- published: 17 Jan 2012
- views: 2827820
- author: RyanJamesYezak
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan
i/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Persian/Pashto: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and Greater Middle East, it is also considered to be part of a broader West Asia. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi), making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.
Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Sitting at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the land has been home to various peoples through the ages and witnessed many military campaigns, notably by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and in modern era Western forces. The land also served as a source from which the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals and many others have risen to form major empires.
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Albania
Albania (i/ælˈbeɪniə/ al-BAY-nee-ə, Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë pronounced Albanian pronunciation: [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in Southern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.
Albania is a member of the UN, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Albania has been a potential candidate for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it formally applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009.
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Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeriai/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
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Andorra
Andorra (i/ænˈdɔrə/; Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈdorə], locally: [anˈdɔra]), officially the Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d'Andorra), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, (Catalan: Principat de les Valls d'Andorra), is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 84,082 in 2009. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.
The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the Catalan Bishop of Urgell and the President of France (the whole state is a part of Diocese of Urgell).
Andorra is a prosperous country mainly because of its tourism industry, which services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually, and also because of its status as a tax haven. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the de facto currency. The people of Andorra have the 4th highest human life expectancy in the world — 82 years at birth.
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Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced: [ʁɨˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈɡɔla];Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world. At the same time, a minority has reached comfortable life standards, and the dominant stratum has succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth, so that social inequality in Angola is one of the highest in the world.
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Anguilla
Anguilla (
/æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-GWIL-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 26 km (16 mi) long by 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 91 km2 (35 sq mi), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate).
Anguilla has become a popular tax haven, having no capital gains, estate, profit or other forms of direct taxation on either individuals or corporations.
Anguilla was first settled by Amerindian tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Amerindian artifacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC, and remains of settlements date from 600 AD. The date of European discovery is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island in 1493, while others state that the island was first discovered by the French in 1564 or 1565. The name Anguilla derives from the word for "eel" in any of various Romance languages (modern Spanish: anguila; French: anguille; Italian: anguilla; Portuguese: enguia), probably chosen because of the island's eel-like shape.
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Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda (i/ænˈtiːɡə ænd bɑrˈbjuːdə/; Spanish for "ancient" and "bearded") is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The permanent population number approximately 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.
Separated by a few nautical miles, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17 degrees north of the Equator. The country is nicknamed "Land of 365 Beaches" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands. Its governance, language, and culture have all been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part.
Antigua was first settled by Archaic Age hunter-gatherer Amerindians, erroneously referred to as Siboney or Ciboney.Carbon-dating has established that the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the Ceramic Age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.
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Argentina
Argentinai/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Armenia
Armeniai/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD). The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrob Mashtots in 406 AD.
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Aruba
Aruba ( /əˈruːbə/ ə-ROO-bə, Dutch pronunciation: [aˈruba]) is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km (approx.) east of Guajira Peninsula (Colombia). Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.
Aruba is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten whose citizens share a single nationality: Dutch citizen. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but for census purposes is divided into 8 regions. Its capital is Oranjestad. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 179 square kilometres (69 sq mi) and is densely populated with a total of 101,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. It lies outside the hurricane belt. It is also home to the endemic Aruba Island Rattlesnake.
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Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometres (800 mi) to the southeast, and the territory also includes the "remotest populated archipelago" on earth, the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago some thirty degrees farther south–about half the way to the Antarctic Circle.
The Island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day, and is located at 7°56′S 14°22′W / 7.933°S 14.367°W / -7.933; -14.367Coordinates: 7°56′S 14°22′W / 7.933°S 14.367°W / -7.933; -14.367, about as far south of the equator as tropical Venezuela is to its north. Historically, it has played a role as an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats and during World War II was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic and throughout the war. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.
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Assyrian Empire
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the late 25th or early–24th century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq), that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: 𒀸𒋗𒁺 𐎹 Aššūrāyu; Aramaic: אתור Aṯur; Hebrew: אַשּׁוּר Aššûr; Arabic: آشور Āšūr). Assyria was also sometimes known as Subartu, and after its fall, from 605 BC through to the late seventh century AD variously as Athura, Syria (Greek), Assyria (Latin) and Assuristan. The term Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where Assyria, its empires and the Assyrian people were centred. The modern Assyrian Christian minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, south east Turkey and north west Iran are the descendants of the ancient Assyrians (see Assyrian continuity).
Assyria evolved originally as a minor Akkadian kingdom. From the late 24th Century BC Assyrian kings would certainly have been regional leaders only, and subject to Sargon of Akkad who united all the Akkadian speaking peoples of Mesopotamia under the Akkadian Empire which lasted from 2334 BC to 2154 BC. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire circa 2154 BC, and the succeeding Sumerian 3rd Dynasty of Ur, Mesopotamia eventually coalesced into just two separate nations; Assyria in the north, and some century and a half later, Babylonia in the south.
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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (
i/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası) is the largest country in the Caucasus region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.
Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. Aside from having been the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theater and plays, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim-majority countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war. Azerbaijan has come under repeated international criticism for its record on human rights.
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Bahrain
Bahrain ( pronunciation) (Arabic: البحرين, al-Baḥrayn) (Persian: بحرين, Baḥrain), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. The peninsula of Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world's longest marine causeway.
Known for its oil and pearls, Bahrain is also home to many large structures, including the Bahrain World Trade Center and the Bahrain Financial Harbour, with a proposal in place to build the 1,022 m (3,353 ft) high Murjan Tower. The Qal'at al-Bahrain (the harbour and capital of the ancient land of Dilmun) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit.
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Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°N 90°E / 23°N 90°E / 23; 90
Bangladesh (i/ˈbɑːŋɡlədɛʃ/ or i/bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/ (Anglicized pronunciation); Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The capital (and largest city) is Dhaka, located in central Bangladesh. The official state language is Bengali. The name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" the in the Bengali language, from Bangla "Bengal" and desh holding a dual meaning of "land" and "country" as English "country," German land, French pays, etc.
The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal during the reign and demise of the British India. Its map was chartered by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. Due to political exclusion and economic exploitation by the politically dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation grew against West Pakistan and led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence on 26 March 1971. With the intervention of the Indian Army, the war came to an end on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistan Army at Ramna Race Course.
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Barbados
Coordinates: 13°10′N 59°33′W / 13.167°N 59.55°W / 13.167; -59.55
Barbados (i/bɑrˈbeɪdɒs/ or /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊs/) is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is 34 kilometres (21 mi) in length and up to 23 kilometres (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
Barbados was initially visited by the Spanish around the late 1400s to early 1500s and first appears on a Spanish map from 1511. The Spanish explorers may have plundered the island of whatever native peoples resided therein to become slaves. The Portuguese visited in 1536, but they too left it unclaimed, with their only remnants being an introduction of wild hogs for a good supply of meat whenever the island was visited. The first English ship, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados in 1624. They took possession of it in the name of the British king James I. Two years later in 1627 the first permanent settlers arrived from England and it became an English and later British colony.
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Belarus
Belarus (i/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOSS; Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian pronunciation: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] Russian: Беларусь, Белоруссия, Belarus', Belorussiya), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Vitsebsk). Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.
Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II, during which Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR.
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Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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Belize
Belizei/bəˈliːz/ (formerly British Honduras) is a country located on the north eastern coast of Central America and it is the only country in the area where English is the official language, although Kriol and Spanish are more commonly spoken. Belize is bordered to the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide.
With 22,960 square kilometres (8,860 sq mi) of land and a population of only 333,200 inhabitants (2010 est.), Belize possesses the lowest population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 2.21% (2008 est.), however, is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. Belize's abundance of terrestrial and marine species, and its diversity of ecosystems give it a key place within the globally significant Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages and it is the only nation in the region with a British colonial heritage but as a part of the Western Caribbean Zone, it also shares a common heritage with the Caribbean portions of other Central American countries. In general, Belize is considered to be a Central American nation with strong ties to both the Caribbean and Latin America. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA).
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Benin
Benini/bɨˈniːn/ (formerly, Dahomey), officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.
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Bermuda
Bermuda ( /bɜrˈmjuːdə/), officially the Bermudas or Somers Islands, is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,373 kilometres (853 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, USA. Its capital city is Hamilton.
Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, after whom the islands are named. Apparently uninhabited, he claimed them for the Spanish Empire. Although he paid two visits to the archipelago, Bermúdez was persuaded never to set foot on any of the islands by the dangerous reef surrounding them. Subsequent Spanish or other visitors are believed to have released the feral pigs that were abundant on the island when settlement began. In 1609, the Virginia Company, which had established Virginia and Jamestown on the American continent two years earlier, established a settlement on behalf of the English colonial empire. Initially, it was administered as an extension of Virginia by the Company until 1614, before its successor, the Somers Isles Company, took over until 1684. Bermuda then became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the unified Kingdom of Great Britain. After Newfoundland became part of Canada in 1949, Bermuda became the oldest (and, since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the most populous) remaining British overseas territory. Its first capital, St George's, was established in 1612 and is the oldest continuously-inhabited English town in the Americas.
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Bhutan
Coordinates: 27°25′01″N 90°26′06″E / 27.417°N 90.435°E / 27.417; 90.435
Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, tr ʼbrug-yul, "Druk Yul"; Devanagari भूटान, Bhūṭān), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby country of Nepal to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, and from Bangladesh to the south by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.
Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until the early 17th century, when the area was unified by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who fled religious persecution in Tibet and cultivated a separate Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire, after which Bhutan continued strong bilateral relations with India upon its independence. In 2006, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world, based on a global survey.
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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (i/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.
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Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana (Tswana: Lefatshe la Botswana), is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are properly referred to as "Batswana" (singular: Motswana), but many English-language sources use "Botswanan". Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.
Botswana is flat, and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula, Zambia is poorly defined but at most is a few hundred meters long.
A mid-sized country of just over two million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70. Botswana has since transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world to a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,000. The country also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Brunei
Bruneii/bruːˈnaɪ/, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: نڬارا بروني دارالسلام), is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, and it is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. It is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo, with the remainder of the island belonging to Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 401,890 in July 2011.
The official national history claims that Brunei can trace its beginnings to the 7th century, when it was a subject state of the Srivijayan empire under the name P'o-li. It later became a vassal state of Majapahit empire before converting to Islam in the 15th century. At the peak of its empire, the sultanate had control that extended over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, the Sulu archipelago, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The thalassocracy was visited by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and fought the Castille War in 1578 against Spain. Its empire began to decline with the forced ceding of Sarawak to James Brooke and the ceding of Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. After the loss of Limbang, Brunei finally became a British protectorate in 1888, receiving a resident in 1906. In the years after the Japanese wartime occupation during World War II, it formalised a constitution and fought an armed rebellion. Brunei regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984. Economic growth during the 1970s and 1990s, averaging 56% from 1999 to 2008, has transformed Brunei Darussalam into a newly industrialised country.
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Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
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Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (i/bərˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ bər-KEE-nə FAH-soh; French: [buʁkina faso]) – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou.
Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (
/bərˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bər-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.
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Burma
Burmai/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar i/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km2 (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).
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Cambodia
Cambodia (i/kæmˈboʊdiə/;Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, Kampuchea, IPA: [kɑmˈpuˈciə]), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total landmass of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), it is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.
With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the 68th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of the Cambodian population. The country minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 various hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh; the political, economic, and cultural center of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.
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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Cape Verde
Cape Verdei/ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").
The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated on 20 January 1973 then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.
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Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands ( /ˈkeɪmən/ or /keɪˈmæn/) is a British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. The Cayman Islands are considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean Zone as well as the Greater Antilles. The territory is a major world offshore financial centre.
The Cayman Islands were first logged as sighted by Christopher Columbus on 10 May 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the New World. He named the islands Las Tortugas after the large number of sea turtles observed there. The first recorded English visitor to the islands was Sir Francis Drake in 1586. He subsequently named the islands "Cayman" after caiman, a Neo-Taino word for "alligator".
The Cayman Islands remained largely uninhabited until the 17th century. While there is no archaeological evidence for an indigenous people on the islands, a variety of settlers from various backgrounds made their home on the islands, including pirates, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, shipwrecked sailors, and deserters from Oliver Cromwell's army in Jamaica.
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Chad
Chadi/ˈtʃæd/ (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد Tšād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions.
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.
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Chile
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Christmas Island
Coordinates: 10°29′S 105°38′E / 10.483°S 105.633°E / -10.483; 105.633 The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 360 km (220 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and 2,748 km (1,708 mi) west of the Territorian city of Darwin.
Christmas Island has a population of 1,403 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite.
The island’s geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of significant interest to scientists and naturalists. 63% of its 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) is an Australian national park. There exist large areas of primary monsoonal forest.
Phosphate, deposited originally as dead marine organisms (not guano as often thought), has been mined on the island for many years.
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Colombia
Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.
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Comoros
The Comorosi/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km2 (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.
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Cook Islands
The Cook Islands (i/ˈkʊk ˈaɪləndz/; Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi), but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,800,000 square kilometres (690,000 sq mi) of ocean.
The main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (14,153 in 2006), where there is an international airport. There is a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the North Island. In the 2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Island Māori descent.
With about 100,000 visitors travelling to the islands in the 2010-11 financial year,tourism is the country's main industry, and the leading element of the economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, and marine and fruit exports.
Defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy. Although Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, they have the status of Cook Islands nationals, which is not given to other New Zealand citizens.
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.
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Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
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Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (i/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.
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Cyprus
Cyprusi/ˈsaɪprəs/ (Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipɾos]; Turkish: Kıbrıs, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs]), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipɾiaˈci ðimokɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs dʒumhuɾijeˈti]), is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon, northwest of Israel and north of Egypt. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the European Union.
The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a World Heritage Site with an "enhanced protection" status in the event of armed conflict by UNESCO, along with the archaeological sites of Paphos and the Painted Churches of the Troodos Region. Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (i/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
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Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoirei/ˌkoʊt dɨˈvwɑr/ (French: [kot d‿ivwaʁ]) or Ivory Coast i/ˌaɪvəri ˈkoʊst/ is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometres (124,503 sq mi), and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Côte d'Ivoire's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants.
Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after Côte d'Ivoire's independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the European scramble for Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.
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Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides. The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.
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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.
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Dominica
Dominica ( /ˌdɒmɪˈniːkə/ DOM-i-NEE-kə;French: Dominique; Kali‘na (Carib): Wai‘tu kubuli), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,747 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica had a population of 71,293 at the 2011 Census. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and heavy taxation.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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East Germany
The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik [ˈdɔʏtʃə demoˈkʀaːtɪʃə ʀepuˈbliːk] or DDR), informally known as East Germany (German: Ostdeutschland), was a socialist state established by the USSR in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city. The GDR had an area of 107,771 km2 (41,610 mi2), bordering Czechoslovakia to the south, West Germany to the south and west, Poland to the east, and the Baltic Sea to the north. East Germany was dissolved upon joining the institutions of West Germany in the German reunification, on 3 October 1990.
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East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ), commonly known as East Timori/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/ (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, Portuguese: Timor-Leste), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.
East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.
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Easter Island
Coordinates: 27°7′S 109°22′W / 27.117°S 109.367°W / -27.117; -109.367
Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people. It is a World Heritage Site (as determined by UNESCO) with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. In recent times the island has served as a warning of the cultural and environmental dangers of overexploitation. Ethnographers and archaeologists also blame diseases carried by European colonizers and slave raiding of the 1860s for devastating the local peoples.
Easter Island is claimed to be the most remote inhabited island in the world.
The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722, while searching for Davis or David's island. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th century Dutch for "Easter Island"). The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means "Easter Island".
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Ecuador
Ecuador (i/ˈɛkwədɔr/ E-kwə-dawr), officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador [reˈpuβlika ðel ekwaˈðor], which literally translates to the "Republic of the Equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, (along with Chile), that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland.
The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 275,830 km2 (106,500 sq mi). Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country, was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, for being an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish style colonial city in the Americas. Ecuador is also home—despite its size—to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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El Salvador
El Salvadori/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.
The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.
In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation.
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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country located in Middle Africa. It has two parts: a Continental Region (Río Muni), including several small offshore islands including Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico; and an insular region containing Annobón island and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Po) where the capital Malabo is situated.
Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Mediterranean coast next to Morocco, it is the only territory in mainland Africa with Spanish as the official language.
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Eritrea
Eritrea ( /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (English pronunciation: /ˈfɒlklənd/ or English pronunciation: /ˈfɔːlklənd/; Spanish: Islas Malvinas) are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located more than 250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi) east of the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 lesser islands. Stanley, the capital and only city, is on East Falkland. The islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory, with the United Kingdom responsible for their defence and foreign affairs.
Controversy exists over the Falklands' original discovery and subsequent colonisation by Europeans. At various times there have been French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain re-established its rule in 1833, yet the islands continue to be claimed by Argentina. In 1982, following Argentina's invasion of the islands, the two-month-long undeclared Falklands War between both countries resulted in the withdrawal of all Argentine forces. Despite its defeat, Argentina still pursues its claim; however, UK policy supports the islanders' self-determination to remain British citizens.
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Faroe Islands
Coordinates: 62°00′N 06°47′W / 62°N 6.783°W / 62; -6.783
The Faroe Islands (Faroese: Føroyar pronounced [ˈfœɹjaɹ], Danish: Færøerne Danish pronunciation: [ˈfæɐ̯øːˀɐnə]) are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland. The islands form a self-governing country under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark. The total area is approximately 1,400 km² (540 sq mi) with a 2010 population of almost 50,000 people.
The Faroe Islands has been a self-governing dependency of Denmark since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have taken control of most domestic matters. Areas that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands also has representatives in the Nordic Council as members of the Danish delegation.
The Faroe Islands were associated with and taxed by Denmark and Norway up to 1814, when Norway fell under the rule of Sweden. Scandinavia was in political turmoil following the Sixth Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars, when the Treaty of Kiel granted Denmark control over the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland in 1814. The Danish trade monopoly ended in 1856.
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Fiji
Fijii/ˈfiːdʒiː/ (Fijian: Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी), officially the Republic of Fiji (Fijian: Matanitu ko Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी गणराज्यFijī Gaṇarājya), is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, France's New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas, France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast and Tuvalu to the north.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity started around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC. The country comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 850,000. The former contains Suva, the capital and largest city. Most of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres. Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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French Polynesia
French Polynesia (i/ˈfrɛntʃ pɒlɨˈniːʒə/; French: Polynésie française, pronounced: [pɔlinezi fʁɑ̃sɛz]; Tahitian: Pōrīnetia Farāni) is an overseas country of the French Republic (pays d'outre-mer). It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory (Papeetē). Although not an integral part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007.
The island groups that make up French Polynesia were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889. The first of these islands to be settled by indigenous Polynesians were the Marquesas Islands in AD 300 and the Society Islands in AD 800. The Polynesians were organized in loose chieftainships.
European communication began in 1521 when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sighted Pukapuka in the Tuāmotu-Gambier Archipelago. Dutchman Jakob Roggeveen came across Bora Bora in the Society Islands in 1722, and the British explorer Samuel Wallis visited Tahiti in 1767. The French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville visited Tahiti in 1768, while the British explorer James Cook visited in 1769. Christian missions began with Spanish priests who stayed in Tahiti for a year from 1774; Protestants from the London Missionary Society settled permanently in Polynesia in 1797.
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Gabon
Gabon ( /ɡəˈbɒn/; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃]), officially the Gabonese Republic (French: République Gabonaise) is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.
Since its independence from France on August 17, 1960, Gabon has been ruled by three presidents. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.
Low population density together with abundant natural resources and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
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Georgia (country)
Georgiai/ˈdʒɔrdʒə/ (Georgian: საქართველო Sakartvelo, IPA: [sɑkʰɑrtʰvɛlɔ] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 km² and its population is almost 4.7 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.
During the classical era independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century. A unified Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 11th–12th centuries. At the beginning of the 19th century, Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire. After a brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia was occupied by Soviet Russia in 1921, becoming the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and part of the Soviet Union. After independence in 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil unrest and economic crisis for most of the 1990s. This lasted until the Rose Revolution of 2003, after which the new government introduced democratic and economic reforms.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Ghana
Ghanai/ˈɡɑːnə/ is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire.
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms, including the inland Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Akyem, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Fante among others. Non-Akan states created by the Ga also existed as did states by the Dagomba. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts but not all of the country.
The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the First sub-Saharan African nation to do so from European Colonialism. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of west Africa.
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Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( /dʒɨˈbrɒltər/) is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.
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Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
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Greenland
Greenland (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaat, "Land of the Kalaallit";Danish: Grønland) is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and later Denmark) for more than a millennium. Greenland is, by area, the world's largest island. With a population of 56,615 (January 2011 estimate) it is the least densely populated dependency or country in the world.
Greenland has been inhabited, though not continuously, by Arctic peoples via Canada for 4500–5000 years. In the 10th century, Norsemen settled on the uninhabited southern part of Greenland. In the 13th century, the Inuit arrived, and in the late 15th century the Norse colonies were abandoned. In the early 18th century, contact between Scandinavia and Greenland was re-established and Denmark established rule over Greenland.
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Grenada
Grenada (i/ɡrɨˈneɪdə/) is an island country and Commonwealth realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.
Grenada was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 during the third voyage of Christopher Columbus to the new world. At the time the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) who lived there called it Camahogne. The Spaniards did not permanently settle on Camahogne. The English failed in their attempt at settlement in 1609.
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Guadeloupe
Coordinates: 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.25°N 61.583°W / 16.25; -61.583
Guadeloupe ( /ɡwɑːdəˈluːp/; French pronunciation: [ɡwadəlup]; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is a Caribbean island located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Its departmental code is "971". As the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also an integral part of the Republic. Besides Guadeloupe island, the smaller islands of Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes are included in Guadeloupe.
As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; hence, as for all Eurozone countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.
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Guam
Guam (i/ˈɡwɑːm/; Chamorro: Guåhån) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of sixteen Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations. The island's capital is Hagåtña (formerly Agaña). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands.
The Chamorros, Guam's indigenous people, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago. The island has a long history of European colonialism. Discovered by Ferdinand Magellan during a Spanish expedition on March 6, 1521, the first colony was established in 1668 by Spain with the arrival of settlers including Padre San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. For more than two centuries Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons that crossed the Pacific annually. The island was controlled by Spain until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States during the Spanish-American War and later formally ceded as part of the Treaty of Paris.
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Guatemala
Guatemala (i/ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ GWAH-tə-MAH-lə), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala [reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala]), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km2 (42,043 mi2) with an estimated population of 13,276,517.
A representative democracy, its capital is Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. The Mayas live in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and northern parts of El Salvador.
Guatemala became independent from Spain in 1821, joining the Mexican Empire. After it became an independent country in its own right, it was ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company. The late 20th century saw Guatemala embroiled in a 36-year-long civil war. Following the war, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections. In the most recent election, held in 2011, Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party, won the presidency.
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Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey ( /ˈɡɜrnzi/ GURN-zee; French: Bailliage de Guernesey, IPA: [bajaʒ də ɡɛʁnəzɛ]), is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, and Lihou. Furthermore, the Bailiwick includes Alderney and Sark, which each has its own parliament.
Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick of Guernsey is not part of the UK; and while it participates in the Common Travel Area, it is not part of the European Union.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is included (along with the Bailiwick of Jersey) in the grouping known as the Channel Islands.
The name of Guernsey, as well as that of neighbouring Jersey, is of Old Norse origin. The second element of Guernsey (-ey) is the Old Norse for "island". Guern similar to Spanish "Cuerno", French "Coi(r)n", Dutch "Hoorn", Frisian "Hoarn", Swedish "Hörn", Swiss "Gorn" means "Corner". - Corner Island.
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Guinea
Guineai/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (Guinée française), it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has almost 246,000 square kilometres (94,981 sq mi) and a population of 10,057,975. It forms a crescent by curving from its western border on the Atlantic Ocean toward the east and the south. Its northern border is shared with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The Niger River's source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea.
Guinea is geographically divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. Conakry is the capital, largest city and economic centre. The other major cities in the country include Kankan, Nzérékoré, Kindia, Labe, Guéckédou, Mamou and Boke.
Guinea's 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The largest and most prominent groups are the Fula 40%, Mandingo 30%, and Susu 20%.
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Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissaui/ˈɡɪni bɪˈsaʊ/ (Portuguese: República da Guiné-Bissau, pronounced: [ʁeˈpublikɐ dɐ ɡiˈnɛ biˈsaw]), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. It covers 36,125 km² (nearly 14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000.
Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were part of the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. It then became the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea in the 19th century. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the bordering Republic of Guinea. Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since gaining independence and no elected president has successfully served a full five-year term. On the evening of 12 April 2012, members of the country's military staged a coup and arrested the interim president and a leading presidential candidate. The military has yet to declare a current leader for the country. However, former vice chief of staff, General Mamadu Ture Kuruma took the care of the country in the transitional period and started negotiations with opposition parties.
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Guyana
Coordinates: 5°00′N 58°45′W / 5°N 58.75°W / 5; -58.75
Guyana (i/ɡaɪˈænə/ gy-AN-ə), officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and (for over 200 years) the British. It is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America, and the only one on that continent where English is an official language.It is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island. It is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966, and became a republic on 23 February 1970. In 2008 the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.
Historically, the region known as "Guiana" or "Guyana" comprised the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the "Land of many waters". Historical Guyana is made up of three Dutch colonies: Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice. Modern Guyana is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and southwest by Brazil, to the west by Venezuela, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean.
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Haiti
Haitii/ˈheɪti/ (French: Haïti [aiti]; Haitian Creole Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti), is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti (land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle, at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft). The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. Haitian Creole and French are the official languages.
Haiti's regional, historical, and ethno-linguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the first black-led republic in the world, and the second republic in the Americas when it gained independence in 1804 as part of a successful slave revolution lasting nearly a decade. In 2012, Haiti announced its intention to seek associate membership status in the African Union. Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.
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Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639
Hawaii (i/həˈwaɪ.iː/ or /həˈwaɪʔiː/; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi Hawaiian pronunciation: [hɐˈvɐiʔi]) is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the island of Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
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Herm
Herm (Guernésiais: Haerme) is the smallest of the Channel Islands that is open to the public and is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Cars are banned from the small island just like its Channel Island neighbour, Sark. Unlike Sark, bicycles are also banned. However, Herm does allow quad bikes and tractors for the locals.
Herm won the 2002 and 2008 Britain in Bloom competition in the 'Small Coastal Resort' category.
Herm was occupied in prehistoric times; the remains of Neolithic chamber tombs have been found on the island.
The first records of Herm's inhabitants in historic times are from the 6th century, when the island became a centre of monastic activity; the name 'Herm' supposedly derives from hermits who settled there (although an alternative interpretation derives Herm from Norse erm referring to an arm-like appearance of the island). However, the monks suffered from the inclement Atlantic; in 709, a storm washed away the strip of land which connected the island with the small uninhabited island of Jethou.
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Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule.
Its size is just over 112,492 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone.
It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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Hungary
Hungaryi/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).
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Iceland
Icelandi/ˈaɪslənd/ (Icelandic: Ísland, IPA: [ˈislant]) is a Nordic European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with the surrounding areas in the southwestern region of the country being home to two-thirds of the country's population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior mainly consists of a plateau characterised by sand fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norse settler on the island. Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the following centuries, Norsemen settled Iceland, bringing with them thralls (slaves) of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. Until the 20th century, the Icelandic population relied largely on fisheries and agriculture, and the country was one of the poorest and least developed in the world. Industrialisation of the fisheries and aid from the Marshall Plan brought prosperity in the years after World War II, and by the 1990s it was one of the world's wealthiest countries. In 1994, Iceland became party to the European Economic Area, which made it possible for the economy to diversify into economic and financial services.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Iraq
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ ori/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
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Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( /ˈmæn/; Manx: Ellan Vannin, pronounced [ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn]), otherwise known simply as Mann (Manx: Mannin, IPA: [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although the United Kingdom does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is ultimately the responsibility of the Crown (that is, in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).
The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century AD, and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. In the 9th century, the Norse began to settle there. A Norse-Gaelic culture arose and the island came under Norse control. In 1266, the island became part of Scotland as formalised by the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of Great Britain or its successor the United Kingdom and retained its status as an internally self-governing Crown dependency.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Jamaica
Coordinates: 18°10′57″N 77°19′18″W / 18.1823878°N 77.3217773°W / 18.1823878; -77.3217773
Jamaica (i/dʒəˈmeɪkə/), officially the Commonwealth of Jamaica, is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, and 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno name for the island was Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".
Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it became an English colony in 1655 under the name "Jamaica". It achieved full independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica.Kingston is the country's largest city and the capital.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, French: Bailliage de Jersey ( /ˈdʒɜrzi/, French: [ʒɛʁzɛ]; Jèrriais: Jèrri), is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs.
Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems.
The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. Although the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as 'the Channel Islands', they are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the British Crown from the other Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It is not part of the United Kingdom, and has an international identity separate from that of the UK but the United Kingdom is constitutionally responsible for the defence of Jersey. Jersey is not a part of the European Union but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods.
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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km2 and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.
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Kiribati
Kiribati ([kɪribas] KIRR-i-bas or ˌkɪrəˈbɑdi;Gilbertese: [ˈkiɾibas]), officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000 (2011), and the island nation is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, (1,351,000 square miles) straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point.
The name Kiribati is the local pronunciation of "Gilberts", derived from the main island chain, the Gilbert Islands. The capital of South Tarawa consists of a number of islets connected through a series of causeways, located in the Tarawa archipelago. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999.
Kiribati was named in French by captains Krusenstern and Louis Isidore Duperrey "îles Gilbert", Gilbert Islands, after the British Captain Thomas Gilbert, who sighted the islands in 1788. The current name, Kiribati, is an adaptation of "Gilberts", from the former European name the "Gilbert Islands". Although the indigenous Gilbertese language name for the Gilbert Islands proper is Tungaru, the new state chose the name "Kiribati", the Gilbertese rendition of "Gilberts", as an equivalent of the former colony to acknowledge the inclusion of islands which were never considered part of the Gilberts chain.
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Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwaiti/kuːˈweɪt/ (Arabic: دولة الكويت, Dawlat al-Kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the Arabic أكوات ākwāt, the plural of كوت kūt, meaning a fortress built near water. The country covers an area of 17,820 square kilometers (6,880 sq mi) and has a population of about 3.5 million.
Historically, the region was the site of Characene, a major Parthian port for trade between Mesopotamia and India. The Bani Utbah tribe were the first permanent Arab settlers in the region, and laid the foundation of the modern emirate. By the 19th century, Kuwait came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, and after World War I, it emerged as an independent sheikhdom under the protection of the British Empire. Kuwait's large oil fields were discovered in the late 1930s.
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Laos
Laos ((i/ˈlaʊs/, /ˈlɑː.ɒs/, /ˈlɑː.oʊs/, or /ˈleɪ.ɒs/) Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, pronounced [sǎː.tʰáː.laʔ.naʔ.lat páʔ.sáː.tʰiʔ.páʔ.tàj páʔ.sáː.són.láːw] Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be 6.5 million in 2012.
Laos traces its history to the Kingdom which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three separate kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms, Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak, uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.
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Latvia
Latviai/ˈlætviə/ (Latvian: Latvija), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia (border length 343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), to the east by the Russian Federation (276 km), to the southeast by Belarus (141 km), and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden. With 2,067,887 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) it is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the European Union. The capital of Latvia is Riga. The official language is Latvian and the currency is called Lats (Ls). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.
The Latvians are a Baltic people, culturally related to the Lithuanians. Together with the Finno-Ugric Livs (or Livonians), the Latvians are the indigenous people of Latvia.Latvian is an Indo-European language and along with Lithuanian the only two surviving members of the Baltic branch. Indigenous minority languages are Latgalian and the nearly extinct Finno-Ugric Livonian language. In terms of geography, territory and population Latvia is the middle of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Latvia and Estonia share a long common history: historical Livonia, times of German (Teutonic Order), Polish-Lithuanian, Swedish, Russian, Nazi German and Soviet rule, 13th century Christianization and 16th century Protestant Reformation. Both countries are home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia and 25.5% in Estonia) of whom some are non-citizens. Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant, except for the region of Latgalia in the southeast which is historically predominantly Roman Catholic.
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Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
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Lesotho
Lesotho (i/lɨˈsuːtuː/ li-SOO-too), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, completely surrounded by its only neighboring country, the Republic of South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Wasja-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The Sotho-Tswana people colonized the general region of South Africa between the 3rd and 11th centuries.
The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under king Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Between 1821 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.[citation needed]
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Liberia
Liberiai/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Ivory Coast on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.
Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (i/ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ LIK-tən-styn; German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein, German pronunciation: [ˈfʏʁstn̩tuːm ˈlɪçtn̩ʃtaɪn]) is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 square kilometres (62 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan. Liechtenstein has the highest gross domestic product per person in the world when adjusted by purchasing power parity, and has the world's lowest external debt. Liechtenstein also has the second lowest unemployment rate in the world at 1.5% (Monaco is first).
Liechtenstein is the smallest yet the richest (by measure of GDP per capita) German-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within the Alps. It is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince. Liechtenstein is divided into 11 municipalities. Much of its terrain is mountainous, making it a winter sports destination. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterize its landscape both in the south (Oberland, upper land) and in the north (Unterland, lower land). The country has a strong financial sector located in the capital, Vaduz, and has been identified as a tax haven. It is a member of the European Free Trade Association and part of the European Economic Area, the Schengen Area but not of the European Union.
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Lithuania
Lithuania (i/ˌlɪθuːˈeɪniə/ or /ˌlɪθjuːˈeɪniə/; Lithuanian: Lietuva), officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublika) is a country in Northern Europe, the largest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 3.2 million as of 2011, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. The Lithuanians are a Baltic people, and the official language, Lithuanian, is one of only two living languages (together with Latvian) in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family.
For centuries, the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea was inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, who was crowned as King of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the first Lithuanian state, on 6 July 1253. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe: present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772 to 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg (i/ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-burg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg, Dutch: Groothertogdom Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland ("good country") in the south. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi). A representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is ruled by a grand duke. It is now the world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the world's highest GDP (nominal) per capita according to the IMF. Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a Roman era fortress site and Frankish count's castle site in the Early Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish Road when Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole western hemisphere and beyond in the 16th–17th centuries.
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Macau
Coordinates: 22°10′N 113°33′E / 22.167°N 113.55°E / 22.167; 113.55
Macau (Chinese: 澳門), also spelled Macao ( /məˈkaʊ/), is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong-Kong which is to the east, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and is both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer. Macau was first lent by the Chinese empire as a trading port in the 16th century, and had to administer the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty. In 1887, Macau became a colony of the Portuguese empire and its sovereignty transferred to the Portuguese.
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Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.
Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.
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Malawi
Malawi ( /məˈlɑːwi/; Chichewa [malaβi][need tone]), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Malawi is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 13,900,000. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre and the third is Mzuzu. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa".
The area of Africa now known as Malawi was colonized by migrating tribes of Bantu around the 10th century. In 1891 the area was colonized again, this time by the British. In 1953 Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, became part of the semi-independent Central African Federation (CAF). The Federation was dissolved in 1963 and in 1964, Nyasaland gained full independence and was renamed Malawi. Upon gaining independence it became a single-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained president until 1994, when he was ousted from power. Joyce Banda (no relation) is the current president, raised to that position after president Bingu Mutharika died in 2012. She is the first female leader in Malawi. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party government. Malawi has a small military force that includes an army, a navy and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western and includes positive diplomatic relations with most countries and participation in several international organizations.
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Malaysia
Malaysia (i/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or i/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
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Maldives
Maldives (i/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep Islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".
The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. Its population of 328,536 (2012) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives' capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Malta
Maltai/ˈmɒltə/, officially known as the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya, with Gibraltar 1,755 km (1,091 mi) to the west and Alexandria 1,508 km (937 mi) to the east. Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest states. It is also one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. The de facto capital city of Malta is Valletta; the largest town, Birkirkara. The main island comprises many towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with a population of 368,250 according to Eurostat. The country has two official languages, Maltese (constitutionally the national language) and English.
Throughout history, Malta's location has given it great strategic importance, and a succession of powers including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St John, French and the British ruled the islands. Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974, whilst retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004. Malta is also party to the Schengen Agreement and in 2008 it became part of the eurozone.
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Marawi City
Marawi City is a Muslim city and capital of the province of Lanao del Sur on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The people of Marawi are called the Maranaos and speak the Maranao language. They are named after Lake Lanao, which is called Ranao in the language, whereupon its shores Marawi City lies. The city is also called the Summer Capital of the South because of its higher elevation and cooler climate.
Marawi City has a total land area of 8,755 hectares (21,630 acres). It is located on the shores of Lake Lanao and straddles the area where the Agus River starts. It is bounded to the north by the municipalities of Kapai and Saguiaran; to the south by Lake Lanao; to the east by the municipalities of Bubong and Ditsaan Ramain; and to the west by the municipalities of Marantao and Saguiaran.
The rolling hills of Marawi
Along Lake Lanao
Lake Lanao from Marawi
Beautiful mountains, rolling hills, valleys and a large placid lake dominate the city's landscape. Angoyao Hills (Brgy. Sogod) served as natural viewpoint over the water of the Lake Lanao. Signal Hill (Brgy. Matampay), Arumpac Hill (Brgy. Saduc) and Mt. Mupo (Brgy. Guimba) are considered beautiful but mysterious. Mt. Mupo, located within Sacred Mountain National Park, is known for its untouched trees and beautiful perfect cone.
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Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ), is an island country located in the northern Pacific Ocean. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the population of around 68,000 people spread out over 34 low-lying coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The islands share maritime boundaries with the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, Wake Island to the north,Kiribati to the south-east, and Nauru to the south. The most populous atoll is Majuro, which also acts as the capital.
Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the 2nd millennium BC, with inter-island navigation made possible using traditional stick charts. Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed, with the islands' current name stemming from British explorer John Marshall. Recognised as part of the Spanish East Indies in 1874, the islands were sold to Germany in 1884, and became of German New Guinea in 1885. The Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands in World War I, which were later joined with other former German territories in 1919 by the League of Nations to form the South Pacific Mandate. In World War II, the islands were conquered by the United States in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. Along with other Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands were then consolidated into the United-States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Self-government was achieved in 1979, and full sovereignty in 1986, under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
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Martinique
Martinique (French pronunciation: [maʁtinik]) is an island in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi). Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the twenty-seven regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. The first European to encounter the island was Christopher Columbus in 1502.
As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the Euro. Its official language is French, although many of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).
The island was occupied first by Arawaks, then by Caribs. It was charted by Columbus in 1493, but Spain had little interest in the territory. It was claimed by France in 1635 and, despite several interludes of British occupation, once during the Seven Years' War and twice during the Napoleonic Wars, has remained a French possession. In 1946, the French National Assembly voted unanimously to transform the colony into an overseas department.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritiusi/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Moldova
Moldovai/mɒlˈdoʊvə/, officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova pronounced [reˈpublika molˈdova]) is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 29 July 1994, the new constitution of Moldova was adopted. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.
The nation is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union, and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
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Monaco
Monacoi/ˈmɒnəkoʊ/, officially the Principality of Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque: Principatu de Múnegu; Italian: Principato di Monaco; Occitan: Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city state, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea, its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy, and is only 15 km (9.3 mi) north east of Nice, France. It has an area of 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi), and a population of 35,986, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco has a land border of only 4.4 km (2.7 mi), a coastline of 4.1 km (2.5 mi), and a width that varies between 1.7 km (1.1 mi) and 349 metres (382 yards). The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, which is 161 metres (528 feet) above sea level. Monaco's most populated Quartier is Monte Carlo, and the most populated Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco's total area is 2.05 km2 (0.79 sq mi), with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.
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Mongolia
Mongoliai/mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ (Mongolian: Монгол улс (help·info), literally Mongol country/state) is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic.
The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Gökturks and others. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. After the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols returned to their earlier pattern of constant internal conflict and occasional raids on the Chinese borderlands. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Mongolia came under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the 17th century, all of Mongolia had been incorporated into the area ruled by the Qing Dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, but had to struggle until 1921 to firmly establish de facto independence from the Republic of China, and until 1945 to gain international recognition.
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Montenegro
Montenegro (i/ˌmɒntɨˈneɪɡroʊ/ or /ˌmɒntɨˈniːɡroʊ/; or /ˌmɒntɨˈnɛɡroʊ/; Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора [tsr̩̂ːnaː ɡɔ̌ra] ( listen), meaning "Black Mountain") is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City.
In the 10th century, there existed three Slavic principalities on the territory of Montenegro: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia, the north. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in independence of Duklja and the establishment of the Vojislavljević dynasty. Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislav's son, Mihailo (1046–81), and his son Bodin (1081–1101). By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm, which at the time was part of the Serbian Grand Principality of the Nemanjić dynasty.
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Montserrat
Coordinates: 16°45′N 62°12′W / 16.75°N 62.2°W / 16.75; -62.2
Montserrat ( /mɒntsəˈræt/) is an island that is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of some of its inhabitants.
Montserrat's Georgian era historic capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee because of an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the area around Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and also the area around the former W. H. Bramble Airport on the eastern side of the island, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on February 11, 2010.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pronounced: [ʁɛˈpublikɐ di musɐ̃ˈbiki]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.
Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili, and later also Arab, commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans. The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.
Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agriculture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production, is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important partners. Since 2001 Mozambique is one of the world's top ten for annual average GDP growth. However, Mozambique still has one of the lowest GDP per capita, one of the worst human development index and one of the highest inequality in the world, as well as having the world's lowest life expectancy.
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Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German: Republik Namibia (help·info)), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.
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Nauru
Coordinates: 0°31′38″S 166°56′12″E / 0.527288°S 166.936724°E / -0.527288; 166.936724
Nauru (Englishi/nɑːˈuːruː/ nah-OO-roo), officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 kilometres (186 mi) to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi). With just over 9,322 residents, it is the second least-populated country after Vatican City.
Settled by Micronesian and Polynesian people, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, it entered into trusteeship again. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Nauru was a "rentier state". Nauru is a phosphate rock island, with rich deposits close to the surface, which allow for simple strip mining operations; moreover, it has some phosphate reserves which are presently (as of 2011) not economically viable for extraction. Nevertheless, this island was a major exporter of phosphate starting in 1907, when the Pacific Phosphate Company began mining there, through the formation of the British Phosphate Commission in 1919, and continuing after independence. This returned to Nauru full control of its minerals under the Nauru Phosphate Corporation, until the deposits ran out during the 1980s. For this reason, Nauru briefly boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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New Caledonia
Coordinates: 21°15′S 165°18′E / 21.25°S 165.30°E / -21.25; 165.30
New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) east of Australia and about 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands in the Coral Sea are also part of New Caledonia. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "Le Caillou", the rock.
New Caledonia has a land area of 18,576 square kilometres (7,172 sq mi). The population (2011 estimate) is 256,275. The capital of the territory is Nouméa.
The earliest traces of human presence in New Caledonia date back to the Lapita period. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific.
The British first sighted New Caledonia on September 4, 1774, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook. He named the territory New Caledonia, as the north-east of the island reminded him of Scotland. The west coast of Grande Terre was approached by Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse in 1788, shortly before his disappearance, and the Loyalty Islands were first visited in 1796. From then until 1840, only a few sporadic contacts with the archipelago were recorded. Contacts became more frequent after 1840, because of the interest in sandalwood from New Caledonia.
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New South Wales
Coordinates: 32°0′S 147°0′E / 32°S 147°E / -32; 147
New South Wales (abbreviated as NSW) is a state of Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales encompasses the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. The state capital is Sydney, which is also the state's most populous city. As of June 2010[update], the estimated population was 7,238,819, which was 34.5% of the population of Australia, making it Australia's most populous state. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.
The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, in addition to the area currently referred to as the state of New South Wales, which was formed during Federation in 1901. New Zealand briefly became a part of New South Wales when it was annexed by Britain in 1840. During the 19th century, large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania (established as a separate colony named Van Diemen's Land in 1825), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851) and Queensland (1859).
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New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of both animal and plant life. Most notable are the large number of unique bird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua (i/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
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Niger
Niger (French pronunciation: [niʒɛʁ], but occasionally pronounced as /niːˈʒɛər/ ori/ˈnaɪdʒər/), officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
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Nigeria
Nigeriai/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.
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Niue
Niue ( /ˈnjuːeɪ/ NEW-ay; Niuean: Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to the southeast. The land area is 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) with about 1,400 people who are predominantly Polynesian.
Though self-governing, Niue is in free association with New Zealand, and lacks full sovereignty. All Niueans are New Zealand citizens and Queen Elizabeth II is Niue's head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. Most diplomatic relations are conducted by New Zealand on Niue's behalf. 90-95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language.[citation needed]
In 2003, Niue became the world's first "WiFi nation", in which free wireless Internet access is provided throughout the country by The Internet Users Society-Niue.
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Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (i/ˈnɔrfək ˈaɪlənd/; Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) directly east of mainland Evans Head, and about 600 kilometres (370 mi) from Lord Howe Island. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance. Together with two neighbouring islands, it forms one of Australia's external territories.
Originally colonised by East Polynesians, Norfolk Island was colonised by Britain as part of its settlement in Australia in 1788. It then served as a convict penal settlement until 1794, when it was abandoned until 1856, when permanent residence on the island for civilians began. In 1901, the island became a part of the Commonwealth of Australia which it has remained until this day.
The evergreen Norfolk Island pine is a symbol of the island and thus pictured on its flag (see illustration). Native to the island, the pine is a key export industry for Norfolk Island, being a popular ornamental tree on mainland Australia, where two related species grow, and also in Europe.
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North Korea
Coordinates: 40°00′N 127°00′E / 40°N 127°E / 40; 127 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선민주주의인민공화국), commonly referred to as "North Korea" ( listen), is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. The Amnok, or Yalu, and the Tumen rivers form the border between North Korea and China. A section of the Tumen River in the far northeast is the border with Russia.
The peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire until it was annexed by Japan after the Russo-Japanese War in 1910. It was divided into Soviet- and American-occupied zones in 1945, after the end of World War II. North Korea refused to participate in a United Nations–supervised election held in the south in 1948, which led to the creation of separate Korean governments for the two occupation zones. North and South Korea each claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean Peninsula, which led to the Korean War of 1950. The Armistice Agreement of 1953 ended the fighting; but the two countries are officially still at war against each other, for a peace treaty was never signed. Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.
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Northern Cyprus
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) (Turkish: Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti), commonly called Northern Cyprus, is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey, Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community to be occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the north east, westward to Morphou Bay and Cape Kormakitis (the Kokkina/Erenköy exclave marks the westernmost extent of the area), and southward to the village of Louroujina/Akıncılar. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both states.
Tensions between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot populations in Cyprus culminated in 1974 with a coup d'état, an attempt to annex the island to Greece, and an invasion by Turkey in response. This resulted in the partitioning of the island, the resettlement of many of its inhabitants, and a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
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Norway
Norwayi/ˈnɔrweɪ/ (Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.
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Oman
Oman (i/oʊˈmɑːn/ oh-MAAN; Arabic: عمان ʻUmān), officially called the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عُمان Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam enclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
For a period, Oman was a moderate regional power, formerly having a sultanate extending across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, and modern day Pakistan, and far south to Zanzibar on the coat of south-east Africa. Over time, as its power declined, the sultanate came under heavy influence from the United Kingdom, though Oman was never formally part of the British Empire, or a British protectorate. The Omani royal family claim that Oman has been ruled by the Al Said dynasty since 1744, although without substantial proof. Oman has long-standing military and political ties with the United Kingdom and the United States, although it maintains an independent foreign policy.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Palau
Palau (i/pəˈlaʊ/, sometimes spelled Belau or Pelew), officially the Republic of Palau (Palauan: Beluu ęr a Belau), is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. Geographically part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the country's population of around 21,000 people spread out over 250 islands forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands. The islands share maritime boundaries with Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The most populous island in the group is Koror, with the capital city, Ngerulmud, located on nearby Babeldaob.
The country were originally settled around 3000 years ago by migrants from the Philippines, with a Negrito population sustained until around 900 years ago. The islands were first visited by Europeans in the 18th century, and were made part of the Spanish East Indies in 1885. Following Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898, the islands were sold to Imperial Germany in 1899 under the terms of the German–Spanish Treaty, where they were administered as part of German New Guinea. The Imperial Japanese Navy conquered Palau during World War I, and the islands were later made a part of the Japanese-ruled South Pacific Mandate by the League of Nations. During World War II, skirmishes, including the major Battle of Peleliu, were fought between American and Japanese troops as part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. Along with other Pacific Islands, Palau was made a part of the United States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. Having voted against joining the newly-independent Federated States of Micronesia in 1979, the islands gained full sovereignty in 1994 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth. According to recent data, 841 different languages are listed for the country, although 11 of these have no known living speakers. . (A detailed series of language maps of Papua New Guinea may be found at Ethnologue) There may be at least as many traditional societies,out of a population of about 6.2 million. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18% of its people live in urban centres. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.
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Paraguay
Paraguay (i/ˈpɛərəɡwaɪ/, PAIR-ə-gwy), officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay [reˈpuβlika ðel paɾaˈɣwai], Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái [teˈtã paɾaˈɣwaj]), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América, or the Heart of America.
The Guaraní have been living in Paraguay since before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when Paraguay became part of the Spanish colonial empire. Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who followed isolationist and protectionist policies. This development was truncated by the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870) in which the country lost 60% to 70% of its population and large amounts of territory. During a large part of the 20th century, Paraguay was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner, who led one of South America's longest lived military dictatorships. In 1989 Stroessner was toppled and free elections were celebrated in 1993. In 1994 Paraguay joined Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to found Mercosur.
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands ( /ˈpɪtkɛərn/;Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen), officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory. The four islands—named Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno—are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 18 square miles (47 km2). Only Pitcairn, the second largest and measuring about 2 miles (3.2 km) across, is inhabited.
The islands are best known as home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them, an event retold in numerous books and films. This history is still apparent in the surnames of many of the islanders. With only about 48 inhabitants (currently from four main families: Christian, Warren, Young, and Brown), Pitcairn is the least populous jurisdiction in the world. The United Nations Committee on Decolonisation includes the Pitcairn Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
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Poland
Polandi/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (/ˌpɔrtə ˈriːkoʊ/ or /ˌpwɛərtə ˈriːkoʊ/), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, [esˈtaðo ˈlibɾe asoˈsjaðo ðe ˈpweɾto ˈriko]—literally, "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"), is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") comprises an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area of the Greater Antilles. However, it ranks third in population amongst that group of four islands, which also include Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Jamaica. Due to its location, Puerto Rico enjoys a tropical climate and also experiences the Atlantic hurricane season.
Originally populated for centuries by indigenous aboriginal peoples known as Taínos, the island was claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain during his second voyage to the Americas on November 19, 1493. Under Spanish rule, the island was colonized and the indigenous population was forced into slavery and nearly wiped out due to, among other things, European infectious diseases. The remaining population was emancipated by King Charles I in 1520. Spain possessed Puerto Rico for over 400 years, despite attempts at capture of the island by the French, Dutch, and British. The Spanish Crown, in an attempt to keep Puerto Rico from gaining its independence, revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in three languages — Spanish, English and French — and it fostered the immigration of hundreds of non-Spanish European families.
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Qatar
Qatar (i/ˈkɑːtɑr/ or i/kəˈtɑr/;Arabic: قطر [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]), also known as the country or State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain.
Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the Al Thani family, or close confidants of the al-Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center.
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Queensland
Coordinates: 23°0′S 143°0′E / 23°S 143°E / -23; 143 Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state of Australia, located in the northeast of the country. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, southwest and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland has a population of 4,580,700, concentrated along the coast and particularly in the state's South East. The state is the world's sixth largest subnational entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km2. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Referred to as the 'Sunshine State', Queensland is home to 10 of Australia's 30 largest cities and is the nation's third largest economy.
Queensland was first occupied by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived at least 40,000 years ago. The first European to land in Queensland was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1607. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney; New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement permitted in 1842. Queensland was separated from New South Wales, forming a self-governing colony, on 6 June 1859, a date now celebrated state-wide as Queensland Day. Queensland achieved statehood with the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901.
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
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Republic of Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Rwanda
Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/, officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.7 million (2012). Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans form three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe that they are derived from former social castes, while others view them as being races or tribes. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by most Rwandans. Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The President is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwanda has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, but human rights organisations allege suppression of opposition groups, intimidation, and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are currently five provinces, which are delineated by borders drawn in 2006.
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Réunion
Réunion (French: La Réunion, IPA: [la 'ʁeynjɔ̃] ( listen); previously Île Bourbon) is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.
Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century, there is little to Réunion's recorded history. Arab traders were familiar with it by the name Dina Morgabin,. The island possibly features on a map from 1153 AD by Al Sharif el-Edrisi. The island may also have been visited by Swahili or Malay sailors.
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorers, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island may have been first sighted by the expedition led by Don Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes. Réunion itself was dubbed Santa Apolonia after a favorite saint, which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery may have been February 9, her saint day. Diego Lopes de Sequeira is claimed to have landed on the island in 1509.
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Saint Helena
Saint Helena ( /ˌseɪnt həˈliːnə/ SAYNT-hə-LEE-nə), named after Saint Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and has a population of 4,255 (2008 census).
The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. It is one of the most isolated islands in the world. For centuries, it was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. The British also used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon I, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and more than 5,000 Boer prisoners. Saint Helena is Britain's second oldest remaining colony (now termed overseas territory), after Bermuda.
Most historical accounts state that the island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, and that he named it "Santa Helena" after Helena of Constantinople. Another theory holds that the island found by De Nova was actually Tristan da Cunha 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi) to its south, and that Saint Helena was discovered by some of the ships attached to the squadron of Estêvão da Gama expedition on 30 July 1503 (as reported in the account of clerk Thomé Lopes).
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Saint Lucia
Saint Luciai/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries. Two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis, an economist, and Derek Walcott, a poet and playwright, have come from the island. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands.
One of the Windward Islands, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib people in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".
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Samoa
Samoa (i/səˈmoʊ.ə/; Samoan: Sāmoa, IPA: [ˌsaːˈmoa]), officially the Independent State of Samoa (Samoan: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Sāmoa), formerly known as Western Samoa, is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.
Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was called Navigators Islands by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.
The oldest date so far from pre-historic remains in Samoa has been calculated by New Zealand scientists to a likely true age of circa 3,000 years ago from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s.
The origins of the Samoans is closely linked to modern research about Polynesia in various scientific disciplines such as genetics, linguistics and anthropology. Scientific research is ongoing although a number of different theories exist; including one proposing that the Samoans originated from Austronesian predecessors during the terminal eastward Lapita expansion period from Southeast Asia and Melanesia between 2,500 and 1,500 BCE. The Samoan origins are currently being reassessed due to new scientific evidence and carbon dating findings from 2003 and onwards.
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San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino (i/sæn məˈriːnoʊ/ san-mə-REE-noh; Italian: Repubblica di San Marino) and also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.
San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.
The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.
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Sark
Sark (French: Sercq; Sercquiais: Sèr or Cerq) is a small island in the Channel Islands in southwestern English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 600. Sark's economy depends primarily on tourism. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles (5.44 km2).
Sark consists of two main parts, Greater Sark, located at about 49° 25' N x 2° 22' W, and Little Sark to the south. They are connected by a narrow isthmus called La Coupée which is 300 feet (91 m) long and has a drop of 330 feet (100 m) on each side. Protective railings were erected in 1900; before then, children would crawl across on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge. There is a narrow concrete road covering the entirety of the isthmus, built in 1945 by German prisoners of war under the direction of the Royal Engineers. Due to isolation, the inhabitants of Little Sark had their own distinct form of Sercquiais, the native Norman dialect of the island.[citation needed]
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Senegal
Senegali/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
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Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
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Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone (i/siːˌɛrə liːˈoʊn/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. Sierra Leone is a constitutional representative democratic republic and covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. As of 2011, Sierra Leone has an estimated population of 6 million[1] (2011 United Nations estimte). Freetown is the capital, largest city as well as its economic, commercial, educational, cultural and political centre. Bo is the country's second largest city and the second major economic and commercial centre.
Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area; which are subdivided into fourteen districts. The districts have their own directly elected local government known as district council, headed by a council chairman. The country's six municipalities of Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu Town and the coastal town of Bonthe have their own directly elected city councils headed by mayors.
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Singapore
Singapore (i/ˈsɪŋəpɔər/ SI-ngə-pohr), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through land reclamation.
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Slovakia
The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakiai/sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ or /sləˈvækiə/; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Košice. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, OECD and WTO among others. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of present day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration period. In the course of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire (the first known political unit of Slavs), Principality of Nitra (as independent polity, as part of Great Moravia and as part of Hungarian Kingdom), Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak state briefly existed during World War II, during which Slovakia was a dependency of Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1944. From 1945 Slovakia once again became a part of Czechoslovakia. The present-day Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
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Slovenia
Slovenia (i/sloʊˈviːniə/ sloh-VEE-nee-ə, Slovene: Slovenija), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija, [reˈpublika sloˈveːnija]) is a Slavic nation state, situated in South-Central Europe, at the crossroad of main European cultural and trade routes. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Hungary to the northeast. It covers 20,273 square kilometres (7,827 sq mi) and has a population of 2.05 million. It is a parliamentary republic, member of the European Union and NATO. Relative to its geography, history, economy, culture, and language, it is a very diverse country distinguished by a transitional character. It is characterised by a high economic and social level. Its capital and largest city is Ljubljana.
The territory of Slovenia is mainly hilly or mountainous and has an exceptionally high landscape and biological diversity and a mosaic structure, which are a result of natural attributes and the long-lasting presence of humans. Four major European geographic units interweave here: the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, the Mediterranean, with a small portion of coastline along the Adriatic Sea, and the Pannonian Plain. The climate is temperate and significantly influenced by the variety of territory, with a strong interaction of the continental climate, the sub-Mediterranean climate and Alpine climate across most of the country. The country is one of the water-richest in Europe, with a dense river network, a rich aquifer system, and significant karstic underground watercourses. Over half of the territory is covered by forest.
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Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah ( /ˈsɒd.əm/; /ɡə.ˈmɔr.ə/) were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources, as well as the Quran. According to the Torah, the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were allied with the cities of Admah, Zeboim and Bela. These five cities, also known as the "cities of the plain", were situated on the Jordan river plain in the southern region of the land of Canaan. The Jordan river plain (which corresponds to area just north of the modern day Dead Sea) has been compared to the garden of Eden,[Gen.13:10] being a land well-watered and green, suitable for grazing livestock.
Divine judgment by Yahweh was then passed upon Sodom and Gomorrah along with two other neighboring cities that were completely consumed by fire and brimstone. Neighboring Zoar was the only city to be spared during that day of judgment.[Deut.29:23][Gen.10:19] In Christian and Islamic traditions, Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath.[Jude 1:7] Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as metaphors for vice and homosexuality viewed as a deviation. The story has therefore given rise to words in several languages, including the English word sodomy, used in so-called sodomy laws to describe a sexual "crime against nature" consisting of anal sex, either homosexual or heterosexual.
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Solomon Islands
Solomon Islandsi/ˈsɒləmən ˈaɪləndz/ is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The nation of the Solomon Islands is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by Melanesian people for many thousands of years. Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to arrive in Solomon Islands in 1568 and named them Islas Salomón. The United Kingdom established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in 1893. In the Second World War there was fierce fighting between the Americans and the Japanese in the Solomon Islands campaign of 1942–45, including the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. The Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of the Solomon Islands, at present Elizabeth II, as the head of state. Gordon Lilo Darcy is the eleventh and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands.
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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Somaliland
Somaliland (Somali: Soomaaliland, Arabic: صوماللاند Ṣūmālilānd or أرض الصومال Arḍ aṣ-Ṣūmāl) is an unrecognised self-declared de facto sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent on June 26, 1960 as the State of Somaliland, before uniting with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic.
Somaliland is bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia to the east.
In 1988, the Siad Barre regime committed massacres against the people of Somaliland, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The war left the economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the local government, led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), declared independence from the rest of Somalia on May 18 of the same year.
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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South Korea
South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").
Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.
Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.
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South Sudan
South Sudan (i/ˌsaʊθ suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in the east-central African region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN subregion. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more centrally located Ramciel in the future. South Sudan is bordered by Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, the Central African Republic to the west, and Sudan to the north. South Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.
The modern states of South Sudan and Sudan were part of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, later being governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
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Sudan
Sudan (i/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
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Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname (Dutch: Republiek Suriname, Dutch pronunciation: [ˌrepyˈblik ˌsyriˈnaːmə]), is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Suriname was first colonized by the British, and captured by the Dutch in 1667, who governed it as the colony of Suriname until 1954. The country of Suriname achieved independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in which Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Netherlands itself cooperated on a basis of equality since 1954, on 25 November 1975.
At just under 165,000 km2 (64,000 sq mi) Suriname is the smallest sovereign state in South America (French Guiana comprises less territory, but is French territory). It has an estimated population of approximately 560,000, most of whom live on the country's north coast, where the capital Paramaribo is located.
The name Suriname may derive from a Taino (Arawak-speaking) group called "Surinen" who first inhabited the region prior to European arrival.
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Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland (Umbuso weSwatini), and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique. The nation, as well as its people, are named after the 19th century king Mswati II.
Swaziland is a small country, no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west. The western half is mountainous, descending to a lowveld region to the east. The eastern border with Mozambique and South Africa is dominated by the escarpment of the Lebombo Mountains. The climate is temperate in the west, but may reach 40 °C (104 °F) in summer in the lowveld. Rainfall occurs mainly in the summer and may reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in the west.
The area that Swaziland now covers has been continuously inhabited since prehistory. Today, the population is primarily ethnic Swazis whose language is siSwati, though English is spoken as a second language. The Swazi people descend from the southern Bantu who migrated from Central Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Anglo-Boer War saw the United Kingdom make Swaziland a protectorate under its direct control. Swaziland gained independence in 1968. Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of state is the king, who appoints the prime minister and a small number of representatives for both chambers of parliament. Elections are held every five years to determine the majority of the representatives. A new constitution was adopted in 2005.
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Sweden
Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.
At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". However, Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.
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Switzerland
Switzerland (German: die Schweiz[ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.
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Syria
Syria (/ˈsɪriə/ ( listen) SIRR-ee-ə; Arabic: سورية Sūriyya or سوريا Sūryā; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
In English, the name Syria was formerly synonymous with the Levant, known in Arabic as Sham, while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic era, its capital city, Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate, and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, and 3% Druze. Combined, 87% of the Syrian population is Muslim, while the other 10% is Christian, which includes mainly Arab Christians but also Assyrians and Armenians. Major ethnic minorities in Syria include Kurds (9%), Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens and Circassians. The majority of the population is Arab (90%).
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Taiwan
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
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Tajikistan
Tajikistan (i/tɑːˈdʒiːkɨstɑːn/, /təˈdʒiːkɨstæn/, or /tæˈdʒiːkiːstæn/; Тоҷикистон [ˈtɔjikɪsˈtɔn]), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Cumhuriyi Tocikiston; Persian: جمهوری تاجیکستان Jomhuri-ye Tajikestan; Russian: Республика Таджикистан, Respublika Tadzhikistan), is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Gilgit Baltistan as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan are separated from Tajikistan by the narrow Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in the south.
Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Persian-speaking Tajik ethnic group, who share language, culture and history with Afghanistan and Iran. Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR). Mountains cover over 90% of this Central Asian republic.
After independence, Tajikistan suffered from a devastating civil war which lasted from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow. Trade in commodities such as cotton, aluminium and uranium has contributed greatly to this steady improvement.
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Tanzania
Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.
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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
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The Bahamas
The Bahamasi/bəˈhɑːməz/, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
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The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambiai/ˈɡæmbiə/, is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The country is situated around the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 11,295 km² with an estimated population of 1.7 million.
On 18 February 1965, Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994.
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Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republici/ˈtoʊɡoʊ/, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.
Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, and there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities. Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.
From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.
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Tokelau
Tokelau ( /ˈtoʊkəlaʊ/) is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400. The atolls lie north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands (both island groups belonging to Kiribati) and northwest of the Cook Islands.
The United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a Non-Self-Governing Territory. Until 1976 the official name was Tokelau Islands. Tokelau is sometimes referred to by the older, colonial name of The Union Islands.
The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word meaning "North Wind". The islands were named the Union Islands and Union Group by European explorers at an unknown time. Tokelau Islands was adopted as the name in 1946, and was contracted to Tokelau on 9 December 1976.
The change from Tokelau Islands to Tokelau marked a slight shift in emphasis, with consequences in regional diplomacy, in that the term Tokelau Islands clearly and substantially referred to a geographical expression, that is, a range of islands, whatever else it may connote. It is not necessarily controversial to refer by name to a range of islands, even though they may come under two or more political jurisdictions. Tokelau, on the other hand, can be taken to refer more immediately to some concept of nationhood, arguably infusing increased meaning to the draft 2006 independence constitution of Tokelau (which somewhat controversially claims Tokelauan inhabited Olohega (or Swains Island), currently part of American Samoa, as part of its national territory).[citation needed]
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Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a sovereign state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of ocean in the South Pacific. Fifty-two of the islands are inhabited.
The Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 mi) in a north-south line located at about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.
Tonga also became known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit there in 1773. He happened to arrive at the time of the ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga, the islands' paramount chief, and received an invitation to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but could not agree on a plan.
Tonga is also the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonisation. In 2010, Tonga took a decisive step towards becoming a fully functioning constitutional monarchy after legislative reforms paved the way for its first ever fully representative elections which resulted in the election of Noble Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō as its first democratically elected Prime Minister.
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Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (i/ˌtrɪnɨdæd/ & /tɵˈbeɪɡoʊ/) officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.
The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan (i/tɜrkˈmɛnɨstæn/ or i/tɜrkmɛnɨˈstɑːn/; Turkmen: Türkmenistan), formerly also known as Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения), is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Turkmenistan's GDP growth rate of 11% in 2010[update] ranks 4th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. It possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert.
The Turkmen government operates as a single-party system. Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (called "Türkmenbaşy" — "leader of the Turkmens") until his sudden death on 21 December 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was elected the new president on 11 February 2007.
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Tuvalu
Tuvalu (i/tuːˈvɑːluː/ too-VAH-loo or /ˈtuːvəluː/ TOO-və-loo), formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls spread out from 6° to 10° south. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Its population of 10,544 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) and Nauru at 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. In 1568 Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña sailed through the islands and is understood to have sighted Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876). The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when the Ellice Islands were declared a British protectorate by Captain Gibson, R. N. of HMS Curaçao between 9th and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and later as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974.
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Uganda
Coordinates: 1°17′N 32°23′E / 1.28°N 32.39°E / 1.28; 32.39
Uganda ( /juːˈɡændə/ yew-GAN-də or /juːˈɡɑːndə/ yew-GAHN-də), officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also shared by Kenya and Tanzania.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.
The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962.
The official languages are English and Swahili, although multiple other languages are spoken in the country.
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Ukraine
Ukraine (i/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emiratesi/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Uruguay
Uruguayi/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay pronounced: [re̞ˈpuβ̞lika o̞ɾje̞n̪ˈt̪al̪ d̪e̞l uɾuˈɰwai̯]) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European ancestry.
Except for the recent union of Timoteo Domínguez Island and Argentina's Martín García Island, Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata to the southwest. To the southeast lies the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.
Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1811–28 following a three-way struggle between the claims of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, with a president who is both the head of state and the head of government.
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Uzbekistan
Uzbekistani/ʊzˌbɛkɨˈstɑːn/, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi, Ўзбекистон Республикаси) is the only doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of only two such countries worldwide. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south. Before 1991, it was part of the Soviet Union.
Uzbekistan is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia.
Once part of the Persian Samanid and later Timurid empires, the region was conquered in the early 16th century by Uzbek nomads, who spoke an Eastern Turkic language. Most of Uzbekistan’s population today belong to the Uzbek ethnic group and speak the Uzbek language, one of the family of Turkic languages.
Uzbekistan was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, and in 1924 became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). It became independent on 31 August 1991 (officially, from the following day).
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Vanuatu
Vanuatu (Englishi/ˌvɑːnuːˈɑːtuː/ vah-noo-AH-too or /vænˈwɑːtuː/ van-WAH-too; Bislama IPA: [vanuaˈtu]), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 500 kilometres (310 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were the members of a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós who arrived in Espiritu Santo in 1605. In the 1880s France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the country, and in 1906 they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British–French Condominium. An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.
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Vatican City
Vatican Cityi/ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/, or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈstaːto della t͡ʃitˈta del vatiˈkaːno]), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.
Vatican City State was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.
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Venezuela
Venezuela (i/ˌvɛnɨˈzweɪlə/ VEN-ə-ZWAY-lə), officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela [repuˈβlika βoliβaˈɾjana ðe βeneˈswela]), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of roughly 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) includes numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in the north east borders the northern Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and the Leeward Antilles lie near the Venezuelan coast. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres (353,841 sq mi) with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.
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Victoria (Australia)
Coordinates: 37°0′S 144°0′E / 37°S 144°E / -37; 144
Victoria is a state of Australia, in the south-east of the country. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.
Victoria is Australia's most densely populated state, and has a highly centralised population, with almost 75% of Victorians living in Melbourne, the state capital and largest city.
Victoria, like Queensland, was named after Queen Victoria, the monarch at the time.
After the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788, Australia was divided into an eastern half named New South Wales and a western half named New Holland, under the administration of the colonial government in Sydney. The first European settlement in the area later known as Victoria was established in October 1803 under Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay, Victoria on Port Phillip. It consisted of 402 people (5 Government officials, 9 officers of marines, 2 drummers, and 39 privates, 5 soldiers' wives, and a child, 307 convicts, 17 convicts' wives, and 7 children). They had been sent from England in HMS Calcutta under the command of Captain Daniel Woodriff, principally out of fear that the French, who had been exploring the area, might establish their own settlement and thereby challenge British rights to the continent.
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Vietnam
Vietnam ( listen), formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam; listen), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 91.5 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as "South Viet", and was officially adopted in 1945. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.
The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. The First Indochina War eventually led to the expulsion of the French in 1954, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
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Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (French: Wallis et Futuna or Territoire des îles Wallis et Futuna, Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: Uvea mo Futuna), is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, the New Zealand-associated state of Tokelau to the northeast and to a more distant north the Phoenix Islands (Kiribati). (However, Wallis and Futuna is not part of, nor even contiguous with, French Polynesia. Wallis and Futuna is located at the very opposite western end of Polynesia.)
Its land area is 264 km2 with a population of about 15,000. Mata-Utu is the capital and biggest city. The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands along with a number of tiny islets, and is split into two island groups that lie about 260 km apart, namely Wallis Islands (Uvea) in the northeast, and Hoorn Islands (also called the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.
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Western Australia
Coordinates: 26°0′S 121°0′E / 26°S 121°E / -26; 121
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state and the second-largest subnational entity in the world. The state has approximately 2.3 million inhabitants (around 10% of the national total), the majority of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.
The first European to visit Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, who visited the Western Australian coast in 1616. The British established a military outpost at King George Sound, near present-day Albany, in 1826, which was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, including the townsite of the present-day capital, Perth.
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Western Sahara
Coordinates: 25°N 13°W / 25°N 13°W / 25; -13
Western Sahara (USi/ˌwɛstərn səˈhærə/, UK /ˌwɛstən səˈhɑrə/; Arabic: الصحراء الغربية Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah; Spanish: Sahara Occidental), is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laâyoune), the largest city in Western Sahara.
A colony of Spain since the late 19th century, the Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonise the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957, and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (exiled government in Tindouf, Algeria). Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources.
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Zambia
Zambia ( /ˈzæmbiə/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region which comprises modern Zambia was colonised during the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. After visits by European explorers in the eighteenth century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.
On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom and then-prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from the 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a single-party state with the UNIP as the sole-legal political party, with the goal of uniting the nation under the banner of 'One Zambia, One Nation'. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government.
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/ zim-BAHB-way; officially the Republic of Zimbabwe) is a landlocked country of southern Africa. It shares a 125-mile (200-kilometre) border on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. The capital is Harare (formerly called Salisbury). Zimbabwe achieved majority rule and internationally recognised independence in April 1980 following a long period of colonial rule and a 15-year period of white-dominated minority rule, instituted after the minority regime’s so-called Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.
Zimbabwe has three official languages: English, Shona and Ndebele. Zimbabwe began as the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, created from land held by the British South Africa Company. President Robert Mugabe is the head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Morgan Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister. Mugabe has been in power since the country's internationally recognised independence in 1980.
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Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius (ca. 125 AD – after 180 AD), was a Latin author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office. He is famous for his Attic Nights, a commonplace book, or compilation of notes on grammar, philosophy, history, antiquarianism and other subjects, preserving fragments of many authors and works who otherwise might be unknown today.
The only source for the life of Aulus Gellius are the details recorded in his writings. He was of good family and connections, possibly of African origin, but he was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He traveled much, especially in Greece, and resided for a considerable period in Athens. He studied rhetoric under Titus Castricius and Sulpicius Apollinaris; philosophy under Calvisius Taurus and Peregrinus Proteus; and enjoyed also the friendship and instruction of Favorinus, Herodes Atticus, and Fronto.
He returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office. He was appointed by the praetor to act as an umpire in civil causes, and much of the time which he would gladly have devoted to literary pursuits was consequently occupied by judicial duties. The precise date of his birth, as of his death, is unknown; but from the names of his teachers and companions, he must have lived under Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Bissu
The Bugis people of Indonesia divide their society into five separate genders. Two are analogous to male and female, and the remaining three are not easily comparable to Western ideas of gender.
Bissu is one of the five genders of the Bugis, an Indonesian ethnic group. There are divergent theories regarding the definitive origins and meaning of "gender transcendent", as the bissu are commonly called.
To be considered bissu, all aspects of gender must be combined to form a whole. This can include those who are born hermaphroditic as well as other cases. Being bissu does not necessarily mean one does not possess fully functioning sexual organs appropriate to the person's gender or male or female.
The unusual inter-sexual role of the bissu is not exclusively connected to anatomy, but to their point in the Bugis culture, their gender-less (or all all-encompassing gender) identity and their exhibit of many types that can not be accurately allocated to any one sex.
This can be observed in the bissu’s attire. The bissu dresses in a type of garment that is not worn by any other sex and which incorporates both "female" and “male” qualities, which explains why bissu cannot be termed transvestites or cross-dressers, as they are only permitted to wear the garment which is appropriate for their given gender caste.
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Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato (234 BC, Tusculum – 149 BC) was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius (the Censor), Sapiens (the Wise), Priscus (the Ancient), or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.
He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some military service but not for the discharge of the higher civil offices. He was bred, after the manner of his Latin forefathers, to agriculture, to which he devoted himself when not engaged in military service. But, having attracted the notice of Lucius Valerius Flaccus, he was brought to Rome, and successively held the offices of Cursus Honorum: Military tribune (214 BC), Quaestor (204 BC), Aedile (199 BC), Praetor (198 BC), Consul (195 BC) together with his old patron, and finally Censor (184 BC).
Cato the Elder was also an ancestor of Nero, who was one of the most notorious Roman Emperors.
Cato the Elder was born in Tusculum, a municipal town of Latium, to which his ancestors had belonged for some generations. His father had earned the reputation of a brave soldier, and his great-grandfather had received a reward from the state for five horses killed under him in battle. However the Tusculan Porcii had never obtained the privileges of the Roman magistracy. Cato the Elder, their famous descendant, at the beginning of his career in Rome, was regarded as a novus homo (new man), and the feeling of his unsatisfactory position, working along with the belief of his inherent superiority, contributed to aggravate and drive his ambition. Early in life, he so far exceeded the previous deeds of his predecessors that he is frequently spoken of, not only as the leader, but as the founder, of the Porcia Gens.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Combatant
A combatant is someone who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict. If a combatant follows the law of war, then they are considered a privileged combatant, and upon capture they qualify as a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention (GCIII). An unprivileged combatant is someone, such as a mercenary, who takes a direct part in the hostilities but who upon capture does not qualify for prisoner of war status.
The following categories of combatants qualify for prisoner-of-war status on capture:
For countries which have signed the "Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts" (Protocol I), combatants who do not wear a distinguishing mark still qualify as prisoners of war if they carry arms openly during military engagements, and while visible to the enemy when they are deploying to conduct an attack against them.
There several types of combatants who do not qualify as privileged combatants:
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Eva Cantarella
Eva Cantarella (born 1936 in Roma) is an Italian classicist. She is currently professor of Roman law and ancient Greek law at the University of Milan, and previously served as Dean of the Law School at the University of Camerino.
noted for examining ancient law by relating it to modern legal issues through law and society perspective. She has researched subjects involving the legal and social history of sexuality, women's conditions, criminal law and capital punishment.
She has written many books, which have been translated into several languages, including English, French, German and Spanish. She is also editor of Dike. International Journal of Greek Law and member of different editorial boards such as Apollo. Bollettino di Musei provinciali del Salernitano, Dioniso, Crime, histoire et Societés, Revista des estudios latinos, CADMO Revista de História Antiga da Universidade de Lisboa.
She is currently professor of Roman law and ancient Greek law at the University of Milan, Italy. Previously, she was dean of the Law School at the University of Camerino. She also teaches and lectures at many universities in Europe and the United States. She has recently been appointed Global Professor at New York University Law School.
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Ex-ex-gay
The term ex-ex-gay is used to describe people who at one time participated in the ex-gay movement in an attempt to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual, but who then later went on to publicly accept that their sexual orientation falls under the LGBT umbrella. Ex-ex-gay people may publicly declare to have ended the attempt to change their sexual orientation to heterosexuality, and to have embraced their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
Organizations in the ex-gay movement such as Exodus International offer conversion therapy, with the claim that an LGBT person's involvement in the programming can change their sexual orientation to heterosexual. This type of programming is opposed by all major medical organizations, including The National Association of Social Workers, The American Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Counseling Association, and The American Academy of Pediatrics. The American Psychiatric Association describes conversion therapy as ineffective at changing sexual orientation, and as harmful to the LGBT person's well-being.[dead link]
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Femminiello
Femminielli or femmenielli (singular femminiello, cf. Standard Italian femmina, "a female," -ello, masculine diminutive suffix) is a term used to refer to a population of homosexual males with markedly feminine gender expression in traditional Neapolitan culture. It may be hard to define this term within modern Western notions of "gay men" versus "trans women" since both these categories overlap to a degree in the case of femminielli (see: Third gender.) It has been noted that this term is not derogatory and does not carry stigma, instead femminielli are traditionally believed to bring luck. Ironically Achille della Ragione suggests that recent surveys have shown that Neapolitans have a generally negative view of what he calls "the politically correct model of homosexuality of a hypocritical do-gooder society" (implying the mainstream Western gay culture), yet he contrasts femminielli as enjoying a favorable attitude from the part of Neapolitan society. Indeed, it would be very reductive to insert the Neapolitan Femminiello within the macro-category of Transgender or Transexual, usually adopted in Anglo-Saxon and North-American contexts. The femminiello, instead, could be considered as a peculiar gender expression, despite a widespread sexual binarism. The cultural roots, this phenomena is embedded in, confer to the Femminiello a cultural and even socially legitimized status. For the historical and symbolic coordinates of Naples, the identity construct of the Femminiello is not superimposable to more common european and euro-centric transgender clusters.
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George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of Barbara Bush and George H. W. Bush, he was born in New Haven, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush worked in oil businesses. He married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election. In a close and controversial election, Bush was elected President in 2000 as the Republican candidate, defeating Vice President Al Gore in the Electoral College. Bush is the second American president to have been the son of a former president. He is also the brother of Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida.
Terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bush's first term as president on September 11, 2001. In response, Bush announced the War on Terror, an international military campaign which included the war in Afghanistan launched in 2001 and the war in Iraq launched in 2003. In addition to national security issues, Bush promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, and social security reform. He signed into law broad tax cuts, the PATRIOT Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors. His tenure saw national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and enhanced interrogation techniques. His administration also withdrew the U.S. from a some international treaty processes, including the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (Classical Latin: [ˈɡaː.i.ʊs ˈjuː.lɪ.ʊs ˈkaj.sar], July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.
In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative elite within the Roman Senate[citation needed], among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain.
These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse Pompey's standing. The balance of power was further upset by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. Political realignments in Rome finally led to a standoff between Caesar and Pompey, the latter having taken up the cause of the Senate. Ordered by the Senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, Caesar marched on Rome with one legion—legio XIII—from Gaul to Italy, crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of the Roman world.
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Justinian
Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language, Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.
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Juvenal
Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, known in English as Juvenal, was a Roman poet active in the late 1st and early 2nd century AD, author of the Satires. The details of the author's life are unclear, although references within his text to known persons of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD fix his terminus post quem (earliest date of composition).
In accord with the manner of Lucilius—the originator of the genre of Roman satire—and within a poetic tradition that also included Horace and Persius, Juvenal wrote at least 16 poems in dactylic hexameter covering an encyclopedic range of topics across the Roman world. While the Satires are a vital source for the study of ancient Rome from a vast number of perspectives, their hyperbolic, comedic mode of expression makes the use of statements found within them as simple fact problematic. At first glance the Satires could be read as a critique of pagan Rome, perhaps ensuring their survival in Christian monastic scriptoria, a bottleneck in preservation when the large majority of ancient texts were lost.
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Macau
Coordinates: 22°10′N 113°33′E / 22.167°N 113.55°E / 22.167; 113.55
Macau (Chinese: 澳門), also spelled Macao ( /məˈkaʊ/), is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong-Kong which is to the east, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and is both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer. Macau was first lent by the Chinese empire as a trading port in the 16th century, and had to administer the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty. In 1887, Macau became a colony of the Portuguese empire and its sovereignty transferred to the Portuguese.
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Mark Antony
Mark Antony (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N) (January 14, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC) was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassination, Antony formed an official political alliance with Octavian (the future Augustus) and Lepidus, known to historians today as the Second Triumvirate.
The triumvirate broke up in 33 BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war, the final war of the Roman Republic, in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria. He and his lover Cleopatra committed suicide shortly thereafter. His career and defeat are significant in Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire.
