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An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title. It is also often conflated with systems of honorific speech in linguistics, which are grammatical or morphological ways of encoding the relative social status of speakers.

Typically, honorifics are used for second and third persons; use for first person is less common. Some languages have anti-honorific (despective or humilific) first person forms (meaning something like "your most humble servant" or "this unworthy person") whose effect is to enhance the relative honor accorded to a second or third person.

Modern English honorifics[link]

The most common honorifics in modern English are usually placed immediately before the name of the subject. Honorifics which can be used of any adult of the appropriate sex include "Mr", "Mrs", "Miss." Other honorifics denote the honored person’s occupation, for instance "Doctor", "Captain", "Coach", Officer, "Reverend" for all clergy and/or "Father" (for a Catholic priest) and some Anglican clergy, or "Professor". Abbreviations of academic degrees or professional certifications, used after a person's name, may also be seen as a kind of honorific (e.g. "Jane Doe, Ph.D.") "Master" as a prefix ahead of the name of boys and young men up to about 16 years of age is less common than it used to be, but is still used by older people addressing the young in formal situations and correspondence.

Some honorifics act as complete replacements for a name, as "Sir" or "Ma'am", or "Your Honor". Subordinates will often use honorifics as punctuation before asking a superior a question or after responding to an order: "Yes, Sir" or even "Sir, yes Sir."

A judge is addressed as "Your Honor" when on the bench, and may be referred to as "His/Her Honor"; the plural form would be "Your Honors". Similarly, a monarch (ranking as a king or emperor) and his consort may be addressed or referred to as "Your/His/Her Majesty", "Their Majesties", etc. (but there is no customary honorific accorded to a female monarch's consort, as he is usually granted a specific style). Monarchs below kingly rank are addressed as "Your/His/Her Highness", the exact rank being indicated by an appropriate modifier, e.g. "His Serene Highness" for a member of a princely dynasty, or "Her Grand Ducal Highness" for a member of a family that reigns over a grand duchy. Verbs with these honorifics as subject are conjugated in the third person (e.g. "you are going" vs. "Your Honor is going" or "Her Royal Highness is going".)

In music, a distinguished conductor or virtuoso instrumentalist may be known as "Maestro".

In aviation, airline/charter pilots who serve as Pilot in command are usually addressed as "Captain" plus their full name or surname. This tradition is slowly diminishing in the United States and most EU countries. However, a lot of other countries, especially in Asia, fully adhere to this tradition and address airline pilots, military pilots, and flight instructors exclusively as "Captain" even outside of the professional environment. In addition, such countries' etiquette rules dictate to place this title on all the official letters and social invitations, business cards, identification documents, etc. In the United States, when addressing a pilot, common etiquette does not require the title "Captain" to be printed on official letters or invitations before the addressee's full name. However, this is optional (akin to lawyer's "Esq" title after the name) and may be used where appropriate, especially when addressing airline pilots with many years of experience.

Honorifics in other languages and cultures[link]

Pakistan[link]

Pakistan has a large number of honorific forms that may be used with or as a substitute for names. The most common honorifics in Pakistan are usually placed immediately before the name of the subject or immediately after the subject. There are many variations across Pakistan.

Prefix type[link]

The traditional Urdu honorific in Pakistan for a male is the prefix Mohtaram. For example, Syed Mohammad Jahangir would become Mohtaram Syed Mohammad Jahangir. The traditional Urdu honorific in Pakistan for a female is the prefix Mohtarama. For example, Shamim Ara would become Mohtarama Shamim Ara.

Suffix type[link]

The traditional Urdu honorific in Pakistan for a male is the suffix Sahab. For example, Syed Zaki Ahmed would become Syed Zaki Ahmed Sahab. The traditional Urdu honorific in Pakistan for a female is the suffix Sahiba; for instance, Shamim Ara would become Shamim Ara Sahiba.

Ancient Rome[link]

Ancient Rome had Roman honorifics like that of Augustus, which turned into titles over time.

