Coordinates	52°55′″N16°3′″N
parent	News Corporation
founded	1819
founder	William Collins & Thomas Chalmers
status	Active
distribution	Worldwide
topics	Popular natural and social sciences
genre	Many
country	United Kingdom
headquarters	New York City
url	HarperCollins.com
imprints	Many }}

HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide CEO of HarperCollins is Brian Murray. The company publishes under many different imprints, and publishes the ''Collins English Dictionary''.

History

Collins was a Scottish printing company founded by a Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of Thomas Chalmers, minister of Tron Church, Glasgow. The company had to overcome many early obstacles, and Charles Chalmers left the business in 1825. The company eventually found success in 1841 as a printer of Bibles, and, in 1848, Collins's son Sir William Collins developed the firm as a publishing venture, specializing in religious and educational books. The company was renamed William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd. in 1868.

Although the early emphasis of the company had been on religion and education, Collins also published more widely. In 1917, with Sir Godfrey Collins in charge, the firm started publishing fiction. Collins Crime Club (1930–1994) published all but the first six of Agatha Christie's novels, as well as the British editions of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books and many others from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Upon purchasing the rights to the works of C.S. Lewis, Fount was established as Collins's religion imprint.

Collins ultimately became a diverse and prolific company, publishing a wide range of titles, including many aimed at a juvenile audience. By the late 1970s, Wm Collins & Sons was also responsible for publishing the long-running American Children's Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series in the United Kingdom. These were firstly published in a series of digest size hardbacks akin to their American style. Paperbacks (of a 'normal' rather than 'digest' size) soon followed from Collins' Armada Books imprint, although the series as published in England follow a different numbering system to the accepted American one. Collins's Armada Books imprint also published similar series, such as the Three Investigators, alongside such British stalwarts as Biggles, Billy Bunter, and Paddington Bear, and such well-loved authors as Enid Blyton, Malcolm Saville, Diana Pullein-Thompson.

Marshall Pickering was bought by Harper and Row in 1988. Marshall Pickering itself was formed in 1981 from two long established Christian publishers. Marshall Morgan and Scott, a London based predominantly Baptist publishing house, which had acquired a number of publishing companies over the years, such as Bagsters (Bible publishers since 1794) and Oliphants. Pickering and Inglis was a long established Glasgow based publisher, publishing largely for the non conformist church in Scotland with many Brethren publications. In 1989, Collins was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and the publisher was combined with Harper & Row, which NewsCorp had acquired two years earlier.

''Collins'' is still used as an imprint, chiefly for wildlife and natural history books (including the on-going New Naturalist series) and field guides, as well as English and bilingual dictionaries based on the Bank of English, a large corpus of contemporary English texts.

In 1999, News Corporation purchased the Hearst Book Group consisting of William Morrow & Company and Avon Books.

In August 2010, the company became embroiled in a legal battle with the BBC after a book it was due to publish, later identified as the forthcoming autobiography of racing driver Ben Collins, revealed the identity of The Stig from ''Top Gear''. In his blog, Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman accused HarperCollins of "hoping to cash in" on the BBC's intellectual property, describing the publishers as "a bunch of chancers." On September 1 the BBC's request for an injunction preventing the book from being published was turned down, effectively confirming the book's revelation that "The Stig" was indeed Collins.

HarperCollins Children's Books

Children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom was the director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 to 1973, overseeing the publication of classics such as ''Goodnight Moon'', ''Where the Wild Things Are'', ''The Giving Tree'', ''Charlotte's Web'', Beverly Cleary's series starring Ramona Quimby, and ''Harold and the Purple Crayon''. In 1998, Nordstrom's personal correspondence was published as ''Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom'' (illustrated by Maurice Sendak), edited by Charlotte Zolotow. Zolotow began her career as a stenographer to Nordstrom, became her protege, and went on to write more than 80 books and edit hundreds of others, including Nordstrom's ''The Secret Language'' and the works of Paul Fleischman. Zolotow later became head of the Children's Books Department, and went on to become the company's first female Vice-President.

In 2006, the company published ''Freaky Green Eyes'', which was written by the American author Joyce Carol Oates.

HarperStudio

HarperCollins announced HarperStudio in 2008 as a "new, experimental unit... that will eliminate the traditional profit distributions to authors. The long-established author advances and bookseller returns has not proved to be very profitable to either the author or the publisher. The approach HarperStudio is now taking is to offer little or no advance, but instead to split the profit 50% (rather than the industry standard 15%), with the author." The division was headed by Bob Miller, previously the founding publisher of Hyperion, the adult books division of the Walt Disney Company. HarperStudio folded in March 2010 after Miller left for Workman Publishing.

Web approach

In order to both boost book sales and reach the online market, HarperCollins offers a browsing feature on its website, whereby customers can read selected extracts from books before purchasing. There are some concerns among publishers with this approach because they feel that the online books could be exploited by file-sharing. In addition, excerpts of books are also available to mobile phone users. HarperCollins were first to market with an innovative approach to slushpile management with the introduction of the authonomy website.

eBook controversy

In March 2011, HarperCollins announced it would distribute eBooks to libraries with DRM enabled to delete the item after being lent 26 times. HarperCollins has drawn criticism of this plan, in particular its likening eBooks, which are purely digital, to traditional paperback trade books, which wear over time.

Notable authors

HarperCollins

Cecelia Ahern

David Attenborough

J.G. Ballard

Bill Branon

Michael Burleigh

Kathryn Casey

Paulo Coelho

Bernard Cornwell

Raymond E. Feist

Neil Gaiman

Max Hastings

Elmore Leonard

C. S. Lewis

Peter Mandelson

Hilary Mantel

Eric Newby

Michael A. O'Donnell

Terry Pratchett

Oliver Rackham

Sara Shepard

J. R. R. Tolkien

HarperCollins Tween/Children's Books

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series

Erin Hunter's Warriors series

Tina Wells' Mackenzie Blue

Ecco

A new translation by Edith Grossman of Don Quixote was published in 2003.

Imprints

HarperCollins has over 30 book imprints, most of which are based in the United States.

Amistad

Angus & Robertson

Julie Andrews Collection

Avon

Avon A

Avon Red

Balzer + Bray

Blue Door

Broadside Books

Caedmon

Ecco

EOS Books

Flamingo

Fourth Estate

Greenwillow Books

Harper

Harper Audio

Harper Business

Harper Design

Harper Festival

Harper Paperbacks

Harper Perennial

Harper Perennial Modern Classics

Harper Perennial Modern Thought

Harper Torch

Harper Trophy

HarperCollins Children's Audio

HarperCollins Children's Books

HarperCollins e-Books

HarperCollins Speakers Bureau

HarperLuxe

HarperOne HarperTeen

HarperVoyager

It Books

Moonstone

Morrow Cookbooks

William Morrow

Katherine Tegen Books

Rayo

Voyager

Walden Pond Press

Zondervan

See also

John Bartholomew and Son Ltd – Collins Bartholomew, cartographic division of HarperCollins.

Bilingual dictionary

COBUILD – a research facility set up by Collins in conjunction with the University of Birmingham.

Harper's Magazine – a separately owned magazine, although begun by the original Harper & Brothers.

List of largest UK book publishers

References

External links

HarperCollins Publishers India

HarperCollins Publishers US

HarperCollins Speakers Bureau

HarperCollins Publishers UK

Collins UK

HarperCollinsChildrens US

HarperCollins Publishers AUS

HarperCollins Publishers CAN

Zondervan

Collinslanguage.com English dictionary and thesaurus (free online lookup)

Times World Atlases official website published by Collins Geo

Fontana Modern Masters a groundbreaking series of pocket guides on eminent writers, philosophers and other thinkers, published by Collins under its paperback imprint, Fontana Books, in the 1970s

Category:Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Category:Book publishing companies based in New York Category:News Corporation subsidiaries Category:Companies established in 1819 Category:Science fiction publishers Category:Publishing companies established in the 1810s Category:Scottish brands

de:HarperCollins et:HarperCollins es:HarperCollins fa:انتشارات هارپرکالینز fr:HarperCollins it:HarperCollins ka:HarperCollins nl:HarperCollins ja:ハーパーコリンズ pl:Harper Collins pt:HarperCollins fi:HarperCollins tr:HarperCollins

Coordinates	52°55′″N16°3′″N
Honorific-prefix	The Right Honourable
Name	Stephen Harper
Honorific-suffix	PC MP
Order	22nd
Office	Prime Minister of Canada
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Term start	February 6, 2006
Predecessor	Paul Martin
Office2	Leader of the Opposition
Monarch2	Elizabeth II
Primeminister2	Paul Martin
Term start2	March 20, 2004
Term end2	February 6, 2006
Predecessor2	Grant Hill (Acting)
Successor2	Bill Graham (Acting)
Monarch3	Elizabeth II
Primeminister3	Jean ChrétienPaul Martin
Term start3	May 21, 2002
Term end3	January 8, 2004
Predecessor3	John Reynolds (Acting)
Successor3	Grant Hill (Acting)
Constituency mp4	Calgary Southwest
Parliament4	Canadian
Term start4	June 28, 2002
Predecessor4	Preston Manning
Constituency mp5	Calgary West
Parliament5	Canadian
Term start5	October 25, 1993
Term end5	June 2, 1997
Predecessor5	James Hawkes
Successor5	Rob Anders
Birth date	April 30, 1959
Birth place	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Spouse	Laureen Teskey(m. 1993-present)
Party	Conservative Party (2003–present)
Otherparty	Liberal Party (Before 1985)Progressive Conservative Party (1985–1986)Reform Party (1987–1997)Canadian Alliance (2002–2003)
Religion	Christian and Missionary Alliance
Children	Benjamin, Rachel
Residence	24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario (Official)Calgary, Alberta (Private)
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Profession	Economist
Signature	Stephen Harper Signature-rt.svg
Website	Official website }}

Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election. He is the first prime minister from the newly reconstituted Conservative Party, following a merger of the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties.

Harper has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Calgary Southwest in Alberta since 2002. Earlier, from 1993 to 1997, he was the MP for Calgary West. He was one of the founding members of the Reform Party, but did not seek re-election, and instead joined, and shortly thereafter led, the National Citizens Coalition. In 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance (the successor to the Reform Party) and returned to parliament as Leader of the Opposition. In 2003, he reached an agreement with Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay for the merger of their two parties to form the Conservative Party of Canada. He was elected as the party's first non-interim leader in March 2004.

Harper's Conservative Party won a stronger minority in the October 2008 federal election, showing a small increase in the percentage of the popular vote and increased representation in the Canadian House of Commons, with 143 of 308 seats. The 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved in March 2011, after a no-confidence vote that found the Cabinet in contempt of parliament was passed by the opposition parties.

On May 2, 2011, Harper's Conservative Party won a majority government in the May 2011 federal election, by winning 166 seats.

Early life

Harper was born in Toronto, the first of three sons of Margaret (née Johnston) and Joseph Harris Harper, an accountant at Imperial Oil. He attended Northlea Public School and, later, John G. Althouse Middle School and Richview Collegiate Institute, both in Central Etobicoke. He graduated in 1978, and was a member of Richview Collegiate's team on ''Reach for the Top'', a television quiz show for Canadian high school students. Harper then enrolled at the University of Toronto but dropped out after two months. He then moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he found work in the mail room at Imperial Oil. Later, he advanced to work on the company's computer systems. He took up post-secondary studies again at the University of Calgary, where he completed a bachelor's degree in economics. He later returned there to earn a master's degree in economics, completed in 1993. Harper has kept strong links to the University of Calgary, and often lectured there. He is the most recent prime minister since Joe Clark without a law degree.

Political beginnings

Harper became involved in politics as a member of his high school's Young Liberals Club. He later changed his political allegiance because he disagreed with the National Energy Program (NEP) of Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government. He became chief aide to Progressive Conservative MP Jim Hawkes in 1985, but later became disillusioned with both the party and the government of Brian Mulroney, especially the administration's fiscal policy and its inability to fully revoke the NEP until 1986. He left the PC Party that same year.

He was then recommended by the University of Calgary's economist Bob Mansell to Preston Manning, the founder and leader of the Reform Party of Canada. Manning invited him to participate in the party, and Harper gave a speech at Reform's 1987 founding convention in Winnipeg. He became the Reform Party's Chief Policy Officer, and he played a major role in drafting the 1988 election platform. He is credited with creating Reform's campaign slogan, "The West wants in!"

Harper ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 federal election, appearing on the ballot as Steve Harper in Calgary West. He lost by a wide margin to Hawkes, his former employer. The Reform Party did not win any seats in this election, although party candidate Deborah Grey was elected as the party's first MP in a by-election shortly thereafter. Harper became Grey's executive assistant, and was her chief adviser and speechwriter until 1993. He remained prominent in the Reform Party's national organization in his role as policy chief, encouraging the party to expand beyond its Western base and arguing that strictly regional parties were at risk of being taken over by radical elements. He delivered a speech at the Reform Party's 1991 national convention, in which he condemned extremist views.

Harper's relationship with Manning became strained in 1992, due to conflicting strategies over the Charlottetown Accord. Harper opposed the Accord on principle for ideological reasons, while Manning was initially more open to compromise. Harper also criticized Manning's decision to hire Rick Anderson as an adviser, believing that Anderson was not sufficiently committed to the Reform Party's principles. He resigned as policy chief in October 1992.

Harper stood for office again in the 1993 federal election, and defeated Jim Hawkes amid a significant Reform breakthrough in Western Canada. His campaign likely benefited from a $50,000 print and television campaign organized by the National Citizens Coalition against Hawkes, although the NCC did not endorse Harper directly.

Reform MP

Harper emerged a prominent member of the Reform Party of Canada caucus. He was active on constitutional issues during his first term in Parliament, and played a prominent role in drafting the Reform Party's strategy for the 1995 Quebec referendum. A long-standing opponent of centralized federalism, he stood with Preston Manning in Montreal to introduce a twenty-point plan to "decentralize and modernize" Canada in the event of a "no" victory. Harper later argued that the "no" side's narrow plurality was a worst-case scenario, in that no-one had won a mandate for change.

Harper has expressed socially conservative views on some issues. In 1994, he opposed plans by federal Justice Minister Allan Rock to introduce spousal benefits for same-sex couples. Citing the recent failure of a similar initiative in Ontario, he was quoted as saying, "What I hope they learn is not to get into it. There are more important social and economic issues, not to mention the unity question." Harper also spoke against the possibility of the Canadian Human Rights Commission or the Supreme Court changing federal policy in these and other matters.

At the Reform Party's 1994 policy convention, Harper was part of a small minority of delegates who voted against restricting the definition of marriage to "the union of one man and one woman". He actually opposed both same-sex marriage and mandated benefits for same-sex couples, but argued that political parties should refrain from taking official positions on these and other "issues of conscience".

Harper was the only Reform MP to support the creation of the Canadian Firearms Registry at second reading in 1995, although he later voted against it at third reading stage. He said at the time that he initially voted for the registry because of a poll showing that most of his constituents supported it, and added that he changed his vote when a second poll showed the opposite result. Some accused him of manipulating the second poll to achieve the result he wanted. It was reported in April 1995 that some Progressive Conservatives opposed to Jean Charest's leadership wanted to remove both Charest and Manning, and unite the Reform and Progressive Conservative parties under Harper's leadership.

