Index Ba

B. Ba

Ba, Ousmane (b. 1919, Segou, French Sudan [now Mali] - d. Oct. 24, 1999), foreign minister of Mali (1964-68).

Ba Maw (b. Feb. 8, 1893, Maubin, Burma [now Myanmar] - d. May 29, 1977, Rangoon [now Yangôn]), Burmese politician. He first came to prominence in 1931 as defense lawyer for the Burmese rebel leader Saya San in the colonial courts. He became a prominent opponent of Britain's plan to separate Burma from India, since he believed that a separate Burma would receive a much smaller measure of self-rule than India as a result, but he reversed his position in 1934, agreeing to support the pro-separationists in a coalition government. That year he was made minister of education. In 1936 he founded the Sinyetha (Poor Man's) Party. When the new constitution, providing for separation of Burma from India, went into effect on April 1, 1937, he became the first premier. He attended the coronation of King George VI and held office until he was defeated by a coalition in February 1939. After his defeat, Ba Maw allied with other Burmese leaders to form the Freedom Bloc, which opposed Burma's participation with the Allies in World War II. In August 1940 he was arrested by the British for sedition and remained in prison until the Japanese invasion in 1942. During the Japanese occupation, he was adipati (head of state) of a theoretically independent Burma (1943-45), although the country was actually a Japanese satellite. He fled to Japan when the Allies reentered Burma. Eventually captured, he was imprisoned by the Americans in Sugawo prison in Tokyo from December 1945 to July 1946. Returning to Burma after his release, he founded the Mahabama (Greater Burma) Party but this had little success. He was again jailed from August to December 1947 on suspicion of complicity in the assassinations of Aung San and other leading ministers in July 1947.

Ba Swe (b. Oct. 7, 1915, Onbinkwin, Burma - d. 1987), prime minister of Burma (1956-57).

Baah

Baba

Baah, Kwame R.M. (b. 1938), foreign minister of Ghana (1972-75).

Baal, Jan van (b. Nov. 25, 1909, Scheveningen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands - d. Aug. 9, 1992, Doorn, Utrecht, Netherlands), governor of Netherlands New Guinea (1953-58).

Baba, Tupeni (Labaivalu), foreign minister of Fiji (1999-2000).

Babac, Branko (b. March 28, 1939, Zara, Italy [now Zadar, Croatia]), justice minister of Croatia (1990-91).

Babacan

Babacan, Ali (b. 1967, Ankara, Turkey), foreign minister of Turkey (2007- ).

Babamine, Cheikh Sid'Ahmed Ould (b. 1946, Tichitt, Mauritania), interior minister (1980) and foreign minister (1984) of Mauritania. Between 1985 and 2005 he was ambassador to Nigeria, Benin, Algeria, China, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

Babangida

Babangida, Ibrahim (Badamasi) (b. Aug. 17, 1941, Minna, Niger state, Nigeria), military leader of Nigeria (1985-93). After holding various military commands, in 1975 he was sworn in as a member of Murtala Mohammed's Supreme Military Council (SMC). He played a vital role in suppressing the attempted coup of Feb. 13, 1976, when, unarmed, he walked into the rebel-held radio station. During the 30-month civil war he distinguished himself as an able frontline soldier. Babangida was generally credited with masterminding the coup that overthrew Pres. Alhaji Shehu Shagari at the end of 1983, and he supported Muhammadu Buhari as the new head of state. Under Buhari he was chief of army staff and a member of the SMC. Babangida took power in Nigeria's sixth military coup, on Aug. 27, 1985. He was a very different soldier from the austere and remote Buhari. Major General Babangida was a tough character, with a reputation for personal courage and decisiveness, who enjoyed the respect and loyalty of the soldiers who were the basis of his power. He made a virtual clean sweep of the old faces, retaining only six of Buhari's ministers. He told his new ministers that they had been selected on their merits and not for regional or tribal reasons and stated that he intended to run "a government of action committed to a program with clear economic and social goals." He insisted that it had to be an open government; ministers did not know all the answers, and they should be ready to consult with others. He was also determined to defend human rights, and one of his first actions was to release political detainees. He was OAU chairman in 1991-92. He allowed presidential elections in 1993, but annulled the results. He stepped down and handed power over to a nonelected interim government.

Babauta

Babauta, Juan N(ekai) (b. Sept. 7, 1953, Tanapag, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands), governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (2002-06).

