The Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA) is an international non-governmental organisation founded by European Parliamentarians to reduce poverty and to protect human rights by supporting the well functioning of parliaments ^[1] in Africa and by keeping Africa on the political agenda in Europe.^[2]

With its roots in the campaign to end apartheid ^[3][4] in South Africa, AWEPA now works in Africa from a development perspective to strengthen the core functions of parliaments: oversight, representation and legislation.

AWEPA has some 1500 current and former European parliamentarians as members from the European Parliament, almost all EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. AWEPA has 2 offices in the European cities of Brussels and its Headquarters in Amsterdam; and 9 African offices in Arusha, Bujumbura, Cape Town, Juba, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Maputo, and Nairobi.^[5]

Founder of the Organisation[link]

In 1984, Jan Nico Scholten^[6] took the initiative for the foundation of AWEPAA, the Association of West European Parliamentarians for Action against Apartheid. He sought to coordinate at the international level the struggle^[7] against the apartheid regime in South Africa. As President of AWEPAA he travelled through Europe and to the United States and Canada to stimulate support for sanctions.

History of the Organisation[link]

Since its founding in 1984, AWEPAA has worked by implementing parliamentary capacity building programmes in Africa. The organisation's primary orientation, being established for and by parliamentarians,

was to mobilise politicians, from democratically elected European parliaments, against apartheid. The organization grew from a small group of members in 16 national parliaments and in the European Parliament in September 1985, to some 1000 members in the early 1990s. Parliamentarians ensured effective sanction policies by passing laws, they monitored the implementation of these laws, and they sought to hold governments accountable for their policies.

After the apartheid regime was voted out in South Africa, AWEPAA broadened its mission: to promote democracy, peace, human rights, and democratic governance in Africa. With apartheid over, AWEPAA ^[8] was renamed ‘The Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa’ (AWEPA) in 1993, and has since grown to some 1500 members.

Parliamentarians from Central and Eastern Europe began to join AWEPA in the early 1990s, and AWEPA developed into a non-partisan organization with members in parliaments all over Europe. Its political objective is to strengthen parliamentary democracy in Africa, to maintain an effective lobby to keep Africa on the political agenda in Europe, and to improve European-African relations.

During the 1990s, AWEPA became active in areas such as election observation and parliamentary and democratic capacity building at regional, national, provincial and local levels in Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa. Since 2000, AWEPA has also become involved in West Africa and the Horn of Africa, responding to emerging needs in these areas. Thematically, AWEPA activities promote the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa, including such areas as poverty reduction, women and children's rights, HIV and AIDS, and peace and security.

[edit] Programmes ^[9]

AWEPA's activities are divided into programs that either take an institutional focus, or programs that are more thematic in nature. At the institutional level, AWEPA works with African parliaments at a national, regional, or continental level as well as decentralized local authorities. Thematic programmes are programmes that carry a theme informing parliamentarians and mobilizing parliamentary action on specific issues through conferences, exchanges and publications.^[10]

[edit] Institutional Programmes^[11]

AWEPA currently works with 25 parliaments in Africa through jointly agreed capacity building programmes. These include national parliaments, continental parliamentary institutions such as the Pan-African Parliament or the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), as well as decentralised authorities.

In addition to working in countries with established parliamentary system, AWEPA also works in post-conflict countries. Strengthening the role of parliament in promoting peace, reconciliation and good governance are strong elements of the capacity building programmes in these countries. Representatives from other countries in Central and Eastern Africa and from countries in Western Africa regularly participate in AWEPA’s regional and international activities. AWEPA has also become an active partner with NEPAD and has a number of MoU's in operation.^[12][13]

Currently active AWEPA Institutional Programmes include: Pan-African Parliament,^[14] East African Legislative Assembly,^[15] Réseau de Femmes Parlementaires d'Afrique Centrale,^[16] Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,^[17] Parliament of Rwanda,^[18] Parliament of Burundi,^[19] Parliament of Kenya,^[20] Parliament of Uganda,^[21] Parliament of Somalia,^[22] Parliament of Mozambique,^[23] The South Africa Provincial Legislatures (SAPL) Support Programme, The South Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA),^[24] and the “Stability Pact” for the Great Lakes peace process.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Thematic Programmes[link]

Through thematic programmes, AWEPA informs and mobilizes parliaments to take action on developmental issues. Thematic programmes include:

• Famine in the Horn of Africa ^{[29][30][31][32]}
• Female Genital Mutilation ^[33]
• Strengthening Regional Parliaments towards Achieving The Millennium Development Goals ^[34][35]
• Climate Change Mitigation ^[36]
• Aid Effectiveness ^[37]

