The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an orderly fashion.^[1] When the group is not in session, the officer's duties often include acting as its head, its representative to the outside world and its spokesperson.

Terminology[link]

Other terms sometimes used for the office and its holder include presiding officer, president, moderator, chair, and convenor.^[2][3][4] The chairman of a parliamentary chamber is often called the speaker.^[5][6] Though chairwoman is sometimes used as a female counterpart to chairman, the terms chair and chairperson are sometimes used to avoid gendered titles altogether.^[7][8] The National Association of Parliamentarians does not approve using "chairperson".^[9] In the United States, the presiding officer of the "lower" house of a legislative body, such as the House of Representatives, is frequently titled the Speaker, while the "upper" house, such as the Senate, is commonly chaired by a President.

A vice-chairman (or deputy chairman), subordinate to the chairman, is sometimes chosen to assist the chairman^[10] and to serve as chairman in the absence of the chairman, or when a motion involving the chairman is being discussed.^[1] In the absence of the chairman and vice chairman, groups sometimes elect a chairman pro tempore to fill the role for a single meeting.^[1]

The word chair can refer to the place from which the holder of the office presides, whether on a chair, at a lectern, or elsewhere. During meetings, the person presiding is said to be “in the chair”, the person is also referred to as “the chair.” Parliamentary procedure requires that members address the “chair” rather than the “chairman,” or by using a person's name. This is one of many customs intended to maintain the presiding officer's impartiality and insuring an objective and impersonal approach.^[1]

Riddick's Rules of Procedure, among others, claim an etymology of chairman as derived from the Latin manus, or "hand", and use this to claim gender-neutrality for the word. Some etymologists consider this to be incorrect,^[11] and many dictionaries claim that the word is from "chair" (a seat or office of authority) and "man", a person.^[7][12][13]

Public corporations[link]

Among public corporations, there are generally two types of chairmen, executive and non-executive. The executive chairman also serves as an executive of the company, usually the chief executive officer (CEO), although it can exist as a separate position. The non-executive chairman holds no executive position with the company, and is usually an outsider with no other current or previous ties to it.

The non-executive Chairman's duties are typically limited to matters directly related to the board, such as:^[14]

• Chairing the meetings of the board.
• Organizing and coordinating the board's activities, such as by setting its annual agenda.
• Reviewing and evaluating the performance of the CEO and the other board members.

Many U.S. companies have an executive chairman, and this method of organization is sometimes called the American model. Having a non-executive chair is common in the United Kingdom and Canada, and is sometimes called the British model. Expert opinion is rather evenly divided over which is the preferable model overall.^[15]

Companies with both an executive chairman and a CEO include Ford,^[16] HSBC,^[17] Google,^[18] and HP.^[19]

See also[link]

Look up chair, chairman, chairwoman, chairperson, or preside in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Board of Directors
• European company law
• Executive director
• German company law
• Non-executive director
• Parliamentary procedure in the corporate world
• UK company law
• US corporate law

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Alice Sturgis; American Institute of Parliamentarians (2001). "19 Officers: The President ...". The standard code of parliamentary procedure (Fourth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 162–165. ISBN 978-0-07-136513-0 

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

External images
	FCC's own image, for Mignon L. Clyburn.

Mignon L. Clyburn (born March 22, 1962) was nominated as a member of the Federal Communications Commission on June 25, 2009, and sworn in August 3, 2009. Her term runs until June 30, 2012. In 2009 she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project^[1].

Earlier, she served for 11 years as the representative of South Carolina's 6th congressional district on the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC). She was sworn in for her first term in July 1998, and was subsequently reelected in 2002 and 2006. She served as chair of the PSC from July 2002 through June 2004.

She is the daughter of United States Representative Jim Clyburn.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biography of FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at the Federal Communications Commission
• Mignon L. Clyburn at Who Runs Gov at The Washington Post
• WSJ article "Mignon Clyburn Nominated to FCC" by Amy Schatz. April 29, 2009, 8:18 P.M. ET

This page is about the U.S. Attorney; for the Pennsylvania State Senator, see Mary Jo White (Pennsylvania politician).

Mary Jo White (born December 27, 1947) was the first woman to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, serving from 1993 to 2002.^[1]

White was born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in McLean, Virginia. She received her B.S. from the College of William and Mary in 1970 and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1974.^[1]

White became Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in December 1992, and in March 1993 was appointed by President Bill Clinton as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. She is noted for having overseen prosecutions of John Gotti and the terrorists responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing chief among them Ramzi Yousef. After Clinton's controversial last day presidential pardons, she was appointed by new Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate Marc Rich's pardon.^[1] She is currently chair of the litigation department at Debevoise & Plimpton.

