, 2003 - Reform Party convention in Diamondhead, Mississippi apparently decides not to run a candidate for President.
• Oct 22, 2003 - Ralph Nader removed his name from the California Green Party presidential primary ballot.

Important future dates

• January 19, 2004 - Iowa Caucus
• January 27, 2004 - New Hampshire primary
• February 3, 2004 - First date for Democratic primaries and caucuses other than New Hampshire and Iowa
  • South Carolina primary
  • Missouri primary
  • Arizona primary
• February 10, 2004 - Virginia primary
• March 2, 2004 - California, New York and Texas primaries
• March 9, 2004 - Florida primary
• May 28-May 31, 2004 - Libertarian National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia
• June 23-June 27,2004 - Constitution Party National Convention in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
• June 24-June 27, 2004 - Green Party of the United States National convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• July 26-July 29, 2004 - Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts
• August 30-September 2, 2004 - Republican National Convention in New York City, New York
• November 2, 2004 - General election.
• December 13, 2004 - U.S. Electoral College meets to elect the President.
• January 6, 2005 - Electoral votes officially tallied before both Houses of Congress.
• January 20, 2005 - Inauguration day.

Click here for a map of all primary dates

Candidates

• Democrats: The candidate will be chosen in the 2004 Democratic Primaries. The vice presidential candidate will also be chosen at the convention, with the goal of balancing the ticket and gaining extra votes, rather than choosing the 2nd place finisher in the primary. If no candidate gains a majority of the delegates in the primary, a deal may be struck, but in recent years the candidate has always clinched the nomination before all primaries are completed.
  • Filed:
    • Represenative Richard Gephardt,
    • Senator John Kerry,
    • Represenative Dennis Kucinich,
    • Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun,
    • Reverend Al Sharpton
  • Announced:
    • General Wesley Clark,
    • Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean,
    • Senator John Edwards,
    • Lyndon LaRouche,
    • Senator Joseph Lieberman
  • Dropped out:
    • Senator Bob Graham (October 7, 2003)
  • Declined: Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Joseph Biden, Tom Daschle, Christopher Dodd, Gary Hart

• Republicans
  • Filed: George W. Bush, President of the United States. Note: An incumbent president in the U.S. seeking reelection has nearly always won his party's nomination (Franklin Pierce, Grover Cleveland, and arguably Lyndon Johnson are exceptions). It is almost certain that President Bush will be the Republican candidate in 2004.
  • Filed: Edie Bukewihge, Note: A challenger for president of the United States seeking to eliminate George W Bush in the primary election this 2004.

• Libertarians: The candidate will be chosen by delegates to the Libertarian Party National Convention on May 30, 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Filed
    • Gary Nolan, Talk radio host
    • Michael Badnarik, former State House candidate from Texas
  • Announced
  • Considering
    • Gary E. Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico
    • Ed Thompson, former Mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin
  • Declined
    • James Gray, presiding Superior Court Judge, Orange County, California
    • Carla Howell, former candidate for Governor and U.S. Senate from Massachusetts
  • Withdrew candidacy
    • David Hollist, from California
    • Ken Krawchuk, former candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania (withdrew April 2003)

• Greens
  • Announced
    • Carol Miller, New Mexico
    • David Cobb, legal advisor to the party and former candidate for Texas attorney general
  • Considering
    • Cynthia McKinney, former Congresswoman from Georgia
    • Jello Biafra, former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys and candidate for the 2000 nomination
    • Paul Glover, creator of Ithaca Hours
  • Declined
    • Ralph Nader, consumer rights advocate and 1996 and 2000 nominee

• Constitution Party

Electoral College changes from 2000

With the completion of the 2000 census, Congressional re-apportionment took place, moving some representative districts from the slowest growing states to the fastest growing. As a result, some states will send a different number of electors to the U.S. Electoral College, since the number of electors allotted to a state is equal to the sum of the number of Senators and Representatives from that state. Since the results were so close in 2000, this could potentially impact the outcome of the 2004 election.

The following table shows the change in electors from the 2000 election. Red (+7) states represent those that Bush won in 2000 and blue (-7) states Gore won.

Arizona (+2) California (+1) Colorado (+1) Connecticut (-1) Florida (+2) Georgia (+2) Illinois (-1) Indiana (-1) Michigan (-1)

Mississippi (-1) Nevada (+1) New York (-2) North Carolina (+1) Ohio (-1) Oklahoma (-1) Pennsylvania (-2) Texas (+2) Wisconsin (-1)

See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, U.S. Democratic Party Presidential Primary, 2004, U.S. Republican Party Presidential Primary, 2004, 2004

External links and references

Election 2004 link directories

• E-Democracy.US Election 2004 Links

Election 2004 global debate and voting

• The world votes

Election news wires

• Associated Press news wire
• Washington Post Election 2004 coverage

News articles

• Green Party considers 2004 strategy - MSNBC, July 2003

Election campaign funding

• 2004 Center for Responsive Politics compiles data about who gives and who receives
• Money Maps

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "U.S. presidential election, 2004."

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: President

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Synonyms within Context: President

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Modern Usage: President

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Commercial Usage: President

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Image Slideshow: President

Photos: President More pictures...

Illustrations: President More pictures...

Computer Images: President More pictures...

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Photo Album: President

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Shown is page 2 of the newspaper Washington Post on August 6, 1937 just after President Roosevelt signed a bill to authorize the erection of the National Cancer Institute, with Dr. Carl Voegtlin as the Chief. Shown are photos of Drs. Carl Voegtlin, R. H. Fitch, Herbert Kaher and Thomas Parran (Surgeon General). Shown is "'Conquer Cancer' Adopted as Battle Cry of the Public Health Service.". Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.		Shown here is President Richard Nixon signing the National Cancer Act on December 23, 1971. This is a formal setting with a row of senators visible and some other officials and dignitaries. See also AR001123. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer).
	President Nixon and Dr. Paine Wait to Meet Apollo 11 Astronauts. Credit: NASA.		Mariner photos presented to President Johnson. Credit: NASA.
	H. Arnold Karo and President Dwight David Eisenhower 150th Anniversary Dinner of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		George Miffllin Dallas Vice-President under President Polk Uncle of Alexander Dallas Bache. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.
	The United States Marine Hospital at Chelsea. The building was made of stone and built in 1827. Patients were sick and disabled seamen. Although run by the revenue collector of Boston and Charlestown, a physician and surgeon were appointed by the President of the United States. In: Historical Collections ... of Every Town in Massachusetts. 1841. Credit: America's Coastlines.		President George W. Bush.
	Air Force Reservist Senior Airman Tom Kimball gets a hand straightening his tie from his son Airman Ben Kimball. Though he is 44 years old and the president of a successful multimedia production company, Ben's commitment to the Air Force inspired the elde.		President and land owner William Chambers and NRCS employee Karen Strohmeyer with no till pumpkin patch. Credit: Gary Wilson.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: President
 

"War Shots - President Bush 5" by Erich Peters Commentary: "President Bush greets the trrops."	"The First President" by Kelly Abbott Commentary: "A continental soldier."
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Familiar Quotations: President

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Historic Usage: President

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Use in Literature: President

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Non-Fiction Usage: President