Babel, Jean (Baptiste) (b. Nov. 6, 1921, Petit-Lancy, Genève, Switzerland - d. Nov. 20, 2005, Onex, Genève), president of the Council of State of Genève (1969-70, 1975-76).

Babenko, Vladimir (Dmitriyevich) (b. Jan. 20, 1931 - d. April 24, 1996), head of the administration of Tambov oblast (1991-95).

Babic

Babich

Babic, Milan (b. Feb. 26, 1956, Kukar village, Sinj municipality, Croatia - d. March 5, 2006, The Hague, Netherlands), president (1991-92) and prime minister (1995) of Krajina. On June 29, 2004, he was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for inflaming an ethnic cleansing campaign of "ruthlessness and savagery." He committed suicide in his cell.

Babich, Mikhail (Viktorovich) (b. May 12, 1969, Moscow), prime minister of Chechnya (2002-03).

Babiuch

Babiuch, Edward (b. Dec. 28, 1927, Grabocin village, Bedzin county, Slaskie województwo, Poland), prime minister of Poland (1980).

Babu, Sheikh Abdulrahman Muhammad, Arabic Shaykh `Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Babu (b. Sept. 22, 1924, Zanzibar - d. Aug. 5, 1996, London), foreign minister of Zanzibar (1964).

Baca Calderón, Esteban (b. May 6, 1876, Real de Acuitapilco, Santa María del Oro municipality, Nayarit, Mexico - d. March 29, 1957, Mexico City), interim governor of Nayarit (1928-29).

Bacar

Bacar, Mohamed (b. May 5, 1962, Barakani, Anjouan, Comoros), president of Anjouan (2001-07, 2007-08).

Baccar, Taoufik (b. July 4, 1950, Chenini village, southern Tunisia), finance minister of Tunisia (1999-2004). He was a senior civil servant at the planning and finance ministry from 1982 until his appointment as minister for economic development in 1995. In 2004 he became head of the central bank.

Bacciocchi

H. Baccouche

Bacciocchi, Antonello (b. Nov. 2, 1957, San Marino), captain-regent of San Marino (1999, 2005-06).

Baccouche, Hédi, Arabic al-Hadi al-Bakkush (b. Jan. 15, 1930, Hammam-Sousse, Tunisia), prime minister of Tunisia (1987-89). He was also social affairs minister (1987).

Baccouche, Slaheddine (b. Aug. 14, 1883 - d. Dec. 24, 1959), prime minister of Tunisia (1943-47, 1952-54).

Bach, Jacques (Frédéric), administrator-superior of Wallis and Futuna (1968-71).

Bachelet

Bachelet (Jeria), (Verónica) Michelle (b. Sept. 29, 1951, Santiago, Chile), president of Chile (2006- ). She was imprisoned briefly after the coup of 1973 that put Gen. Augusto Pinochet in power, then went into exile, first to Australia and then to East Germany, until she returned to Chile in 1980 to do political underground work for the Socialist Party. Her father, Gen. Alberto Bachelet, who was the head of the air forces during Salvador Allende's government, died in 1974 while in the Pinochet regime's custody. She became health minister (2000-02) and defense minister (2002-04) and was the successful candidate of the centre-left Concertación coalition in the December 2005-January 2006 presidential election.

Backis, Stasys (Antanas) (b. Feb. 10, 1906, Joniskelis, Russia [now in Lithuania] - d. Nov. 10, 1999, Vilnius, Lithuania), head of the Lithuanian diplomatic service in exile (1983-91).

Baco de la Chapelle, René Gaston (b. April 28, 1751, Nantes [now in Loire-Atlantique département], France - d. Dec. 30, 1800), mayor of Nantes (1792-93) and co-agent of Guadeloupe (1799-1800).

Bacon

Bacon, Jim, byname of James Alexander Bacon (b. May 15, 1950, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - d. June 20, 2004, Hobart, Tasmania), premier of Tasmania (1998-2004).

