vips

ALSO SEE

Chiefs of State and Heads of Government Foreign Affairs World Parliaments Federated States and Provinces World Governments International Organizations

LETTER N° 12

From 18 to 24 MARCH

18
Russia

(Koloma)

Federal Duma Deputy by-election at Kolomna District. Results : not available.

18
Russia

(Omsk)

General Director Yevgenii Belov won mayoral elections. Belov won 58 percent of the vote in an election with a record low turnout of just under 29 percent of eligible voters.

P. S. Omsk an industrial city in central western Siberia.

18
Germany

(Hessen)

Local councils elections. Results : Christian Democrats drew 39.6 percent support, marking a 6.6 percent gain over the last state-wide local elections in 1997. The results put the party ahead of the Social Democrats with 38.2 percent, which was up 0.2 from four years ago when it topped the CDU in local elections. Voter turnout was low at only 54 percent.

18
France

Municipal elections - 2nd round. Results : Right and Centrist parties won on the whole more mayorships than the Left. The great losers are the comunists and good scores for the Green party are noticeable. Both Paris and Lyon, which were traditionnally right bastions have been won by the Left.

18
Madagascar

Senate elections. Results :

The ruling Avant-Garde for Madagascan Renewal (Arema) has won 49 of 60 seats at stake in senatorial elections, official government figures indicated. The overwhelming victory for President Didier Ratsiraka's party routed the opposition "Leader Fanilo" party run by former deputy prime minister Herizo Razafimahaleo, which managed to pick up only five seats. Other small parties shared the remaining six seats.

18
Ukraina

President Leonid Kuchma, who has been facing growing opposition calls to resign, has dismissed his interior minister, Yuri Kravchenko.

Yuri Fedorovich Kravchenko was born on March 5, 1951 in Olexandria city of Kirovograd region in workers' family. After graduation in 1970 from Olexandria industrial college he was appointed an electric-metal worker at local mine. In 1970-1972 he has been to an active military service. Since November 1972 after retirement he has been working as an electric worker at Kirovograd typing machines plant. In 1982 he was appointed the Deputy Head, and in 1984 - the Head of Interior Department at Olexandria city executive committee. April 1986 - September 1989 worked in the Ministry of Interior's staff in the position of the Head of Department, Deputy Head of Administration, and further during 3 years - as the Head of Interior Administration of Kirovograd regional executive committee. In December 1992 was appointed Vice-Minister of Interior, and in December 1994 - Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Ukraine. Since July 1995 - Minister of Interior of Ukraine.

19
Guyana

Parliamentary elections. Results : In parliamentary elections, candidates representing the PPP got 52.6 percent of the vote against 41.5 percent for the opposition People's National Congress.

Presidential election. Results : President Bharrat Jagdeo of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) won the presidential contest with 209,031 votes (53.1 percent) to 164,074 votes (41.7 percent) for former president Desmond Hoyte.Voter turnout was at 90 percent.

19
Argentina

Ricardo Lopez Murphy economic minister resigned just two weeks after assuming the post and pushing a controversial plan to re-ignite South America's second-largest economy.

President De la Rua said Domingo Cavallo, an internationally renowned economist, would assume the top economic post, either as economy minister or cabinet chief, the second most powerful position in government.

19
Guinea-Bissau

President Kumba Ialá dismisses Prime Minister Caetano N'Tchama. Foreign Minister Faustino Fudut Imbali is designated for the post.

Faustino Fudut Imbali is from the Social Democratic United Party (PUSD), 42 ans, sociologist.

20
Tunisia

1956 : Tunisia Became Independent.

Tunisia became independent under a protocol signed with France. A central figure of Tunisia's nationalist movement was Habib Bourguiba, who became the first president of Tunisia in 1957.

20
Romania

Former prime minister (1979-82) Ilie Verdet dies.

