A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level (e.g., trade talks or an environmental summit between governments; an arbitration over an industrial dispute; or a meeting of student unions from individual colleges at a national student union conference). Generally, but not always, delegates differ from representatives because they receive and carry out instructions from the group that sends them, and, unlike representatives, are not expected to act independently.

Politics

United States of America

Delegate is the title of a person elected to the United States House of Representatives to serve the interests of an organized United States territory, at present only overseas or the District of Columbia, but historically in most cases in a portion of North America as precursor to one or more of the present states of the union. Delegates have powers similar to that of Representatives, including the right to vote in committee, but have no right to take part in the floor votes in which the full house actually decides whether the proposal is carried. See: Delegate (United States Congress).

A similar mandate is held in a few cases under the style Resident commissioner.

Delegate is also the title given to individuals elected to the lower houses of the bicameral legislative bodies of the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia (see House of Delegates).

Members of other parliamentary assemblies, such as the Continental Congress or the New York State Constitutional Convention.

Members of a body charged with writing or revising a foundational or other basic governmental document (such as members of a constitutional convention are usually referred to as "delegates".

Presidential conventions

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party of the United States uses pledged delegates and superdelegates. A candidate for the Democratic nominee must win a majority of combined delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention.

Pledged delegates are elected or chosen at the state or local level, with the understanding that they will support a particular candidate at the convention. Pledged delegates are however not actually bound to vote for that candidate, thus the candidates are allowed to periodically review the list of delegates and eliminate any of those they feel would not be supportive. Currently there are 3,253 pledged delegates.

Of the 4,047 total Democratic delegates, 794 are superdelegates, which are usually Democratic members of Congress, governors, former Presidents, and other party leaders. They are not required to indicate preference for a candidate.

The Democratic Party uses a proportional representation to determine how many delegates each candidate is awarded in each state. For example, a candidate who wins 40% of a state's vote in the primary election will win 40% of that state's delegates; however, a candidate must win at least 15% of the primary vote in order to receive any delegates. There is no process to win superdelegates, since they can vote for whomever they please. A candidate needs to win a simple majority of total delegates to earn the Democratic nomination.

Republican Party

The Republican Party of the United States utilizes a similar system with slightly different terminology, employing pledged and unpledged delegates. Of the total 2,380 Republican delegates (2,286 in 2012), 1,719 are pledged delegates, who as with the Democratic Party, are elected at the state or local level. To become the Republican Party nominee, the candidate must win a simple majority of 1,191 of the 2,380 total delegates at the Republican National Convention.

A majority of the unpledged delegates are elected much like the pledged delegates, and are likely to be committed to a specific candidate. Many of the other unpledged delegates automatically claim the delegate status either by virtue of their position as a party chair or national party committee person. This group is known as unpledged RNC member delegates.

The process by which delegates are awarded to a candidate will vary from state to state. Many states use a winner-take-all system, where popular vote determines the winning candidate for that state, however, beginning in 2012 many states now use proportional representation. While the Republican National Committee does not require a 15% minimum threshold, individual state parties may impart such a threshold.

The unpledged RNC member delegates are free to vote for any candidate and are not bound by the electoral votes of their state. The majority of the unpledged delegates (those who are elected or chosen) are technically free to vote for any candidate; however they are likely to be committed to one specifically.

Religion

Apostolic delegate, one appointed by the Pope

References

Category:Parliamentary titles

cs:Delegát de:Delegierter

In psychology-related slang, control freak is a derogatory term for a person who attempts to dictate how everything around them is done. The phrase was first used in the late 1960s — an era when great stress was laid on the principle of 'doing one's own thing' and letting others do the same.

Vulnerability

Control freaks are often perfectionists defending themselves against their own inner vulnerabilities, in the belief that, if not in total control, they risk exposing themselves once more to childhood angst. Such figures manipulate and pressurise others to change, so as to avoid having to change themselves; use power over others to escape an inner emptiness. When a control freak's pattern is broken, “the Controller is left with a terrible feeling of powerlessness … But feeling their pain and fear brings them back to themselves”.

Control freaks have been linked to codependents, in the sense that the latters' fear of abandonment leads to attempts to control those they are dependent on. Recovery for them entails recognising that being a control freak helped paradoxically preserve codependency itself.