Spanish[link]

Spanish has a number of honorific forms that may be used with or as substitutes for names, such as señor or caballero ("Mr.", "Sir", "Gentleman"); señora ("Madam", "Mrs.", "Lady", "ma'am") and señorita ("Miss", "young lady"); licenciado for a person with bachelor's or a professional degree (e.g., attorneys and engineers); maestro for a teacher, master mechanic, or person with a master's degree; doctor ("doctor"); etc. Also used is don (male) or doña (female) for people of rank or, in some Latin American countries (e.g., Puerto Rico), for any senior citizen. Additionally, older people and those with whom one would speak respectfully (e.g., one's boss or teacher), are often addressed as usted, a formal/respectiful way of saying "you" (e.g. Dra Polo, ¿cómo está usted? Dr. Polo, how are you?). The word usted historically comes from the honorific title vuestra merced (literally "your mercy").

Italy[link]

Italian honorifics are usually limited to formal situations. Professional titles like Ingegnere (engineer) are often substituted for the ordinary Signore (mister), while Dottore (doctor) is used very freely for any graduate of a university. When ending with an e, honorifics lose it when juxtaposed to a surname: dottor Rossi, cardinal Martini, ragionier Fantozzi.

Turkey[link]

Turkish honorifics generally follow the first name, especially if they refer to gender or particular social statuses (e.g. Name Bey [Mr.], Name Hanım [Ms.], Name Öğretmen [teacher or cleric]). Such honorifics are used both in formal and informal situations. A newer honorific is Sayın, which precedes the surname or full name, and is not gender-specific. (e.g. Sayın Name Surname, or Sayın Surname). They are generally used in very formal situations.

India[link]

Indian honorifics abound, covering formal and informal relationships for social, commercial, spiritual, and generational links. Honorifics may be prefix, suffix, or replacement types. There are many variations.

India: Prefix type[link]

The most common honorifics in India are usually placed immediately before the name of the subject. Honorifics which can be used of any adult of the appropriate sex include Sri (also Romanised as Shri, acronym for Sriman), Smt (acronym for Srimati), and Kum (acronym for Kumari). In Tamil, Thiru (acronym of Thiruvalar for males) and Thirumathi (for females) are used.In Telugu Chi.La.Sou( Chiranjeevini Lakshmi Soubaghyavathi) is commonly used by elders to mention before the names of younger people.In India honorifics mostly comes prior to the name of object.

India: Replacement type[link]

Some honorifics, like Bhavān or Bhavatī, act as complete replacements for a name.

For example, in Gujarati, for an uncle who is your mother's brother, the replacement honorific maama (long "a" then short "a") is used, and a male friend will often earn the suffix honorific of bhai.

India: Suffix type[link]

• The traditional Hindi honorific is the suffix -ji. For example, M.K. Gandhi (the Mahatma) was often referred to as Gandhi-ji. (Hindi, like many languages, distinguishes between pronouns for persons older in age or status. Such a person is referred as aap; a person of same status is called tum [both substituting for "you" in English]. A similar distinction exists for third person pronouns. When honorifics are attached in Hindi, the verb matches the plural case.)
• The traditional Kannada honorific is the suffix -avaru. For example, Visveswariah was referred to as Visveswariah-avaru.
• The traditional Marathi honorific is the suffix -rao. For example, Madhav Scindia was referred to as Madhav-rao.
• The traditional Tamil honorific is the suffix Avargal/Vaal. The Dalai Lama would become Dalai Lama Avargal.
• The traditional Telugu honorific is the suffix Garu. Thus, the Potti Sriramulu would be Potti Sriramulu Garu.
• The traditional Bengali honorific for ordinary men is the suffix Babu, used with the person's given (first) name. Thus, Shubhash Basu would be Shubhash-Babu. For men with whom one has a more formal relationship, the suffix Moshai (mohashoi) is used with the person's family (last) name. Thus, Shubhash Basu would be Basu-Moshai.

China[link]

During the ancient and imperial periods, Chinese honorifics varied greatly based on one's social status, but with the end of Imperial China, many of these distinctions fell out of colloquial use. Some honorifics remain in use today, especially in formal writings for the court and business setting. In fact, the ability to use honorifics in China is now seen as a display of social status. In other words, educated people tend to rigidly use honorifics as a display of their status.

In addition, the use of honorifics vary greatly across Chinese-speaking regions in the world. In Taiwan, for example, honorifics are more widely used in daily interactions. In Mainland China, however, honorifics tend to recede to formal settings.