Badal

Badal, Parkash Singh (b. Dec. 8, 1927, Abul Khurana village, Faridkot district, Punjab, India), chief minister of Punjab (1970-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007- ). His active participation in political life goes back to the days before independence. He joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party in 1947. He was elected to the Punjab State Assembly for the first time in 1957, again in the mid-term poll of 1969, and again in 1972. In 1969 he was taken into the cabinet as development minister. After his first term as chief minister (1970-71), he was leader of the opposition in the Assembly from 1972 to July 1975. From July 9, 1975, to Jan. 19, 1977, he was detained during the state of emergency. In March 1977, he was elected to the Indian parliament from Faridkot. He was union minister for agriculture and irrigation from March 26 to June 17, 1977, then became chief minister of Punjab again. In 1980 and 1985 he was again elected to the State Assembly, where he was leader of the opposition. After the February 1997 state election, he became chief minister a third time, in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After leading his alliance to a stunning victory in the 2007 elections, he took over as chief minister for a record fourth time at the head of another SAD-BJP coalition ministry. He inducted four of his relatives into the ministry: his son-in-law Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir's brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia, and another close relative, Janmeja Singh Sekhon.

Badawi Pasha, Abdelhamid, foreign minister of Egypt (1945-46). He was also a judge at the International Court of Justice in 1946-65.

Baden

Baden, Max(imilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm) Prinz von (b. July 10, 1867, Baden-Baden, Baden [Germany] - d. Nov. 6, 1929, Schloss Salem, Baden, Germany), chancellor of Germany (1918). The son of Prince Wilhelm of Baden (brother of Grand Duke Friedrich I), Max in 1907 became heir presumptive to the grand duchy because his cousin Grand Duke Friedrich II (d. 1928) had no children. Entering politics, he became president of the upper chamber of the Baden Diet in 1910. In the first years of World War I he devoted himself to the Red Cross and specialized in the care of prisoners of war. It was he who, in 1915, suggested the German-Russian prisoners of war conference. He was a moderating influence on the policy of the annexationists in Germany, but he was not consulted until Oct. 3, 1918, when Germany was on the verge of collapse and he was made chancellor of the empire and prime minister of Prussia in succession to Georg Hertling. He was appointed because his humanitarian reputation made the emperor Wilhelm II think him capable of bringing the war expeditiously to an end. He hastily superintended the constitutional changes whereby a genuine parliamentary system was at last brought into being in Germany, began negotiations for an armistice, and secured the dismissal of Army Chief of Staff Erich Ludendorff - but too late to save the monarchy. When Wilhelm II would give no definite answer to Max's demands that he should abdicate in the face of the danger of Communist revolution, Max finally himself announced the abdication of the emperor on Nov. 9, 1918. He then resigned the chancellery to the leader of the Majority Social Democratic Party, Friedrich Ebert. He was asked by Ebert to remain as regent, but refused. He also renounced all claim to the throne of Baden.

Badens, Pierre de (b. Jan. 3, 1847, Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne, France - d. [drowned] July 10, 1897, Lo river, near Ha Giang, northern Tonkin [now in Vietnam]), provisional resident-general of Cambodia (1885-86).

Badnarik

Badnarik, Michael (J.) (b. Aug. 1, 1954, Hammond, Ind.), U.S. Libertarian Party presidential candidate (2004).

Badoglio

Badoglio, Pietro, (from 1929) marchese del Sabotino, (from 1936) duca di Addis Abeba (b. Sept. 28, 1871, Grazzano Monferrato [now Grazzano Badoglio], Piemonte, Italy - d. Oct. 31, 1956, Grazzano Badoglio), prime minister of Italy (1943-44). He entered the Italian Army in 1890 as an artillery officer and saw hard service in the East African campaign of 1896 in which the Ethiopians defeated the Italians. He also fought in the Libyan campaign of 1911-12. In World War I he distinguished himself by directing the capture of Monte Sabotino (Aug. 6, 1916); later he conducted the armistice talks for the Italians. He was chief of the Italian general staff in 1919-21. Initially lukewarm to Benito Mussolini, he served briefly as ambassador to Brazil (1924-25) before Mussolini named him chief of staff once again on May 4, 1925. He was made a field marshal on May 26, 1926. From 1929 to 1933 he was governor of Tripolitania. He was placed in command of the Italian forces in Ethiopia on Nov. 15, 1935, conducted the operations against the poorly armed Ethiopians with ruthless competence, and in May 1936 he captured Addis Ababa, where he remained for a short time as viceroy. During 1940 he differed with Mussolini over Italy's preparations for entering World War II. On Dec. 4, 1940, in the midst of Italy's disastrous campaign in Greece, he resigned as chief of staff and disavowed responsibility for Mussolini's acts. Upon Mussolini's downfall (July 25, 1943), which he had been instrumental in organizing, Badoglio became prime minister; he arranged for an armistice with the Allies on September 3. On September 8 Italy's unconditional surrender to the Allies was announced. On October 13 Italy declared war on Nazi Germany. In June 1944 he resigned to allow the formation of a new cabinet in liberated Rome.