Despite his prominent position in the party, Harper's relationship with the Reform Party leadership was frequently strained. In early 1994, he criticized a party decision to establish a personal expense account for Preston Manning at a time when other Reform MPs had been asked to forego parliamentary perquisites. He was formally rebuked by the Reform executive council despite winning support from some MPs. His relationship with Manning grew increasingly fractious in the mid-1990s, and he pointedly declined to express any opinion on Manning's leadership during a 1996 interview. This friction was indicative of a fundamental divide between the two men: Harper was strongly committed to conservative principles and opposed Manning's inclinations toward populism, which he saw as leading to compromise on core ideological matters.

These tensions culminated in late 1996 when Harper announced that he would not be a candidate in the next federal election. He resigned his parliamentary seat on January 14, 1997, the same day that he was appointed as a vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition (NCC), a conservative think-tank and advocacy group. He was promoted to NCC president later in the year.

In April 1997, Harper suggested that the Reform Party was drifting toward social conservatism and ignoring the principles of economic conservatism. The Liberal Party lost seats but managed to retain a narrow majority government in the 1997 federal election, while Reform made only modest gains.

Out of Parliament

1997–2000

Soon after leaving Parliament, Harper and Tom Flanagan co-authored an opinion piece entitled "Our Benign Dictatorship", which argued that the Liberal Party only retained power through a dysfunctional political system and a divided opposition. Harper and Flanagan argued that national conservative governments between 1917 and 1993 were founded on temporary alliances between Western populists and Quebec nationalists, and were unable to govern because of their fundamental contradictions. The authors called for an alliance of Canada's conservative parties, and suggested that meaningful political change might require electoral reforms such as proportional representation. "Our Benign Dictatorship" also commended Conrad Black's purchase of the Southam newspaper chain, arguing that his stewardship would provide for a "pluralistic" editorial view to counter the "monolithically liberal and feminist" approach of the previous management.

Harper remained active in constitutional issues. He was a prominent opponent of the Calgary Declaration on national unity in late 1997, describing it as an "appeasement strategy" against Quebec nationalism. He called for federalist politicians to reject this strategy, and approach future constitutional talks from the position that "Quebec separatists are the problem and they need to be fixed". In late 1999, Harper called for the federal government to establish clear rules for any future Quebec referendum on sovereignty. Some have identified Harper's views as an influence on the Chrétien government's Clarity Act.

As National Citizens Coalition (NCC) leader, Harper launched an ultimately unsuccessful legal battle against federal election laws restricting third-party advertising. He led the NCC in several campaigns against the Canadian Wheat Board, and supported Finance Minister Paul Martin's 2000 tax cuts as a positive first step toward tax reform.

In 1997, Harper delivered a controversial speech on Canadian identity to the Council for National Policy, a conservative American think tank. He made comments such as "Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it", "if you're like all Americans, you know almost nothing except for your own country. Which makes you probably knowledgeable about one more country than most Canadians", and "the NDP [New Democratic Party] is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men." These statements were made public and criticized during the 2006 election. Harper argued that the speech was intended as humour, and not as serious analysis.

Harper considered campaigning for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership in 1998, after Jean Charest left federal politics. Among those encouraging his candidacy were senior aides to Ontario Premier Mike Harris, including Tony Clement and Tom Long. He eventually decided against running, arguing that it would "burn bridges to those Reformers with whom I worked for many years" and prevent an alliance of right-wing parties from taking shape. Harper was skeptical about the Reform Party's United Alternative initiative in 1999, arguing that it would serve to consolidate Manning's hold on the party leadership. He also expressed concern that the UA would dilute Reform's ideological focus.

2000–01

When the United Alternative created the Canadian Alliance in 2000 as a successor party to Reform, Harper predicted that Stockwell Day would defeat Preston Manning for the new party's leadership. He expressed reservations about Day's abilities, however, and accused Day of "[making] adherence to his social views a litmus test to determine whether you're in the party or not". Harper endorsed Tom Long for the leadership, arguing that Long was best suited to take support from the Progressive Conservative Party. When Day placed first on the first ballot, Harper said that the Canadian Alliance was shifting "more towards being a party of the religious right".

After the death of Pierre Trudeau in 2000, Harper wrote an editorial criticizing Trudeau's policies as they affected Western Canada. He wrote that Trudeau "embraced the fashionable causes of his time, with variable enthusiasm and differing results", but "took a pass" on the issues that "truly defined his century". Harper subsequently accused Trudeau of promoting "unabashed socialism", and argued that Canadian governments between 1972 and 2002 had restricted economic growth through "state corporatism".

After the Canadian Alliance's poor showing in the 2000 election, Harper joined with other Western conservatives in co-authoring a document called the "Alberta Agenda". The letter called on Alberta to reform publicly-funded health care, replace the Canada Pension Plan with a provincial plan and replace the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with a provincial police force. It became known as the "firewall letter", because it called on the provincial government to "build firewalls around Alberta" in order to stop the federal government from redistributing its wealth to less affluent regions. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein agreed with some of the letter's recommendations, but distanced himself from the "firewall" comments.

Harper also wrote an editorial in late 2000 arguing that Alberta and the rest of Canada were "embark[ing] on divergent and potentially hostile paths to defining their country". He said that Alberta had chosen the "best of Canada's heritage—a combination of American enterprise and individualism with the British traditions of order and co-operation" while Canada "appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country [...] led by a second-world strongman appropriately suited for the task". He also called for a "stronger and much more autonomous Alberta", while rejecting calls for separatism. In the 2001 Alberta provincial election, Harper led the NCC in a "Vote Anything but Liberal" campaign. Some articles from this period described him as a possible successor to Klein.

Harper and the NCC endorsed a private school tax credit proposed by Ontario's Progressive Conservative government in 2001, arguing that it would "save about $7,000 for each student who does not attend a union-run public school". Education Minister Janet Ecker criticized this, saying that her government's intent was not to save money at the expense of public education.

Day's leadership of the Canadian Alliance became increasingly troubled throughout the summer of 2001, as several party MPs called for his resignation. In June, the ''National Post'' newspaper reported that former Reform MP Ian McClelland was organizing a possible leadership challenge on Harper's behalf. Harper announced his resignation from the NCC presidency in August 2001, to prepare a campaign.

Canadian Alliance leadership

Stockwell Day called a new Canadian Alliance leadership race for 2002, and soon declared himself a candidate. Harper emerged as Day's main rival, and declared his own candidacy on December 3, 2001. He eventually won the support of at least 28 Alliance MPs, including Scott Reid, James Rajotte and Keith Martin. During the campaign, Harper reprised his earlier warnings against an alliance with Quebec nationalists, and called for his party to become the federalist option in Quebec. He argued that "the French language is not imperilled in Quebec", and opposed "special status" for the province in the Canadian Constitution accordingly. He also endorsed greater provincial autonomy on Medicare, and said that he would not co-operate with the Progressive Conservatives as long as they were led by Joe Clark. On social issues, Harper argued for "parental rights" to use corporal punishment against their children and supported raising the age of sexual consent. He described his potential support base as "similar to what George Bush tapped".

The tone of the leadership contest turned hostile in February 2002. Harper described Day's governance of the party as "amateurish", while his campaign team argued that Day was attempting to win re-election by building a narrow support base among different groups in the religious right. The Day campaign accused Harper of "attacking ethnic and religious minorities". In early March, the two candidates had an especially fractious debate on CBC Newsworld. The leadership vote was held on March 20, 2002. Harper was elected on the first ballot with 55% support, against 37% for Day. Two other candidates split the remainder.

After winning the party leadership, Harper announced his intention to run for Parliament in a by-election in Calgary Southwest, recently vacated by Preston Manning. Ezra Levant had already been chosen as the riding's Alliance candidate and initially declared that he would not stand aside for Harper; he subsequently reconsidered. The Liberals did not field a candidate, following a parliamentary tradition of allowing opposition leaders to enter the House of Commons unopposed. The Progressive Conservative candidate, Jim Prentice, also chose to withdraw. Harper was elected without difficulty over New Democrat Bill Phipps, a former United Church of Canada moderator. Harper told a reporter during the campaign that he "despise[d]" Phipps, and declined to debate him.

Harper officially became Leader of the Opposition in May 2002. Later in the same month, he said that the Atlantic Provinces were trapped in "a culture of defeat" which had to be overcome, the result of policies designed by Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments. Many Atlantic politicians condemned the remark as patronizing and insensitive. The Legislature of Nova Scotia unanimously approved a motion condemning Harper's comments, which were also criticized by New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, federal Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark and others. Harper refused to apologize, and said that much of Canada was trapped by the same "can't-do" attitude.

His first 18 months as opposition leader were largely devoted towards consolidating the fractured elements of the Canadian Alliance and encouraging a union of the Canadian Alliance and the federal Progressive Conservatives. The aim of this union was to present only one right-of-center national party in the next federal election. In undertaking the merger talks, PC leader Peter MacKay reversed his previous agreement with leadership opponent David Orchard not to merge with the Alliance. After reaching an agreement with MacKay in October 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada officially merged in December, with the new party being named the "Conservative Party of Canada".

In March 2003 Harper and Stockwell Day co-wrote a letter to ''The Wall Street Journal'' in which they condemned the Canadian government's unwillingness to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Conservative Party leadership

On January 12, 2004, Harper announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition, in order to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Harper was elected the first leader of the Conservative Party, with a first ballot majority against Belinda Stronach and Tony Clement on March 20, 2004. Harper's victory included strong showings in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.

2004 federal election

Harper led the Conservatives into the 2004 federal election. Initially, new Prime Minister Paul Martin held a large lead in polls, but this eroded due to infighting, Adscam and other scandals surrounding his government. The Liberals attempted to counter this with an early election call, as this would give the Conservatives less time to consolidate their merger.

Martin's weak performance in the leader's debate, along with an unpopular provincial budget by Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty in Ontario, moved the Conservatives into a lead for a time. However, comments by Conservative MPs, leaked press releases slandering the then Prime Minister, as well as controversial TV attack ads suggesting that the Conservatives would make Canada more like the United States, caused Harper's party to lose some momentum.

Harper made an effort to appeal to voters in Quebec, a province where the Reform/Alliance side of the merged party had not done well. He was featured in several of the Tories' French-language campaign ads.

The Liberals were re-elected to power with a minority government, with the Conservatives coming in second place. The Conservatives managed to make inroads into the Liberals' Ontario stronghold, primarily in the province's socially conservative central region. However, they were shut out of Quebec, marking the first time that a centre-right party did not win any seats in that province. Harper, after some personal deliberation, decided to stay on as the party leader. Many credited him with bringing the Progressive Conservative Party and Canadian Alliance together in a short time to fight a close election.

Agreement with the BQ and the NDP

Two months after the federal election, Stephen Harper privately met with Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton in a Montreal hotel. On September 9, 2004, the three signed a letter addressed to then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, stating, }}

On the same day the letter was written, the three party leaders held a joint press conference at which they expressed their intent to co-operate on changing parliamentary rules, and to request that the Governor General consult with them before deciding to call an election. At the news conference, Harper said "It is the Parliament that's supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. That's a criticism I've had and that we've had and that most Canadians have had for a long, long time now so this is an opportunity to start to change that." However, at the time, Harper and the two other opposition leaders denied trying to form a coalition government. Harper said, "This is not a coalition, but this is a co-operative effort."

One month later, on October 4, Mike Duffy, now a Conservative senator (appointed by Harper), said "It is possible that you could change prime minister without having an election," and that some Conservatives wanted Harper to temporarily become prime minister without holding an election. The next day Layton walked out on talks with Harper and Duceppe, accusing them of trying to replace Paul Martin with Harper as prime minister. Both Bloc and Conservative officials denied Layton's accusations.

On March 26, 2011, Duceppe stated that Harper had tried to form a coalition government with the Bloc and NDP in response to Harper's allegations that the Liberals may form a coalition with the Bloc and the NDP.

Harper as Conservative leader and Leader of the Opposition

The Conservative Party's first policy convention was held from March 17–19, 2005, in Montreal. Harper had been rumoured to be shifting his ideology closer to that of a Blue Tory, and many thought he'd wanted to move the party's policies closer to the centre. Any opposition to abortion or bilingualism was dropped from the Conservative platform. Harper received an 84% endorsement from delegates in the leadership review.

Despite the party's move to the centre, the party began a concerted drive against same-sex marriage. Harper was criticized by a group of law professors for arguing that the government could override the provincial court rulings on same-sex marriage without using the "notwithstanding clause", a provision of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also argued, in general, for lower taxes, an elected Senate, a tougher stance on crime, and closer relations with the United States.

Following the April 2005 release of Jean Brault's damaging testimony at the Gomery Inquiry, implicating the Liberals in the scandal, opinion polls placed the Conservatives ahead of Liberals. The Conservatives had earlier abstained from the vote on the 2005 budget to avoid forcing an election. With the collapse in Liberal support and a controversial NDP amendment to the budget, the party exerted significant pressure on Harper to bring down the government. In May, Harper announced that the government had lost the "moral authority to govern". Shortly thereafter, the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois united to defeat the government on a vote that some considered to be either a confidence motion or else a motion requiring an immediate test of the confidence of the House. The Martin government did not accept this interpretation and argued that vote had been on a procedural motion, although they also indicated that they would bring forward their revised budget for a confidence vote the following week. Ultimately, the effort to bring down the Government failed following the decision of Conservative MP Belinda Stronach to cross the floor to the Liberal Party. The vote on the NDP amendment to the budget tied, and with the Speaker of the House voting to continue debate, the Liberals stayed in power. At the time, some considered the matter to be a constitutional crisis.

Harper was also criticized for supporting his caucus colleague MP Gurmant Grewal. Grewal had produced tapes of conversations with Tim Murphy, Paul Martin's chief of staff, in which Grewal claimed he had been offered a cabinet position in exchange for his defection.

The Liberals' support dropped after the first report from the Gomery Inquiry was issued. On November 24, 2005, Harper introduced a motion of non-confidence on the Liberal government, telling the House of Commons "that this government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons and needs to be removed." As the Liberals had lost NDP support in the house by refusing to accept an NDP plan to prevent health care privatization, the no-confidence motion was passed by a vote of 171–133. It was the first time that a Canadian government had been toppled by a straight motion of non-confidence proposed by the opposition. As a result, Parliament was dissolved and a general election was scheduled for January 23, 2006.

On February 27, 2008, allegations surfaced that two Conservative Party officials offered terminally ill, Independent MP Chuck Cadman a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote to bring down the Liberal government in a May 2005 budget vote. If the story had been proved true, the actions may have been grounds for charges as a criminal offence since, under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal to bribe an MP.

When asked by Vancouver journalist Tom Zytaruk about the alleged life insurance offer then-opposition leader Stephen Harper states on an audio tape "I don't know the details. I know there were discussions" and goes on to say "The offer to Chuck was that it was only to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election". Harper also stated that he had told the Conservative party representatives that they were unlikely to succeed. "I told them they were wasting their time. I said Chuck had made up his mind." In February 2008 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigated the allegations that Section 119's provisions on bribery and corruption in the Criminal Code had been violated. The RCMP concluded their investigation stating that there is no evidence for pressing charges.