In terms of personality-type theory, control freaks are very much the Type A personality, driven by the need to dominate and control. An obsessive need to control others is also associated with antisocial personality disorder.

In management

In the corporate world, control freaks tend to publicly admonish their inferiors, especially during meetings. More positively, the term can also refer to someone with a limited number of things that they want done a specific way; professor of clinical psychology Les Parrott wrote that “Control Freaks are people who care more than you do about something and won't stop at being pushy to get their way”. There may be a fine line between being a detail-oriented manager, who likes to have things done 'right', and being a (destructive) control freak. Control freaks are usually a cause of micromanagement.

In some cases, the control freak sees their constant intervention as beneficial or even necessary; this can be caused by feelings of superiority, believing that others are incapable of handling matters properly, or the fear that things will go wrong if they do not attend to every detail. In other cases, they may simply enjoy the feeling of power it gives them so much that they automatically try to gain control of everything around them

One argument against hierarchies in a research context is that they afford too much scope for nit-picking to the control freak.

In history

Wellington v. Napoleon

Wellington as military commander was undoubtedly a hands-on micromanager, trusting his subordinates as little as possible, and showing many of the characteristics of the modern day control freak. In 1811 he wrote that “I am obliged to be everywhere and if absent from any operation, something goes wrong … success can only be attained by attention to the most minute details”.

By contrast, Napoleon gave his marshals much more tactical freedom. At the critical meeting of the two generals at the Battle of Waterloo - where Wellington's close supervision contrasted strongly with the effective delegation of operational management by Napoleon to Marshall Ney - it was at least arguably Wellington's control mania that played the decisive role in the Allied victory, justifying his claim the following day that “I don't think it would have been done if I had not been there”.

Steve Jobs and closed systems

Steve Jobs was a perfectionist who favoured the closed system of control over all aspects of a product from start to finish - what he termed the integrated over the fragmented approach. As Steve Wozniak, his long-term collaborator and occasional critic, put it: "Apple gets you into their playpen and keeps you there". The triumph of the PC over the Mac was a blow for that philosophy, a situation which was then reversed by the serial successes of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad - only for the Android challenge to reopen the debate again.

See also

References

Further reading

E.A. Deuble & A. Bradley, ''It Has A Name!: How To Keep Control Freaks & Other Unhealthy Narcissists From Ruining Your Life'' (2010)

Mary L. Berg, ''The Joy of Being a Control Freak'' (2011)

Category:Slang Category:Narcissism Category:Social psychology Category:English phrases Category:Pejorative terms for people

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name	Rachel Maddow
birthname	Rachel Anne Maddow
birth date	April 01, 1973
birth place	Castro Valley, California, U.S.
education	B.A., Stanford UniversityD.Phil, University of Oxford
occupation	News anchorPolitical commentatorTelevision host
credits	''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (MSNBC)''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (Air America Radio)
url	}}

Rachel Anne Maddow (; born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor of a prime-time news program in the United States.

Asked about her political views by the ''Valley Advocate'', Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."

Early life and education

Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada. She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry. Maddow's mother was raised a strict Roman Catholic, and Maddow herself grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative." Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school. Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."

A graduate of Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, California, she attended Stanford University. While a freshman, she was outed by the college newspaper when an interview with her was published by the student newspaper before she could tell her parents. Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford in 1994. At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship. She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University. Her thesis is titled ''HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons'' (supervisor: Dr Lucia Zedner). She was the first openly gay American to win a Rhodes scholarship.

Radio career

Maddow's first radio hosting job was at WRNX (100.9 FM) in Holyoke, Massachusetts, after she entered and won a contest the station held to find a new on-air personality. She was hired to co-host WRNX's morning show, ''The Dave in the Morning Show''. She went on to host ''Big Breakfast'' on WRSI, in Northampton, Massachusetts, for two years. She left the show in March 2004 to join the new Air America. There she hosted ''Unfiltered'' along with Chuck D (of the hip hop group Public Enemy) and Lizz Winstead (co-creator of ''The Daily Show''), until its cancellation in March 2005. Two weeks after the cancellation of ''Unfiltered'' in April 2005, Maddow's weekday two-hour radio program, ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', began airing; in March 2008 it gained an hour, broadcasting from 6 to 9 p.m. EST with David Bender filling in the third hour for the call-in section, when Maddow was on TV assignment. In September 2008, the show's length returned to two hours when Maddow began a nightly MSNBC television program. In February 2009, after renewing her contract with Air America, Maddow returned to the 5 am hour-long slot. Her last Air America show was on January 21, 2010, two weeks before its owners filed for bankruptcy.