Badr

Badr, Muhammad (al-Mansur Billah) al- (b. Feb. 25, 1929, Hajjah, northwest Yemen - d. Aug. 6, 1996, London), king of Yemen (1962). After succeeding to the throne, he was almost immediately overthrown during an Egyptian-backed coup that established a republic. He then fled to Mabyan (near Hajjah) to launch a rebellion to restore the monarchy, and much of the country remained under royalist control for years. He left his headquarters and installed his government in at-Ta´if, Saudi Arabia, in 1967. The civil war ended in 1970; following the end of Saudi Arabia's support and its recognition of the republican government on July 23 that year he left Saudi Arabia and went into exile to England.

A. Badran

Badran, Adnan (b. Dec. 15, 1935, Jerash, Jordan), prime minister and defense minister of Jordan (2005); brother of Mudar Badran.

Badran, (Seyyid) Mudar (Muhammad) (b. 1934, Jerash, Jordan), prime minister (1976-79, 1980-84, 1989-91), foreign minister (1976-79), and defense minister (1976-79, 1980-84, 1989) of Jordan.

Badran, Nuri al- (b. 1943, Basra), interior minister of Iraq (2003-04). He was Iraq's ambassador to Russia before breaking with Pres. Saddam Hussein in 1990 over the invasion of Kuwait. After fleeing Iraq he joined the exiled opposition group Iraqi National Accord. He returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and became interior minister. A Shi`ite Muslim, he resigned because the U.S.-led administration wanted a Sunni Muslim in the position following the appointment of a defense minister who was also a Shi`ite. Badran quoted U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer as telling him, "That will cause an imbalance, and we in the coalition cannot accept that. The solution is for you to step down from your position."

Baena

Baena Soares, João (Clemente) (b. May 14, 1931, Belém, Brazil), secretary-general of the Organization of American States (1984-94).

Báez

Báez (Méndez), Buenaventura (b. July 14, 1812, Rincón Neyba, Santo Domingo [now Cabral, Dominican Republic] - d. March 14, 1884, Hormiguero, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico), president of the Dominican Republic (1849-53, 1856-58, 1865-66, 1868-74, 1876-78). He began his political career in 1843 by helping lead the revolt that established the independence of the Dominican Republic from Haiti, with which it shares the island of Hispaniola. At this time, Báez believed that his nation could maintain its independence only by becoming a French protectorate, and to secure that end he was sent to Europe in 1846; the French, however, were not interested. During his first term as president, Báez tried unsuccessfully to have his country annexed by the United States (1850). His second term ended when his government was overthrown by a coup d'état because of his involvement in corrupt financial transactions. He then invited Spain to occupy the Dominican Republic, and in return he was exiled to a comfortable life in Europe, financed by the Spaniards. When Spain abandoned the Dominican Republic in 1865, Báez returned to begin a third presidential term, but in May 1866 he was removed by another coup. In 1868 he was again made president, this time determined to gain annexation by the United States. He succeeded in persuading the United States to send warships, ostensibly to protect his country from Haiti; in reality he sought to protect his own business interests. But the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the annexation treaty, and in 1874 Báez again was forced to leave office. He served his last term in 1876-78 and was then exiled permanently to Puerto Rico. Báez has been described as a thoroughly corrupt tyrant who had no regard for the lives or property of his people.

Baeza (Terrazas), José Reyes (b. Sept. 20, 1961, Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico), governor of Chihuahua (2004- ).

Bafarawa, (Alhaji) Attahiru (Dalhatu) (b. Oct. 4, 1954, Bafarawa village [now in Sokoto state], Nigeria), governor of Sokoto (1999-2007).

Bagabandi

Bagabandi, Natsagiyn (b. April 22, 1950, Yaru soum [district], Dzavhan aymag [province], Mongolia), president of Mongolia (1997-2005). He was active in politics since 1980 and during 1980-84 he worked as a propagandist and after that as a Head of Department of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). In 1992 he became a member of the State Great Khural and then was appointed its chairman (1992-96). He was reelected as a member of the State Great Khural following the general election of 1996. He was first chairman of the MPRP in 1996-97. He won the presidential election on May 18, 1997.