Harper denied any wrongdoing and subsequently filed a civil libel suit against the Liberal Party of Canada. Since libel laws do not apply for statements made in the House of Commons, the basis of the lawsuit was that statements made by Liberal party members outside the House and in articles which appeared on the Liberal party web site made accusations that Harper had committed a criminal act.

The audio expert hired by Harper to prove that the tape containing the evidence was doctored reported that the latter part of the tape was recorded over, but the tape was unaltered where Harper's voice said "I don't know the details, I know that, um, there were discussions, um, but this is not for publication?" and goes on to say he "didn't know the details" when asked if he knew anything about the alleged offer to Cadman.

2006 federal election

The Conservatives began the campaign period with a policy-per-day strategy, contrary to the Liberal plan of holding off major announcements until after the Christmas holidays, so Harper dominated media coverage for the first weeks of the election. Though his party showed only modest movement in the polls, Harper's personal numbers, which had always significantly trailed those of his party, began to rise. In response, the Liberals launched negative ads targeting Harper, similar to their attacks in the 2004 election. However, their tactics were not sufficient to erode the Conservative's advantage, although they did manage to close what had been a ten point advantage in public opinion. As Harper's personal numbers rose, polls found he was now considered not only more trustworthy, but a better choice for Prime Minister than Martin.

Immediately prior to the Christmas break, in a faxed letter to NDP candidate Judy Wasylycia-Leis, the Commissioner of the RCMP, Giuliano Zaccardelli announced the RCMP had opened a criminal investigation into her complaint that it appeared Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's office had leaked information leading to insider trading before making an important announcement on the taxation of income trusts. On December 27, 2005, the RCMP confirmed that information in a press release. At the conclusion of the investigation, Serge Nadeau, a top Finance Department bureaucrat, was charged with criminal breach of trust. No charges were laid against then Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.

The election gave Harper's Conservatives the largest number of seats in the House, although not enough for a majority government, and shortly after midnight on January 24, Martin conceded defeat. Later that day, Martin informed Governor General Michaëlle Jean that he would resign as Prime Minister, and at 6:45 p.m. Jean asked Harper to form a government. Harper was sworn in as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister on February 6, 2006. In his first address to Parliament as head of government, Harper opened by paying tribute to the Queen and her "lifelong dedication to duty and self-sacrifice," referring to her specifically as Canada's head of state. He also said before the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce that Canada and the United Kingdom were joined by "the golden circle of the Crown, which links us all together with the majestic past that takes us back to the Tudors, the Plantagenets, the Magna Carta, ''habeas corpus'', petition of rights, and English common law." Jouralist Graham Fraser said in the ''Toronto Star'' that Harper's speech was "one of the most monarchist speeches a Canadian prime minister has given since John Diefenbaker." An analysis by Michael D. Behiels suggests a political realignment may be underway based on the continuance of Harper's government.

Prime Minister

2008 federal election

On October 14, 2008, after a 5 week long campaign, the Conservative Party won a federal election and increased its number of seats in Parliament to 143, up from 127 at the dissolution of the previous Parliament; however, the actual popular vote among Canadians dropped slightly by 167,494 votes. As a result of the lowest voter turnout in Canadian electoral history, this represented only 22% of eligible Canadian voters, the lowest level of support of any winning party in Canadian history. Meanwhile, the number of opposition Liberal MPs fell from 95 to 77 seats. It takes 155 MPs to form a majority government in Canada's 308 seat Parliament.

2008 Parliamentary dispute and prorogation

On December 4, 2008, Harper asked Governor General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue Parliament in order to avoid a vote of confidence scheduled for the following Monday, becoming the first Canadian PM ever to do so. The request was granted by Jean, and the prorogation lasted until January 26, 2009. The opposition coalition dissolved shortly after, with the Conservatives winning a Liberal supported confidence vote on January 29, 2009.

2010 prorogation

On December 30, 2009, Harper announced that he would request the governor general prorogue Parliament again, effective immediately on December 30, 2009, during the 2010 Winter Olympics and lasting until March 3, 2010. Harper stated that this was necessary for Canada's economic plan. Jean would grant the request. In an interview with CBC News, Prince Edward Island Liberal member of Parliament Wayne Easter accused the Prime Minister of "shutting democracy down". Tom Flanagan, Harper's University of Calgary mentor and former Chief of Staff, also questioned Harper's reasoning for prorogation, stating that "I think the government's talking points haven't been entirely credible" and that the government's explanation of proroguing was "skirting the real issue—which is the harm the opposition parties are trying to do to the Canadian Forces" regarding the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. The second prorogation in a year received some international criticism as being undemocratic. Demonstrations took place on January 23 in 64 Canadian cities and towns, and five cities in other countries. A Facebook protest group attracted over 20,000 members.

A poll released by Angus Reid on January 7, found that 53% of Canadians were opposed to the prorogation, while 19% supported it. 38% of Canadians believed that Harper used the prorogation to curtail the Afghan detainee inquiry, while 23% agreed with Harper's explanation that the prorogation was necessary economically.

2010 Senate appointments

Harper filled five vacancies in the Senate of Canada with appointments of new Conservative senators, on January 29, 2010. The Senators filled vacancies in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick, as well as two vacancies in Ontario. The new senators were Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, of Quebec, Bob Runciman, of Ontario, Vim Kochhar, of Ontario, Elizabeth Marshall of Newfoundland and Labrador and Rose-May Poirier, of New Brunswick. This changed the party standings in the Senate, which had been dominated by Liberals, to 51 Conservatives, 49 Liberals, and five others.

2011 Vote of non-confidence

Harper's Conservative government was defeated in a no-confidence vote on March 25, 2011, after being found in contempt of Parliament, thus triggering a general election. This was the first occurrence in Commonwealth history of a government in the Westminster parliamentary tradition losing the confidence of the House of Commons on the grounds of contempt of Parliament. The no-confidence motion was carried with a vote of 156 in favor of the motion, and 145 against.

2011 Election

On May 2, 2011, after a 5-week campaign, the Conservative Party won a federal election, increasing its number of seats in Parliament to 166, up from 143 at the dissolution of the previous Parliament, and securing a majority government. The Conservative Party also received a greater number of total votes than in 2008. Aside from ending five years of minority governments, this election was notable for a number of firsts: bringing the New Democratic Party to official opposition status, the election of Canada's first Green Party Member of Parliament, and the decline of the Bloc Quebecois (from 47 to 4 seats).

Domestic policy

Unlike his recent predecessors, Harper did not name one of his colleagues to the largely honorific post of Deputy Prime Minister. Various observers had expected him to name MacKay, the former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and his deputy party leader, or Lawrence Cannon, as a Quebec lieutenant, to the post. Harper did, however, name an order of succession to act on his behalf in certain circumstances, starting with Cannon, then Jim Prentice, then the balance of his cabinet in order of precedence.

After sidestepping the political landmine for most of the first year of his time as prime minister, much as all the post-Charlottetown Accord prime ministers had done, Harper's hand was forced to reopen the Quebec sovereignty debate after the opposition Bloc Québécois were to introduce a motion in the House that called for recognition of Quebec as a "nation". On November 22, 2006, Harper introduced his own motion to recognize that "the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada." Five days later, Harper's motion passed, with a margin of 266-16; all federalist parties, as well as the Bloc Québécois, were formally behind it.

Economic management

As of January 2010, the ruling Conservatives had raised the federal deficit back to $36 billion dollars. It is claimed by certain pundits that the Conservatives raised Canada's deficit to the largest in the country's history. At the same time, Canada had the lowest Debt-to-GDP in the G7 economies. The Economist magazine stated that Canada had come out the recession stronger than any other rich country in the G7.

Senate

In 2004, Harper said "the Upper House remains a dumping ground for the favoured cronies of the prime minister." During his term as prime minister from 2006 to 2008, Harper let senate retirements go unfilled. This resulted in 16 senate vacancies by the October 2008 election. The one exception to this policy was Michael Fortier. When Harper first took office, he directed the governor general to appoint Michael Fortier to both the Senate and the Cabinet, arguing the government needed representation from the city of Montreal. Although there is a precedent for this action in the Westminster system, the appointment led to criticism from opponents who claimed Harper was reneging on his push for an elected senate. In 2008 Mr Fortier gave up his senate seat and sought election as a Member of Parliament but was defeated by a large margin by the incumbent Bloc Québécois MP.

After the October 2008 election, Harper again named Senate reform again as a priority. However, by December 2008, Harper had appointed 18 senators. In 2009 he appointed an additional 9 senators. Many of those appointed had close ties with the Conservative Party, including the campaign manager of the Conservative Party, Doug Finley. Critics accused Harper of hypocrisy (the Liberals coined the term "Harpocrisy"). Conservative Senator, Bert Brown, defended Harper's appointments, and said "the only way [the Senate]'s ever been filled is by having people that are loyal to the prime minister who's appointing them."

Census controversy

Ahead of the Canada 2011 Census, the Harper government announced that the long-form questionnaire (which collects detailed demographic information) will no longer be mandatory. According to Minister of Industry Tony Clement, the change was made because of privacy-related complaints and after consulting with Statistics Canada. However, Canada's privacy commissioner reported only receiving three complaints between 1995 and 2010, according to a report in the Toronto Sun.

Munir Sheikh, Canada's Chief Statistician appointed by Harper, resigned on July 21, 2010, in protest of the Harper government's change in policy. Ivan Fellegi, the former Chief Statistician of Canada, criticized Harper government's decision, saying that those who are most vulnerable (such as the poor, new immigrants, and aboriginals) are least likely to respond to a voluntary form, which weakens information about their demographic.

The move was opposed by some governmental and non-governmental organizations. Federation of Canadian Municipalities; City of Toronto; Canadian Jewish Congress; Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Canadian Medical Association; Statistical Society of Canada; the American Statistical Association; and Registered Nurses Association of Ontario all opposed the change. However, the Fraser Institute supported the change. The provincial governments of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba, also opposed the change.

Foreign policy

During his term, Harper has dealt with many foreign policy issues relating to the United States, War on terror, Arab-Israeli conflict, free trade, China and Africa.

In 2009, Harper visited China. During the visit Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao publicly scolded Harper for not visiting earlier, pointing out that "this is the first meeting between the Chinese premier and a Canadian prime minister in almost five years." In 2008, former prime minister Jean Chrétien had criticized Harper for missing opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On September 11, 2007, Harper visited Australia and addressed its Parliament.

Michael Ignatieff criticized Harper for cutting foreign aid to Africa by $700 million, falling short of the UN Millennium Development Goals, and cutting eight African countries from the list of priority aid recipients.

Afghanistan

On March 11 and March 12, 2006, Harper made a surprise trip to Afghanistan, where Canadian Forces personnel have been deployed as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force since late 2001, to visit troops in theatre as a show of support for their efforts, and as a demonstration of the government's commitment to reconstruction and stability in the region. Harper's choice of a first foreign visit was closely guarded from the press until his arrival in Afghanistan (citing security concerns), and is seen as marking a significant change in relationship between the government and the military. Harper returned to Afghanistan on May 22, 2007, in a surprise two-day visit which included visiting Canadian troops at the forward operating base at Ma'Sum Ghar, located south of Kandahar, making Harper the first Prime Minister to have visited the front lines of a combat operation.

Israeli and Jewish affairs

At the outset of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Harper defended Israel's "right to defend itself" and described its military campaign in Lebanon as a "measured" response, arguing that Hezbollah's release of kidnapped IDF soldiers would be the key to ending the conflict. Speaking of the situation in both Lebanon and Gaza on July 18, Harper said he wanted "not just a ceasefire, but a resolution" but such a thing would not happen until Hezbollah and Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist. Harper blamed Hezbollah for all the civilian deaths. He asserted that Hezbollah's objective is to destroy Israel through violence.

The media noted that Harper didn't allow reporters opportunities to ask him questions on his position. Some Canadians, including many Arab and Lebanese Canadians, criticized Harper's description of Israel's response.

In December 2008, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations recognized Harper's support for Israel with its inaugural International Leadership Award, pointing out Harper's decision to boycott the Durban II anti-racism conference, and his government's "support for Israel and [its] efforts at the U.N. against incitement and ... the delegitimization [of Israel]".

In March 2009, Harper spoke at a Parliament Hill ceremony organized by Chabad-Lubavitch to honor the Jewish victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which included an attack on the Nariman House. He expressed condolences over the murder at Chabad's Mumbai center of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka. Harper described the killings as "affronts to the values that unite all civilized people". Harper added that the quick installment of a new rabbi at the Chabad center in Mumbai as a signal that the Jewish people will "never bow to violence and hatred".

In 2010, Canada lost a bid for a seat on the UN Security Council. While initially blaming the loss on his rival Ignatieff, Harper later said that it was due to his pro-Israeli stance. Harper then said that he would take a pro-Israeli stance, no matter what the political cost to Canada. Ignatieff criticized Harper's stance as a "mistake", saying Canada would be better able to defend Israel through the Security Council than from the sidelines and pointed out that it is the Security Council that will determine if sanctions are imposed on Iran. Ignatieff also accused Harper of steering the discussion away from implementing the two-state solution, and instead rendering all discussion into a competition "about who is Israel's best friend".

Free Trade with EFTA

On June 7, 2007, the Conservative government announced it had finalized free trade negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Under this agreement, Canada increased its trade ties with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In 2006, the value of trade between these partners was $10.7 billion. Canada had originally begun negotiations with the EFTA on October 9, 1998, but talks broke down due to a disagreement over subsidies to shipyards in Atlantic Canada.

United States

Shortly after being congratulated by George W. Bush for his victory, Harper rebuked U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins for criticizing the Conservatives' plans to assert Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean waters with armed forces. Harper's first meeting as Prime Minister with the U.S. President occurred at the end of March 2006.

The Harper Government received American news coverage during the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential primaries after the details of a conversation between Barack Obama's economic advisor Austan Goolsbee, and Canadian diplomat Georges Rioux were revealed. Reportedly Goolsbee was reassuring the Canadians that Obama's comments on potentially renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were more political rhetoric than actual policy. The accuracy of these reports has been debated by both the Obama campaign and the Canadian Government. The news came at a key time nearing the Ohio and Texas primaries where, perceptions among Democratic voters is that the benefits of the NAFTA agreement are dubious. Thus the appearance that Obama was not being completely forthright was attacked by his opponent Hillary Clinton. ABC News reported that Harper's Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie was responsible for the details reaching the hands of the media. Harper has denied that Brodie was responsible for the leak, and launched an investigation to find the source. The Opposition, as well as Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, criticized the Government on the issue, stating they were trying to help the Republicans by helping Hillary Clinton win the Democratic nomination instead of Obama. They also alleged the leak would hurt relations with the United States if Obama ever were to become President. Obama was elected President in November. In February, Obama made his first foreign visit, as president, to Ottawa, in which he affirmed support for free trade with Canada, as well as complimenting Canada on its involvement in Afghanistan.

Media relations and information

Harper has insisted on his right to choose who asks questions at press conferences , which has caused the national media to lodge complaints. In 2007, Harper was awarded the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) "Code of Silence Award" for his "white-knuckled death grip on public information". "If journalists can't get basic information from the federal government, Canadians can't hold the government accountable. The Prime Minister's Office has repeatedly demonstrated contempt for the public's right to know," [CAJ President] Welch said. "Harper pledged to run a government that was open, transparent and accountable, but his track record to-date has been abysmal." Some have alleged that the Prime Minister's Office also "often informs the media about Harper's trips at such short notice that it's impossible for Ottawa journalists to attend the events". Harper's director of communications has denied this, saying that "this prime minister has been more accessible, gives greater media scrums and provides deeper content than any prime minister has in the last 10 to 12 years". Some suggest that the Conservatives' then recent electoral success could be credited to their control of the campaign message, a practice that they continued when they became the government.