Japan[link]

Japanese honorifics are similar to English titles like "Mister" and "Miss", but in Japanese, which has many honorifics, their use is mandatory in many formal and informal social situations. Japanese grammar as a whole tends to function on hierarchy — honorific stems are appended to verbs and some nouns, and in many cases one word may be exchanged for another word entirely with the same verb- or noun-meaning, but with different honorific connotations.

Philippines[link]

The usage of Filipino honorifics differ from person to person. Though some have become obsolete, many are still widely used in order to denote respect, friendliness, or affection. Some new "honorifics" mainly used by teenagers are experiencing surges in popularity.

Java[link]

Indonesia's Javanese majority ethnicity has many honorifics.^[1]

I Gusti means "His or Her Royal Majesty". Bendara Raden Mas, Bendara Mas, or the contraction 'ndoro mean "Prince, flag-bearer 'His Higness'". Bapak and its contraction Pak mean: Sir, Mister, or literally "Father".

Ibu and its contraction Bu mean: Madam, Ma'am, Ms, or Mrs, literally "Mother".

Raden Emas and its contraction Mas mean: Mr. among colleagues, friends, and others of slightly higher age or social status, literally "Golden Son", "Lord", or "Heir Apparent". Raden Emas Behi, contracted to Mas Behi, means "2nd Heir Apparent" and is now obsolete. Raden Behi, contracted to Den Behi, means "Heir Apparent" and is now obsolete. mbak yu and the more common mbak are derived from Surakarta court to address adolescent or marriage age unmarried women, but is now for women, with no age or marital status connotation.

Eyang Puteri and its contraction Eyang mean: grandmother, literally "Grand Lady".

Eyang Putera Kakung and its contraction Eyang Kakung mean: grandfather, literally "Grand Sir".

Bapak Gede and its contraction Pak de are used for a big father, uncle, or relative older than one's father, literally "Grand Sir".

Bapak Cilik and its contraction Pak lik are used for a very familiar friend or sir, literally a small father or a relative younger than one's Gaflakapus father — but very familiar.

Mbok is not an honorific and denotes an older woman of very low status.

Bang or Bung is a somewhat outdated, egalitarian term to refer to a brotherhood among males. Bang is Betawi language for Mas.

Korean[link]

Korean honorifics are similar to Japanese honorifics; their use is mandatory in many formal and informal social situations. Korean grammar as a whole tends to function on hierarchy — honorific stems are appended to verbs and some nouns, and in many cases, one word may be exchanged for another word entirely with the same verb- or noun-meaning, but with different honorific connotations. Linguists say that there are six levels of honorifics in Korean but, in daily conversation, only three of them are widely used in contemporary Korean.

Malay[link]

Malay honorifics are the Malay language's complex system of titles and honorifics which is still extensively used in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders.

Kenya, Tanzania[link]

In areas of East Africa, where the Bantu language Kiswahili is spoken, mzee is frequently used for an elder to denote respect by younger speakers. It is used in direct conversation and used in referring to someone in the third person.

Examples[link]

• Your Highness
• Your Honor
• Your Lordship
• Your Majesty
• Your Worship

Opposition[link]

People who have a strong sense of egalitarianism, such as Quakers and certain socialists, eschew honorific titles. When addressing or referring to someone, they will use the person's name, an informal pronoun, or some other style implying social equality, such as "brother", "friend", or "comrade". This was also the practice in Revolutionary France which used Citoyen ("Citizen") as the manner of address.

See also[link]

Culturally specific usage[link]

• Indian honorifics
• Canadian honorifics
• French honorifics
• Islamic honorifics
• Chinese honorifics
• Japanese honorifics
• Korean honorifics
• Kunya (Arabic)
• Honorifics in Judaism
• Thai royal and noble titles

General usage[link]

• The Honourable
• Style (manner of address)
• Use of courtesy titles and honorifics in professional writing
• T-V distinction

References[link]

The Right Honourable The Baroness Ashton of Upholland PC
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 December 2009
Preceded by	Javier Solana (High Representative for CFSP) Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Commissioner for External Relations)
First Vice President of the European Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 February 2010
President	José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by	Margot Wallström
European Commissioner for Trade
In office 3 October 2008 – 1 December 2009
President	José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by	Peter Mandelson
Succeeded by	Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Leader of the House of Lords Lord President of the Council
In office 27 June 2007 – 3 October 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	The Baroness Amos
Succeeded by	The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Personal details
Born	(1956-03-20) 20 March 1956 (age 56) Upholland, United Kingdom
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Peter Kellner (1988–present)
Residence	St Albans, United Kingdom
Alma mater	Bedford College

Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, PC (born 20 March 1956) is a British Labour politician who in 2009 became the European Union's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Under the Treaty of Lisbon this post is combined with the post of Vice-President of the European Commission.

