Rulers

January 2023

1

Brazil: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is sworn in as president. Geraldo Alckmin Filho becomes vice president, Mauro Vieira foreign minister, José Múcio Monteiro Filho defense minister, and Fernando Haddad finance minister. New governors take office as follows: Clécio Luís Vilhena Vieira (Amapá), Jerônimo Rodrigues Souza (Bahia), Elmano de Freitas da Costa (Ceará), Eduardo Correa Riedel (Mato Grosso do Sul), Raquel Teixeira Lyra Lucena (Pernambuco), Rafael Tajra Fonteles (Piauí), Eduardo Figueiredo Cavalheiro Leite (Rio Grande do Sul), Jorginho dos Santos Mello (Santa Catarina), Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas (São Paulo), and Fábio Cruz Mitidieri (Sergipe).

C.L.V. Vieira

Souza

da Costa

Riedel

Lucena

Fonteles

Leite

Mello

T.G. de Freitas

Mitidieri
North Korea: Kang Sun Nam is appointed defense minister (replacing Ri Yong Gil, who took office at an unknown date in 2021) and Ri Thae Sop minister of national security.

Young
Pitcairn Island: Simon Young takes office as mayor.
Switzerland: Alain Berset takes office as president. Jean-Pierre Gallati becomes Landammann of Aargau, Didier Castella president of the Council of State of Fribourg, Peter Peyer president of the government of Graubünden, Jacques Gerber president of the government of Jura, Dino Tamagni president of the government of Schaffhausen, Brigit Wyss Landammann of Solothurn, and Silvia Thalmann-Gut Landammann of Zug.

Gallati

Castella

Peyer

Gerber

Tamagni

Wyss

Thalmann-Gut

2


Hobbs

Lombardo
United States: Katie Hobbs is sworn in as governor of Arizona, Joe Lombardo as governor of Nevada, Craig Greenberg as mayor of Louisville, and Brett P. Smiley as mayor of Providence.
United States: Former governor of Rhode Island (1995-2003) Lincoln C. Almond dies.

3

Bulgaria: The party We Continue the Change, having earlier designated Nikolay Denkov as its proposed prime minister, receives a mandate to form a government. It fails, however, and returns the mandate on January 9. On January 16 the Bulgarian Socialist Party is given the mandate, but returns it on January 24. President Rumen Radev then announces that he will dissolve parliament on February 3 and that new elections will take place on April 2.
Jordan: Former prime minister (1993-95, 1997-98) and foreign minister (1993-95) Abdul Salam al-Majali dies.

Palik
Federated States of Micronesia: In the gubernatorial runoff in Kosrae, Tulensa W. Palik wins 59.2% of the vote and Carson K. Sigrah 40.8%. Palik is sworn in on January 10.

4

Montenegro: Prime minister-designate Miodrag Lekic fails to form a government.

5

Russia: Former prime minister of Dagestan (2010-13) Magomed Abdulayev dies.
Sierra Leone: Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura is appointed finance minister.

Healey

Pillen
United States: Maura Healey is sworn in as governor of Massachusetts and Jim Pillen as governor of Nebraska.

6

Latvia: Former chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1985-88) and first secretary of the Communist Party (1988-90) of the Latvian S.S.R. Janis Vagris dies.
United States: Kirk Watson is sworn in as mayor of Austin.

Gil
Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro appoints Yván Gil Pinto as foreign minister.

8

Benin: In parliamentary elections, the Progressive Union for Renewal wins 37.6% of the vote (53 of 109 seats), the Republican Bloc 29.2% (28), and The Democrats 24.2% (28). Turnout is 38.7%.

Ferreira
Brazil: The governor of Distrito Federal, Ibaneis Rocha Barros Júnior, is suspended for 90 days. The vice governor, Celina Leão Hizim Ferreira, becomes acting governor.
India: Former governor of West Bengal (2014-19), Bihar (2014-15, 2017), Meghalaya (2015), and Mizoram (2015) Keshari Nath Tripathi dies.

9

Andorra: Finance Minister Eric Jover resigns. Cèsar Marquina is named to replace him (sworn in January 11).
Armenia: Vahe Ghazaryan is appointed interior minister.
Gabon: President Ali Bongo Ondimba names Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda as vice president and Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze as prime minister. A new cabinet is named with no changes in key portfolios. Bilie-By-Nze takes office January 10. On January 24 his government wins a confidence vote in parliament (122-12).

Chieng

Palacios
Federated States of Micronesia: Charles S. Chieng is sworn in as governor of Yap.
Northern Mariana Islands: Arnold Palacios is sworn in as governor.
Philippines: Carlito Galvez is named defense secretary.