Bagapsh

Bagapsh, Sergey (Vasilyevich) (b. April 4, 1949, Sukhumi, Abkhazian A.S.S.R., Georgian S.S.R.), prime minister (1997-99) and president (2005- ) of Abkhazia. He was a candidate in disputed presidential elections in October 2004 and won a new election in January 2005.

Bagaragaza, Thaddée (b. June 6, 1936), foreign minister (1965-69) and president of the National Assembly (1969-73) of Rwanda.

Bagaya

Bagaya, Elizabeth (Christobel Edith) (b. 1936, Kabarole, Uganda), foreign minister of Uganda (1974). A princess of Toro, she was Batebe (princess royal) to her brother, Patrick David Matthew Rwamuhokya Olimi III Kaboyo II (king of Toro 1966-95). She was Ugandan ambassador at-large (1969-73), to Egypt and Ethiopia (1973-74), to the UN (1974), and to the U.S. (1988-89).

Bagaza

Bagaza, Jean-Baptiste (b. Aug. 29, 1946, Murambi, Rwanda), president of Burundi (1976-87). A Tutsi army officer, he came to power in a 1976 coup, but was himself overthrown by Pierre Buyoya in 1987. He then lived in Uganda from 1987 to 1993 and fled to Uganda again in 1998 after Buyoya put him under house arrest for allegedly plotting another coup. He returned in June 2002, promising to contribute to the troubled central African country's future. He was released after six months of house arrest on April 4, 2003.

Bagbeni Adeito Nzengeya, original name Augustin René Bagbeni (b. Jan. 12, 1941, Stanleyville, Belgian Congo [now Kisangani, Congo (Kinshasa)]), foreign minister of Zaire (1991-92). He was also ambassador to the Netherlands (1971-72), Ethiopia (1972-75), and India (also responsible for Indonesia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka) (1983-85) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1985-91).

Baghdadi, Abdel-Latif al- (b. September 1917, Shawa, Mansoura province - d. Jan. 8, 1999), Egyptian politician. A leading member of the Free Officers movement that ousted the Egyptian monarchy in 1952, he was one of the closest supporters of Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser. He held a number of top offices under Nasser. Baghdadi presided over the 1953 court that tried pre-revolutionary politicians, was minister of war in 1953-54, and was junior vice president of the United Arab Republic, the short-lived union of Egypt and Syria. He was minister of planning and finance in 1961-62 and served on the Presidency Council, an executive body within the government, in 1962-64. Soon after that he withdrew from government over policy differences with Nasser. However, a rapprochement between the two men was arranged before Nasser's death in 1970.

Bago, Slavo (b. Sept. 29, 1959, Bosanski Samac [now in Republika Srpska], Bosnia and Hercegovina), premier of Bosnian Posavina (1998-2001).

Bagratyan

Bagratyan, Hrant (Ararati) (b. Oct. 18, 1958, Yerevan, Armenian S.S.R.), prime minister of Armenia (1991 [acting], 1993-96).

Bagyidaw (b. July 23, 1784 - d. Oct. 15, 1846, Amarapura, Kingdom of Awa [now in Myanmar]), king of Awa (1819-37). He was the grandson of King Bodawphaya, who had narrowly avoided war with the British over the frontier between Bengal and Arakan. Bagyidaw was an ineffectual king, but his general, Maha Bandula, influenced him to follow Bodawphaya's policy of aggressive expansion in northeastern India. He conquered Assam and Manipur, making them tributaries. The border with British India thus extended from Arakan on the Bay of Bengal northward to the foot of the Himalayan Mountains. The British, angered over Awa border raids in pursuit of rebel forces, launched a war on March 5, 1824. Bagyidaw's armies were driven out of Assam, Arakan, and Manipur. British forces occupied southern Awa and advanced toward the capital, Amarapura (near present-day Mandalay). On Feb. 24, 1826, the Treaty of Yandabo was signed; it provided for the cession of Tenasserim and Arakan to the British, payment of an indemnity equivalent to £1,000,000, and renunciation of all Awa claims in Assam and Manipur, which became British protectorates. During the remaining years of his reign, he attempted to mitigate the harsh terms of the treaty. In 1826 he negotiated a commercial treaty with the British envoy, John Crawfurd, but refused to establish formal diplomatic relations unless he could deal on an equal basis with the British sovereign, rather than through the East India Company at Calcutta. He failed to persuade the British to return Tenasserim, but a deputation that he sent to Calcutta in 1830 successfully reasserted the Awa claim to the Kale-Kabaw Valley, which had been occupied by the Manipuris. After 1831 he became increasingly susceptible to attacks of mental instability, and in 1837 he was succeeded by his brother, Prince Tharawadi Min.

