Nièvre
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Nièvre in France
Coordinates: 47°05′N 03°30′E / 47.083°N 3.5°E / 47.083; 3.5Coordinates: 47°05′N 03°30′E / 47.083°N 3.5°E / 47.083; 3.5
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne
Prefecture	Nevers
Subprefectures	Château-Chinon Clamecy Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
Government
• President of the General Council	Marcel Charmant
Area1
• Total	6,817 km2 (2,632 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	228,969
• Rank	83rd
• Density	34/km2 (87/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	58
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	32
Communes	312
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Nièvre (IPA: [njɛvʁ]) is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.

History[link]

Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former province of Nivernais.

Geography[link]

Nièvre is part of the current region of Burgundy, although historically it was not part of the province of Burgundy, and it is surrounded by the departments of Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Cher, and Loiret. The département is crossed by the Loire river, the longest river in France.

Demography[link]

Nièvre is a rural department with about 50 inhabitants / km². The main cities are : Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire, Varennes-Vauzelles, Marzy, Decize, Imphy and La Charité. Only three cities reach 10 000 inhabitants. It indicates the characteristic of the département, which is predominantly rural.

Wines[link]

Nièvre is also well known for its white wine, Pouilly Fumé. The vineyards are scattered around villages including Pouilly-Sur-Loire, which lends its name to the appellation, Tracy sur Loire, Boisgibault, Saint Andelain. The word fumé is French for "smoky", and it's said the name comes from the smoky or flinty quality of these wines. The only grape allowed in the Pouilly-Fumé AC is Sauvignon Blanc, which produces wines that are generally crisp, tart, and somewhat grassy.

Politics[link]

In common with most French wine producing departments Nièvre is traditionally a left wing department. The results of the second round of voting in presidential elections spell this out consistently.

• In the 2007 presidential election, Ségolène Royal received 52.91% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of just 46.94%.
• In the 1995 presidential election, Lionel Jospin received 57.07% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of just 47.36%.
• In the 1981 presidential election, François Mitterrand received 62.91% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of 51.76%.

See also[link]

• Cantons of the Nièvre department
• Communes of the Nièvre department
• Arrondissements of the Nièvre department
• Parc naturel régional du Morvan

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

External links[link]

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General council website
• (English) Nievre at the Open Directory Project
• Official website of the Departmental Touristic Agency of Nièvre in Burgundy

Lakshmi Mittal
Born	(1950-06-15) 15 June 1950 (age 62) Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India
Residence	London, United Kingdom
Nationality	Indian
Ethnicity	Marwari
Citizenship	India
Alma mater	St. Xavier's College, Calcutta (B.Com.)[1]
Occupation	Chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal Director of Goldman Sachs Owner of Karrick Limited[2] Co-owner of Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Known for	King of Steel,[3] Steel tycoon
Net worth	US$ 20.7 billion (2012)[4]
Religion	Hinduism
Children	Vanisha Mittal Aditya Mittal
Awards	Padma Vibhushan (2008)[5]
Website
Lakshmi N. Mittal

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (born 15 June 1950)^[6] is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company. Mittal owns 41 percent of ArcelorMittal and holds a 34 percent stake in the Queens Park Rangers F.C. football team.

Mittal is one of the richest men in Asia and in the United Kingdom,^[7] and in Europe^[8] and is presently the 6th richest individual in the world with a personal wealth of US$20.7 billion. He is the 55th "most powerful person" of the 68 individuals named in Forbes's Most Powerful People list. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding was the second most expensive in recorded history.^[9][10]

Mittal is an independent director of Goldman Sachs, member of Board of Directors to Goldman Sachs Media/Film IP Group, member of the Board of Directors of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company,^[11] World Steel Association, Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the International Investment Council in South Africa, the Investors' Council to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the World Steel Association's Executive Committee, the Presidential International Advisory Board of Mozambique and the International Iron and Steel Institute’s Executive Committee.^[12]

He also presently serves as a board council member of the Prime Minister of India's Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians.^[13] and members in the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management, Executive Board at Indian School of Business and St. Xavier's College, Calcutta Alumni Association, London Chapter.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Financial Times named him "Person of the Year". In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".^[14]

Early life and career[link]

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal alias Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born into a Hindu Indian Marwari business family in Churu district of Rajasthan, India. His family moved from (Rajgarh) Sadulpur, Rajasthan to Calcutta in West Bengal. Mittal has two siblings - Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal. He graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in business and accounting. After college, Mittal turned to his family’s steel business which he helped run until a falling out with his parents and brother. After this Mittal branched into his own business with the purchase of a plant located in Indonesia in 1976.^[15] It was this purchase which led to the creation of Arcelor Mittal. His father, Mohan Lal Mittal, ran a steel business, Nippon Denro Ispat. Until the 1990s, the family's main assets in India were a cold-rolling mill for sheet steels in Nagpur and an alloy steels plant near Pune. Today, the family business, including a large integrated steel plant near Mumbai, is run by Pramod and Vinod, but Lakshmi has no connection with it.^[16]

He married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1976, due to differences with his father, mother and brothers, branched out on his the LNM Group, and he has been responsible for the development of its businesses ever since. Mittal Steel is a global steel producer with operations in 14 countries.^{[citation needed]}

Philanthropy[link]

After witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and one medal, silver, at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust with US$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential.^[17] In 2008, Mittal awarded Abhinav Bindra with Rs. 1.5 Crore (Rs. 15 million), for getting India its first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting.^{[citation needed]}

For Comic Relief 2007, he matched the money raised (~£1 million) on the celebrity special BBC programme, The Apprentice.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Usha Mittal foundation and the Government of Rajasthan partnered together to establish a university named the LNM Institute of Information Technology (LNMIIT) in Jaipur as an autonomous non-profit organization.