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) have criticized Harper's control over the media. In an open letter of June 2010, the CAJ wrote "Politicians should not get to decide what information is released. This information belongs to Canadians, the taxpayers who paid for its production. Its release should be based on public interest, not political expediency. This breeds contempt and suspicion of government. How can people know the maternal-health initiative has been well thought out or that the monitoring of aboriginal bands has been done properly if all Canadians hear is: 'Trust us'?"

Supreme Court appointments

Harper chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the governor general:

Marshall Rothstein (March 1, 2006 – present)

Thomas Cromwell (Sept. 5, 2008 – present)

Justice Rothstein

In keeping with Harper's election promise to change the appointment process, Rothstein's appointment involved a review by a parliamentary committee, following his nomination by the Prime Minister. Rothstein had already been short-listed, with two other candidates, by a committee convened by Paul Martin's previous Liberal government, and he was Harper's choice. Harper then had Rothstein appear before an 'ad hoc', non-partisan committee of 12 Members of Parliament. This committee was not empowered to block the appointment, though, as had been called for by some members of Harper's Conservative Party.

Justice Cromwell

On September 5, 2008, Harper nominated Justice Cromwell of Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the departure of Justice Michel Bastarache. By and large Cromwell's nomination has been well received, with many lauding the selection, however dissent has been noted surrounding the nomination. First, Harper bypassed Parliament's Supreme Court selection panel, which was supposed to produce a list of three candidates for him to chose from. Second, Newfoundland Justice Minister Jerome Kennedy criticized the appointment, citing the Newfoundland government's belief that constitutional convention stipulates that a Newfoundlander should have been named to the Court in the rotation of Atlantic Canadian Supreme Court representation.

Honours

Harper received the Woodrow Wilson Award on October 6, 2006, for his public service in Calgary. It was held at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, the same place where he made his victory speech.

''Time'' magazine named him as Canada's Newsmaker of the Year in 2006. Stephen Handelman wrote "that the prime minister who was once dismissed as a doctrinaire backroom tactician with no experience in government has emerged as a warrior in power".

On June 27, 2008, Harper was awarded the Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism by B'nai B'rith International. He is the first Canadian to be awarded this medal.

On July 11, 2011, Harper was honoured by Alberta's Blood tribe. He was made honorary Chief of the Blood Tribe during a ceremony, in which they recognized him for making an official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada for the residential schools abuse. Harper issued this apology in 2008. The Chief of the tribe explained that he believes the apology officially started the healing and rebuilding of relations between the federal and native councils. Lester B. Pearson, John Diefenbaker and Jean Chretien are the only other Prime Ministers of Canada to be awarded the same honorary title.

Personal life

Harper married Laureen Teskey in 1993. Laureen was formerly married to New Zealander Neil Fenton from 1985 to 1988. They have two children: Benjamin and Rachel. He is the third Prime Minister, after Pierre Trudeau and John Turner, to send his children to Rockcliffe Park Public School, in Ottawa. He is a member of the evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance and attends church at the East Gate Alliance Church in Ottawa.

An avid follower of ice hockey, he has been a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs since his childhood in the Leaside and Etobicoke communities in Toronto. He is working on a book of the history of hockey and writes articles occasionally on the subject. Harper appeared on The Sports Network (TSN) during the broadcast of the Canada–Russia final of the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was interviewed and expressed his views on the state of hockey, and his preference for an overtime period in lieu of a shoot-out. In February 2010, Harper interviewed former National Hockey League greats Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe for a Saskatoon Kinsmen Club charity event.

Harper taped a cameo appearance in an episode of the television show ''Corner Gas'' which aired March 12, 2007. He reportedly owns a large vinyl record collection and is a fan of The Beatles and AC/DC. In October 2009, he joined Yo-Yo Ma on stage in a National Arts Centre gala and performed "With a Little Help from My Friends". He was also accompanied by Herringbone, an Ottawa band with whom he regularly practises. He received a standing ovation after providing the piano accompaniment and lead vocals for the song.

In October 2010, Harper taped a cameo appearance in an episode of the television show ''Murdoch Mysteries'', which aired July 20, 2011, during the show's fourth season.

Harper is tall. He is the first Prime Minister to employ a personal stylist, Michelle Muntean, whose duties range from co-ordinating his clothing to preparing his hair and makeup for speeches and television appearances. While formerly on public payroll, she has been paid for by the Conservative Party since "some time [in] 2007".

Electoral record

All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

See also

28th Canadian Ministry The Harper cabinet

List of current heads of state and government

List of Prime Ministers of Canada

List of Prime Ministers of Queen Elizabeth II

United States – Canada softwood lumber dispute

References

Further reading

Behiels, Michael D. "Stephen Harper's Rise to Power" (PDF) ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' Spring 2010, Vol. 40 Issue 1, pp 118–45

Chantal, Hébert. (2007) ''French Kiss: Stephen Harper's Blind Date with Quebec'' Vintage Canada, ISBN 9780676979084

Cody, Howard. "Minority Government In Canada: The Stephen Harper Experience" ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 2008 38(1): 27-42

Flanagan, Tom. (2009) ''Harper’s Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power'' (2nd ed), ISBN 9780773535459

Johnson, William. (2006) ''Stephen Harper & the Future of Canada'' (2nd ed) Douglas Gibson, ISBN 0771043503

Mackey, Lloyd. (2005) ''"The pilgrimage of Stephen Harper''" ECW Press ISBN 1550227130

Martin, Lawrence. ''"Harperland: The Politics of Control"'' ''Viking Canada'' (2010). ISBN 9780670065172

Plamondon, Bob. ''Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics'' (2006), 472 pp., ISBN 9781552638552

External links

Prime Minister of Canada – official website

Stephen Harper's M.A. Thesis

CBC – The Conservative Leader

Office of the Prime Minister's YouTube channel

P.M. Harper Sings

Harper's Air Miles - Stephen Harper's foreign trips, since 2006

;Notes: Order of precedence Category:1959 births Category:Canadian economists Category:Canadian Newsmakers of the Year Category:Conservative Party of Canada MPs Category:Current national leaders Category:Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Alberta Category:Members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Category:Leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada Category:Leaders of the Opposition (Canada) Category:Living people Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada Category:People from East York, Toronto Category:People from Calgary Category:Prime Ministers of Canada Category:Reform Party of Canada MPs Category:University of Calgary alumni

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Coordinates	52°55′″N16°3′″N
background	solo_singer
birth date	June 12, 1941
birth place	Rusholme, Manchester, England
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Folk, progressive folk, folk rock, alternative rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, poet
years active	1964–present
label	Science Friction, Harvest
website	}}

Roy Harper (born 12 June 1941) is an English rock / folk singer-songwriter / guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s. Harper has described American blues musician Leadbelly and folk singer Woody Guthrie as his biggest musical influences when he was growing up. As a musician, Harper is known for his distinctive fingerstyle playing and lengthy, complex compositions. He has released a large catalogue of albums as an artist, most of which are available on his own record label Science Friction.

His influence has been acknowledged by many musicians including Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Pete Townshend of The Who, Kate Bush, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, as well as more recently by Californian harpist Joanna Newsom and Seattle-based acoustic band Fleet Foxes. Harper also sang guest lead vocals on Pink Floyd's song "Have a Cigar", and inspired the title of the Led Zeppelin song "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper".

Biography

Early life

Harper was born in 1941 in Rusholme, a suburb of Manchester. After the death of his mother, Muriel, during childbirth, he was raised in Blackpool by his father and stepmother, with whom he became disillusioned because of her Jehovah's Witness beliefs. Harper's anti-religious views would later become a familiar theme within his music.

At the age of 10, he began playing skiffle music with his older brother David, ("Davey" on the album ''Flat Baroque and Berserk''), as well as becoming influenced by blues music. Harper was educated at private school King Edward VII School, Lytham St Annes. He left school at the age of 15 and joined the Royal Air Force. This eventually resulted in his rejecting the rigid discipline, feigning madness in order to obtain a military discharge and receiving electroconvulsive therapy as a result. Upon his eventual discharge, he busked around Europe until 1964 when he returned to England, gaining a residency at London's famous Soho folk music club, Les Cousins.

The 1960s

Harper's first album, ''Sophisticated Beggar'', was recorded in 1966 after he was spotted at Les Cousins, and signed to Peter Richards' Strike Records. The album consisted of Harper's poetry backed by acoustic guitar and recorded with a Revox tape machine by Pierre Tubbs. CBS Records recognised Harper's potential and hired producer Shel Talmy to arrange Harper's second album, ''Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith'', released in 1968. The 11 minute track "Circle" was notable for marking a widening of Harper's musical style away from the more traditional folk music heard at the time.

In May 1968, Harper began to make regular appearances at free concerts in London's Hyde Park, attracting a cult following of fans from the underground music scene. Harper also toured the UK, performing at numerous venues that would later become recognised for the variety and quality of their musical acts; Mothers in Birmingham was one venue to which Harper would frequently return.

1969's ''Folkjokeopus'' (Harper's third album), in a similar vein to his previous album, included an extended 17-minute track called "McGoohan's Blues", which Harper referred to as the "main statement" within the album. The track's title referred to actor Patrick McGoohan, who was at the time starring in the UK TV series ''The Prisoner''.

The 1970s

Harper's first tour of the United States followed the release of his fourth studio album, ''Flat Baroque and Berserk'', in 1969. The album also featured The Nice on the track "Hell's Angels". Its ethereal sound was achieved by a wah-wah pedal attached to Harper's acoustic guitar. This album also marked the beginning of Harper's long and sometimes confrontational association with EMI, whose subsidiary Harvest Records he was signed to.

After the Bath Festival of 1970, Led Zeppelin paid tribute to Harper with their version of the traditional song, "Shake 'Em on Down", the definitive version of which was originally recorded by blues artist Bukka White. Retitled "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper", it appeared on the album ''Led Zeppelin III''. According to Jimmy Page, the band admired the way Harper stood by his principles and did not sell out to commercial pressures. In mutual appreciation of their work, Harper would often attend live performances by Led Zeppelin over the subsequent decade, contributed sleeve photography to the album ''Physical Graffiti'' and also appeared, uncredited, in the 1976 Led Zeppelin documentary film, ''The Song Remains the Same''.

Harper's critically acclaimed 1971 album was a four-song epic, ''Stormcock''. The album featured Jimmy Page on guitar (credited as "S. Flavius Mercurius" for contractual reasons) and David Bedford's orchestral arrangements (Bedford would also collaborate on future Harper releases). Johnny Marr, The Smiths' guitarist, said that ''Stormcock'' was "intense and beautiful and clever". In 1972, Harper made his acting debut playing Mike Preston alongside Carol White in the John Mackenzie film ''Made''. The soundtrack for this film appeared the following year as the album ''Lifemask''. At the time, ''Lifemask'' was created as Harper's final bow, as he had been diagnosed with the (then) little-known lung condition HHT, which caused polycythemia, incapacitating the singer. The cover art shows Harper's 'death mask'.

After he recovered, Harper's next album, ''Valentine'', was released on Valentine's Day, 14 February 1974, and featured contributions from Jimmy Page. A concert to mark its release was held on the same day, at London's Rainbow Theatre, with Page, Bedford, Max Middleton (of The Jeff Beck Group) on keyboards, Ronnie Lane on bass and Keith Moon on drums. The live album ''Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion'', recorded at that concert, soon followed.

Pink Floyd's 1975 release ''Wish You Were Here'' saw Harper sing lead vocals on the song "Have a Cigar". David Gilmour returned the favour by appearing on Harper's next album, ''HQ'', along with Harper's occasional backing band, Trigger (Chris Spedding on guitar, Dave Cochran on bass guitar, Bill Bruford on drums), and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. The single "When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease", taken from the album, is Harper's biggest-selling song to date. Harper also co-wrote the song "Short and Sweet" with Gilmour for Gilmour's first solo record, ''David Gilmour'', released in 1978.

Controversy followed the release of 1977's ''Bullinamingvase''. The owners of Watford Gap service station objected to criticism of their food ("''Watford Gap, Watford Gap / A plate of grease and a load of crap…''") in the lyrics of the song "Watford Gap". Harper was forced to drop it from future UK copies of the album, though it reappeared on a later CD reissue and remained on the U.S. LP. The album also featured the song "One of Those Days in England", with backing vocals by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda, an edited version of which became a Top 40 hit. In April 1978, Harper began writing lyrics for the next Led Zeppelin album with Jimmy Page, but the project was shelved when Robert Plant returned from a sabbatical after the death of his son.

Between 1975 and 1978, Harper spent considerable time in the United States. During this period Harper signed with the US division of Chrysalis Records, who released ''HQ'' with a different title (''When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease'') and cover. Chrysalis considered the original UK sleeve photo of Harper walking on water to be too offensive for an American release. Harper disagreed, but was given no choice by the label. Chrysalis also changed the title of Harper's next album, ''Bullinamingvase'', to ''One of Those Days in England''. In 1978, US Chrysalis reissued Harper's first five Harvest albums, only one of which (''Flat, Baroque and Berserk'') had been previously released in America.

For much of the 1970s, Harper was managed and produced by British manager and record producer Peter Jenner, initially acting for Blackhill Enterprises. According to Jenner, "Harper is a terrific songwriter, but a bit crazy".

The 1980s

Harper began the decade with the release of ''The Unknown Soldier'', which was to be his final Harvest release. The album contains a duet with Kate Bush on the track, "You". (Harper reciprocated by singing backing vocals on "Breathing", on the Kate Bush album ''Never For Ever''). Of Bush, Harper later stated, A decade later, Harper and Bush would collaborate again on his album ''Once''.

Harper's 1982 album, ''Work of Heart'', marked the formation of Harper's own record label with Mark Thompson (son of English historian, socialist and peace campaigner E.P. Thompson), entitled Public Records. The album itself was chosen by Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times as "Album of the Year" in 1982. The original demo version of this album was later released (in 1984) on a limited edition (830 copies) vinyl release entitled ''Born in Captivity''.

Of this period, Harper stated, }}

Throughout 1984, Harper toured the United Kingdom with Jimmy Page, performing a predominantly acoustic set at folk festivals under various guises such as The MacGregors, and Themselves. In 1985, they released an album called ''Whatever Happened to Jugula?''. This album caused a resurgence of interest in Harper and his music. (Tony Franklin, bass player in Harper's group at this time, would later join Page in The Firm). In April 1984, Harper and Gilmour performed "Short and Sweet" (the song they co-wrote) during Gilmour's three-night run at The Hammersmith Odeon. This version later appeared on the ''David Gilmour Live 1984'' concert film. Harper also provided backing vocals on Gilmour's newly released album, ''About Face''.

Perhaps due to the popularity of ''Whatever Happened to Jugula?'', Harper re-signed to EMI and in 1986 released a live album, ''In Between Every Line'', containing recordings from his performances at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and in 1988 the studio album, ''Descendants of Smith''. The renewed relationship between Harper and EMI did not last, and from 1985 more of his earlier albums became available on the Awareness Records label. 1988 also saw the release of ''Loony on the Bus'', a collection of tracks intended for release in 1977 as ''Commercial Breaks'' but held back because of disputes between Harper and EMI.