Bahnini, Ahmed (b. 1909 - d. July 10, 1971, Skirat palace, near Rabat, Morocco), prime minister of Morocco (1963-65). He was also president of the Supreme Court. He was killed during an attempted coup d'état against King Hassan II; it was badly organized by the high military hierarchy and turned into a carnage when soldiers shot into a crowd of guests who celebrated the king's birthday.

Bahonar, Hojatolislam Mohammad Javad (b. 1933, Kerman, Iran - d. Aug. 30, 1981, Tehran), Iranian politician. Bahonar was imprisoned for his opposition to the shah's regime, but after the overthrow of the shah in 1979, he helped draft the new constitution. In March 1981 he was appointed minister of education and carried on the work started by Mohammad Ali Raja´i in purging the universities of Western cultural influences. He succeeded Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Beheshti, who died in an explosion in June 1981, as a leader of the Islamic Republican Party. After the fall of Pres. Abolhassan Bani-Sadr in June 1981 and Raja´i's election as president in July, Bahonar was appointed prime minister. He was in the midst of trying to restore stability to the country in the face of armed attacks by opponents of the Islamic regime when he and Raja´i were killed in a bomb blast.

Bahuguna, Hemwati Nandan (b. April 25, 1919, Budhani village, India [now in Pakistan] - d. March 20, 1989), chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (1973-75) and finance minister of India (1979-80).

Bai Qingcai (b. 1932, Wutai county, Shaanxi, China), governor of Shaanxi (1990-94).

Bai Wenwei

Bai Wenwei, also appearing as Bo Wenwei (b. 1875/76, Shou county, Anhui, China - d. April 26, 1947, Shanghai, China), governor of Anhui (1912-13). He devoted himself to anti-Qing activities and later joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance (which became the Kuomintang). Under his persuasion, the 9th Division of the Qing Modern Army (stationed in Jiangsu) launched a raid and took Nanjing in 1911. He was removed from his gubernatorial office as a Kuomintang member together with Jiangxi Gov. Li Liejun in 1913 by Pres. Yuan Shikai, which led to the "Second Revolution." He was named the commander of the 33rd Army in the south in 1924 and subsequently elected member of the Kuomintang Central Political Committee, as well as councillor in the government.

Baidani

Baidani, Abdul Rahman (Abdo Rabbo al-Muradi) al- (b. 1925?), foreign minister of Yemen (1962-63).

Baig, M(irza) O(sman) A(li) (b. 1904, Bombay [now Mumbai], India), secretary-general of the Central Treaty Organization (1959-61).

Bailhache

Bailhache, Sir Philip (Martin) (b. Feb. 28, 1946, Jersey), bailiff of Jersey (1995- ). In 1972 he was elected to the States of Jersey as deputy of Grouville and served on a number of committees. He resigned as deputy in 1975, when he was appointed solicitor general for Jersey. In January 1986 he was appointed attorney general for Jersey and in 1989 was made a queen's counsel. In January 1994 he was appointed deputy bailiff and in February 1995 he became bailiff of Jersey. He was knighted in 1996. On Jan. 31, 1996, the queen appointed Bailhache as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Guernsey. The Courts of Appeal for each bailiwick are separate but are served by a common panel of judges, normally from the United Kingdom, in addition to the bailiffs of Jersey and Guernsey. Since 1961, when courts of appeal were established in the Channel Islands, it has been the practice to appoint the bailiff of each bailiwick as a judge of appeal in the other.

Baillet-Latour, Henri, comte de (b. March 1, 1876 - d. Jan. 6, 1942), president of the International Olympic Committee (1925-42).

Bailly, Camille (Victor) (b. Feb. 4, 1907, Amiens, Somme, France - d. Aug. 21, 1984), governor of Senegal (1950-52), French Sudan (1952), and Ivory Coast (1952-54) and acting governor of French Polynesia (1958).