Kotek
United States: Tina Kotek is sworn in as governor of Oregon.

10

Greece: Former king (1964-73) Konstantinos II dies.
Nepal: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal wins a confidence vote in parliament (268-2).
Peru: The government of Prime Minister Alberto Otárola wins a confidence vote in parliament (73-43).

Huckabee S.
United States: Sarah Huckabee Sanders is sworn in as governor of Arkansas.

11

Azerbaijan: Sergey Ghazaryan is appointed foreign minister of Artsakh.
Guadeloupe: Xavier Lefort is appointed as prefect.
Indonesia: Muhammad Ridwan Rumasukun is appointed as acting governor of Papua, following the January 10 arrest of Governor Lukas Enembe.
Russia: Murtaza Rakhimov, former chairman of the Supreme Council (1990-93) and president (1993-2010) of Bashkortostan, dies.
Uzbekistan: Former foreign minister (1985-86), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1986-88), and first secretary of the Communist Party (1988-89) of the Uzbek S.S.R. Rafik Nishanov dies.

12


Naqvi
Pakistan: The chief minister of Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, wins a confidence vote (186 votes, opposition boycotting) in the provincial assembly. He then advises Governor Baligh Ur Rehman to dissolve the assembly. On January 14 the assembly stands dissolved and the governor asks Elahi and the leader of the opposition, Hamza Shahbaz, to submit a joint proposal for the appointment of a caretaker chief minister by January 17. No consensus being reached by that date, the governor asks the speaker of the assembly to form a parliamentary committee to pick a name within three days. On January 20 the committee, having failed to reach a consensus, sends the names of 4 nominees - Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Naveed Akram Cheema, Ahad Cheema, and Mohsin Naqvi - to the Election Commission of Pakistan for a decision. On January 22 Naqvi is appointed by the commission and sworn in.

13

Congo (Kinshasa): The government adopts a 40th extension of the state of siege in Ituri and Nord-Kivu.
France: Franck Leroy is elected president of the Regional Council of Grand Est, with 96 votes, against 34 for Laurent Jacobelli.
Peru: In a cabinet reshuffle, Vicente Romero is appointed and sworn in as interior minister.
Sri Lanka: Former chief minister of Western province (2000-04, 2004-05, 2005-09) and governor of Northern province (2016-19) and Central province (2018) Reginald Cooray dies.

14


Pillai
Canada: Ranj Pillai is sworn in as premier of Yukon.
Canada: Former lieutenant governor of Ontario (2007-14) David Onley dies.
Czech Republic: In the first round of presidential elections held January 13-14, Petr Pavel wins 35.4% of the vote, former prime minister Andrej Babis 35.0%, Danuse Nerudová 13.9%, and Pavel Fischer 6.8%; turnout is 68.2%. The runoff is held January 27-28, Pavel winning 58.3% of the vote and Babis 41.7%; turnout is 70.2%. Pavel will take office on March 9.

15

Sweden: Former governor of Västerbotten (1978-91) Sven Johansson dies.

16

China: Zhao Gang is elected governor of Shaanxi and Jin Xiangjun governor of Shanxi.
Germany: Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns. On January 17 Boris Pistorius is designated to succeed her; he is appointed and sworn in on January 19.

17


Paudyal
Nepal: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expands his cabinet, Bimala Rai Paudyal being sworn in as foreign minister and Hari Prasad Upreti as defense minister.
Slovakia: Prime Minister Eduard Heger announces that he is unable to secure a new majority in parliament and he asks for early parliamentary elections. In a constitutional referendum held on January 21, 98.4% of the vote is in favour of allowing 76 (of 150) MPs to call an early election, but the referendum is declared invalid because the turnout (27.3%) is below the required 50%. On January 25 the parliament amends the constitution to allow early elections to be called by 90 MPs. This is made use of on January 31, when 92 MPs approve elections on September 30.

Shapiro
United States: Josh Shapiro is sworn in as governor of Pennsylvania.
Vietnam: President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigns. On January 18 the National Assembly approves the resignation and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan becomes acting president.

18

Antigua and Barbuda: In parliamentary elections, the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party wins 47.1% of the vote (9 of 17 seats), the United Progressive Party 45.2% (6), the Barbuda People's Movement 1.5% (1), and independents 5.2% (1). Turnout is 70.3%. On January 19 Gaston Browne is again sworn in as prime minister. He also remains finance minister and E.P. Chet Greene foreign minister.
Czech Republic: Prime Minister Petr Fiala's government survives a no-confidence vote in parliament (rejected 102-81).
Israel: The Supreme Court invalidates the appointment of Aryeh Deri as interior minister. On January 22 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses Deri. On January 24 Michael Malkieli becomes acting interior minister.
New Caledonia: Louis Le Franc is appointed as high commissioner.