The 1990s

Harper was very productive in the 1990s, releasing four studio albums: ''Once'' (1990), ''Death or Glory?'' (1992), ''Commercial Breaks'' (1994), ''The Dream Society'' (1998); and eight live albums: ''Unhinged'' (1993), ''Live At Les Cousins'' (1996), and six individual CDs of concerts recorded by the BBC (1997).

In addition, Harper released a live video ''Once'' (1990), an EP ''Burn the World'' (1990), a CD single ''The Methane Zone'' (1992), a limited edition live cassette ''Born in Captivity II'' (1992), a compilation album ''An Introduction to .....'' (1994), a collection of poetry and spoken word tracks ''Poems, Speeches, Thoughts and Doodles'' (1997), and a reissue of ''Descendants of Smith'' (his 1988 release) renamed ''Garden of Uranium'' (1994). In 1994 much of Harper's back catalogue became available on CD through his own record label Science Friction.

''Once'' featured contributions from David Gilmour, Kate Bush, Nigel Mazlyn Jones. In 1992, his marriage to his wife Jacqui ended. ''Death or Glory?'' contains a number of songs and spoken word pieces that reference his loss and pain.

Throughout the decade, Harper's musical influence began to be recognised by a younger generation of musicians, some of whom covered his songs or invited him to make guest appearances on their albums. In 1995 Harper contributed spoken words on The Tea Party's 1995 album ''The Edges of Twilight'' and appeared on stage for their New Year concert in Montreal. In 1996 Roy recited "Bad Speech" from the album ''Whatever Happened to Jugula?'' on the album ''Eternity'' by Anathema (the album also contains a cover version of "Hope" from the same album). The track "Time" from The Tea Party's 1996 multimedia CD, ''Alhambra'', was sung and co-written by Harper.

Harper contributed his version of Jethro Tull's song, "Up the 'Pool" (from ''Living in the Past'') for the 1996 tribute album, ''To Cry You A Song - A Collection Of Tull Tales''. In 1998, Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson contributed flute to the song, "These Fifty Years" on Harper's ''The Dream Society'', an album based on Harper's life, particularly his youth. Reportedly, Anderson said that the only reason he originally left Blackpool was because Harper did. Other artists who covered Harper's songs (or songs on his albums) throughout the decade include Dean Carter, Ava Cherry & The Astronettes, Green Crown, The Kitchen Cynics, The Levellers, Roydan Styles and Pete Townshend.

Harper also undertook a small tour of the USA, where some performances were supported by Daevid Allen, former Soft Machine and Gong band member.

The 2000s

In 2000, Harper released an almost entirely acoustic album, ''The Green Man'', accompanied by The Tea Party's Jeff Martin on guitar, hurdy gurdy and numerous other instruments. The following year (2001) Harper celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall. Harper was joined by numerous guest artists, including David Bedford, Jeff Martin and John Renbourn. A recording of the concert ''Royal Festival Hall Live – June 10th 2001'' was released as a double CD shortly afterwards.

In 2003, Harper published ''The Passions of Great Fortune'', a large format book containing all the lyrics to his albums (and singles) to date, which also included a wealth of photographs and commentary on his songs.

In April 2005, Harper released a lengthy CD single, ''The Death of God''. The 13 minute song, a critique of the war in Iraq, featured guest guitarist Matt Churchill, who has also joined Harper on stage at his live performances. A video of this song, intermixing animation with a live performance, is available in four parts on YouTube. The same year saw the release of Harper's latest album, ''Counter Culture'', a double compilation album featuring songs from a 35-year songwriting period. ''Counter Culture'' received a five-star review from ''UNCUT'' magazine. Harper also contributed a recital of "Jabberwocky" for ''The Wildlife Album'', an 18-track compilation CD to benefit the World Wide Fund For Nature and the Ulster Wildlife Trust.

2006 saw Harper release his first DVD, ''Beyond the Door''. Composed of live footage recorded in 2004 at Irish folk club "De Barra's" in Clonakilty, Cork, the package includes an additional 10-track audio CD and received a 4-star review from both ''Mojo'' and ''UNCUT'', as well as from ''Classic Rock'' magazine, who made it their "DVD of the month".

In September 2007, Harper supported Californian harpist Joanna Newsom at her Royal Albert Hall performance. Newsom had been impressed by Harper's 1971 album ''Stormcock'' and it served as an inspiration for her second album, ''Ys''. During his Royal Albert Hall appearance with Newsom, Harper played ''Stormcock'' in its entirety. At the time, Harper made an announcement on his website that he was "...taking a break from the live scene... retired from gigging..." and just wanted "...the time and space to write..."

Harper has dedicated the last few years to collecting and compiling his life's work in various formats. One of his future projects is likely to be the making of a documentary DVD to round off this process.

In 2008, plans were announced for a Roy Harper tribute album. The album, ''All You Need is What You Have'' (named after songs on Harper's 1969 release ''Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith''), is being compiled by Laurel Canyon folk singer Jonathan Wilson, and features Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), Johnathan Rice, Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats, The Shins), Benji Hughes and others. At present, the collection remains unfinished, having been delayed beyond its planned 2009 release date and into 2010. Some of the tracks can be heard on the project's Myspace page.

In 2010, Newsom once again invited Harper to be Special Guest for her on several of her European Tour Dates. Plans for Harper to star in the film Rebel City Rumble were also announced. Shooting is planned to take place in Cork in Spring 2011.

On April 2, 2011, Roy Harper played a concert for a small audience at Metropolis Studios as part of the ITV Legends series. The concert was recorded on video and and released on DVD as ''Classic Rock Legends: Roy Harper''.

On 24 July 2011, Harper appeared as the lunchtime guest on the British cricketing radio programme, Test Match Special. During the show Harper was interviewed and also performed When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease.

Awards

''HQ'' was awarded Record of the Year in Portugal in 1975. That year Harper also received a similar award in Finland for the same record.

''Work of Heart'' was awarded ''The Sunday Times'' Album of the Year in 1982.

Harper was awarded the MOJO Hero Award by the staff of ''Mojo'' magazine on 16 June 2005 at the Porchester Hall, Central London. The award itself was presented by long time collaborator and friend, Jimmy Page and now hangs upon the wall at De Barras Folk Club in Clonakilty, Ireland.

Nick Harper

One of Roy's sons, Nick Harper, is a successful singer / songwriter in his own right. In the past, Nick occasionally toured and recorded with Roy, and has appeared (as guitarist) on a number of his albums since 1985.

Discography

Studio albums

1967 – ''Sophisticated Beggar''

1968 – ''Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith''

1969 – ''Folkjokeopus''

1970 – ''Flat Baroque and Berserk''

1971 – ''Stormcock''

1973 – ''Lifemask''

1974 – ''Valentine''

1975 – ''HQ'' (US title: ''When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease'')

1977 – ''Bullinamingvase'' (US title: ''One of Those Days in England'')

1980 – ''The Unknown Soldier''

1982 – ''Work of Heart''

1984 – ''Born in Captivity''

1985 – ''Whatever Happened to Jugula?'' (with Jimmy Page)

1988 – ''Descendants of Smith''

1988 – ''Loony on the Bus''

1990 – ''Once''

1992 – ''Death or Glory?''

1994 – ''Commercial Breaks'' (previously unreleased album from 1977; 9 of its 11 tracks are available on ''Loony on the Bus'')

1994 – ''Garden of Uranium'' (re-issue of ''Descendants of Smith'')

1998 – ''The Dream Society''

2000 – ''The Green Man''

Live albums

1974 – ''Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion''

1984 – ''Live at the Red Lion, Birmingham '' (Volume I & II Limited edition cassette)

1985 – ''Live at the Red Lion, Birmingham '' (Volume III Limited edition cassette)

1986 – ''In Between Every Line''

1992 – ''Born in Captivity II'' (Limited edition cassette)

1993 – ''Unhinged'' (Edited version of ''Born in Captivity II'')

1996 – ''Live At Les Cousins''

1997 – ''The BBC Tapes – Volume I (1969–1973)''

1997 – ''The BBC Tapes – Volume II (In Concert 1974)''

1997 – ''The BBC Tapes – Volume III (BBC Sessions 1974)''

1999 – ''The BBC Tapes – Volume IV (In Concert 1975)''

1997 – ''The BBC Tapes – Volume V (BBC Sessions 1975 - 1978)''

1997 – ''The BBC Tapes – Volume VI (In Concert 1978 with Andy Roberts)''

2001 – ''Royal Festival Hall Live – June 10th 2001''

Compilations, remixes, etc.

1977 – ''The Early Years''

1978 – ''Harper 1970-1975''

1994 – ''Death or Glory?'' (tracks 1 & 9 remixed)

1994 – ''An Introduction to .....''

1997 – ''Song of the Ages'' (3-CD collection of Roy Harper interviews)

1997 – ''Poems, Speeches, Thoughts and Doodles'' (collection of spoken tracks with occasional instrumentation)

2001 – ''Hats Off'' (compilation of collaborative tracks)

2001 – ''East of the Sun'' (compilation of love songs)

2002 – ''Today Is Yesterday'' (compilation of demo, unreleased and rare material from 1964–1967)

2005 – ''Counter Culture''

2007 – ''From Occident to Orient'' (compilation; initially a Japanese-only release)

Collaborations

1971 – "Ravneferd" (co-written with Lillebjørn Nilsen for the album ''Tilbake'')

1975 – "Have a Cigar" (guest lead vocals for Pink Floyd)

1978 – "Short and Sweet" (co-written with David Gilmour. (Appears on ''David Gilmour'' and ''The Unknown Soldier'')

1995 – ''The Edges of Twilight'' (spoken word on hidden track for The Tea Party)

1995 – "Time" (lead vocals for The Tea Party's ''Alhambra'' multimedia CD)

1996 – "Hope" (spoken word on Anathema's album, ''Eternity'')

Singles / 12" Singles / EPs

1966 – ''Take Me Into Your Eyes / Pretty Baby''

1967 – ''Midspring Dithering / Zengem''

1968 – ''Life Goes By / Nobody's Got Any Money in the Summer''

1972 – ''Bank of the Dead / Little Lady''

1974 – ''(Don't You Think We're) Forever / Male Chauvinist Pig Blues'' (live)

1974 – ''Home'' (live) / ''Home'' (studio)

1975 – ''When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease / Hallucinating Light (live)''

1975 – ''Grown-Ups Are Just Silly Children / Referendum (Legend)''

1977 – ''One of Those Days in England / Watford Gap''

1977 – ''One of Those Days in England / Watford Gap'' (Germany)

1977 – ''Sail Away / Cherishing the Lonesome''

1978 – ''When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease / Home'' (studio)

1980 – ''Playing Games / First Thing in the Morning''

1980 – ''Short and Sweet / Water Sports / The Unknown Soldier''

1982 – ''No-One Ever Gets Out Alive / Casualty'' (live at Glastonbury 1982)

1983 – ''I Still Care / Goodbye Ladybird'' (acoustic)

1985 – ''Elizabeth / Advertisement / I Hate the White Man (live)'' (12" single)

1988 – ''Laughing Inside'' (acoustic)

1990 – ''Burn the World'' (2 track CD / EP)

1992 – ''The Methane Zone'' (4-track CD / single)

2005 – ''The Death of God'' (2-track CD / single)

Downloads

2005 – ''The Passions of Great Fortune, Vol. 1'' (iTunes Download)

Bootlegs

1992 – ''Heavy Crazy (Live in London 1974)'' (incomplete bootleg CD of ''The BBC Tapes – Volume II (In Concert 1974)'')

Videography

1984 – ''Stonehenge 84''

1986 – ''Live in Your Living Room''

1990 – ''Once''

2005 – ''Beyond the Door'' (DVD)

2011 - ''Classic Rock Legends: Roy Harper'' (DVD)

Filmography

1972 – ''Made''

1976 – ''The Song Remains the Same''

2009 – ''Brokeback Cowboy'' 2011 – ''Rebel City Rumble'' (in pre-production)

Bibliography

2003 – ''The Passions of Great Fortune – The Songs Explored'' (ISBN 0-9545264-0-6)

References

External links

Roy Harper Website

The Stormcock Community fan site

Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:English songwriters Category:English male singers Category:English rock guitarists Category:English guitarists Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:People from Rusholme Category:People educated at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School

ca:Roy Harper cs:Roy Harper de:Roy Harper fr:Roy Harper it:Roy Harper he:רוי הארפר hu:Roy Harper nl:Roy Harper ja:ロイ・ハーパー no:Roy Harper pl:Roy Harper ru:Харпер, Рой fi:Roy Harper tr:Roy Harper

Coordinates	52°55′″N16°3′″N
order	44th
office	President of the United States
term start	January 20, 2009
vicepresident	Joe Biden
predecessor	George W. Bush
birth date	August 04, 1961
birth place	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
birthname	Barack Hussein Obama II
nationality	American
party	Democratic
spouse	Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
children	Malia (b.1998) Sasha (b.2001)
residence	The White House
alma mater	Occidental CollegeColumbia University (B.A.)Harvard Law School (J.D.)
profession	Community organizerAttorneyAuthorConstitutional law professorUnited States SenatorPresident of the United States
religion	Christian, former member of United Church of Christ
signature	Barack Obama signature.svg
website	WhiteHouse.gov
footnotes	}}

The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009, when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the United States, as well as the first born in Hawaii.

His policy decisions have addressed a global financial crisis and have included changes in tax policies, legislation to reform the United States health care industry, foreign policy initiatives and the phasing out of detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He attended the G-20 London summit and later visited U.S. troops in Iraq. On the tour of various European countries following the G-20 summit, he announced in Prague that he intended to negotiate substantial reduction in the world's nuclear arsenals, en route to their eventual extinction. In October 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Transition period

The presidential transition period began following Obama's election to the presidency on November 4, 2008. The Obama-Biden Transition Project was co-chaired by John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse. During the transition period, Obama announced his nominations for his Cabinet and administration. Shortly after the election on November 4, Obama chose Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois as White House Chief of Staff.

Cabinet nominations included former Democratic primary opponents Hillary Rodham Clinton for Secretary of State and Bill Richardson for Secretary of Commerce (although the latter withdrew on January 4, 2009). Obama appointed Eric Holder as his Attorney General, the first African-American appointed to that position. He also nominated Timothy F. Geithner to serve as Secretary of the Treasury. On December 1, Obama announced that he had asked Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, making Gates the first Defense head to carry over from a president of a different party. He nominated former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, which he restored to a Cabinet-level position.

During his transition, he maintained a website Change.gov, on which he wrote blogs to readers and uploaded video addresses by many of the members of his new cabinet. He announced strict rules for federal lobbyists, restricting them from financially contributing to his administration and forcing them to stop lobbying while working for him. The website also allowed individuals to share stories and visions with each other and the transition team in what was called the Citizen's Briefing Book, which was given to Obama shortly after his inauguration. Most of the information from Change.gov was transferred to the official White House website whitehouse.gov just after Obama's inauguration.