Ilie Verdet, a former Romanian prime minister under communist-era dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Verdet held senior posts under Ceausescu including deputy premier from 1966-74 and prime minister from 1980-1982, but defected to the revolutionaries who forced the dictator's ouster and execution in December 1989. After the storming of the communist party's Bucharest headquarters, he initially declared himself head of a national salvation government, but that lasted only 20 minutes until young protestors forced him to leave the building. In November 1990, he founded the Socialist Party of Labor (PSM), but the party was labeled as a successor to the communist party and never took off electorally.

20
New Caledonia

Local government President Jean Lèques resigned.

Lèques became New Caledonia's first President after the French territory set up its own territorial government for the first time in 1999.

The 54-member Congress is to meet on April 3 in extraordinary session with one item on the agenda : the election of a new President.

20
Argentina

Domingo Cavallo

Domingo Cavallo is sworn in as economy minister and Ramón Mestre as interior minister.

Domingo Cavallo was born on 21 of July 1946 in San Francisco, Province of Córdoba. PhD in economics, from Harvard University. Member of the Bloque Acción por la República (Block of Action for the republic). National P.M for Córdoba (1987-1989). National M.P for the city of Buenos Aires (1998-2002). Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Cult of the Argentine Repúblic (1989-1991). Minister of the Economy and Public Works and Services (1991-1996).

21
Pakistan

Local bodies elections. Voting was taking place in 20 districts in the provinces of Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh and the Northwest Frontier Province some 62,000 candidates were vying for 30,639 seats on municipal and district councils. Results from voting will be announced within a week.

21
China

(Hong Kong)

China named vice foreign minister Ji Peiding as its top foreign ministry official in Hong Kong, the first change in the post since the return to Chinese rule in mid-1997. Ji replaces Ma Yuzhen, a former ambassador to London. Ji, who will head the Office of Special Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong, is an Africa specialist and was ambassador to Namibia in 1990-1993 and has worked in embassies in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

21
Namibia

1990 - Namibia Gained Independence.

Under a 1988 agreement brokered by the United States, the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola was linked with the implementation of the UN plan in Namibia. UN-supervised elections were held in 1989; SWAPO won a majority of the parliamentary seats, and party leader Sam Nujoma was elected president. A constitution was adopted in February 1990, and Namibia became independent on March 21, 1990.

22
Canada

(Ontario)

Provincial byelection in Parry-Sound Muskoka. Results :

Progressive Conservative candidate Norm Miller has won the Ontario provincial by-election in Parry Sound-Muskoka. Miller is the youngest son of the late Frank Miller, who was briefly Premier in 1985. The seat was vacated when Deputy Premier Ernie Eves, MPP since 1981, resigned to take a job with an investment bank.

22
Antigua and Barbuda

Election of the Council election for 5 of 9 seats in Barbuda. Results : not available

22
Benin

Runoff of the presidential election. Results :

More than 55 percent of voters cast ballots in Benin's presidential runoff to choose between the incumbent Mathieu Kerekou and his former minister of state, Bruno Amoussou.

Mathieu Kerekou is born on September 2, 1933 in Kouarfa in Northern Benin.Studies at the the school for troops'children in Kati, Mali, and in Saint-Louis, Sénégal, then he volunteered in the French army and went on trainings in Fréjus, Montpellier and to the Headquarters' school in Paris. President elected by popular 3 and 18 March 1996.

22
Cape Verde

New President of the Repúblic, Pedro Pires is sworn in.

Chief Commander Pedro Pires belongs to the generation of Cape-Verdian patriots who were entrusted with the historical duty of leading the movement for liberation of the Nation.He was one of the closest comrade in the struggle of Amilcar Cabral's and one of the main leader of the armed movement for national liberation. He is a distinguished statesman, praised in his own country and also in the international field. He was born on the island do Fogo (Fire Island) on April 29,1934. In S. Filipe, on his homeland, he attended comprehensive school and High school in Praia and in S. Vicente. In 1956 he left for Portugal where he attended the Science Faculty in Lisbon. Then, he went on military compulsory action as an officer of the Portuguese Air Force, where he shared with roommates who were other nationalists, as well as comrades from former Portuguese Colonies.He was the first premier of his country from 8 of July 1975 to 4 of April 1991.

