Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Settlement type	City
Coordinates region	TR
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Timezone	EET
Utc offset	+2
Map caption	Location of Diyarbakır within Turkey.
Timezone dst	EEST
Utc offset dst	+3, |official_name Diyarbakır |image_skyline Seyrangeha Parkormanê Amed 2010.JPG |image_caption A view from Diyarbakır's town center |image_blank_emblem |blank_emblem_type | Turkey Provinces locator.gif | subdivision_type1Region| subdivision_name1 Southeastern Anatolia |subdivision_type2Province| subdivision_name2 Diyarbakır |population_total |population_footnotesPopulation of cities of Turkey |population_urban 843,460 |population_footnotes |population_as_of 2010 |population_footnotes |population_density_km2 |area_total_km2 |elevation_m 675|postal_code_typePostal code| postal_code 21x xx |blank_info 21|blank_nameLicence plate
Area code	(0090)+ 412
Website
Leader name	Osman Baydemir
Leader party	Peace and Democracy Party
Leader title	Mayor
Pushpin map	Turkey

Diyarbakır (Ottoman Turkish دیاربکر, ''Diyâr-ı Bekr''; Kurdish ئامه‌د, Amed; anc. ''Amida'', , ''Amid'' ) is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey. Situated on the banks of the River Tigris, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province and with a population of about 843,460 it is the second largest city in Turkey's South-eastern Anatolia region, after Gaziantep. Within Turkey, Diyarbakır is famed for its culture, folklore, and watermelons. The population of Diyarbakır is made up predominantly of Kurdish people.

Etymology

The most accepted etymology of the name Diyarbakır is literal Arabic that translates as the landholdings of the ''Bekr'' tribe.

History

Antiquity

''Amid(a)'' was the capital of the Aramean kingdom Bet-Zamani from the 13th century B.C. onwards, and later part of the Neo Assyrian Empire. ''Amid'' is the name used in the Syriac sources, which also testifies to the fact that it once was the seat of the Church of the East Patriarch and thus an original Assyrian/Syriac stronghold that produced many famous Assyrian theologians and Patriarchs. Some of them found their final resting place in St. Mary Church. There are many relics in the Church, such as the bones of the apostle Thomas and St. Jacob of Sarug (d. 521).

The city was called ''Amida'' when the region was under the rule of the Roman (from 66 BC) and the succeeding Byzantine Empires.

From 189 BC to 384 AD, the area to the east and south of present-day Diyarbakır, was ruled by a kingdom known as Corduene.

In 359, Shapur II of Persia captured Amida after a siege of 73 days. The Roman soldiers and a large part of the population of the town were massacred by the Persians. The siege is vividly described by the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus who was an eyewitness of the event and survived the massacre by escaping from the town.

Armenian historians at one time hypothesized that Diyarbakır was the site of the ancient Armenian city of Tigranakert, (pronounced Dikranagerd in the Western Armenian dialect) and by the 19th century the Armenian inhabitants were referring to the city as Dikranagerd. Scholarly research has shown that while the ancient Armenian city was close by, it was not in the same place. The real location of Dikranagerd remains the subject of debate, but Armenians who trace their ancestry to Diyarbakır continue to refer to themselves as "Dikranagerdtsi" (native of Dikranagerd.) The "Dikranagerdtsis" or Armenians of Diyarbakır were noted for having one of the most unusual dialects of Armenian, one difficult for a speaker of standard Armenian to understand.

The Middle Ages

In 639 the city was captured by the Arab armies of Islam and it remained in Arab hands until the Kurdish dynasty of Marwanid ruled the area during the 10th and 11th centuries. After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the city came under the rule of the Mardin branch of Oghuz Turks and then the Anatolian beylik of Artuqids (circa 1100–1250 in effective terms, although almost a century longer nominally). The whole area was then disputed between the Ilkhanate and Ayyubid dynasties for a century, after which it was taken over by the rising Turkmen states of Kara Koyunlu (the Black Sheep) first and Ak Koyunlu (the White Sheep). It was also ruled by Sultanate of Rûm between 1241-1259.

The Ottoman Empire

The city became part of the Ottoman Empire during Sultan Süleyman I's campaign of Irakeyn (the two Iraqs, e.g. Arabian and Persian) in 1534. The Ottoman eyalet of Diyarbakır corresponded to Turkey's southeastern provinces today, a rectangular area between the Lake Urmia to Palu and from the southern shores of Lake Van to Cizre and the beginnings of the Syrian desert, although its borders saw some changes over time. The city was an important military base for controlling this region and at the same time a thriving city noted for its craftsmen, producing glass and metalwork. For example the doors of Mevlana's tomb in Konya were made in Diyarbakır, as were the gold and silver decorated doors of the tomb of Imam-i Azam in Baghdad.

In the 19th century, Diyarbakır prison gained infamy throughout the Ottoman Empire as a site where political prisoners from the enslaved Balkan ethnic groups were sent to serve harsh sentences for speaking or fighting for national freedom.

The 20th century

The 20th century was turbulent for Diyarbakir. Armenians killed there exceeded the city's Armenian population because it was a centre of deportation for all parts of the province. The massacre of Armenians in Diyarbakir was witnessed by Rafael De Nogales, who served as an officer in the Ottoman Army. At one time, Diyarbakır had a substantial Armenian and Assyrian population, who comprised almost a third of the city's population. However, almost all were killed. Few Assyrians and Armenians remain today. The holder of the Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Diyarbakir is currently living in Istanbul.

In the three decades following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, Diyarbakır became the object of Turkish-nationalist policies against Kurds, as a result of which Kurdish elites were destroyed and many Kurds deported to western Turkey.

The 41-year-old American-Turkish Pirinçlik Air Force Base near Diyarbakır, known as NATO's frontier post for monitoring the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, closed on 30 September 1997. This closure was the result of the general drawdown of US bases in Europe and the improvement in space surveillance technology. The base housed sensitive electronic intelligence-gathering systems that monitored the Middle East, the Caucasus and Russia.

Climate

Diyarbakır has a semi-arid climate. Summer are very hot and very dry, due to its location on the Mesopotamian plain which is subject to hot winds from the deserts of Syria and Iraq to the south. The highest recorded temperature was 44.8°C (112.64°F) on 28 August 1998. Winters are cold and wet and with frosty nights. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two. The lowest recorded temperature was -23.4°C (-10.12°F) on 30 December 2006.

Diyarbakır today

During the recent conflict, the population of the city grew dramatically as villagers from remote areas where fighting was serious left or were forced to leave for the relative security of the city. Rural to urban movement has often been the first step in a migratory pattern that has taken large numbers of Kurds from the east to the west. Diyarbakır grew from 30,000 in the 1930s to 65,000 by 1956, to 140,000 by 1970, to 400,000 by 1990, and eventually swelled to about 1.5 million by 1997. Today the intricate warren of alleyways and old-fashioned tenement blocks that makes up the old city within and around the walls contrasts dramatically with the sprawling suburbs of modern apartment blocks and cheaply-built ''gecekondu'' slums to the west.

After the cessation of hostilities between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish army, a large degree of normality returned to the city, with the Turkish government declaring an end to the 15-year period of emergency rule on 30 November 2002. In August 2005, the Kurdish mayor Osman Baydemir presented the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan with the following complaints:

A grant of 500,000 euros from the German Development Fund KFW to redesign the city's waste disposal system was refused by the State Planning Authority (DPT) of the Turkish government in Ankara, and then a 22 million project to renew the system was also prevented.

A grant of 350,000 euros for the rehabilitation of the Tigris valley, from the Turco-Spanish Economic and Financial Union, was declared ''unnecessary'' by the DPT in 2005.

A dentistry project jointly agreed with and funded by South Korea and EAID (the Eurasian Institute of Dentistry) had to abandoned after the dentists were refused work permits.

A five million euro project to build a tram system in the city was abandoned after the Turkish government refused to guarantee a 15-year loan from Deutsche Bank that the city had negotiated.

In the urban renewal project for 2005 presented to the EU commission 10 million euros were granted to Diyarbakır. However the State Planning Authority (DPT) of the Turkish government reallocated 4 million of this to other cities (Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Erzurum), which failing to present projects lost this money.

In another instance a 30 million euro loan from the EU was prevented by the DPT.

According to a November 2006 survey by the Sur Municipality, one of Diyarbakır's metropolitan municipalities, 72% of the inhabitants of the municipality use Kurdish most often in their daily speech, followed by Turkish, and 69% are illiterate in their most widely used vernacular.

Arts and culture

Some jewelry making and other craftwork continues today although the fame of the Diyarbakır's craftsmen has long passed. Folk dancing to the drum and zurna (pipe) are a part of weddings and celebrations in the area.