Inauguration

Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. He officially assumed the presidency at 12:00 noon, EST, and completed the oath of office at 12:05 PM, EST. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath. After his speech, he went to the President's Room in the House Wing of the Capitol and signed three documents: a commemorative proclamation, a list of Cabinet appointments, and a list of sub-Cabinet appointments, before attending a luncheon with congressional and administration leaders and invited guests. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of former President Abraham Lincoln, the same Bible that was used for Lincoln's inauguration was used in Obama's inauguration.

In administering the oath, Chief Justice John G. Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" and erroneously replaced the phrase "President of the United States" with "President to the United States" before restating the phrase correctly; since Obama initially repeated the incorrect form, some scholars argued the President should take the oath again. On January 21, Roberts readministered the oath to Obama in a private ceremony in the White House Map Room, making him the seventh U.S. president to retake the oath; White House Counsel Greg Craig said Obama took the oath from Roberts a second time out of an "abundance of caution".

First 100 days

Expectations

Obama's 100th day in office was April 29, 2009. In his first post-election interview with ''60 Minutes'', Obama said that he has been studying Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days, while adding, "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference."

Obama's first 100 days were highly anticipated ever since he became the presumptive nominee. Several news outlets created web pages dedicated to covering the subject. Commentators weighed in on challenges and priorities within domestic, foreign, economic, and environmental policy. CNN lists a number of economic issues that "Obama and his team will have to tackle in their first 100 days", foremost among which is passing and implementing a recovery package to deal with the financial crisis. Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, expressed hopes that the new president will close Guantanamo Bay detention camp in his first 100 days in office. After aides of the president announced his intention to give a major foreign policy speech in the capital of an Islamic country, there were speculations in Jakarta that he might return to his former home city within the first 100 days.

''The New York Times'' devoted a five-part series, which was spread out over two weeks, to anticipatory analysis of Obama's first hundred days. Each day, the analysis of a political expert was followed by freely edited blog postings from readers. The writers compared Obama's prospects with the situations of Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 16, Jean Edward Smith), John F. Kennedy (January 19, Richard Reeves), Lyndon B. Johnson (January 23, Robert Dallek), Ronald Reagan (January 27, Lou Cannon), and Richard Nixon.

Legislation and executive orders

Within minutes of taking the Oath of Office on January 20, Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, issued an order suspending last-minute federal regulations pushed through by outgoing President George W. Bush, planning to review everything still pending. Due to the economic crisis, the President enacted a pay freeze for Senior White House Staff making more than $100,000 per year, as well as announcing stricter guidelines regarding lobbyists in an effort to raise the ethical standards of the White House. He asked for a waiver to his own new rules, however, for the appointments of William Lynn to the position of Deputy Defense Secretary, Jocelyn Frye to the position of director of policy and projects in the Office of the First Lady, and Cecilia Muñoz to the position of director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive office of the president, leading to some criticism of hypocrisy and violation of his pledge for governmental openness.

In his first week in office, Obama signed Executive Order 13492 suspending all the ongoing proceedings of Guantanamo military commission and ordering the detention facility to be shut down within the year. He also signed Executive Order 13491 - Ensuring Lawful Interrogations requiring the Army Field Manual to be used as a guide for terror interrogations, banning torture and other coercive techniques, such as waterboarding. Obama also issued an executive order entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel", setting stricter limitations on incoming executive branch employees and placing tighter restrictions on lobbying in the White House. Obama signed two Presidential Memoranda concerning energy independence, ordering the Department of Transportation to establish higher fuel efficiency standards before 2011 models are released and allowing states to raise their emissions standards above the national standard. He also ended the Mexico City Policy, which banned federal grants to international groups that provide abortion services or counseling.

In his first week he also established a policy of producing a weekly Saturday morning video address available on whitehouse.gov and YouTube, much like those released during his transition period. The first address had been viewed by 600,000 YouTube viewers by the next afternoon.

The first piece of legislation Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 on January 29, which revised the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination lawsuits. Lilly Ledbetter joined Obama and his wife, Michelle, as he signed the bill, fulfilling his campaign pledge to nullify ''Ledbetter v. Goodyear''. On February 3, he signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP), expanding health care from 7 million children under the plan to 11 million.

| format = Ogg | type = speech }} After much debate, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed by both the House and Senate on February 13, 2009. Originally intended to be a bipartisan bill, the passage of the bill was largely along party lines. No Republicans voted for it in the House, and three moderate Republicans voted for it in the Senate (Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania). The bill combined tax breaks with spending on infrastructure projects, extension of welfare benefits, and education. The final cost of the bill was $787 billion, and almost $1.2 trillion with debt service included. Obama signed the Act into law on February 17, 2009, in Denver, Colorado.

On March 9, 2009, Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, and in doing so, called into question some of George W. Bush's signing statements. Obama stated that he too would employ signing statements if he deems upon review that a portion of a bill is unconstitutional, and he has issued several signing statements.

Early in his presidency, Obama signed a law raising the tobacco tax 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes. The tax is to be "used to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children", and "help some [smokers] to quit and persuade young people not to start".

In October 2011, Obama instituted the We Can't Wait program, which involved using executive orders, administrative rulemaking, and recess appointments to institute policies without the support of Congress. The initiative was developed in response to Congress's unwillingness to pass economic legislation proposed by Obama, and conflicts in Congress during the 2011 debt ceiling crisis.

Approval ratings and opinion

2009

After his transition period, Obama entered office with an approval rating of 82%. At the end of his first week, 68% of respondents in a Gallup poll approved of how Obama was handling his job, matching the early approval ratings of Dwight D. Eisenhower and trailing only John F. Kennedy in post-World War II presidents.

Throughout early February polls showed scattered approval ratings: 62% (CBS News), 64% (USA Today/Gallup), 66% (Gallup), and 76% in an outlier poll (CNN/Opinion Research). Gallup reported the congressional address in late February boosted his approval from a term-low of 59% to 67%.

Throughout autumn 2009, Rasmussen estimated Obama's approval as fluctuating between 45% and 52% and his disapproval between 48% and 54%; as of November 11, Pew Research estimated Obama's approval between 51% and 55% and his disapproval between 33% and 37% since July.

Handling of the economy

Rasmussen reported in mid-February 2009, that 55% of voters gave Obama good or excellent marks on his handling of the economy. In early March, a ''The Wall Street Journal'' survey of 49 economists gave Obama an average grade of 59 out of 100, with 42% of the respondents surveyed giving the administration's economic policies a grade below 60 percent. In comparison, only 30% of those same economists considered the response of governments around the world to the global recession to have been adequate. In April, a Gallup poll showed trust in Obama's economic policy with 71% saying they had "a fair amount" or "a great deal" of confidence in Obama's handling of the economy, higher than for Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, or leaders of Congress. Another Gallup poll in June showed 55% of Americans approved Obama's overall handling of the economy, but 48% and 51% disapproved of his handling of the federal budget deficit and controlling federal spending, respectively. A CBS News poll taken August 27–31 showed 53% of those polled approved of his handling of the economy. A Rasmussen poll taken on November 12 found 45% of Americans rating Obama's handling of the economy as poor and 39% rating him as doing a good or excellent job. They found 72% of Democrats rated his handling of the economy as good or excellent, while only 10% of Republicans and 27% of voters not affiliated with either party agreed.

2010

On March 25, 2010, following his signing of landmark health care reform legislation into law, Obama's polling was revealed by Bloomberg to be 50%, with higher marks for relations with other countries (58%) and his running of the war in Afghanistan (54%). "Obama's approval rating is roughly equal to what Bill Clinton had at this point in his presidency, according to data maintained by Gallup (and) higher than the 45 percent Ronald Reagan recorded in April 1982" and more favorable than Democrats or Republicans office in 2010. They found Obama's approval rating was at 85% among Democrats, compared with 46% among independents and 11% among Republicans.

Fox News released the results of two polls on April 8–9, 2010. The first showed a drop in Obama's approval rating to 43%, with 48% disapproving. In that poll, Democrats approved of Obama's performance 80–12%, while independents disapproved 49–38%. The other poll, which concentrated on the economy, showed disapproval of Obama's handling of the economy by a 53–42% margin, with 62% saying they were dissatisfied with the handling of the federal deficit. According to a Gallup Poll released April 10, 2010, President Obama had a 45% approval rating, with 48% disapproving. In a poll from Rasmussen Reports, released April 10, 2010, 47% approved of the President's performance, while 53% disapproved.

2011

Obama's approval rating jumped to a high following the death of Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011. A GfK poll conducted May 5, 2011 found his approval rating to be 60%. During the debt ceiling debate in August 2011, Obama's approval rating dropped to the low-40s.

Major legislation

2009

January 29: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

February 4: Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act

February 11: DTV Delay Act

February 17: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

March 30: Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009

April 21: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

May 20: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act

May 20: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009

May 22: Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009

June 22: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

August 6: Cash For Clunkers Extension Act

October 22: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

October 28: Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

October 28: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010

October 30: Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act

November 6: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009

2010

January 27: Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Haiti Earthquake Act

March 4: Travel Promotion Act

March 18: Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act)

March 23: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

March 30: Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

May 5: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010

May 17: Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act

July 1: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act

July 21: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

July 22: Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010

July 22: Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010

August 10: SPEECH Act of 2010

September 27: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010

December 9: Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010

December 13: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

December 17: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010

December 22: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

2011

January 2: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 () January 4: Food Safety and Modernization Act, ,

January 7: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

August 2: Budget Control Act of 2011

December 31: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Personnel

Cabinet appointees

Twenty-two members of the Obama administration are either in the United States Cabinet (15) or are in positions considered to be Cabinet-level (7). The members of the Cabinet are the heads of the fifteen major departments (State, Defense, Justice, etc.), and the seven cabinet-level positions are the Vice President, White House Chief of Staff, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Since Robert Gates was a member of the previous administration, his letter of resignation (a formality at the end of a President's term) was simply not accepted, and he did not need confirmation. On January 19, 2009, Senate Democratic leaders requested fifteen of the twenty positions to be ratified by unanimous consent, and seven gained unanimous confirmation by voice vote the next day: Ken Salazar, Steven Chu, Arne Duncan, Peter Orszag, Eric Shinseki, Tom Vilsack, and Janet Napolitano. On January 21, Obama presided over the swearing in of the seven unanimous nominees. Later that day, the Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton by a 94–2 vote. On January 22, several more confirmations were approved unanimously: Susan E. Rice, Ray LaHood, Lisa P. Jackson, and Shaun Donovan. On January 26, the Senate confirmed Geithner by a 60–34 margin.

At the conclusion of Obama's first week as President, Hilda Solis, Tom Daschle, Ron Kirk, and Eric Holder had yet to be confirmed, and there had been no second appointment for Secretary of Commerce. Holder was confirmed by a vote of 75–21 on February 2, and on February 3, Obama announced Senator Judd Gregg as his second nomination for Secretary of Commerce. Daschle withdrew later that day amid controversy over his failure to pay income taxes and potential conflicts of interest related to the speaking fees he accepted from health care interests. Solis was later confirmed by a vote of 80-17 on February 24, and Ron Kirk was confirmed on March 18 by a 92-5 vote in the Senate.

Gregg, who was the leading Republican negotiator and author of the TARP program in the Senate, after publication that he had a multi-million dollar investment in the Bank of America, on February 12, withdrew his nomination as Secretary of Commerce, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with President Obama and his staff over how to conduct the 2010 census and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Former Washington governor Gary Locke was nominated on February 26 as Obama's third choice for Commerce Secretary and confirmed on March 24 by voice vote.

On March 2, Obama introduced Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius as his second choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. He also introduced Nancy-Ann DeParle as head of the new White House Office of Health Reform, which he suggested would work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services. At the end of March, Sebelius was the only remaining Cabinet member yet to be confirmed.

Six high-ranking cabinet nominees in the Obama administration had their confirmations delayed or rejected among reports that they did not pay all of their taxes, including Tom Daschle, Obama's original nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Though Geithner was confirmed, and Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, thought Daschle would have been confirmed, Daschle withdrew his nomination on February 3. Obama had nominated Nancy Killefer for the position of Chief Performance Officer, but Killefer also withdrew on February 3, citing unspecified problems with District of Columbia unemployment tax. A senior administration official said that Killefer's tax issues dealt with household help. Hilda Solis, Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, faced delayed confirmation hearings due to tax lien concerns pertaining to her husband's auto repair business, but she was later confirmed on February 24. While pundits puzzled over U.S. Trade Representative-designate Ron Kirk's failure to be confirmed by March 2009, it was reported on March 2 that Kirk owed over $10,000 in back taxes. Kirk agreed to pay them in exchange for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's aid in speeding up the confirmation process; he was later confirmed on March 18. On March 31, Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, revealed in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee that her Certified Public Accountant found errors in her tax returns for years 2005-2007. She, along with her husband, paid more than $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest.

Notable non-Cabinet positions

Appointees serve at the pleasure of the President and were nominated by Barack Obama except as noted.

Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

*Sheila Bair¹ (2009–2011)

Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

*Richard Holbrooke (2009–2010)

*Marc Grossman (2011–present)

Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

* Retired General James L. Jones (2009–2011)

* Thomas E. Donilon (2011–present)

Special envoy to the Middle East

* George J. Mitchell (2009–2011)

* David Hale (2011–present)

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

* Robert Mueller² (2009–present)

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

* Leon Panetta (2009–2011)

* Michael Morell (Acting-2011)

* David Petraeus (2011–present)

Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

* Christina Romer (2009–2010)

* Austan Goolsbee (2010–2011)

* Alan Krueger (2011–present)

Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission

* Mary Schapiro (2009–present)

Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of National Economic Council

* Lawrence Summers (2009–2010)

* Gene Sperling (2011–present)

Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board

* Paul Volcker (2009–2011)

* ''Replaced by Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011''

Chairperson of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness

* Jeffrey R. Immelt (2011–present)

¹Appointed by George W. Bush in 2006 to a five-year term ²Appointed by George W. Bush in 2001 to a ten-year term

Judicial nominees

United States Supreme Court

Obama appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Sonia Sotomayor 2009 Elena Kagan 2010

Other courts

Outside of the Supreme Court, by October 2009, Obama had nominated fewer than two dozen judges to fill judicial vacancies, of which there were close to 100. This has prompted some Democrats to criticize the pace of Obama's judicial appointments as too slow. In December 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy criticized Republicans for stalling those judicial nominations that had been made, noting that the Senate confirmed more district and circuit court nominees during the first year of the George W. Bush administration than it had approved by that point during the Barack Obama presidency.

As of July 2010, Obama's nominees to the district and circuit courts had been confirmed at a rate of only 43.5 percent, compared to 87.2 percent during Bill Clinton's administration and 91.3 percent for George W. Bush. The Center for American Progress, which compiled the data, commented:

Judicial confirmations slowed to a trickle on the day President Barack Obama took office. Filibusters, anonymous holds, and other obstructionary tactics have become the rule. Uncontroversial nominees wait months for a floor vote, and even district court nominees—low-ranking judges whose confirmations have never been controversial in the past—are routinely filibustered into oblivion. Nominations grind to a halt in many cases even after the Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously endorsed a nominee.

Policies

Economy

Upon entering office, Obama planned to center his attention on handling the global financial crisis. Even before his inauguration he lobbied Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill, which became the top priority during his first month in office. As President, Obama made a high profile trip to Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. to dialog with Congressional Republicans and advocate for the bill. On February 17, 2009, Obama signed into law a $787 billion plan that included spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals. The tax provisions of the law reduced taxes for 98 per cent of taxpayers, bringing tax rates to their lowest levels in 60 years.