Research[link]

AWEPA conducts research and produces parliamentary handbooks and other tools. Recent publications include:

• Mark van Dorp, Jeff Balch,^[38] David Batali, Emmanuela Darious Lado, Paul Lado Demetry and Isaac Woja's "No Time To Waste: Sustainable Environmental Management in a Changing Southern Sudan",^[39] which looks at waste management and pollution; deforestation and unsustainable forest use; climate change, drought, desertification and flooding; the relationship between natural resources, environment and conflict; and potential solutions to environmental management.
• Jos Havermans' "A Parliamentarians' Handbook on The Small Arms Issue",^[40] which covers the impact small arms and light weapons have on the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa and gives suggestions about how parliamentarians can address this problem.^[41][42]
• Alta Fölscher, Mokoro's "Safeguarding the Interests of the People: Parliamentarians and Aid Effectiveness",^[43] which sheds light on the issues surrounding the aid process.^[44]
• Prof. Luc Huyse's "All Things Pass Except the Past",^[45] which examines the impact of civil war on a country's national psyche.^[46]
• Lucia van den Bergh's "Why peace worked: Mozambicans look back",^[47] which examines the interaction between Mozambican leaders and a civil society anxious for peace ^[48]

Organisational Structure[link]

[edit] Eminent Advisory Board^[49]

Of special importance to AWEPA is its Eminent Advisory Board, which meets annually and advises AWEPA on wide-ranging policies regarding its work in Africa and Europe. This Board is composed of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ms. Graça Machel, Prof. Wangari Maathai, Ms. Mary Robinson, Dr. Jan Nico Scholten, His Excellency Mohamed A. Sahnoun, and Prof. Albert Tevoedjre.

Council and President[link]

The highest political body within AWEPA is the Council, which comprises representatives from the AWEPA sections in the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Europe. The Council elects the Executive Committee, which is accountable to the Council. The President of the Council, Miet Smet, is also member of the Executive Committee.

[edit] Executive Committee and Secretary-General ^[50]

AWEPA's Executive Committee is the executive board of the organisation and meets four times a year. It is elected by the Governing Council for a period of five years to prepare and execute the policy of AWEPA. It is composed of the President and Vice-Presidents. AWEPA's president of the executive committee is Miet Smet of Belgium. AWEPA's Vice-President's are Maja Ingold of Switzerland, Jeppe Kofod of Denmark, Patrick Meinhardt of Germany, Olivia Mitchell of Ireland, Henk Jan Ormel of the Netherlands, Rosita Runegrund of Sweden, and Egidijus Vareikis of Lithuania.

Partnership Council[link]

The AWEPA Partnership Council is an organ consisting of members of the AWEPA Eminent Advisory Board, AWEPA's main African partners, and the AWEPA Executive Committee. It is jointly chaired by the Chair of the Eminent Advisory Board, Ms. Graça Machel, and AWEPA President, Ms. Miet Smet. The parliaments which AWEPA supports are its primary partners and this cooperation is normally laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding. In the implementation of its programmes AWEPA also works together with a variety of other organisations to increase the impact of the programmes. Partners on the council include: Pan-African Parliament, East African Legislative Assembly, Economic Community of West African States, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, Network of African Parliamentarians, and the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum.^[51]

Governing Council[link]

The Council operates as a general assembly for a five year term and meets at least once a year. The Council decides on the overall policy of AWEPA and is chaired by the President, Ms. Miet Smet. The Council is composed of the members of the Executive Committee, Dr. Jan Nico Scholten (Honorary President of AWEPA), and the following persons: Thijs Berman, Jan Willem Bertens, Sabine de Bethune, Katharine Bulbulia, Baron Chidgey, Ingrida Circene, Minodora Cliveti, John Corrie, Alain Destexhe, Luc Dhoore, Therese Frösch, Barty L. Fuchs, Theodossis Georgiou, Chantal Gill’ard, Pär Granstedt, Carina Hägg, Jan Hamáček, Johan van Hecke, Maja Ingold, Brunhilde Irber, Tadeusz Iwiński, Inge Jäger, Kimmo Kiljunen, Krista Kiuru, Karsten Lauritzen, Kerstin Lundgren, Josep Maldonado, Lydia Maximus, Silver Meikar, Magda de Meyer, Denis Naughten, Charlie O'Connor, Matthew Offord, Maria Antonia Moreno Areias De Almeida Santos, and Judith Schwentner.