Cuisine

Diyarbakır is known for rich dishes of lamb (and lamb's liver, kidneys etc.); spices such as black pepper, sumac and coriander; rice, bulgur and butter.

Main sights

Diyarbakır is surrounded by an almost intact, dramatic set of high walls of black basalt forming a circle around the old city. There are four gates into the old city and 82 watch-towers on the walls, which were built in antiquity, restored and extended by the Roman emperor Constantius in 349.

Diyarbakır boasts numerous medieval mosques and madrassahs including:

Great Mosque of Diyarbakir built by the Seljuk Turkish Sultan Malik Shah in the 11th century. The mosque, one of the oldest in Turkey, is constructed in alternating bands of black basalt and white limestone (The same patterning is used in the 16th century Deliler Han Madrassah, which is now a hotel). The adjoining ''Mesudiye Medresesi'' was built at the same time as was another prayer-school in the city, ''Zinciriye Medresesi''.

''Beharampaşa Camii'' - an Ottoman mosque built in 1572 by the governor of Diyarbakır, Behram Pasha, noted for the well-constructed arches at the entrance.

''Dört Ayaklı Minare'' (''the four-footed minaret'') - built by Kasim Khan of the Ak Koyunlu. It is said that one who passes seven times between the four columns will have his wishes granted.

''Fatihpaşa Camii'' - built in 1520 by Diyarbakır's first Ottoman governor, Bıyıklı Mehmet Paşa ("the moustachioed Mehmet pasha"). The city's earliest Ottoman building, it is decorated with fine tilework.

''Hazreti Süleyman Camii'' - 1155-1169 - Süleyman son of Halid Bin Velid, who died capturing the city from the Arabs, is buried here along with his companions.

''Hüsrevpaşa Camii'' - the mosque of the second Ottoman governor, 1512–1528. Originally the building was intended to be a school (''medrese'')

''İskender Paşa Camii'' - a mosque of an Ottoman governor, an attractive building in black and white stone, built in 1551.

''Melek Ahmet Camii'' a 16th century mosque noted for its tiled prayer-niche and for the double stairway up the minaret.

''Nebii Camii'' - an Ak Koyunlu mosque, a single-domed stone construction from the 16th century. ''Nebi Camii'' means "the mosque of the prophet" and is so-named because of the number of inscriptions in honour of the prophet on its minaret.

''Safa Camii'' - built in 1532 by the Ak Koyunlu Turkmen tribe.

Famous churches include:

St. Giragos Armenian Church - A disused and restored Armenian Orthodox church.

The Syriac Orthodox Church of Our Lady ( `''Idto d-Yoldat Aloho'', ), was first constructed as a pagan temple in the 1st century BCE. The current construction dates back to the 3rd century, has been restored many times, and is still in use as a place of worship today. There are a number of other churches in the city.

Museums include:

The ''Archaeological Museum'' contains artifacts from the neolithic period, through the Early Bronze Age, Assyrian, Urartu, Roman, Byzantine, Artuqids, Seljuk Turk, Aq Qoyunlu, and Ottoman Empire periods.

Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum - the home of the late poet and a classic example of a traditional Diyarbakır home.

The birthplace of poet Ziya Gökalp - preserved as a museum to his life and works.

Notable residents

Abdülkadir Aksu: Former Turkish minister of interior affairs

Ahmed Arif: Poet

Aziz Yıldırım: President of Fenerbahçe S.K. sports club

Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı: Poet

Cihan Haspolatlı: Galatasaray SK footballer

Gazi Yaşargil: medical scientist and neurosurgeon

Hesenê Metê: writer

Hikmet Çetin: Former Turkish foreign minister, former NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan

Leyla Zana: politician

Lokman Polat: writer

Mehmed Emin Bozarslan: writer

Mehmet Polat: actor

Naum Faiq: writer

Osman Baydemir: politician

Rojen Barnas: writer

Songül Öden: actress

Süleyman Nazif: Prominent Young Turk

Ziya Gökalp: Prominent ideologue of Pan-Turkism and Turanism

Mıgırdiç Margosyan: writer, some of his books: Gavur Mahallesi, Söyle Margos Nerelisen?, Biletimiz İstanbul'a Kesildi

Coşkun Sabah: musician

Sayf al-Din al-Amidi: (d. 631/1233 in Damascus), Islamic theologian and legal scholar of the Shafi'i school.

See also

Amid (Chaldean Diocese)

Dicle University

References

External links

Governorship of Diyarbakır Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Diyarbakırspor funs, news, informarmation local info Information on Diyarbakır Diyarbakır news Diyarbakır news Diyarbakır news

Pictures of the City

Diyarbakır Guide and Photo Album, more, more

Diyarbakır Weather Forecast Information

Category:Cities in Turkey Category:Kurdish inhabited regions Category:Syriac settlements Category:Populated places in Diyarbakır Province Category:Tur Abdin

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Image name	Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.jpg
Name	Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafiسيف الإسلام معمر القذافي
Birth date	June 25, 1972
Birth place	Tripoli, Libya
Birthname	Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi
Nationality	Libyan
Alma mater	Al Fateh University (B.Eng)IMADEC University (MBA)London School of Economics (PhD)
Occupation	(GDF) Founder & President
Profession	Engineer, Politician
Religion	Islam
Website	GDF }}

Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi (born June 25, 1972, , translated as "Sword of Islam, Muammar of the Qaddafa"), is the second son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He is a part of his father's inner circle, performing public relations and diplomatic roles on behalf of his father. In Libya, he was during his father's reign the second most-widely recognized official after his father and had been mentioned as a possible successor, though he has denied this.. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity against the Libyan people, including torturing and killing civilians.

Education and career

In 1994, Saif al-Islam graduated with a BSc in Engineering Science from Tripoli's Al Fateh University, and earned an MBA from Vienna's IMADEC University in 2000.

His paintings made up the bulk of the international Libyan art exhibit, "The Desert Is Not Silent" (2002–2005), a show which was supported by a host of international corporations with direct ties to the Gaddafi regime.

In 2008, he was awarded a PhD from London School of Economics, for a thesis entitled "The role of civil society in the democratisation of global governance institutions: from 'soft power' to collective decision-making?" Examined by Meghnad Desai (London School of Economics) and Anthony McGrew (University of Southampton), among the LSE academics acknowledged in the thesis as directly assisting with it were Nancy Cartwright, David Held and Alex Voorhoeve. Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard University is also thanked for having read portions of the manuscript and providing advice and direction. In a later investigation by Channel 4 News, they found that 6% of the 93,000-word thesis was copied from other sources.

He owns an architectural agency in Tripoli—the National Engineering Service and Supplies Company.

Saif is the president of the Libyan National Association for Drugs and Narcotics Control (DNAG). In 1997, he founded the official charity, the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations, which has intervened in various hostage situations involving Islamic militants and the crisis of the HIV trial in Libya and the resulting European Union-Libyan rapprochement.

Speaking in Sabha on August 20, 2008, Saif said that he would no longer involve himself in state affairs. He noted that he had previously "intervene[d] due to the absence of institutions", but said that he would no longer do so. He dismissed any potential suggestion that this decision was due to disagreement with his father, saying that they were on good terms. He also called for political reforms within the context of the Jamahiriya system and rejected the notion that he could succeed his father, saying that "this is not a farm to inherit".

International diplomacy

Saif was instrumental in negotiations that led to Libya's abandoning a weapons of mass destruction programme in 2002–2003. He arranged several important business deals on behalf of the Libyan regime in the period of rapprochement that followed. He was viewed as a reformer, and has openly criticized the regime:

In 2003, he published a report critical of Libya's record on human rights.

On December 10, 2004, shortly before a trip by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to Tripoli, in an interview with ''The Globe and Mail'' Saif requested a formal apology from the Canadian government, for joining U.S.-led sanctions against Libya after the Lockerbie bombing, and for denying him a student visa to study in Canada in 1997. His request was met with incredulity in Canada, and the Canadian government announced that no apology would be forthcoming.

HIV trial

Saif admitted in interviews that the Bulgarian nurses had been tortured and the government denied them a fair trial. His admissions were said to have badly damaged his reputation in Libya.

Isratine proposal

Saif introduced the Isratine proposal to permanently resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a secular, federalist, republican one-state solution. The first ever opinion poll survey to be undertaken in both Pakistani and Indian-controlled Kashmir, conducted by King's College, London, and the polling organisation IPSOS-MORI, was also Saif's brainchild, having arisen out of discussions he had with British academic Robert Bradnock, the author of the 2010 Chatham House report on the survey.

