A central government is the government of a nation-state and is more typically a characteristic of a unitary state. This is not the same thing as a federal government which may have distinct powers at various levels authorized or delegated to it by its member states, though the adjective 'central' is sometimes used to describe it. The structure of central governments varies. Many countries have created autonomous regions by delegating powers from the central government to governments at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Based on a broad definition of a basic political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution or other law.

Usual responsibilities of this level of government which are not granted to lower levels are maintaining national security and exercising international diplomacy, including the right to sign binding treaties. Basically, the central government has the power to make laws for the whole country, in contrast with local governments. For definition of levels of government see also general government (in economics).

Jairam Ramesh born April 9, 1954, is an Indian economist and an influential politician of the Congress Party in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the Government of India. He is a Member of Parliament representing Andhra Pradesh state in the Rajya Sabha since June, 2004. In July, 2011, Mr. Ramesh was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers of India and appointed Minister of Rural Development and Minister (Additional Charge) of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was previously the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests from May 2009 to July 2011.

Jairam was born on April 9, 1954 in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. His father is the late Shri C.K. Ramesh. His mother is Shrimati Sridevi Ramesh. Jairam is an Iyengar Brahmin. His mother tongue is Tamil. He considers himself a practising Hindu with Buddhism ingrained and calls himself a 'Hind-Budh' He married K. R. Jayashree, an Iyer Brahmin, on January 26, 1981. He and his wife currently reside at Lodi Gardens, Rajesh Pilot Marg, in New Delhi. Their permanent residence is at Khairatabad, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Julian Paul Assange ( /əˈsɒnʒ/ ə-SONZH; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian computer programmer, political/internet activist, publisher, and journalist. He is best known as the editor in chief and founder of WikiLeaks, a media website which publishes information from whistleblowers. The site acts as a conduit for worldwide news leaks, with a stated purpose of creating open governance.

WikiLeaks has published material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya, toxic waste dumping in Côte d'Ivoire, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer. In 2010, WikiLeaks published Iraq War documents and Afghan War documents about American involvement in the wars, some of which was classified material. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five international print media partners (Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian and El País) began publishing U.S. diplomatic cables.

Assange was a hacker-activist in his youth, before becoming a computer programmer and then becoming internationally renowned for his work with WikiLeaks. He has lived in several countries and has made public appearances in many parts of the world to speak about freedom of the press, censorship, and investigative journalism. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award, Readers' Choice for TIME magazine's 2010 Person of the Year, the 2011 Sydney Peace Foundation gold medal and the 2011 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.Snorre Valen, a Norwegian parliamentarian, nominated him for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

Shirin Ebadi (Persian: شيرين عبادى‎ Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's, children's, and refugee rights. She was the first ever Iranian, and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize.

In 2009, Ebadi's award was allegedly confiscated by Iranian authorities, though this was later denied by the Iranian government. If true, she would be the first person in the history of the Nobel Prize whose award has been forcibly seized by state authorities.

Ebadi lives in Tehran, but she has been in exile in the UK since June 2009 due to the increase in persecution of Iranian citizens who are critical of the current regime. In 2004, she was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the "100 most powerful women in the world". She is also included in a published list of the "100 most influential women of all time."

Mark Roth (born April 10, 1951) is a former professional bowler. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. As a youth he resided in Meiers Corners, Staten Island, New York City, New York.

Roth is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). His 34 PBA titles place him fifth on the all-time PBA Tour winners list, behind Walter Ray Williams, Earl Anthony, Pete Weber and Norm Duke. He was the second professional bowler to surpass US$1 million in career winnings, with Anthony being the first. His eight titles won in 1978 are still the PBA record for a single season, topping the previous mark of seven titles set by Billy Hardwick in 1969. Roth won another six titles in the 1979 season while collecting his third consecutive PBA Player of the Year award. He won his only career major title (U.S. Open) in 1984, after having qualified for 10 previous "major" television finals without winning. Roth was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1987, and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Hall of Fame in 2009.