A member of the Antonia clan (gens), Antony was born on January 14, 83 BC. He was the homonymous and thus presumably the eldest son of Marcus Antonius Creticus (praetor 74 BC, proconsul 73–71 BC) and grandson of the noted orator Marcus Antonius (consul 99 BC, censor 97–6 BC) who had been murdered during the Marian Terror of the winter of 87–6 BC.
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Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity.[citation needed]
Citizenship is determined by jus soli, jus sanguinis, or naturalization, which affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the state. The word citizenship is often used in a different sense from nationality. The most common distinguishing feature of citizenship is that citizens have the right to participate in the political life of the state, such as by voting or standing for election. The term national can include both citizens and non-citizens.
Nationality can refer to membership in a nation (collective of people sharing a national identity, usually based on ethnic and cultural ties and self-determination) even if that nation has no state, such as the Basques, Kurds, and Tamils. Individuals may also be considered nationals of groups with autonomous status which have ceded some power to a larger government, such as the federally recognized tribes of Native Americans in the United States. Spanish law recognises the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Aragon, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia and the Basque Country as "nationalities" (nacionalidades), while in Italy, the German speakers of South Tyrol are considered to be Austrian nationals.
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Nero
Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus); 15 December 37 – 9 June 68) was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death. During his reign, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theaters built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain and also annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the Empire, beginning the First Roman–Jewish War.
In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing assassination, he committed suicide on 9 June 68. His death ended the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions, including those of his mother and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother, Britannicus.
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Personhood
Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law, and is closely tied to legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. According to law, only a natural person or legal personality has rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and legal liability.
Personhood continues to be a topic of international debate. Historically, personhood was questioned during the abolition of slavery, the fight for women's rights, debates about abortion, fetal rights and reproductive rights as well as debates about corporate personhood.
Processes through which personhood is recognized vary cross-culturally, demonstrating that Western notions of personhood are not universal. Anthropologist Beth Conklin has shown how personhood is tied to social relations among the Wari' people of Rondônia, Brazil. Bruce Knauft's studies of the Gebusi people of Papua New Guinea depict a context in which individuals become persons incrementally, again through social relations. Likewise, Jane C. Goodale has also examined the construction of personhood in Papua New Guinea.
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Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab (Latin: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus; c. 204 – 249), also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire. During his reign, Rome celebrated its millennium.
Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. It was even claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor, but this is disputed. He supposedly tried to celebrate Easter with Christians in Antioch, but the bishop Babylas made him stand with the penitents. Philip and his wife received letters from Origen.
Philip was overthrown and killed following a rebellion led by his successor Decius.
Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba, about 55 miles (89 km) southeast of Damascus, in the Trachonitis district, then in the Roman province of Arabia. Philip, who received the nickname "the Arab" because his family hailed from the Roman province of Arabia, was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance.
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Plutarch
Plutarch (English pronunciation: /'pluːtɑːk/; Greek: Πλούταρχος, Ploútarkhos, Koine Greek: [plŭːtarkʰos]) then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Μέστριος Πλούταρχος),c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He was born to a prominent family in Chaeronea, Boeotia, a town about twenty miles east of Delphi.
Plutarch was born in 46 AD in the small town of Chaeronea, in the Greek region known as Boeotia. His family was wealthy. The name of Plutarch's father has not been preserved, but it was probably Nikarchus (Greek: Nίκαρχoς), from the common habit of Greek families to repeat a name in alternate generations. The name of Plutarch's grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony.
His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are frequently mentioned in his essays and dialogues, where Timon is spoken of in the most affectionate terms. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarch's wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not give way to excessive grief at the death of their two year old daughter, who was named Timoxena after her mother. Interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation.
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Polybius
Polybius[pronunciation?] (ca. 200–118 BC), Greek Πολύβιος) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece. Polybius is also renowned for his ideas concerning the separation of powers in government, later used in Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws and in the drafting of the United States Constitution.
Polybius was born in Arcadia around 200 BC. He was the son of Lycortas, a Greek politician who became Cavalry Commander of the Achaean League. His father's opposition to Roman control of Macedonia resulted in his imprisonment. Polybius was then deported to Rome, where Lucius Aemilius Paulus employed him to tutor his two sons.
Polybius had the opportunity to return to Macedonia in 152 BC; he elected to stay, however, in Rome, as by that time he had placed his allegiance in the Roman Republic. He became a close friend of the Roman military commander Scipio Aemilianus, accompanying the general to Hispania and Africa. Polybius's The Histories provides a detailed account of Rome's ascent to empire and included his eyewitness accounts of the Roman victory over Hannibal and the Sack of Carthage in 146 BC. Polybius held that historians should only chronicle events whose participants the historian was able to interview, and was among the first to champion the notion of having factual integrity in historical writing, while avoiding bias.
wn.com/Polybius -
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius[pronunciation?] (ca. 69/72 – after 130), was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar to Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum. He recorded the earliest accounts of Julius Caesar's epileptic seizures. Other works by Suetonius concern the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians. A few of these books have partially survived, but many have been lost.
Suetonius was born the son of Suetonius Laetus, who probably came from Hippo Regius (Annaba, Algeria). Laetus was an equestrian who served and took part in the first Battle of Bedriacum for the Emperor Otho and against the future Emperor Vitellius in AD 69.
wn.com/Suetonius -
Taiwan
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
wn.com/Taiwan
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The Gay Rights Movement
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:52
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Contribute To This Effort To Make Change: bit.ly Additional info: kck.st Tweet This Video: clicktotweet.com facebook.com twitter.com To order a shirt: White: tinyurl.com Black: tinyurl.com If you are currently being discriminated against & would like to be considered as a subject for the documentary, please email me: ryanyezak(at)gmail(dot)com Ryan's Info... Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: facebook.com Gays of the Week: youtube.com YouTube Vlog: youtube.com Tumblr: ryanjamesyezak.tumblr.com Google+: t.co Song: "The First Days of Spring" by Noah & The Whale Click here to download: tinyurl.com
http://wn.com/The_Gay_Rights_Movement
Republican Chokes Up At Gay Marriage Debate In Washington
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:00
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Republican_Chokes_Up_At_Gay_Marriage_Debate_In_Washington
Navy Chaplain Smackdown: Gay Marriage Like Crucifying Jesus
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:14
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
--Former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, who is against gay marriage, joins us to give his thoughts on the recent popular vote successes for gay marriage in Maryland, Maine, and Washington, and to discuss the future of gay rights in the United States. --On the Bonus Show: Secession movement explodes, doctors talk to vegetative patient, billionaire's Nobu rant ends in lifetime ban, more... How do you get the Bonus Show? Become a member: www.davidpakman.com If you liked this clip of The David Pakman Show, please do us a big favor and share it with your friends... and hit that "like" button! www.davidpakman.com Become a Member www.davidpakman.com Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com Get TDPS Gear: www.davidpakman.com 24/7 Voicemail Line: (219)-2DAVIDP Subscribe to The David Pakman Show for more: www.youtube.com Broadcast on November 14, 2012
http://wn.com/Navy_Chaplain_Smackdown_Gay_Marriage_Like_Crucifying_Jesus
Catholics vs Femen 'naked nuns': Clashes, tear gas at Paris anti-gay marriage rally
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:54
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Scuffles erupted in Paris on Sunday as a small group of Femen activists tried to disrupt a protest by Catholics against the president's plan to legalize marriage and adoption for same sex couples. What began as a peaceful protest quickly degenerated into violence when some radical members of the Catholic Civitas organization chased the Femen activists off and violently pushed some on the floor, witnesses and journalists on the scene reported. Security stewards opened tear gas canisters to break off the fighting. A day earlier, throughout France, more than 100000 demonstrators protested against the president's plan. Femen, a Ukrainian protest group, has gained prominence for staging topless protests against all kinds of political and social problems - from the shortage of hot water to women's rights in the Muslim world to domestic pension reforms. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Catholics_vs_Femen_'naked_nuns'_Clashes,_tear_gas_at_Paris_anti-gay_marriage_rally
Gay Parents Bashed
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- Duration: 7:24
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
What would you do if you saw gay parents berated by a waitress?
http://wn.com/Gay_Parents_Bashed
Chris Kluwe Gay Marriage Letter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:41
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
"...last week Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo spoke out in favor of gay marriage. That raised the ire of Maryland politician Emmet C. Burns, who wrote a strongly-worded letter to the owner of the Baltimore Ravens, insisting that Ayanbadejo be prohibited from speaking his views. That didn't sit well with Kluwe, so he posted an open letter to Burns...".* Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur break it down on The Young Turks. *Read more here from Julie Gerstein in The Frisky: www.thefrisky.com Support The Young Turks by Subscribing bit.ly Like Us on Facebook: www.fb.com Follow Us on Twitter: bit.ly Buy TYT Merch: theyoungturks.spreadshirt.com Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com
http://wn.com/Chris_Kluwe_Gay_Marriage_Letter
President Obama - Gay Marriage: Gay Couples 'Should Be Able to Get Married' - ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:44
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Obama tells Robin Roberts in ABC News Exclusive Interview, "I think same-sex couples should be able to get married." For more on this story, click here: bit.ly
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Gay_Marriage_Gay_Couples_'Should_Be_Able_to_Get_Married'_ABC_NEWS_EXCLUSIVE
Gay Marriage- Obama Comes Out for Love. Do You?
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:11
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
It has been quite a week for the gays. North Carolina said no, Obama said yes. It's all very confusin'. I mean, What Would Jesus Do? I wish I at least had the t-shirt to inspire me. Seems people are takin' issue with the word, "marriage" but I think my genius has found the solution! Contact: SusieSampsonUSA@gmail.com Edited by: Amy Wieseneck Shot by: Sunil Sadarangani
http://wn.com/Gay_Marriage_Obama_Comes_Out_for_Love_Do_You?
Amazing Gay Marriage Speech Goes Viral (Maureen Walsh)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:15
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Washington State Rep. Maureen Walsh (a Republican) gave a passionate speech defending marriage equality that's going viral. Is gay marriage coming to Washington? The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down. Watch the original video here: www.youtube.com www.huffingtonpost.com Subscribe to The Young Turks: bit.ly Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com The Largest Online New Show in the World. Google+: www.gplus.to Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
http://wn.com/Amazing_Gay_Marriage_Speech_Goes_Viral_Maureen_Walsh
President Obama and the Fight for LGBT Rights
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- Duration: 5:09
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Help build this campaign: my.barackobama.com Glee star Jane Lynch narrates this documentary about LGBT rights in America. The video features a candid interview with President Obama, who speaks about the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, why he supports marriage equality, and what's at stake for the LGBT community in this election. Photo of Judge Michael Fitzgerald (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
http://wn.com/President_Obama_and_the_Fight_for_LGBT_Rights
Preacher gives interesting gay rights speech
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:52
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
You can say they are different till you are blue in the face. If all it takes it changing the group name, then truth is truth.
http://wn.com/Preacher_gives_interesting_gay_rights_speech
Gay Veteran talks to Mitt Romney - ABC News
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- Duration: 3:49
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Gay Veteran questions Mitt Romney's stance on Marriage Equality Read the Article at: abcnews.go.com
http://wn.com/Gay_Veteran_talks_to_Mitt_Romney_ABC_News
Laura Bush For Gay Marriage & Pro-Choice!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:44
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Promoting her book "Spoken From The Heart" former first lady Laura Bush reveals she disagreed with George on gay marriage and abortion.
http://wn.com/Laura_Bush_For_Gay_Marriage_Pro-Choice!
Anti-Gay Marriage Attack Ad Targets Mark Grisanti
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- Duration: 5:59
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
"...A group called the Committee To Save The Erie County Republican Party has reportedly been circulating an incendiary attack ad lambasting a New York lawmaker for his deciding vote to legalize gay marriage in the state last year. The ad, first reported by Politico, appeared in emails as two separate image attachments -- apparently meant as flip sides of a political mailer -- and accuses New York state Senator Mark Grisanti of exchanging his vote in favor of gay marriage for monetary gain...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down. *Read more here from The Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com Support The Young Turks by Subscribing bit.ly Like Us on Facebook: www.fb.com Follow Us on Twitter: bit.ly Buy TYT Merch: theyoungturks.spreadshirt.com Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com
http://wn.com/Anti-Gay_Marriage_Attack_Ad_Targets_Mark_Grisanti
Henry Rollins on Gay Marriage
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- Duration: 7:56
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Why are some Americans so strongly opposed to gay marriage? Henry Rollins is convinced that not so many people are actually opposed. Instead he sees it as a fundraising tool for small fringe groups. Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian,publisher, actor, and radio DJ.After performing for the short-lived Washington DC-based band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore punk band Black Flag from August 1981 until mid-1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 until 2003, and during 2006. Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as Harmony in My Head on Indie 103, and television shows such as The Henry Rollins Show, MTV's 120 Minutes, and Jackass. He had a recurring dramatic role in the second season of Sons of Anarchy and has also had roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for various political causes in the United States, including promoting LGBT rights, World Hunger Relief, and an end to war in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops. Directed / Produced by Jonathan Fowler and Elizabeth Rodd bigthink.com
http://wn.com/Henry_Rollins_on_Gay_Marriage
Sh*t Homophobic People Say
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- Duration: 2:00
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Sh*t Homophobic People Say: no spoofing necessary, 100% real commentary by antigay public figures. Lambda Legal fights for the rights of LGBT people and people with HIV. Follow us on Twitter @lambdalegal and visit www.lambdalegal.org to learn more!
http://wn.com/Sh*t_Homophobic_People_Say
Howard Stern on Gay Rights
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- Duration: 12:23
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
This is a Mirrored video Original video post was from this video link below: www.youtube.com Howard Stern defends Ellen Degeneres/Rosie O'Donnell and Gay rights Taken from Stern Show Feb 6th 2012
http://wn.com/Howard_Stern_on_Gay_Rights
Gay Marriage Legalized in Maine, Maryland, and Washington! Major Victory!
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- Duration: 3:36
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Maryland, Maine and Washington legalized gay marriage on Tuesday marking the first time that gay marriage has won as a result of a popular vote. What does this say about the future of marriage equality in America? Watch the video and find out what John Iadarola and Lisa Ferguson think on TYT University! What do you think about these initiatives legalizing gay marriage? Will the Supreme Court end up being decisive? Will more states see this example and end up legalizing it as well? Do you think it will ever be legal across the country? Let us know what you think down below! Find out more here: www.huffingtonpost.com And if you liked this video, PLEASE "Like" it as well! :) Subscribe to TYT U for more videos: tinyurl.com Follow us on twitter!!! twitter.com twitter.com twitter.com TYT University covers all the news you need to know happening at colleges around the country and across the globe! From student loans to frat parties and dating, we've got it all. Tags: "2012 gay marriage legalization" "gay marriage legalization" "maryland gay marriage" "maine gay marriage" "minnesota gay marriage" "colorado marijuana" "gay marriage" "college news" students summer college university "tyt university" "tytu" "lisa ferguson" "john iadarola"
http://wn.com/Gay_Marriage_Legalized_in_Maine,_Maryland,_and_Washington!_Major_Victory!
DEBATE: Anti-Gay Marriage Activist Calls Gay Rights Activist Dangerous
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:53
- Updated: 11 Nov 2012
--Dr. Michael Brown, author of A Queer Thing Happened to America, and Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out, face off about Michael Brown's belief that Wayne Besen and others "like him" are in part responsible for the Family Research Council shooting. --On the Bonus Show: Cyborg tissue grown, US govt blocks Warcraft players, $63000 surprise on the beach, more. How do you get the Bonus Show? Become a member: www.davidpakman.com If you liked this clip of The David Pakman Show, please do us a big favor and share it with your friends... and hit that "like" button! www.davidpakman.com Become a Member feeds.feedburner.com Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com Get TDPS Gear: www.davidpakman.com 24/7 Voicemail Line: (219)-2DAVIDP Subscribe to The David Pakman Show for more: www.youtube.com Broadcast on August 30, 2012
http://wn.com/DEBATE_Anti-Gay_Marriage_Activist_Calls_Gay_Rights_Activist_Dangerous
Not everyone is on board for gay marriage
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:27
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
The nation took another major step toward equal rights for gays and lesbians. On Wednesday - the Washington state House approved gay marriage legislation - one week after the state Senate approved similar legislation. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire is expected to sign the legislation into law making her state the seventh in the nation to give same-sex couples the same rights as straight couples. And earlier this week - a California court struck down that state's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage as being a violation of the California Constituion. In a 2-1 ruling for the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for the majority, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. "So the movement to achieve equal rights for gays and lesbians is taking off - but not everyone is on board. Joining Thom Hartmann is Maggie Gallagher - she's the co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage - one of the leading groups in the nation working to ensure marriage remains exclusively between a man and a woman in those remaining states that don't yet recognize gay marriage." The history of our nation is one of bringing more and more Americans into the fold - giving them equal rights. And even though we've slid backward at times - the direction of bringing equal ...
http://wn.com/Not_everyone_is_on_board_for_gay_marriage
Irish opinions on gay rights pt2 22/7
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:37
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
If you have not seen part one click here: www.youtube.com I want to say thank you for everyone that took your time to talk and gave your opinions. You are awesome, and I truly enjoyed and appreciated the time! I would love to hear all your thoughts and opinions on the video. I plan to do more on different topics, so I am open to ideas and advice. If you like this video please feel free to leave a comment, and subscribe if you want to see my daily videos! Follow me on: Twitter www.twitter.com/griner65 Facebook - www.facebook.com/griner65 This video was filmed on a Canon 600D, and the outro music is original by me. Have a fantastic day!
http://wn.com/Irish_opinions_on_gay_rights_pt2_22_7
Ellen Degeneres Vs. John McCain: Gay Marriage
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- Duration: 2:58
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
John McCain, opposed to gay marriage, gets questioned by Ellen Degeneres. There are a few moments where his face looks truly pissed. Aired on May 22, 2008. DISCLAIMER: I do not own this video and my purpose in uploading it is to promote The Ellen Degeneres Show. Free promotion and publicity is a good thing! gay marriage opposition opposed ellen degeneres show voting election barack obama hillary clinton democrat democratic republican senator john mccain mc cain mac cain maccain
http://wn.com/Ellen_Degeneres_Vs_John_McCain_Gay_Marriage
A preacher gives an interesting gay rights speech. (Wait for it..)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:52
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
*WATCH ENTIRE VIDEO* I saw this today and just had to share it. The Springfield city council heard from the public as they debated a new rule adding gay people to the list of minorities protected under anti-discrimination laws. This link (www.youtube.com has 45 minutes of people who are actually arguing against the bill and comparing gay people to rapists and pedophiles.
http://wn.com/A_preacher_gives_an_interesting_gay_rights_speech_Wait_for_it
Photo: AP / Hatem Moussa
18 Nov 2012
Israeli air strikes killed 16 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, prompting the Arab League to announce a visit to the battered enclave and a review of its Middle East peace policy. Egypt’s President...
Photo: AP / Hatem Moussa
19 Nov 2012
Gaza/Jerusalem - Israel bombed dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that...
Photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
19 Nov 2012
Yangon, November 19: Newly re-elected US President Barack Obama arrived here Monday to kick off his visit to Myanmar, becoming the first sitting US president to visit the Southeast Asian nation. As...
Photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
20 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling President Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of southeast Asia and meetings with dignitaries will have to walk a tightrope between either appearing to endorse...
Photo: EC / EC
19 Nov 2012
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The shadow banking system - blamed for aggravating the financial crisis - grew to a new high of $67 trillion globally last year, a top regulatory group said, calling...
Egypt confiscates warheads smuggled from Libya
21 Nov 2012
Israel says bomb blast hits bus in Tel Aviv
21 Nov 2012
Newsvine
JERUSALEM — A bomb ripped through an Israeli bus near the nation's military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, wounding at least 10 people, Israeli officials said. The blast...(size: 1.2Kb)
Israel reports explosion on bus in Tel Aviv
21 Nov 2012
Ambridge-Aliquippa span open for now
21 Nov 2012
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Beaver County motorists are relieved. No, the source of solace for many isn't the promise of Thanksgiving turkey or Black Friday savings -- it's the reopening of the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge. "We're happy and grateful it's finally here," said Sharon Guerrieri, a co-owner of...(size: 3.9Kb)
WHY IT MATTERS: The EU budget debate
21 Nov 2012
Houston Chronicle
DON MELVIN, Associated Press | November 21, 2012 | Updated: November 21, 2012 4:59am Comments (0) E-mail Print...(size: 17.0Kb)
Death penalty: India, China, US support it
21 Nov 2012
The Siasat Daily
November 21: When preparations were on to make hang Pakistani Ajmal Amir Kasab, Indian diplomats were opposing a UN General Assembly resolution for the abolition of death penalty. Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist to be caught during the Mumbai terror attack of 2008, was hanged in a Pune jail at...(size: 3.3Kb)
Made In Chelsea's Hugo faces sewer pipe of pythons, toads and spiders in I'm A Celebrity...
21 Nov 2012
The Independent
Made In Chelsea star Hugo Taylor vowed to embrace the dirt when he attempted his first bushtucker trial. Taylor had to face a "savage sewer" of pipes containing pythons, toads, mud crabs, spiders and...(size: 1.4Kb)
Sky Sports
Plans to introduce minimum four-year bans for convicted drugs cheats have been welcomed by former Olympic champion Sally Gunnell. Under their new draft code, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will double the suspension for serious offences, such as taking steroids, to four years from 2015, and is...(size: 3.1Kb)
Gen. Allen resumes command duty in Afghanistan
21 Nov 2012
Houston Chronicle
ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer | November 21, 2012 | Updated: November 21, 2012 4:59am Comments (0) E-mail Print...(size: 13.4Kb)
European indecision on Greece weighs on markets
21 Nov 2012
Houston Chronicle
PAN PYLAS, AP Business Writer | November 20, 2012 | Updated: November 21, 2012 4:51am Comments (0) E-mail Print...(size: 14.9Kb)
The Daily Telegraph Australia
WYCLIFF Palu often doesn't know he's made a massive hit until he surveys the wreckage, and hears the reaction. "If I try to go for a big hit, I don't know if its a big hit unless everyone is roaring (afterwards)," Palu says. The groaning of a crumpled ball-runner may give a fair...(size: 4.3Kb)
SENEGAL: Helping returnees turn a profit
21 Nov 2012
IRINnews
DAKAR, 21 November 2012 (IRIN) - One in four Senegalese migrants returns home within five years, according to the French National Institute of Demographic Research (INED). Many are armed with new skills that could help drive development, but most receive little support to reintegrate into their...(size: 7.3Kb)
Sky Sports
There's a general consensus in the paddock that no matter who clinches the title this coming weekend, Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso would be a fully deserving World Champion. But can their performances be split?...(size: 5.8Kb)
This article is about current LGBT rights around the world. For historical and current movements to further LGBT rights, see LGBT social movements.
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Homosexual acts legal
Same-sex marriage
Other type of partnership (or unregistered cohabitation)
Marriage recognized but not performed
Same-sex unions not recognized
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Minimal penalty
Heavy penalty
Up to life in prison
Up to death
Rings indicate local or case-by-case application. |
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| Laws around the world Recognition of relationships Same-sex marriage LGBT adoption Military service Immigration issues LGBT rights organizations Opposition |
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Laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or territory—everything from legal recognition of same-sex marriage or other types of partnerships, to the death penalty as punishment for same-sex sexual activity or identity.
LGBT-related laws include but are not limited to: government recognition of same-sex relationships, LGBT adoption, sexual orientation and military service, immigration equality, anti-discrimination laws, hate crime laws regarding violence against LGBT people, sodomy laws, anti-lesbianism laws, and higher ages of consent for same-sex activity.
In 2011, the United Nations passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, and followed up with a report documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crime, criminalization of homosexuality, and discrimination.[1][2]
Contents |
History of LGBT-related laws[link]
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This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (April 2010) |
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The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (October 2009) |
Ancient India[link]
Throughout Hindu and Vedic texts there are many descriptions of saints, demigods, and even the Supreme Lord transcending gender norms and manifesting multiple combinations of sex and gender.[3] There are several instances in ancient Indian epic poetry of same sex depictions and unions by gods and goddesses. There are several stories of depicting love between same sexes especially among kings and queens. Kamasutra, the ancient Indian treatise on love talks about feelings for same sexes. Transsexuals are also venerated e.g. Lord Vishnu as Mohini and Lord Shiva as Ardhanarishwara (which means half woman).[4]
Ancient Israel and the Near East[link]
The ancient Law of Moses (the Torah) forbids men lying with men (intercourse) in Leviticus 18 and gives a story of attempted homosexual rape in Genesis in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities being soon destroyed after that. The death penalty was prescribed.
Middle Assyrian Law Codes dating 1075 BC states: "If a man have intercourse with his brother-in-arms, they shall turn him into a eunuch.[citation needed]
Ancient Rome[link]
The "conquest mentality" of the ancient Romans shaped Roman homosexual practices.[5] In the Roman Republic, a citizen's political liberty was defined in part by the right to preserve his body from physical compulsion or use by others;[6] for the male citizen to submit his body to the giving of pleasure was considered servile.[7] As long as a man played the penetrative role, it was socially acceptable and considered natural for him to have same-sex relations, without a perceived loss of his masculinity or social standing.[8] The bodies of citizen youths were strictly off-limits, and the Lex Scantinia imposed penalites on those who committed a sex crime (stuprum) against a freeborn male minor.[9] Acceptable same-sex partners were males excluded from legal protections as citizens: slaves, male prostitutes, and the infames, entertainers or others who might be technically free but whose lifestyles set them outside the law.
"Homosexual" and "heterosexual" were thus not categories of Roman sexuality, and no words exist in Latin that would precisely translate these concepts.[10] A male citizen who willingly performed oral sex or received anal sex was disparaged, but there is only limited evidence of legal penalties against these men, who were presumably "homosexual" in the modern sense.[11] In courtroom and political rhetoric, charges of effeminacy and passive sexual behaviors were directed particularly at "democratic" politicians (populares) such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.[12]
Roman law addressed the rape of a male citizen as early as the 2nd century BC, when a ruling was issued in a case that may have involved a man of same-sex orientation. It was ruled that even a man who was "disreputable and questionable" had the same right as other citizens not to have his body subjected to forced sex.[13] A law probably dating to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar defined rape as forced sex against "boy, woman, or anyone"; the rapist was subject to execution, a rare penalty in Roman law.[14] A male classified as infamis, such as a prostitute or actor, could not as a matter of law be raped, nor could a slave, who was legally classified as property; the slave's owner, however, could prosecute the rapist for property damage.[15]
In the Roman army of the Republic, sex among fellow soldiers violated the decorum against intercourse with citizens and was subject to harsh penalties, including death,[16] as a violation of military discipline.[17] The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century BC) lists deserters, thieves, perjurers, and "those who in youth have abused their persons" as subject to the fustuarium, clubbing to death.[18] Ancient sources are most concerned with the effects of sexual harassment by officers, but the young soldier who brought an accusation against his superior needed to show that he had not willingly taken the passive role or prostituted himself.[19] Soldiers were free to have relations with their male slaves;[20] the use of a fellow citizen-soldier's body was prohibited, not homosexual behaviors per se.[21] By the late Republic and throughout the Imperial period, there is increasing evidence that men whose lifestyle marked them as "homosexual" in the modern sense served openly.[22]
Although Roman law did not recognize marriage between men, and in general Romans regarded marriage as a heterosexual union with the primary purpose of producing children, in the early Imperial period some male couples were celebrating traditional marriage rites. Juvenal remarks with disapproval that his friends often attended such ceremonies.[23] The emperor Nero had two marriages to men, once as the bride (with a freedman Pythagoras) and once as the groom. His consort Sporus appeared in public as Nero's wife wearing the regalia that was customary for the Roman empress.[24]
Apart from measures to protect the prerogatives of citizens, the prosecution of homosexuality as a general crime began in the 3rd century of the Christian era when male prostitution was banned by Philip the Arab. By the end of the 4th century, after the Roman Empire had come under Christian rule, passive homosexuality was punishable by burning.[25] "Death by sword" was the punishment for a "man coupling like a woman" under the Theodosian Code.[26] Under Justinian, all same-sex acts, passive or active, no matter who the partners, were declared contrary to nature and punishable by death.[27]
Feudal Japan[link]
In feudal Japan, homosexuality was recognized, between equals (bi-do), in terms of pederasty (wakashudo), and in terms of prostitution. The Samurai period was one in which homosexuality was seen as particularly positive. In Japan, the younger partner in a pederastic relationship was expected to make the first move; the opposite was true in ancient Greece. Homosexuality was later briefly criminalized due to Westernization.[28]
China[link]
Laws prohibiting homosexuality were also passed in China. (China neither adopted an Abrahamic religion nor was colonized, except for Hong Kong and Macau which were colonized with Victorian era social mores and maintain separate legal system from the rest of China.) Homosexuality was not decriminalized there until 1997.[29] Prior to 1997, homosexual in mainland China was found guilty included in a general definition under the vague vocabulary of hooliganism, there are no specifically anti-homosexual laws.[30]
LGBT-related laws by country or territory[link]
In modern times nine countries have no official heterosexist discrimination. They are Argentina, Belgium, Canada,[31][32] Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, and Spain. This full non-discrimination includes the rights of marriage and adoption. Portugal has also marriage rights for same-sex couples but this right does not include same-sex adoption. The Canadian Blood Services’ policy indefinitely defers any man who has sex with another man, even once, since 1977.[33] In the U.S., mandated by federal law Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654), the U.S. armed forces’ policy on homosexuality in the military, commonly known as Don’t ask, don’t tell, prohibited coming out ("a statement that a member is homosexual or bisexual" or anything that would reveal sexual orientation, i.e. talking about a boyfriend, girlfriend, or attractions) because it was considered tantamount to "a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts". More than 13,500 service members were discharged from the military under the 1993 law. However, the policy was repealed by Congress in December 2010. In the Senate, repeal passed by a majority of 63–33, including six Republicans voting in favour of gays serving openly in the military. The repeal was effective September 20th, 2011. Also in the U.S., LGBT people face different laws for certain medical procedures than other groups. For example, gay men have been prohibited from giving blood since 1983,[34][35] and George W. Bush's FDA guidelines barred them from being sperm donors as of 2005, even though all donated sperm is screened for sexually-transmitted diseases.[36][37]
Africa
Main article: LGBT rights in Africa
[edit] Northern Africa
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
 Illegal (Penalty: Fine - up to 2 years prison)[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Egypt |
Not specifically outlawed, other laws may apply[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
Unknown |
 Libya |
Illegal (Penalty: up to 5 years prison).[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Morocco (incl. Western Sahara) |
Illegal (Penalty: up to 3 years) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 South Sudan |
Illegal (Penalty: Up to 10 years.) |
|
Constitutional ban since 2011 |
|
|
|
|
 Sudan |
Illegal (Penalty: 5 years up to death penalty.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Tunisia |
Illegal (Penalty: Fine - 3 years) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
[edit] Western Africa
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Benin |
 Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Burkina Faso |
Legal[38] |
|
Constitutional ban since 1991 |
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Cape Verde |
Legal since 2004[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Gambia |
Illegal (Penalty: up to 14 years[39]) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Ghana |
Male illegalFemale legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Guinea |
Illegal (Penalty: 6 months to 3 years prison)[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Guinea-Bissau |
Legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Liberia |
Illegal (Penalty: Fine) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Mali |
Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Mauritania |
Illegal (Penalty: Death penalty) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Niger |
Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Nigeria |
Male illegal Female illegal in areas under Sharia Female legal in areas not under Sharia. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Senegal |
Illegal (Penalty: 1 month to 5 years prison) |
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown | |
 Sierra Leone |
Male illegal Female legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Togo |
Illegal |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
[edit] Middle Africa
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ascension Island |
Legal[38] |
Unknown | |
|
Yes (as part of the Military of the United Kingdom) |
Yes (under the United Kingdom Equality Act 2010) |
Unknown |
 Cameroon |
Illegal (Penalty: Fine to 5 years prison) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Central African Republic |
Legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Chad |
Legal since 1967 |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) |
Legal[38] |
|
Constitutional ban since 2005 |
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Equatorial Guinea |
Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Gabon |
Legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Republic of the Congo |
Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Saint Helena |
Legal[38] |
Unknown | |
|
Yes (as part of the Military of the United Kingdom) | Yes (under the United Kingdom Equality Act 2010) |
Unknown |
 São Tomé and Príncipe |
Was expected to be legalized sometime in 2011. Unknown if that happened.[38] | |
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
[edit] Eastern Africa
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Burundi |
Illegal since 2009[40] |
|
Constitutional ban since 2005 |
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Djibouti |
Unclear[38] | |
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Eritrea |
Illegal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Ethiopia |
Illegal[38] |
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown | |
 Kenya |
Male illegal (Penalty: up to 14 years' imprisonment) Female not specifically covered by the Penal Code |
|
Constitution since 2010 specifically mentions only opposite sex marriage[41] | Homosexuals and unmarried couples prohibited[42] |
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Rwanda |
Legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban in Article 26 since 2003 |
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Somalia |
Illegal[38] |
|
|
|
|
Unknown | |
 Uganda |
Illegal |
|
Constitutional ban since 2005 |
|
|
|
|
 Tanzania |
Illegal (Penalty: up to life imprisonment)[38] |
|
|
A couple must be married to adopt a child jointly. No specific prohibition against an LGBT person adopting as a sole applicant.[43] | Unknown | |
Unknown |
[edit] Indian Ocean States
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Comoros |
Illegal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Madagascar |
Legal |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Mauritius |
Male illegal Female legal (national debate over repeal of the law).[38][44] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | Bans some anti-gay discrimination[45] |
Unknown |
 Réunion (Overseas department of France) |
Legal since 1791 |
Pacte civil de solidarité since 1999 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Unknown |
| 22x20px Seychelles | Male illegal Female legal (decriminalisation proposed) + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
[edit] Southern Africa
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Angola |
Not specifically outlawed, other laws may apply (Penalty: Labour camps for habitual offenders).[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Botswana |
Illegal (Penalty: Fine - 7 years) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Lesotho |
Male illegal Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Malawi |
Male illegal Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Mozambique |
Legal[46] |
|
|
|
Unknown | Bans some anti-gay discrimination[45] |
Unknown |
 Namibia |
Illegal (not enforced)[38][47] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 South Africa |
Male legal since 1998 (retroactive to 1994), female always legal + UN decl. sign. |
Limited recognition of unregistered partnerships since 1998 |
Legal since 2006 |
Legal since 2002 (joint and step-parent) |
Since 1998 |
Bans all discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, including hate speech |
Anti-discrimination laws are interpreted to include gender identity; legal gender may be changed after surgical or medical treatment |
 Swaziland |
Male illegal Female legal. Pending law includes outlawing lesbian sex conduct.[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Zambia |
Male illegal (Penalty: up to 14 years) Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Zimbabwe |
Male illegal Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
[edit] Partially recognised states
Main article: List of states with limited recognition
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Western Sahara (80% controlled by Morocco) |
Illegal (Penalty: up to 3 years prison) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Somaliland |
Illegal (Penalty: expulsion from country, prison - up to life, in various regions and districts; death penalty) |
|
|
|
|
|
The Americas
Main article: LGBT rights in the Americas
Northern America
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination Laws (sexual orientation) | Anti-discrimination Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bermuda (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) |
Legal since 1994 (Age of consent discrepancy) |
|
|
Unknown | |
|
|
 Canada |
Legal since 1969 (Age of consent discrepancy[48]) + UN decl. sign. |
|
Legal since 2003, nationwide since 2005 |
[49][50] |
Since 1992[51] |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination, including hate speech |
Sex changes legally recognised, but only after sex reassignment surgery; Explicit anti-discrimination protections only in NWT, implicit elsewhere;[52] |
 Mexico |
Legal since 1872[38] + UN decl. sign. |
PACS in Coahuila since 2007. All states are obliged to honour same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City.[53] |
/ Legal in Mexico City since 2010.[54] All states are obliged to honour same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City.[53] |
/ Joint adoption legal in Mexico City (2010)[54] and Coahuila.[55] Nationwide, single gay persons may adopt.[56] |
/ No explicit ban. However, LGB persons have been reportedly discharged on the grounds of "immorality."[57] |
Nationwide since 2003.[58] |
/ Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name in Mexico City since 2008.[59] |
 Saint Pierre et Miquelon (overseas collectivity of France) |
Legal since 1791 + UN decl. sign. |
Pacte civil de solidarité since 1999 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 United States |
Legal nationwide since 2003. + UN decl. sign. See Lawrence v. Texas |
/ Varies by state, but not recognized by federal gov't. (Legal in California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin) |
/ Varies by state, but not recognized by federal gov't. (Legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia) |
/ Single gay persons may adopt, laws on couples vary by state |
Since 2011 |
/ No federal protections. Banned in 20 states. Included in the federal hate crimes law since 2009. See Matthew Shepard Act |
/ No federal protections. Banned in 13 states. Included in the federal hate crimes law since 2009. See Matthew Shepard Act |
Central America
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination Laws (sexual orientation) | Anti- discrimination Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belize |
Male: Illegal since 2003 (Penalty: 10 year prison sentence) Female: Legal; Foreign gay males and females barred from country by immigration law |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Costa Rica |
Legal since 1971 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
N/A | Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 El Salvador |
Legal + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Yes |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Guatemala |
Legal+ UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Honduras |
Legal since 1899[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban |
Constitutional ban |
|
|
|
 Nicaragua |
Legal since 2008 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | Bans some anti-gay discrimination[38] |
|
 Panama |
Legal since 2008 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
|
Caribbean islands
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination Laws (sexual orientation) | Anti-discrimination Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Anguilla (Overseas territory of the United Kingdom) |
Legal since 2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Antigua and Barbuda |
Illegal (Penalty: 15 year prison sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Aruba (Autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Legal |
Only unions made in the Netherlands recognised |
Only same-sex marriages made in the Netherlands recognised |
|
The Netherlands responsible for defence |
|
|
 Bahamas |
Legal since 1991 (Age of consent discrepancy) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Barbados |
Illegal (Penalty: life sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 British Virgin Islands |
Legal since 2000 |
|
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Cayman Islands |
Legal since 2000 |
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown | |
 Cuba |
Legal since 1979 + UN decl. sign. |
(but proposed) |
|
|
|
|
|
 Dominica |
Illegal (Penalty: 10 year prison sentence) + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Dominican Republic |
+ UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban |
|
|
|
|
 Grenada |
Male illegal (Penalty: 10 year prison sentence) Female legal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Guadeloupe (Overseas department of France) |
Legal since 1791 + UN decl. sign. |
Pacte civil de solidarité since 1999 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Haiti |
Legal since 1986 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Jamaica |
Illegal (Penalty: 10 years hard labor) Female legal. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Martinique (Overseas department of France) |
Legal since 1791 + UN decl. sign. |
Pacte civil de solidarité since 1999 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Montserrat |
Legal since 2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Puerto Rico (Commonwealth of the United States) |
Legal since 2003 |
|
|
|
since 2011 |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Male illegal (Penalty: 10 years) Female legal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Saint Lucia |
Male illegal (Penalty: fine and/or 10 year prison sentence) Female legal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Illegal (Penalty: fine and/or 10 year prison sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Trinidad and Tobago |
Illegal (Penalty: 25 year prison sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Turks and Caicos Islands |
Legal since 2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 United States Virgin Islands (Insular area of the United States) |
Legal since 1984 |
|
|
|
since 2011 |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
South America
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination Laws (sexual orientation) | Anti- discrimination Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