2008 agreement with Italy

Saif was involved in negotiating compensation from Libya's former colonial power, Italy, and on August 30, 2008 a Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was signed in Benghazi by his father and Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Compensation for American terror victims

He was also negotiating with the United States in order to conclude a comprehensive agreement making any further payments for American victims of terror attacks that have been blamed on Libya – such as the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing – conditional upon U.S. payment of compensation for the 40 Libyans killed and 220 injured in the 1986 United States bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi. On August 14, 2008, the U.S.-Libya Comprehensive Claims Settlement Agreement was signed in Tripoli. Former British Ambassador to Libya Oliver Miles described the agreement as "a bold step, with political cost for both parties" and wrote an article in the online edition of ''The Guardian'' querying whether the agreement is likely to work.

In an August 2008 BBC TV interview, Saif Gaddafi said that Libya had admitted responsibility (but not "guilt") for the Lockerbie bombing simply to get trade sanctions removed. He further admitted that Libya was being "hypocritical" and was "playing on words", but Libya had no other choice on the matter. According to Saif, a letter admitting "responsibility" was the only way to end the economic sanctions imposed on Libya. When asked about the compensation that Libya was paying to the victims' families, he again repeated that Libya was doing so because it had no other choice. He went on to describe the families of the Lockerbie victims as "trading with the blood of their sons and daughters" and being very "greedy": "They were asking for more money and more money and more money".

Diplomacy for extraditing Libyans

Interviewed by French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' on December 7, 2007, Saif said that the seven Libyans convicted for the Pan Am Flight 103 and the UTA Flight 772 bombings "are innocent". When asked if Libya would therefore seek reimbursement of the compensation paid to the families of the victims (US$2.33 billion), Saif replied: "I don't know." Saif led negotiations with Britain for the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the convicted Pan Am 103 conspirator.

In 2007, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Tripoli, with whom it is alleged he helped broker an arms deal, including missiles.

In November 2008, Saif made a high-profile visit to the United States where he met with US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. During the meeting, Rice raised the case of Libya's jailed political dissident and democracy activist, Fathi El-Jahmi.

Stand-off with US officials

In 2009, Saif claimed that Libya's opinion of him was shaped largely by his role in Libya's engagement with the West, saying "If something goes wrong, people will blame me, whether I am in a certain official position or not." He expressed frustration with the US, saying Libya's decision to give up its Weapons of Mass Destruction programs was contingent upon "compensation" from the US, including the signing of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, economic cooperation, and cooperation in purchasing conventional weapons and military equipment. He stated, "We share rich natural resources – oil and gas – along the borders, yet we have no capacity to defend that wealth." Because of a US legal embargo, Libya cannot purchase weapons from the United States, Sweden, or Germany, and has been disallowed from buying "Tiger" vehicles with American-manufactured engines from Jordan. He asked for greater military assistance, as Libya had committed itself to destroying chemical stockpiles, but would require at least $25 million to do so. Saif said the United States had "humiliated" his father during his visit to New York in 2009, and said that his father's tent and residence issues were disappointing and his UN speech had been misinterpreted. Saif said that his father was barred from visiting Ground Zero, which also frustrated him. Saif held a standoff with US officials in November 2009, refusing to send a shipment of HEU back to Russia unless the United States had renewed its commitment to cooperation with Libya.

Arrest warrant

A warrant for his arrest was issued in late June 2011, for crimes against humanity.

2011 Libyan civil war

On February 20, 2011 at 18:00 EST, he made an extemporaneous speech on Libyan state TV. In it, he blamed the civil war on tribal factions and Islamists acting on their own agendas, drunken and drugged. He promised reforms, and said the alternative would be civil war causing no trade, no oil money, and the country taken over by foreigners. He promised tens of thousands dead if protests continued, and "a river of blood". He closed by saying, "We will not let Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and BBC trick us." Many analysts disagreed with his assessment, including Oliver Miles, a former British Ambassador to Libya. In an interview to ABC news reporter Christiane Amanpour Saif al-Islam denied that his father's regime is killing civilians. On February 28, 2011 a video became available online in which Saif Gaddafi appears to spur on a crowd of followers to fight the opposition, and promises weapons to them, while brandishing a G36 assault rifle. On June 27 an arrest warrant was issued by ICC. In August 2011, Saif gave an interview to the New York Times stating that Libya was becoming more closely aligned to Islamists and would likely resemble Iran or Saudi Arabia. Saif said that his father was working closely with Islamists within the rebellion to splinter the resistance.

On August 21, 2011, the National Transitional Council claimed that Saif al-Islam was arrested by the Libyan National Liberation Army, pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. However, on the early morning of August 23, Saif al-Islam was seen by Western journalists apparently moving on his own free will outside of the Rixos Hotel. Later reports stated that he had been briefly captured, but had escaped.

Personal life

Saif has a reputation for hard-partying and womanizing, drifting him apart from the hardline Islamic conservatism in Libya. In 2006, Saif al-Islam Muammar Gaddafi was romantically linked to the Israeli actress, Orly Weinerman. In 2009, he threw a party in Montenegro for his 37th birthday. Notable guests included Oleg Deripaska, Peter Munk and Prince Albert of Monaco. He previously hosted similar parties in St Tropez and Monaco.

British society

Gaddafi has been hosted at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle by the British royal family. Gaddafi claims that former Prime Minister Tony Blair is a personal friend who took an interest in advising Libya on oil revenues and finance. In 2009, he spent a weekend at Waddesdon Manor, home of financier Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, where he was the guest of Lord Mandelson and Nathaniel Philip Rothschild. He later stayed at the Rothschild holiday home in Corfu. Nathaniel Rothschild was a guest at Saif's 37th birthday celebration in Montenegro.

Links with the London School of Economics

Saif received his PhD from the London School of Economics in 2008. LSE Professor David Held was one of the mentors of Saif Gaddafi according to a ''New York Times'' article. Through the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, Saif subsequently pledged a donation of £1.5 million to support the work of the LSE's Centre for the Study of Global Governance on civil society organizations in North Africa. Following the LSE Libya Links affair, the LSE has issued a statement indicating that it will cut all financial ties with the country and will accept no further money from the Foundation, having already received and spent the first £300,000 installment of the donation.

Like the thesis of former German minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, of the vice president of the European parliament, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Veronica Sass, daughter of former Bavarian minister president Edmund Stoiber, and Mathias Pröfrock, a German CDU politician, Saif's thesis is analyzed using crowdsourcing.

Commentators claim that passages appear to have been plagiarised from other sources without attribution. Pressure is being put on the LSE to revoke his qualification. LSE has set up a review process. and investigate the claims.

References

External links

Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation

Profile at GlobalSecurity.org

Saif Gaddafi's vision for Libya, ''BBC News'', November 16, 2004

Libya 'tortured' Bulgarian medics, ''BBC News'', August 9, 2007

Qaddafi's son declares he's leaving politics, ''The New York Times'', August 22, 2008

ABC interview

Gaddafi son calls for democracy, ''BBC News'', September 16, 2009

Unknotting Father’s Reins in Hope of ‘Reinventing’ Libya, Landon Thomas Jr., ''The New York Times'', February 28, 2010

Gaddafi's son talks of conspiracy, ''Aljazeera English'', February 20, 2011

Translated transcript of February 20, 2011 speech

Factbox: Facts about Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, ''Reuters'', February 21, 2011

Profile: Libya's Saif al-Islam, ''Aljazeera English'', February 21, 2011

Saif Al-Gaddafi, "The Role of Civil Society in the Democratization of Global Governance Institutions: From 'Soft Power' to Collective Decision-Making?" PhD Thesis, London School of Economics, 2008.

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics Category:Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court Category:Fugitives wanted on crimes against humanity charges Saif Category:Libyan engineers Category:Libyan politicians Category:People from Tripoli Category:People of the 2011 Libyan civil war Category:Plagiarism controversies

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Honorific-prefix	The Honourable
Name	Julia Gillard
Honorific-suffix	MP
Office	27th Prime Minister of AustraliaElections: 2010
Deputy	Wayne Swan
Term start	24 June 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor general	Quentin Bryce
Predecessor	Kevin Rudd
Office2	Leader of the Labor Party
Deputy2	Wayne Swan
Term start2	24 June 2010
Predecessor2	Kevin Rudd
Office3	13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
Primeminister3	Kevin Rudd
Term start3	3 December 2007
Term end3	24 June 2010
Predecessor3	Mark Vaile
Successor3	Wayne Swan
Office4	19th Minister for Education
Primeminister4	Kevin Rudd
Term start4	3 December 2007
Term end4	28 June 2010
Predecessor4	Julie Bishop (Education, Science and Training)
Successor4	Simon Crean
Office5	Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Primeminister5	Kevin Rudd
Term start5	3 December 2007
Term end5	28 June 2010
Predecessor5	Joe Hockey
Successor5	Simon Crean
Office6	1st Minister for Social Inclusion
Primeminister6	Kevin Rudd
Term start6	3 December 2007
Term end6	28 June 2010
Predecessor6	Position established
Successor6	Simon Crean
Constituency mp7	Lalor
Parliament7	Australian
Term start7	3 October 1998
Predecessor7	Barry Jones
Birth date	September 29, 1961
Birth place	Barry, Wales, UK
Party	Australian Labor Party
Residence	The Lodge, Canberra
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Religion
Profession	Lawyer
Partner	Tim Mathieson
Signature	Julia Gillard Signature.svg
Website	Prime Minister's websiteParliamentary websiteALP website }}

Julia Eileen Gillard (, born 29 September 1961) is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.