European Sections[link]

AWEPA has built up a broad member network of European parliamentarians that are supportive of its work. Within the different parliaments in Europe, these members form a section. The European Sections seek to keep Africa high on the political agenda in Europe and facilitate African-European Parliamentary dialogue. AWEPA works to support its existing and new sections so that they may perform advocacy and support functions effectively and efficiently. By promoting African issues on the political agendas of the EU and separate EU member states and by lobbying on decision-making, AWEPA tries to contribute to more favourable and more coherent trade, aid, investment, and agricultural policies towards Africa.^[52] Current sections include: Austria,^[53] Belgium,^[54] Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Flanders,^[55] France, Germany,^[56] Greece, Hungary, Ireland,^[57] Italy, Latvia,^[58] Lithuania,^[59] Malta, The Netherlands,^[60] Norway, Poland,^[61] Portugal, Romania,^[62] Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,^[63] Sweden,^[64] Switzerland,^[65] United Kingdom,^[66] and The European Parliament.^[67]

[edit] Donors ^[68]

The execution of the AWEPA programmes is made possible through the financial support a broad funding base composed of government agencies, NGO's, and INGO's. In particular, major 2010 donors include: ADA, the Belgian Government, DANIDA, the Danish Embassy in Maputo, GTZ, the European Commission, the Finnish Embassy in Maputo, Irish Aid, AIID, DGIS, MINIBUZA, NORAD, SIDA, Swiss - SAPL, UK - FCO, UK - NRIL, UK - AGRA, UNDP, UNICEF, and others.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• www.awepa.org|title
• AWEPA Resources
• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• [4]
• [5]
• [6]
• [7]
• [8]
• [9]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008)

The Association
The group in 1968. Top row, from left: Jim Yester, Brian Cole, Ted Bluechel; bottom row, from left: Russ Giguere, Larry Ramos, Terry Kirkman
Background information
Origin	California, United States
Genres	Sunshine pop, baroque pop, folk rock, psychedelic folk
Years active	1965–1978; 1979-present
Labels	Jubilee, Valiant, Warner Bros., Columbia, Mums, RCA, Elektra
Website	The Association Official website
Members
Russ Giguere Larry Ramos Jim Yester Bruce Pictor Del Ramos Jordan Cole
Past members
Jules Gary Alexander Terry Kirkman Brian Cole Ted Bluechel Jr

The Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival. As of 2011^[update], they are still performing.

History[link]

Beginnings[link]

Jules Alexander (born September 25, 1943, Chattanooga, Tennessee) was in Hawaii in 1962 serving a stint in the Navy when he met Terry Kirkman (born December 12, 1939, Salina, Kansas), a visiting salesman. The two young musicians jammed together and promised to get together once Alexander was discharged. That happened a year later; the two eventually moved to Los Angeles and began exploring the city's music scene in the mid-1960s. (Kirkman played in groups with Frank Zappa for a time before Zappa went on to form The Mothers of Invention). Eventually, at a Monday night hootenanny at the LA nightclub The Troubadour, in 1964, an ad hoc group called The Inner Tubes was formed by Terry, Jules and Doug Dillard, whose rotating membership contained, at one time or another, Cass Elliot, David Crosby and many others who drifted in and out. This led, in 1965, to the forming of The Men, a 13 piece folk-rock band. This group had a brief spell as the house band at The Troubadour.

After a short time, however, The Men disbanded, with six of the members electing to go out on their own (some of the remaining players continued on as Tony Mafia's Men, one of the others, Mike Whalen, joined The New Christy Minstrels). At the suggestion of Kirkman's then-fiancée, Judy, they took the name The Association. The original lineup consisted of Alexander (using his middle name, Gary, on the first 2 albums) on vocals and lead guitar; Kirkman on vocals and a variety of wind, brass and percussion instruments; Brian Cole (born September 8, 1942, Tacoma, Washington) on vocals, bass and woodwinds; Russ Giguere (born October 18, 1943, Portsmouth, New Hampshire) on vocals, percussion and guitar; Ted Bluechel, Jr. (born December 2, 1942, San Pedro, California) on drums, guitar, bass and vocals; and Bob Page (born May 13, 1943) on guitar, banjo and vocals. However, Page was replaced by Jim Yester (born November 24, 1939, Birmingham, Alabama) on vocals, guitar, and keyboards before any of the group's public performances.

The new band spent about five months rehearsing before they began performing around the Los Angeles area, most notably a regular stint at The Ice House in Pasadena and its sister club in Glendale.^[1] They also auditioned for record labels but faced resistance due to their unique sound. Eventually, the small Jubilee label issued a single of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (a song originally recorded by Joan Baez, later popularized by Led Zeppelin) but nothing happened. Finally, Valiant Records gave them a contract, with the first result being a version of Bob Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings".