Television career

In June 2005, Maddow became a regular panelist on MSNBC's ''Tucker.'' During and after the November 2006 election, she was a frequent guest on CNN's ''Paula Zahn Now.'' In January 2008, Maddow was given the position of MSNBC political analyst and was a regular panelist on MSNBC's ''Race for the White House'' with David Gregory and MSNBC's election coverage, as well as a frequent contributor on ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann.''

In April 2008, Maddow was the substitute host for ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'', her first time hosting a program on MSNBC. Maddow described herself on air as "nervous." Keith Olbermann complimented her work and she was brought back to host "Countdown" in May 2008. The day she hosted was the highest rated news program among people 25 to 54 years of age, a demographic key to ratings. For her success, the next Monday Olbermann ranked Maddow third in his show's segment "World's Best Persons". Maddow filled in again on ''Countdown'' for eight and a half broadcasts while Olbermann was on vacation in July 2008 and the second half of the show on July 21. Maddow also filled in for David Gregory as host of ''Race for the White House''.

''The Rachel Maddow Show''

In August 2008, MSNBC announced ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' would replace ''Verdict with Dan Abrams'' in the channel's 9 p.m. slot the following month. Following its debut, the show topped ''Countdown'' as the highest rated show on MSNBC on several occasions. After being on air for more than a month, Maddow's program doubled the audience that hour.

Early reviews for her show were mostly positive. ''Los Angeles Times'' writer Matea Gold stated Maddow "finds the right formula on MSNBC," and ''The Guardian'' writes Maddow has become the "star of America's cable news." ''Associated Press'' columnist David Bauder said she's "[Keith] Olbermann's political soul mate" and the Olbermann-Maddow shows are a "liberal two-hour block."

Public image and publicity

Maddow has been profiled in People, the Guardian, and the New York Observer, has appeared on “The View” and “Charlie Rose”

Keith Olbermann played a pivotal role in Maddow's hiring at MSNBC. Olbermann was able to pressure Phil Griffin to give Maddow Dan Abram's slot. A fan of Maddow's, Olbermann was able to use his influence, which had become greater as his ratings rose.

A 2011 Hollywood Reporter profile of Maddow said that she was able to deliver news "with agenda, but not hysteria.” A Newsweek profile noted that “At her best, Maddow debates ideological opponents with civility and persistence...But for all her eloquence, she can get so wound up ripping Republicans that she sounds like another smug cable partisan.". Baltimore Sun critic David Zurawik has accused Maddow of acting like 'a lockstep party member.'”

A Time profile called her a “whip-smart, button-cute leftie.” It said that she radiates an essential decency and suggested that her career rise might signify that “nice is the new nasty.”

Political views

Distinguishing herself from others on the left, Maddow said she's a "national security liberal" and in a different interview that she's not "a partisan." ''The New York Times'' called her a "defense policy wonk" who is writing a book on the role of the military in postwar American politics. During the 2008 presidential election, Maddow did not formally support any candidate. Concerning Barack Obama's candidacy, Maddow said during the primaries, "I have never and still don't think of myself as an Obama supporter, either professionally or actually."

In March 2010, Republican Scott Brown, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, speculated that Maddow was going to run against him for his seat in 2012. He used this premise for a fundraising email that read "...The Massachusetts political machine is looking for someone to run against me. And you're not going to believe who they are supposedly trying to recruit — liberal MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow." Maddow said Brown's speculation was false. On her March 23, 2010, TV program, Maddow said, "I have the best job in the world. I am not running for office. Scott Brown didn't ask me if I was running or planning to run for office, before he wrote a fundraising letter with my name. No, it's completely made up by him." Despite her comments, the next day Brown continued along the same line, telling a Boston radio station, "Bring her on." To help put an end to the matter, Maddow ran a full-page advertisement in the ''Boston Globe'' confirming she was not running, and separately demanded Brown's apology. She added that despite repeated invitations over the months, Brown had refused to appear on her TV program.