Gillard was elected at the 1998 federal election to the House of Representatives seat of Lalor, Victoria for the Australian Labor Party. Following the 2001 federal election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet with the portfolios of Population and Immigration. The Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and the Health portfolios were added in 2003. In December 2006, Kevin Rudd was elected Labor leader and Leader of the Opposition, with Gillard as deputy leader.

Gillard became the Deputy Prime Minister upon Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election, also serving as Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. On , after Rudd lost the support of his party and stood aside, Gillard became federal leader of the Australian Labor Party and thus the Prime Minister, the first female holder of the office.

The 2010 federal election saw the incumbent Gillard Labor government elected to a second term over the Coalition opposition, led by Tony Abbott, and formed a minority government with support of an Australian Greens MP and three independent MPs.

Early life

Gillard was born in 1961 in Barry, Wales. After she suffered from bronchopneumonia as a child, her parents were advised it would aid her recovery if they were to live in a warmer climate. The family migrated to Australia in 1966, settling in Adelaide. Her parents, John and Moira, live in Pasadena, South Australia. She has a sister, Alison, who is three years older.

Gillard's father worked as a psychiatric nurse, while her mother worked at the local Salvation Army nursing home. She and her sister attended Mitcham Demonstration School, and Julia went on to attend Unley High School. She then studied at the University of Adelaide but cut short her courses in 1982 and moved to Melbourne to work with the Australian Union of Students. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1986.

In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon at Werribee, Melbourne, working in industrial law. In 1990, at the age of 29, she was admitted as a partner.

Political provenance

Introduced to politics in her second year at the University of Adelaide by the daughter of a State Labor Minister, Gillard joined the Labor Club and became involved in a campaign to fight federal education budget cuts.

After moving to Melbourne, in 1983 Gillard became the second woman to lead the Australian Union of Students. She was also formerly the secretary of the left-wing organisation, Socialist Forum.

From 1996 to 1998, Gillard served as Chief of Staff to John Brumby, at that time the Victorian opposition leader. She was responsible for drafting the affirmative-action rules within the Labor Party in Victoria that set the target of preselecting women for 35 per cent of "winnable seats". She also played a role in the foundation of EMILY's List, the pro-choice fund-raising and support network for Labor women.

The Welsh Labour politician Aneurin "Nye" Bevan remains one of her political heroes.

Opposition member

Gillard was elected as Member for Lalor, a safe Labor seat near Melbourne, in the House of Representatives at the 1998 election, replacing Barry Jones, who had retired. She made her first speech to the house on 11 November 1998.

Shadow Minister for Population and Immigration: 2001–2003

After Labor's defeat at the 2001 election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet, with the portfolio of population and immigration. In February 2003, she was given the additional portfolios of reconciliation and Indigenous affairs.

In the wake of the Tampa and Children Overboard affairs, which were partly credited with Labor's 2001 election loss, Gillard developed a new immigration policy for the Labor Party.

Shadow Minister for Health: 2003–06

Gillard was promoted to the position of Shadow Health Minister in July 2003. Shortly after this, the government moved Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott to the health portfolio. The rivalry between Abbott and Gillard often attracted attention from the media. She gained additional responsibility for managing opposition business in the House of Representatives.

In the aftermath of the Labor loss at the October 2004 election, it was speculated that Gillard might challenge Jenny Macklin for the deputy leadership, but she did not do so.

Gillard had been spoken of as a potential future leader of the party for some years but, until 2005, she stayed out of leadership contests. After Mark Latham resigned as leader in January 2005, however, she emerged as a possible successor along with Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd.

After appearing on the ABC's ''Australian Story'' program in March 2006, an Ipsos Mackay poll in April 2006, conducted for Network Ten's ''Meet the Press'' program, found that respondents would prefer Gillard to be Labor leader. She polled 32% compared with Beazley's 25% and Kevin Rudd's 18%.

Although she had significant cross-factional support, she announced on 25 January 2005 that she would not contest the leadership, allowing Beazley to be elected unopposed.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

On 1 December 2006, in a cross-factional political partnership with Kevin Rudd, Gillard launched a challenge for the deputy leadership of the ALP. Once Rudd was elected as leader, the incumbent deputy leader and Kim Beazley's deputy, Jenny Macklin, chose not to contest the position and on 4 December 2006 she was elected unopposed. In the frontbench reshuffle following the leadership change, Gillard was allocated the Employment, Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion portfolios.

Deputy Prime Minister: 2007–10

The Labor Party won the 2007 federal election and, on 3 December 2007, Gillard was sworn in as the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

In addition to the deputy prime ministership, Gillard was given responsibility for a so-called "super ministry", the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. She had three distinct portfolios: Minister for Education; Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; and Minister for Social Inclusion. In her role as Minister for Education, Gillard travelled to Washington, DC, where she signed a deal with the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to enourage improved policy collaboration in education reform between both countries.

On 11 December 2007 she became the first woman in Australia's history to be in the prime ministerial role, by assuming the role of acting prime minister while Kevin Rudd attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. In the first year of government, she served as acting prime minister for 69 days during Rudd's overseas travel engagements.

Gillard is a highly regarded debater, and her performances during parliamentary question time have prompted Peter van Onselen to call her "the best parliamentary performer on the Labor side".

Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Gillard removed the WorkChoices industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, and replaced it with the ''Fair Work Bill''. This established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia.

In 2009 Gillard oversaw the government's "Building the Education Revolution" program, which allocated $16 billion to build new school accommodation including classrooms, libraries and assembly halls.

Prime Minister

On 23 June 2010, after meetings throughout the evening between Gillard and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, as well as factional leaders, Rudd addressed the waiting media at 10:30 pm AEST and announced that Gillard had asked him to hold a leadership ballot in the 115-member caucus the following day to determine the leadership of the Labor Party and hence the prime ministership of Australia.

Rudd initially said he would challenge Gillard at the caucus. However, it soon became apparent that he didn't have enough support to fend off Gillard's challenge. Hours before the vote, he stood aside as leader and ended his candidacy, leaving Gillard to take the leadership unopposed. At the same caucus meeting, Treasurer Wayne Swan was elected unopposed to succeed Gillard as Labor's deputy leader, and hence Deputy Prime Minister.

Shortly afterward, Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, and Wayne Swan was sworn in as her deputy. The other members of Kevin Rudd's ministry, except Rudd himself, became the remaining members of the First Gillard Ministry.

Later that day, in her first press conference as Prime Minister, she said that at times the Rudd Government "went off the tracks", and "I came to the view that a good Government was losing its way". She also said that she wouldn't move into The Lodge unless she was elected Prime Minister in her own right, preferring to divide her time between a flat in Canberra and her home in Altona, a western suburb of Melbourne. She eventually moved into The Lodge on 26 September 2010.

As well as being the first woman and the first who has never been married, Gillard is the first Prime Minister since Billy Hughes (1915–1923) to have been born overseas.

In the aftermath of the leadership challenge, Bill Shorten, former trade union leader, and key Parliamentary member of the ALP Right Faction, nominated the government's handling of the insulation program; the sudden announcement of change of policy on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme; and the way in which they had "introduced the debate" about the Resource Super Profits Tax as the key considerations which had led to a shift in support from Kevin Rudd to Julia Gillard as leader of the party.