Legal since 1887[38] + UN decl. sign. |
Unregistered cohabitation throughout the country. |
Legal since 2010.[60] |
Legal since 2010. |
Since 2009.[61] |
/ The Constitution of Argentina prohibits all forms of discrimination, though sexual orientation is not explicited |
Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name without surgeries or judicial permission[62] |
 Bolivia |
Legal + UN decl. sign. |
(Proposed) |
Constitutional ban |
Constitutional ban |
Unknown | Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Bans all discrimination based on gender identity[63] |
 Brazil |
Legal since 1830[38] + UN decl. sign. |
Civil unions since 2004. |
/ |
Legal since 2010. |
Gays and lesbians to serve openly in military. |
/ The Constitution of Brazil prohibits all forms of discrimination, though sexual orientation is not explicited.[64] |
Transgenders can change their legal gender and name since 2009, though surgery is required.[65][66] |
 Chile |
Legal since 1999[38] (Age of consent discrepancy) + UN decl. sign. |
(Pending) |
(Pending) |
|
/ No explicit ban. However, LGB persons have been reportedly discharged because of their sexual orientation.[67][68] |
|
|
 Colombia |
Legal since 1981 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2007 |
/ from 20 July, 2013 under a Court ruling if Congress does not act. |
single person, no matter her/his sexual orientation may adopt. First case of step-child adoption, Court ordered.[69] |
since 1999. Since 2009: the military special social security system can be used by same sex couples in the army |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination, including hate speech [70] |
[71] Since 1993. The name's gender can be changed easily in the National ID Card, to change the sex field a surgery is required. |
 Ecuador |
Legal since 1997 + UN decl. sign. |
[72] Civil unions recognized since 2009 |
Constitutional ban |
Constitutional ban |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Bans all discrimination based on gender identity |
 Falkland Islands (overseas territory of the UK) |
Legal |
|
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Unknown |
| French Guiana |
Legal since 1791 + UN decl. sign. |
Pacte civil de solidarité since 1999 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Unknown |
 Guyana |
Male illegal (Penalty: life imprisonment) Female legal. |
|
|
|
Unknown | Added to constitution in 2004, but withdrawn afterwards by the government. |
Unknown |
 Paraguay |
Legal since 1880[38] + UN decl. sign. |
Constitutional ban since 1992[73] |
Constitutional ban since 1992[73] |
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Peru |
Legal since 1836-37[38] |
|
|
|
since 2009[74] |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination. Penalized with 2-4 years in jail. |
Possible via Civil Code and Legal Process, but no specific law. |
 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
Legal |
|
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Unknown |
 Suriname |
Legal since 1869[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Uruguay |
Legal since 1934 + UN decl. sign. |
Civil unions since 2008.[75] |
But proposed.[76] |
Since 2009.[77] |
Since 2009.[78] |
Legal protection since 2004.[79] |
Legal protection since 2004.[79] Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name since 2009.[80] |
 Venezuela |
Legal + UN decl. sign. |
/ Civil unions in Mérida [81], Civil union bill passed first reading in National Assembly, becomes law if passes second |
|
|
(since 1999) |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination[38] |
Under consideration (passed first reading) |
Asia
Main article: LGBT rights in Asia
[edit] Central Asia
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kazakhstan |
Legal since 1998[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Kyrgyzstan |
Legal since 1998[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Tajikistan |
Legal since 1998[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Turkmenistan |
Male illegal (Penalty: up to 2 year prison sentence) Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Uzbekistan |
Male illegal (Penalty: up to 3 year prison sentence) Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
[edit] Western Asia
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bahrain |
? Unclear[38] | |
|
|
|
|
|
 Iraq |
Legal since 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Israel |
Legal since 1963 de facto 1988 de jure[82] + UN decl. sign. |
Unregistered cohabition Legal |
/ Cannot be performed in the country, but foreign same-sex marriages are recognised |
[83][84] |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
[citation needed] |
 Jordan |
Legal since 1951 |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Kuwait |
Illegal (Penalty: fines, men under 21 face prison sentences up to 10 years, men over 21 face prison sentences up to 7 years) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Lebanon |
Illegal (Penalty: minimal, unknown); very lax enforcement[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Oman |
Illegal (Penalty: fines, prison sentence up to 3 years; however, only enforced when dealing with "public scandal") |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Palestinian territories (Gaza) |
Male illegal (Penalty: up to 10 year prison sentence) Female legal |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
| Palestinian territories (West Bank) |
Legal since 1951[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Qatar |
Illegal (Penalty: fines, prison sentence up to 5 years) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Saudi Arabia |
Illegal (Penalty: death or prison/fines/whipping) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Syria |
Illegal (Penalty: prison sentence up to 3 years; law de facto suspended) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 United Arab Emirates |
Illegal (Penalty: deportation, fines, prison time or death sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Yemen |
Illegal (Penalty: flogging or death) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
[edit] South Asia
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan |
Illegal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Bangladesh |
Illegal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Bhutan |
Illegal (Penalty: prison sentence up to 1 year; no cases of penalty actually enforced) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 India |
Legal since 2009 Delhi High Court ruling |
No explicit recognition.[85] |
No explicit recognition.[85] |
|
[86] |
|
. There are no laws to protect from discrimination. |
 Iran |
Illegal (Penalty: Death) |
|
|
|
|
|
Transsexuality in Iran is legal if accompanied by a sex change operation; however, transsexuals still report societal intolerance.[87] |
 Maldives |
? Criminal code does not criminalize same-sex sexual relations; sharia law may apply, but no applications have been reported | |
|
|
[citation needed] |
|
|
 Nepal |
Legal since 2007[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
Under consideration |
Under consideration |
|
Supreme Court ruled discrimination laws apply to homosexuals |
"Third gender" cards have been issued since September 2007, legally protected class[88] |
 Pakistan |
Illegal (Penalty: 2 years to life sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
'Third gender' officially protected from discrimination by Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2010 |
 Sri Lanka |
? Status unclear - British-enacted sodomy law may apply, never implemented | |
|
|
[citation needed] |
|
|
[edit] East Asia
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 China |
Legal since 1997 |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Transsexuals allowed to change legal gender |
 Hong Kong |
Legal since 1991 (equal age of consent of 16 for both heterosexual and homosexual sex since 2006) |
|
|
|
The People's Republic of China is in charge of Hong Kong's defence affairs. Regardless of sexual orientation, military personnel are not recruited from Hong Kong. | |
|
 Japan |
Legal since 1880 (was illegal from 1873-1880; before that there were no laws forbidding sodomy) + UN decl. sign. |
|
Foreign same-sex marriages recognized.[89] |
|
[90] |
No nationwide protections, but some cities ban some anti-gay discriminations[38] |
Transsexuals allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery and in case that the transsexual has no child under 20 years old |
 Macau |
Legal since 1996 |
|
|
|
Unknown (China responsible for defence) | |
Unknown |
 Mongolia |
Legal since 2002 |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 North Korea |
(showing public affection is frowned upon even for heterosexual couples) |
|
|
|
|
|
Unknown although there are heavily obeyed gender roles for both male and female. See Let's trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle |
 South Korea |
Legal |
|
|
|
|
|
Transsexuals allowed to change legal gender |
 Taiwan |
Legal |
|
Pending law allows civil unions or same-sex marriage. |
|
Due to military draft |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination (in work and education) |
Transsexuals allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery |
[edit] Southeast Asia
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (Sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brunei |
Illegal (Penalty: fine or prison sentence up to 10 years) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Burma |
Illegal (Penalty: up to life sentence) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Cambodia |
Legal |
|
Technically prohibited, though there has been at least one recorded case of a legally registered and recognized same-sex marriage |
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 East Timor |
Legal + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Indonesia |
Legal[91] except for Muslims in Aceh Province[92] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Laos |
Legal |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
 Malaysia |
Illegal (Penalty: fines, prison sentence (2-20 years), or whippings) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Philippines |
Legal.[93][94] except for Muslims in Marawi City |
[94] |
[94] |
[95] |
Since 2009 |
No national protections, but Quezon City and Albay have anti-discrimination ordinances[96] National bill pending but still not made into law |
Unknown |
 Singapore |
Male illegal (Penalty: up to 2 years prison sentence; no plan to repeal 377A and not enforced since 1999)
|
|
|
|
Due to conscription, but gays are not allowed to go to command school or serve in sensitive units. |
|
|
 Thailand |
Legal since 1956 |
|
|
|
Since 2005 |
|
Unknown |
 Vietnam |
Legal (no laws against homosexuality have ever existed) |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
Unknown |
Europe
Main article: LGBT rights in Europe
[edit] European Union
 |
See: LGBT rights in the European Union European Union law forbids discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. All EU states are required to legalise homosexuality and implement anti-discrimination laws.[97][98] |
[edit] Central Europe
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
Legal since 1971 + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2010 |
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Croatia |
Legal since 1977 + UN decl. sign. |
Unregistered cohabitation since 2003 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[99][100] |
Act on the elimination of discrimination, The Law on volunteering, Electronic media Law (all including both gender identity and gender expression) |
 Czech Republic |
Legal since 1962 + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2006. |
|
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Germany |
Legal since 1969 (since 1968 in East Germany) + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2001 |
|
/ Step-child adoption only (full joint adoption proposed) |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Hungary |
Legal since 1962 + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2009 |
Constitutional ban since 2012[101] |
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Liechtenstein |
Legal since 1989 + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2011 |
|
|
N/A | |
|
 Poland |
Never punished. Legal until 18th century, criminalized in 19th by laws of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, legal again since 1932 + UN decl. sign. |
(proposed) |
Constitution defines marriage as "a union of a man and a woman"[102] |
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Sex change legal; birth certificate is amended after the reassignment surgery |
 Slovakia |
Legal since 1962 + UN decl. sign. |
(proposed) |
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Slovenia |
Legal since 1977 + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2006 |
|
|
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination |
Sex change is legal: new documents can be issued based on a person's new gender identity.[103] |
 Switzerland |
Geneva, Vaud, Valais and Ticino: legal since 1798. Nationwide since 1942 + UN decl. sign. |
Registered partnership since 2007 |
|
Single gay persons may adopt. (full joint-adoption proposed) |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
[edit] Eastern Europe
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania |
Legal since 1995 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[104] |
Forbids discrimination based on gender identity. |
 Armenia |
Legal since 2002 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Azerbaijan |
Legal since 2000 |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Belarus |
Legal since 1994 |
|
Constitutional ban since 1994. |
|
Banned from military service |
|
|
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Legal since 1998 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Bulgaria |
Legal since 1968 + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban since 1991. |
Single gay persons may adopt. |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Georgia |
Legal since 2000 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Kosovo |
Legal since 1970 (as part of Serbia) |
|
. |
|
|
But not implemented, LGBT people are highly discriminated, no open/legal LGBT organisation. |
[105] |
 Macedonia |
Legal since 1996 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Moldova |
Legal since 1995 |
|
Constitutional ban since 1994. |
|
|
Some cities ban the "propaganda" of homosexualism |
|
 Montenegro |
Legal since 1977 + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban since 2007. |
|
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[106] |
Forbids discrimination based on gender identity. |
 Romania |
Legal since 1996 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Russia (incl. all constituent regions) |
Legal since 1993. Previously legal from 1917 to 1930. |
|
|
|
|
Some regions ban the "propaganda" of homosexualism |
|
 Serbia |
Legal since 1994 + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitution defines marriage as "a union of a man and a woman" |
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Act on the elimination of discrimination |
 Ukraine |
Legal since 1991 |
|
Constitution defines marriage as "a union of a man and a woman" |
|
|
|
[edit] Northern Europe
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denmark |
Legal since 1933 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 1989. First country to legalise same-sex unions. |
(to become legal on June 15th) |
Only in registered partnerships since 2010 |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[38][100] |
|
 Estonia |
Legal since 1992 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
Single persons may adopt. Two people can adopt a child only if they are married.[107] |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Faroe Islands (constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark) |
Legal since 1933 |
|
|
|
(Denmark responsible for defence) |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Finland |
Legal since 1971 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2002 |
(under consideration)[108] |
/ Step-child adoption only (full joint adoption under consideration) |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Greenland (constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark) |
Legal since 1933 +UN decl. sign via Denmark. |
Legal since 1996 |
|
/ Step-child adoption only |
(Denmark responsible for defence) |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Iceland |
Legal since 1940 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 1996 |
Legal since 2010 |
Legal since 2006 |
N/A | Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
Sex changes are legal and documents can be amended to the recognised gender. |
 Ireland |
Legal since 1993 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2011 |
Supreme Court decision pending |
Single gay persons may adopt. Step Child adoption under consideration. |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
Legislation to recognise gender identity pending after High Court ruling in favour. |
 Isle of Man |
Legal since 1992 |
Legal since 2011 |
|
|
UK responsible for defence |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Gender Recognition Act 2009[1] |
 Latvia |
Legal since 1992 + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban since 2006 |
Only married couples can adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Lithuania |
Legal since 1993 + UN decl. sign. |
|
Constitutional ban since 1992 |
Only married couples can adopt |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Norway |
Legal since 1972 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 1993 |
Legal since 2009 |
Legal since 2009 |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination.[109][100] |
Sex changes are legal and documents can be amended to the recognised gender. |
 Sweden |
Legal since 1944 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 1995 |
Legal since 2009 |
Legal since 2003 |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[38] |
Sterilization (Sweden is pursuing to ban sterilization for transgender people)and divorce necessary for legal gender change. |
| United Kingdom |
Legal since 1967 in England and Wales, 1981 in Scotland and 1982 in Northern Ireland + UN decl. sign. |
Civil partnership since 2005 |
(under consideration) |
Legal since 2002 in England and Wales, 2009 in Scotland and unclear in Northern Ireland |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[110][38] |
Gender Recognition Act 2004 |
[edit] Southern Europe
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra |
Legal since 1790 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2005 |
|
Legal since 2005 |
N/A | Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
 Cyprus |
Legal since 1998 + UN decl. sign. |
(proposed) |
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Gibraltar (overseas territory of the UK) |
Legal since 1993 |
|
|
|
UK responsible for defence |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Greece |
Legal since 1951 (Age of consent discrepancy) + UN decl. sign. |
(proposed) |
|
(proposed)[111] |
[112] |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Italy |
Legal since 1890 + UN decl. sign. |
(proposed) |
|
Only married couples can adopt |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Sex changes are legal and documents can be amended to the recognised gender.[113] |
 Malta |
Legal since 1973 + UN decl. sign. |
(proposed) |
|
|
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Sex changes are legal and documents can be amended to the recognised gender |
 Portugal |
Legal since 1983 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2001 |
Legal since 2010 |
Single gay persons may adopt |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination, according to Constitution[100] |
Sex changes are legal and documents can be amended to the recognised gender, simplified in 2011. |
 San Marino |
Legal since 2001 + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Spain |
Legal since 1979 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 1998 |
Legal since 2005 |
|
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
La Ley de Identidad de Género (Gender Identity Law), enacted in 2007. |
 Turkey |
Legal since 1858[38] |
|
|
|
|
Committee formed in March 2010 to draft a discrimination clause including sexual orientation.[114] |
|
 Vatican City |
Legal[38] |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
[edit] Western Europe
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium |
Legal since 1795 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2000 |
Legal since 2003 |
Legal since 2006 |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
| France |
Legal since 1791 + UN decl. sign. |
Pacte civil de solidarité since 1999 |
(to become legal in 2013) |
Single gay persons may adopt (to become legal in 2013) |
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[38][100] |
|
 Guernsey (incl.  Alderney,  Herm and  Sark) |
legal since 1983 |
(proposed) |
|
|
UK responsible for defence |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination[115] |
[115] |
 Jersey |
legal since 1990 |
Legal since 2012 |
|
|
UK responsible for defence |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
Gender Recognition (Jersey) Law 2010[2] |
 Luxembourg |
Legal since 1795 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2004 |
(proposed) |
Single gay persons may adopt (step-child only proposed) |
|
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Monaco |
Legal since 1793 |
|
|
|
France responsible for defence |
|
|
 Netherlands |
Legal since 1811 + UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 1998 |
Legal since 2001. First country to legalise same-sex marriage. |
|
|
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[100] |
|
[edit] Partially recognised states
| LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Turkish Republic Northern Cyprus (recognised only by the Republic of Turkey) |
Male illegal (Expected to be decriminalised in 2012), Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
Oceania
Main article: LGBT rights in Oceania
[edit] Australasia
| LGBT rights in: | Homosexual acts legal? | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia (including territories of  Christmas Island,  Cocos (Keeling) Islands,  Norfolk Island) |
Legal nationwide since 1994.
+ UN decl. sign. |
Unregistered cohabitation since 2009 Civil Union schemes in ACT, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales |
(Proposed)
banned under the Marriage Act 1961 |
/ Single gay persons may adopt; joint adoption in ACT, New South Wales and Western Australia. Stepchild adoption in Tasmania and Queensland. |
since 1992 |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination |
Covered by all state and territory laws only. |
 New Zealand |
Legal since 1986.
+ UN decl. sign. |
Legal since 2005. |
(Proposed)
banned under the Marriage Act 1955 |
Single gay persons may adopt. |
since 1993 |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination |
Covered under the "sex discrimination" provision of the Human Rights Act 1993 since 2006. |
[edit] Melanesia
| LGBT rights in: | Homosexual acts legal? | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Timor (terminology "Oceania" varies on border definitions) |
Legal since 1975[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
 Fiji |
Legal since 2010[116] + UN decl. sign. |
|
banned under the Marriage Act 2002 |
|
Unknown | 1997 constitution that banned all anti-gay discrimination has been repealed. |
Unknown |
 New Caledonia (overseas collectivity of France) |
Legal |
PACS since 2009 |
|
|
French responsibility |
Unknown | |
 Papua New Guinea |
Illegal[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Solomon Islands |
Illegal[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Vanuatu |
Legal since 2007[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Unknown | |
|
[edit] Micronesia
| LGBT rights in: | Homosexual acts legal? | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Guam (unincorporated territory of the United States) |
Legal since 1979 |
(proposed) |
|
Legal since 2002 |
since 2011 |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination, also US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
 Federated States of Micronesia |
Legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
since 2011 |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
 Kiribati |
Male illegal Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Marshall Islands |
Legal since 2005[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
since 2011 |
|
|
 Nauru |
Male illegal Female legal[38](legalisation proposed under a new Criminal Code) + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Australia's responsibility |
|
|
 Northern Mariana Islands |
since 1983 |
|
|
|
since 2011 |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
 Palau |
Male illegal Female legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
[edit] Polynesia
| LGBT rights in: | Homosexual acts legal? | Recognition of same-sex relationships | Same-sex marriage | Same-sex adoption | Allows gays to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination (sexual orientation) | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 American Samoa (unincorporated territory of the United States)[117] |
Legal since 1899 |
|
|
|
since 2011 |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
The US hate crime laws also apply to all US external territories as well |
 Easter Island (overseas territory of Chile) |
Legal since 1998 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Cook Islands (part of the realm of New Zealand) |
Male illegal Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
New Zealand's responsibility |
|
|
 French Polynesia (overseas collectivity of France) |
Legal |
|
|
|
French responsibility |
Unknown |
- |
 Hawaii (State of the United States) |
Since 1972 |
Reciprocal beneficiary rights since 1997; civil union from 2012 |
Constitutional and statute ban since 1998 |
From 2012 (under civil union law) |
Since 2011 |
Bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation |
Bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity/expression |
 Niue (part of the realm of New Zealand) |
Legal since 2007[38] |
|
|
|
Has no military forces | Unknown | |
 Pitcairn Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom) |
Legal since 1967 |
|
|
|
|
Bans most anti-gay discrimination |
|
 Samoa |
Legalisation proposed under a new Criminal Code[3] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Has no military forces | |
|
 Tokelau (part of the realm of New Zealand) |
Legal 2007[38] |
|
|
|
Has no military forces | |
|
 Tonga |
Male illegal Female legal[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Tuvalu |
Male illegal Female legal[38] + UN decl. sign. |
|
|
|
Has no military forces | |
Unknown |
 Wallis and Futuna (overseas collectivity of France) |
Legal |
PACS since 2009 |
|
|
French responsibility |
Unknown |
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Jordans, Frank (June 17, 2011). "U.N. Gay Rights Protection Resolution Passes, Hailed As 'Historic Moment'". Associated Press. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/un-gay-rights-protection-resolution-passes-_n_879032.html.
- ^ "UN issues first report on human rights of gay and lesbian people". United Nations. 15 December 2011. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40743.
- ^ ritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex, p. 40
- ^ http://galva108.org/deities.html
- ^ Eva Cantarella, Bisexuality in the Ancient World (Yale University Press, 1992, 2002, originally published 1988 in Italian), p. xi; Marilyn B. Skinner, introduction to Roman Sexualities (Princeton University Press, 1997), p. 11.
- ^ Thomas A.J. McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome (Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 326.
- ^ Catharine Edwards, "Unspeakable Professions: Public Performance and Prostitution in Ancient Rome," in Roman Sexualities, pp. 67–68.
- ^ Amy Richlin, The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor (Oxford University Press, 1983, 1992), p. 225, and "Not before Homosexuality: The Materiality of the cinaedus and the Roman Law against Love between Men," Journal of the History of Sexuality 3.4 (1993), p. 525.
- ^ Plutarch, Moralia 288a; Thomas Habinek, "The Invention of Sexuality in the World-City of Rome," in The Roman Cultural Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 1997), p. 39; Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," pp. 545–546. Scholars disagree as to whether the Lex Scantinia imposed the death penalty or a hefty fine.
- ^ Craig Williams, Roman Homosexuality (Oxford University Press, 1999, 2010), p. 304, citing Saara Lilja, Homosexuality in Republican and Augustan Rome (Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1983), p. 122.
- ^ Williams, Roman Homosexuality, pp. 214–215; Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," passim.
- ^ Catharine Edwards, The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome (Cambridge University Press, 1993), pp. 63–64.
- ^ As recorded in a fragment of the speech De Re Floria by Cato the Elder (frg. 57 Jordan = Aulus Gellius 9.12.7), noted and discussed by Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," p. 561.
- ^ Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," pp. 562–563. See also Digest 48.5.35 [34] on legal definitions of rape that included boys.
- ^ Under the Lex Aquilia. See McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality, and the Law in Ancient Rome, p. 314.
- ^ McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome, p. 40.
- ^ Sara Elise Phang, Roman Military Service: Ideologies of Discipline in the Late Republic and Early Principate (Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 93.
- ^ Polybius, Histories 6.37.9 (translated as bastinado).
- ^ Phang, The Marriage of Roman Soldiers, pp. 280–285.
- ^ Phang, The Marriage of Roman Soldiers, p. 3.
- ^ Williams, Roman Homosexuality, p. 112 et passim.
- ^ Phang, The Marriage of Roman Soldiers, pp. 285–292.
- ^ Juvenal, Satire 2; Williams, Roman Homosexuality, p. 28.
- ^ Suetonius Life of Nero 28–29; Williams, Roman Homosexuality, p. 279ff.
- ^ Michael Groneberg, "Reasons for Homophobia: Three Types of Explanation," in Combatting Homophobia: Experiences and Analyses Pertinent to Education (LIT Verlag, 2011), p. 193.
- ^ Codex Theodosianus 9.7.3 (4 December 342), introduced by the sons of Constantine in 342.
- ^ Groneberg, "Reasons for Homophobia," p. 193.
- ^ The Beautiful Way of the Samurai Native Tradition and Hellenic Echo
- ^ "Xinhua - English". Web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/19960101-re_/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/26/content_3970520.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ 晓飞, 郭 (2007-05-01). 中国法视野下的同性恋. 知识产权出版社. ISBN 978-7-80198-697-9.
- ^ Adoptive parents.ca - Adoption in Nunavut. "Adoption in Nunavut". http://www.adoptiveparents.ca/nun_issues.shtml.
- ^ Adoptive Parents.ca - Adoption in Yukon. "Adoption in Yukon". http://www.adoptiveparents.ca/yk_issues.shtml.
- ^ Canadian Blood Services - Société canadienne du sang. "Canadian Blood Services - Société canadienne du sang - Questions and Answers". Blood.ca. http://www.blood.ca/centreapps/internet/uw_v502_mainengine.nsf/page/Questions%20and%20Answers?OpenDocument#HT3. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ "FDA says gay men still can’t donate blood - AIDS". MSNBC. 23 May 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18827137/. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ Resnick, Eric (17 March 2006). "Red Cross now seeks to allow gay blood donation". Gaypeopleschronicle.com. http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories06/march/0317062.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ FDA Recommends Barring Gay Men From Being Sperm Donors By Linda Orlando
- ^ American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) requires sperm donors be screened for all infections
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by State-sponsored Homophobia A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults
- ^ Gambia: Mob Violence And Murder Feared After President's Gay Beheading Threat, AllAfrica, 12 June 2008
- ^ Burundi abolishes the death penalty but bans homosexuality 27 April 2009.
- ^ Kenya Constitution
- ^ Section 158(3)(c)-(d), The Children Act, 2001
- ^ Sections 3-4, The Adoption of Children Act
- ^ The Sexual Offences Bill 2007
- ^ a b Africa: Outspoken activists defend continent's sexual diversity
- ^ Mozambique Gay Rights Group Wants Explicit Constitutional Protections
- ^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
- ^ "Criminal Code (R.S., 1985, c. C-46), Section 159, Subsection (1)". Department of Justice Canada. 21 May 2010.
- ^ Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights (92-1E)
- ^ Same Sex Couple Adoption: The Situation in Canada and Australia (Research Note 29 1999-2000)
- ^ "Canadian Armed Forces". The Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives. http://www.clga.ca/Material/Records/docs/details/caf.htm. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Northwest Territories Human Rights Act, S.N.W.T. 2002, c.18. Section 5.
- ^ a b David Agren (10 August 2010). "Mexican States Ordered to Honor Gay Marriages". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/world/americas/11mexico.html?_r=1. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ a b Associated Press (4 March 2010). "Mexico City's gay marriage law takes effect". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35714490/ns/world_news-americas/#storyContinued. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ (Spanish) José Reyes (28 November 2011). "Adopción gay será posible en Coahuila". Vanguardia. http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/adopciongayseraposibleencoahuila-1158988.html. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ "Intercountry Adoption: Mexico". Office of Children Issues, U.S. Dept. of State. November 2009. http://adoption.state.gov/country/mexico.html.
- ^ (Spanish) Milenio Semanal (17 October 2010). "Homosexualidad y Ejército". http://www.msemanal.com/node/3117. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^ International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) (23 April 2003). "Mexico protects its gay and lesbian citizens with new law". http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mexico+protects+its+gay+and+lesbian+citizens+with+new+law.-a0108149079. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) Trans (29 August 2008). "Mexico City extends official rights to transgender individuals". http://trans.ilga.org/trans/welcome_to_the_ilga_trans_secretariat/news/mexico_mexico_city_extends_official_rights_to_transgender_individuals. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ Argentina Passes Gay Marriage Bill
- ^ AG magazine (2 March 2009). "A New Argentina Overturns Gay Military Ban". Queerty. http://www.queerty.com/a-new-argentina-overturns-gay-military-ban-20090302/. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Página12, 10 May 2012
- ^ Constitución Política del Estado VIGENTE Bolivia
- ^ (Portuguese) Iara Bernardi (Dezember 2010). "Projeto de Lei 122/2006". http://www.senado.gov.br/atividade/materia/Consulta.asp?STR_TIPO=PLC&TXT_NUM=122&TXT_ANO=2006&Tipo_Cons=6&IND_COMPL=&FlagTot=1. Retrieved 31 Dezember 2010.
- ^ (Portuguese) Expresso da Notícia (13 January 2006). "Justiça autoriza alteração no registro de transexual que trocou de sexo". Jus Brasil. http://www.jusbrasil.com.br/noticias/135663/justica-autoriza-alteracao-no-registro-de-transexual-que-trocou-de-sexo. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ (Portuguese) Expresso da Notícia (25 December 2005). "Justica autoriza mudança de sexo em documentos". Jus Brasil. http://www.jusbrasil.com.br/noticias/135675/justica-autoriza-mudanca-de-sexo-em-documentos. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ (Spanish) Claudio Ortiz Lazo. "Reflexiones en torno a la homosexualidady fuerzas armadas". Revista Fuerzas Armadas y Sociedad. http://www.scribd.com/ashesa777/d/41789964-Homosexualidad-y-Fuerzas-Armadas-Claudio-Ortiz-Lazo-Ministerio-de-Defensa-Nacional-Chile#. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ (Spanish) Movilh (February 2011). "IX Informe Anual de Derechos Humanos de la Diversidad Sexual en Chile". http://www.movilh.cl/documentacion/IX-Informe-anual-ddhh-2010-movilh.pdf. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ "Ordenan al ICBF iniciar trámite para que lesbiana adopte hija de su pareja". CaracolTV.com. 23 January 2010. http://www.caracoltv.com/noticias/justicia/articulo165973-ordenan-al-icbf-iniciar-tramite-lesbiana-adopte-hija-de-su-pareja. Retrieved 30 September 2010. (Spanish)
- ^ "Este miércoles el presidente Santos sanciona ley antidiscriminación". ElTiempo.com. 29 November 2011. http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-10855506.html. Retrieved 29 November 2011. (Spanish)
- ^ Mora, Manuel Velandia. "Cambio de nombre es posible en Colombia". Manuel Antonio Velandia Mora Autobiografía y artículos. http://manuelvelandiaautobiografiayarticulos.blogspot.com/2007/12/el-cambio-de-nombre-es-posible-en.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010. (Spanish)
- ^ Rodríguez, Yesyd. "Ecuador celebró la primera unión de hecho entre personas del mismo sexo, desatando la indignación de la iglesia católica". Dos Manzanas. http://www.dosmanzanas.com/2009/10/ecuador-celebro-la-primera-union-de-hecho-entre-personas-del-mismo-sexo-desatando-la-indignacion-de-la-iglesia-catolica.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010. (Spanish)
- ^ a b "Paraguay - Constitution". International Contitutional Law. http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/pa00000_.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ "El Tribunal Constitucional de Perú considera que no se puede excluir de la Polícia o el Ejército a las personas homosexuales". Dos Manzanas. 13 December 2009. http://www.dosmanzanas.com/2009/12/el-tribunal-constitucional-de-peru-considera-que-no-se-puede-excluir-de-la-policia-o-el-ejercito-a-las-personas-homosexuales.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Hilary Burke (18 December 2007). "Uruguay OKs gay unions in Latin American first". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1854039020071219. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ (Spanish) AG magazine (28 May 2009). "Ahora Uruguay va por el matrimonio gay". http://www.agmagazine.info/2009/05/26/ahora-uruguay-va-por-el-matrimonio-gay/. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Reuters (9 September 2009). "Lawmakers in Uruguay Vote to Allow Gay Couples to Adopt". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/world/americas/10uruguay.html. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Rachel Weiner (15 May 2009). "Uruguay Lifts Ban On Gays In The Military". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/15/uruguay-lifts-ban-on-gays_n_203996.html. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ a b (Spanish) Congress of Uruguay (18 August 2004). "Ley N° 17.817". http://www0.parlamento.gub.uy/leyes/AccesoTextoLey.asp?Ley=17817&Anchor=. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Free Speech Radio News (11 December 2009). "Uruguay passes bill to allow citizens to choose gender identity". http://www.fsrn.org/audio/uruguay-passes-bill-allow-citizens-choose-gender-identity/5887. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/1673
- ^ LGBTQ Timeline
- ^ "Attorney General rules same sex couples eligible to adopt"
- ^ Gay couple wins right to adopt foster son
- ^ a b "Lesbian marriages, born of a legal loophole, stir debate in India". http://www.despardes.com/lifestyle/feb05/lesbian-marriages.htm.
- ^ "Being gay still a crime in the military". StratPost. 2 July 2009. http://www.stratpost.com/being-gay-still-a-crime-in-the-military. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ "CBC News - Film - Iran's gay plan". Cbc.ca. 26 August 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2008/08/26/f-homosexuality-iran-sex-change.html. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ "Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity References". U.S. Department of State Human Rights Reports for 2008. http://www.globalequality.org/storage/documents/pdf/dos_report_sogi_references_2008.pdf. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11790.html/
- ^ "Asia's Silence on Gays in Military Broken by Taiwan". Palm Center. 15 May 2002. http://www.palmcenter.org/press/dadt/releases/asias_silence_on_gays_in_military_broken_by_taiwan. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Rough Guide to South East Asia: Third Edition. Rough Guides Ltd. August 2005. p. 74. ISBN 1843534371. http://www.roughguides.com/.
- ^ "Aceh passes stoning law". The Straits Times. 14 September 2009. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_429633.html. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ "akbayan.org". akbayan.org. http://www.akbayan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=207:anti-discrimination-bill-hb-956&catid=15:bills&Itemid=100. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ a b c "Philippines: Congress Approves Anti-Discrimination Bill". Iglhrc.org. 24 January 2004. http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/502.html. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ "Adoption Law". Docstoc.com. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/8386635/Adoption-Law. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ "Gay Filipinos and Rainbow - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos". Lifestyle.inquirer.net. 21 November 2009. http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/super/super/view/20091121-237468/Gay-Filipinos-and-Rainbow. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Perspective: what has the EU done for LGBT rights?, Café Babel 17/05/10
- ^ What is the current legal situation in the EU?, ILGA Europe
- ^ "Zakon o suzbijanju diskriminacije". Narodne-novine.nn.hr. 21 July 2008. http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/340327.html. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rainbow Europe Country Index
- ^ Impey, Joanna (24 April 2011). "Hungarian president signs new constitution despite human rights concerns". Deutsche Welle. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15028544,00.html. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ The Constitution of the Republic of Poland
- ^ ZAKON O MATIČNEM REGISTRU
- ^ "Albania protects LGBT people from discrimination". ILGA-Europe. 5 February 2010. http://www.ilga-europe.org/europe/news/latest_news/albania_protects_lgbt_people_from_discrimination. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ LGBT rights in Kosovo
- ^ Montenegro fulfils EU membership requirement and protects LGBT people from discrimination
- ^ Family Code, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/1011053, § 75
- ^ "Gender-Neutral Marriage Law Possible by 2012". YLE. http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/07/gender-neutral_marriage_law_possible_by_2012_1804013.html. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ^ "Norwegian Penal code, Straffeloven, section 135a" (in Norwegian). Lovdata. http://www.lovdata.no/all/tl-19020522-010-017.html.
- ^ Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c. 4)
- ^ http://www.tovima.gr/society/article/?aid=400009
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation_and_military_service#Greece
- ^ "Legge 14 Aprile 1982, n. 164 (GU n. 106 del 19/04/1982) Norme in Materia di Rettificazione di Attribuzione di Sesso." (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2007-05-23. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20070523022319/http://www.italgiure.giustizia.it/nir/lexs/1982/lexs_282171.html.
- ^ Discrimination will be banned, draft law says
- ^ a b "The Prevention of Discrimination (Enabling Provisions) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2004". Guernsey Legal Resources. http://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/ccm/legal-resources/laws/discrimination/prevention-of-discrimination-enabling-provisions-bailiwick-of-guernsey-law-2004.en. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Chand, Shalveen (26 February 2010). "Same sex law decriminalised". Fiji Times. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=140812. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- ^ "Sodomy Laws American Samoa". Sodomylaws.org. N.A.. http://www.sodomylaws.org/usa/samoa/samoa.htm. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
External links[link]
- International Lesbian and Gay Association
- Map on LGBTI rights around the world — 2008 version
- State-sponsored Homophobia — 2008 edition of worldwide survey of homosexuality laws
- State-sponsored Homophobia — 2009 edition of worldwide survey of homosexuality laws
- Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual: Law at the Open Directory Project
- Amnesty International USA: LGBT legal status around the world — interactive map
- GayLawNet: Laws — information by country
- International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
- Resource links — for researching legal information
- International Commission of Jurists, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Justice - A Comparative Law Casebook
- United Nations Human Rights Council, Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, an annual report
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: LGBT rights by country or territory |
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Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Diritti LGBT nel mondo
http://cs.wn.com/Zákony týkající se homosexuality
http://id.wn.com/Hak LGBT menurut negara
http://es.wn.com/Legislación sobre la homosexualidad en el mundo
http://ru.wn.com/Права ЛГБТ в государствах и территориальных областях
http://pt.wn.com/Legislação sobre a homossexualidade no mundo
http://pl.wn.com/Sytuacja prawna i społeczna osób LGBT na świecie
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Christopher James "Chris" Kluwe (pronounced /ˈkluːi/; born December 24, 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a punter for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Seattle Seahawks, as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at UCLA.
Contents |
High school[link]
Kluwe played three years of varsity football for coach John Barnes at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California and was selected to play in both the California-Texas Shrine game and the CaliFlorida Bowl. He also made the USA Today first-team All-American as a punter. Once he kicked an Orange County and CIF Playoff record 60-yard field goal vs. Loyola to force overtime in an eventual 30-23 victory. Averaged 46.6 yards as a punter, had 10 punts of at least 60 yards and placed six kicks inside the 10-yard line. As a place kicker, he made 16 of 22 field goal attempts and 39 of 41 PATs. Prior to his senior year, he won the punting competition at the National Kicking Invitational with a 63-yard punt that had 4.98 hang time. As a junior, he averaged 44.8 yards per punt, 25 of his 27 punts were either fair catches or returned for fewer than five yards, 16 punts were downed inside the 20 yard-line and eight punts pinned the opposition inside the 10 yard-line. Kluwe also played a year of baseball as a pitcher for coach Rob Wigod.
College[link]
Kluwe developed into one of the top punters in the Pac-10 playing for UCLA. He used his strong leg to break two school records (Punt Yardage and Number of Punts in a season). In his senior year, he ranked 4th in the Pac-10 and 26th in the NCAA in Yards per Punt (42.9). In 2004 he punted 10 times against Illinois, one shy of the school single-game record, and averaged 37.9 yards with three kicks inside the 20-yard line. He was selected Special Teams Player of the Game in the Silicon Valley Football Classic against Fresno State after averaging 44.3 yards on nine kicks and he tied the bowl record with his nine punts and placed three kicks inside the 20-yard line.
Varsity Stats at UCLA
| Year | Punts | Yards | Average | In 20 | Long |
| 2001 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | 25 |
| 2002 | 1 | 44 | 44.0 | 0 | 44 |
| 2003 | 91 | 3908 | 42.9 | 19 | 66 |
| Totals | 93 | 3977 | 42.8 | 19 | 66 |
NFL[link]
Chris Kluwe was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks. He was released by the Seahawks for the final roster cutdown and was picked up the next day by the Vikings. Chris became one of the most surprising pickups for the Vikings, finishing the season with an average of 44.1 yards per punt, ranking second in the NFC and sixth in the league. Minnesota had to call on him 71 times during the season, and Kluwe's ability to pin opposing offenses deep in their own territory has helped the Vikings' defense.
During a week-13 game in Detroit, Lions safety Vernon Fox dove towards Kluwe during a punt and collided with his plant foot. Tests showed Kluwe had a sprained ankle and would be out for 1–2 weeks. Kicker Paul Edinger was the punter for the remainder of the game, but a few days later the Vikings signed the 42-year old veteran Darren Bennett temporarily until Kluwe's ankle had healed. Bennett was the Vikings' punter in the 2004 season.
On October 25, 2007 Kluwe signed an $8.3-million contract extension through 2013. The deal made Kluwe, who would have been a restricted free agent in the 2008 offseason, one of the 10 highest paid punters in the NFL.
On December 20, 2010, Kluwe had the dubious distinction of punting the ball that the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester would return for a touchdown, breaking the all-time NFL record for combined punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns. Previously in the game, Kluwe had successfully kept the ball out of Hester's hands on four punts.[1]
In 2011 Kluwe changed his jersey number to #4 when the Vikings acquired quarterback Donovan McNabb. McNabb previously wore the number #5 for the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles, and assumed the number when he arrived in Minnesota. Kluwe took up the number which was previously worn by quarterback Brett Favre in 2009 and 2010.
2011 NFL Labor Dispute[link]
During the 2011 NFL lockout, the Boston Globe reported that an agreement between owners and the players' union was being held up by special considerations for a few top names,[2] Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson, and Logan Mankins. Kluwe tweeted his frustration at this impasse, assailing their greed and calling them "douchebags".[3]
After Nate Jackson wrote an article for the sport website Deadspin, excoriating Kluwe for talking "out of turn",[4] Kluwe responded with his own article, highlighting the contrast between his own fruitful career and Jackson's lack of statistics, while reiterating his opinion that four people endangering the livelihoods of the 1,900 affected by the dispute was "pretty much the definition of greed".[5]
Video Games[link]
Kluwe is also well known as an avid Guitar Hero 2 player, having once made an appearance on Minnesota's 93X radio station while playing the game with Andy McNamara from Game Informer magazine.[6] He is also a frequent guest on Minnesota sports station KFAN for "Video Games Weekly" on Wednesday nights. During a KFAN interview on the PA and Dubay show, he admitted he was not very good at sports games.
Chris has also immersed himself into the MMORPG World of Warcraft, having earned over 8000 achievement points.[7] Kluwe plays a troll rogue named Loate[8] and has been a member of one of the formerly top-ranked US guilds, The Flying Hellfish, for over two years.[9]
Music[link]
In addition to his full time job as punter for the Vikings, Kluwe is the bassist for the local Minneapolis alternative/progressive rock band, Tripping Icarus. Chris formed the band in 2009 with his friends Andrew Reiner (guitar) and Matthew Marshall (drums), and later recruited Jesse Revel to join on lead vocals. Tripping Icarus recorded their debut EP, The Sideshow Sessions, in the summer of 2009. A year later, they recorded their first full length LP, Perfect Citizen, which is slated for an early 2011 release.[10] When Donovan McNabb was traded to Minnesota prior to the 2011 season, Kluwe offered McNabb the number 5 jersey in exchange for mentioning Tripping Icarus in at least 5 press conferences, as well as donating $5,000 to Kluwe's charity.[11] However, McNabb only mentioned the band twice, and still has yet to donate to the charity.[12]
Family[link]
Kluwe and his wife Isabel had their first child in July 2008, and their second in 2010.
Radio[link]
Kluwe also talks almost every week in the sports section of "The Half-Assed Morning Show" a radio show in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul radio station KXXR "93X" in which he is called "Chris Warcraft", he often talks about Minnesota Vikings locker room situations, video games or his rock band, Tripping Icarus.
One particular segment of the show involved a wager with Nick, a vocal talent of the morning show. The wager consisted of Nick challenging that the Minnesota Vikings would lose their upcoming game to the Green Bay Packers. Kluwe agreed that if the Minnesota Vikings lost, he would apply a temporary tattoo of the radio station on his left bicep and display it on television for the following game. Kluwe claims to have followed through on the bet, however the tattoo was not clearly visible.