The Men were first managed by Doug Weston, owner of the Troubador, before switching to actor Dean Fredericks, who remained onboard when the Association was formed and helped get them the Valiant deal. In 1966 Fredericks turned the reins over to Pat Colecchio, who managed the group for the next eight years.

First success[link]

Their national break would come with the song "Along Comes Mary", written by Tandyn Almer.^[1] Alexander first heard the song when he was hired to play on a demo version and persuaded Almer to give The Association first crack at it. The recording went to #7 on the Billboard charts, and led to the group's first album, And Then... Along Comes the Association, produced by Curt Boettcher. A song from the album, "Cherish", written by Kirkman,^[1] would become The Association's first #1 in September 1966.

The group followed with their second album, Renaissance, released in early 1967. Somewhat surprisingly, the band changed producers, dumping Boettcher in favor of Jerry Yester (brother of Jim and formerly of The Modern Folk Quartet). The album did not spawn any major hits (the highest charting single, "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies" stalled at #35) and the album only reached #34, compared with a #5 showing for its predecessor.

Changes[link]

In late 1966 Warner Bros. Records, which had been distributing Valiant, bought the smaller label (and with it, The Association's contract). In 1967, Jules Alexander left the band to study meditation in India and was replaced by Larry Ramos (born Hilario Ramos on April 19, 1942, Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii) on vocals and guitar. Ramos had previously performed with The New Christy Minstrels and recorded solo singles for Columbia Records. He would later sing co-lead (along with Russ Giguere and Terry Kirkman) on two of The Association's biggest hit singles, "Windy" and "Never My Love".

With the lineup settled, the group returned to the studio, this time with Bones Howe in the producer's chair. The first fruits of this pairing would be the single "Windy" ( sample (help·info)) written by Ruthann Friedman, topping the Hot 100 in July 1967 and preceded by the album Insight Out, which reached #8 in June. On June 16, 1967, The Association had the unique honor of being the first act to perform at the Monterey Pop Festival. (The Criterion Collection DVD of the festival includes their performance of "Along Comes Mary" on disc 3.)

The group's winning streak continued with their next single, "Never My Love", written by Don and Dick Addrisi; it went to #2 in Billboard and #1 in Cash Box in October 1967. It became the group's only double-sided charted record as its B-side, "Requiem For The Masses", made a brief showing on the Billboard chart. Like "Cherish" and "One Too Many Mornings", "Never My Love" had a vocal arrangement that was provided by Clark Burroughs, a former member of the Hi-Los.

"Never My Love" has been accredited by BMI as the song with the second most US airplay in the 20th century.^[2]

After rejecting the recording of an entire cantata written by Jimmy Webb, which included the song "MacArthur Park", the group, in early 1968, produced its fourth album, Birthday, with Bones Howe again at the controls. This album spawned "Everything That Touches You", the group's last Hot 100 top 10 hit, and the more experimental "Time for Livin'", the group's last Hot 100 top 40 hit. Later that year, the group released a self-produced single, the harder-edged "Six Man Band". This song would also appear on Greatest Hits, released in November.

Comings and goings[link]

In early 1969, Jules Alexander returned to the group, which now made The Association a seven-man band (they acknowledged by changing the title and lyric of "Six-Man Band" to match.) The first project with the seven-piece band was music for the soundtrack of Goodbye, Columbus, the film version of Philip Roth's best-selling novel. The title track, written by Yester, rose to #80. John Boylan, one third of the unknown Hamilton Streetcar, and who would become one of the most important record producers of the '70s and '80s, worked with the group on the soundtrack and stayed on board for the next album, The Association. Not surprisingly, many of the tracks have a decidedly country-rock feel. None of the singles made any impact, so the group re-teamed with Curt Boettcher for a one-off single, "Just About the Same", a reworking of a song Boettcher had recorded with his group, The Millennium. This failed to hit as well.

Despite all this, the band remained a popular concert draw and on April 3, 1970, a Salt Lake City performance was recorded for The Association Live. In 1971 Russ Giguere left the band; he would release a solo album, Hexagram 16, that same year. The Association replaced him with keyboardist/singer Richard Thompson (no relation to the English singer-songwriter/guitarist), who had contributed to previous albums and would go on to be known primarily in jazz circles. 1971 also saw the release of Stop Your Motor. Despite some good tracks (notably a cover of Jimmy Webb's "P.F. Sloan" with Brian Cole imitating Roy Rogers in the bargain), the album was their worst selling to date, reaching only #158 on the Billboard chart.