In 2009, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Usha Mittal foundation along with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan founded the Usha Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management in New Delhi.

Criticism and allegations[link]

PHS[link]

Lakshmi Mittal successfully employed Marek Dochnal's consultancy to influence Polish officials in the privatization of PHS steel group, which was Poland's largest. Dochnal was later arrested for bribing Polish officials on behalf of Russian agents in a separate affair.^[18]

In 2007, Polish government said it wants to renegotiate the 2004 sale to Arcelor Mittal.^[19]

Slave-labour allegations and questionable safety records[link]

Employees of Mittal have accused him of "slave labour" conditions after multiple fatalities in his mines.^[20] During December 2004, twenty-three miners died in explosions in his mines in Kazakhstan caused by faulty gas detectors.

The Mittal Affair: "Cash for Influence"[link]

In 2002, Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price obtained a letter written by Tony Blair to the Romanian Government in support of Mittal's LNM steel company, which was in the process of bidding to buy Romania's state-owned steel industry.^[21][22][23] This revelation caused controversy, because Mittal had given £125,000 to the British Labour Party the previous year. Although Blair defended his letter as simply "celebrating the success" of a British company, he was criticised because LNM was registered in the Dutch Antilles and employed less than 1% of its workforce in the UK.^[24] LNM was a "major global competitor of Britain's own struggling steel industry".^[25]

Blair's letter hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the European Union.^[21] It also had a passage, removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend".^[24]

Queens Park Rangers[link]

Recently, Mittal had emerged as a leading contender to buy and sell Barclays Premiership clubs Wigan and Everton. However on 20 December 2007 it was announced that the Mittal family had purchased a 20 per cent shareholding in Queens Park Rangers football club joining Flavio Briatore and Mittal's friend Bernie Ecclestone.^[26] As part of the investment Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, took a place on the board of directors. The combined investment in the struggling club sparked suggestions that Mittal might be looking to join the growing ranks of wealthy individuals investing heavily in English football and emulating other similar benefactors such as Roman Abramovich.^[27]

On 19 February 2010, Flavio Briatore resigned as QPR chairman, and sold further shares in the club to Ecclestone, making Ecclestone the single largest shareholder.^[28]

Environmental damage[link]

Mittal purchased the Irish Steel plant based in Cork from the government for a nominal fee of £1 m. Three years later in 2001, it was closed, leaving 400 people redundant. Subsequent environmental issues at the site have been a cause for criticism. The Government tried to sue in the High Court to have him pay for the clean-up of Cork Harbour but failed. The clean up was expected to cost €70m.^[29]

Personal life[link]

His residence at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens--which was purchased from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004 for £57 million (US$128 million)--made it the world's most expensive house at the time.^[30] Mittal's house in Kensington, London is decorated with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal. The extravagant show of wealth has been referred to as the "Taj Mittal".^[31] It has 12 bedrooms, an indoor pool, Turkish baths and parking for 20 cars.^[32]He is a vegetarian.^[33]

Mittal bought No. 9A Palace Greens, Kensington Gardens, formerly the British Philippines embassy, at £70 million in 2008 for his daughter Vanisha Mittal who is married to Amit Bhatia, a businessman and a philanthropist. Being a vegetarian, Mittal threw a lavish 'vegetarian reception' for Vanisha in the Palace of Versailles in France.^[33]

Mittal owns three prime properties collectively worth £500 million on the "Billionaire's Row" at Kensington Palace Gardens.^[34]

In 2005, he also bought a colonial bungalow for $30 million^[35] at No. 22, Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi, India, the most exclusive street in the city occupied by embassies and millionaires, and rebuilt it as a house.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and Honours[link]

He was the speaker at class of 2007's MBA commencement at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.^[36]

Bibliography[link]

• Tim Bouquet and Byron Ousey - Cold Steel (Little, Brown, 2008).
• Yogesh Chabria - Invest The Happionaire Way (CNBC - Network18, 2008).
• Navalpreet Rangi-Documentary Film(The Man With A Mission, 2010).

See also[link]

• ArcelorMittal Orbit
• ArcelorMittal
• Marwaris

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile at ArcelorMittal
• Profile at Forbes
• Profile at BBC News
• Article on Mittal with background on Arcelor takeover bid - Time
• Lakshmi Mittal collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Lakshmi Mittal collected news and commentary at Bloomberg News
• Lakshmi Mittal collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Lakshmi Mittal collected news and commentary at The Economist
• Lakshmi Mittal collected news and commentary at The Bloomberg Businessweek
• Lakshmi Mittal collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Works by or about Lakshmi Mittal in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Lakshmi Mittal at the Notable Names Database
• BBC - ""Glimpsing a Fairytale Wedding"" - BBC News
• Mittal Steel Cleveland Works
• Article on Mittal Family purchase of Escada - Bloomberg