Notes and references[link]
- ^ "Hester runs into the NFL record book", http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=7408, retrieved 12-23-2010
- ^ http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2011/07/brees_manning_r.html
- ^ http://twitter.com/#%21/ChrisWarcraft/status/93372491627642880
- ^ http://deadspin.com/5823549/dear-chris-kluwe-when-we-want-the-punters-opinion-well-ask-for-it-we-wont
- ^ http://deadspin.com/5823788/chris-kluwe-responds-can-i-kick-it-yes-i-can
- ^ "93X ROCKS! Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota radio station website". http://www.93x.com/photowall.asp?id=32850.
- ^ http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/kiljaeden/loate/achievement
- ^ http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/kiljaeden/loate/advanced
- ^ http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/12/30/vikings-punter-chris-kluwe-plays-wow/
- ^ http://www.trippingicarus.com
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/If-McNabb-wants-5-he-8217-ll-be-promoting-a-p?urn=nfl-wp4056
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Donovan-McNabb-never-paid-Chris-Kluwe-for-wearin?urn=nfl-wp14575
External links[link]
- Chris Kluwe at ESPN.com
- Chris Kluwe at NFL.com
- Vikings Bio
- Twitter profile
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Darren Bennett |
Minnesota Vikings Punters 2005–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Current punters in the National Football League (as of Week 17 of the 2011 NFL season) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| American Football Conference | |||
| AFC East
Brian Moorman (Buffalo Bills) |
AFC North
Sam Koch (Baltimore Ravens) |
AFC South
Matt Turk (Houston Texans) |
AFC West
Britton Colquitt (Denver Broncos) |
| National Football Conference | |||
| NFC East
Chris Jones (Dallas Cowboys) |
NFC North
Adam Podlesh (Chicago Bears) |
NFC South
Matt Bosher (Atlanta Falcons) |
NFC West
Dave Zastudil (Arizona Cardinals) |
|
||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kluwe, Chris |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Player of American football |
| Date of birth | December 24, 1981 |
| Place of birth | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Chris_Kluwe
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Barack Obama | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 44th President of the United States | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2009 |
|
| Vice President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | George W. Bush |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barack Hussein Obama II[1] (1961-08-04) August 4, 1961 (age 50) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle Robinson (m. 1992) |
| Children | Malia (b.1998) Sasha (b.2001) |
| Residence | The White House |
| Alma mater | Occidental College Columbia University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
| Profession | Community organizer Attorney Author Constitutional law professor United States Senator President of the United States |
| Religion | Christian,[2] former member of United Church of Christ[3][4] |
| Signature |  |
| Website | WhiteHouse.gov |
 |
This article is part of a series on Barack Obama |
|---|---|
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009, when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the United States, as well as the first born in Hawaii.
His policy decisions have addressed a global financial crisis and have included changes in tax policies, legislation to reform the United States health care industry, foreign policy initiatives and the phasing out of detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He attended the G-20 London summit and later visited U.S. troops in Iraq. On the tour of various European countries following the G-20 summit, he announced in Prague that he intended to negotiate substantial reduction in the world's nuclear arsenals, en route to their eventual extinction. In October 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
Contents
|
Transition period[link]
Main article: Presidential transition of Barack Obama
The presidential transition period began following Obama's election to the presidency on November 4, 2008. The Obama-Biden Transition Project was co-chaired by John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse. During the transition period, Obama announced his nominations for his Cabinet and administration. Shortly after the election on November 4, Obama chose Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois as White House Chief of Staff.[5]
Cabinet nominations included former Democratic primary opponents Hillary Rodham Clinton for Secretary of State and Bill Richardson for Secretary of Commerce (although the latter withdrew on January 4, 2009). Obama appointed Eric Holder as his Attorney General, the first African-American appointed to that position. He also nominated Timothy F. Geithner to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.[6] On December 1, Obama announced that he had asked Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, making Gates the first Defense head to carry over from a president of a different party.[7] He nominated former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, which he restored to a Cabinet-level position.[8]
During his transition, he maintained a website Change.gov, on which he wrote blogs to readers and uploaded video addresses by many of the members of his new cabinet.[9] He announced strict rules for federal lobbyists, restricting them from financially contributing to his administration and forcing them to stop lobbying while working for him.[10] The website also allowed individuals to share stories and visions with each other and the transition team in what was called the Citizen's Briefing Book, which was given to Obama shortly after his inauguration.[11] Most of the information from Change.gov was transferred to the official White House website whitehouse.gov just after Obama's inauguration.[12]
Inauguration[link]
Main article: Inauguration of Barack Obama
Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. He officially assumed the presidency at 12:00 noon, EST,[13] and completed the oath of office at 12:05 PM, EST. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath. After his speech, he went to the President's Room in the House Wing of the Capitol and signed three documents: a commemorative proclamation, a list of Cabinet appointments, and a list of sub-Cabinet appointments, before attending a luncheon with congressional and administration leaders and invited guests.[14] To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of former President Abraham Lincoln, the same Bible that was used for Lincoln's inauguration was used in Obama's inauguration.[15]
In administering the oath, Chief Justice John G. Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" and erroneously replaced the phrase "President of the United States" with "President to the United States" before restating the phrase correctly; since Obama initially repeated the incorrect form, some scholars argued the President should take the oath again.[16] On January 21, Roberts readministered the oath to Obama in a private ceremony in the White House Map Room, making him the seventh U.S. president to retake the oath; White House Counsel Greg Craig said Obama took the oath from Roberts a second time out of an "abundance of caution".[17]
First 100 days[link]
Main article: First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency
Expectations[link]
Obama's 100th day in office was April 29, 2009. In his first post-election interview with 60 Minutes, Obama said that he has been studying Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days,[18] while adding, "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference."[19]
Obama's first 100 days were highly anticipated ever since he became the presumptive nominee.[20] Several news outlets created web pages dedicated to covering the subject.[21] Commentators weighed in on challenges and priorities within domestic, foreign, economic, and environmental policy.[22][23][24][25] CNN lists a number of economic issues that "Obama and his team will have to tackle in their first 100 days", foremost among which is passing and implementing a recovery package to deal with the financial crisis.[24] Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, expressed hopes that the new president will close Guantanamo Bay detention camp in his first 100 days in office.[23] After aides of the president announced his intention to give a major foreign policy speech in the capital of an Islamic country, there were speculations in Jakarta that he might return to his former home city within the first 100 days.[26]
The New York Times devoted a five-part series, which was spread out over two weeks, to anticipatory analysis of Obama's first hundred days. Each day, the analysis of a political expert was followed by freely edited blog postings from readers. The writers compared Obama's prospects with the situations of Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 16, Jean Edward Smith),[27] John F. Kennedy (January 19, Richard Reeves),[28] Lyndon B. Johnson (January 23, Robert Dallek),[29] Ronald Reagan (January 27, Lou Cannon),[30] and Richard Nixon.
Legislation and executive orders[link]
Within minutes of taking the Oath of Office on January 20, Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, issued an order suspending last-minute federal regulations pushed through by outgoing President George W. Bush, planning to review everything still pending.[31] Due to the economic crisis, the President enacted a pay freeze for Senior White House Staff making more than $100,000 per year,[32] as well as announcing stricter guidelines regarding lobbyists in an effort to raise the ethical standards of the White House.[33] He asked for a waiver to his own new rules, however, for the appointments of William Lynn to the position of Deputy Defense Secretary, Jocelyn Frye to the position of director of policy and projects in the Office of the First Lady, and Cecilia Muñoz to the position of director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive office of the president, leading to some criticism of hypocrisy and violation of his pledge for governmental openness.[34][35]
In his first week in office, Obama signed Executive Order 13492 suspending all the ongoing proceedings of Guantanamo military commission and ordering the detention facility to be shut down within the year.[36][37][38] He also signed Executive Order 13491 - Ensuring Lawful Interrogations requiring the Army Field Manual to be used as a guide for terror interrogations, banning torture and other coercive techniques, such as waterboarding.[39] Obama also issued an executive order entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel", setting stricter limitations on incoming executive branch employees and placing tighter restrictions on lobbying in the White House.[40] Obama signed two Presidential Memoranda concerning energy independence, ordering the Department of Transportation to establish higher fuel efficiency standards before 2011 models are released and allowing states to raise their emissions standards above the national standard.[41] He also ended the Mexico City Policy, which banned federal grants to international groups that provide abortion services or counseling.[42][43]
In his first week he also established a policy of producing a weekly Saturday morning video address available on whitehouse.gov and YouTube,[44][45][46] much like those released during his transition period.[47][48] The first address had been viewed by 600,000 YouTube viewers by the next afternoon.[49]
The first piece of legislation Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 on January 29, which revised the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination lawsuits. Lilly Ledbetter joined Obama and his wife, Michelle, as he signed the bill, fulfilling his campaign pledge to nullify Ledbetter v. Goodyear.[50] On February 3, he signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP), expanding health care from 7 million children under the plan to 11 million.[51]
 President Obama signs the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. Vice President Joe Biden stands behind him.
 Obama addresses a joint session of Congress, with Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
|
 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was a focal point of Barack Obama's February 24, 2009 Address Before a Joint Session of Congress.
|
| Problems listening to these files? See media help. | |
After much debate, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed by both the House and Senate on February 13, 2009. Originally intended to be a bipartisan bill, the passage of the bill was largely along party lines. No Republicans voted for it in the House, and three moderate Republicans voted for it in the Senate (Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania).[52] The bill combined tax breaks with spending on infrastructure projects, extension of welfare benefits, and education.[53][54] The final cost of the bill was $787 billion, and almost $1.2 trillion with debt service included.[55] Obama signed the Act into law on February 17, 2009, in Denver, Colorado.[56]
On March 9, 2009, Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research,[57] and in doing so, called into question some of George W. Bush's signing statements. Obama stated that he too would employ signing statements if he deems upon review that a portion of a bill is unconstitutional,[58][59] and he has issued several signing statements.[60]
Early in his presidency, Obama signed a law raising the tobacco tax 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes.[61] The tax is to be "used to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children", and "help some [smokers] to quit and persuade young people not to start".[61]
In October 2011, Obama instituted the We Can't Wait program, which involved using executive orders, administrative rulemaking, and recess appointments to institute policies without the support of Congress.[62] The initiative was developed in response to Congress's unwillingness to pass economic legislation proposed by Obama, and conflicts in Congress during the 2011 debt ceiling crisis.[63]
Approval ratings and opinion[link]
2009[link]
After his transition period, Obama entered office with an approval rating of 82%.[64] At the end of his first week, 68% of respondents in a Gallup poll approved of how Obama was handling his job, the second highest approval rating for a President shortly after being elected since World War II.[65] Throughout early February polls showed scattered approval ratings: 62% (CBS News),[66] 64% (USA Today/Gallup), 66% (Gallup), and 76% in an outlier poll (CNN/Opinion Research).[67][68] Gallup reported the congressional address in late February boosted his approval from a term-low of 59% to 67%.[69]
Throughout autumn 2009, Rasmussen estimated Obama's approval as fluctuating between 45% and 52% and his disapproval between 48% and 54%;[70] as of November 11, Pew Research estimated Obama's approval between 51% and 55% and his disapproval between 33% and 37% since July.[71]
Handling of the economy[link]
Rasmussen reported in mid-February 2009, that 55% of voters gave Obama good or excellent marks on his handling of the economy.[72] In early March, a The Wall Street Journal survey of 49 economists gave Obama an average grade of 59 out of 100, with 42% of the respondents surveyed giving the administration's economic policies a grade below 60 percent. In comparison, only 30% of those same economists considered the response of governments around the world to the global recession to have been adequate.[73] In April, a Gallup poll showed trust in Obama's economic policy with 71% saying they had "a fair amount" or "a great deal" of confidence in Obama's handling of the economy, higher than for Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, or leaders of Congress.[74] Another Gallup poll in June showed 55% of Americans approved Obama's overall handling of the economy, but 48% and 51% disapproved of his handling of the federal budget deficit and controlling federal spending, respectively.[75] A CBS News poll taken August 27–31 showed 53% of those polled approved of his handling of the economy.[76] A Rasmussen poll taken on November 12 found 45% of Americans rating Obama's handling of the economy as poor and 39% rating him as doing a good or excellent job. They found 72% of Democrats rated his handling of the economy as good or excellent, while only 10% of Republicans and 27% of voters not affiliated with either party agreed.[77]
2010[link]
On March 25, 2010, following his signing of landmark health care reform legislation into law, Obama's polling was revealed by Bloomberg to be 50%, with higher marks for relations with other countries (58%) and his running of the war in Afghanistan (54%). "Obama's approval rating is roughly equal to what Bill Clinton had at this point in his presidency, according to data maintained by Gallup (and) higher than the 45 percent Ronald Reagan recorded in April 1982" and more favorable than Democrats or Republicans office in 2010. They found Obama's approval rating was at 85% among Democrats, compared with 46% among independents and 11% among Republicans.[78]
Fox News released the results of two polls on April 8–9, 2010. The first showed a drop in Obama's approval rating to 43%, with 48% disapproving. In that poll, Democrats approved of Obama's performance 80–12%, while independents disapproved 49–38%.[79] The other poll, which concentrated on the economy, showed disapproval of Obama's handling of the economy by a 53–42% margin, with 62% saying they were dissatisfied with the handling of the federal deficit.[80] According to a Gallup Poll released April 10, 2010, President Obama had a 45% approval rating, with 48% disapproving.[81] In a poll from Rasmussen Reports, released April 10, 2010, 47% approved of the President's performance, while 53% disapproved.[82][83]
2011[link]
Obama's approval rating jumped to a high following the death of Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011. A GfK poll conducted May 5, 2011 found his approval rating to be 60%. During the debt ceiling debate in August 2011, Obama's approval rating dropped to the low-40s.[84]
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Major legislation[link]
2009[link]
- January 29: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- February 4: Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act
- February 11: DTV Delay Act
- February 17: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- March 30: Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009
- April 21: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
- May 20: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
- May 20: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
- May 22: Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009
- June 22: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
- August 6: Cash For Clunkers Extension Act
- October 22: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act
- October 28: Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
- October 30: Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
- November 6: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009
2010[link]
- January 27: Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Haiti Earthquake Act
- March 4: Travel Promotion Act
- March 18: Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act)
- March 23: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- March 30: Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
- May 5: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010
- May 17: Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act
- July 1: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act
- July 21: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
- July 22: Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010
- July 22: Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010
- August 10: SPEECH Act
- September 27: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
- December 9: Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010
- December 13: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
- December 17: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
- December 22: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
2011[link]
- January 2: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (H.R. 847)
- January 4: Food Safety and Modernization Act, Pub.L. 111-353, H.R. 2751
- August 2: Budget Control Act of 2011
- October 21: United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act
- October 21: United States-Panama Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act
- October 21: United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act
Personnel[link]
Cabinet appointees[link]
Main articles: First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency#Administration and Cabinet and Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet
 |
||
| The Obama Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Name | Term |
| President | Barack Obama | 2009–present |
| Vice President | Joe Biden | 2009–present |
| Secretary of State | Hillary Clinton | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Treasury | Timothy Geithner | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Defense | Robert Gates* | 2006–2011 |
| Leon Panetta | 2011–present | |
| Attorney General | Eric Holder | 2009–present |
| Secretary of the Interior | Ken Salazar | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Tom Vilsack | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Commerce | Gary Locke | 2009–2011 |
| John Bryson | 2011–present | |
| Secretary of Labor | Hilda Solis | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Health and Human Services |
Kathleen Sebelius | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Education | Arne Duncan | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Housing and Urban Development |
Shaun Donovan | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Transportation | Ray LaHood | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Energy | Steven Chu | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Eric Shinseki | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Homeland Security | Janet Napolitano | 2009–present |
| Chief of Staff | Rahm Emanuel | 2009–2010 |
| William Daley | 2011–2012 | |
| Jacob Lew | 2012–present | |
| Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency |
Lisa Jackson | 2009–present |
| Director of the Office of Management and Budget |
Peter Orszag | 2009–2010 |
| Jacob Lew | 2010–2012 | |
| Jeffrey Zients** | 2012–present | |
| Ambassador to the United Nations | Susan Rice | 2009–present |
| United States Trade Representative | Ron Kirk | 2009–present |
| *Retained from previous administration **Acting |
||
Twenty-two members of the Obama administration are either in the United States Cabinet (15) or are in positions considered to be Cabinet-level (7). The members of the Cabinet are the heads of the fifteen major departments (State, Defense, Justice, etc.), and the seven cabinet-level positions are the Vice President, White House Chief of Staff, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.[85][86] Since Robert Gates was a member of the previous administration, his letter of resignation (a formality at the end of a President's term) was simply not accepted, and he did not need confirmation.[87] On January 19, 2009, Senate Democratic leaders requested fifteen of the twenty positions to be ratified by unanimous consent,[88] and seven gained unanimous confirmation by voice vote the next day: Ken Salazar, Steven Chu, Arne Duncan, Peter Orszag, Eric Shinseki, Tom Vilsack, and Janet Napolitano.[87][89] On January 21, Obama presided over the swearing in of the seven unanimous nominees.[90] Later that day, the Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton by a 94–2 vote. On January 22, several more confirmations were approved unanimously: Susan E. Rice, Ray LaHood, Lisa P. Jackson, and Shaun Donovan.[91] On January 26, the Senate confirmed Geithner by a 60–34 margin.[92][93]
At the conclusion of Obama's first week as President, Hilda Solis, Tom Daschle, Ron Kirk, and Eric Holder had yet to be confirmed, and there had been no second appointment for Secretary of Commerce.[93] Holder was confirmed by a vote of 75–21 on February 2,[94] and on February 3, Obama announced Senator Judd Gregg as his second nomination for Secretary of Commerce.[95] Daschle withdrew later that day amid controversy over his failure to pay income taxes and potential conflicts of interest related to the speaking fees he accepted from health care interests.[96] Solis was later confirmed by a vote of 80-17 on February 24,[97] and Ron Kirk was confirmed on March 18 by a 92-5 vote in the Senate.[98]
Gregg, who was the leading Republican negotiator and author of the TARP program in the Senate, after publication that he had a multi-million dollar investment in the Bank of America, on February 12, withdrew his nomination as Secretary of Commerce, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with President Obama and his staff over how to conduct the 2010 census and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[99][100] Former Washington governor Gary Locke was nominated on February 26[101] as Obama's third choice for Commerce Secretary and confirmed on March 24 by voice vote.[102]
On March 2, Obama introduced Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius as his second choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. He also introduced Nancy-Ann DeParle as head of the new White House Office of Health Reform, which he suggested would work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services.[103][104] At the end of March, Sebelius was the only remaining Cabinet member yet to be confirmed.[102]
Six high-ranking cabinet nominees in the Obama administration had their confirmations delayed or rejected among reports that they did not pay all of their taxes, including Tom Daschle, Obama's original nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.[105] Though Geithner was confirmed, and Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, thought Daschle would have been confirmed, Daschle withdrew his nomination on February 3.[96] Obama had nominated Nancy Killefer for the position of Chief Performance Officer, but Killefer also withdrew on February 3, citing unspecified problems with District of Columbia unemployment tax.[106] A senior administration official said that Killefer's tax issues dealt with household help.[106] Hilda Solis, Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, faced delayed confirmation hearings due to tax lien concerns pertaining to her husband's auto repair business,[107] but she was later confirmed on February 24.[97] While pundits puzzled over U.S. Trade Representative-designate Ron Kirk's failure to be confirmed by March 2009, it was reported on March 2 that Kirk owed over $10,000 in back taxes. Kirk agreed to pay them in exchange for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's aid in speeding up the confirmation process;[108] he was later confirmed on March 18.[98] On March 31, Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, revealed in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee that her Certified Public Accountant found errors in her tax returns for years 2005-2007. She, along with her husband, paid more than $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest.[109]
Notable non-Cabinet positions[link]
Appointees serve at the pleasure of the President and were nominated by Barack Obama except as noted.
- Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Sheila Bair1 (2009–2011)
- Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Richard Holbrooke (2009–2010)
- Marc Grossman (2011–present)
- Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- Retired General James L. Jones (2009–2011)
- Thomas E. Donilon (2011–present)
- Special envoy to the Middle East
- George J. Mitchell (2009–2011)
- David Hale (2011–present)
- Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Robert Mueller2 (2009–present)
- Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Leon Panetta (2009–2011)
- Michael Morell (Acting-2011)
- David Petraeus (2011–present)
- Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
- Christina Romer (2009–2010)
- Austan Goolsbee (2010–2011)
- Alan Krueger (2011–present)
- Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission
- Mary Schapiro (2009–present)
- Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of National Economic Council
- Lawrence Summers (2009–2010)
- Gene Sperling (2011–present)
- Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board
- Paul Volcker (2009–2011)
- Replaced by Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011
- Chairperson of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
- Jeffrey R. Immelt (2011–present)
1Appointed by George W. Bush in 2006 to a five-year term
2Appointed by George W. Bush in 2001 to a ten-year term
Judicial nominees[link]
Main articles: Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates and List of federal judges appointed by Barack Obama
United States Supreme Court[link]
Obama appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
Further information: List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States
Other courts[link]
Outside of the Supreme Court, by October 2009, Obama had nominated fewer than two dozen judges to fill judicial vacancies, of which there were close to 100. This has prompted some Democrats to criticize the pace of Obama's judicial appointments as too slow.[110] In December 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy criticized Republicans for stalling those judicial nominations that had been made, noting that the Senate confirmed more district and circuit court nominees during the first year of the George W. Bush administration than it had approved by that point during the Barack Obama presidency.[111]
As of July 2010, Obama's nominees to the district and circuit courts had been confirmed at a rate of only 43.5 percent, compared to 87.2 percent during Bill Clinton's administration and 91.3 percent for George W. Bush. The Center for American Progress, which compiled the data, commented:
Judicial confirmations slowed to a trickle on the day President Barack Obama took office. Filibusters, anonymous holds, and other obstructionary tactics have become the rule. Uncontroversial nominees wait months for a floor vote, and even district court nominees—low-ranking judges whose confirmations have never been controversial in the past—are routinely filibustered into oblivion. Nominations grind to a halt in many cases even after the Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously endorsed a nominee. [112]
Policies[link]
Economy[link]
Upon entering office, Obama planned to center his attention on handling the global financial crisis.[113] Even before his inauguration he lobbied Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill,[114] which became the top priority during his first month in office.[115] As President, Obama made a high profile trip to Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. to dialog with Congressional Republicans and advocate for the bill.[116] On February 17, 2009, Obama signed into law a $787 billion plan that included spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals.[117] The tax provisions of the law reduced taxes for 98 percent of taxpayers, bringing tax rates to their lowest levels in 60 years.[118]
As part of the 2010 budget proposal, the Obama administration has proposed additional measures to attempt to stabilize the economy, including a $2–3 trillion measure aimed at stabilizing the financial system and freeing up credit. The program includes up to $1 trillion to buy toxic bank assets, an additional $1 trillion to expand a federal consumer loan program, and the $350 billion left in the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The plan also includes $50 billion intended to slow the wave of mortgage foreclosures.[117] The 2011 budget includes a three-year freeze on discretionary spending, proposes several program cancellations, and raises taxes on high income earners to bring down deficits during the economic recovery.[119]
In a July 2009 interview with ABC News, Biden was asked about the sustained increase of the U.S. unemployment rate from May 2007 to October 2009[120] despite the administration's multi-year economic stimulus package passed five months earlier. He responded "The truth is, we and everyone else, misread the economy. The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there ... the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited."[121][122] The White House indicates that 2 million jobs were created or saved due to the stimulus package in 2009[123] and self reporting by recipients of the grants, loans, and contracts portion of the package report that the package saved or created 608,317 jobs in the final three months of 2009.[124]
The unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in October at 10.1% and averaging 10.0% in the fourth quarter.[125] Following a decrease to 9.7% in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6% in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year.[125] Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8%, which was less than the average of 1.9% experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries.[126] GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a 1.6% pace, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter.[127] Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7% in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year.[127] Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9% in 2010.[128]
During November–December 2010, Obama and a lame duck session of the 111th Congress focused on a dispute about the temporary Bush tax cuts, which were due to expire at the end of the year. Obama wanted to extend the tax cuts for taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year. Congressional Republicans agreed but also wanted to extend the tax cuts for those making over that amount, and refused to support any bill that did not do so.[129] All the Republicans in the Senate also joined in saying that, until the tax dispute was resolved, they would filibuster to prevent consideration of any other legislation, except for bills to fund the U.S. government.[130][131] On 7 December, Obama strongly defended a compromise agreement he had reached with the Republican congressional leadership that included a two-year extension of all the tax cuts, a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance, a one-year reduction in the FICA payroll tax, and other measures.[132] On December 10, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) led a filibuster against the compromise tax proposal, which lasted over eight hours.[133] Obama persuaded many wary Democrats to support the bill,[134] but not all; of the 148 votes against the bill in the House, 112 were cast by Democrats and only 36 by Republicans.[135] The $858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which The Washington Post called "the most significant tax bill in nearly a decade",[136] passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress and was signed into law by Obama on December 17, 2010.[134]
Ethics[link]
Lobbying reform[link]
Early in his presidential campaign, Obama stated that "they [lobbyists] won't find a job in my White House", but softened his stance later in the campaign.[137] On January 21, 2009, Obama issued an executive order for all future appointees to his administration, which stated, no appointee who was a registered lobbyist within the two years before his appointment could participate on matters in which he lobbied for a period of two years after the date of appointment.[40] Three formal waivers were initially issued in early 2009, out of 800 executive appointments:[138][139] to William J. Lynn III, a lobbyist for Raytheon, to hold the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense;[34] to Jocelyn Frye, former general counsel at the National Partnership for Women and Families, to serve as Director of Policy and Projects in the Office of the First Lady; and to Cecilia Muñoz, former senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza,[138] to serve as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President.[139] As of March 21, 2009, at least thirty officials appointed by Obama had been lobbyists in the past five years.[137] Ten additional waivers were announced in September 2009.[140]
Not all recent former lobbyists require waivers; those without waivers write letters of recusal stating issues from which they must refrain because of their previous jobs.[138] USA Today reported that 21 members of the Obama administration have at some time been registered as federal lobbyists, although most have not within the previous two years.[141] Lobbyists in the administration include William Corr, an anti-tobacco lobbyist, as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services[142] and Tom Vilsack, who lobbied in 2007, for a national teachers union, as Secretary of Agriculture.[141] Also, the Secretary of Labor nominee, Hilda Solis, formerly served as a board member of American Rights at Work, which lobbied Congress on two bills Solis co-sponsored,[143] and Mark Patterson, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's chief of staff, is a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs.[141]
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have criticized the administration, claiming that Obama is retreating from his own ethics rules barring lobbyists from working on the issues about which they lobbied during the previous two years by issuing waivers. According to Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, "It makes it appear that they are saying one thing and doing another."[141]
Transparency[link]
The Obama administration has said that all executive orders, non-emergency legislation, and proclamations will be posted to the official White House website, whitehouse.gov, allowing the public to review and comment for five days before the President signs the legislation.[144] The pledge was twice broken during Obama's first month in office when he signed SCHIP legislation and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act with less than the full five days of "sunlight before signing". The administration has said that they are still "working through implementation procedures and some initial issues with the congressional calendar".[145][146]
During his first week in office, Obama announced plans to post a video address each week on the site,[44] and on YouTube,[45] informing the public of government actions each week. During his speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Obama stated, "I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy."[147]
On January 21, 2009, by executive order, Obama revoked Executive Order 13233, which had limited access to the records of former United States Presidents.[148] Obama issued instructions to all agencies and departments in his administration to "adopt a presumption in favor" of Freedom of Information Act requests.[149] In April 2009, the United States Department of Justice released four legal memos from the Bush administration to comply voluntarily with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.[150] The memos were written by John Yoo[151] and signed by Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury, then Principal Assistant Attorneys General to the Department of Justice, and addressed to John A. Rizzo, general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency.[152] The memos describe in detail controversial interrogation methods the CIA used on prisoners suspected of terrorism.[153][154] Obama became personally involved in the decision to release the memos, which was opposed by former CIA directors Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet and John Deutch.[152] Former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Obama for not releasing more memos; Cheney claimed that unreleased memos detail successes of CIA interrogations.[155]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires all recipients of the funds provided by the act to publish a plan for using the funds, along with purpose, cost, rationale, net job creation, and contact information about the plan to a website Recovery.gov so that the public can review and comment. Inspectors General from each department or executive agency will then review, as appropriate, any concerns raised by the public. Any findings of an Inspector General must be relayed immediately to the head of each department and published on Recovery.gov.[156]
On June 16, 2009, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration in order to get information about the visits of coal company executives. Anne Weismann, the chief counsel for CREW, stated "The Obama administration has now taken exactly the same position as the Bush administration... I don't see how you can keep people from knowing who visits the White House and adhere to a policy of openness and transparency." On June 16, MSNBC reported that its more comprehensive request for visitor logs since Obama's January 20 inauguration had been denied.[157] The administration announced that White House visitor logs will be made available to the public on an ongoing basis, with certain limitations, for visits occurring after September 15, 2009.[158] Beginning on January 29, 2010, the White House did begin to release the names of its visitor records.[159] Since that time, names of visitors (which includes not only tourists, but also names of union leaders, Wall Street executives, lobbyists, party chairs, philanthropists and celebrities), have been released. The names are released in huge batches up to 75,000 names at a time.[160] Names are released 90–120 days after having visited the White House. The complete list of names is available online by accessing the official White House website.[161]
Obama stated during the 2008 Presidential campaign that he would have negotiations for health care reform televised on C-SPAN, citing transparency as being the leverage needed to ensure that people stay involved in the process taking place in Washington. This did not fully happen and Politifact gives President Obama a "Promise Broken" rating on this issue.[162] After White House press secretary Robert Gibbs initially avoided addressing the issue,[163] President Obama himself acknowledged that he met with Democratic leaders behind closed doors to discuss how best to garner enough votes in order to merge the two (House and Senate) passed versions of the health care bill. Doing this violated the letter of the pledge, although Obama maintains that negotiations in several congressional committees were open, televised hearings. Obama also cited an independent ethics watchdog group describe his administration as the most transparent in recent history.[164]
The Obama administration has been characterized[165] as much more aggressive than the Bush and other previous administrations in their response to whistleblowing and leaks to the press. Three people have been prosecuted under the rarely used Espionage Act of 1917. They include Thomas Andrews Drake, a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee who was critical of the NSA's Trailblazer Project,[166][167][168] Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Department contractor who allegedly had a conversation about North Korea with James Rosen of Fox News,[169][170] and Jeffrey Sterling, who allegedly was a source for James Risen's book State of War. Risen has also been subpoenaed to reveal his sources, another rare action by the government.[171]
Foreign policy[link]
Main articles: Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration and List of presidential trips made by Barack Obama
In his inaugural address, Obama suggested that he plans to begin the process of withdrawing from Iraq and continuing to focus on the war in Afghanistan. He also mentioned lessening the nuclear threat through "working tirelessly with old friends and former foes". He spoke about America's determination to combat terrorism, proclaiming America's spirit is "stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." To the Muslim world, Obama extended an invite to "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect". He also said the USA would "extend a hand" to those "who cling to power through corruption and deceit" if they "are willing to unclench" their fists.[172] Shortly after his inauguration President Obama first called President Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Calls were also made to President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel and King Abdullah of Jordan.[173] Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East peace and Richard Holbrooke as special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 23, 2009.[174] At the same time, Obama called on Israel to open the borders of Gaza, detailing early plans on his administration's peace plans for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[175]
On February 18, 2009, Obama announced that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by summer.[176] The announcement followed the recommendation of several experts including Defense Secretary Robert Gates that additional troops be deployed to the war-torn nation.[177][178]
Obama declared his plan for ending the Iraq War on February 27, 2009, in a speech at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before an audience of Marines stationed there. According to the president, combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by August 2010, leaving a contingent of up to 50,000 servicemen and servicewomen to continue training, advisory, and counterterrorism operations until as late as the end of 2011.[179][180]
Other characteristics of the Obama administration on foreign policy include a tough stance on tax havens,[181] continuing military operation in Pakistan,[182] and avowed focus on diplomacy to prevent nuclear proliferation in Iran[183] and North Korea.[184]
On April 1, 2009, Obama and China's President, Hu Jintao, announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive U.S.-China relationship for the 21st century.[185]
In that same month, Obama requested that Congress approve $83.4 billion of supplemental military funding, mostly for the war in Iraq and to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. The request also includes $2.2 billion to increase the size of the US military, $350 million to upgrade security along the US-Mexico border, and $400 million in counterinsurgency aid for Pakistan.[186]
In May 2009, it was reported that Obama plans to expand the military by 20,000 employees.[187]
On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt.[188] The wide ranging speech called for a "new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States.[189][190] The speech received both praise and criticism from leaders in the region.[191][192][193][194][195] In March 2010, Secretary of State Clinton criticized the Israeli government for approving expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem.[196]
On April 8, 2010, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the latest Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a "major" nuclear arms control agreement that reduces the nuclear weapons stockpiles of both countries.[197]
In March 2011, international reaction to Muammar Gaddafi's military crackdown on rebel forces and civilians in Libya culminated in a United Nations resolution to enforce a no fly zone in Libya. Obama authorized U.S. forces to participate in international air attacks on Libyan air defenses using Tomahawk cruise missiles to establish the protective zone.[198]
Guantánamo Bay detention camp[link]
On his first day in office, Obama requested a 120-day suspension of all trials for alleged terrorists held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, so the new administration could "review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases pending before military commissions as of 2011[update], specifically".[199] Another order established a task force to lead a review of detention policies, procedures and individual cases. Obama addressed the State Department that "the United States will not torture" and drafted an executive order to close Guantánamo within a year.[200] On January 22, 2009, Obama signed an executive order ensuring safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals detained in armed conflicts. This order restricts interrogators to methods listed and authorized by an Army Field Manual.[201] A detainee released since Obama took office claimed in an interview with Agence France-Presse that conditions at Guantánamo had worsened, stating guards wanted to "take their last revenge" before the facility is closed.[202] On March 13, 2009, the administration announced that it would no longer refer to prisoners at Guantánamo Bay as enemy combatants, but it also asserted that the president has the authority to detain terrorism suspects there without criminal charges.[203]
The case review of detainee files by administration officials and prosecutors was made more difficult than expected as the Bush administration had failed to establish a coherent repository of the evidence and intelligence on each prisoner. By September 2009, prosecutors recommended to the Justice Department which detainees are eligible for trial, and the Justice Department and the Pentagon worked together to determine which of several now-scheduled trials will go forward in military tribunals and which in civilian courts. While 216 international terrorists are already held in maximum security prisons in the U.S., Congress was denying the administration funds to shut down the camp and adapt existing facilities elsewhere, arguing that the decision was "too dangerous to rush".[204] In November, Obama stated that the U.S. would miss the January 2010 date for closing the Guantánamo Bay prison as he had ordered, acknowledging that he "knew this was going to be hard". Obama did not set a specific new deadline for closing the camp, citing that the delay was due to politics and lack of congressional cooperation.[205] The state of Illinois has offered to sell to the federal government the Thomson Correctional Center, a new but largely unused prison, for the purpose of housing detainees. Federal officials testified at a December 23 hearing that if the state commission approves the sale for that purpose, it could take more than six months to ready the facility.[206]
Killing of Osama bin Laden[link]
Main article: Death of Osama bin Laden
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Starting with information received in July 2010, intelligence developed by the CIA over the next several months determined what they believed to be the location of Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles from Islamabad.[207] CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to Obama in March 2011.[207] Meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by United States Navy SEALs.[207] The operation took place on May 1, 2011, resulting in the death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers and computer drives and disks from the compound.[208][209] Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing,[210] and buried at sea several hours later.[211] Within minutes of Obama's announcement from Washington, DC, late in the evening on May 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City's Ground Zero and Times Square.[208][212] Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton,[213] and from many countries around the world.[214]
Overseas Contingency Operation[link]
Obama discontinued use of the term "War on Terror" and instead uses the term "Overseas Contingency Operation". However, Obama has stated that the U.S. is at war with Al-Qaeda, saying "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred."[215]
In April 2010, the Obama administration authorized the targeted killing of the radical Muslim cleric and American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who was believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them.[216]
Gun control[link]
During the presidential campaign, Obama announced that he favors measures that respect Second Amendment rights, while at the same time keeping guns away from children and criminals.[217][218] On February 25, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration would seek a new assault weapons ban across the United States, saying that it would have a positive impact on the drug-related violence in Mexico.[219] After the statement drew criticism from the NRA and some House Democrats, the Administration reportedly ordered the Justice Department to end public discussion of the issue.[220] Obama has signed into law two bills containing amendments reducing restrictions on gun owners, one which permits guns to be transported in checked baggage on Amtrak trains[221] and another which allows carrying loaded firearms in national parks located in states allowing concealed carry.[222][223]
See also: Operation Fast and Furious
Science and technology[link]
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Wikinews has related news: NSA to participate in U.S. cybersecurity |
Cybersecurity[link]
Obama initiated a 60-day review of cybersecurity[224] by Melissa Hathaway, a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, appointed Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace.[225][226]
The New York Times reported in 2009, that the NSA is intercepting communications of American citizens including a Congressman, although the Justice Department believed that the NSA had corrected its errors.[227] United States Attorney General Eric Holder resumed the wiretapping according to his understanding of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 that Congress passed in July 2008, but without explaining what had occurred.[228]
Environment[link]
On January 27, 2009, Obama issued two presidential memoranda concerning energy policy. One directed the Department of Transportation to raise fuel efficiency standards incrementally to 35 miles per US gallon (15 km/L) by 2020, and the other directed the Environmental Protection Agency to allow individual states to set stricter tailpipe emissions regulations than the federal standard.[41][229]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides $54 billion in funds to double domestic renewable energy production, renovate federal buildings making them more energy-efficient, improve the nation's electricity grid, repair public housing, and weatherize modest-income homes.[230]
On February 10, 2009, Obama overturned a Bush administration policy that had opened up a five-year period of offshore drilling for oil and gas near both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been quoted as saying, "To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside" the plan "and create our own timeline".[231]
On May 19, 2009, Obama announced a plan to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy national standards for gasoline mileage, by creating a single new national standard that will create a car and light truck fleet in the United States that is almost 40 percent cleaner and more fuel-efficient by 2016, than it is today, with an average of 35.5 miles per gallon.[232] Environmental advocates and industry officials welcomed the new program, but for different reasons. Environmentalists called it a long-overdue tightening of emissions and fuel economy standards after decades of government delay and industry opposition. Auto industry officials said it would provide the single national efficiency standard they have long desired, a reasonable timetable to meet it and the certainty they need to proceed with product development plans.[232]
On March 30, 2010, Obama partially reinstated Bush administration proposals to open certain offshore areas along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling. The proposals had earlier been set aside by President Obama after they were challenged in court on environmental grounds.[233]
On May 27, 2010, Obama extended a moratorium on offshore drilling permits after the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill which is considered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history.[234][235] Although BP took responsibility for the disaster and its ongoing after effects, Obama began a federal investigation along with forming a bipartisan commission to review the incident and methods to avoid it in the future.[236][237][238] Obama visited the Gulf Coast on May 2 and May 28 and expressed his frustration on the June 8 NBC Today Show, by saying "I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."[239] Obama's response to the disaster drew confusion and criticism within segments of the media and public.[240]
NASA[link]
Main article: Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
Obama set up the Augustine panel to review the Constellation program in 2009, and announced in February 2010, that he was cutting the program from the 2011 United States federal budget, describing it as "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation."[241][242][243][244][245] After the decision drew criticism in the United States, a new "Flexible path to Mars" plan was unveiled at a space conference in April 2010.[246][247][248] It included new technology programs, increased R&D spending, a focus on the International Space Station and contracting out flying crew to space to commercial providers.[249] The new plan also increased NASA's 2011 budget to $19 billion from $18.3 billion in 2010.[246]
In July 2009, Obama appointed Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, to be administrator of NASA.[250]
Stem cell research[link]
On March 9, 2009, Obama repealed a Bush-era policy that prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund research on new lines of embryonic stem cells. Such research has been a matter of debate between those who emphasize the therapeutic potential of such research and those who suggest that elements of this research breach ethical limitations. Obama stated that "In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values...In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research — and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."[251]
Social policy[link]
On January 23, 2009, Obama rescinded the Mexico City Policy, a measure from the Reagan and Bush eras that required any non-governmental organization receiving U.S. Government funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services in other countries.[252]
On June 17, 2009, Obama authorized the extension of some benefits (but not health insurance or pension benefits) to same-sex partners of federal employees.[253] Obama has chosen to leave larger changes, such as the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, to Congress.[254][255]
On October 19, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a directive to federal prosecutors in states with medical marijuana laws not to investigate or prosecute cases of marijuana use or production done in compliance with those laws.[256]
On December 16, 2009, President Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which repealed a 21-year-old ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.[257]
On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, a bill that provides for repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993, that has prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces.[258] Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" had been a key campaign promise that Obama had made during the 2008 presidential campaign.[259][260]
Health care reform[link]
See also: Health care reform in the United States
Once the stimulus bill was enacted, health care reform became Obama's top domestic priority. On July 14, 2009, House Democratic leaders introduced a 1,000 page plan for overhauling the US health care system, which Obama wanted Congress to approve by the end of the year.[261]
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the ten-year cost to the federal government of the major insurance-related provisions of the bill at approximately $1.0 trillion.[262] In mid-July 2009, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the CBO, testified that the proposals under consideration would significantly increase federal spending and did not include the "fundamental changes" needed to control the rapid growth in health care spending.[263][264] However after reviewing the final version of the bill introduced after 14 months of debate the CBO estimated that it would reduce federal budget deficits by $143 billion over 10 years and by more than a trillion in the next decade.[265]
After much public debate during the Congressional summer recess of 2009, Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9 where he addressed concerns over his administration's proposals.[266] In March 2010, Obama gave several speeches across the country to argue for the passage of health care reform.[267][268] On March 21, 2010, after Obama announced an executive order reinforcing the current law against spending federal funds for elective abortion services, the House, by a vote of 219 to 212, passed the version of the bill previously passed on December 24, 2009, by a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. The bill, which includes over 200 Republican amendments, was passed without a single Republican vote. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the bill into law. Immediately following the bill's passage, the House voted in favor of a reconciliation measure to make significant changes and corrections to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed by both houses with two minor alterations on March 25, 2010, and signed into law on March 30, 2010.[269][270]
Education reform[link]
On March 30, 2010, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which ended the role of private banks in lending out federally-insured student loans.[271] By directly lending to students, the government is projected to save taxpayers $68 billion dollars over the next several years.[272] Federally-insured student loans will instead be distributed by the Department of Education.[273] The law also increased the amount of Pell Grant awards given each year, doubling its current funding.[274][275] Starting in 2014, the law permits borrowers to cap the amount they spend on student loans each year to ten percent of their discretionary income and have their balance forgiven if they have faithfully paid the balance of their loan over 20 years.[274][276] Additionally, the law seeks to make it easier for parents to qualify for Grad PLUS loans, and spends billions on poor and minority schools and $2 billion for community colleges.[272][273]
Gates arrest controversy[link]
Further information: Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy
From left to right: Gates, Crowley, and President Obama.