References[link]

External links[link]

• PBS interview with Mary Jo White (May, 2002)
• TIME profile of Mary Jo White (March, 2001)
• Debevoise & Plimpton biography. Accessed May 30, 2007.
• Securities Regulation Institute Faculty

This American law-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Blanche Lincoln
United States Senator from Arkansas
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Dale Bumpers
Succeeded by	John Boozman
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
In office September 9, 2009 – January 5, 2011
Preceded by	Tom Harkin
Succeeded by	Debbie Stabenow
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 1st district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	William Alexander, Jr.
Succeeded by	Marion Berry
Personal details
Born	(1960-09-30) September 30, 1960 (age 51) Helena, Arkansas
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Dr. Steve Lincoln
Residence	Little Rock, Arkansas
Alma mater	Randolph-Macon Woman's College (B.S.)
Profession	Politician
Religion	Episcopalian
Signature

Blanche Meyers Lambert Lincoln (born September 30, 1960) is a former U.S. Senator from Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1998, she was the first woman elected to the Senate from Arkansas since Hattie Caraway in 1932 and, at age 38, was the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate.^[1] She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arkansas's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1997.

Lincoln was the first woman and the first Arkansan to serve as chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.^[1] She also served as the Chair of Rural Outreach for the Senate Democratic Caucus. In 2010 she ran for a third term, but lost by a 58%-37% margin to Rep. John Boozman, whose brother, Fay Boozman, she defeated in Arkansas's 1998 Senate election.^[2]

Early life, education and career[link]

A seventh-generation Arkansan, Blanche Lambert was born in Helena, Phillips County, to Martha (née Kelly) and Jordan Bennett Lambert.^[3][4] Her father was a rice and cotton farmer.^[3][5] Her older sister, Mary Lambert, is a film director.^[6] She received her early education at the local public schools in Helena, and was the student council president at Central High School from 1977 to 1978.^[3]

Lincoln attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority.^[3] She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1982, earning a Bachelor's degree in biology.^[7] She originally sought to go into nursing.^[8]

After graduating from college, Lincoln served as a staff assistant for U.S. Representative Bill Alexander, a Democrat from Arkansas's 1st congressional district.^[7] She remained in Alexander's office until 1984.^[3]

U.S. House of Representatives career[link]

In 1992, Lincoln defeated Alexander (who had become a major figure in the House banking scandal) in the Democratic primary, by a margin of 61 to 39 percent. She subsequently won the general election, beating Republican Terry Hayes with 70% of the vote. Her election to the House coincided with the election of fellow Arkansan, Bill Clinton, as President of the United States.

She calls herself a centrist Democrat and was among the minority of Democrats to support CAFTA. While in the House, she was one of only 17 Democrats to vote for the Teamwork for Employees and Managers Act of 1995 which sought to change federal employment laws. The law was vetoed by President Bill Clinton. She has voted in favor restricting class action lawsuits and tightening rules on personal bankruptcy. Lincoln was also one of the few Democrats in Congress to vote in favor of Bush administration's tax cuts and she supports the permanent elimination of the estate tax.

On April 5, 1995 she was one of only 27 Democrats in the House to vote in favor of the Contract With America Tax Relief Act, which was approved by the House. Lincoln also co-sponsored and supported legisation to amend the constitution to require a balanced-budget amendment. In 1996 she championed the Freedom to Farm Act.

She was reelected to a second term under her married name, Blanche Lincoln, and served in the House of Representatives until 1997. Lincoln chose not to run for reelection in 1996; she was pregnant at that time.

U.S. Senate career[link]

Lincoln speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

In 1998, Lincoln returned to politics and ran for the Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Senator Dale Bumpers. She defeated her Republican opponent, Fay Boozman (1946–2005), a state senator and the brother of future U.S. Representative John Boozman, 385,878 (55.1 percent) to 295,870 (42.2 percent).

Lincoln served on the Senate Finance Committee; Special Committee on Aging; Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Senate Social Security Task Force; Rural Health Caucus; Senate New Democrat Coalition and chair of the Rural Outreach for the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Lincoln made history again on September 9, 2009, when she was tapped as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. In the Committee’s 184-year history, she is the first Arkansan and the first woman to serve as Chairman.

Lincoln concentrated primarily on issues involving farmers and rural issues. She is one of the primary advocates of the Delta Regional Authority, which is designed to spur development in the lower Mississippi Delta region.

Lincoln holds a press conference with Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee regarding Medicare and the proposed changes to the system.

Lincoln served as Arkansas's Senior Senator since 2003, serving with fellow Arkansan Mark Pryor who defeated Senator Tim Hutchinson. In 2004, Lincoln was re-elected, beating Republican State Senator Jim Holt (R-Springdale) 56%-44%, even as President Bush carried the state with 54% of the vote.

