tempo

ALSO SEE

Chiefs of State and Heads of Government Foreign Affairs International Organizations

LETTER N° 34

From 20 to 26 of August

20
Hungary

National holiday : St. Stephen's Day (Commemorates the coronation of King Stephen in 1000 AD)

Saint Stephen is the spiritual patron of Hungary. Holiday: Sept. 2 (in Hungary, Aug. 20).

20
Mexico

Chiapas state, Mexico, State elections. Results with 96.5 percent the ballot counted, Pablo Salazar an independent candidate heading an eight-party alliance had 52.71 % of the vote, compared to 46.89 % for Sen. Sami David of the PRI thus ending the party's 71-year grip on the region, according to the state Electoral Board. Turn out : 50%.

21
St Vincent and the Grenadines

Annual party convention in the St. Vincent capital, Kingstown. Finance Minister, Arnhim Eustace, took over the reigns as president of the governing New Democratic Party. He succeeded the party's only other president, Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell.

21
Republic of Congo

President Laurent Kabila, has inaugurated a transitional parliament, the first legislative body since he took power in May 1997. Mr Kabila officially transferred legislative power to the unelected 300-member assembly. A government-formed committee selected 240 deputies for the new parliament and President Kabila himself named the remaining 60.

21
Somalia

Former schoolteacher and translator Abdallah Deerow Isaaq was elected speaker of Somalia's newborn parliament with a large majority of votes from deputies chosen a week earlier to sit in the national assembly. Deerow won 156 votes, whereas two competing candidates won 22 and 14 votes.

22
Azerbaijan

The first democratically-elected president of Azerbaijan (1992-193), Abdulfaz Elchibey, has died in Turkey of prostate cancer.

22
Indonesia

A new cabinet is announced, including Prijadi Praptosuhardjo as finance minister, to take office on August 26.

24
Ukraine

National holiday : Independence Day

The Ukrainian parliament passed a declaration of sovereignty in July, 1990, and in 24 Aug., 1991, declared Ukraine independent of the Soviet Union. Ukraine became a charter member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Dec., 1991. Leonid Kravchuk, a former Communist turned nationalist, became Ukraine's first president.

25
Somalia

Somalia's new parliament elected veteran politician Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president, the country's first since it collapsed into anarchy nine years ago. Abdiqassim Salad, 58, served as deputy prime minister and interior minister in the government of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre overthrown in 1991.

26
Algéria

President Abdel Azziz Bouteflika dismissed Prime Minister Ahmed Benbitour. One of his close relations, M.Ali Benflis was immediately chosen to succeed the former minister. There has been slight changes in the Cabinet. All the details will be available in our next news- letter. President Bouteflika also named Mr.Abdel Azziz Belkhadem, a supporter of an islamic state, as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

20 Hungary		National holiday : St. Stephen's Day (Commemorates the coronation of King Stephen in 1000 AD) Saint Stephen is the spiritual patron of Hungary. Holiday: Sept. 2 (in Hungary, Aug. 20).
20 Mexico		Chiapas state, Mexico, State elections. Results with 96.5 percent the ballot counted, Pablo Salazar an independent candidate heading an eight-party alliance had 52.71 % of the vote, compared to 46.89 % for Sen. Sami David of the PRI thus ending the party's 71-year grip on the region, according to the state Electoral Board. Turn out : 50%.
21 St Vincent and the Grenadines		Annual party convention in the St. Vincent capital, Kingstown. Finance Minister, Arnhim Eustace, took over the reigns as president of the governing New Democratic Party. He succeeded the party's only other president, Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell.
21 Republic of Congo		President Laurent Kabila, has inaugurated a transitional parliament, the first legislative body since he took power in May 1997. Mr Kabila officially transferred legislative power to the unelected 300-member assembly. A government-formed committee selected 240 deputies for the new parliament and President Kabila himself named the remaining 60.
21 Somalia		Former schoolteacher and translator Abdallah Deerow Isaaq was elected speaker of Somalia's newborn parliament with a large majority of votes from deputies chosen a week earlier to sit in the national assembly. Deerow won 156 votes, whereas two competing candidates won 22 and 14 votes.
22 Azerbaijan		The first democratically-elected president of Azerbaijan (1992-193), Abdulfaz Elchibey, has died in Turkey of prostate cancer.
22 Indonesia		A new cabinet is announced, including Prijadi Praptosuhardjo as finance minister, to take office on August 26.
24 Ukraine		National holiday : Independence Day The Ukrainian parliament passed a declaration of sovereignty in July, 1990, and in 24 Aug., 1991, declared Ukraine independent of the Soviet Union. Ukraine became a charter member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Dec., 1991. Leonid Kravchuk, a former Communist turned nationalist, became Ukraine's first president.
25 Somalia		Somalia's new parliament elected veteran politician Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president, the country's first since it collapsed into anarchy nine years ago. Abdiqassim Salad, 58, served as deputy prime minister and interior minister in the government of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre overthrown in 1991.
26 Algéria		President Abdel Azziz Bouteflika dismissed Prime Minister Ahmed Benbitour. One of his close relations, M.Ali Benflis was immediately chosen to succeed the former minister. There has been slight changes in the Cabinet. All the details will be available in our next news- letter. President Bouteflika also named Mr.Abdel Azziz Belkhadem, a supporter of an islamic state, as Minister of Foreign Affairs.