Her political career began in 1999 when she was created a Life Peer (Baroness Ashton of Upholland) by the Labour Government under which she took on a ministerial position (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State) in the Department for Education and Skills in 2001, and subsequently in the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Ministry of Justice. She became a Privy Councillor PC in May 2006.

Catherine Ashton was appointed Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Queen's Privy Council in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet in June 2007. As well as Leader of the Lords, she held responsibility in the House of Lords for equalities issues, and she was instrumental in steering the EU's Treaty of Lisbon through the UK's upper chamber. In 2008, she succeeded Peter Mandelson as Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission.

In December 2009 she became the first person to take on the newly enlarged High Representative role for the EU that was created by the Treaty of Lisbon.^[1]

Early life[link]

Catherine Ashton was born in Upholland, Lancashire on 20 March 1956.^[2][3] She comes from a working class family, with a background in coal mining going back generations.^[4][5] She attended Upholland Grammar School in Billinge Higher End, Lancashire, then Wigan Mining and Technical College in Wigan.^[6] Ashton graduated with a BSc in Sociology in 1977 from Bedford College, London (now part of Royal Holloway, University of London). She was the first person in her family to attend University.^{[4][5][7][8][9]}

Early career in the United Kingdom[link]

Between 1977 and 1983 Ashton worked for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) as an administrator and in 1982 was elected as its national treasurer and subsequently as one of its vice-chairs. From 1979 to 1981 she was Business Manager of The Coverdale Organisation, a management consultancy.^[10][11] As of 1983 she worked for the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work.^[12] From 1983 to 1989 she was Director of Business in the Community working with business to tackle inequality, and established the Employers' Forum on Disability, Opportunity Now, and the Windsor Fellowship.^{[citation needed]} For most of the 1990s, she worked as a freelance policy adviser.^[8][13] She chaired the Health Authority in Hertfordshire from 1998 to 2001, and her children's school governing body, and became a Vice President of the National Council for One Parent Families.

She was made a Labour life peer as Baroness Ashton of Upholland in 1999, under Prime Minister Tony Blair. In June 2001 she was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Skills. In 2002 she was appointed minister for Sure Start in the same department. In September 2004, she was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department for Constitutional Affairs, with responsibilities including the National Archives and the Public Guardianship Office. Ashton was sworn of the Privy Council in 2006, and became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the new Ministry of Justice in May 2007.

In 2005 she was voted "Minister of the Year" by The House Magazine and "Peer of the Year" by Channel 4. In 2006 she won the "Politician of the Year" award at the annual Stonewall Awards, awarded to those that have made a positive impact on the lives of British LGBT people.^[14]

On 28 June 2007 the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, appointed her to the Cabinet as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council.^[15] As Leader of the House, she was responsible for passing the Lisbon Treaty through the House of Lords.^[16]

EU Trade Commissioner[link]

On 3 October 2008, she was nominated to replace Peter Mandelson as the UK's European Commissioner in Brussels. European Commissioners may not engage in any other occupation during their term of office, whether gainful or not^[17] so, in order to take up her position, she used the procedural device previously used in 1984 by Lord Cockfield^[18] and took a leave of absence from the House of Lords on 14 October 2008,^[19] retaining her peerage but not her seat.^[20]

Her appointment as Trade Commissioner was scrutinised by the European Parliament. She was criticised by Daniel Hannan, a British Conservative MEP, saying that she had "no background in trade issues at a time when the EU is engaged in critical negotiations with Canada, Korea and the WTO".^[21] However, following her public confirmation hearing by the Trade Committee of the European Parliament, Ashton was approved by the Parliament on 22 October 2008 with 538 to 40 votes, and 63 abstentions.^[22] She has since finished negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement with Korea and initialled it in October 2009.^[23]

Appointment and Reception[link]

Ashton with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

On 19 November 2009, Ashton was appointed the EU's first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Her appointment was agreed by a summit of 27 European Union leaders in Brussels. After actively pushing for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to become President of the European Council, Gordon Brown eventually relented on the condition that the High Representative position was awarded to a Briton.^[24][25]

Ashton's position also presides over several European institutions, including the European Union Institute for Security Studies as the Chair of its Board.