22
New Zealand

Dame Silvia Cartwright, the chief justice, becomes acting governor-general after the term of Sir Michael Hardie Boys expired.

Dame Silvia Cartwright has had a distinguished career as a lawyer and jurist, and as an advocate for women and women's rights. Was educated in Dunedin, gaining her LLB from Otago University in 1967. In 1989, she was appointed Chief District Court Judge, the first women to hold the position, and in 1993, she became the first woman to be appointed to the High Court. Since 1993, she has been a member of the United Nations committee monitoring compliance with the United Nations Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), contributing particularly to the drafting of one of theConvention's optional protocols, which defines a complaint mechanism. In 1995, chaired a Gender Equity Education Programme for all New Zealand judges with the then Chief Justice. Dame Silvia will be New Zealand's 18th Governor-General, and the second woman to hold the office in New Zealand.

22
League of Arab States

1945 : The League of Arab States in Cairo Formed.

Seven countries formed the League of Arab States in Cairo. The League is a regional organization that seeks to promote closer ties among member-states and coordinate their economic, cultural, and security plans. 22 members compose the League today. The headquarters of the League are located in Cairo.

23/24
U. E.

Sweden hosts extraordinary EU council

Sweden, as European Union president for the first half of 2001, inherits one of the most potentially divisive issues in the recent history of the organization -the "Super State." The term refers to the two-tier EU supported mainly by Germany and France. Along with Britain, Finland, Ireland and Spain, Sweden plans to block changes to the Amsterdam Treaty that would allow some countries to forge a European government of six or so countries. The "elite" would leave the remaining member countries to join as and when they wish. EU leaders meeting in Nice in December prepared the way for enlargement, but failed to forge compromises on how the vote of each member country -new and old -would be weighted. In other business, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited, and is expected to make a presentation about his proposal to develop a Russia-Europe missile shield to counter the version sought by the George W. Bush administration in the United States.

23/28
Amman Arab Summit

Amman Arab Summit

The industry, trade and economy ministers of the Arab world meet Mar. 23-24 to draw up what they describe as an "ambitious" economic cooperation plan for discussion at the Arab summit on Mar. 27-28. It includes proposals for a free trade zone and increased inter-Arab investment and joint infrastructure projects. A meeting of Arab foreign ministers follows on Mar. 25-26 to set up the political agenda for the summit. Their proposals revolve around aid for the Palestinians, a united front against Israel and the reintegration of Iraq.

Previous Results

Canada
(Saaskatchewan)

Voters in Saskatoon-Riversdale went to the polls on March 19 in a provincial byelection. Results :

Calvert, Lorne (New Democrats) - 2,578 ; Melenchuk, John (First Nations) -112 Merriman, Ted (Saskatchewan Party) - 1,550 ; Roth, Dwayne (Liberal) - 308 and Sinclair, Neil (Green Alliance) - 39

Canada
(Alberta)

Voters here went to the polls on March 12 in a provincial election. Results : PC 61.81 - 74 elects ; LIB 27.34 - 7 elects ; NOP 8.08 - 2 elects and DTH 2.77 - 0 elect.

The Klein government has a renewed mandate from Alberta voters and 10 new seats in the legislature.