Azam Khan
Pakistan: The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Haji Ghulam Ali, dissolves the provincial assembly on the advice of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who is to stay in office until the appointment of a caretaker chief minister. On January 20 the government and opposition jointly nominate Azam Khan for this post. On January 21 he is appointed by the governor and sworn in.
Ukraine: Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky is killed in a helicopter crash. Ihor Klymenko is appointed as acting minister.

Moore
United States: Wes Moore is sworn in as governor of Maryland.

19

Lebanon: Parliament fails for the 11th time to elect a president, Michel Moawad receiving 34 votes, with 37 blank votes.

Hipkins
New Zealand: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces her resignation, effective by early February. Already on January 22 Chris Hipkins is elected as new Labour Party leader; he is sworn in as prime minister on January 25. On January 31 Hipkins announces his cabinet with himself as national security minister, Andrew Little as defence minister, and Barbara Edmonds as internal affairs minister; Nanaia Mahuta remains foreign minister and Grant Robertson finance minister.
Papua New Guinea: Sir Bob Dadae is reelected as governor-general, receiving 71 votes against 33 for Winnie Kiap in a second round of voting (first round: Dadae 69, Kiap 31, Stephen Pokawin 3).

Chen
Taiwan: The cabinet of Premier Su Tseng-chang resigns ahead of a reshuffle. On January 25 Chen Chien-jen is announced as new premier. On January 27 Chuang Tsui-yun is designated as finance minister and on January 28 Lin Yu-chang as interior minister, while on January 29 the retention of Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng is announced. The new government is sworn in on January 31.

20

Gabon: Foreign Minister Michaël Moussa Adamo dies.
Trinidad and Tobago: The Electoral College (members of the House of Representatives and Senate) elects Christine Kangaloo (People's National Movement) as president. She receives 48 votes, against 22 for Israel Khan (nominee of the United National Congress).
Western Sahara: Ibrahim Ghali is reelected president of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic by the Polisario Front congress, winning 1,253 votes against 563 for Bashir Mustafa.

22

India: Former governor of Tripura (1995-2000) Siddheshwar Prasad dies.
Japan: In gubernatorial elections in Yamanashi, incumbent Kotaro Nagasaki wins 61.3% of the vote and Naoki Shimura 30.4%. Turnout is 52.3%.

23

Guatemala: Former president (2008-12) Álvaro Colom Caballeros dies.
Kuwait: The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah resigns. The emir accepts the resignation on January 26.

Pozdnyakov
Russia: The state assembly of Mordovia approves Dmitry Pozdnyakov as prime minister.

25


Konakovic
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Prime Minister Borjana Kristo's government is approved by parliament (23-19). It includes Elmedin Konakovic as foreign minister, Zukan Helez as defense minister, Nenad Nesic as security minister, and Zoran Tegeltija as finance minister.

26

Tokelau: In parliamentary elections, 20 nonpartisan members are elected.

27

Austria: Former Landeshauptmann of Vorarlberg (1987-97) Martin Purtscher dies.
Greece: The government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis survives a no-confidence vote in parliament (rejected 156-143).
Nepal: Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is disqualified by the Supreme Court and resigns. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal takes over the portfolio.
Peru: President Dina Boluarte asks parliament to bring forward the next general elections to December 2023. On January 28 parliament rejects the proposal (65-45).

28

Czech Republic: Former foreign minister (1997-98) Jaroslav Sedivý dies.

29

Austria: In state elections in Niederösterreich, the Austrian People's Party wins 39.9% of the vote (23 of 56 seats), the Freedom Party 24.2% (14), the Social Democratic Party 20.7% (12), the Greens 7.6% (4), and New Austria 6.7% (3). Turnout is 71.5%.
Benin: Former foreign minister (1980-82) Simon Ifede Ogouma dies.

Budaiwi
Gulf Cooperation Council: Jassim Muhammad al-Budaiwi (Kuwait) is appointed secretary-general, effective February 1.

30

Equatorial Guinea: The government of Prime Minister Francisco Pascual Obama Asue resigns. On January 31 Manuela Roka Botey is appointed as prime minister.
Laos: In a cabinet reshuffle, Santiphab Phomvihane is appointed finance minister.
Mexico: Former governor of Sinaloa (2005-10) Jesús Aguilar Padilla dies.
United States: Ann McLaughlin Korologos, former labor secretary (1987-89), dies.

31

Malawi: In a cabinet reshuffle, Harry Mkandawire is appointed as defense minister and Ken Zikhale Ng'oma as homeland security minister.