Photo taken before Vice President Biden's arrival.
On July 16, 2009, prominent African American Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local white police officer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, for disorderly conduct. Gates, who was locked out of his house, had attempted to break into his own property, thus causing the initial alarm from a neighbor who called 9-1-1. The incident sparked national controversy over whether Gates's civil rights had been violated by Crowley. On July 21, the Cambridge Police Department dropped charges against Gates. On July 22, President Barack Obama, commented on the incident over national and international television, criticized the arrest, and stated the police acted "stupidly" in handling the incident. National law enforcement organizations and members objected to Obama's comments and criticized his handling of the issue. In the aftermath, Obama stated that he regretted his comments exacerbating the situation, and hoped that the situation could become a "teachable moment". To reduce tensions, on July 24, Obama invited both parties to the White House to discuss the issue over beers, and on July 30, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden joined Crowley and Gates in a private, cordial meeting in a courtyard near the White House Rose Garden; this became known colloquially as the "Beer Summit".[277]
Wall Street reform[link]
On July 21, 2010, Obama signed Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, considered to be the largest financial system overhaul since the New Deal. The law recognizes complex financial derivatives and makes rules to protect consumers from unfair practices in loans and credit cards by establishing a new consumer protection agency. At the signing ceremony in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. Obama proclaimed, "There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period." Obama also mentioned that "These reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history." At the ceremony were Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the two committee chairmen who sponsored the bill.[278]
2010 midterm elections[link]
Due in large part to voter frustration over high unemployment and a stalled economy, Republicans won control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections. On reflection after the election, Obama blamed himself, in part, for the many Democrats who went down to defeat knowing that they had risked their careers to support his agenda of economic stimulus legislation and a landmark health care bill.[279] Democrats narrowly retained the Senate majority and will continue to control it through the 112th Congress.[280]
Obama called the elections "humbling" and a "shellacking".[281] He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.[282]
2012 re-election campaign[link]
On April 4, 2011, President Obama announced that he would seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election. The campaign will be based in Chicago and is being run by many former members of the White House staff and members of the successful 2008 campaign.[283]
References[link]
- ^ a b "Obama's birth certificate: Final chapter". Politifact. June 27, 2008. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized". Associated Press. msnbc.com. November 17, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27775757/. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Barack Obama, long time UCC member, inaugurated forty-fourth U.S. President" (Press release). United Church of Christ. January 20, 2009. http://www.ucc.org/news/obama-inauguration.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009. "Barack Obama, who spent more than 20 years as a UCC member, is the forty-fourth President of the United States."
- ^ An Associated Press wire story on Obama's resignation from Trinity United Church of Christ in the course of the Jeremiah Wright controversy stated that he had, in doing so, disaffiliated himself with the UCC. (See "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized". Associated Press. msnbc.com. November 17, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27775757/. Retrieved January 20, 2009. )
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff; Baker, Peter (November 6, 2008). "Rahm Emanuel Accepts Post as White House Chief of Staff". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/07elect.html. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Geithner, Summers among key economic team members announced today" (Press release). Office of the President-elect. November 24, 2008. http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/geithner_summers_among_key_economic_team_members_announced_today/. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Baker, Peter (November 25, 2008). "Defense Secretary Said to Be Staying On". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/defense-secretary-said-to-be-staying-on/. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Baker, Peter (November 30, 2008). "Obama's Choice for U.N. Is Advocate of Strong Action Against Mass Killings". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/us/politics/01rice.html. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Official Obama-Biden Transition Website". Office of the President-elect. http://change.gov/content/home. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Transition announces rules for lobbyists in Transition" (Press release). Office of the President-elect. November 11, 2008. http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/obama_transition_announces_rules_for_lobbyists_in_transition. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Citizen's Briefing Book". Office of the President-elect. http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Marisa Taylor (January 20, 2009). "Change Has Come To WhiteHouse.Gov". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/01/20/change-has-come-to-whitehousegov/. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ United States Constitution. "20th Amendment to the United States Constitution". http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxx.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Signs First Presidential Proclamation". CNN. January 20, 2009. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/20/obama-signs-first-presidential-proclamation/. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
- ^ Kelley, Matt (January 19, 2009). "Obama to be sworn in on 'Lincoln Bible'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-19-Lincoln-bible_N.htm. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Chief justice fumbles oath". The Washington Times. January 20, 2009. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/20/obama-roberts-fumble-oath/. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
- ^ "Obama takes presidential oath again after stumble". China Daily. January 22, 2009. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-01/22/content_7421457.htm. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ^ Chernus, Ira (December 16, 2008). "The First Hundred Days or the Last Hundred Days?". The LA Progressive. http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/12/16/the-first-hundred-days-or-the-last-hundred-days/. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Reid, Tim (November 1, 2008). "Barack Obama lays plans to deaden expectation after election victory". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5051118.ece. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Dorning, Mike (May 28, 2008). "Obama's priorities for first 100 days". Chicago Tribune. http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/05/obamas_priorities_for_first_10.html. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Examples of "100 days" – portals:
- "Obama's First 100 Days". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/100-days. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- "Special Reports - The First 100 Days of the 44th President Barack Obama". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/44.president/first.100.days/. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- "The 44th President 100 Days". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/100days/main503723.shtml. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Hall, Ashley (January 21, 2009). "Domestic issues to dominate Obama's first 100 days in office". ABC Online, Australia. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2471452.htm. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Naughton, Philippe (January 21, 2009). "Barack Obama calls halt to Guantanamo trials". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5558726.ece. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Sahadi, Jeanne (January 20, 2009). "First 100 days: Obama's burden". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/20/news/economy/obama_first100days/?postversion=2009012012. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ West, Larry (January 20, 2009). "Obama's First 100 Days: An Environmental Agenda for Obama's First 100 Days". About.com. http://environment.about.com/b/2009/01/20/obamas-first-100-days-an-environmental-agenda-for-obamas-first-100-days.htm. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Murray, Lisa (January 22, 2009). "Jakarta schoolchildren cheer for the rise of a former student". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/jakarta-schoolchildren-cheer-for-the-rise-of-a-former-student/2009/01/21/1232471395138.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Smith, Jean Edward (January 16, 2009). "How F.D.R. Made the Presidency Matter". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/how-fdr-made-the-presidency-matter/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ Reeves, Richard (January 19, 2009). "Kennedy's Words, Obama's Challenge". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/kennedys-words-obamas-challenge/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ Dallek, Richard (January 23, 2009). "L.B.J., Obama and Reassuring a Worried Nation". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/lbj-obama-and-reassuring-a-worried-nation/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ Smith, Jean Edward (January 27, 2009). "Obama's Reagan Transformation?". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/obamas-reagan-transformation/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ "Obama halts all regulations pending review". Associated Press. msnbc.com. January 20, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28758810/. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Obama's first day: Pay freeze, lobbying rules". msnbc.com. January 21, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28767687/. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Memmott, Mark (January 21, 2009). "Revelry Over, Obama freezing pay of top staff; signs ethics rules". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/61712448/1. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "Obama breaks his own rule". CNN. January 23, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/23/campbell.brown.lobbyists/index.html. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
- ^ "Obama grants two more lobbyists waivers". The Hill. March 10, 2009. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/3960-obama-grants-two-more-lobbyists-waivers. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Glaberson, William (January 21, 2009). "Obama Issues Directive to Shut Down Guantánamo". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Closure Of Guantanamo Detention Facilities". The White House. January 22, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities/. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- ^ "Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year". The Washington Times. January 22, 2009. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/22/obama-signs-order-close-guantanamo-year/. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ Obama Reverses Key Bush Security Policies, The New York Times, January 22, 2009
- ^ a b "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel". The White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrder-EthicsCommitments. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- ^ a b "From Peril to Progress". The White House. January 26, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/Fromperiltoprogress/. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Obama ends funding ban for abortion groups abroad". Reuters. January 23, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50M3PQ20090123. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
- ^ Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policy. January 23, 2009.
- ^ a b "President Barack Obama's Weekly Video Address". The White House. January 22, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090122233027/http://www.whitehouse.gov/weekly_address/. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ a b "Official White House YouTube Channel". YouTube. YouTube, LLC. January 24, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Baker, Peter (January 24, 2009). "In Effort to Build Support, Obama Details Stimulus Plan". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/politics/25obama.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Bleeker, Andrew (November 15, 2008). "Your Weekly Address from the President-elect". Change.gov. The Office of the President-elect. http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/your_weekly_address_from_the_president_elect/. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Vargas, Jose Antonio (November 14, 2008). "The YouTube Presidency". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/11/14/the_youtube_presidency.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Rutenberg, Jim and Adam Nagourney (January 25, 2009). "Melding Obama's Web to a YouTube Presidency". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26grassroots.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "A Wonderful Day". The White House. January 29, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/01/29/a-wonderful-day. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ "CHIP". The White House.
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll070.xml
- ^ "Congress Readies Final Vote On $790B Stimulus Bill". WUSA. http://www.wusa9.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=81491. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Associated Press (13 February 2009). "http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/feb/13/congress-readies-final-vote-on-stimulus/". Columbia Daily Tribune. http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/feb/13/congress-readies-final-vote-on-stimulus/. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Sahadi, Jeanne (2009-01-27). "Stimulus with interest: $1.2 trillion". Money.cnn.com. http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/news/economy/stimulus_spending. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ "Stimulus: Now for the hard part" CNN. February 17, 2009.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl (March 9, 2009). "Obama Lifts Bush's Strict Limits on Stem Cell Research". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (March 9, 2009). "Obama Looks to Limit Impact of Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10signing.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Obama, Barack (March 9, 2009). "Subject: Presidential Signing Statements". The White House. http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/2009signingstm.mem.final.rel.pdf. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (June 27, 2009). "A Bill Signing, With Reservations". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/a-bill-signing-with-reservations/. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
- ^ a b Woodward, Calvin (April 1, 2009). "PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge up in smoke". Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008961613_apobamataxpromise.html. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ "Obama's new slogan: 'We can't wait'". USA Today. October 24, 2011. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/10/obamas-new-slogan-we-cant-wait/1.
- ^ "'We can't wait': Obama to use executive authority to boost economy as Republicans dither on jobs". http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/24/1029465/-We-cant-wait:-Obama-to-use-executive-authority-to-boost-economy-as-Republicans-dither-on-jobs.
- ^ "Barack Obama's initial approval rating is highest since JFK". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/01/obama-approval.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Approval Ranks Near Top". msnbc.com. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/26/1760773.aspx. Retrieved January 28, 2009. Obama was behind John F. Kennedy at 72%, and above Dwight D. Eisenhower's 68%. He was also behind presidents who came to office in a time of crisis (Harry Truman at 87%, Lyndon B. Johnson at 78%, and Gerald Ford at 71%).
- ^ Montopoli, Brian (February 5, 2009). "Obama's Approval Rating: 62 Percent". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/02/05/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4778267.shtml. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
- ^ Memmott, Mark (January 30, 2009). "President's approval rating ends week at 66%". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/62157136/1. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ "Obama's disapproval rating hits new high". CNN. 13 September 2011. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-13/politics/cnn.poll.obama_1_disapproval-rating-president-barack-obama-handling?_s=PM:POLITICS. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ "Obama Approval Rating Increases to 67%". Gallup.com. 2009-02-27. http://www.gallup.com/poll/116224/Obama-Approval-Rating-Increases.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ "Obama Approval Index History". Rasmussen Reports. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
- ^ "Obama’s Afghanistan Rating Declines A Year Out, Widespread Anti-Incumbent Sentiment". November 11, 2009. http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/561.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Obama Approval Numbers Mirror Stimulus Debate", Rasmussen Reports, February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists". The Wall Street Journal. March 11, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Americans Most Confident in Obama on Economy". Gallup Poll. http://www.gallup.com/poll/117415/Americans-Confident-Obama-Economy.aspx. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Rated Highest as Person, Lowest on Deficit, Spending". Gallup Poll. http://www.gallup.com/poll/120770/Obama-Rated-Highest-as-Person-Lowest-Deficit-Spending.aspx. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Hechtkopf, Kevin (September 1, 2009). "Poll: Obama Approval Rating Dips Slightly". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/01/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5280405.shtml. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
- ^ "45% Now Rate Obama's Economic Performance As Poor". Rasmussen Reports. November 12, 2009. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/november_2009/45_now_rate_obama_s_economic_performance_as_poor. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ McCormick, John (March 24, 2010), "Obama Widens Approval Above All as Democrats, Republicans Lag", Bloomberg. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ Blanton, Dana (April 8, 2010). "Fox News Poll: Health Care and the Midterm Elections". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/08/fox-news-poll-health-care-midterm-elections/#. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ Blanton, Dana (April 9, 2010). "Fox News Poll: 53% Disapprove of Obama's Handling of the Economy". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/09/fox-news-poll-disapprove-obamas-handling-economy/?test=latestnews. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval, Gallup Poll, April 10, 2010, Retrieved April 12, 2010 Each result is based on a three-day rolling average
- ^ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, Rasmussen Reports, April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
- ^ "Election Other - President Obama Job Approval". RealClearPolitics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ "Obama Approval Ratings Nationally". Obama Approval Ratings. January 3, 2012. http://www.nationalpolls.com/obama/national.html. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ^ Daniel Guarnera (December 19, 2008). "Obama's Cabinet Full ... Except for Drug Czar". http://www.addictionpro.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=440B847037BC4AFA8B377E381E9C548D&nm=&type=Blog&mod=BlogTopics&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=908F70B4E94849F8B3FAA3025FE9221A. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "The Cabinet". The White House.
- ^ a b "The Obama Cabinet: Confirmations & Nominations". NPR. January 22, 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99674016. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ Rushing, J. Taylor (January 19, 2009). "Senate considers unanimous-consent on Obama Cabinet". The Hill. http://thehill.com/homenews/news/17822-senate-considers-unanimous-consent-on-obama-cabinet. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "More Obama Cabinet Nominees Confirmed". The New York Times. January 22, 2009. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/more-obama-cabinet-nominees-confirmed/. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ Knowlton, Brian (January 21, 2009). "On His First Full Day, Obama Tackles Sobering Challenges". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obamacnd.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ Phillips (January 22, 2009). "More Obama Cabinet Nominees Confirmed". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/more-obama-cabinet-nominees-confirmed/. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "Geithner confirmed, sworn in at Treasury: Obama cites urgency of acting quickly.". The Boston Globe (The New York Times Company). January 27, 2008. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/01/27/geithner_confirmed_sworn_in_at_treasury/. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ a b Weisman, Jonathan (January 24, 2009). "Delays in Cabinet Nominations Demonstrate GOP Resolve". The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275672929711875.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ Josh Hakala. "Senate confirms Holder as first black AG". Mlive.com. http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/02/senate_confirms_eric_holder_as.html. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff (February 2, 2009). "Obama Set to Add Republican to Cabinet". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/us/politics/03gregg.html. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Associated Press (6 March 2009). "Tom Daschle Withdraws Nomination For HHS Secretary". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/03/tom-daschle-withdraws-nom_n_163557.html. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Solis confirmed – CNN Political Ticker". CNN. 2012-04-10. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/24/solis-confirmed. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ a b "Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk confirmed as US trade representative". Chicagotribune.com. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-kirk-trade,0,5324728.story. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ Zajac, Andrew (February 4, 2009). "Commerce Nominee's Own Finances Have Suffered". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Rachel Weiner (15 March 2009). "Judd Gregg Withdraws Commerce Secretary Nomination (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/12/judd-gregg-withdraws-comm_n_166502.html. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Christi Parsons (9 March 2011). "Gary Locke, Commerce secretary, nominated as U.S. ambassador to China". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/09/news/la-pn-locke-china-ambassador-20110310. Retrieved 14 May 202.
- ^ a b Wheaton, Sarah (March 24, 2009). "Locke Confirmed as Commerce Secretary". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/locke-confirmed-as-commerce-secretary/. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
- ^ "President Obama Will Nominate Governor Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of HHS, Announces Release of $155 Million of ARRA Funds for Health Clinics Across America". White House. 2 March 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-nominates-Governor-Kathleen-Sebelius-Secretary-of-HHS-Announces-Re/. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Associated Press (13 May 2009). "Obama To Tap Sebelius for HHS Secretary". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-4835996.html.
- ^ Obama's promise of ethics reform faces early test, International Herald Tribune, February 3, 2009
- ^ a b Tax issues prompt Obama nominee to withdraw (February 3, 2009), CNN.
- ^ Tax problems delay vote on Hilda Solis, UPI Online, February 5, 2009
- ^ "Trade nominee Ron Kirk agrees to pay back taxes". Bostonherald.com. 2009-03-02. http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1155758&srvc=next_article. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ Another Obama Nominee Has Tax Issues, CBS News, March 31, 2009
- ^ Michael A. Fletcher, Obama Criticized as Too Cautious, Slow on Judicial Posts, The Washington Post (October 16, 2009).
- ^ "Leahy Blasts Republicans For Stalled Nominees". Washington Time. http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/12/15/leahy-blasts-gop-for-stalled-nominees/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Millhiser, Ian (July 30, 2010). "Falling Off a Cliff: Judicial Confirmation Rates Have Nosedived in the Obama Presidency". Center for American Progress. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/07/judicial_confirmations.html. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ Henry, Ed (January 19, 2009). "Obama's top priority: the economy". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/19/news/economy/obama_first_week/. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ Goldman, Russell; Jake Tapper (January 5, 2009). "Obama Pushes Economic Plan, Saying It Can't Wait". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Business/story?id=6568008&page=1. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ Bohan, Caren; Lisa Lambert (February 20, 2009). "Obama vows to spend stimulus money wisely". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2044566820090220. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
- ^ Halloran, Liz (January 27, 2009). "Obama Woos Hill Republicans On Stimulus Plan". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99927275. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ a b "Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Stimulus Watch". http://stimulus.org/.
- ^ Condon, Stephanie (April 15, 2010). "What's Obama Doing to Your Taxes?". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002548-503544.html. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011" (PDF). http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ "Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey". United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. August 1, 2009. http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?request_action=wh&graph_name=LN_cpsbref3.
- ^ Stephanopoulos, George (July 5, 2009). "Biden: We 'Misread the Economy'". George's Bottom Line (ABC News). http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/07/biden-we-misread-the-economy-.html. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ Stephanopoulos, George (July 5, 2009). "'This Week' Transcript: Exclusive: Vice President Joe Biden". This Week (ABC News): 3. http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/Politics/story?id=8002421&page=3. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ MacGillis, Alec (January 13, 2010). "Economic stimulus has created or saved nearly 2 million jobs, White House says". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011203737.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Tracking the Money". Recovery.gov. http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ a b Theodossiou, Eleni; Hipple, Steven F. (2011). "Unemployment Remains High in 2010". Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 134 (3): 3–22. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/03/art1full.pdf. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ Eddlemon, John P. (2011). "Payroll Employment Turns the Corner in 2010". Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 134 (3): 23–32. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/03/art2full.pdf. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
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- ^ Thoma, Mark (December 1, 2010). "Senate GOP Pledges to Block All Bills Until Tax Cuts are Extended for All". Wall Street Pit. http://wallstreetpit.com/52023-senate-gop-pledges-to-block-all-bills-until-tax-cuts-are-extended-for-all. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
- ^ "Senate Republicans block 9/11 health bill". Reuters. December 9, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/10/us-usa-congress-firefighters-idUSTRE6B903120101210. Retrieved 2012-5-14.
- ^ Stirewalt, Chris (December 1, 2010). "Today's Power Play: Republicans and Democrats Play Chicken With Lame Duck". Fox News Channel. http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/12/01/todays-power-play-republicans-and-democrats-play-chicken-lame-duck. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
- ^ Herszenhorn, David M.; Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (December 7, 2010). "Democrats Skeptical of Obama on New Tax Plan". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/us/politics/08cong.html.
- ^ Nick Wing, Bernie Sanders Filibuster: Senator Stalls Tax Cut Deal, December 10, 2010, The Huffington Post.
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- ^ a b Kosterlitz J. (2009). Obama Aiming To Lock Turnstile For Lobbyists. National Journal.
- ^ a b c Obama White House Discloses Two More Lobbyist Waivers Granted, ABC News, March 10, 2009
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- ^ a b Montopoli, Brian (March 30, 2010). "Obama Lauds Passage of Education Reform". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001419-503544.html.
- ^ a b "What would change if student lending legislation passes". The Washington Post. March 26, 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032503578.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Madison, Lucy (2011-10-26). "Who will benefit from Obama's student loan plan?". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20126172-503544/who-will-benefit-from-obamas-student-loan-plan/. Retrieved 2012-5-14.
- ^ Associated Press (30 March 2010). "Q&A: What does student loan overhaul mean for U.S., you?". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-03-30-student-loans_N.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ "Obama on 'milestone' education bill". msnbc.com. 2010-03-30. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/03/30/2246401.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Khan, Huma; McPhee, Michele; Goldman, Russell (July 24, 2009). "Obama Called Police Officer Who Arrested Gates, Still Sees 'Overreaction' in Arrest". http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8163051&page=1. Retrieved 07-12-2010.
- ^ Censky, Annalyn (July 21, 2010). "Obama on new law: 'No more taxpayer bailouts'". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/21/news/economy/obama_signs_wall_street_reform_bill/index.htm. Retrieved 07-22-2010.
- ^ Espo, David; Pace, Julie (November 3, 2010). "Obama Takes Responsibility For Voter Frustration On Election Night". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/obama-takes-responsibility_n_778302.html. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "GOP roars back to take U.S House; Dems cling to Senate Majority". Election Center (CNN). November 3, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/02/election.main/index.html. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ Richardson, Chris (November 4, 2010). "Obama calls midterm elections a 'shellacking' for Democrats". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2010/1104/Obama-calls-midterm-elections-a-shellacking-for-Democrats. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ Norris, Michele; Siegel, Robert (November 3, 2010). "Obama: Midterm Election Was A 'Shellacking'". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131048554. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "Lack of change you can believe in". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/04/barack_obamas_re-election_campaign.
External links[link]
*"President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey"
- "Obama's People" (photography: Nadav Kander)
- The Official White House YouTube page
- "President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address". The White House.
- "Wrapping Up Open for Questions". The White House.
- "President Obama's State of the Union Address" C-SPAN.
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"Romney" redirects here. For other uses, see Romney (disambiguation).
| Mitt Romney | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 70th Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007 |
|
| Lieutenant | Kerry Healey |
| Preceded by | Jane Swift (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Deval Patrick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Willard Mitt Romney (1947-03-12) March 12, 1947 (age 65) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Romney (m. 1969) «start: (1969)»"Marriage: Ann Romney to Mitt Romney" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Mitt_Romney) |
| Children | Taggart (b. 1970) Matthew (b. 1971) Joshua (b. 1975) Benjamin (b. 1978) Craig (b. 1981) |
| Residence | Belmont, Massachusetts Wolfeboro, New Hampshire San Diego, California |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University (BA) Harvard University (MBA, JD) |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) |
| Positions | Co-founder, Bain Capital (1984–1999) CEO, Bain & Company (1991–1992) CEO, 2002 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee (1999–2002) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | MittRomney.com |
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This article is part of a series about Mitt Romney |
Mitt Romney
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2012 Presidential campaign |
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Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for President of the United States in the 2012 election. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–07).
The son of Lenore and George W. Romney (Governor of Michigan, 1963–69), he was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1966, after one year at Stanford University, he left the United States to spend thirty months in France as a Mormon missionary. In 1969, he married Ann Davies, and the couple had five children together. In 1971, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University and, in 1975, a joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Harvard University as a Baker Scholar. He entered the management consulting industry, which in 1977, led to a position at Bain & Company. Later serving as Chief Executive Officer, he helped bring the company out of financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded the spin-off Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable and one of the largest such firms in the nation. His net worth is estimated at $190–250 million, wealth that has helped fund his political campaigns. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as Ward Bishop and later Stake President in his area near Boston. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, losing to long-time incumbent Ted Kennedy. In 1999, he was hired as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics; and he helped turn the fiscally troubled games into a success.
He was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 but did not seek re-election in 2006. During his term he presided over a series of spending cuts and increases in fees that eliminated a projected $1.5 billion deficit. He also signed into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, which provided near-universal health insurance access via state-level subsidies and individual mandates.
Romney ran for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, winning several primaries and caucuses but losing the nomination to John McCain. In the following years, he gave speeches and raised campaign funds on behalf of his fellow Republicans. In June 2011, he announced that he would seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination; as of May 2012, he has won enough caucuses and primaries to become the party's presumptive nominee.
Contents
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Early life and education[link]
See also: Romney family
Heritage and youth[link]
Willard Mitt Romney[1] was born at Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan,[2] the youngest child of George W. Romney, a self-made man who by 1948 had become an automobile executive, and Lenore Romney (née LaFount), an aspiring actress turned homemaker.[3][4][5] His mother was a native of Logan, Utah, and his father was born in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, Mexico, to American parents.[6][7] He is of primarily English descent, and also has more distant Scottish and German ancestry.[8][9][10] He is a fifth-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[11][12] A great-great-grandfather, Miles Romney, converted to the faith in its first decade, and another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was an early leader in the church during the same time.[13]
He was preceded in birth by three siblings: Margo Lynn, Jane LaFount, and G. Scott. Mitt followed after a gap of nearly six years. He was named after family friend, hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, and his father's cousin Milton "Mitt" Romney, a former quarterback for the Chicago Bears.[14][nb 1] In 1953, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills.[16] In 1954, his father became the chairmen and CEO of American Motors, a company he helped avoid bankruptcy, and return to profitability.[16] By the time Mitt was twelve, his father had become a nationally known figure in print and on television,[17] and Mitt idolized him.[18]
He attended public elementary schools[15] until the seventh grade, when he began commuting to Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, a traditional private boys' preparatory school where he was one of only a few Mormons and where many students came from backgrounds even more privileged than he.[19][20] He was not particularly athletic and at first did not excel academically.[18] During his sophomore year he participated in the 1962 campaign in which his father was elected Governor of Michigan.[nb 2] When his parents moved to the state capitol as part of George Romney taking office, Mitt took up residence at Cranbrook's Stevens Hall.[19] George Romney was re-elected twice; Mitt worked for him as an intern in the governor's office, and was present at the 1964 Republican National Convention when his moderate father battled conservative party nominee Barry Goldwater over issues of civil rights and ideological extremism.[18][22] During these years, Romney had a steady set of chores and summer jobs, including working as a security guard at a Chrysler plant.[23]
At Cranbrook he was a manager for the ice hockey team and a member of the pep squad,[19] and during his final year joined the cross country running team.[15] He belonged to eleven school organizations and school clubs, and started the Blue Key Club boosters group.[19] During his final year at Cranbook, Romney improved academically, but was still not a star pupil.[18][20] He won an award for those "whose contributions to school life are often not fully recognized through already existing channels".[20] Romney was involved in many pranks.[nb 3]
In March of his senior year, he began dating Ann Davies, two years his younger, whom he had first met in elementary school; she attended the private Kingswood School, the sister school to Cranbrook.[27][20] The two informally agreed to marriage around the time of his June 1965 graduation.[18]
University, France mission, marriage and children: 1965–1975[link]
Romney attended Stanford University for a year,[18][nb 4] where he worked as a night security guard in order to pay for trips home to see Ann.[28] Although the campus was becoming radicalized with the beginnings of 1960s social and political movements, he kept a well-groomed appearance and participated in pre-Big Game actions designed to protect the Stanford Axe.[18] In May 1966, he was part of a counter-protest against a group staging a sit-in in the university administration building in opposition to draft status tests.[18][29]
"As you can imagine, it's quite an experience to go to Bordeaux and say, 'Give up your wine! I've got a great religion for you!'"
—Mitt Romney in 2002 reflecting upon his missionary experience.[30]
In July 1966, he left for a thirty-month stay in France as a Mormon missionary,[18][31] a traditional rite of passage that his father and many other relatives had volunteered for.[nb 5] He arrived in Le Havre with ideas about how to change and promote the French Mission, while facing physical and economic deprivation in their cramped quarters.[33][13] Rules against drinking, smoking, and dating were strictly enforced.[13] Most individual Mormon missionaries do not gain many converts,[35] and Romney was no exception:[33] he later estimated ten to twenty for his entire mission.[36] The nominally Catholic but secular, wine-loving French people were especially resistant to a religion that prohibits alcohol.[18][13][30] He became demoralized, and later recalled it as the only time when "most of what I was trying to do was rejected."[33] In Nantes, he suffered a bruised jaw while defending two female missionaries who were being bothered by a group of local rugby players.[13] He continued to work hard; having grown up in Michigan rather than the more insular Utah world, Romney was better able to interact with the French than other missionaries.[37][13] He was promoted to zone leader in Bordeaux in early 1968, then in the spring of that year became assistant to the mission president in Paris, the highest position for a missionary.[33][13][38] In the Mission Home in Paris he enjoyed palace-like accommodations.[38] Romney's support for the U.S. role in the Vietnam War was only reinforced when the French greeted him with hostility over the matter and he debated them in return.[13][33] He witnessed the May 1968 general strike and student uprisings and was upset by the breakdown in social order.[39]
In June 1968, an automobile he was driving in southern France was hit by another vehicle, seriously injuring him and killing one of his passengers, the wife of the mission president.[nb 6] Romney, who was not at fault in the accident,[nb 6] became co-acting president of a mission demoralized and disorganized by the May civil disturbances and by the car accident.[37] He rallied and motivated the others and they met an ambitious goal of 200 baptisms for the year, the most for the mission in a decade.[37] By the end of his stint in December 1968, he was overseeing the work of 175 fellow members.[33][40] Romney developed a lifelong affection for France and its people, and speaks French.[42] The experience in the country instilled in him a belief that life is fragile and that he needed seriousness of purpose.[18][37][13] It also represented a crucible, after having been an indifferent Mormon growing up: "On a mission, your faith in Jesus Christ either evaporates or it becomes much deeper ... For me it became much deeper."[33]
While he was away, Ann Davies had converted to the Mormon faith, guided by George Romney, and had begun attending Brigham Young University (BYU).[18] Mitt was nervous that she had been wooed by others while he was away, and she had indeed started dating popular campus figure Kim S. Cameron and had sent Romney in France a "Dear John letter", greatly upsetting him; he wrote to her to in an attempt to win her back.[43][15] At their first meeting following Romney's return they reconnected, and decided to get married immediately but agreed to wait three months to appease their parents.[44] At Ann's request, Romney began attending Brigham Young too, in February 1969.[43][nb 4] The couple were married on March 21, 1969, in a civil ceremony at Ann's family's home in Bloomfield Hills that was presided over by a church elder.[46][47][48] The following day, the couple flew to Utah for a wedding ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple.[46][47]
Romney had missed much of the tumultuous American anti-Vietnam War movement while away, and was surprised to learn that his father had turned against the effort during his unsuccessful 1968 presidential campaign.[33] Regarding the military draft, Romney had initially received a student deferment, then, like most Mormon missionaries, a ministerial deferment while in France, and then a student deferment.[33][49] When those ran out, his high number in the December 1969 draft lottery (300) ensured he would not be selected.[33][49][50]
At culturally conservative BYU, he remained isolated from much of the upheaval of the era, and did not join in protests against the war, or the LDS Church's policy at the time of denying full membership to blacks.[24][33][43] He became president of, and an innovative fundraiser for, the all-male Cougar Club booster organization and showed a new-found discipline in his studies.[33][43] In his senior year, he took leave to work as driver and advance man for his mother Lenore Romney's eventually unsuccessful 1970 campaign for U.S. Senator from Michigan.[24][46] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with highest honors in 1971,[43] and gave commencement addresses to both the College of Humanities and to the whole of BYU.[nb 7]
The Romneys' first son, Taggart, was born in 1970[46] while they were undergraduates at Brigham Young[52] and living in a basement apartment.[33][43] Ann subsequently gave birth to Matt (1971), Josh (1975), Ben (1978), and Craig (1981).[46] Her work as a homemaker would enable her husband to pursue his career.[53]
Romney still wanted to pursue a business path, but his father, by now serving in President Richard Nixon's cabinet as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, advised him that a law degree would be valuable to his career.[54][55] Thus he became one of only fifteen students to enroll at the recently created joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration four-year program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.[56] Fellow students considered him guilelessly optimistic, noting his solid work ethic and buttoned-down demeanor and appearance.[56][57] He readily adapted to the business school's pragmatic, data-driven case study method of teaching, participated in class well, and led a study group whom he pushed to get all A's.[55] He had a different social experience from most of his classmates, since he lived in a Belmont, Massachusetts, house with Ann and two children.[46][55] He was non-ideological and did not involve himself in the political or social issues of the day.[46][55] He graduated in 1975 cum laude from the law school, in the top third of that class, and was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top five percent of his business school class.[51][56]
Business career[link]
Management consulting[link]
Romney was recruited by several firms and chose to remain in Massachusetts to work for Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reasoning that working as a management consultant to a variety of companies would better prepare him for a future position as a chief executive.[54][58][nb 8] He was part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a major company directly.[60] His legal and business education proved useful in his job[54] while he applied BCG principles such as the growth-share matrix.[61] He was viewed as having a bright future there.[54][62]
In 1977, he was hired away by Bain & Company, a management consulting firm in Boston that had been formed a few years earlier by Bill Bain and other former BCG employees.[61][54][63] Bain would later say of the thirty-year-old Romney, "He had the appearance of confidence of a guy who was maybe ten years older."[64] With Bain & Company, Romney learned what writers and business analysts have dubbed the "Bain way",[54][63][65] which consisted of immersing the firm in each client's business,[54][64] and not just issuing recommendations but staying with the company until changes were put into place.[61][63][66] Romney became a vice president of the firm in 1978,[15] and worked with clients such as the Monsanto Company, Outboard Marine Corporation, Burlington Industries, and Corning Incorporated.[58] Within a few years, he was one of Bain & Company's best consultants and was sought after by clients over more senior partners.[54][67]
Private equity[link]
File:Bain Capital.png
Logo of Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney co-founded in 1984
Romney was restless for a company of his own to run, and in 1983, Bill Bain offered him the chance to head a new venture that would buy into companies, have them benefit from Bain techniques, and then reap higher rewards than consulting fees.[54][61] He initially refrained from accepting the offer, and Bain re-arranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there was no financial or professional risk to Romney.[54][64][68] Thus, in 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found the spin-off private equity investment firm, Bain Capital.[66] In the face of skepticism from potential investors, Bain and Romney spent a year raising the $37 million in funds needed to start the new operation, which had fewer than ten employees.[58][64][69] As general partner of the new firm, Romney spent little money on costs such as office appearance, and saw weak spots in so many potential deals that by 1986, few had been done.[54] At first, Bain Capital focused on venture capital opportunities.[54] Their first big success was a 1986 investment to help start Staples Inc., after founder Thomas G. Stemberg convinced Romney of the market size for office supplies and Romney convinced others; Bain Capital eventually reaped a nearly sevenfold return on its investment, and Romney sat on the Staples board of directors for over a decade.[54][69][70]
Romney soon switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts: buying existing firms with money mostly borrowed against their assets, partnering with existing management to apply the "Bain way" to their operations (rather than the hostile takeovers practiced in other leverage buyout scenarios), and selling them off in a few years.[54][64] Existing CEOs were offered large equity stakes in the process, owing to Bain Capital's belief in the emerging agency theory that CEOs should be bound to maximizing shareholder value rather than other goals.[70] Bain Capital lost most of its money in many of its early leveraged buyouts, but then started finding deals that made large returns.[54] The firm invested in or acquired Accuride, Brookstone, Domino's Pizza, Sealy Corporation, Sports Authority, and Artisan Entertainment, as well as lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors.[54][64][71] He ran Bain Capital for fourteen years, during which time the firm's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent.[58] Much of this profit was earned from a relatively small number of deals; Bain Capital's overall success–to–failure ratio was about even.[nb 9]
Less an entrepreneur than an executive running an investment operation,[67][72] Romney was skilled at presenting and selling the deals the company made.[68] The firm initially gave a cut of its profits to Bain & Company, but Romney persuaded Bain to give that up.[68] Within Bain Capital, Romney spread profits from deals widely within the firm to keep people motivated, often keeping less than ten percent for himself.[73] Viewed as a fair manager, he received considerable loyalty from the firm's members.[70] Romney's wary instincts were still in force at times, and he was generally data-driven and averse to risk.[54][70] He wanted to drop a Bain Capital hedge fund that initially lost money, but other partners prevailed and it eventually gained billions.[54] He also personally opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from a studio that produced R-rated films.[54] Romney was on the board of directors of Damon Corporation, a medical testing company later found guilty of defrauding the government; Bain Capital tripled its investment before selling off the company, and the fraud was discovered by the new owners (Romney was never implicated).[54] In some cases, Romney had little involvement with a company once acquired.[69]
"Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient. My job was to try and make the enterprise successful, and in my view the best security a family can have is that the business they work for is strong."