This week on our web site VIPS-GOV you'll find a presentation of the Governments of

GREECE

This week see : THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTS (Last update)

THIS WEEK'S STORY

1556
March 21

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was burned at the stake as a heretic
Thomas Cranmer was born in Nottinghamshire in 1489, the son of Thomas Cranmer Senior and his wife, Agnes (Hatfield). He was educated at Cambridge from the age of fourteen and, in 1530, became Archdeacon of Taunton. The course which he advocated with regard to the divorce of Queen Catherine brought him into favour with King Henry VIII and, in 1533, he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

The servility with which Cranmer lent himself to the accomplishment of Henry's lawless desires, the timidity which made him acquiesce in deeds of tyranny and violence, from which his conscience revolted, remain as a blot on his memory. Yet, it was in great measure due to him that the English Church emerged from the fierce ordeal retaining, unimpaired, her ancient Faith and Apostolic succession. The Book of Common Prayer is the lasting memorial of the religious spirit of that time, and Cranmer is entitled to the fullest share of praise for the wisdom which guided its compilation. The Sarum Use, which had acquired a dominant position in the English Church in medieval times, was retained, with certain alterations, as the groundwork of the book, and this was enriched by contributions from very varied sources. The first Prayer Book appeared in 1549. Under the stress of foreign influences, it was subjected to certain alterations in 1552, but these were again considerably modified in the direction of the earlier book in 1559.

When King Edward VI was dying, Cranmer was persuaded, much against his will, to sign the document by which the King designated Lady Jane Grey as his successor. After the failure of the attempt to place her on the throne, Cranmer was charged with treason and sedition, and committed to the Tower of London.Thence, he was taken to oxford and required to defend himself against the charge of heresy. Finally, sentence of death by burning was passed upon him. In the hope of saving his life, he recanted his opinions but, when called open to disavow them openly, her expressed deep regret for the cowardice which had led to his recantation and went courageously to his death (1556).