Ashton's relative obscurity caused considerable comment in the media with The Guardian newspaper reporting that her appointment as High Representative had received a 'cautious welcome as EU foreign minister from international relations experts'.^[26] The Economist described her as being a virtual unknown with paltry political experience, having no foreign-policy background and having never been elected to anything. The magazine did however credit her with having piloted the Lisbon Treaty through the House of Lords, having handled the European Commission's trade portfolio without falling out with her colleagues, and being suited to consensus-building.^[27]

On the one hand, critics say she is likely to be out of her depth, never having been elected to any office. For example, on her appointment, the associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Rod Liddle, wrote: "Never elected by anyone, anywhere, totally unqualified for almost every job she has done, she has risen to her current position presumably through a combination of down-the-line Stalinist political correctness and the fact that she has the charisma of a caravan site on the Isle of Sheppey."^[28] According to The Guardian, an anonymous Whitehall source remarked: "Cathy just got lucky...The appointment of her and Herman Van Rompuy [as European Council president] was a complete disgrace. They are no more than garden gnomes."^[3] On the other hand, Shami Chakrabarti, the director of a pressure group called Liberty, who became friends with Ashton when she was a minister at the Department of Constitutional Affairs, said her critics were wrong: "People underestimate Cathy at their peril. She is not a great big bruiser. She is a persuader and a charmer. That is the secret of her success."^[3] Her friend, Ian McCartney, MP, said on her appointment: "She is a Wigan girl who has really made good... She is supportive of working people and has never forgotten her roots."^[29] The morning after her appointment, Ashton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Over the next few months and years I aim to show that I am the best person for the job. I hope that my particular set of skills will show that in the end I am the best choice."^[3]

Ashton (far right) with the rest of the Quartet on the Middle East (2010)

In February 2010, it emerged that Ashton had been heavily criticised within the EU community for a number of actions, including her failure to visit Haiti in the wake of the earthquake. She was also criticised for allegedly lacking leadership abilities during ministerial meetings and policy briefing. Senior officials within her team complained that she speaks only in "generalities". She was also criticised for a lack of commitment to the job, switching off her phone after 8 pm every day.^[30] She drew further criticism, from Agnès Poirier, for the fact that she cannot speak any foreign languages.^[31] Ashton has been angered by the criticism, which, according to aides, she argues is a result of the "latent sexism" within the EU community.^[30] Ashton came under further criticism, including explicit criticism from national defence ministers Hervé Morin, Carme Chacón, Jack de Vries, and EU minister Pierre Lellouche, for her failure to attend the European Defence Summit in Majorca.^[32] Ashton has complained to the press that the lack of resources provided to her, such as her own plane, is holding her back in her work.^[33]

In February 2011 Baroness Ashton has come bottom of the class in a survey rating the performance of European Commissioners. Sixty nine per cent of 324 Brussels "policy-makers", with EU and national officials constituting the largest group, ranked Europe's first foreign minister as "disappointing" or "below average". The survey, carried out by Burson-Marsteller, a lobbying and PR company, asked respondents to rate European Commissioners on a report card grading of A to E. None scored lower than D except for Lady Ashton, a commission vice-president as well as the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, who scored an E for her performance. "Not surprisingly after a horrendous first year Ashton came lowest overall and in terms of living up to her commitments," concluded the survey.^[34]

Secretary General Pierre Vimont defended Ashton from criticism; praising her work in opening the EEAS office in Benghazi, Libya as making the EEAs very popular in Libya. He also supported her over Syria and has asked her to stand for a second term. Polish Minister for Europe, Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, also stated criticism against Ashton was "a lot of hot air" and that "she has an impossible job to do and she is doing it well. At the end of her time in office, people will be more positive about what she has done. She will leave a real legacy."^[35]

Ashton faced questions in the European Parliament over her role as national treasurer in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the 1980s, amid claims by its opponents that it may have had financial links to the Soviet Union. The eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party has written to Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, asking him to investigate whether Ashton was party to payments that he alleged were made to CND from the Soviet regime in Moscow. Ashton’s office refused to discuss CND’s funding in detail. It merely said that she “left CND in 1983 and had no involvement after that”.

