Kansas

Kansas ⁱ/ˈkænzəs/ is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind", although this was probably not the term's original meaning. Residents of Kansas are called "Kansans". For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. Kansas was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue.

When it was officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists eventually prevailed, and on January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. Today, Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans. Kansas is the 15th most extensive and the 34th most populous of the 50 United States.

Secretary of State

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government.

In many countries, a Secretary of State is a mid-level post. It is usually a politically appointed position, although in some countries, such as Germany and Sweden, it can be filled by a member of the executive bureaucracy (civil service) as a political appointment. In the Holy See, there is one Secretary of State, who coordinates all the departments of the Roman Curia (that is, equivalent to a Prime Minister). In the United Kingdom a Secretary of State is a member of the Cabinet appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister (that is, equivalent to a Minister). In the Federal Government of the United States of America, there is one Secretary of State, the most senior political appointee responsible for foreign policy (that is, equivalent to a Foreign Minister).

Kris Kobach

Kris W. Kobach (born March 26, 1966) is the Secretary of State of Kansas. He is also currently of counsel with the Immigration Law Reform Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

He is a former chairman of Kansas Republican Party and city councilman in Overland Park, Kansas. He ran unsuccessfully for Kansas's 3rd congressional district in 2004. In 2010, Kobach was elected Secretary of State of Kansas.

Education

Kobach graduated from Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kansas in 1984. Four years later, he earned an A.B. (summa cum laude) in Government from Harvard University, graduating first in his class in the Government Department. He was awarded a Marshall Scholarship, which allowed him to earn M.A. and D.Phil. degrees in Politics from Oxford University (in 1990 and 1992, respectively). He then attended the Yale Law School, where he earned a J.D. in 1995 and was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. During this time, he published two books: The Referendum: Direct Democracy in Switzerland (Dartmouth, 1994), and Political Capital: The Motives, Tactics, and Goals of Politicized Businesses in South Africa (University Press of America, 1990).

Donald Trump

Donald John Trump, Sr. (born June 14, 1946) is an American businessperson and media personality. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's career, branding efforts, personal life, wealth, and outspoken manner have made him famous throughout the country. Since 2015, he is also a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Trump is a native of New York City and a son of Fred Trump, who inspired him to enter real estate development. After two years at Fordham University and while studying at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Trump worked for his father's firm, Elizabeth Trump & Son. Upon graduating in 1968 he joined the company, and in 1971 was given control, renaming the company "The Trump Organization". Since then he has built hotels, golf courses, and other properties, many of which bear his name. He is a major figure in the American business scene and has received prominent media exposure. The NBC reality show The Apprentice bolstered his fame, and his three marriages were extensively reported in tabloids.

Justin Trudeau

Justin Pierre James Trudeau PC MP (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current Prime Minister of Canada, as well as the Leader of the Liberal Party. The second-youngest Canadian prime minister after Joe Clark, he is also, as the eldest son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the first child of a previous prime minister to hold the post.

Trudeau was born in Ottawa and attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf. He earned a BA in English literature from McGill University in 1994 and a BEd from the University of British Columbia in 1998. He gained a high public profile in October 2000, when he delivered a eulogy at his father's state funeral. After graduating, he worked as a teacher in Vancouver, British Columbia, then studied engineering, and began a master's degree in Environmental Geography. He used his public profile to advocate for various causes and acted in the 2007 TV miniseries The Great War.

After becoming more involved in politics after his father's death, Trudeau was elected in the 2008 federal election to represent the riding of Papineau in the House of Commons. In 2009, he was appointed the Liberal Party's critic for Youth and Multiculturalism and the following year became critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In 2011, he was appointed as critic for Secondary Education and Youth and Amateur Sport. Trudeau won the leadership of the Liberal Party in April 2013, and went on to lead his party to victory in the 2015 federal election, moving the third-placed Liberals from 36 seats to 184 seats, the largest-ever numerical increase by a party in a Canadian election.