Personal life

Maddow lives in Manhattan and western Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula. The couple met in 1999, when Mikula hired Maddow to do yard work at her home. Maddow was working on her doctoral dissertation at the time. Their first date was at a National Rifle Association "Ladies' Day on the Range" event. Although Massachusetts and New York recognize same-sex marriage, as of 2009 Maddow and Mikula had no plans to marry.

Honors and awards

Maddow was named in ''Out'' magazine's "Out 100" list of the "gay men and women who moved culture" in 2008. Maddow was voted "Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year (American)" in AfterEllen's 2008 Visibility Awards. Maddow won a Gracie Award in 2009, presented by the American Women in Radio and Television. In 2009, Maddow was nominated for GLAAD's 20th Annual Media Awards for a segment of her MSNBC show, "Rick Warren, Change To Believe In?", in the Outstanding TV Journalism Segment category. On March 28, 2009, Maddow received a Proclamation of Honor from the California State Senate, presented in San Francisco by California State Senator Mark Leno. In April 2009, she was listed at number four in ''Out'' magazine's Annual Power 50 List. Maddow placed sixth in the "2009 AfterEllen.com Hot 100" list (May 11, 2009) and third in its "2009 Hot 100: Out Women" version. Maddow was included on a list of openly gay media professionals in The Advocate's "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009. In 1994, Maddow was an Honorable Mention in the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics. In June 2009, Maddow's MSNBC show was the only cable news show nominated for a Television Critics Association award in the ''Outstanding Achievement in News and Information'' category. In March 2010, Maddow won at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in the category, ''Outstanding TV Journalism- Newsmagazine'' for her segment, "Uganda Be Kidding Me". Maddow was the 2010 commencement speaker and was given an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree at Smith College in Northampton, MA in May 2010. In July 2010, Maddow was presented with a ''Maggie Award'' for her ongoing reporting of healthcare reform, the murder of Dr. George Tiller, and the anti-abortion movement. In August 2010, Maddow won the ''Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award'', which was presented by The Interfaith Alliance. Past honorees included Larry King, Tom Brokaw, and the late Peter Jennings. In November 2011, she was included on the list of "Over-Rated Thinkers" by the editors of ''The New Republic''. In February 2012, Maddow was presented the John Steinbeck Award by the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University.

Bibliography

References

External links

Profile and show at MSNBC

Category:1973 births Category:Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Category:American anti–Iraq War activists Category:American people of Canadian descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American political pundits Category:American Rhodes scholars Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television personalities Category:American women journalists Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:Living people Category:MSNBC Category:NBC News Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Stanford University alumni Category:LGBT journalists Category:LGBT broadcasters

ar:راتشيل مادو bg:Рейчъл Мадау de:Rachel Maddow et:Rachel Maddow es:Rachel Maddow eo:Rachel Maddow fa:ریچل مدو fr:Rachel Maddow ko:레이철 매도 nl:Rachel Maddow ja:レイチェル・マドー pl:Rachel Maddow ru:Мэддоу, Рэйчел simple:Rachel Maddow sh:Rachel Maddow fi:Rachel Maddow

Doug Wead (Muncie, Indiana, 1946 ) is a presidential historian, philanthropist and public speaker. He was Special Assistant to U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and is the author of more than thirty books, including the ''New York Times'' best-seller ''All the Presidents’ Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of the First Families''. He has authored a sequel which examines the parenting of presidents of the United States, ''The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders''.

Professional history

In 1979, Doug Wead joined entertainer Pat Boone and Dan O’Neill in co-founding Mercy Corps. In 1991, Wead provided initial funding to help launch a Mercy Corps economic recovery program in the newly formed Republic of Kazakhstan.

In the 1980s, Wead organized the Annual Charity Awards, now under the name International Charity Association. Ten First Ladies and Presidents have served as honorary chairpersons of this prestigious event, including Lady Bird Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, George H. W. and Barbara Bush, and George W. and Laura Bush.