On 19 March 2012, Ashton was criticized by several newspapers for comparing the shooting of Jewish children in Toulouse with the situation in Gaza.^[36][37] Ashton said to Palestinian youths at a UNRWA event,^[38]

“when we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and Sderot and in different parts of the world – we remember young people and children who lose their lives.” After she was misquoted in the press as having not mentioned Sderot, Israeli ministers harshly criticised her equating the murder of three children and a rabbi in the shooting attack with the situation in Gaza. Her spokesman stated that her remark had been “grossly distorted” and that she had also referenced Israeli victims in Sderot, but this had been incorrectly omitted from the original transcript.^[39][40][41]

Responsibilities as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy[link]

As High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, a post that was combined with Vice-President of the European Commission, Ashton was elected by the Heads of State and Government of the 27 European Union countries at a summit in Brussels.

Besides representing the EU at international forums and coordinating the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, the High Representative also:

• As Vice-President of the European Commission, she participates in the weekly meeting of the European Commission.
• Participates in the meetings of the European Council, where all EU leaders meet.
• Is head of the European External Action Service
• Responsible for the European Union Special Representatives
• President of the Foreign Affairs Council
• President of the European Defence Agency
• Chair of the board of the European Union Institute for Security Studies

During her term in office she and her team have given priority to a number of European and global issues. These include:

• Participation in the Quartet negotiations on the Middle East Peace Process
• Leading European negotiations with Iran over its controversial Nuclear programme
• Responding to the Arab Spring with a new European Neighbourhood Policy (May 2011), to provide funding and market access to North Africa
• Supporting democratic forces in Libya by opening an EU office in Benghazi in May 2011 and supporting the National Transitional Council
• Building a European consensus to establish sanctions against the Assad regime in Syria
• Strengthening relations with the EU’s Strategic Partners such as the US, Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa
• In the Balkans, forging renewed talks between Serbs and Kosovars (“Belgrade-Pristina" dialogue)
• Negotiating an upgraded status for the EU at the UN as foreseen under the Lisbon Treaty
• Establishing the European External Action Service (1 December 2010), which merged the external relations departments of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and will have diplomats seconded from national foreign services.

Personal life[link]

She lives in London with her husband, Peter Kellner, the President of online polling organisation, YouGov.^[42] She has two children, and three stepchildren.

She was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of East London in 2005.^[43]

Ashton was not fluent in any foreign language at the time of her inauguration. Ashton now has some knowledge of French.^[44]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Catherine Ashton

• EU Vice President Catherine Ashton, Official Media Gallery
• HR website as Vice President of the European Commission for External Relations
• HR website in the Council of the European Union
• Biography from the Department for Constitutional Affairs
• Announcement of her introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 10 October 1999
• BBC News (19 November 2009): A profile of EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton

Offices held[link]

v t e Brown Cabinet Cabinet Members Lord Adonis • Bob Ainsworth • Douglas Alexander • Baroness Ashton • Ed Balls • Hilary Benn • Hazel Blears • Ben Bradshaw • Gordon Brown • Des Browne • Liam Byrne • Andy Burnham • Yvette Cooper • Alistair Darling • John Denham • Peter Hain • Harriet Harman • Geoff Hoon • John Hutton • Alan Johnson • Tessa Jowell • Ruth Kelly • Lord Mandelson • David Miliband • Ed Miliband • Jim Murphy • Paul Murphy • James Purnell • Baroness Royall • Jacqui Smith • Jack Straw • Shaun Woodward Also Attended Meetings Margaret Beckett • Nick Brown • Lord Drayson • Caroline Flint • Lord Grocott • John Healey • Jim Knight • Lord Malloch-Brown • Pat McFadden • Tony McNulty • Baroness Scotland Attended While on Agenda Beverley Hughes • Sadiq Khan • Dawn Primarolo • Rosie Winterton