Stop Your Motor also marked the end of The Association's tenure at Warner Bros. In early 1972, they resurfaced on Columbia with Waterbeds in Trinidad!, produced by Lewis Merenstein (best known for producing Van Morrison's Astral Weeks). The album fared even worse than Stop Your Motor, reaching #194, while a single of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Darlin' Be Home Soon" failed to break the Hot 100.

Breakup and re-formation[link]

For their 1972 tour, the group expanded to nine members, bringing in session players Wolfgang Meltz and Mike Berkowitz on bass and drums respectively to add more musical versatility on stage and free up Brian Cole and Ted Bluechel to concentrate on singing only. But on August 2, 1972, 29-year-old Cole was found dead in his Los Angeles home of an overdose of heroin. For the rest of the 1970s, The Association was in a state of flux, releasing singles now and then along with sporadic touring.

At the end of 1972, Kirkman departed, as did Meltz and Berkowitz. The group was then moved over to the CBS distributed Mums label (which had been formed by Bobby Roberts^{[disambiguation needed ]}, formerly of Dunhill Records) and put out a new single "Names, Tags, Numbers & Labels". It failed to make much of an impression, though, and Mums folded by the end of 1974.

Thompson left at the beginning of 1973 and the remaining foursome of Alexander, Bluechel, Yester & Ramos brought in new members Maurice Miller (vocals, drums, percussion), Art Johnson (vocals, guitar) and David Vaught (vocals, bass, and later a member of the Lopez Beatles) and continued touring. Jim Yester was briefly replaced by his brother Jerry later this same year, only to return in 1974. When Jules Alexander left soon after to join Russ Giguere in a new vocal outfit, Bijou, Jerry again came in to play with the group until the end of that year.

1975 saw the band now on RCA and they put out another single, "One Sunday Morning". An album called The Association Bites Back was to follow but never got released. Membership was a bit fluid in 1975-1976. Dwayne Smith (vocals, keyboards) joined and appeared on the above single but was replaced by Andy Chapin by the end of 1975. Ramos departed as well in mid-1975 and was replaced by Larry Brown (vocals, guitar), who came in for three years. Art Johnson stayed onboard for a short while longer but was likewise gone by the end of 1975. The increased tour schedule led to Chapin's departure in 1976. (He later played for artist Rick Nelson and perished along with Nelson and his band when his plane crashed on December 31, 1985.) Chapin was replaced, first by Jay Gruska, who had just finished a stint with Three Dog Night, and then by David Morgan in mid-1976.

During this period the band was offered a production deal with Mike Curb who wanted them to record a disco version of the prior hits, "Cherish", "No Fair At All" and an original song which Larry Brown wrote and sang entitled "It's High Time To Get High". Reportedly, Curb was dissatisfied with the drum tracks and wanted to bring in session drummer Jim Gordon to play and the band refused, sinking the deal.

In 1978 Brown left to concentrate on session work and was replaced by Cliff Woolley. However, the prime gigs were fewer and far between by this time and Yester left, leaving Bluechel as the only original member. Keyboardist Ric Ulsky stepped in at this point and the group had two keyboardists for a short time. Russ Levine (who had played with Bobby Womack, Donna Summer and Ultimate Spinach) also arrived to replace Miller on drums but the band then dissolved shortly afterwards, leaving Bluechel with a huge debt. To help clear away some of it, on November 1, 1978, he leased the group's name to another company who put a fake Association out on the road.

In 1979 the surviving key members: Terry Kirkman, Jules Alexander, Russ Giguere, Ted Bluechel, Jim Yester & Larry Ramos, along with Richard Thompson and new bassist Joe Lamanno, reunited at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles for an HBO special called Then and Now (Kirkman was working for HBO at the time) and a charity show hosted by Ed McMahon in Dallas called Ed McMahon and Company. This led, in the early '80s, to a few singles on Elektra Records (one of which, "Dreamer", made the Hot 100 with virtually no promotion) and more touring.

In 1980 the originals (with Ric Ulsky returning in place of Thompson and Alexander taking over the bass) went back on the road for a concert tour. With the genuine article back out touring, the bogus band was eventually put out of business.