As part of the 2010 budget proposal, the Obama administration has proposed additional measures to attempt to stabilize the economy, including a $2–3 trillion measure aimed at stabilizing the financial system and freeing up credit. The program includes up to $1 trillion to buy toxic bank assets, an additional $1 trillion to expand a federal consumer loan program, and the $350 billion left in the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The plan also includes $50 billion intended to slow the wave of mortgage foreclosures. The 2011 budget includes a three-year freeze on discretionary spending, proposes several program cancellations, and raises taxes on high income earners to bring down deficits during the economic recovery.

In a July 2009 interview with ABC News, Biden was asked about the sustained increase of the U.S. unemployment rate from May 2007 to October 2009 despite the administration's multi-year economic stimulus package passed five months earlier. He responded "The truth is, we and everyone else, misread the economy. The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there ... the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited." The White House indicates that 2 million jobs were created or saved due to the stimulus package in 2009 and self reporting by recipients of the grants, loans, and contracts portion of the package report that the package saved or created 608,317 jobs in the final three months of 2009.

The unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in October at 10.1% and averaging 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Following a decrease to 9.7% in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6% in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year. Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8%, which was less than the average of 1.9% experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries. GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a 1.6% pace, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter. Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7% in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year. Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9% in 2010.

During November–December 2010, Obama and a lame duck session of the 111th Congress focused on a dispute about the temporary Bush tax cuts, which were due to expire at the end of the year. Obama wanted to extend the tax cuts for taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year. Congressional Republicans agreed but also wanted to extend the tax cuts for those making over that amount, and refused to support any bill that did not do so. All the Republicans in the Senate also joined in saying that, until the tax dispute was resolved, they would filibuster to prevent consideration of any other legislation, except for bills to fund the U.S. government. On 7 December, Obama strongly defended a compromise agreement he had reached with the Republican congressional leadership that included a two-year extension of all the tax cuts, a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance, a one-year reduction in the FICA payroll tax, and other measures. On December 10, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) led a filibuster against the compromise tax proposal, which lasted over eight hours. Obama persuaded many wary Democrats to support the bill, but not all; of the 148 votes against the bill in the House, 112 were cast by Democrats and only 36 by Republicans. The $858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which ''The Washington Post'' called "the most significant tax bill in nearly a decade", passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress and was signed into law by Obama on December 17, 2010.

Ethics

Lobbying reform

Early in his presidential campaign, Obama stated that "they [lobbyists] won't find a job in my White House", but softened his stance later in the campaign. On January 21, 2009, Obama issued an executive order for all future appointees to his administration, which stated, no appointee who was a registered lobbyist within the two years before his appointment could participate on matters in which he lobbied for a period of two years after the date of appointment. Three formal waivers were initially issued in early 2009, out of 800 executive appointments: to William J. Lynn III, a lobbyist for Raytheon, to hold the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense; to Jocelyn Frye, former general counsel at the National Partnership for Women and Families, to serve as Director of Policy and Projects in the Office of the First Lady; and to Cecilia Muñoz, former senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza, to serve as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President. As of March 21, 2009, at least thirty officials appointed by Obama had been lobbyists in the past five years. Ten additional waivers were announced in September 2009.

Not all recent former lobbyists require waivers; those without waivers write letters of recusal stating issues from which they must refrain because of their previous jobs. ''USA Today'' reported that 21 members of the Obama administration have at some time been registered as federal lobbyists, although most have not within the previous two years. Lobbyists in the administration include William Corr, an anti-tobacco lobbyist, as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and Tom Vilsack, who lobbied in 2007, for a national teachers union, as Secretary of Agriculture. Also, the Secretary of Labor nominee, Hilda Solis, formerly served as a board member of American Rights at Work, which lobbied Congress on two bills Solis co-sponsored, and Mark Patterson, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's chief of staff, is a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have criticized the administration, claiming that Obama is retreating from his own ethics rules barring lobbyists from working on the issues about which they lobbied during the previous two years by issuing waivers. According to Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, "It makes it appear that they are saying one thing and doing another."

Transparency

The Obama administration has said that all executive orders, non-emergency legislation, and proclamations will be posted to the official White House website, whitehouse.gov, allowing the public to review and comment for five days before the President signs the legislation. The pledge was twice broken during Obama's first month in office when he signed SCHIP legislation and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act with less than the full five days of "sunlight before signing". The administration has said that they are still "working through implementation procedures and some initial issues with the congressional calendar".

During his first week in office, Obama announced plans to post a video address each week on the site, and on YouTube, informing the public of government actions each week. During his speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Obama stated, "I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy."

On January 21, 2009, by executive order, Obama revoked Executive Order 13233, which had limited access to the records of former United States Presidents. Obama issued instructions to all agencies and departments in his administration to "adopt a presumption in favor" of Freedom of Information Act requests. In April 2009, the United States Department of Justice released four legal memos from the Bush administration to comply voluntarily with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The memos were written by John Yoo and signed by Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury, then Principal Assistant Attorneys General to the Department of Justice, and addressed to John A. Rizzo, general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency. The memos describe in detail controversial interrogation methods the CIA used on prisoners suspected of terrorism. Obama became personally involved in the decision to release the memos, which was opposed by former CIA directors Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet and John Deutch. Former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Obama for not releasing more memos; Cheney claimed that unreleased memos detail successes of CIA interrogations.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires all recipients of the funds provided by the act to publish a plan for using the funds, along with purpose, cost, rationale, net job creation, and contact information about the plan to a website Recovery.gov so that the public can review and comment. Inspectors General from each department or executive agency will then review, as appropriate, any concerns raised by the public. Any findings of an Inspector General must be relayed immediately to the head of each department and published on Recovery.gov.

On June 16, 2009, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration in order to get information about the visits of coal company executives. Anne Weismann, the chief counsel for CREW, stated "The Obama administration has now taken exactly the same position as the Bush administration... I don't see how you can keep people from knowing who visits the White House and adhere to a policy of openness and transparency." On June 16, MSNBC reported that its more comprehensive request for visitor logs since Obama's January 20 inauguration had been denied. The administration announced that White House visitor logs will be made available to the public on an ongoing basis, with certain limitations, for visits occurring after September 15, 2009. Beginning on January 29, 2010, the White House did begin to release the names of its visitor records. Since that time, names of visitors (which includes not only tourists, but also names of union leaders, Wall Street executives, lobbyists, party chairs, philanthropists and celebrities), have been released. The names are released in huge batches up to 75,000 names at a time. Names are released 90–120 days after having visited the White House. The complete list of names is available online by accessing the official White House website.

Obama stated during the 2008 Presidential campaign that he would have negotiations for health care reform televised on C-SPAN, citing transparency as being the leverage needed to ensure that people stay involved in the process taking place in Washington. This did not fully happen and Politifact gives President Obama a "Promise Broken" rating on this issue. After White House press secretary Robert Gibbs initially avoided addressing the issue, President Obama himself acknowledged that he met with Democratic leaders behind closed doors to discuss how best to garner enough votes in order to merge the two (House and Senate) passed versions of the health care bill. Doing this violated the letter of the pledge, although Obama maintains that negotiations in several congressional committees were open, televised hearings. Obama also cited an independent ethics watchdog group describe his administration as the most transparent in recent history.

The Obama administration has been characterized as much more aggressive than the Bush and other previous administrations in their response to whistleblowing and leaks to the press. Three people have been prosecuted under the rarely used Espionage Act of 1917. They include Thomas Andrews Drake, a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee who was critical of the NSA's Trailblazer Project, Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Department contractor who allegedly had a conversation about North Korea with James Rosen of Fox News, and Jeffrey Sterling, who allegedly was a source for James Risen's book State of War. Risen has also been subpoenaed to reveal his sources, another rare action by the government.

Foreign policy

In his inaugural address, Obama suggested that he plans to begin the process of withdrawing from Iraq and continuing to focus on the war in Afghanistan. He also mentioned lessening the nuclear threat through "working tirelessly with old friends and former foes". He spoke about America's determination to combat terrorism, proclaiming America's spirit is "stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." To the Muslim world, Obama extended an invite to "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect". He also said the USA would "extend a hand" to those "who cling to power through corruption and deceit" if they "are willing to unclench" their fists. Shortly after his inauguration President Obama first called President Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Calls were also made to President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel and King Abdullah of Jordan. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East peace and Richard Holbrooke as special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 23, 2009. At the same time, Obama called on Israel to open the borders of Gaza, detailing early plans on his administration's peace plans for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. On February 18, 2009, Obama announced that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by summer. The announcement followed the recommendation of several experts including Defense Secretary Robert Gates that additional troops be deployed to the war-torn nation.

Obama declared his plan for ending the Iraq War on February 27, 2009, in a speech at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before an audience of Marines stationed there. According to the president, combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by August 2010, leaving a contingent of up to 50,000 servicemen and servicewomen to continue training, advisory, and counterterrorism operations until as late as the end of 2011.

Other characteristics of the Obama administration on foreign policy include a tough stance on tax havens, continuing military operation in Pakistan, and avowed focus on diplomacy to prevent nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea.

On April 1, 2009, Obama and China's President, Hu Jintao, announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive U.S.-China relationship for the 21st century.

In that same month, Obama requested that Congress approve $83.4 billion of supplemental military funding, mostly for the war in Iraq and to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. The request also includes $2.2 billion to increase the size of the US military, $350 million to upgrade security along the US-Mexico border, and $400 million in counterinsurgency aid for Pakistan.

In May 2009, it was reported that Obama plans to expand the military by 20,000 employees.

On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt. The wide ranging speech called for a "new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States. The speech received both praise and criticism from leaders in the region. In March 2010, Secretary of State Clinton criticized the Israeli government for approving expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem.

On April 8, 2010, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the latest Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a "major" nuclear arms control agreement that reduces the nuclear weapons stockpiles of both countries.

In March 2011, international reaction to Muammar Gaddafi's military crackdown on rebel forces and civilians in Libya culminated in a United Nations resolution to enforce a no fly zone in Libya. Obama authorized U.S. forces to participate in international air attacks on Libyan air defenses using Tomahawk cruise missiles to establish the protective zone.

Guantánamo Bay detention camp

On his first day in office, Obama requested a 120-day suspension of all trials for alleged terrorists held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, so the new administration could "review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases pending before military commissions , specifically". Another order established a task force to lead a review of detention policies, procedures and individual cases. Obama addressed the State Department that "the United States will not torture" and drafted an executive order to close Guantánamo within a year. On January 22, 2009, Obama signed an executive order ensuring safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals detained in armed conflicts. This order restricts interrogators to methods listed and authorized by an Army Field Manual. A detainee released since Obama took office claimed in an interview with Agence France-Presse that conditions at Guantánamo had worsened, stating guards wanted to "take their last revenge" before the facility is closed. On March 13, 2009, the administration announced that it would no longer refer to prisoners at Guantánamo Bay as enemy combatants, but it also asserted that the president has the authority to detain terrorism suspects there without criminal charges.

The case review of detainee files by administration officials and prosecutors was made more difficult than expected as the Bush administration had failed to establish a coherent repository of the evidence and intelligence on each prisoner. By September 2009, prosecutors recommended to the Justice Department which detainees are eligible for trial, and the Justice Department and the Pentagon worked together to determine which of several now-scheduled trials will go forward in military tribunals and which in civilian courts. While 216 international terrorists are already held in maximum security prisons in the U.S., Congress was denying the administration funds to shut down the camp and adapt existing facilities elsewhere, arguing that the decision was "too dangerous to rush". In November, Obama stated that the U.S. would miss the January 2010 date for closing the Guantánamo Bay prison as he had ordered, acknowledging that he "knew this was going to be hard". Obama did not set a specific new deadline for closing the camp, citing that the delay was due to politics and lack of congressional cooperation. The state of Illinois has offered to sell to the federal government the Thomson Correctional Center, a new but largely unused prison, for the purpose of housing detainees. Federal officials testified at a December 23 hearing that if the state commission approves the sale for that purpose, it could take more than six months to ready the facility.

Killing of Osama bin Laden

Starting with information received in July 2010, intelligence developed by the CIA over the next several months determined what they believed to be the location of Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles from Islamabad. CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to Obama in March 2011. Meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by United States Navy SEALs. The operation took place on May 1, 2011, resulting in the death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers and computer drives and disks from the compound. Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing, and buried at sea several hours later. Within minutes of Obama's announcement from Washington, DC, late in the evening on May 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City's Ground Zero and Times Square. Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and from many countries around the world.

Overseas Contingency Operation

Obama discontinued use of the term "War on Terror" and instead uses the term "Overseas Contingency Operation". However, Obama has stated that the U.S. is at war with Al-Qaeda, saying "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred."

In April 2010, the Obama administration took the extraordinary step of authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them.

Gun control

During the presidential campaign, Obama announced that he favors measures that respect Second Amendment rights, while at the same time keeping guns away from children and criminals. On February 25, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration would seek a new assault weapons ban across the United States, saying that it would have a positive impact on the drug-related violence in Mexico. After the statement drew criticism from the NRA and some House Democrats, the Administration reportedly ordered the Justice Department to end public discussion of the issue. Obama has signed into law two bills containing amendments reducing restrictions on gun owners, one which permits guns to be transported in checked baggage on Amtrak trains and another which allows carrying loaded firearms in national parks located in states allowing concealed carry.

Science and technology

Cybersecurity

Obama initiated a 60-day review of cybersecurity by Melissa Hathaway, a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, appointed Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace.

''The New York Times'' reported in 2009, that the NSA is intercepting communications of American citizens including a Congressman, although the Justice Department believed that the NSA had corrected its errors. United States Attorney General Eric Holder resumed the wiretapping according to his understanding of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 that Congress passed in July 2008, but without explaining what had occurred.

Environment

On January 27, 2009, Obama issued two presidential memoranda concerning energy policy. One directed the Department of Transportation to raise fuel efficiency standards incrementally to by 2020, and the other directed the Environmental Protection Agency to allow individual states to set stricter tailpipe emissions regulations than the federal standard.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides $54 billion in funds to double domestic renewable energy production, renovate federal buildings making them more energy-efficient, improve the nation's electricity grid, repair public housing, and weatherize modest-income homes.

On February 10, 2009, Obama overturned a Bush administration policy that had opened up a five-year period of offshore drilling for oil and gas near both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been quoted as saying, "To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside" the plan "and create our own timeline".

On May 19, 2009, Obama announced a plan to increase the CAFE national standards for gasoline mileage, by creating a single new national standard that will create a car and light truck fleet in the United States that is almost 40 percent cleaner and more fuel-efficient by 2016, than it is today, with an average of 35.5 miles per gallon. Environmental advocates and industry officials welcomed the new program, but for different reasons. Environmentalists called it a long-overdue tightening of emissions and fuel economy standards after decades of government delay and industry opposition. Auto industry officials said it would provide the single national efficiency standard they have long desired, a reasonable timetable to meet it and the certainty they need to proceed with product development plans.

On March 30, 2010, Obama partially reinstated Bush administration proposals to open certain offshore areas along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling. The proposals had earlier been set aside by President Obama after they were challenged in court on environmental grounds.