In 1992, Wead was the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona's 6th Congressional District. Despite having lived in Arizona for only a few years, Wead won the Republican nomination after championing a tax limitation initiative and airing a television commercial featuring praise by former President Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian efforts. However, the Democratic nominee, Karan English, received the endorsement of former Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater who thought Wead was out of touch with Arizona because of his relatively brief residency in the state — two years to English's 22. Wead countered that Goldwater's support of abortion rights spurred the unexpected crossing of party lines. He ended up losing in the general election to English.

Wead was an active behind-the-scenes player in the 2000 United States presidential election, receiving some credit for George W. Bush's victory in the Iowa straw polls of 1999. From 1984 to 2000, he served as an on-and-off adviser to both presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.

''Time magazine'' called Wead an insider in the Bush family orbit and "the man who coined the phrase 'Compassionate Conservative.'" George W. Bush first picked up the term “Compassionate Conservative” in 1987 from Wead. In 1979, Wead gave a speech titled “The Compassionate Conservative” at the annual Charity Awards Dinner, and tapes of the speech were later sold across the country at corporate seminars.

In March 2008, Wead helped create the website Religious Freedom In America, focusing on government threats to religious observance.

He now serves as an adviser for the Ron Paul 2012 Campaign.

Public speaking

As a presidential historian, Wead is a frequent guest on television shows. He has been interviewed by Matt Lauer, Bill O'Reilly, Connie Chung, Deborah Norville, Diane Sawyer, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, Geraldo Rivera, Terry Moran, Kate Snow, and many others.

Mark Victor Hansen, the author of ''Chicken Soup for the Soul'', describes Doug Wead as "incredibly inspiring and unbelievably motivating." Wead continues to speak around the world. He has spoken to audiences in 30 countries, including Russia, Poland, Hungary, France, Germany, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Brazil and across the United States. Steve Siebold, who trains corporate speakers for clients ranging from Toyota to Coldwell Banker, describes Wead as "one of the greatest platform speakers in the world."

Books

Wead has written more than 30 books that have been translated into 30 languages and have sold millions of copies.

"First families" trilogy

His “First Family” trilogy, already 20 years in the making, covers presidential children, presidential parents, and presidential siblings. The first two books of the trilogy, ''All the President's Children'' (2004) and ''The Raising of a President'' (2006), were instant ''New York Times'' bestsellers. A third book, now being written with Mary Achor, will be the first book about presidential siblings.

Wead’s books on first families plow new ground and include the first book ever written on the parents of the presidents. They are significant for their primary sourcing. According to Simon and Schuster, Wead personally interviewed 10 first ladies and presidents from six different presidential families, and 19 of the presidential children. His writings drew on previously unpublished letters, diaries and other documents carefully noted in the large 40-50 pages of source notes at the end of his books.

Political books

In the 1970s and 1980s Wead wrote several instant books including ''Reagan in Pursuit of the Presidency'' (1980), an updated biography available at the time of the president’s election, which sold widely. ''The Iran Crisis'' (1980), covered the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the hostage crisis during the Carter presidency.

Religious books

Wead began his career as an author by serving as a Protestant apologist for the Catholic Charismatic Movement. He began writing as a student, at the age of 22. Intrigued by the emergence of an ecumenical movement in Ireland he wrote ''Tonight They’ll Kill a Catholic'' (1974), a first person account of the streets of Belfast in the midst of conflict. In subsequent years he teams up with a Catholic priest to tour areas of famine around the world which led to another book ''The Compassionate Touch'' (1980).

Motivational books

Beginning in the 1970s, Wead wrote many motivational and network marketing books that sold extensively. Wead was the co-author of numerous titles with Amway distributor Dexter Yager, including ''Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Dream'' (1978) and ''Millionaire Mentality'' (1993).

George W. Bush taping controversy

Doug Wead secretly tape-recorded conversations with George W. Bush back in 1998 and released some of them to the media recently, starting with "The New York Times." He subsequently apologized to the president and turned over the tapes to the White House. ''George Bush: Man of Integrity'', which includes accounts of all family members, was published in 1988, written primarily from these taped conversations.