Jim Yester left again in 1983 and the group added Keith Moret (bass, backing vocals) as Alexander went back to playing guitar. Moret stayed only briefly until Joe Lamanno returned in 1984. That same year the group was invited to appear on the Happy Together Again tour, a multi-bill of 60s acts produced by David Fishof, headlined by the Turtles, and also including Gary Puckett and Spanky McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang. Gary's brother, Brian Puckett, played drums in the show for Gary and Spanky and likewise joined the Association for their set as well. But by the end of the year, there was a mass exodus as Kirkman, Bluechel, Ulsky, Lamanno, and Brian Puckett all departed.

In 1985 the band carried on as Alexander, Giguere, and Ramos recruited new members: Paul Beach (vocals, bass, who'd also played in the Happy Together Again show band), Bruce Pictor (vocals, drums, percussion) and Donni Gougeon (vocals, keyboards). Gougeon was briefly replaced in 1986 by Chris Urmston, but was back by the following year. Paul Holland took Gougeon's place in 1988 before moving over to bass in 1989 when Beach quit. Gougeon then rejoined for a ten-year stint from 1989–1999, succeeded by Bob Werner, who had been the band's light man and road manager in 1974-75 and fill-in member, as needed, from 1994 on. Jules Alexander turned in his notice in early 1989. Larry Ramos's brother Del, who was doing sound for the group, then began adding his voice to the mix from that point on. Eventually, he was promoted to full onstage membership as bassist for the group.

During the 1980s & 1990s the group's recorded output was minimal. They recorded a few new tracks and some covers of popular 60s songs for a few compilation albums on the Hitbound label made through Radio Shack's Tandy Corporation in the mid-80s, re-recorded some of their older material for another album, Vintage, for CBS in 1983 and put out another album full of cover tunes, The Association '95: A Little Bit More, in 1995. But most of what has been released from the 80s on have been various collections of their hits.

In September 2003, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, joined by former members Yester, Alexander, Kirkman and Bluechel at the induction ceremony at Cafaro Field, a Cleveland Indians Minor League Baseball Stadium in Niles, Ohio. Yester, Alexander, Kirkman, and Bluechel again rejoined the others for the taping of a PBS 60s rock music special 60s Experience on December 9, 2004 at Dover Downs Showroom in Dover, DE.

By 2010, the band included Russ Giguere, Larry Ramos, Jim Yester (who rejoined again in 2007 as Bob Werner departed after an eight year stint), Del Ramos, Bruce Pictor, and Jordan Cole (son of Brian) on keyboards, who joined in 1999. The Association continued to tour, mostly on bills with similar styled acts of the late 1960s, like The Grass Roots, The Buckinghams, Tommy James of Tommy James and the Shondells, and Gary Puckett. During the summer of 2011, The Association appeared in a heavy touring schedule throughout the U.S. as part of the "Happy Together: 2011" tour, along with The Grass Roots, Mark Lindsay, The Buckinghams, and The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie.^[3]

The Happy Together appearances featured only Yester, Giguere and Ramos, who were backed up by the Happy Together show band.^{[citation needed]}

Million sellers[link]

The following songs were certified as having sold over one million copies, and were each awarded a gold disc: "Cherish", "Windy", and "Never My Love".^[4]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• And Then... Along Comes The Association - Valiant VLM-5002/VLS-25002 (#5, 1966)

Reissued in 1967 on Warner Bros. W-1702/WS-1702

• Renaissance - Valiant VLM-5004/VLS-25004 (#34 1967)

Reissued in 1967 on Warner Bros. W-1704/WS-1704

• Insight Out - Warner Bros. W-1696/WS-1696 (#8, 1967)
• Birthday - Warner Bros. W-1733/WS-1733 (#23, 1968)
• The Association - Warner Bros. WS-1800 (#32, 1969)
• Stop Your Motor - Warner Bros. WS-1927 (1971)
• Waterbeds in Trinidad! - Columbia KC-31348 (1972)
• New Memories - Hitbound Records 51-3022 (1983)
• Vintage - CBS Special Products BT-19223 (1983)
• The Association 95: A Little Bit More - Track Records (1995)

Other releases[link]

• Greatest Hits - Warner Bros. WS-1767 (#4, 1968)
• Goodbye, Columbus (Soundtrack) - Warner Bros. WS-1786 (#99, 1969)
• The Association Live - Warner Bros. 2WS-1868 (#79, 1970)
• Just the Right Sound - The Anthology 1966-1981 (Double CD, released in 2002 as Warner Bros. / Rhino R2 78303, including two previously unreleased outtakes ('The Machine', 'Better Times') from 1966. An import variation also includes the outtake 'Caney Creek')

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website of The Association
• 'The Association' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
• Cite from Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard, 1988
• Liner notes for Birthday by Richie Unterberger
• Official Website of Jim Yester
• Special Radio Show tribute to Curt Boettcher
• The Association interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969).