v t e Barroso Commission I (2004–2009) Joaquín Almunia · Catherine Ashton6 · José Manuel Barroso1 · Jacques Barrot2 · Joe Borg · Karel De Gucht9 · Stavros Dimas · Benita Ferrero-Waldner · Ján Figeľ10 · Franco Frattini2, 5 · Mariann Fischer Boel · Dalia Grybauskaitė7 · Danuta Hübner8 · Siim Kallas2 · László Kovács · Neelie Kroes · Meglena Kuneva3 · Markos Kyprianou4 · Peter Mandelson6 · Charlie McCreevy · Louis Michel9 · Leonard Orban3 · Andris Piebalgs · Janez Potočnik · Viviane Reding · Olli Rehn · Paweł Samecki8 · Maroš Šefčovič10 · Algirdas Šemeta7 · Vladimír Špidla · Antonio Tajani2, 5 · Androulla Vassiliou4 · Günter Verheugen2 · Margot Wallström2 1 = President. 2 = Vice President. 3 = Served from 1 January 2007. 4 = Vassiliou replaced Kyprianou on 3 March 2008. 5 = Tajani replaced Frattini on 18 June 2008. 6 = Ashton replaced Mandelson on 3 October 2008. 7 = Šemeta replaced Grybauskaitė on 1 July 2009. 8 = Samecki replaced Hübner on 4 July 2009. 9 = De Gucht replaced Michel on 17 July 2009. 10 = Šefčovič replaced Figeľ on 1 October 2009.

v t e Barroso Commission II (since 2010) Joaquín Almunia2 · László Andor · Catherine Ashton2 · Michel Barnier · José Manuel Barroso1 · Dacian Cioloş · John Dalli · Maria Damanaki · Štefan Füle · Máire Geoghegan-Quinn · Kristalina Georgieva · Karel De Gucht · Johannes Hahn · Connie Hedegaard · Siim Kallas2 · Neelie Kroes2 · Janusz Lewandowski · Cecilia Malmström · Günther Oettinger · Andris Piebalgs · Janez Potočnik · Viviane Reding2 · Olli Rehn · Antonio Tajani2 · Androulla Vassiliou · Maroš Šefčovič2 · Algirdas Šemeta 1 = President. 2 = Vice President.

v t e European Commissioners from the United Kingdom Catherine Ashton | Peter Mandelson | Chris Patten | Neil Kinnock | Bruce Millan | Leon Brittan | Arthur Cockfield | Stanley Clinton Davis | Ivor Richard | Christopher Tugendhat | Roy Jenkins | George Thomson | Christopher Soames

v t e European Commissioners for Trade Rey • Deniau • Dahrendorf • Soames • Haferkamp • De Clercq • Andriessen • Brittan • Lamy • Hübner • Mandelson • Ashton • Ferrero-Waldner • De Gucht

Alex Do,^[1] better known by his online alias HD or HDStarcraft, is an electronic sports shoutcaster specializing in providing commentary for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a video game published by Blizzard Entertainment and played on the online gaming service Battle.net. His YouTube channel currently has over 390,000 subscribers and over 140,000,000 combined video upload views.^[2]

During the beta of StarCraft II, HD collaborated with fellow commentator Husky to host the "HDH Invitational", a StarCraft II tournament consisting of sixteen of the top professional StarCraft II gamers from around the world.^[3] The tournament was played in an entirely virtual environment over the Battle.net server, and the games were later broadcast on YouTube. The tournament was sponsored and cash prizes were awarded.^[3] Neither HD nor Husky actually have a background in casting sports commentary despite the pair's popularity.^[3]

HD has been both a commentator and a player in Major League Gaming's tournaments in 2010. HD provided commentary for StarCraft II alongside Sean "Day9" Plott, JP McDaniel, and Husky for the Pro Circuit at Raleigh on August 2010.^[1] Later in the year, HD was a StarCraft II player at the national championships at Dallas on November 2010.^[4]

HD and StarCraft II professional gamer Taylor "PainUser" Parsons presented a Google Tech Talk in September 2010.^[5] The talk itself covered StarCraft II and electronic sports while including a commentary by HD and Parsons on the StarCraft II tournament finals played amongst Google employees.

See also[link]

• Electronic sports
• Starcraft 2
• Husky (commentator) – Starcraft 2 commentator

References[link]

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