Wead continued his taping of George W. Bush between 1997 and 2000, recording at least nine hours of telephone conversations with Bush, who was then Governor of Texas, as he engaged in his presidential run; the recordings were made without Bush's knowledge. Wead stated that he wanted to create an ongoing record of Bush as a historical figure. In February 2005, a month after Bush was sworn into office for his second term as president, Wead revealed the existence of the tapes to ''The New York Times'', and publicly released twelve excerpts from them, each one ranging in length from five minutes to half an hour. He insisted that the taping was legal, having been made only in U.S. states where there was no law against taping someone without their consent. Several newsworthy revelations emerged from the tapes, such as Bush appearing to acknowledge having previously used marijuana and other drugs, and saying he would not answer press questions about his drug use because he did not want to set a bad example for children; calling then-primary opponent Steve Forbes "mean-spirited" and saying Forbes could not rely on Bush's help if Forbes won the Republican nomination; and calling his eventual Democratic election opponent, Al Gore, "pathologically a liar". Other excerpts seemed to match Bush's public persona, such as his statement that he was not worried about getting corrupted by the presidency because he read the Bible daily, which he called "pretty good about keeping your ego in check"; and his insistence that he was not anti-homosexual, regardless of his opposition to gay marriage.

The release prompted some hostility from members of Bush's inner circle: Bush's wife, Laura Bush, said in an interview, "I don't know if I'd use the word 'betrayed,' but I think it's a little bit awkward for sure"; while Bush evangelical ally James Dobson said he was "shocked by [Wead's] breach of trust". Bush himself did not comment. The tapes' release also provoked negative reaction from some commentators, such as Bill Press, who called Wead "scum", and Bill O'Reilly, who called Wead "the lowest form of debris in the country."

Other activities

Wead is also a an independent business owner in Xango. In the past he was active with Quixtar and Network TwentyOne, and both Amway businesses. In 1995 he joined the Board of Canyonville Christian Academy, a private boarding high school in southern Oregon. Since 2000, the school has enjoyed a full attendance and maintains an annual waiting list. He currently serves as its president.

References

External links

Mercy Corps website

Doug Wead official website

Doug Wead's Blog

Doug Wead's history website

Doug Wead on television

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Amway people Category:American biographers Category:Assistants to the President of the United States Category:American political candidates

fr:Doug Wead ru:Вид, Даг

Name	Steve Ballmer|image Steve_Ballmer_at_CES_2010_cropped.jpg
Birth date	March 24, 1956
Birth place	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Residence	Hunts Point, Washington. U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University (A.B.)Stanford University (Dropout)
Occupation	CEO of Microsoft
Home town	Farmington Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Salary	$1,351,121 (2010)
Net worth	US$15.7 billion (2012)
Awards	Legion of Honour
Website	}}

Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer (born March 24, 1956) is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$15.7 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.

Early life

Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to a Swiss American father and a Jewish American mother. He grew up in the community of Farmington Hills, Michigan. In 1973, he attended college prep and engineering classes at Lawrence Technological University and graduated from Detroit Country Day School, a private college preparatory school in Beverly Hills, Michigan, with a perfect score of 800 on the mathematical section of the SAT. He now sits on the school's board of directors. In 1977, he graduated ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard University with a A.B. in mathematics and economics.

At college, Ballmer managed the football team, worked on ''The Harvard Crimson'' newspaper as well as the ''Harvard Advocate'', and lived down the hall from fellow sophomore Bill Gates. He then worked for two years as an assistant product manager at Procter & Gamble, where he shared an office with Jeffrey R. Immelt, who later became CEO of General Electric. In 1980, he dropped out of the Stanford Graduate School of Business to join Microsoft.

Microsoft

Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft on June 11, 1980, and became Microsoft's 30th employee, the first business manager hired by Gates.

Ballmer was initially offered a salary of $50,000 as well as a percentage of ownership of the company. When Microsoft was incorporated in 1981, Ballmer owned 8 percent of the company. During the subsequent 20 years, Ballmer headed several Microsoft divisions, including operations, operating systems development, and sales and support. In January 2000, he was officially named Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Ballmer handled company finances, however Gates still retained control of the "technological vision". He served as President of Microsoft from July 1998 to February 2001, having previously served as Executive Vice President, Sales and Support since February 1992. Ballmer led Microsoft's development of the .NET Framework.