In 2004, Lincoln co-founded the Senate Hunger Caucus. The caucus was established to provide a bi-partisan forum for Senators and staff to discuss, advance and engage the Senate's work on national and international hunger and food insecurity issues.^[9]

Lincoln called for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, claiming that the firing of eight federal prosecutors has created a "serious breach between the Justice Department and Congress, a breach that I'm not sure can be repaired with Mr. Gonzales at the helm." She and her Senate colleague, Mark Pryor, were particularly upset that Gonzales reneged on a promise to have a replacement for Bud Cummins, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, go through Senate confirmation. Gonzales ultimately did resign, in August 2007.

Senator Lincoln speaking in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on October 25, 2008.

In 2007, Lincoln played a key role in brokering the compromise that led to passage of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Also known as the “farm bill,” this legislation provides resources for nutrition, conservation, rural development, and renewable energy. Lincoln led the charge against defeating an amendment to the pending Farm Bill which would have capped government Agricultural subsidy payments at $250,000 per year, per farm. According to Lincoln, it was unfair to some farmers in her state, notably cotton growers. Even though the amendment passed (56-43), Lincoln threatened a filibuster if any amendment did not get a 60-vote majority, so the amendment was withdrawn after passage.

Lincolon with other female Senators of the 110th Congress

Lincoln also helped form the Moderate Dems Working Group, a coalition of moderate Senate Democrats whose stated goal is to work with Senate leadership and the administration toward finding bipartisan solutions to controversial political issues. In addition, she co-founded and currently co-chairs Third Way, a moderate think-tank whose self-described goals are "an economic agenda that is focused on growth and middle class success; a culture of shared values; a national security approach that is both tough and smart; and a clean energy revolution." ^[10]

In September 2009, Lincoln pledged to filibuster any legislation containing a Public health insurance option, such as the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the House of Representatives' proposed health care reform bill.^[11] Lincoln voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Senate bill which eventually became the Barack Obama administration's health care reform bill. However, she voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, a package of amendments to the former bill passed by the reconciliation process in the Senate. She also spoke out in opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act, garnering her the praise of Americans for Tax Reform.^[12]

On December 9, 2010 Lincoln missed a critical vote to repeal Don't ask, don't tell after a dental appointment and missed voting by three minutes. A supporter of the bill, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), told reporters: "She was very frustrated and apologized to both of us." She claims she would have voted for repeal had she made the vote.^[13]

Lincoln opposes bringing Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the United States for trial.^[14]

Her older sister is film director Mary Lambert, who directed the documentary 14 Women, which includes Lincoln herself.

After Congress[link]

Lincoln remained in Washington after her loss, working as "Special Policy Advisor" at the firm of Alston & Bird.^[15]

In 2011 Lincoln became chair of Small Business for Sensible Regulations^[16], a project of the National Federation of Independent Business

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Blanche Lincoln for U.S. Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

v t e United States Senators from Arkansas Class 2 Fulton Ashley Sebastian McDonald Clayton Garland Berry Davis Heiskell Kavanaugh Robinson Miller Spencer McClellan Hodges D. Pryor Hutchinson M. Pryor Class 3 Sevier Borland Johnson Mitchel Rice Dorsey Walker Jones Clarke Kirby T. Caraway H. Caraway Fulbright Bumpers Lincoln Boozman

Cher Wang
Born	(1958-09-14) September 14, 1958 (age 53)
Nationality	Taiwanese
Ethnicity	Han
Citizenship	Republic of China
Education	Berkeley，1981
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Years active	1997–now
Employer	HTC, VIA Technologies
Known for	Contributions to HTC and VIA; creating a fairly early model of smart phones in 1997
Home town	Taipei, Taiwan
Partner	Chen Wen-Chi, Chimu Lin
Parents	Wang Yung-ching Jiao Yang
Relatives	Cherlin Wang
Awards	Forbes 2010 billionaires

Cher Wang (traditional Chinese: 王雪紅; simplified Chinese: 王雪红; pinyin: Wáng Xuěhóng; (1958-09-14)September 14, 1958) is a Taiwanese entrepreneur born in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Wang is a co-founder and the chairperson of the HTC Corporation and VIA Technologies. Her father was Wang Yung-ching,^[1] who was one of the richest individuals in Taiwan. Her husband is Wen Chi Chen, the CEO of VIA Technologies.

She received her master's degree in economics^[2] from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981, then joined First International Computer (FIC) in 1982.^[3] Wang and others founded VIA in 1987 and HTC in 1997. In May 2011, the Forbes ranked her with Wen Chi Chen as the richest person in Taiwan, with a net worth of US$8.8 billion.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Companies, People, Ideas: Cher Dividend, Forbes.
• HTC Profile

This Taiwanese business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e