Bert Koenders
Minister for Development Cooperation
In office February 22, 2007 – February 23, 2010
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by	Agnes van Ardenne
Succeeded by	Maxime Verhagen
Member of the House of Representatives
In office November 11, 1997 – February 22, 2007
Personal details
Born	(1958-05-28) May 28, 1958 (age 54) Arnhem, Netherlands
Political party	Labour Party (PvdA)
Residence	Amsterdam, Netherlands

Albert Gerard "Bert" Koenders (born May 28, 1958 in Arnhem) currently serves as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI). He was appointed to this position by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 2 August 2011.

Koenders is a former Dutch politician. He was Minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands from 2007 until 2010. From 1997 until 2007 he was a member of the House of Representatives.

University[link]

In 1983 Bert Koenders graduated cum laude in Political and Social Sciences at the Free University in Amsterdam, specialised in international relations and economics. He received his Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University, where he studied at the School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and Washington D.C..^[1]

He was adjunct professor at Webster University in Leiden. In 2002 he was visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna teaching about conflict prevention, conflict management and post-conflict reconstruction.^[1]

Politics[link]

Koenders was a member of the House of Representatives for the Dutch Labour Party from 1997 until 2007. In 1997, he filled the vacant seat after member of parliament Maarten van Traa died in a car accident.^[2] He was member of the permanent parliamentary committees on foreign affairs and on defense.^[1] From 2002 until 2003 he was a member of the parliamentary hearing committee on the Srebrenica massacre.^[3]

From November 17, 2006 to February 19, 2007 he was president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Koenders is Minister without Portfolio for Development Cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet sworn in on February 22, 2007.^[4] He has come under political fire as minister in July 2007, after it became known that an event sponsored by the Ministry, Het akkoord van Schokland, was organized without a public procurement process stipulated under European Union law. Instead, the event was organized by an event bureau closely tied to the Labour Party itself. Koenders cited time shortage.^[5][6]

In 2009, he criticized Pope Benedict XVI over his assertion that handing out condoms is not the solution to combatting AIDS and actually makes the problem worse. ^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bert Koenders at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• (Dutch) Bert Koenders at the Labour Party

This article about a Dutch Labour Party politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Brendan Howlin TD
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2011
Preceded by	New office
Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann
In office 26 June 2007 – 9 March 2011
Preceded by	Séamus Pattison
Succeeded by	Michael Kitt
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 13 November 1997 – 25 October 2002
Preceded by	Ruairí Quinn
Succeeded by	Liz McManus
Minister for the Environment
In office 14 December 1994 – 26 June 1997
Preceded by	Michael Smith
Succeeded by	Noel Dempsey
Minister for Health
In office 12 January 1993 – 17 November 1994
Preceded by	John O'Connell
Succeeded by	Michael Woods
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office February 1987
Preceded by	Michael D'Arcy
Constituency	Wexford
Senator
In office February 1983 – February 1987
Constituency	Nominated by the Taoiseach
Personal details
Born	(1956-05-09) 9 May 1956 (age 56) Wexford, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Labour Party
Alma mater	St Patrick's College, Dublin
Occupation	Primary school teacher
Website	www.brendanhowlin.ie

Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has served as a Teachta Dála for Wexford since 1987. Currently the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, he previously served as Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Health.^[1][2]

Early and private life[link]

Born into a highly political family in Wexford, Howlin was the son of John and Molly Howlin (née Dunbar). Named after Brendan Corish, the local Labour TD, Howlin’s father was a trade union official who served as secretary of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union in Wexford for 40 years. He also secured election as a Labour member of Wexford Corporation, where he served for eighteen years, and was also election agent to Brendan Corish. Howlin’s mother was also strongly involved in local Labour politics.^[3]

Howlin grew up in Wexford town and was educated locally at Wexford CBS. He later attended St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin and qualified as a primary school teacher.^[2] During his career as a teacher he was active in the INTO, before embarking on a career in full-time politics.