Election 2010

On 17 July 2010, 23 days after becoming prime minister and after receiving the agreement of the Governor-General Quentin Bryce, Gillard announced the next federal election would be held on 21 August 2010. Gillard began campaigning with a speech utilising the slogan "moving forward". In the early stages of the campaign, a series of leaks were released by purported Labor Party sources, indicating apparent divisions within Cabinet over the replacement of Kevin Rudd by Gillard. Mid-way through the campaign, Gillard offered journalists a self-assessment of her campaign by saying that she had been paying too much attention to advisers in her strategy team, and she wanted to run a less "stage-managed" campaign:

Gillard met Opposition leader Tony Abbott for one official debate during the campaign. Studio audience surveys by Channel 9 and the Seven Network suggested a win to Gillard. Unable to agree on further debates, the leaders went on to appear separately on stage for questioning at community forums in Sydney and Brisbane. An audience exit poll of the Rooty Hill RSL audience indicated an Abbott victory. Gillard won the audience poll at the Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August. Gillard also appeared on the ABC's Q&A; program on 9 August. On 7 August, Gillard was questioned by former Labor leader turned Channel Nine reporter Mark Latham.

Gillard officially "launched" Labor's campaign in Brisbane five days before polling day, outlining Labor policies and utilising the slogan: "Yes we will move forward together".

Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, four short of the requirement for majority government, resulting in the first hung parliament since the 1940 election. Both major party leaders sought to form a minority government.

Six crossbench MPs held the balance of power. Four crossbench MPs, Greens Adam Bandt and independents Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply, allowing Gillard and Labor to remain in power with a 76–74 minority government. Governor-General Bryce swore in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010.

Foreign affairs

During her first major international tour as Prime Minister, Julia Gillard told ABC TV's ''7.30 Report'':

Following her 2010 election victory, Gillard selected her former leader Kevin Rudd (a career diplomat) as Foreign Minister. Gillard travelled to the United States in March 2011 to mark the 60th Anniversary of the ANZUS Alliance and was invited to address the United States Congress.

In a 2008 speech in Washington, Gillard endorsed the ANZUS Aliance and described the United States as a civilising global influence. Her former colleague and leader Mark Latham wrote in a 2009 article for the ''Australian Financial Review'' that these comments were "hypocritical", given past private communications Gillard had exchanged with him which apparently mocked elements of American foreign policy: "One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American Government in 2006—or to use her moniker—'a CIA re-education course'. She asked me to 'stand by for emails explaining George Bush is a great statesman, torture is justified in many circumstances and those Iraqi insurgents should just get over it'."

War in Afghanistan

During her first day as Prime Minister, Gillard reassured US President Barack Obama of Australia's continuing support for the military campaign in Afghanistan. She visited Afghanistan on 2 October 2010 and met with Australian forces in Tarin Kowt and President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. The visit formed part of her first overseas trip as prime minister.

A parliamentary debate was conducted for four sitting weeks of parliament, with the agreement between Gillard and Abbott that it is necessary to stay in Afghanistan and prevent it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.

Domestic policies

Health

Like her predecessor Rudd, Gillard has said that health is a priority in her agenda. She announced during the 2010 election, that there would be an increase of 270 placements for emergency doctors and nurses and 3,000 extra nursing scholarships over the following 10 years. She also said mental health would be a priority in her second term, with a $277 million suicide-prevention package which would target high-risk groups. As the election delivered a hung parliament, a $1.8 billion package was given to rural hospitals, which was agreed to by the independents to support her re-election.

In October 2010, her government introduced legislation to reform funding arrangements for the health system, with the intention of giving the Commonwealth responsibility for providing the majority of funding to public hospitals and 100 per cent of funding for primary care and GP services. In February 2011, Gillard announced extensive revision of the original health funding reforms proposed by the Rudd Government, which had been unable to secure the support of all state governments. The revised Gillard government plan proposed that the federal government move towards providing 50% of new health funding (and not 60 per cent as originally agreed) and removed the requirement of the states to cede a proportion of their GST revenue to the Federal Government in order to fund the new arrangement. The new agreement was supported by all state premiers and chief ministersand signed on August 2nd.

Immigration

In relation to population targets for Australia, Gillard told Fairfax Media in August 2010 that while skilled migration is important: "I don't support the idea of a big Australia". Gillard also altered the nomenclature of Tony Burke's role as ''"Minister for Population"'' to that of ''Minister for Sustainable Population".

Asylum seekers

After winning leadership of the Labor Party, Gillard identified addressing the issue of unauthorised arrivals of asylum seekers as a priority of her government. She announced that negotiations were underway for a return to "offshore processing" of asylum seeker claims. Gillard ruled out a return to processing at Nauru and named East Timor as a preferred location for new detention and processing facilities. In response to this initial announcement, East Timor's parliament passed a resolution rejecting the plan. Following the 2010 election, the East Timorese Government rejected the plan.

In October 2010, her government announced that it would open two detention centres for 2000 immigrants, due to the pressures in allowing women and children to be released into the community. One to be opened in Inverbrackie, South Australia and one in Northam, Western Australia. She said it would be a short-term solution to the problem and that temporary detention centres will be closed.

On December 15 2010, a ship containing 89 asylum seekers crashed on the shore of Christmas Island, killing up to fifty people.

In April 2011 the Federal Government confirmed that a detention centre for single men will be built at the old army barracks at Pontville, 45 minutes north of Hobart. This immigration detention centre will house up to 400 refugees. Also in April 2011 immigration detainees at the Villawood detention centre rioted in protest of their treatment, setting fire to several buildings.

In May 2011 Gillard announced that Australia and Malaysia were finalising an arrangement to exchange asylum seekers. Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said they were close to signing a bilateral agreement which would result in 800 asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat being taken to Malaysia instead. Australia will take 4,000 people from Malaysia who have previously been assessed as being refugees.

The plan encountered a delay upon implementation. The High Court of Australia issued an injunction delaying the removal of the first batch of boat arrivals only a few hours before they were to be deported to Malaysia, giving their lawyers time to argue that sending asylum seekers to Malaysia is unlawful. On 31 August the High Court ruled that the agreement to transfer refugees from Australia to Malaysia was invalid, and ordered that it not proceed. Australia will still accept 4,000 people who have been assessed as refugees in Malaysia.

Education

When she became Prime Minister, she gave her Education portfolio to Simon Crean. She has promised to "make education central to my economic agenda." After her re-election, she extended tax-cuts to parents to help pay for school uniforms for people struggling to cover the costs of education under the Education Tax Refund scheme. Gillard continued to put the My School website centre of her education agenda, which was controversial when she implemented when she was the Minister for Education. Although it was popular amongst parents, the website helped parents view statistics of the school their children attended. She has unveiled the revamped version, My School 2.0, promising better information to parents.

Universities also placed highly on her education agenda. Legislation due to be voted on in November 2010 that would see the introduction of a national universities regulator was delayed till 2011 following criticisms from the higher education sector. It was also announced by her government that legislation to establish the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency would also be introduced early 2011.

Climate change

In June 2010 Kevin Rudd told the ALP caucus that he had been pressured by Gillard to drop his carbon dioxide emissions trading policy. Rudd however later refused to confirm the statement.

During the 2010 election, Gillard unveiled her climate change plans in Brisbane. It included a 150-person citizens assembly to work on a consensus for climate change and a crackdown on dirty power plants, a $1 billion investment into greening the electricity grid and also further investment into green technology. A day before the election, ''The Australian'' newspaper reported an interview with Gillard in which she said: "I don't rule out the possibility of legislating a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, a market-based mechanism, [during the next parliament] I rule out a carbon tax."

The idea for a citizens assembly was scrapped on 7 October 2010, as Gillard announced that her pre-election promise to create a citizens' assembly to investigate climate change would not proceed, but the government would instead seek guidance from a parliamentary committee advised by experts on climate change. A $2000 subsidy for cashing in old cars was also announced to reduce pollution. Reaction to this by Australian businesses has been positive.

In November 2010, Gillard announced a Productivity Commission inquiry on pricing on carbon.

On 24 February 2011, in a joint press conference of the "Climate Change Committee" — comprising the government, Greens and independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott—Gillard announced a plan to implement a fixed price to be imposed on carbon pollution from 1 July 2012. The carbon tax would be placed for three to five years before a full emissions trading scheme is implemented. Key issues remained to be negotiated, including compensation arrangements for households and businesses, the carbon price level, the emissions reduction target and whether or not to include fuel in the tax.

Political positions

Factional position

Although nominally a member of the Victorian Left faction of the Labor Party, her election to Prime Minister occurred because of support from the Right factions of the party, with the hard Left planning to support Rudd in the Caucus vote had there actually been one. Analyses of Jacqueline Kent's 2009 biography of Gillard suggest that her membership in the Left faction is "more organisational than ideological". In July 2010, historian Ross Fitzgerald said, "... at least since last year Gillard has sought to reposition herself more towards the Labor Right."

Population growth

On population policy, Gillard is against a "big Australia", as opposed to predecessor Kevin Rudd who was in favour of population growth. She emphasises the need for sustainability, saying "Australia should not hurtle down the track towards a big population".