—Mitt Romney in 2007, commenting on job losses at companies that Bain Capital executed leveraged buyouts of.[68]
Bain Capital's leveraged buyouts sometimes led to layoffs, either soon after acquisition or later after the firm had left.[61][68][69] How jobs added compared to those lost due to these investments and buyouts is unknown, due to a lack of records and Bain Capital's penchant for privacy on behalf of itself and its investors.[74][75][76] In any case, maximizing the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, not job creation, was the firm's fundamental goal, as it was for most private equity operations.[69][77] Bain Capital's acquisition of Ampad exemplified a deal where it profited handsomely from early payments and management fees, even though the subject company itself ended up going into bankruptcy.[54][70][77] Dade Behring was another case where Bain Capital received an eightfold return on its investment, but the company itself was saddled with debt and laid off over a thousand employees before Bain Capital exited (the company subsequently went into bankruptcy, with more layoffs, before recovering and prospering).[74] Bain was among the private equity firms that took the most fees in such cases.[64][70]
In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse.[66] He was announced as its new CEO in January 1991[78][79] but drew only a symbolic salary of one dollar.[66] He managed an effort to restructure the firm's employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while rallying the firm's thousand employees, imposing a new governing structure that included Bain and the other founding partners giving up control, and increasing fiscal transparency.[54][58][66] Within about a year, he had led Bain & Company through a turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without further layoffs or partner defections.[58] He turned Bain & Company over to new leadership and returned to Bain Capital in December 1992.[54][79][80]
Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital in February 1999 to serve as the President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee.[54][81] By that time, Bain Capital was on its way to being one of the top private equity firms in the nation,[68] having increased its number of partners from 5 to 18, with 115 employees overall, and $4 billion under its management.[64][69] Bain Capital's approach of applying consulting expertise to the companies it invested in became widely copied within the private equity industry.[25][69] Economist Steven Kaplan would later say, "[Romney] came up with a model that was very successful and very innovative and that now everybody uses."[70]
Personal wealth[link]
In August 2001, Romney announced that he would not return to Bain Capital.[81] He transferred his ownership to other partners and negotiated an agreement that allowed him to receive a passive profit share as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds.[73][82] Because the private equity business continued to thrive, this deal brought him millions of dollars in annual income.[73] As a result of his business career, by 2007, Romney and his wife had a net worth of between $190 and $250 million, most of it held in blind trusts since 2003.[82] In 2012, it was estimated that he had amassed twice the net worth of the last eight presidents combined,[83] and would rank among the four richest in American history if elected.[83][84]
An additional blind trust existed in the name of the Romneys' children and grandchildren that was valued at between $70 and $100 million as of 2007.[85] The couple's net worth remained in the same range as of 2011, and was still held in blind trusts.[86] In 2010, Romney and his wife received $21.7 million in income, almost all of it from investments, of which about $3 million went to federal income taxes (a rate of 13.9 percent, based upon the beneficial rate accorded investment income by the U.S. tax code) and almost $3 million to charity, including $1.5 million to the LDS Church.[87] Romney has always tithed to the church, including stock from Bain Capital holdings.[13][88][89] In 2010, the Romney family's Tyler Charitable Foundation gave out about $650,000, with some of it going to organizations that fight specific diseases such as cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis.[90]
Local LDS Church leadership[link]
During his years in business, Romney also served in the local lay clergy (consisting of all Mormon men over the age of 12).[13] Around 1977, he became a counselor to the president of the Boston Stake.[91] He later served as bishop of the ward (leader of the congregation) at Belmont, Massachusetts, from 1981 to 1986, acting as the ecclesiastical and administrative head of his congregation.[92][93] As such, in addition to home teaching, he also formulated Sunday services and classes using LDS scriptures to guide the congregation.[94] He forged bonds with other religious institutions in the area when the Belmont meetinghouse was destroyed by a fire of suspicious origins in 1984; the congregation rotated its meetings to other houses of worship while it was rebuilt.[88][93]
From 1986 to 1994, he presided over the Boston Stake, which included more than a dozen wards in eastern Massachusetts with about 4,000 church members altogether.[67][94][95] He organized a team to handle financial and management issues, sought to counter anti-Mormon sentiments, and tried to solve social problems among poor Southeast Asian converts.[88][93] An unpaid position, his local church leadership often took 30 or more hours a week of his time,[94] and he became known for his tireless energy in the role.[67] He generally refrained from overnight business travel owing to his church responsibilities.[94]
He took a hands-on role in general matters, helping in maintenance efforts in- and outside homes, visiting the sick, and counseling troubled or burdened church members.[92][93][94] A number of local church members later credited him with turning their lives around or helping them through difficult times.[88][93][94] Some others were rankled by his leadership style and desired a more consensus-based approach.[93] Romney tried to balance the conservative dogma insisted upon by the church leadership in Utah with the desire of some Massachusetts members to have a more flexible application of doctrine.[67] He agreed with some modest requests from the liberal women's group Exponent II for changes in the way the church dealt with women, but clashed with women whom he felt were departing too much from doctrine.[67] In particular, he counseled women not to have abortions except in the rare cases allowed by LDS doctrine, and also in accordance with doctrine, encouraged prospective mothers who were not in successful marriages to give up children for adoption.[67] Romney later said that the years spent as an LDS minister gave him direct exposure to people struggling in economically difficult circumstances, and empathy for those going through problematic family situations.[96]
1994 U.S. senatorial campaign[link]
Main article: United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1994
By 1993, Romney had been thinking about entering politics, partly based upon Ann's urging and partly to follow in his father's footsteps.[46] He decided to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, who was seeking re-election for the sixth time. Kennedy was potentially vulnerable that year – in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole, and in part because this was Kennedy's first election since the William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida, in which Kennedy had suffered some negative public relations regarding his character.[97][98][99] Romney changed his affiliation from Independent to Republican in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994.[46] He took a leave of absence from Bain Capital in November 1993, and stepped down from his church leadership role during 1994, due to the campaign.[100][94]
Radio personality Janet Jeghelian took an early lead in polls among candidates for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat, but Romney proved the most effective fundraiser.[101][102] He won 68 percent of the vote at the May 1994 Massachusetts Republican Party convention; businessman John Lakian finished a distant second and Jeghelian was eliminated.[103] Romney defeated Lakian in the September 1994 primary with over 80 percent of the vote.[15][104]
In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious re-election challenger of his career in the young, telegenic, and well-funded Romney.[97] Romney ran as a fresh face, as a businessperson who stated he had created ten thousand jobs, and as a Washington outsider with a solid family image and moderate stances on social issues.[97][105] When Kennedy tried to tie Romney's policies to those of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Romney responded, "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to take us back to Reagan-Bush."[106] Romney stated: "Ultimately, this is a campaign about change."[107] After two decades out of public view, his father George re-emerged during the campaign.[108][109]
Romney's campaign was effective in portraying Kennedy as soft on crime, but had trouble establishing its own positions in a consistent manner.[110] By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race to be approximately even.[97][111][112] Kennedy responded with a series of attack ads, which focused on Romney's seemingly shifting political views on issues such as abortion and on the treatment of workers at the Ampad plant owned by Romney's Bain Capital.[97][113][114] The latter was effective in blunting Romney's momentum.[70] Kennedy and Romney held a widely watched late October debate without a clear winner, but by then, Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and stayed ahead afterward.[115] Romney spent $3 million of his own money in the race and more than $7 million overall.[116][nb 10] In the November general election, despite a disastrous showing for Democrats overall, Kennedy won the election with 58 percent of the vote to Romney's 41 percent,[54] the smallest margin in Kennedy's eight re-election campaigns for the Senate.[119]
2002 Winter Olympics[link]
Romney returned to Bain Capital the day after the election, but the loss had a lasting effect; he told his brother, "I never want to run for something again unless I can win."[46][120] When his father died in 1995, Mitt donated his inheritance to BYU's George W. Romney Institute of Public Management and joined the board and was vice-chair of the Points of Light Foundation (which had incorporated his father's National Volunteer Center).[45][81] His mother died in 1998. Romney felt restless as the decade neared a close; the goal of simply making more money was losing its appeal to him.[46][120] He no longer had a church leadership position, although he still taught Sunday School.[92] During the long and controversial approval and construction process for the $30 million Mormon temple in Belmont, he feared that as a political figure who had opposed Kennedy, he would become a focal point for opposition to the structure.[93] He thus kept to a limited, behind-the-scenes role in attempts to ease tensions between the church and local residents, but locals nonetheless sometimes referred to it as "Mitt's Temple".[88][92][93]
Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998; Mitt described watching her fail a series of neurological tests as the worst day of his life.[46] After two years of severe difficulties with the disease, she found while living in Park City, Utah (where the couple had built a vacation home) a mixture of mainstream, alternative, and equestrian therapies that gave her a lifestyle mostly without limitations.[53] When the offer came for him to take over the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Salt Lake City in Utah, she urged him to take it, and eager for a new challenge, he did.[120][121] On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002.[122]
Before Romney came on, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks.[122] Plans were being made to scale back the Games to compensate for the fiscal crisis, and there were fears the Games might be moved away entirely.[123] The Games had also been damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including prior Salt Lake Olympic Committee president and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and committee vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.[124] Romney was chosen by Utah figures looking for someone with expertise in business and law and with connections to the state and the LDS Church.[125] The appointment faced some initial criticism from non-Mormons, and fears from Mormons, that it represented cronyism or gave the Games too Mormon an image.[30]
Romney ran the planning for the Games like a business.[126] He revamped the organization's leadership and policies, reduced budgets, and boosted fundraising, alleviated the concerns corporate sponsors and recruited many new ones.[120][125] He appealed to Utah's citizenry with a message of optimism that helped restore confidence in the effort.[120][126] He worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by coordinating a $300 million security budget.[121] Overall, he oversaw a $1.32 billion budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers.[122] The federal government provided between approximately $400 million[125][127][128] and $600 million[126][129] of that budget, much of it a result of Romney's having aggressively lobbied Congress and federal agencies.[129][130][131] It would prove to be a record level of federal funding for the staging of a U.S. Olympics, a fact Romney would cite as a selling point during his campaign for the Massachusetts governorship.[128][130] An additional federal $1.1 billion was spent on indirect support in the form of highway and transit projects.[132]
Romney emerged as the public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in photographs, news stories and Olympics pins.[120] Robert H. Garff, the chair of the organizing committee, later said that "It was obvious that he had an agenda larger than just the Olympics,"[120] and that Romney wanted to use the Olympics to propel himself into the national spotlight and a political career.[125][133] Garff believed the initial budget shortfall was not as bad as Romney portrayed, given there were still three years to reorganize.[125] Utah Senator Bob Bennett said that much of the needed federal money was already in place and an analysis by The Boston Globe stated that the committee already had nearly $1 billion in committed revenues.[125] Olympics critic Steve Pace, who led Utahns for Responsible Public Spending, thought Romney exaggerated the initial fiscal state in order to lay the groundwork for a well-publicized rescue.[133] Kenneth Bullock, another board member of the organizing committee and also head of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, often clashed with Romney at the time, and later said that Romney deserved some credit for the turnaround but not as much as he claimed:[120] Bullock said: "He tried very hard to build an image of himself as a savior, the great white hope. He was very good at characterizing and castigating people and putting himself on a pedestal."[125]
Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million.[134] His performance as Olympics head was rated positively by 87 percent of Utahns.[135] Romney and his wife contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and he donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO.[136]
Romney was widely praised for his efforts with the 2002 Winter Olympics[121] including by President George W. Bush,[25] and it solidified his reputation as a turnaround artist.[125] Harvard Business School taught a case study based around his actions.[61] He wrote a book about his experience titled Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, published in 2004. The role gave Romney experience in dealing with federal, state, and local entities, a public persona he had previously lacked, and the chance to re-launch his political aspirations.[120] He was mentioned as a possible candidate for statewide office in both Massachusetts and Utah, and also as possibly joining the Bush administration.[121][137][138]
Governor of Massachusetts[link]
2002 gubernatorial campaign[link]
Main article: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002
In 2002, Republican Acting Governor Jane Swift's administration was plagued by political missteps and personal scandals.[135] Many Republicans viewed her as a liability and considered her unable to win a general election.[139] Prominent party figures – as well as the White House – wanted Romney to run for governor,[137][140] and the opportunity appealed to him for its national visibility.[141] One poll taken at that time showed Republicans favoring Romney over Swift by more than 50 percentage points.[142] On March 19, 2002, Swift announced she would not seek her party's nomination, and hours later Romney declared his candidacy,[142] for which would face no opposition in the primary.[143] In June 2002, Massachusetts Democratic Party officials contested Romney's eligibility to run for governor, citing residency issues involving his time in Utah for the Olympics.[144] That same month, the bipartisan Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission unanimously ruled that he was an eligible candidate.[145]
He again ran as a political outsider,[135] saying he was "not a partisan Republican" but rather a "moderate" with "progressive" views.[146] Supporters of Romney hailed his business success, especially with the Olympics, as the record of someone who would be able to bring a new era of efficiency into Massachusetts politics.[143] The campaign was the first to use microtargeting techniques, in which fine-grained groups of voters were reached with narrowly tailored messaging.[147] Nevertheless, Romney initially had difficulty connecting with voters and fell behind his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, in polls before rebounding.[148] During the election he contributed over $6 million – a state record at the time – to the nearly $10 million raised for his campaign overall.[149][150] Romney was elected governor on November 5, 2002, with 50 percent of the vote to O'Brien's 45 percent.[151]
Tenure, 2003–2007[link]
Main article: Governorship of Mitt Romney
When Romney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003, [152] both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature held large Democratic majorities.[153] He picked his cabinet and advisors more on managerial abilities than partisan affiliation.[23] Upon entering office in the middle of a fiscal year, he faced an immediate $650 million shortfall and a projected $3 billion deficit for the next year.[138] Unexpected revenue of $1.0–1.3 billion from a previously enacted capital gains tax increase and $500 million in unanticipated federal grants decreased the deficit to $1.2–1.5 billion.[154][155] Through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes,[154] the state ran surpluses of around $600–700 million for the last two full fiscal years Romney was in office, although it began running deficits again after that.[nb 11]
Romney supported raising various fees by more than $300 million, including those for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and gun licenses.[138][154] He increased a special gasoline retailer fee by two cents per gallon, generating about $60 million per year in additional revenue.[138][154] (Opponents said the reliance on fees sometimes imposed a hardship on those who could least afford them.)[154] Romney also closed tax loopholes that brought in another $181 million from businesses over the next two years and over $300 million for his term.[138][160] Romney did so in the face of conservative and corporate critics that considered them tax increases.[160]
The state legislature, with Romney's support, also cut spending by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns.[161] The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase tuition by 63 percent over four years.[138][154] Romney sought additional cuts in his last year as governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget, but all were overridden by the heavily Democratic legislature.[162]
The cuts in state spending put added pressure on localities to reduce services or raise property taxes, and the share of town and city revenues coming from property taxes rose from 49 to 53 percent.[138][154] The combined state and local tax burden in Massachusetts increased during Romney's governorship but remained below the national average.[138]
Romney sought to bring near-universal health insurance coverage to the state. This came after Staples founder Stemberg told him at the start of his term that doing so would be the best way he could help people,[163][164][165] and after the federal government, owing to the rules of Medicaid funding, threatened to cut $385 million in those payments to Massachusetts if the state did not reduce the number of uninsured recipients of health care services.[23][163][166] Although he had not campaigned on the idea of universal health insurance,[165] Romney decided that because people without insurance still received expensive health care, the money spent by the state for such care could be better used to subsidize insurance for the poor.[164][165]
After positing that any measure adopted not raise taxes and not resemble the previous decade's failed "Hillarycare" proposal, Romney formed a team of consultants from diverse political backgrounds.[23][163][166] Beginning in late 2004, they came up with a set of proposals more ambitious than an incremental one from the Massachusetts Senate and more acceptable to him than one from the Massachusetts House of Representatives that incorporated a new payroll tax.[23][163][166] In particular, Romney pushed for incorporating an individual mandate at the state level.[21] Past rival Ted Kennedy, who had made universal heath coverage his life's work and who, over time, had developed a warm relationship with Romney,[167] gave the plan a positive reception, which encouraged Democratic legislators to cooperate.[163][166] The effort eventually gained the support of all major stakeholders within the state, and Romney helped break a logjam between rival Democratic leaders in the legislature.[163][166]
"There really wasn't Republican or Democrat in this. People ask me if this is conservative or liberal, and my answer is yes. It's liberal in the sense that we're getting our citizens health insurance. It's conservative in that we're not getting a government takeover."
—Mitt Romney upon passage of the Massachusetts health reform law in 2006.[163]
On April 12, 2006, Romney signed the resulting Massachusetts health reform law, commonly called "Romneycare", which requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to buy health insurance coverage or face escalating tax penalties, such as the loss of their personal income tax exemption.[168] The bill also establishes means-tested state subsidies for people who do not have adequate employer insurance and whose income is below a threshold, with funds that were previously used to compensate for the health costs of the uninsured.[169][170][171] He vetoed eight sections of the health care legislation, including a controversial $295-per-employee assessment on businesses that do not offer health insurance and provisions guaranteeing dental benefits to Medicaid recipients.[168][172] The legislature overrode all eight vetoes, but the governor's office said the differences were not essential.[172] The law was the first of its kind in the nation and became the signature achievement of Romney's term in office.[166][nb 12]
At the beginning of his governorship, Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions, but advocated tolerance and supported some domestic partnership benefits.[166][174][175] Faced with the dilemma of choosing between same-sex marriage or civil unions after the November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health), Romney reluctantly backed a state constitutional amendment in February 2004 that would have banned same-sex marriage but still allow civil unions, viewing it as the only feasible way to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.[176] In May 2004, Romney instructed town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but citing a 1913 law that barred out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would be illegal in their home state, no marriage licenses were to be issued to out-of-state same-sex couples not planning to move to Massachusetts.[174][177] In June 2005, Romney abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, stating that the amendment confused voters who oppose both same-sex marriage and civil unions.[174] Instead, Romney endorsed a petition effort led by the Coalition for Marriage & Family that would have banned same-sex marriage and made no provisions for civil unions.[174] In 2004 and 2006, he urged the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment.[178][179]
In 2005, Romney revealed a change of view regarding abortion, moving from the "unequivocal" pro-choice position expressed during his 2002 campaign to a pro-life one in opposition to Roe v. Wade.[166] He subsequently vetoed a bill on pro-life grounds that would expand access to emergency contraception in hospitals and pharmacies[180] (the veto was overridden by the legislature).[181]
Romney generally used the bully pulpit approach towards promoting his agenda, staging well-organized media events to appeal directly to the public rather than pushing his proposals in behind-doors sessions with the state legislature.[166] Romney dealt with a public crisis of confidence in Boston's Big Dig project – that followed a fatal ceiling collapse in 2006 – by wresting control of the project from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.[166]
During 2004, Romney spent considerable effort trying to bolster the state Republican Party, but it failed to gain any seats in the state legislative elections that year.[138][182] He was given a prime-time appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention, and was already being discussed as a potential 2008 presidential candidate.[183] Midway through his term, Romney decided that he wanted to stage a full-time run for president,[184] and on December 14, 2005, announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term.[185][186] As chair of the Republican Governors Association, Romney traveled around the country, meeting prominent Republicans and building a national political network;[184] he spent part or all of more than 200 days out of state during 2006, preparing for his run.[187]
He had a 61 percent job approval rating in public polls after his initial fiscal actions in 2003, but it began to sink after that.[188] His frequent out-of-state travel contributed to a decline in his approval rating towards the end of his term;[189][188] at 34 percent in November 2006, his rating level ranked 48th of the 50 U.S. governors.[190] Dissatisfaction with Romney's administration and the weak condition of the Republican state party were among several factors that led to Democrat Deval Patrick's lopsided win over Republican Kerry Healey, Romney's Lieutenant Governor, in the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[191][189]
Romney filed to register a presidential campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on his penultimate day in office as governor.[192] His term ended January 4, 2007.
2008 presidential campaign[link]
Main article: Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president on February 13, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[193] In his speech, he frequently invoked his father and his own family and stressed experiences in the private, public, and voluntary sectors that had brought him to this point.[193][194] He said, "Throughout my life, I have pursued innovation and transformation,"[194] and casting himself as a political outsider, said, "I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician."[195]
Romney's campaign initially emphasized his résumé of a highly profitable career in the business world and his stewardship of the Olympics.[184][196][nb 13] He also had political experience as governor, together with a political pedigree courtesy of his father, and had a reputation for a strong work ethic and energy level.[184][196][65] Ann Romney, who had become an outspoken advocate for those with multiple sclerosis,[199] was in remission and would be an active participant in his campaign,[200] helping to soften his political personality.[65] Moreover, a number of commentators noted that with his square jaw and ample hair graying at the temples, the 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m)[201] Romney – referred to as handsome in scores of media stories[202] – physically matched one of the common images of what some believed a president should look like.[66][203][204][205] Romney's liabilities included having run for senator and served as governor in one of the nation's most liberal states, having taken some positions there that were opposed by the party's conservative base, and subsequently shifting those positions.[184][196][200] His religion was also viewed with suspicion and skepticism by some in the Evangelical portion of the party.[206]
Romney assembled for his campaign a veteran group of Republican staffers, consultants, and pollsters.[196][207] He was little-known nationally, though, and stayed around the 10 percent range in Republican preference polls for the first half of 2007.[184] He proved the most effective fundraiser of any of the Republican candidates;[208] his Olympics ties helped him with fundraising from Utahns and from sponsors and trustees of the games.[136] He also partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune.[196] These resources, combined with the mid-year near-collapse of nominal front-runner John McCain's campaign, made Romney a threat to win the nomination and the focus of the other candidates' attacks.[209] Romney's staff suffered from internal strife and the candidate himself was indecisive at times, constantly asking for more data before making a decision.[196][210]
During all of his political campaigns, Romney has generally avoided speaking publicly about specific Mormon doctrines, referring to the U.S. Constitution prohibition of religious tests for public office.[211] But persistent questions about the role of religion in Romney's life in this race, as well as Southern Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee's rise in the polls based upon an explicitly Christian-themed campaign, led to the December 6, 2007, "Faith in America" speech.[212] He said should neither be elected nor rejected based upon his religion,[213] and echoed Senator John F. Kennedy's famous speech during his 1960 presidential campaign in saying, "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law."[212] Instead of discussing the specific tenets of his faith, he said that he would be informed by it and that, "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."[212][213] Academics would later study the role religion had played in the campaign.[nb 14]
In the January 3, 2008, Iowa Republican caucuses, the first contest of the primary season, Romney received 25 percent of the vote and placed second to the vastly outspent Huckabee, who received 34 percent.[216][217] Of the 60 percent of caucus-goers who were evangelical Christians, Huckabee was supported by about half of them while Romney by only a fifth.[216] Two days later, Romney won the lightly contested Wyoming Republican caucuses.[218]
At a Saint Anselm College debate, Huckabee and McCain pounded away at Romney's image as a flip flopper.[216] Indeed, this label would stick to Romney through the campaign[196] (but was one that Romney rejected as unfair and inaccurate, except for his acknowledged change of mind on abortion).[65][219] Romney seemed to approach the campaign as a management consulting exercise, and showed a lack of personal warmth and political feel; journalist Evan Thomas wrote that Romney "came off as a phony, even when he was perfectly sincere."[65][220] Romney's staff would conclude that competing as a candidate of social conservatism and ideological purity rather than of pragmatic competence had been a mistake.[65]
Romney finished in second place by 5 percentage points to the resurgent McCain in the next-door-to-his-home-state New Hampshire primary on January 8.[216] Romney rebounded to win the January 15 Michigan primary over McCain by a solid margin, capitalizing on his childhood ties to the state and his vow to bring back lost automotive industry jobs which was seen by several commentators as unrealistic.[nb 15] On January 19, Romney won the lightly contested Nevada caucuses, but placed fourth in the intense South Carolina primary, where he had effectively ceded the contest to his rivals.[225] McCain gained further momentum with his win in South Carolina, leading to a showdown between him and Romney in the Florida primary.[226][227]
For ten days, Romney campaigned intensively on economic issues and the burgeoning subprime mortgage crisis, while McCain repeatedly, and inaccurately, asserted that Romney favored a premature withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.[nb 16] McCain won key last-minute endorsements from Florida Senator Mel Martinez and Governor Charlie Crist, which helped push him to a 5 percentage point victory on January 29.[226][227] Although many Republican officials were now lining up behind McCain,[227] Romney persisted through the nationwide Super Tuesday contests on February 5. There he won primaries or caucuses in several states, including Massachusetts, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado, and Utah, but McCain won more, including large states such as California and New York.[229] Trailing McCain in delegates by a more than two-to-one margin, Romney announced the end of his campaign on February 7 during a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.[229]
Altogether, Romney had won 11 primaries and caucuses,[230] received about 4.7 million total votes,[231] and garnered about 280 delegates.[232] He spent $110 million during the campaign, including $45 million of his own money.[233]
Romney endorsed McCain for president a week later.[232] He became one of the McCain campaign's most visible surrogates, appearing on behalf of the GOP nominee at fundraisers, state Republican party conventions, and on cable news programs.[234] His efforts earned McCain's respect and the two developed a warmer relationship; he was on the nominee's short list for the vice presidential running mate slot, where his economic expertise would have balanced one of McCain's weaknesses.[235] McCain, behind in the polls, opted instead for a high-risk, high-reward "game changer", and selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.[236] McCain lost the election to Democratic Senator Barack Obama.
Activity between presidential campaigns[link]
Following the election, Romney paved the way for a possible 2012 presidential campaign by using his Free and Strong America political action committee (PAC) to raise money for other Republican candidates and to pay his existing political staff's salaries and consulting fees.[237][238] An informal network of former staff and supporters around the nation were eager for him to run again.[239] He continued to give speeches and raise funds for Republicans,[240] but turned down many potential media appearances, fearing overexposure.[219] He also spoke before business, educational, and motivational groups.[241] He served on the board of directors of Marriott International from 2009 to 2011 (having earlier served on it from 1993 to 2002).[242]
In 2009, the Romneys sold their primary residence in Belmont and their ski chalet in Utah, leaving them an estate along Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and an oceanfront home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, California, which they had bought the year before.[219][243][244] The San Diego home was beneficial in location and climate for Ann Romney's multiple sclerosis therapies and for recovering from her late 2008 diagnosis and lumpectomy for mammary ductal carcinoma in situ.[243][245][246] Both it and the New Hampshire location were near some of their grandchildren,[243] who by 2011 numbered sixteen.[247] Romney maintained his voting registration in Massachusetts, however, and bought a smaller condominium in Belmont during 2010.[245][248][nb 17] In February 2010, Romney had a minor altercation with LMFAO member Skyler Gordy, known as Sky Blu, on an airplane flight.[nb 18]
Romney's book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, was released in March 2010; an 18-state book tour was undertaken.[255] The book, which debuted atop The New York Times Best Seller list,[256] avoided anecdotes about his personal or political life in favor of a presentation of his economic and geopolitical views.[257][258] Earnings from the book were donated to charity.[86]
In nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries, Romney led or placed in the top three with Palin and Huckabee. A January 2010 National Journal survey of political insiders found that a majority of Republican insiders, and a plurality of Democratic insiders, predicted Romney would be the party's 2012 nominee.[259] Romney campaigned heavily for Republican candidates in the 2010 midterm elections,[260] raising more money than the other prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidates.[261] Beginning in early 2011, Romney presented a more relaxed visual image, including rarely wearing a necktie.[262][263]
2012 presidential campaign[link]
Main article: Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2012
See also: Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012 , Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, and Republican Party vice presidential candidates, 2012
On April 11, 2011, Romney announced in a video taped outdoors at the University of New Hampshire that he had formed an exploratory committee for a run for the Republican presidential nomination.[264][265] A Quinnipiac University political science professor stated, "We all knew that he was going to run. He's really been running for president ever since the day after the 2008 election."[265]
Romney stood to gain from the Republican electorate's tendency to nominate candidates who had previously run for president and appeared to be "next in line" to be chosen.[239][266][267] The early stages of the race found him as the apparent front-runner in a weak field, especially in terms of fundraising prowess and organization.[268][269][270] Perhaps his greatest hurdle in gaining the Republican nomination was party opposition to the Massachusetts health care reform law that he had shepherded five years earlier.[263][265][267] As many potential Republican candidates decided not to run (including Mike Pence, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, and Mitch Daniels), Republican party figures searched for plausible alternatives to Romney.[268][270]
On June 2, 2011, he formally announced the start of his campaign. Speaking on a farm in Stratham, New Hampshire, he focused on the economy and criticized President Obama's handling of it.[271] He said, "In the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it – because I have lived it."[267]
Romney raised $56 million during 2011, far more than any of his Republican opponents,[272] and refrained from spending any of his own money on his campaign.[273] He initially ran a low-key, low-profile campaign.[274] Michele Bachmann staged a brief surge in polls, then by September 2011, Romney's chief rival in polls was a recent entrant, Texas Governor Rick Perry.[275] Perry and Romney exchanged sharp criticisms of each other during a series of debates among the Republican candidates.[276] The October 2011 decisions of Chris Christie and Sarah Palin not to run finally settled the field.[277][278] Perry faded after poor performances in those debates, while Herman Cain's long-shot bid gained popularity until allegations of sexual misconduct derailed him.[279][280]
Romney continued to seek support from a wary Republican electorate; at this point in the race, his poll numbers were relatively flat and at a historically low level for a Republican frontrunner.[277][281][282] After the charges of flip-flopping that marked his 2008 campaign began to accumulate again, Romney declared in November 2011 that "I've been as consistent as human beings can be."[283][284][285] In the final month before voting began, Newt Gingrich enjoyed a major surge, taking a solid lead in national polls and in most of the early caucus and primary states,[286] before settling back into parity or worse with Romney following a barrage of negative ads from Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney Super PAC.[287]
In the initial 2012 Iowa caucuses of January 3, Romney was announced as the victor on election night with 25 percent of the vote, edging out a late-gaining Rick Santorum by eight votes (with an also-strong Ron Paul finishing third),[288] but sixteen days later, Santorum was certified as the winner by a 34-vote margin.[289] Romney decidedly won the New Hampshire primary the following week with a total of 39 percent; Paul finished second and Jon Huntsman third.[290]
In the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary, Gingrich launched attack ads criticizing Romney for causing job losses while at Bain Capital, Perry referred to Romney's role there as "vulture capitalism", and Sarah Palin questioned whether Romney could prove his claim that 100,000 jobs were created during that time.[291][292] Many conservatives rallied in defense of Romney, rejecting what they inferred as criticism of free-market capitalism.[291] However, during two debates, Romney fumbled questions about releasing his income tax returns, while Gingrich gained support with audience-rousing attacks on the debate moderators.[293][294] Romney's double-digit lead in state polls evaporated and he lost to Gingrich by 13 points in the January 21 primary.[293] Combined with the delayed loss in Iowa, Romney's admitted bad week represented a lost chance to end the race early, and he decided to release his tax returns quickly.[293][295] The race turned to the Florida Republican primary, where in debates, appearances, and advertisements, Romney unleashed a concerted, unrelenting attack on Gingrich's past record and associations and current electability.[296][297] Romney enjoyed a big spending advantage from both his campaign and his aligned Super PAC, and after a record-breaking rate of negative ads from both sides, Romney won Florida on January 31, gaining 46 percent of the vote to Gingrich's 32 percent.[298]
There were several caucuses and primaries during February, and Santorum won three in a single night early in the month, propelling him into the lead in national and some state polls and positioning him as Romney's main rival.[299] Romney won the other five, including a closely fought contest in his home state of Michigan at the end of the month.[300][301] In the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses of March 6, Romney won six of ten contests, including a narrow victory in Ohio over a greatly outspent Santorum, and although he failed to win decisively enough to end the race, still held a more than two-to-one edge over Santorum in delegates.[302] Romney maintained his delegate margin through subsequent contests,[303] and Santorum stopped his campaign on April 10.[304] Following a sweep of five more contests on April 24, the Republican National Committee put its resources behind Romney as the party's presumptive nominee.[305] Romney clinched a majority of the delegates with a win in the Texas primary on May 29.
Political positions and public perceptions[link]
For more details on specific Romney positions on many issues, see Political positions of Mitt Romney.
For much of his business career, Romney did not take public political positions.[306][307] While he had kept abreast of national politics during college,[33] and the circumstances of his father's presidential campaign loss would irk him for decades,[24] his early philosophical influences were often non-political, as during his missionary days when he read Napoleon Hill's pioneering self-help tome Think and Grow Rich, and encouraged his colleagues to do the same.[13][61] Until his 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, he was registered as an Independent.[46] In the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries, he voted for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas.[306][308]
In the 1994 Senate race, Romney aligned himself with Republican Massachusetts Governor William Weld, saying "I think Bill Weld's fiscal conservatism, his focus on creating jobs and employment and his efforts to fight discrimination and assure civil rights for all is a model that I identify with and aspire to."[309] As a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, and then initially as Governor of Massachusetts, he generally operated in the mold established by Weld and followed by Weld's two other Republican successors, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift: restrain spending and taxing, be tolerant or permissive on social issues, protect the environment, be tough on crime, try to appear post-partisan.[308][310]
Later during his time as governor, Romney's position on abortion changed in conjunction with a similar change of position on stem cell research.[166][nb 19] Also during that time, his position or choice of emphasis on some aspects of gay rights,[nb 20] and some aspects of abstinence-only sex education,[nb 21] moved in a more conservative direction. The change in 2005 on abortion was the result of what he described as an epiphany experienced while investigating stem cell research issues.[166] He later said, "Changing my position was in line with an ongoing struggle that anyone has that is opposed to abortion personally, vehemently opposed to it, and yet says, 'Well, I'll let other people make that decision.' And you say to yourself, but if you believe that you're taking innocent life, it's hard to justify letting other people make that decision."[166]
This increased alignment with traditional conservatives on social issues coincided with Romney's becoming a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for President.[317][318] He joined the National Rifle Association and portrayed himself as a lifelong hunter.[nb 22] He downplayed the Massachusetts health care law,[21][308][318] became a convert on signing an anti-tax pledge,[61][21] and backed away from further closings of corporate tax loopholes.[160] There was a display of aggressiveness on foreign policy matters, such as wanting to double the number of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[318] Skeptics, including some Republicans, charged Romney with opportunism and having a lack of core principles.[166][196][308] The fervor with which Romney adopted his new stances and attitudes contributed to the perception of inauthenticity which hampered that campaign.[61][262]
While there have been many biographical parallels between the lives of George and Mitt Romney,[nb 23] one particular difference is that while George was willing to defy political trends, Mitt has been much more willing to adapt to them.[21][23] Mitt Romney has said that learning from experience and changing views accordingly is a virtue, and that, "If you're looking for someone who's never changed any positions on any policies, then I'm not your guy."[324] Romney responded to criticisms of ideological pandering with the explanation that "The older I get, the smarter Ronald Reagan gets."[200]
Journalist Daniel Gross sees Romney as approaching politics in the same terms as a business competing in markets, in that successful executives do not hold firm to public stances over long periods of time, but rather constantly devise new strategies and plans to deal with new geographical regions and ever-changing market conditions.[308] Political profiler Ryan Lizza notes the same question regarding whether Romney's business skills can be adapted to politics, saying that "while giving customers exactly what they want may be normal in the corporate world, it can be costly in politics".[61] Writer Robert Draper holds a somewhat similar perspective: "The Romney curse was this: His strength lay in his adaptability. In governance, this was a virtue; in a political race, it was an invitation to be called a phony."[65] Writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells sees Romney as a detached problem solver rather than one who approaches political issues from a humanistic or philosophical perspective.[70] Journalist Neil Swidey views Romney as a political and cultural enigma, "the product of two of the most mysterious and least understood subcultures in the country: the Mormon Church and private-equity finance," and believes that has led to the continued interest in a 1983 episode in which Romney kept his family dog on the roof of his car during a long road trip.[nb 24] Political writer Joe Klein views Romney as actually more conservative on social issues than he portrayed himself during his Massachusetts campaigns and less conservative on other issues than his presidential campaigns have represented, and concludes that Romney "has always campaigned as something he probably is not."[328]
Immediately following the March 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power" and said the act should be repealed.[329] The antipathy Republicans felt for it created a potential problem for the former governor, since the new federal law was in many ways similar to the Massachusetts health care reform passed during Romney's term; as one Associated Press article stated, "Obamacare ... looks a lot like Romneycare."[329] While acknowledging that his plan was an imperfect work in progress, Romney did not back away from it, and has consistently defended its underpinning state-level health insurance mandate.[329][330] He has focused on its bipartisan support in the state legislature, the absence of Congressional Republican support for Obama's plan,[329] and has contended that it was the right answer to Massachusetts' specific problems at the time.[329][331] While Romney has not explicitly argued for a federally imposed mandate, and as of 2010 explicitly opposes one, during his 1994 Senate campaign he indicated he would vote for an overall health insurance proposal that contained one.[332][333] He suggested during his time as governor and during his 2008 presidential campaign that the Massachusetts plan was a model for the nation and that, over time, mandate plans might be adopted by most or all of the nation.[334][335][336]
Romney's foreign policy views are rooted in a firm belief in American exceptionalism and the need to preserve American supremacy in the world.[257] This parallels the Mormon belief that the United States Constitution is divinely inspired and that the U.S. was selected by God to play a special part in human history.[337] Indeed, Romney's political beliefs regarding a limited role for government, a need for self-reliance, and requirements for welfare recipients, often reflect Mormon tenets adapted for the secular world.[337][338]
Throughout his business, Olympics, and political career, Romney's instinct has been to apply the "Bain way" towards problems.[65][318][339] Romney has said, "There were two key things I learned at Bain. One was a series of concepts for approaching tough problems and a problem-solving methodology; the other was an enormous respect for data, analysis, and debate."[339] He has written, "There are answers in numbers – gold in numbers. Pile the budgets on my desk and let me wallow."[61] Romney believes the Bain approach is not only effective in the business realm but also in running for office and, once there, in solving political conundrums such as proper Pentagon spending levels and the future of Social Security.[318][339] Former Bain and Olympics colleague Fraser Bullock has said of Romney, "He's not an ideologue. He makes decisions based on researching data more deeply than anyone I know."[25] Romney's technocratic instincts have thus always been with him; in his public appearances during the 2002 gubernatorial campaign he sometimes gave PowerPoint presentations rather than conventional speeches.[340] Upon taking office he became, in the words of The Boston Globe, "the state's first self-styled CEO governor".[138] During his 2008 presidential campaign, he constantly asked for data, analysis, and opposing arguments,[318] and has been decribed by Slate magazine as a potential "CEO president".[308]
Awards and honors[link]
Romney has received five honorary doctorates, including one in Business from the University of Utah in 1999,[341] in Law from Bentley College in 2002,[342] in Public Administration from Suffolk University Law School in 2004,[343] in Public Service from Hillsdale College in 2007,[344] and in Humanities from Liberty University in 2012.[345]
People magazine included him in its 50 Most Beautiful People list for 2002,[346] and in 2004, he received the inaugural Truce Ideal Award for his role in the 2002 Winter Olympics.[347] The Cranbrook School gave him their Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.[19] In 2008 he shared with his wife Ann, the Canterbury Medal from The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for "refus[ing] to compromise their principles and faith" during the presidential campaign.[348] In 2012 Romney was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.[349]
Writings[link]
- With Timothy Robinson (2004). Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games. Washington: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89526-084-0.
- No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-312-60980-1.