On May 27, 2010, Obama extended a moratorium on offshore drilling permits after the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill which is considered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Although BP took responsibility for the disaster and its ongoing after effects, Obama began a federal investigation along with forming a bipartisan commission to review the incident and methods to avoid it in the future. Obama visited the Gulf Coast on May 2 and May 28 and expressed his frustration on the June 8 ''NBC Today Show'', by saying "I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick." Obama's response to the disaster has drawn confusion and criticism within segments of the media and public.

NASA

Obama set up the Augustine panel to review the Constellation program in 2009, and announced in February 2010, that he was cutting the program from the 2011 United States federal budget, describing it as "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation." After the decision drew criticism in the United States, a new "Flexible path to Mars" plan was unveiled at a space conference in April 2010. It included new technology programs, increased R&D; spending, a focus on the International Space Station and contracting out flying crew to space to commercial providers. The new plan also increased NASA's 2011 budget to $19 billion from $18.3 billion in 2010.

In July 2009, Obama appointed Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, to be administrator of NASA.

Stem cell research

On March 9, 2009, Obama repealed a Bush-era policy that prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund research on new lines of embryonic stem cells. Such research has been a matter of debate between those who emphasize the therapeutic potential of such research and those who suggest that elements of this research breach ethical limitations. Obama stated that "In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values...In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research — and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."

Social policy

On January 23, 2009, Obama rescinded the Mexico City Policy, a measure from the Reagan and Bush eras that required any non-governmental organization receiving U.S. Government funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services in other countries.

On June 17, 2009, Obama authorized the extension of some benefits (but not health insurance or pension benefits) to same-sex partners of federal employees. Obama has chosen to leave larger changes, such as the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, to Congress.

On October 19, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a directive to federal prosecutors in states with medical marijuana laws not to investigate or prosecute cases of marijuana use or production done in compliance with those laws.

On December 16, 2009, President Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which repealed a 21-year-old ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.

On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, a bill that provides for repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993, that has prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces. Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" had been a key campaign promise that Obama had made during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Health care reform

Once the stimulus bill was enacted, health care reform became Obama's top domestic priority. On July 14, 2009, House Democratic leaders introduced a 1,000 page plan for overhauling the US health care system, which Obama wanted Congress to approve by the end of the year.

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the ten-year cost to the federal government of the major insurance-related provisions of the bill at approximately $1.0 trillion. In mid-July 2009, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the CBO, testified that the proposals under consideration would significantly increase federal spending and did not include the "fundamental changes" needed to control the rapid growth in health care spending. However after reviewing the final version of the bill introduced after 14 months of debate the CBO estimated that it would reduce federal budget deficits by $143 billion over 10 years and by more than a trillion in the next decade.

After much public debate during the Congressional summer recess of 2009, Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9 where he addressed concerns over his administration's proposals. In March 2010, Obama gave several speeches across the country to argue for the passage of health care reform. On March 21, 2010, after Obama announced an executive order reinforcing the current law against spending federal funds for elective abortion services, the House, by a vote of 219 to 212, passed the version of the bill previously passed on December 24, 2009, by a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. The bill, which includes over 200 Republican amendments, was passed without a single Republican vote. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the bill into law. Immediately following the bill's passage, the House voted in favor of a reconciliation measure to make significant changes and corrections to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed by both houses with two minor alterations on March 25, 2010, and signed into law on March 30, 2010.

Education reform

On March 30, 2010, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which ended the role of private banks in lending out federally-insured student loans. By directly lending to students, the government is projected to save taxpayers $68 billion dollars over the next several years. Federally-insured student loans will instead be distributed by the Department of Education. The law also increased the amount of Pell Grant awards given each year, doubling its current funding. Starting in 2014, the law permits borrowers to cap the amount they spend on student loans each year to ten percent of their discretionary income and have their balance forgiven if they have faithfully paid the balance of their loan over 20 years. Additionally, the law seeks to make it easier for parents to qualify for Grad PLUS loans, and spends billions on poor and minority schools and $2 billion for community colleges.

Gates arrest controversy

On July 16, 2009, prominent African American Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local white police officer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, for disorderly conduct. Gates, who was locked out of his house, had attempted to break into his own property, thus causing the initial alarm from a neighbor who called 9-1-1. The incident sparked national controversy over whether Gates's civil rights had been violated by Crowley. On July 21, the Cambridge Police Department dropped charges against Gates. On July 22, President Barack Obama, commented on the incident over national and international television, criticized the arrest, and stated the police acted "stupidly" in handling the incident. National law enforcement organizations and members objected to Obama's comments and criticized his handling of the issue. In the aftermath, Obama stated that he regretted his comments exacerbating the situation, and hoped that the situation could become a "teachable moment". To reduce tensions, on July 24, Obama invited both parties to the White House to discuss the issue over beers, and on July 30, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden joined Crowley and Gates in a private, cordial meeting in a courtyard near the White House Rose Garden; this became known colloquially as the "Beer Summit".

Wall Street reform

On July 21, 2010, Obama signed Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, considered to be the largest financial system overhaul since the New Deal. The law recognizes complex financial derivatives and makes rules to protect consumers from unfair practices in loans and credit cards by establishing a new consumer protection agency. At the signing ceremony in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. Obama proclaimed, "There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period." Obama also mentioned that "These reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history." At the ceremony were Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the two committee chairmen who sponsored the bill.

2010 midterm elections

Due in large part to voter frustration over high unemployment and a stalled economy, Republicans won control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections. On reflection after the election, Obama blamed himself, in part, for the many Democrats who went down to defeat knowing that they had risked their careers to support his agenda of economic stimulus legislation and a landmark health care bill. Democrats narrowly retained the Senate majority and will continue to control it through the 112th Congress.

Obama called the elections "humbling" and a "shellacking". He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.

2012 re-election campaign

On April 4, 2011, President Obama announced that he would seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election. The campaign will be based in Chicago and is being run by many former members of the White House staff and members of the successful 2008 campaign.

References

External links

"Obama's People" (photography: Nadav Kander)

The Official White House YouTube page

"President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address". The White House.

"Wrapping Up Open for Questions". The White House.

"President Obama's State of the Union Address" C-SPAN.

Obama, Barack

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Coordinates	52°55′″N16°3′″N
name	Yo-Yo Ma馬友友
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
born	October 07, 1955Paris, France
instrument	Cello, Piano, Viola, Violin
genre	Classical
occupation	Cellist, composer, pedagogue
years active	''fl. ca.'' 1961–''present''
label	CBS, RCA, Sony Classical
associated acts	Silk Road Ensemble
website	yo-yoma.com
notable instruments	Violoncello''Davydov 1712'' StradivariusDomenico Montagnana 1733Luis and Clark }}

)}} Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American cellist, virtuoso, orchestral composer of Chinese descent, and winner of multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. He is one of the most famous cellists of the modern age.

Early life

Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris on October 7, 1955, to Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist and professor of music. His family moved to New York when he was five years old.

At a very young age, Ma began studying violin, and later viola, before finding his true calling by taking up the cello in 1960 at age four. According to Ma, his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up cello instead. The child prodigy began performing before audiences at age five, and performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was seven. At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. By fifteen years of age, Ma had graduated from Trinity School in New York and appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of the Tchaikovsky ''Rococo Variations''.

Ma studied at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and briefly attended Columbia University before ultimately enrolling at Harvard University. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of nonagenarian cellist and conductor Pablo Casals. Ma would ultimately spend four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor his first summer there in 1972.

However, even before that time, Ma had steadily gained fame and had performed with most of the world's major orchestras. His recordings and performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites recorded in 1983 and again in 1994–1997 are particularly acclaimed. He has also played a good deal of chamber music, often with the pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship back from their days together at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Ma received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1976. In 1991, he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.

Career

Ma currently plays with his own Silk Road Ensemble, which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road, and records on the Sony Classical label. Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed ''Petunia'', built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733. It was named this by a female student that approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck. This cello, more than 270 years old and valued at US$2.5 million, was lost in the fall of 1999 when Ma accidentally left the instrument in a taxicab in New York City. It was later recovered undamaged. Another of Ma's cellos, the ''Davidov Stradivarius'', was previously owned by Jacqueline du Pré who passed it to him upon her death, and owned by the Vuitton Foundation. Though Du Pré previously voiced her frustration with the "unpredictability" of this cello, Ma attributed the comment to du Pré's impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player. It was until recently set up in a Baroque manner, since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it. He also owns a cello made of carbon fiber by the Luis and Clark company of Boston.

In 1997 he was featured on John Williams' soundtrack to the Hollywood film, ''Seven Years in Tibet''. In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack of ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', and in 2003 on that of ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. He collaborated with Williams again on the original score for the 2005 film ''Memoirs of a Geisha''. Yo-Yo Ma has also worked with world-renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of the Dollars Trilogy including ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''. He also has over 75 albums, 15 of which are Grammy Award winners. Ma is a recipient of the International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

Ma was named Peace Ambassador by UN then Secretary-General Kofi Annan in January 2006.

On November 3, 2009, President Obama appointed Ma to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. His music was featured in the 2010 documentary ''Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story'', narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

Playing style

thumb|right|Ma with Condoleezza Rice after performing a duet at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards.Ma has been referred to as "omnivorous" by critics, and possesses a more eclectic repertoire than is typical for classical musicians. A sampling of his versatility in addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire would include his recordings of Baroque pieces using period instruments; American bluegrass music; traditional Chinese melodies including the soundtrack to the film ''Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon''; the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla; an eclectic and unusual collaboration with Bobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified of the improvisation McFerrin pushed him toward); as well as the music of modern minimalist Philip Glass in such works as the 2002 piece ''Naqoyqatsi''. He is known for his smooth, rich tone as well as his considerable virtuosity, including a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin, Zoltán Kodály's cello sonata, and other demanding works.

Notable live performances

Ma performed a duet with Condoleezza Rice at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards. Ma was the first performer on September 11, 2002, at the site of the World Trade Center, while the first of the names of the dead were read in remembrance on the first anniversary of the attack on the WTC. He played the Sarabande from Bach's ''Suite in C minor (#5)''. He performed a special arrangement of Sting's "Fragile" with Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He performed John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, along with Itzhak Perlman (violin), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet). While the quartet did play live, the music played simultaneously over speakers and on television was a recording made two days prior due to concerns over the cold weather damaging the instruments. Ma was quoted as saying "A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold."

On August 29, 2009, Ma performed at the funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Pieces he performed included the Sarabande movement from Bach's ''Cello Suite No. 6'', and Franck's ''Panis Angelicus'' with Placido Domingo.

On October 3, 2009, Ma appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa. Harper, a noted Beatles fan, played the piano and sang a rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends" while Ma accompanied him on his cello.

Media appearances

Ma has appeared in an episode of the animated children's television series, ''Arthur'', as well as on ''The West Wing'' (episode "Noël", in which he performed the prelude to the Bach Cello Suite No.1 at a Christmas dinner at the White House), ''Sesame Street'' and ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. In ''The Simpsons'' episode "Missionary: Impossible", Ma, (voiced by Hank Azaria) runs after Homer Simpson along with many other frequent guests of PBS.

He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Bach's ''Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello''.

Ma has also been seen with Apple Inc. and former Pixar CEO Steve Jobs. Ma is often invited to press events for Jobs's companies, and has performed on stage during event keynote presentations, as well as appearing in a commercial for the Macintosh computer.

Ma was a guest on the Not My Job segment of ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' on April 7, 2007, where he won for listener Thad Moore.

On October 27, 2008, Ma appeared as a guest and performer on ''The Colbert Report''.

According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series ''Faces of America'', in which Ma made an appearance, a relative had hidden the Ma family genealogy in his home in China to save it from destruction during the Cultural Revolution. Ma's paternal ancestry can be traced back eighteen generations to the year 1217. This genealogy had been compiled in the 18th century by an ancestor, tracing everyone with the surname Ma, through the paternal line, back to one common ancestor in the 3rd century BC. Ma's generation name, "Yo", had been decided by his fourth great grand-uncle, Ma Ji Cang, in 1755.

Personal life

Ma married his long-time girlfriend Jill Hornor, a German language professor, in 1977. He proposed outside her apartment. They have two children, Nicholas and Emily, and reside in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ma's elder sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, who was also born in Paris, is a violinist married to Michael Dadap, a New York–based guitarist from the Philippines.

Discography

Awards and recognitions

Avery Fisher Prize

1978

Presidential Medal of Freedom

2011

Award of Distinction (International Cello Festival)

2007

Dan David Prize

2006

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) (''honoris causa'')

2005 Princeton University

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

1996 ''Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios'' (Sony 57499)

1993 ''Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano'' (Sony 48191)

1992 ''Brahms: Piano Quartets Op. 25, Op. 26'' (Sony 45846)

1987 ''Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations'' (CBS 42121)

1986 ''Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor Op. 38, and F Op. 99'' (RCA 17022)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance:

1998 ''Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse'' (Sony Classical 66299)

1995 ''The New York Album – Works of Albert, Bartók & Bloch'' (Sony 57961)

1993 ''Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante/Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme'' (Sony 48382)

1990 ''Barber: Cello Concerto, Op. 22/Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68'' (CBS 44900)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance:

1985 ''Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites'' (CBS 37867)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition:

1995 ''The New York Album'', ''Stephen Albert: Cello Concerto'' (Sony 57961)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:

1998 ''Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse'' (Sony Classical 66299)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album:

2010 ''Songs of Joy & Peace'' (Sony Classical B001BN1V8U)

2004 ''Obrigado Brazil'' (Sony 89935)

2001 ''Appalachian Journey'' (Sony 66782)

1999 ''Soul of the Tango – The Music of Ástor Piazzolla'' (Sony Classical 63122)

Glenn Gould Prize

1999

Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album

2004 ''Obrigado Brazil'' (Sony 89935)

National Medal of Arts 2001 Presidential Medal of Freedom

·Nominated: November 17, 2010

·Awarded: February 15, 2011

Cultural references

In the movie ''School of Rock'', Jack Black’s character tells the other teachers that he competed in a cello audition--and lost—to Yo-Yo Ma's cousin, who he describes as “Little Nepotiz”, a reference to the audition being on the same orchestral instrument as Yo-Yo Ma plays, and implying that Yo-yo Ma’s cousin won the audition simply by virtue of being related to Yo-Yo Ma. In the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', Kramer exclaims "Yo-Yo Ma!" in two episodes. When Kramer cries out "Yo-Yo Ma!" in The Ticket (Seinfeld), it is attributed to a suspected head injury caused by a kick from "Crazy" Joe Davola. In The Hamptons (Seinfeld), Kramer calls out "Yo-Yo Ma!" when he sees George Costanza's girlfriend, Jane, walking topless on the beach.

References

External links

Official Website

''About Us'', The Children's Orchestra Society, ChildrensOrch.org, 2007

Yo-Yo Ma in Conversation from WGBH Radio Boston

Yo-Yo Ma Interview on Time.com, October 2008

Yo-Yo Ma Podcast Series produced by Sony BMG Masterworks

Yo-Yo Ma TV Interview with Ennio Morricone from C Music TV

2006 Dan David Prize laureate

Category:American classical cellists Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:Contemporary classical music performers Category:Child classical musicians Category:Columbia University alumni Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Emmy Award winners Category:French emigrants to the United States Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Paris Category:Members of Committee of 100 Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:United Nations Messengers of Peace Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:People from Belmont, Massachusetts Category:Child classical musicians

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