Republic

Gillard supports Australia becoming a republic and has suggested that the end of Queen Elizabeth II's reign would be "probably the appropriate point for a transition".

Life matters

Gillard has expressed a pro-choice position on abortion saying that "Women without money would be left without that choice or in the hands of backyard abortion providers" and that she understood "the various moral positions" regarding abortions.

Concerning euthanasia Gillard warned that it may "open the door to exploitation and perhaps callousness towards people in the end stage of life" and that she is not convinced that the policy of pro-euthanasia advocates contain "sufficient safeguards".

Gay marriage

Gillard has made clear she does not support the legalisation of gay marriage, saying that she believes "the Marriage Act is appropriate in its current form, that is recognising that marriage is between a man and a woman" and that marriage being between a man and woman "has a special status".

Internet controls

Soon after Gillard first took over from Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, she put herself on record as being in favour of a mandatory internet filter for Australia and justified her stance by saying images of child abuse and child pornography should not be legally available on the internet.

Wikileaks

Following the November 2010 release of secret United States diplomatic cables, high-profile people in various countries condemned the whistleblower website, WikiLeaks, with some calling for the founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, to be killed. Julia Gillard stated, “I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the WikiLeaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do". After an Australian Federal Police investigation failed to find WikiLeaks had broken any Australian laws by publishing the US diplomatic documents, Gillard maintained her stance that the release of the documents was "grossly irresponsible". Open letters signed by many news editors, lawyers and other prominent individuals including Noam Chomsky have asked Gillard to condemn the calls for physical harm to Assange and to ensure his legal rights are protected.

Personal life

Gillard's partner since 2006 is Tim Mathieson. She had previous relationships with union officials Michael O'Connor and Bruce Wilson and fellow Federal Labor MP Craig Emerson. She has never married and has no children.

She owns a home in the south-western Melbourne suburb of Altona which she occupied prior to The Lodge and is a public supporter of the Western Bulldogs AFL club. She has a broad Australian accent which is distinctive even among Australian prime ministers.

Gillard was brought up in the Baptist tradition, but is not religious. In a 2010 interview when asked if she believed in God, Gillard stated: "No I don't ... I'm not a religious person ... [I'm] a great respecter of religious beliefs but they're not my beliefs."

See also

Next Australian federal election

Australian federal election, 2010

Rudd Ministry

First Gillard Ministry

Second Gillard Ministry

Notes

References

External links

Official prime ministerial website

Official Federal HOR webpages for Julia Gillard

Official ALP webpage for Julia Gillard

Official Facebook page of Julia Gillard

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Category:1961 births Category:Australian Labor Party politicians Category:Australian people of Welsh descent Category:Australian republicans Category:Current national leaders Category:Female heads of government Category:Former Baptists Category:Government ministers of Australia Category:Living people Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lalor Category:Members of the Cabinet of Australia Category:People from Adelaide Category:People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Category:Prime Ministers of Australia Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:Welsh emigrants to Australia Category:Women members of the Australian House of Representatives

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Name	Roger Federer
Country
Residence	Bottmingen, Switzerland
Birth date	August 08, 1981
Birth place	Basel, Switzerland
Height
Turnedpro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$ 68,723,311
Singlesrecord	823–188 (81.40% in ATP (World) Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Singlestitles	72 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (2 February 2004)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 3 (27 February 2012)
Australianopenresult	W (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Frenchopenresult	W (2009)
Wimbledonresult	W (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
Usopenresult	W (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)
Olympicsresult	4th place (losing bronze-finalist) ()
Doublesrecord	119–76 (61% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Doublestitles	8 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam)
Othertournamentsdoubles	yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2003)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2000)
Wimbledondoublesresult	QF (2000)
Usopendoublesresult	3R (2002)
Olympicsdoublesresult	20px Gold Medal ()
Highestdoublesranking	No. 24 (9 June 2003)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 137 (16 January 2012)
Updated	3 March 2012}}

}}

Roger Federer () (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who holds the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He was number 1 ranked for a total of 285 weeks, second only by a week to Pete Sampras' 286 weeks. As of 27 February 2012, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open. At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Federer has won a record 6 ATP World Tour Finals and 18 ATP Masters Series tournaments (second all-time). He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are considered two of the greatest of all time in the sport (also dubbed the Trivalry). Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record 9 consecutive times (2003-2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record 7 times overall and six times consecutively (2004-2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected human in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.

As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008). He is often referred to as the Federer Express or abbreviated to Fed Express, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro, or simply Maestro.

Personal life

Childhood and early life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome. Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation. Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. “I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved,” he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.

Marriage and family

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager. They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen). On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.

Outreach and charitable efforts

Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports. In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006. At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami. He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims. He was named a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to society.

Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010-2011 Queensland floods.

Federer is currently number 25 on Forbes top 100 celebrities.

Tennis career

Pre-1998: Junior years

Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze, and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram. In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals. He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.

1998–2002: Early career in the ATP

Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost. Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset. Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court. In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time. Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six. He also made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.

2003–2007: Breakthrough and dominance

In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis. Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.

During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick. Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there. Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada. Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.

In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final. Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay. Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai. Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.

In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final. Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis, and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion). In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.

In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal. Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles. Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.

2008 to present

In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record. At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals. Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick. Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open. Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay. The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year. Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, which is one more than Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.

In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open, defeating Andy Murray in the final. But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking. At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay. Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings. At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic. Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish. In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial basis. Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.

The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory, arguably his best performance ever on clay. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.

During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003. Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals, where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.

Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he defeated players such as Ivo Karlović, Bernard Tomic, and Juan Martín del Potro en route to setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal in the semifinals, which he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam for the first time since 2005, where he won the title. He beat Del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played the ATP 500 Dubai event, where he reached the final by defeating Del Potro 7-6(5), 7-6(6) in the semifinal. Federer defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7-8, and clinched the Dubai Duty Free championship for the fifth time in his career which was his 72nd career title. He is next scheduled to play the BNP Paribas Showdown exhibition in New York against Andy Roddick, prior to Indian Wells and then Miami Masters Tournaments along with Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki at 7 pm EST.

Rivalries

Federer vs. Nadal

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.

They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 18–9. However, most of their matches have been on clay, which is statistically Nadal's best surface and statistically Federer's worst surface. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–1 and clay by 12–2. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.

Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martín del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semifinal on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Federer was undefeated in US Open finals until losing in five sets to del Potro (5). Both Federer and Nadal have won Grand Slam events on three different surfaces successively (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open for Nadal and 2008 US Open, 2009 French Open, 2009 Wimbledon for Federer). This rivalry is also part of the "Trivalry" between Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

Federer vs. Djokovic

The two have met 24 times with Federer leading 14–10, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open).

Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 24 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis and have coined the current situation "The Trivalry" between Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5. Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).

This rivalry is part of the "Trivalry" that consists of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. This rivalry is one of the greatest in the Open Era, and many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.

Federer vs. Hewitt

Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record. This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.

Federer vs. Nalbandian

David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.

Federer vs. Murray

Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7. Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open and 2010 Australian Open, but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008 and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010. Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.

Federer vs. Roddick

One of Federer's longest rivalries is with Andy Roddick. Having met on many occasions, including four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open), Federer leads 21–2. Federer's dominance on the tour emerged as Roddick rose to World No. 1 ranking in 2003.

In the 2009 Wimbledon final Roddick took Federer to five sets. It included a fifth-set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) with the match lasting over 4 hours. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles.

Playing style

Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."

Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip," while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport." Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph); however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying, and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career. His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react. Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.

Equipment, apparel, endorsements

Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet, which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of , and thin beam of 18 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3). Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his cross strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his main strings. When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."

Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel. For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006. In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan. He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together. Federer endorses Gillette, Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company, as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches, although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix. Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt. In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2012 Australian Open.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% |- !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!width=50|SR!!width=50|W–L!!width=50|Win % |- | colspan="20" style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Australian Open |A |LQ | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:#efefef;"|4 / 13 | style="background:#efefef;"|63–9 | style="background:#efefef;"|87.50 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|French Open |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:thistle;"|F | | style="background:#efefef;"|1 / 13 | style="background:#efefef;"|49–12 | style="background:#efefef;"|80.33 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Wimbledon |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | | style="background:#efefef;"|6 / 13 | style="background:#efefef;"|59–7 | style="background:#efefef;"|89.39 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|US Open |A |LQ | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | | style="background:#efefef;"|5 / 12 | style="background:#efefef;"|61–7 | style="background:#efefef;"|89.71 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–2 !7–4 !13–4 !6–4 !13–3 !22–1 !24–2 !27–1 !26–1 !24–3 !26–2 !20–3 !20–4 !4–1 !16 / 51 !232–35 !86.89 |}

;Finals: 23 (16 titles, 7 runners-up) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=100|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=210|Score in the final |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Mark Philippoussis||7–6^(7–5), 6–2, 7–6^{(7–3) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Marat Safin||7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Wimbledon (2)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||US Open (1)||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||Wimbledon (3)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||US Open (2)||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Australian Open (2)||Hard|| Marcos Baghdatis||5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2006||French Open (1)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Wimbledon (4)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||US Open (3)||Hard|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||Australian Open (3)||Hard|| Fernando González||7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2007||French Open (2)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||Wimbledon (5)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||US Open (4)||Hard|| Novak Djokovic||7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008||French Open (3)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2008||US Open (5)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2009||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||French Open (1)||Clay|| Robin Söderling||6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||Wimbledon (6)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2009||US Open (1)||Hard|| Juan Martín del Potro||6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010||Australian Open (4)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2011||French Open (4)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |}}

Year-End Championship performance timeline

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% |- !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!2012!!width=75|SR!!width=75|W–L!!width=75|Win % |- | colspan="20" style="text-align:left;"|'''Year-End Championship tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|YEC |NQ |NQ |NQ |NQ | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#afeeee;"|RR | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | !rowspan=2|6 / 10 !rowspan=2|39–7 !rowspan=2|84.78 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !3–1 !5–0 !5–0 !4–1 !5–0 !4–1 !1–2 !2–2 !5–0 !5–0 ! |}

;Finals: 7 (6 titles, 1 runner-up)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=100|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=150|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=225|Score in the final |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003|| Houston||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004|| Houston||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–3, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up||2005|| Shanghai||Carpet (i)|| David Nalbandian||7–6^(7–4), 7–6^(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7^{(3–7) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| James Blake||6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| David Ferrer||6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010|| London||Hard (i)|| Rafael Nadal||6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011|| London||Hard (i)|| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga||6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |}}

Olympic games

;Finals: 1 (1 title) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- !width=100|Outcome !width=50|Year !width=200|Championship !width=75|Surface !width=95|Partner !width=100|Opponents !width=200|Score in the final |- style="background:gold;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner||2008 | Beijing |Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |6–3, 6–4, 6–7^(4–7), 6–3 |}

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

Records in ''italics'' are currently active streaks.

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- !Time span !Selected Grand Slam tournament records !Players matched |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open||Career Grand Slam||Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open||16 titles||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open||23 finals||'''Stands alone |- |2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open||10 consecutive finals||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open||23 consecutive semifinals||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open||''31 consecutive quarterfinals''||'''Stands alone |- |2004 & 2006–2007||3 years winning 3+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2004–2007 & 2009||5 years winning 2+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2006–2007||2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2004–2007||4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2010||8 consecutive years winning 1+ title||Björn BorgPete Sampras |- |2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open||''8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches''||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open||4+ titles at 3 different Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open||5+ finals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open||6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2001 French Open — 2011 US Open||8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open||5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open||2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors||Ivan Lendl |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open||5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open||7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors||'''Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open||First 7 finals won||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open||9 hard-court titles||'''Stands alone |- |2006 French Open — 2009 US Open||Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors||Ivan Lendl |- |2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon||18 consecutive No. 1 seeds||'''Stands alone |- |2006 US Open — 2007 French Open||36 consecutive sets won||'''Stands alone |- |2007 US Open||35 consecutive service points won||'''Stands alone |- |2009 Wimbledon||50 aces in a final||'''Stands alone |- |2009 Australian Open — 2009 US Open||1042 games played in a single year||'''Stands alone |- |2007 US Open||$2.4 million earned at one event||'''Stands alone |- |2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open||2 winning streaks of 25+ matches||'''Stands alone |- |2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open||3 winning streaks of 20+ matches||'''Stands alone |- |2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open||5 winning streaks of 15+ matches||'''Stands alone |}

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- !Grand Slam tournaments !Time Span !Records at each Grand Slam tournament !Players matched |- |Australian Open||2004–2010||4 titles overall||Andre Agassi |- |Australian Open||2006–2007||2 consecutive titles||Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Novak Djokovic |- |Australian Open||2004–2007||3 titles in 4 years||Andre Agassi |- |Australian Open||2004–2010||5 finals overall||Stefan Edberg |- |''Australian Open''||''2004–2012''||''9 consecutive semifinals''||''Stands alone |- |Australian Open||2007||Won without dropping a set||Ken Rosewall |- |Australian Open||2000–2012||63 match wins overall||Stands alone |- |French Open||2006–2009||4 consecutive finals||Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |- |French Open||2006–2008, 2011||4 runner-ups||Stands alone |- |French Open||2006–2008||3 consecutive runner-ups||Stands alone |- |French Open||2005–2009||5 consecutive semifinals||Stands alone |- |French Open—Wimbledon||2009||Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year||Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |- |Wimbledon||2003–2007||5 consecutive titles||Björn Borg |- |Wimbledon||2003–2009||7 finals overall||Boris BeckerPete Sampras |- |Wimbledon||2003–2009||7 consecutive finals||Stands alone |- |Wimbledon||2003–2009||7 consecutive semifinals||Stands alone |- |US Open (Tennis)|US Open||2004–2008||5 titles overall||Jimmy ConnorsPete Sampras |- |US Open|| 2004–2008||5 consecutive titles||Stands alone |- |US Open|| 2004–2009||40 consecutive match wins||Stands alone |}

{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- !Time span !Other selected records !Players matched |- |2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008||237 consecutive weeks at No. 1||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2005||26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents||'''Stands alone |- |2005–2006||56 consecutive hard court match victories||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2008||65 consecutive grass court match victories||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2005||24 consecutive tournament finals won||'''Stands alone |- |2003–2009||11 grass court titles||'''Stands alone |- |2002–2012||50 hard court titles||'''Stands alone |- |2006||9 hard court titles in 1 season||Jimmy Connors |- |1998–2012||309 tiebreaks won||'''Stands alone |- |1999–2011||87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage|| Stands alone |- |1998–2012||83.00% (503–103) hard court match winning percentage|| Stands alone |- |2006||94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season||'''Stands alone |- |2002–2011||30 Masters 1000 finals reached||'''Stands alone |- |2004–2008||2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1||'''Stands alone |- |2005–2007||3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1||'''Stands alone |- |2005–2007||3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1||Jimmy Connors |- |2003–2010||Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2||Jimmy Connors |- |2003–2011||6 ATP World Tour Finals titles||'''Stands alone |- |2002–2011||39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins||Ivan Lendl |- |2007||$10 million prize money earned in a season||Rafael NadalNovak Djokovic |- |2005–2007||2 winning streaks of 35+ matches||Björn Borg |- |2004–2012||7 winning streaks of 20+ matches||'''Stands alone |}

See also

Roger Federer career statistics

List of career achievements by Roger Federer

List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

List of male tennis players

Switzerland Davis Cup team

2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers

2004 Summer Olympics national flag bearers

References and notes

Further reading

Video

''Wimbledon Classic Match: Federer vs Sampras'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 233 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR98.

''Wimbledon 2007 Final: Federer vs. Nadal (2007)'' Kultur White Star, DVD Release Date: 30 October 2007, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CU0.

''Wimbledon — The 2008 Finals: Nadal vs. Federer'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 19 August 2008, Run Time: 300 minutes, ASIN: B001CWYUBU.

External links

Official Site

Roger Federer Foundation

Roger Federer – Grand Slam History

Sortable list of Grand Slam opponents and stats

Profiles

{{navboxes|title=Roger Federer in Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Roger Federer's Achievements |list1= }}

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Chiam See Tong
constituency mp	Potong Pasir
term start	22 December 1984
term end	19 April 2011
majority	1,718 (11.6%)
predecessor	Howe Yoon Chong
successor	Sitoh Yih Pin
Office2	Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party
Term start2	1981
Term end2	1996
Predecessor2	Position established
Successor2	Chee Soon Juan
birth date	March 12, 1935
nationality	Singaporean
religion	Presbyterianism
spouse	Lina Chiam
party	Singapore People's Party }}

Chiam See Tong (; born 12 March 1935) is a politician and lawyer from Singapore. He is the country's longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament (MP). Between 1984 and 2011, he represented the constituency of Potong Pasir in Singapore's Parliament.

Chiam was a member of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) up to 1996, when he left the party to join the Singapore People's Party (SPP). He subsequently spearheaded the formation of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), and was its Chairman and ''de facto'' leader from 2001 to 2011. However in March 2011 he announced that he was withdrawing the SPP from the SDA grouping, and would contest the next general election under the SPP banner. He will leave his single ward constituency to contest in the group representation constituency of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC with four other party members, including former government scholars Benjamin Pwee and Jimmy Lee.