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ He was called "Billy" until kindergarten, when he indicated a preference for "Mitt".[15]
- ^ Mitt's campaigning for his father included working the phone banks and appearing at county fairs where he manned a booth and exclaimed over a loudspeaker, "You should vote for my father for Governor. He's a truly great person. You've got to support him. He's going to make things better."[21]
- ^ Such pranks included sliding down golf courses on large ice cubes, dressing as a police officer and tapping on the car windows of teenage friends who were making out, and staging an elaborate formal dinner on the median of a busy street.[18][20] The golf course escapade apparently got Romney and Ann Davies arrested, or otherwise detained, by the local police.[24][25] Romney was also arrested in 1981 while at a family outing at Lake Cochituate in Massachusetts. According to Romney, a ranger from Cochituate State Park told him his motorboat had an insufficiently visible license number and he would face a $50 fine if he took the boat onto the lake. Disagreeing about the license and wanting to continue the outing, Romney took it out anyway, saying he would pay the fine. The angry officer then arrested him for disorderly conduct. The charges were dropped several days later after Romney threatened to sue the officer and the state for false arrest.[26]
- ^ a b When initially considering colleges after high school, Romney had not wanted to go to BYU.[43] He later recounted that he had planned to attend BYU to convince Ann to marry him, then the couple planned to transfer together back to Stanford, but in the end, they enjoyed BYU and decided to stay.[45]
- ^ Romney's great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and two uncles had been missionaries,[32] as had his older brother.[33] All five of Romney's sons later served as missionaries as well.[34]
- ^ a b On June 16, 1968, Romney was driving fellow missionaries on dangerous roads in southern France.[18][37][40] As they drove through the village of Bernos-Beaulac, a Mercedes that was passing a truck missed a curve and swerved into the opposite lane hitting the Citroën DS Romney was driving in a head-on collision.[18][41] Trapped between the steering wheel and door, the unconscious and seriously injured Romney had to be pried from the car; a French police officer mistakenly wrote Il est mort in his passport.[18][24][40] The wife of the mission president was killed and other passengers were seriously injured as well.[40] George Romney relied on his friend Sargent Shriver, the U.S. Ambassador to France, to go to the local hospital and discover that his son had survived.[24] Romney, who was not at fault in the accident,[33][40] had suffered broken ribs, a fractured arm, a concussion, and facial injuries, but recovered quickly without needing surgery.[37][40] The French police say that they have no records of the incident because such records are routinely destroyed after 10 years.[40]
- ^ Some sources incorrectly report that Romney graduated BYU as valedictorian. Romney himself has corrected this notion, saying that he was not. While he believes he did have the highest grade point average for his BYU years in the College of Humanities, he did not if his Stanford year was factored in, and he did not among the graduating class university-wide.[51][45]
- ^ Romney sat for the bar exam in his home state of Michigan in July 1975, passed it and was admitted to practice law there, but never worked as a lawyer and only considered in case his business career did not work out.[59]
- ^ One study of 68 deals that Bain Capital made during Romney's time there found that the firm lost money or broke even on 33 of them.[67] Another study that looked at the eight-year period following 77 deals during Romney's time found that in 17 cases the company went bankrupt or out of business, and in 6 cases Bain Capital lost all its investment. But 10 deals were very successful and represented 70 percent of the total profits.[72]
- ^ Kennedy spent $10.5 million overall, including a $1.5 million loan to himself.[117] This was the second-most expensive race of the 1994 election cycle, after the Dianne Feinstein–Michael Huffington Senate race in California.[118]
- ^ Official state figures for fiscal year 2005 (July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005) declared a $594.4 million surplus.[138][156] For fiscal 2006, the surplus was $720.9 million.[156] During fiscal 2007, Romney cut $384 million in spending that the legislature wanted; in January 2007, midway through the fiscal year, incoming Governor Deval Patrick restored that amount,[157] and also declared that the state faced a "looming budget shortfall" of $1 billion for fiscal 2008.[158] Patrick consequently proposed a budget for fiscal 2008 that included $515 million in spending cuts and $295 million in new corporate taxes.[159] As it happened, the state ended fiscal 2007 with a $307.1 million deficit and fiscal 2008 with a $495.2 million deficit.[156]
- ^ Within four years, the Massachusetts law had achieved its primary goal of expanding coverage: in 2010, 98% of state residents had coverage, compared to a national average of 83%. Among children and seniors the 2010 coverage rate was even higher, 99.8% and 99.6% respectively. Approximately two-thirds of residents received coverage through employers; one-sixth each received it through Medicare or public plans.[173]
- ^ American political opinion periodically looked towards industry for business managers who it was thought could straighten out what was held to be wrong in the nation's capital. The track record of such efforts was at best mixed, with Lee Iacocca declining to run, Romney's father George and Steve Forbes failing to get far in the primaries, and Ross Perot staging one of the more successful third-party runs in American history.[197][198]
- ^ Regarding the role of Romney's religion in the 2008 campaign, one academic study, based upon research conducted throughout the 2008 primaries, showed that a negative perception of Mormonism was widespread during the election, and that perception was often resistant to factual information that would correct mistaken notions about the religion or Romney's relationship to it.[214] The authors concluded that, "For Romney ... religion is the central story."[214] Another study, analyzing a survey conducted during January 2008 (when an African American, a woman, and a Mormon all had realistic chances of becoming the first president from that group), found that voters had internally accepted the notion of black equality, paving the way for Barack Obama's election; had partially established but not fully internalized the notion of gender equality, making Hillary Rodham Clinton's task somewhat more difficult; but had only selectively internalized the notion of religious equality, and in particular not extended it to Mormons, thus making Romney's run significantly more difficult.[215] Those authors concluded that, "for a Mormon candidate, the road to the presidency remains very rough ... The bias against a Mormon candidate is substantial."[215]
- ^ Romney proposed a $20 billion "workout, not a bailout" of the U.S. auto industry. It was termed unrealistic or "pandering" by several news reports.[221][222][223][224]
- ^ Previously, Romney had proposed a private timetable for gradually reducing U.S. forces. McCain's statements regarding this were termed dishonest or misleading by several news reports.[226][227][228]
- ^ Following the August 2009 death of his past rival and sometime ally Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Romney declared that he had no interest in running in the special January 2010 election to replace him.[249] Romney was an early supporter of Scott Brown, the successful Republican candidate in that race. Some of Romney's former aides were used by Brown's campaign and Romney raised funds for Brown.[250][251]
- ^ After having attended the 2010 Winter Olympics, Romney and wife were on board an Air Canada plane waiting to take off on a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles when he got into a physical altercation with Sky Blu, sitting in front of him, over Sky Blu's seat not being in the upright position. Romney said that Sky Blu became physically violent and that he did not retaliate, while Sky Blu said that Romney gave him a "Vulcan grip" first and that he responded physically to that. Sky Blu was escorted off the aircraft by Canadian police but Romney did not press charges and Sky Blu was released.[252][253][254]
- ^ During his 2002 campaign, Romney expressed support for embryonic stem cell research, and said he would lobby President Bush (who had banned most federal funding for such research) to support it. In early 2005, Romney announced his position on therapeutic cloning, saying he was against it – and vetoing a funding bill for stem cell research because it allowed it – but still in favor of research on unused embryos from fertility treatments. In early 2007, he said he was now against expanded federal funding for such excess embryo research (but still thought private funding for such research was ethical, to the dismay of some conservative Republicans).[311]
- ^ As described. While Romney has consistently rejected same-sex marriage throughout his political career, there was a rhetorical shift in emphasis during his time as governor. The shift culminated in Romney avoiding discussions about the protection of gays from bias and instead characterizing himself as a conservative stalwart in the battle against same-sex marriage and in support of heterosexual families. The shift is even greater if compared to Romney's pledges from his 1994 senatorial campaign.[312][313]
- ^ During his 2002 campaign, Romney said he backed age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education in public schools. In 2005, he accepted federal funding to a faith-based organization to teach abstinence-only education in public schools. Romney said such programs would supplement rather than replace existing ones, while opponents feared that funding pressure would lead to schools dropping comprehensive programs for the freely available abstinence-only ones.[314][315][316]
- ^ Romney joined the National Rifle Association as a life member in August 2006. In December 2007, he cited a past endorsement from them, which he later said was unofficial support.[21][206][319][320] In April 2007, he said, "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life," but then said he had only gone hunting twice and did not own guns, and "I'm not a big-game hunter. I've made that very clear. I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints, if you will. I began when I was 15 or so and I have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. More than two times."[321]
- ^ Biographical parallels between George and Mitt Romney include: Both served as Mormon missionaries in Europe and considered the experiences formative. Both pursued high school sweethearts singlemindedly until the women agreed to marry them several years later, then had families with four or five children. Both had very successful careers in business and became known for turning around failing companies or organizations. Both presided over a stake in the LDS Church. Both achieved their first elected position at age 55, as Republican governor of a Democratic-leaning state. The two bear a close physical resemblance at similar ages and both have been said to "look like a president". Both staged their first presidential run in the year they turned 60. Both were considered suspect by ideological conservatives within the Republican Party.[21][322] There are also obvious differences in their paths, including that George had a hardscrabble upbringing while Mitt's was affluent, and that Mitt far exceeded George's accomplishments in formal education. Another is that Mitt's personality is more reserved, private, and controlled than his father's was, traits he got from his mother Lenore.[323]
- ^ In summer 1983, Romney and his family embarked on a 12-hour drive from Boston to his parents' cottage on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. Seamus, the family Irish setter, was put up on the station wagon's roof rack, inside a dog carrier with its own attached windshield, but after some hours the dog suffered gastrointestinal distress, evidence of which was readily seen on the rear window. With his five children loudly expressing revulsion, Romney calmly stopped off at a service station, hosed off the dog, carrier, and car, put the dog back in the carrier and completed the journey.[46][325] Since becoming public in 2007, the story has been the source of complaints from animal lovers, a point of psychological study regarding Romney's emotion-free crisis management, an obsession to New York Times columnist Gail Collins, and the occasional target of news stories, talk show hosts and political rivals.[325][206][326][327]
References[link]
- ^ Hosenball, Mark (May 29, 2012). "Romney's birth certificate evokes his father's controversy". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-29/news/sns-rt-us-usa-campaign-romney-birth-certificatebre84s1gf-20120529_1_george-romney-republican-mitt-romney-citizen.
- ^ Page, Susan (February 20, 2012). "Home sweet home? Michigan primary a challenge for Romney". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-02-17/michigan-primary-santorum-romney/53159656/1.
- ^ Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 59–62, 63–65, 94–96, 104, 113, 159.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (December 18, 2007). "For Romney, a Course Set Long Ago". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/us/politics/18romney.html.
- ^ Miroff, Nick (July 21, 2011). "In besieged Mormon colony, Mitt Romney's Mexican roots". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-besieged-mormon-colony-mitt-romneys-mexican-roots/2011/07/21/gIQAFGOXVI_story.html.
- ^ Burnett, John (January 22, 2012). "Mexican Cousins Keep Romney's Family Tree Rooted". NPR. http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/npr1327244449-Mexican-Cousins-Keep-Romneys-Family-Tree-Rooted.html.
- ^ Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 52, 70.
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- ^ a b Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 15–16.
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- ^ McPike, Erin (December 17, 2007). "Romney's tough day on the trail". msnbc.com. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2007/12/17/4436604-romneys-tough-day-on-the-trail.
- ^ Shear, Michael D. (December 16, 2007). "Romney Claims NRA Endorsement He Didn't Receive". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2007/12/romney-claims-nra-endorsement.html.
- ^ Udell, Emily (April 5, 2007). "Romney Aims Again to Explain Hunting". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070405/romney-hunting/.
- ^ Glass, Andrew (January 13, 2008). "Romney plays nostalgia card in Michigan". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7848.html.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (February 23, 2012). "Political Lessons, From a Mother's Losing Run". The New York Times: p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/us/politics/political-lessons-from-a-mothers-losing-run.html?pagewanted=all.
- ^ "Romney: I'll keep campaign promises". Associated Press. msnbc.com. December 16, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22287061/ns/politics-decision_08/.
- ^ a b Swidey, Neil (January 8, 2012). "What our fascination with Mitt Romney's dog Seamus says about our culture". The Boston Globe. http://articles.boston.com/2012-01-08/news/30605151_1_romney-family-mitt-romney-dog.
- ^ "Mitt Romney and the dog on the car roof: one columnist's obsession". PolitiFact.com. September 8, 2011. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/13/gail-collins/mitt-romney-and-dog-car-roof-one-columnists-obsess/.
- ^ Moos, Jeanne (January 13, 2012). "Mitt Romney 'dog-on-the-roof' story appears in Newt Gingrich ad". CNN. KSDK. http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/296683/18/Mitt-Romney-dog-on-the-roof-story-appears-in-Newt-Gingrich-ad.
- ^ Klein, Joe (December 12, 2011). "Where is the Love?". Time: p. 31.
- ^ a b c d e Johnson, Glen (March 26, 2010). "Romneycare may come back to haunt Mitt on health issue". Deseret News. Associated Press (Salt Lake City). http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700019894/Romneycare-may-come-back-to-haunt-Mitt-on-health-issue.html.
- ^ Johnson, Glen (December 15, 2010). "Health Mandate Cases to Loom Over 2012 Romney Run". Associated Press. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=12405439.
- ^ Issenberg, Sasha (March 30, 2010). "Romney defends Mass. health care law". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/03/30/romney_defends_massachusetts_health_care_law/.
- ^ Smith, Ben (April 19, 2010). "Blogger: Romney wants repeal, but not of mandate". Politico. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0410/Blogger_Romney_wants_repeal_but_not_of_mandate.html.
- ^ Viser, Matt (May 12, 2011). "Romney support for individual mandate complicates health care politics". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2011/05/romney_support.html.
- ^ Appleby, Julie (July 5, 2005). "Mass. Gov. Romney's health care plan says everyone pays". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2005-07-04-health-insurance-usat_x.htm.
- ^ Romano, Andrew (April 16, 2010). "If the Mitt Fits". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/04/15/if-the-mitt-fits.html.
- ^ Sargent, Greg (May 11, 2011). "Flashback: Mitt Romney hoped for 'a nation that's taken a mandate approach'". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/flashback-mitt-romney-hoped-for-a-nation-with-a-mandate-approach/2011/03/03/AFPqVUqG_blog.html.
- ^ a b Kantor, Jodi (May 19, 2012). "Romney’s Faith, Silent but Deep". The New York Times: p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/us/politics/how-the-mormon-church-shaped-mitt-romney.html?_r=1&hp&pagewanted=all.
- ^ Bowman, Matthew (February 8, 2012). "President Romney, Compassionate Conservative? How Mormonism May Shape Mitt's Welfare Policies". The New Republic. http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/100490/mormon-romney-poverty-welfare-poor.
- ^ a b c Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House?, pp. 56–58.
- ^ Barone and Cohen, Almanac of American Politics 2004, p. 772.
- ^ Egan, Dan (April 9, 1999). "SLOC Boss Romney Will Give U. Commencement Address". The Salt Lake Tribune: p. B3.
- ^ "Mitt Romney Calls for Bentley College Graduates to 'Be American Heroes'" (Press release). Bentley College. May 1, 2002. http://newsroom.bentley.edu/press-release/mitt-romney-calls-bentley-college-graduates-be-american-heroes-0.
- ^ "Suffolk University to Award Eight Honorary Degrees" (Press release). Suffolk University. May 24, 2004. http://www.suffolk.edu/16089.html.
- ^ "Commencement 2007". Hillsdale College. http://www.hillsdale.edu/images/userImages/cclawson/Page_4889/PC_News_Summer07.pdf. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ Bible, Mitzi (May 12, 2012). "Commencement 2012: Paying tribute to Liberty’s heritage, God's blessings". Liberty University. http://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=55432.
- ^ "Mitt Romney: Politician". People. May 13, 2002. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20137022,00.html.
- ^ Pane, Lisa Marie (February 13, 2006). "Romney looks ahead, back in Olympics visit". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/articles/2006/02/13/romney_looks_ahead_back_in_olympics_visit/?page=all.
- ^ Roche, Lisa Riley (May 10, 2008). "Romney honored for 'Defense of Religious Liberty'". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700224763,00.html.
- ^ Mayer, Marissa (April 18, 2012). "The 100 Most Influential People in the World". Time. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2112000,00.html.
Bibliography[link]
- Balz, Dan; Johnson, Haynes (2009). The Battle for America, 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN 978-0-670-02111-6.
- Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2004) (paperback). The Almanac of American Politics 2004. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-89234-106-1.
- Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2006). The Almanac of American Politics 2006. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-89234-111-5.
- Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2008) (paperback). The Almanac of American Politics 2008. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-89234-116-0.
- Canellos, Peter S. (ed.) and The Team at The Boston Globe (2009). The Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-3817-5.
- Clymer, Adam (1999). Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography. New York: Wm. Morrow & Company. ISBN 978-0-688-14285-8.
- Heilemann, John; Halperin, Mark (2010). Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-173363-5.
- Hersh, Burton (1997). The Shadow President: Ted Kennedy in Opposition. South Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press. ISBN 978-1-883642-30-3.
- Hewitt, Hugh (2007). A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney. Washington: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59698-502-5.
- Kranish, Michael; Helman, Scott (2012). The Real Romney. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-212327-5.
- Mahoney, Tom (1960). The Story of George Romney: Builder, Salesman, Crusader. New York: Harper & Brothers. OCLC 236830.
- Thomas, Evan (2009). "A Long Time Coming": The Inspiring, Combative 2008 Campaign and the Historic Election of Barack Obama. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-607-5.
Further reading[link]
- Foster, Craig (2008). A Different God?: Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question. Draper, Utah: Greg Kofford Books. ISBN 978-1-58958-117-3.
- Hines, Phillip (2012). Mitt Romney in His Own Words. New York: Threshold Editions. ISBN 978-1-4516-8780-4.
- Scott, Ronald B. (2011). Mitt Romney: An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-0-7627-7927-7.
- Turner, Lisa Ray; Field, Kimberly (2007). Mitt Romney: The Man, His Values, and His Vision. Silverton, Idaho: Mapletree Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60065-109-0.
External links[link]
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- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
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| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Chief Executive Officer of Bain Capital 1984–1999 |
Succeeded by Joshua Bekenstein |
| Preceded by Bill Bain |
Chief Executive Officer of Bain & Company Acting 1991–1992 |
Succeeded by Steve Ellis as Worldwide Managing Director |
| Succeeded by Orit Gadiesh as Chairman of the Board |
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| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Makoto Kobayashi |
President of Organizing Committee for Winter Olympic Games 2002 |
Succeeded by Valentino Castellani |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jane Swift Acting |
Governor of Massachusetts 2003–2007 |
Succeeded by Deval Patrick |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Joe Malone |
Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (Class 3) 1994 |
Succeeded by Jack Robinson |
| Preceded by Paul Cellucci |
Republican nominee for Governor of Massachusetts 2002 |
Succeeded by Kerry Healey |
| Preceded by John McCain |
Republican Party presidential candidate Presumptive 2012 |
Most recent |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Romney, Willard Mitt |
| Alternative names | Romney, Mitt |
| Short description | American politician |
| Date of birth | March 12, 1947 |
| Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Laura Bush | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First Lady of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Hillary Rodham Clinton |
| Succeeded by | Michelle Obama |
| First Lady of Texas | |
| In office January 17, 1995 – December 21, 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Rita Crocker Clements |
| Succeeded by | Anita Thigpen Perry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Laura Lane Welch (1946-11-04) November 4, 1946 (age 65) Midland, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | George W. Bush (1977–present) |
| Relations | Harold Welch (father) and Jenna Hawkins (mother) |
| Children | Barbara Pierce Bush (b. 1981) Jenna Bush Hager (b. 1981) |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University (SMU) University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Author, Teacher, Librarian, First Lady |
| Religion | United Methodist |
| Signature |  |
Laura Lane Welch Bush (born November 4, 1946) is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in education and soon took a job as a second grade teacher. After attaining her Master's degree in Library Science at the University of Texas at Austin, she was employed as a librarian. She met George Walker Bush in 1977, and they were married later that year. The couple had twin daughters in 1981.
Bush's political involvement began with her marriage. She campaigned during her husband's unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress and later his successful Texas gubernatorial campaign. As First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health, education, and literacy. In 1999, she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency in a number of ways, most notably delivering a keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which gained her national attention. She became first lady after her husband defeated Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election.
Polled by Gallup as one of the most popular first ladies,[1] Laura Bush was involved in both national and global concerns during her tenure. She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and literacy by establishing the semi-annual National Book Festival in 2001 and encouraged education on a worldwide scale. She also advanced women's causes through The Heart Truth and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She represented the United States during her foreign trips, which tended to focus on HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness. In May 2010, Bush released her memoir, Spoken from the Heart, in conjunction with a national tour.
Contents |
Early life and career[link]
Laura Lane Welch was born in Midland, Texas, the only child of Harold Welch (1912–1995) and Jenna Louise Hawkins Welch (born 1919).[2] Her father was a home builder and later successful real estate developer[3] while her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father's business.[2] Early on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love of reading.[2] She said, "I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie books and Little Women, and many others... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life."[4]
She attended James Bowie Elementary School, San Jacinto Junior High School, and Robert E. Lee High School in Midland.[5] She graduated from Lee in 1964[6] and went on to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.[7] She graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
On the night of November 6, 1963, Laura Welch ran a stop sign, causing a fatal car accident that killed her friend in another car.[8][9] The driver of the other car was her close friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas. By some accounts, he had been Welch's boyfriend at one time.[10] Welch and her passenger, both 17, were treated for minor injuries.[11] According to the accident report released by the city of Midland in 2000, in response to an open-records request, she was not charged in the incident.[11][12] Bush's spokesman said, "It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at large."[11] In her book Spoken from the Heart, she says that the accident caused her to lose her faith "for many, many years".[13]
After graduating from SMU, she began her career as a second grade school teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District.[7] She then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a Houston Independent School District school in Houston, until 1972.
In 1973, Welch attained a Master of Science degree in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin.[7] She was soon employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library. The following year, she moved back to Austin and took another job as a librarian in the Austin Independent School District school Dawson Elementary until 1977. She reflected on her employment experiences to a group of children in 2003, saying, "I worked as a teacher and librarian and I learned how important reading is in school and in life."[4]
Marriage and family[link]
She met George W. Bush in July 1977 when mutual friends John and Jan O'Neill invited her and Bush to a backyard barbecue at their home. He proposed to her at the end of September and they were married on November 5 of that year[14][15] at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, the same church in which she had been baptized.[16] Laura bought a tan, two-toned dress off the rack for the wedding.[17] The couple honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico.[14]
The year after their marriage, the couple began campaigning for George W. Bush's 1978 Congressional candidacy. According to George Bush, when he asked her to marry him, she had said, "Yes. But only if you promise me that I'll never have to make a campaign speech."[18] She soon relented, and gave her first stump speech for him in 1978 on the courthouse steps in Muleshoe, Texas.[19] After narrowly winning the primary, he lost the general election.[15]
The Bushes had tried to conceive for three years, but pregnancy did not happen easily. On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.[16] The twins were born five weeks early by an emergency Caesarean section, as Laura had developed life-threatening pre-eclampsia (toxemia).[15] The twins graduated from high school in 2000 and attended Yale University and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively, in 2004. To date, Bush is the only First Lady to have given birth to twins.
George W. Bush credited his wife with his decision to stop drinking in 1986.[7][20] She is also credited with having a stabilizing effect on his private life.[15] According to People magazine reporter Jane Simms Podesta, "She is the steel in his back. She is a civilizing influence on him. I think she built him, in many ways, into the person he is today."[15]
Several times a year, Bush and her husband travel to their sprawling family estate, the Bush compound, better known as Walker's Point. Located in Kennebunkport, Maine, the compound is where Bush family gatherings have been held for nearly 100 years.
First Lady of Texas[link]
Bush became the First Lady of Texas when her husband was elected as the Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from January 17, 1995, to December 21, 2000.[21] When asked about her interest in politics, she responded, "It doesn't drive me."[22]
Though during her years in the Governor's Mansion, she did not hold a single formal event,[23] Laura worked for women's and children's causes including health, education, and literacy.[21] She implemented four major initiatives: Take Time For Kids, an awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on parenting; family literacy, through cooperation with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, she urged Texas communities to establish family literacy programs; Reach Out and Read, a pediatric reading program; and Ready to Read, an early childhood educational program.[21]
She raised money for public libraries through her establishment of the Texas Book Festival,[21] and established the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative, which encouraged families to read together.[24] Bush further established "Rainbow Rooms" across the state, in an effort to provide emergency services for neglected or abused children.[21] Through this, she promoted the Adopt-a-Caseworker Program to provide support for Child Protective Services.[21] She used her position to advocate Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer awareness as well.[21]
Her husband announced his campaign for President of the United States in mid-1999, something that she agreed to. She did say, however, that she had never dreamed that he would run for office.[22] In July, she delivered a keynote address to the delegates at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which put her on the national stage.[18][25] In December 2000, her husband resigned as Governor of Texas to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States in January 2001.
First Lady of the United States[link]
As First Lady, Bush was involved in issues of concern to children and women, both nationally and internationally.[26] Her major initiatives included education and women's health.[26]
Education and children[link]
Early into the administration, Bush made it known that she would focus much of her attention on education. This included recruiting highly qualified teachers to ensure that young children would be taught well.[27] She also focused on early child development.[27] In 2001, to promote reading and education, she partnered with the Library of Congress to launch the annual National Book Festival. To promote American patriotic heritage in schools, she helped launch the National Anthem Project.
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks; Bush spoke regarding America's children:
"[W]e need to reassure our children that they are safe in their homes and schools. We need to reassure them that many people love them and care for them, and that while there are some bad people in the world, there are many more good people."[28]
The following day, she composed open letters to America's families, focusing on elementary and middle school students, which she distributed through state education officials.[29][30] She took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children, particularly the disturbing images repeatedly replayed on television.[31] On the one-year anniversary, she encouraged parents to instead read to their children, and perhaps light a candle in memoriam, saying, "Don't let your children see the images, especially on September 11, when you know it'll probably be on television again and again — the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling."[31]
Later in her tenure, she was honored by the United Nations, as the body named her honorary ambassador for the United Nations' Decade of Literacy. In this position, she announced that she would host a Conference on Global Literacy.[32] The conference, held in September 2006, encouraged a constant effort to promote literacy and highlighted many successful literacy programs.[33] She coordinated this as a result of her many trips abroad where she witnessed how literacy benefited children in poorer nations.[33]
Women's health[link]
Another of her signature issues were those relating to the health and well being of women. She established the Women's Health and Wellness Initiative and became involved with two major campaigns.
Bush first became involved with The Heart Truth awareness campaign in 2003.[34] It is an organization established by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to raise awareness about heart disease in women, and how to prevent the condition.[35] She serves in the honorary position of ambassador for the program[34] leading the federal government's effort to give women a "wake up call" about the risk of heart disease.[34] She commented on the disease: "Like many women, I assumed heart disease was a man's disease and cancer was what we would fear the most. Yet heart disease kills more women in our country than all forms of cancer combined. When it comes to heart disease, education, prevention, and even a little red dress can save lives."[34] She has undertaken a signature personal element of traveling around the country and talking to women at hospital and community events featuring the experiences of women who live, or had lived, with the condition.[34] This outreach was credited with saving the life of one woman who went to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack.[34]
With her predecessor, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Bush dedicated the First Ladies Red Dress Collection at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May 2005. It is an exhibit containing red suits worn by former First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush meant to raise awareness by highlighting America's first ladies.[36] She has participated in fashion shows displaying red dresses worn on celebrities as well.[37]
Bush's mother, Jenna Welch, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 78. She endured surgery and currently has no further signs of cancer. Laura Bush has become a breast cancer activist on her mother's behalf[38] through her involvement in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She applauded the foundation's efforts in eliminating cancer and said, "A few short years ago, a diagnosis of breast cancer left little hope of recovery. But thanks to the work of the Komen Foundation... more women and men are beating breast cancer and beating the odds."[38] She used her position to gain international support for the foundation through the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas, an initiative that unites experts from the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico.[39]
In November 2001, she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address. She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in Afghanistan during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, saying, "The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists."[40] In May 2002, she made a speech to the people of Afghanistan through Radio Liberty, a radio station in Prague, Czech Republic.
Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health[link]
File:Jwwcdedication.jpg
Mrs. Bush and her mother, Jenna Welch, at the dedication of the Jenna Welch Women's Center, 2010
In August 2007, the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health (LWBIWH) was founded at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. This institute aims to integrate research, education and community outreach in a multidisciplinary approach to women’s health and has begun efforts to establish a multi-campus women's health institute in Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock and the Permian Basin.[41]
A subsidiary of the center, the Jenna Welch Women’s Center, opened in Midland, Texas, on August 10, 2010, to deliver expert medical care to women and their families. Operating in partnership with the Laura Bush Institute, the Jenna Welch Center, named for Bush's mother, strives for excellence in research, education and community outreach.[42]
Popularity and style[link]
Laura Bush's approval ratings have consistently ranked very high.[43] In January 2006, a USA Today/CBS/Gallup poll recorded her approval rating at 82 percent and disapproval at 13 percent.[1][44][45] That places Bush as one of the most popular first ladies.[1] Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, "She is more popular, and more welcome, in many parts of the country than the president... In races where the moderates are in the most trouble, Laura Bush is the one who can do the most good."[44]
She disagreed with Fox News' Chris Wallace in 2006 when Wallace asked why the American people were beginning to lose confidence in President Bush, saying, "Well, I don't think they are. And I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country, I see people, I see their response to my husband, I see their response to me. There are a lot of difficult challenges right now in the United States... All of those decisions that the President has to make surrounding each one of these very difficult challenges are hard. They're hard decisions to make. And of course some people are unhappy about what some of those decisions are. But I think people know that he is doing what he thinks is right for the United States, that he's doing what he — especially in the war on terror, what he thinks he is obligated to do for the people in the United States, and that is to protect them... When his polls were really high they weren't on the front page."[46]
During the January 2005 second inauguration ceremonies for her husband, Laura Bush was looked highly upon by People magazine, The Washington Post, and others for her elegance and fashion sense.[47] At the inauguration she wore a winter white cashmere dress and matching coat designed by Oscar de la Renta.[48] Following the inauguration were the inaugural galas, to which Bush wore a pale, aqua lace gown, sprinkled with crystals, with long sleeves in a silver blue mist.[48] The tulle gown was also designed for her by de la Renta. According to The Washington Post, "[I]t made her look radiant and glamorous."[48]
Foreign trips[link]
During her husband's second term, Bush was more involved in foreign matters. She traveled to numerous countries as a representative of the United States.
As First Lady, she took five goodwill trips to Africa.[49] The purpose of these has mostly been to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and malaria, but Bush has also stressed the need for education and greater opportunities for women.[50] She has taken many other trips to other countries to promote and gain support for President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief;[51] these countries include Zambia (2007),[52] Mozambique (2007),[53] Mali (2007),[54] Senegal (2007),[55] and Haiti (2008).[51]
In mid-2007, she took a trip to Burma where she spoke out in support of the pro-democracy movement, and urged Burmese soldiers and militias to refrain from violence.[56] Later that October, she ventured to the Middle East. Bush said she was in the region in an attempt to improve America's image by highlighting concern for women's health, specifically promoting her breast cancer awareness work with the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.[56][57] She defined the trip as successful, saying that stereotypes were broken on both sides.[56]
Views on policy[link]
Bush is a Republican and has identified herself with the GOP since her marriage.
When asked about abortion in 2000, Bush said she doesn't believe that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. She did not comment on whether women had the right to an abortion.[58] She did say, however, that the country should do "what we can to limit the number of abortions, to try to reduce the number of abortions in a lot of ways, and that is, by talking about responsibility with girls and boys, by teaching abstinence, having abstinence classes everywhere in schools and in churches and in Sunday school."[58]
Bush responded to a question during a 2006 interview concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment by calling for elected leaders not to politicize same-sex marriage: "I don't think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously. It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue... a lot of sensitivity."[59]
On July 12, 2005, while in South Africa, Bush suggested her husband replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman. On October 2, during a private dinner at the White House with his wife, President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor.[60] Later that month, after Miers had faced intense criticism, Laura Bush questioned whether the charges were sexist in nature.[61]
On May 11, 2010, during an interview on Larry King Live, Bush was asked about same-sex marriage. She said she views it as a generational issue and said she believes it will be made legal in the future. Bush offered support for the issue by saying, "...when couples are committed to each other and love each other...they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has." Bush referred to her 2000 interview, reaffirming her support for Roe v. Wade: "I think it's important that [abortion] remain legal. Because I think it's important for people - that for medical reasons and, and other reasons."[62]
Awards and honors[link]
During her tenure as the First Lady, Laura Bush received a number of awards and honors. In October 2002, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity honored her in recognition of her efforts on behalf of education[63] and the American Library Association honored her for her years of support to America's libraries and librarians in April 2005.[64] The Progressive Librarians Guild opposed her being honored, because of her support of the USA PATRIOT Act and her cancellation of a poetry forum due to concern that some of the poets would express opposition to the war in Iraq.[65]
She received an award in honor of her dedication to help improve the living conditions and education of children around the world, from the Kuwait-American Foundation in March 2006.[66] She accepted The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal on behalf of disaster relief workers around the world in May 2006 from Vanderbilt University.
Four learning facilities have been named for her: the Laura Welch Bush Elementary School in Houston, Texas,[67] the Laura W. Bush Elementary School in the Leander ISD just outside Austin, Texas,[68] and the Laura Bush Education Center at Camp Bondsteel, a U.S. military base in Kosovo and the Laura Bush Middle School in Lubbock, Texas.[69] She was awarded the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award.[70]
She is portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone's film W.[71]
Curtis Sittenfeld's bestseller novel "American Wife" is based on much of Laura Bush's life.[72]
References[link]
- ^ a b c Jones, Jeffery M (February 9, 2006). "Laura Bush Approval Ratings Among Best for First Ladies". Gallup Organization. http://www.gallup.com/poll/21370/Laura-Bush-Approval-Ratings-Among-Best-First-Ladies.aspx. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ a b c "Laura Bush Biography". Advameg, Inc. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Bush-Laura.html. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ "Laura Bush: A supportive but behind-the-scenes spouse". CNN. 2001. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20080514064711/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/bush/stories/laura/. Retrieved 2008-05-25. [dead link]
- ^ a b "Mrs. Bush's Remarks at Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Grant Awards". The White House. May 20, 2003. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030520-17.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "History and research". George W. Bush Childhood Home, Inc. http://www.bushchildhoodhome.org/family_history. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ "Laura Welch Bush." Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ a b c d "Laura Welch Bush" (PDF). CBS. http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/politics/inauguration/family.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ ’The Perfect Wife’: The Un-Hillary February 15, 2004, New York Times.
- ^ Inside (the) private world of Laura Bush, April 5, 2006, BBC News.
- ^ "Claim: While a teenager, future First Lady Laura Bush caused the death of a classmate in a car accident. Status: True.", Snopes.com
- ^ a b c "Mrs. Bush ran stop sign in fatal crash". USA Today. May 3, 2000. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1698.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-24. [dead link]
- ^ Midland police report
- ^ O'Connor, Anahad (April 27, 2010). "Laura Bush Opens Up About Crash". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/books/28laura.html. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ a b Bush, Laura (2010). Spoken from the Heart. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4391-5520-2. excerpt available at Oprah.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Read her lips: Literacy efforts on first lady's agenda". CNN. April 8, 2001. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/bush/profile.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ a b Stritof, Sheri and Bob. "George and Laura Bush". About.com. The New York Times Company. http://marriage.about.com/od/celebritymarriages/p/georgewbush.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Winik, Lyric Wallwork (January 16, 2005). "'We Need To Pay More Attention To Boys' (First Lady Laura Bush)". Parade. http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_01-16-2005/featured_0. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Reaves, Jessica (August 1, 2000). "Now making her bow: The un-Hillary". CNN. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/01/laura8_1.a.tm/. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Hanchette, John (Juse 23, 2000). "Laura Welch Bush: Shy no more". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e2147.htm. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
- ^ Leonard, Mary (January 23, 2000). "Turning Point: George W. Bush, A Legacy Reclaimed". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2004-05-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20040507200414/www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2000/01/23/george_w_bush/. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Texas Governor George W. Bush: An Inventory of First Lady Laura Bush's Files (Part I) at the Texas State Archives, about 1994–1999, bulk 1995–1999". University of Texas. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/80001/tsl-80001.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ a b Berke, Richard L (August 3, 1999). "First Lady of Texas Plays a Firm Second Fiddle". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E2DF1E31F930A3575BC0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "Literacy efforts on first lady's agenda". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/bush/profile.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ Kolsti, Nancy (August 5, 1997). "First lady of Texas Laura Bush to speak at UNT September 4". University of North Texas. http://web2.unt.edu/news/story.cfm?story=7095. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ "The Republicans; Excerpts From Laura Bush's Speech to the G.O.P. Convention". The New York Times. August 1, 2000. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E5DF113DF932A3575BC0A9669C8B63. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ a b "Biography". The White House. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/firstlady/flbio.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ a b "First Lady Laura Bush Launches Education Initiatives". U.S. Department of Education. February 26, 2001. http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2001/02/wh-0226.html. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Mrs. Laura Bush Speaks at the National Press Club". The White House. November 8, 2001. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011108-7.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "Mrs. Bush's Letter to Middle and High School Students Following Terrorist Attacks". The White House. September 12, 2001. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/letter1.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ "Mrs. Bush's Letter to Elementary School Students Following Terrorist Attacks". The White House. September 12, 2001. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/letter2.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ a b "First lady: Turn off TVs on 9/11". CNN. September 11, 2002. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080601094302/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/09/08/ar911.first.lady/. Retrieved 2008-05-25. [dead link]
- ^ "Secretary Spellings Spoke at UNESCO's 'Education for All' Event". U.S. Department of Education. April 26, 2006. http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/04/04242006a.html. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ a b "Mrs. Laura Bush Hosts White House Conference on Global Literacy". The White House. September 18, 2006. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060918-1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Heart Truth Ambassador". National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/ambassador/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "What is The Heart Truth?". National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/whatis/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "First Ladies Red Dress Collection". National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/events/first_ladies.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: The Red Dress Collection 2008". National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/events/mbfw2008.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ a b "Remarks by Mrs. Bush at Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation "Embrace the Race" Event". The White House. March 12, 2003. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030312-8.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ "Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Mrs. Laura Bush Welcome Mexico to the Breast Cancer Awareness, Research Partnership". Susan G. Komen for the Cure. March 14, 2008. http://cms.komen.org/komen/NewsEvents/080314_MexicoCityLaunch. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Laura Bush (2001-11-17). "Radio Address by Mrs. Bush". Office of the First Lady. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011117.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center :: LWBIWH : History and More About Us
- ^ Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center :: About the Jenna Welch Women's Center
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (October 15, 2007). "First Lady Raising Her Profile Without Changing Her Image". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/washington/15bush.html. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ a b Keil, Richard (October 19, 2006). "Laura Bush, Unlike George, a Hit on Republican Campaign Trail". Bloomberg.com. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aqK_ZndZKGFs&refer=us. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ Benedetto, Richard (May 21, 2006). "Laura Bush travels without 'all the political baggage'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-21-laura-bush_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ "Interview of Mrs. Laura Bush by Fox News". The White House. May 12, 2006. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/05/20060512-11.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "Laura Bush: Belle Of The Balls". CBS. January 21, 2005. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/21/earlyshow/living/beauty/main668371.shtml. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ a b c Givhan, Robin (January 21, 2005). "Laura Bush, Stepping Out". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24999-2005Jan20.html. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ "President and Mrs. Bush Discuss Africa Policy, Trip to Africa". The White House. February 14, 2008. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080214.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "HIV/AIDS, Malaria Focus of Laura Bush's Africa Trip". America.gov. June 22, 2007. http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/June/20070622165008mlenuhret0.4878351.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ a b "First Lady Laura Bush Tours Haiti To Highlight U.S. HIV/AIDS Programs". Medical News Today. March 14, 2008. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/100788.php. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "African Health, Education Emphasis of Laura Bush Trip". America.gov. http://photos.state.gov/galleries/usinfo-photo/39/First_Lady_Africa_07/7.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "Laura Bush presses AIDS fight in Africa". USA Today. Associated Press. July 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-06-26-laura-bush-africa_N.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Goss, Addie (July 1, 2007). "Ahead of First Lady's Visit, A School's Facelift". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11643606. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Terhune, Lea (June 22, 2007). "Africa: HIV/Aids, Malaria Focus of Laura Bush's Africa Trip". United States Department of State. AllAfrica.com. http://allafrica.com/stories/200706230037.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ a b c Wolfson, Paula (October 28, 2007). "Laura Bush Defines Her Policy Role". VOA News. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2007-10-28-voa11.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Mrs. Bush's Remarks on the U.S.-Saudi Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research
- ^ a b "Laura Bush's abortion comments 'personal views,' Fleischer says". CNN. January 19, 2001. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/stories/01/19/laurabush.abortion.02/. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Pickler, Nedra (May 14, 2006). "Mrs. Bush: Don't Campaign on Marriage Ban". Associated Press. The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/05/14/politics/p131514D67.DTL&feed=rss.news. Retrieved 2006-12-13. [dead link]
- ^ Fletcher, Michael (October 4, 2005). "White House Counsel Miers Chosen for Court". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/03/AR2005100300252.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ VandeHei, Jim (October 12, 2005). "Laura Bush Echoes Sexism Charge in Miers Debate". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101100456.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ Laura Bush For Gay Marriage & Pro-Choice! - YouTube
- ^ "Laura Bush Honored at the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Award Dinner". The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. October 8, 2002. Archived from the original on October 3, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061003143952/http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/HumanitarianAward/bush.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ Murphy, Bernadette (April 12, 2005). "ALA honors Mrs. Laura Bush for service to libraries". ALA Washington Office. http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=91719. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ "Progressive Librarians Guild OpposesALA "Award" to Laura Bush". Progressive Librarians Guild. November 4, 2007. http://libr.org/plg/LauraNo.php. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Craighead, Shealah (March 8, 2005). "News & Policies > March 2006 Images". The White House. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/03/images/20060308-9_p030806sc-0005-1-515h.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ^ "Laura Welch Bush Elementary". http://pasadena.tx.schoolwebpages.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=12466&pagecat=738. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
- ^ "Laura Welch Bush Elementary School". http://nse.leanderisd.org/default.aspx?name=lwb.history. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
- ^ "Camp Bondsteel". GlobalSecurity.com. October 20, 2006. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/camp-bondsteel.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "First Lady Laura Bush Receives the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award". Christian Freedom International. Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20081225015002/http://www.christianfreedom.org/multimedia/video.html?task=videodirectlink&id=11. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
- ^ W. (2008) - IMDb
- ^ "Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife Provides Fictionalized Portrait Of Laura Bush". Huffingtonpost.com. July 7, 2008. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/07/curtis-sittenfelds-emamer_n_111267.html/. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
Further reading[link]
- Felix, Antonia. Laura: America's First Lady, First Mother. The first biography on Laura Bush. ISBN 1-58062-659-9
- Gerhart, Ann. The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush. A biography. ISBN 0-7432-4383-8
- Gormley, Beatrice. Laura Bush: America's First Lady. A biography. ISBN 0-689-85366-1
- Kelley, Kitty. The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty. ISBN 0-385-50324-5
- Kessler, Ronald. Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady. A biography. ISBN 0-385-51621-5
- Montgomery, Leslie. Were It Not For Grace: Stories From Women After God's Own Heart; Featuring Condoleezza Rice, First Lady Laura Bush, Beth Moore & Others. Laura Bush shares her story about how God has had his hand on her life. ISBN 0-8054-3178-0
External links[link]
| Find more about Laura Bush on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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Definitions and translations from Wiktionary |
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Images and media from Commons |
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
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News stories from Wikinews |
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Quotations from Wikiquote |
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- Laura Bush
- First Lady biography at Whitehouse.gov
- "The book on Laura Bush" by Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- "A Laura Bush we don't know" by Eugene Robinson, San Francisco Chronicle
- Laura Bush at the Internet Movie Database
- Appearances on C-SPAN
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hillary Rodham Clinton |
First Lady of the United States January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 |
Succeeded by Michelle Robinson Obama |
| Honorary Chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities Serving with Chairwoman Adair Wakefield Margo 2001–2009 |
||
| Preceded by Rita Crocker Clements |
First Lady of Texas 1995–2000 |
Succeeded by Anita Thigpen Perry |
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bush, Laura Lane Welch |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | First Lady of the United States; librarian |
| Date of birth | November 4, 1946 |
| Place of birth | Midland, Texas, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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