Howlin is a single man. He has spoken publicly of receiving hate mail relating to his private life and questioning his sexual orientation.^[4] In a famous interview with The Star during the 2002 Labour Party leadership contest, in response to repeated speculation, he announced he was "not gay". The announcement prompted the headline "I'm not gay" in The Star.^[5][6] Controversy centred on the pint of porter Howlin used in a photograph to imply heterosexuality, and there followed a radio interview with Joe Duffy on RTÉ Radio 1.^[7][8] However, continuing speculation over his sexual orientation was said by the media to have cost Howlin votes in the 1997 Labour Party leadership contest.^[9]

Political career[link]

Beginnings[link]

Howlin contested his first national election at the November 1982 general election. He ran as a Labour candidate in the Wexford constituency and, in spite of the existence of a large left-wing vote in the area, Howlin failed to be elected.^[10] In spite of this setback, a Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition government came to power and he was nominated by the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald to serve in Seanad Éireann.^[1]

Howlin secured election to Wexford County Council in 1985 and served as Mayor of Wexford in 1986.

In 1987 the Labour Party withdrew from the coalition government and a general election was called. Howlin once again contested a seat in Wexford and was successful in securing election to Dáil Éireann.^[10] Labour were out of office as a Fianna Fáil government took office. In spite of his recent entry to the Dáil, Howlin was subsequently named chief whip of the Labour Party, a position he held until 1993.

Cabinet minister (1993–97)[link]

The 1992 general election resulted in a hung Dáil once again, however, the Labour Party enjoyed their best result to date. After much negotition a Fianna Fáil-Labour Party coalition government was the outcome. Howlin joined the cabinet of Albert Reynolds, taking over as Minister for Health. In spite of a short tenure, he was seen as one of the most effective office holders in years. The highlights of his tenure include the development of a four-year health strategy, the identifying of AIDS as a priority and the securing of a £35 million investment in childcare. Howlin, however, was also targeted by anti-abortion groups after introducing an act which would allow information regarding abortion.

In 1994 the Labour Party withdrew from government after a disagreement over the appointment of Harry Whelehan as Attorney-General. No general election was called and, while it was hoped that the coalition could be revived under new Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern, the arithmetic of the Dáil now allowed the Labour Party to open discussions with the opposition parties. After negotiations a Rainbow Coalition came to power involving Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left. Howlin returned to John Bruton's cabinet, this time as Minister for the Environment.

Leadership contender[link]

Following the 1997 general election a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition government came to power and the Labour Party returned to the opposition benches. In the announcement of the party's new front bench, Howlin retained responsibility for the Environment.

In late 1997 Dick Spring resigned as leader of the Labour Party and Howlin immediately threw his hat into the ring in the subsequent leadership election. In a straight choice between Howlin and Ruairí Quinn, the former gained some early support, however, the leadership eventually went to Quinn by a significant and surprising majority. As a show of unity Howlin was later named deputy leader of the party and retained his brief as spokesperson on the Environment and Local Government.

In 2002, following Quinn's resignation as party leader after Labour's relatively unsuccessful 2002 general election campaign, Howlin again stood for the party leadership.^[11] For the second time in five years Howlin was defeated for the leadership of the party, this time by Pat Rabbitte, who was formerly a leading figure in Democratic Left.^[12] Howlin was succeeded as deputy leader by Liz McManus.

While having been publicly supportive of Rabbitte's leadership, he was perceived as being the leader of the wing of the party which was sceptical of Rabbitte's policy with regard to future coalition with Fianna Fáil. Rabbitte explicitly ruled out any future coalition with Fianna Fáil, instead forming a formal alliance with Fine Gael in the run-up to the 2007 general election (the so-called Mullingar Accord).

On 26 June 2007, he was appointed the Leas-Cheann Comhairle (Deputy Chairman) of Dáil Éireann.^[1]

Cabinet minister (2011–present)[link]

Howlin pictured in 2011

After the 2011 general election he was appointed to the new office of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. In May 2011 he said that over the next 20 years the number of people in Ireland over 65 is set to increase by almost half a million, a situation that could see the annual health budget soar - rising by €12.5 billion in the next decade alone. While reform was a major part of Government attempts "to regain full sovereignty over economic policy", Mr Howlin told a meeting of the Association of Chief Executives of State Agencies they would in any event face key "imperatives" in coming years. He said a new public spending review, on which he had briefed the Cabinet in recent days, would not be a simple assessment of where to make cuts, but would also consider the way public sector services were delivered. Mr Howlin reiterated the Government's commitment not to cut public sector pay, "if the Croke Park Agreement works". "These are just some of the challenges that our society is facing in the coming decade - crisis or no crisis. In the good times, tackling them was going to be difficult. Today, in these difficult times, tackling them is going to be imperative." Mr Howlin said Ireland's was facing a profound and complex economic crisis "where we are fighting a battle on three fronts - mass unemployment, a major failure in banking, and a fiscal crisis".^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Brendan Howlin's page on the Labour Party website