Europe Click

18 Russia (Koloma)		Federal Duma Deputy by-election at Kolomna District. Results : not available.
18 Russia (Omsk)		General Director Yevgenii Belov won mayoral elections. Belov won 58 percent of the vote in an election with a record low turnout of just under 29 percent of eligible voters. P. S. Omsk an industrial city in central western Siberia.
18 Germany (Hessen)		Local councils elections. Results : Christian Democrats drew 39.6 percent support, marking a 6.6 percent gain over the last state-wide local elections in 1997. The results put the party ahead of the Social Democrats with 38.2 percent, which was up 0.2 from four years ago when it topped the CDU in local elections. Voter turnout was low at only 54 percent.
18 France		Municipal elections - 2nd round. Results : Right and Centrist parties won on the whole more mayorships than the Left. The great losers are the comunists and good scores for the Green party are noticeable. Both Paris and Lyon, which were traditionnally right bastions have been won by the Left.
18 Madagascar		Senate elections. Results : The ruling Avant-Garde for Madagascan Renewal (Arema) has won 49 of 60 seats at stake in senatorial elections, official government figures indicated. The overwhelming victory for President Didier Ratsiraka's party routed the opposition "Leader Fanilo" party run by former deputy prime minister Herizo Razafimahaleo, which managed to pick up only five seats. Other small parties shared the remaining six seats.
18 Ukraina		President Leonid Kuchma, who has been facing growing opposition calls to resign, has dismissed his interior minister, Yuri Kravchenko. Yuri Fedorovich Kravchenko was born on March 5, 1951 in Olexandria city of Kirovograd region in workers' family. After graduation in 1970 from Olexandria industrial college he was appointed an electric-metal worker at local mine. In 1970-1972 he has been to an active military service. Since November 1972 after retirement he has been working as an electric worker at Kirovograd typing machines plant. In 1982 he was appointed the Deputy Head, and in 1984 - the Head of Interior Department at Olexandria city executive committee. April 1986 - September 1989 worked in the Ministry of Interior's staff in the position of the Head of Department, Deputy Head of Administration, and further during 3 years - as the Head of Interior Administration of Kirovograd regional executive committee. In December 1992 was appointed Vice-Minister of Interior, and in December 1994 - Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Ukraine. Since July 1995 - Minister of Interior of Ukraine.
19 Guyana		Parliamentary elections. Results : In parliamentary elections, candidates representing the PPP got 52.6 percent of the vote against 41.5 percent for the opposition People's National Congress. Presidential election. Results : President Bharrat Jagdeo of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) won the presidential contest with 209,031 votes (53.1 percent) to 164,074 votes (41.7 percent) for former president Desmond Hoyte.Voter turnout was at 90 percent.
19 Argentina		Ricardo Lopez Murphy economic minister resigned just two weeks after assuming the post and pushing a controversial plan to re-ignite South America's second-largest economy. President De la Rua said Domingo Cavallo, an internationally renowned economist, would assume the top economic post, either as economy minister or cabinet chief, the second most powerful position in government.
19 Guinea-Bissau		President Kumba Ialá dismisses Prime Minister Caetano N'Tchama. Foreign Minister Faustino Fudut Imbali is designated for the post. Faustino Fudut Imbali is from the Social Democratic United Party (PUSD), 42 ans, sociologist.
20 Tunisia		1956 : Tunisia Became Independent. Tunisia became independent under a protocol signed with France. A central figure of Tunisia's nationalist movement was Habib Bourguiba, who became the first president of Tunisia in 1957.
20 Romania		Former prime minister (1979-82) Ilie Verdet dies. Ilie Verdet, a former Romanian prime minister under communist-era dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Verdet held senior posts under Ceausescu including deputy premier from 1966-74 and prime minister from 1980-1982, but defected to the revolutionaries who forced the dictator's ouster and execution in December 1989. After the storming of the communist party's Bucharest headquarters, he initially declared himself head of a national salvation government, but that lasted only 20 minutes until young protestors forced him to leave the building. In November 1990, he founded the Socialist Party of Labor (PSM), but the party was labeled as a successor to the communist party and never took off electorally.
20 New Caledonia		Local government President Jean Lèques resigned. Lèques became New Caledonia's first President after the French territory set up its own territorial government for the first time in 1999. The 54-member Congress is to meet on April 3 in extraordinary session with one item on the agenda : the election of a new President.
20 Argentina	Domingo Cavallo	Domingo Cavallo is sworn in as economy minister and Ramón Mestre as interior minister. Domingo Cavallo was born on 21 of July 1946 in San Francisco, Province of Córdoba. PhD in economics, from Harvard University. Member of the Bloque Acción por la República (Block of Action for the republic). National P.M for Córdoba (1987-1989). National M.P for the city of Buenos Aires (1998-2002). Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Cult of the Argentine Repúblic (1989-1991). Minister of the Economy and Public Works and Services (1991-1996).
21 Pakistan		Local bodies elections. Voting was taking place in 20 districts in the provinces of Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh and the Northwest Frontier Province some 62,000 candidates were vying for 30,639 seats on municipal and district councils. Results from voting will be announced within a week.