In 2003, Ballmer sold 8.3% of his shareholdings, leaving him with a 4% stake in the company. The same year, Ballmer replaced Microsoft's employee stock options program.

In 2009, and for the first time ever since Bill Gates left Microsoft as full-time chairman, Ballmer made the opening keynote at CES.

Ballmer has also served as Director of Accenture Ltd. as well as a General Partner of Accenture SCA since October 2001.

Person

Ballmer is known for his energetic and exuberant persona, which is meant to motivate employees and partners. His flamboyant stage appearances at Microsoft events are widely circulated on the Internet as viral videos. One widely circulated video, captured at a developers' conference, features a perspiring Ballmer chanting the word "developers".

Bill Gates steps down

The ''Wall Street Journal'' has reported that there was tension surrounding the 2000 transition of authority from Bill Gates to Ballmer. Things became so bitter that, on one occasion, Gates stormed out of a meeting in a huff after a shouting match in which Ballmer jumped to the defense of several colleagues, according to an individual present at the time. After the exchange, Ballmer seemed "remorseful", the person said. Once Gates leaves, "I'm not going to need him for anything. That's the principle," Ballmer said. "Use him, yes, need him, no."

On competing companies and software

Apple

Speaking at a conference in NYC in 2009, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer criticized Apple's pricing, saying; 'Now I think the tide has turned back the other direction (against Apple),' Ballmer said. 'The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.'

Free and open source software

He has referred to the free software Linux kernel as a "cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches." Ballmer used the notion of "viral" licensing terms to express his concern over the fact that the GNU General Public License (GPL) employed by such software requires that all derivative software be under the GPL or a compatible license.

Google

In 2005, Mark Lucovsky alleged in a sworn statement to a Washington state court that Ballmer became enraged upon hearing that Lucovsky was about to leave Microsoft for Google, picked up his chair, and threw it across his office. Referring to Google CEO Eric Schmidt (who previously worked for competitors Sun and Novell), Ballmer vowed to "kill Google" in an expletive-laden tirade then resumed trying to persuade Lucovsky to stay at Microsoft. Ballmer has described characterizations of the incident as a ''"gross exaggeration of what actually took place"''.

During a Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco(2011) he said: "You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows Phone and you do to use an Android phone…It is hard for me to be excited about the Android phones."

Sports

On March 6, 2008, Seattle's Mayor announced that a local ownership group involving Ballmer made a "game changing" commitment to invest $150 million in cash toward a $300 million renovation of Key Arena and were ready to purchase the Seattle SuperSonics in order to keep them in the City of Seattle. However, this initiative failed, and the Sonics have since relocated to Oklahoma City, now performing as Oklahoma City Thunder.

Media portrayals

''Bad Boy Ballmer: The Man Who Rules Microsoft'' (2002), Fredric Alan Maxwell, ISBN 0-06-621014-3 (unauthorized biography)

The 1999 docudrama ''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' features Ballmer as a major character; he is played by actor John DiMaggio.

Wealth

Ballmer was the second person after Roberto Goizueta to become a billionaire in U.S. dollars based on stock options received as an employee of a corporation in which he was neither a founder nor a relative of a founder. Ballmer is the 44th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with an estimated wealth of $15.7 billion. While CEO of Microsoft in 2009, Ballmer earned a total compensation of $1,276,627 which included a base salary of $665,833 a cash bonus of $600,000, no stock or options, and other compensation of $10,794.

References

External links

Corporate biography

Forbes World's Richest People listing

South China Morning Post audio interview

Steve Ballmer Playlist Appearance on WMBR's ''Dinnertime Sampler'' radio show February 23, 2005

Forbes.com's Billionaire List

Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:American billionaires Category:American chief executives Category:American computer businesspeople Category:American Internet personalities Category:American Jews Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:Businesspeople from Michigan Category:Businesspeople in software Category:Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Directors of Microsoft Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Microsoft employees Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Farmington Hills, Michigan Category:Stanford University people Category:The Harvard Crimson people

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