Political career

Chiam first entered politics in 1976 when he contested as an independent candidate in Cairnhill constituency, where he lost to the then-Minister for Communications and National Development, Lim Kim San. In the 1979 by-election, Chiam contested the Potong Pasir seat for the first time, again as an independent. He got 33% of the votes against the then-Defence Minister Howe Yoon Chong.

Chiam founded the Singapore Democratic Party in 1980, and was the party's Secretary-General (leader) until 1993. He contested the Potong Pasir seat again in 1980 and lost to Howe again, but his vote share increased to 41%. In 1984, Chiam contested the seat against Mah Bow Tan, and won with 60.3% of the votes, on a swing of 19 percent against the PAP.

In his subsequent five elections, Chiam continued to fend off challengers from the ruling People's Action Party. His winning margin reached a peak of 69.6% in the 1991 polls but has since fallen below 60% in most recent elections.

When Chiam was first elected to Parliament in 1984, he was only the second opposition politician ever to be elected to Singapore's Parliament after J.B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party, in 1981. After Jeyaretnam was expelled from Parliament in 1986, Chiam was Singapore's sole elected opposition MP until 1991.

At the 1991 general elections, two other SDP members, Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen, were also elected to Parliament. Low Thia Khiang of the Worker's Party was also elected, making a total of four opposition MPs, with Chiam effectively the leader of the opposition.

In 1992, Chiam recruited Dr Chee Soon Juan, a psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore, to be an SDP candidate for a by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency. Although the SDP was unsuccessful in the by-election, the recruitment of Chee as a candidate generated considerable public interest. However differences between Chiam and Chee soon emerged. Chee was sacked from his job as a university lecturer in 1993, and publicly claimed that he had been the victim of a political vendetta by the governing People's Action Party (PAP). Chiam wanted to censure Chee for these comments, but the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) backed Chee. Chiam then resigned as Secretary-General of the party, and was replaced by Chee. The CEC attempted to expel Chiam from the party after he publicly criticised them, but he won a court case to prevent them from doing so on procedural grounds. However the CEC appointed Ling How Doong to replace Chiam as the party's parliamentary leader.

Chiam left the SDP at the end of 1996 and accepted an invitation to join the Singapore People's Party (which was formed by a breakaway faction of the SDP in 1994) and became its Chairman. Standing for his new party, he was re-elected as MP for Potong Pasir in the 1997 General Election. The negative publicity generated by the disputes with Chiam affected the SDP's electoral prospects, and both Ling and Cheo lost their seats, leaving Chiam and Low Thia Khiang as the only two elected opposition MPs. Chiam and Low have remained the only two opposition MPs elected at all subsequent general elections to date. In the 2001 General Election, Chiam won Potong Pasir for the fifth time. In the 2006 General Election, he won 55.82% of the votes to claim his sixth term, defeating the PAP's Sitoh Yih Pin. He had secured 8,245 votes against 6,527 for Sitoh. For many, this was a surprise victory for Chiam, as the PAP had offered an S$80 million upgrading package for the residents of Potong Pasir and had brought in Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong to help the PAP's campaign in the constituency.

In early 2008, Chiam suffered a mild stroke which led to the suspension of his 'Meet-the-People' sessions. In 2011, Chiam said "there's still remnants of the stroke which I suffered".

In 2009, Chiam celebrated his 25th year as MP Potong Pasir. That year, he also announced that he did not plan to stand as a candidate for Potong Pasir at the next general election (due to be held on May 2011), and would instead be a candidate in a Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

In 2010, Chiam tried to bring the Reform Party into the SDA. He reportedly accepted the conditions the Reform Party set out for joining the alliance, however the terms of entry were opposed by other members of the SDA's Council who blocked the move. In 2010 and early-2011, it was also reported that some members of the SDA's Council felt that Chiam was unable to properly fulfil his role of Chairman of the alliance, after he had cut back his political activities following his stroke in 2008. On 28 February 2011, the SDA's Council voted to relieve Chiam of his role as Chairman, however the Council stressed that they still hoped to field Chiam as a candidate at the next general election. But two days later, on 2 March 2011, Chiam announced that the Singapore People's Party was withdrawing from the SDA, and that he would stand under the banner of the SPP instead of the SDA at the next general election.

2011 Singapore general elections

For the Singaporean general election, 2011, Lina Loh Woon Lee (sometimes referred to as Lina Chiam), the wife of Chiam See Tong became an SPP candidate in the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency, Chiam See Tong's former constituency. Chiam See Tong became a candidate with other SPP candidates in the Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency. This candidacy is a first for Lina Loh Woon Lee although she had campaigned with her husband over the years in many general elections in Singapore. In 2011, she holds the 2nd Vice Chairman post in the SPP.

In the 2011 election, Chiam's team in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC finished with 43% of the votes there, but was defeated by the team led by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. As for his wife, Lina, she failed to retain his old Potong Pasir seat and she was defeated by his opponent of the last two elections, the PAP's Sitoh Yih Pin only by a mere 114 votes (0.72%). This served as a major setback for the veteran politician whom held a seat in parliament as an opposition MP for 27 years till 2011.

Shortly after the 2011 General Elections, loyal residents of Chiam followed him in his lorry cheering repeatedly, "POTONG PASIR - CHIAM SEE TONG!" accompanied by whistles and waving flags of SPP. Soon after, they organized a petition in hopes for a by-election. The response was overwhelming and even welcomed residents from beyond Potong Pasir. Chiam graciously commented that it was against the rules.

A week later, the SPP announced that Lina Chiam would accept an offer to become an Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, as one the best performing losing oppostion candidates.

Life outside politics

Chiam was educated at Anglo-Chinese School, before going on to study at the University of Canterbury and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. After completing a Bachelor of Science degree, he worked as a teacher at Mahmud Secondary School in Malaysia from 1962 to 1963, and at Cedar Girls' Secondary School in Singapore from 1964 to 1972.

Chiam qualified as a barrister at the Inner Temple in London in 1974. He then joined Philip Wong and Company as a lawyer, before starting his own law firm, Chiam and Company, in 1976.

Chiam retired from his law practice in 2002 to become a full-time politician.

He is married to Lina Loh Woon Lee. The couple have one daughter.

A Presbyterian, Chiam is a member of Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest churches in Singapore.

Parliamentary Committee membership

Chiam has been a member of Parliament since 22 December 1984.

Committee of Privileges

* 6th Parliament, 2nd Session

* 7th Parliament, 1st Session

* 7th Parliament, 2nd Session

* 7th Parliament, 3rd Session

* 9th Parliament, 1st Session

* 9th Parliament, 2nd Session

* 10th Parliament, 1st Session

Estimates Committee

* 8th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Bankruptcy Bill

* 8th Parliament, 2nd Session

Select Committee on the Companies (Amendment) Bill

* 8th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No. 21) Bill

* 7th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Drug Trafficking (Confiscation of Benefits) Bill

* 8th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Goods and Services Tax Bill

* 8th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill

* 9th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Land Transportation Policy

* 7th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Bill

* 7th Parliament, 1st Session

Select Committee on the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill and Constitution of the Republic

* 6th Parliament, 2nd Session

Select Committee to Verify the Healthcare Subsidy of Government Polyclinics and Public Hospitals

* 8th Parliament, 2nd Session

Special Select Committee on Nominations for Appointment as nominated Members of Parliament

* 7th Parliament, 2nd Session

* 8th Parliament, 1st Session

Standing Orders Committee

* 6th Parliament, 1st Session

* 8th Parliament, 2nd Session

Education

Date !! Qualification !! Institution
1955	Advanced Level (UK)>GCE 'A' Levels	Anglo-Chinese School
1961	Bachelor of Science
1967	Certificate in Education
1974	Barrister-at-Law

Career

Date !! Workplace
1962 to 1963	Mahmud Secondary School, Raub Pahang, Malaysia
1964 to 1972	Cedar Girls' Secondary School
1974 to 1976	Philip Wong & Co (Advocates & Solicitors)
1976	Advocate & Solicitor, Chiam & Co
2002	(Advocates & Solicitors) (Retired)

References

External links

Profile at Parliament of Singapore website

The Straits Times (print edition), 12 December 2009, pp. A38, A39.

Category:Members of the Parliament of Singapore Category:Singapore People's Party politicians Category:Singapore Democratic Party politicians Category:Singaporean lawyers Category:Anglo-Chinese School alumni Category:Singaporean people of Teochew descent Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:Singaporean Christians Category:University of Canterbury alumni Category:Victoria University of Wellington alumni

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