21 China (Hong Kong)		China named vice foreign minister Ji Peiding as its top foreign ministry official in Hong Kong, the first change in the post since the return to Chinese rule in mid-1997. Ji replaces Ma Yuzhen, a former ambassador to London. Ji, who will head the Office of Special Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong, is an Africa specialist and was ambassador to Namibia in 1990-1993 and has worked in embassies in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
21 Namibia		1990 - Namibia Gained Independence. Under a 1988 agreement brokered by the United States, the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola was linked with the implementation of the UN plan in Namibia. UN-supervised elections were held in 1989; SWAPO won a majority of the parliamentary seats, and party leader Sam Nujoma was elected president. A constitution was adopted in February 1990, and Namibia became independent on March 21, 1990.
22 Canada (Ontario)		Provincial byelection in Parry-Sound Muskoka. Results : Progressive Conservative candidate Norm Miller has won the Ontario provincial by-election in Parry Sound-Muskoka. Miller is the youngest son of the late Frank Miller, who was briefly Premier in 1985. The seat was vacated when Deputy Premier Ernie Eves, MPP since 1981, resigned to take a job with an investment bank.
22 Antigua and Barbuda		Election of the Council election for 5 of 9 seats in Barbuda. Results : not available
22 Benin		Runoff of the presidential election. Results : More than 55 percent of voters cast ballots in Benin's presidential runoff to choose between the incumbent Mathieu Kerekou and his former minister of state, Bruno Amoussou. Mathieu Kerekou is born on September 2, 1933 in Kouarfa in Northern Benin.Studies at the the school for troops'children in Kati, Mali, and in Saint-Louis, Sénégal, then he volunteered in the French army and went on trainings in Fréjus, Montpellier and to the Headquarters' school in Paris. President elected by popular 3 and 18 March 1996.
22 Cape Verde		New President of the Repúblic, Pedro Pires is sworn in. Chief Commander Pedro Pires belongs to the generation of Cape-Verdian patriots who were entrusted with the historical duty of leading the movement for liberation of the Nation.He was one of the closest comrade in the struggle of Amilcar Cabral's and one of the main leader of the armed movement for national liberation. He is a distinguished statesman, praised in his own country and also in the international field. He was born on the island do Fogo (Fire Island) on April 29,1934. In S. Filipe, on his homeland, he attended comprehensive school and High school in Praia and in S. Vicente. In 1956 he left for Portugal where he attended the Science Faculty in Lisbon. Then, he went on military compulsory action as an officer of the Portuguese Air Force, where he shared with roommates who were other nationalists, as well as comrades from former Portuguese Colonies.He was the first premier of his country from 8 of July 1975 to 4 of April 1991.
22 New Zealand		Dame Silvia Cartwright, the chief justice, becomes acting governor-general after the term of Sir Michael Hardie Boys expired. Dame Silvia Cartwright has had a distinguished career as a lawyer and jurist, and as an advocate for women and women's rights. Was educated in Dunedin, gaining her LLB from Otago University in 1967. In 1989, she was appointed Chief District Court Judge, the first women to hold the position, and in 1993, she became the first woman to be appointed to the High Court. Since 1993, she has been a member of the United Nations committee monitoring compliance with the United Nations Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), contributing particularly to the drafting of one of theConvention's optional protocols, which defines a complaint mechanism. In 1995, chaired a Gender Equity Education Programme for all New Zealand judges with the then Chief Justice. Dame Silvia will be New Zealand's 18th Governor-General, and the second woman to hold the office in New Zealand.
22 League of Arab States		1945 : The League of Arab States in Cairo Formed. Seven countries formed the League of Arab States in Cairo. The League is a regional organization that seeks to promote closer ties among member-states and coordinate their economic, cultural, and security plans. 22 members compose the League today. The headquarters of the League are located in Cairo.
23/24 U. E.		Sweden hosts extraordinary EU council Sweden, as European Union president for the first half of 2001, inherits one of the most potentially divisive issues in the recent history of the organization -the "Super State." The term refers to the two-tier EU supported mainly by Germany and France. Along with Britain, Finland, Ireland and Spain, Sweden plans to block changes to the Amsterdam Treaty that would allow some countries to forge a European government of six or so countries. The "elite" would leave the remaining member countries to join as and when they wish. EU leaders meeting in Nice in December prepared the way for enlargement, but failed to forge compromises on how the vote of each member country -new and old -would be weighted. In other business, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited, and is expected to make a presentation about his proposal to develop a Russia-Europe missile shield to counter the version sought by the George W. Bush administration in the United States.
23/28 Amman Arab Summit		Amman Arab Summit The industry, trade and economy ministers of the Arab world meet Mar. 23-24 to draw up what they describe as an "ambitious" economic cooperation plan for discussion at the Arab summit on Mar. 27-28. It includes proposals for a free trade zone and increased inter-Arab investment and joint infrastructure projects. A meeting of Arab foreign ministers follows on Mar. 25-26 to set up the political agenda for the summit. Their proposals revolve around aid for the Palestinians, a united front against Israel and the reintegration of Iraq.