Bainimarama

Bainimarama, (Josaia) Voreqe, byname Frank Bainimarama (b. April 27, 1954, Bau island, Fiji), Fijian military leader. He enlisted with the Fiji Navy on July 26, 1975. He went through the ranks from able seaman in August 1976 to midshipman in December of the same year. He was commissioned sub-lieutenant in 1978 and lieutenant six years later. He took his first command appointment in February 1985 when he assumed the command of the HMFS Kikau. He was promoted temporary lieutenant commander in early 1986, and later that year served a tour with the Multi-National Forces and Observers in the Sinai. From 1988 to 1997 he held the post of commander, Fiji Naval Division, and in 1995 was promoted captain, which is equivalent to the military rank of a full colonel. He was appointed acting chief of staff in November 1997 and confirmed in April 1998. He was named commander of the army on Feb. 25, 1999, to replace Brig.Gen. Ratu Epeli Ganilau, who resigned to enter politics. At that time he was also promoted commodore. In May 2000 he took power as head of an Interim Military Government, ten days after rebels led by George Speight seized control of the parliament building and took the government hostage. In July he signed an agreement with Speight that ended the crisis. Speight was arrested and charged with treason. But just four months later, soldiers in the army who had stayed loyal to Speight staged a bloody mutiny at the army's barracks. Eight men were killed and Bainimarama fled for his life. In 2006 Bainimarama demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase because of the latter's support for a controversial bill that would offer amnesty to some of those involved in the 2000 coup. When Qarase refused, Bainimarama himself staged a coup to remove him. A month later (January 2007) he gave up the presidential powers he had taken and became interim prime minister.

Baisultanov

Bajamal

Baisultanov, Odes (Khasayevich) (b. Jan. 17, 1965), prime minister of Chechnya (2007- ).

Bajamal, Abdul Qader (Abdul Rahman), Arabic `Abd al-Qadir `Abd al-Rahman Ba-Jammal (b. Feb. 18, 1946, Hadhramaut region, Eastern Aden Protectorate [now in Yemen]), foreign minister (1998-2001) and prime minister (2001-07) of Yemen.

Bajo

Bajo, Lamin Kaba (b. Nov. 10, 1964, Brikama, western Gambia), interior minister (1995-97) and foreign minister (2005-06) of The Gambia. He was ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 2002-05.

Bajpai, Rajendra Kumari (b. Feb. 8, 1925, Laluchak, Bhagalpur district, Bihar - d. July 17, 1999, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh), Indian politician; granddaughter of Ravi Shankar Shukla; niece of Shyama Charan Shukla. She took part in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and was jailed for burning the union jack at the Zila Kutchery in Munger. She took the plunge into politics when she came into contact with Indira Gandhi immediately after the partition. Gandhi, who became the president of the Allahabad Congress Committee in 1956, chose her as her general secretary; thus began a political career spanning nearly four decades - first in Uttar Pradesh, the cradle of Indian politics, and then at the national level. She entered the U.P. assembly in 1962, became president of the U.P. Congress Committee during the early '70s and also served as a minister. Known for tremendous administrative and organizational capabilities, she streamlined the party and strengthened grass-roots level contacts in the state. When the Congress split in 1969, she took a clear line in favour of Gandhi and against the "syndicate." She remained steadfast in her support of Gandhi till the latter's assassination. In January 1980, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Sitapur after representing Allahabad in the state assembly thrice from 1962 to 1977. She was appointed general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee in the same year. She held the charge of organizing the party in the northeast, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, and Karnataka. Later, Gandhi inducted Bajpai into her cabinet as minister for welfare. An MP till 1990, she was appointed lieutenant governor of Pondicherry in 1995, a post she relinquished in 1998 when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power at the Centre.

Bajuk

Bajuk, Andrej (b. Oct. 18, 1943, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia [now in Slovenia]), prime minister of Slovenia (2000). Bajuk spent most of his life abroad. His family left Slovenia in 1945 after the communists came to power in Yugoslavia at the end of World War II. He grew up in Argentina. In May 2000 Bajuk replaced Janez Drnovsek, who was premier of Slovenia's centre-left government for the past eight years but lost a confidence vote in parliament. In his programme, Bajuk emphasized preparations for European Union membership as his main task. Bajuk also planned to liberalize the economy by phasing out state intervention, abolishing monopolies, and trying to attract more foreign investment. In recent years, he had advised both the centre-right Social Democrats and the conservative Christian Democrats. He only joined the Christian Democrats in April 2000. He became deputy president of the newly established SLS+SKD Slovenian People's Party, which was formed by a merger of the People's Party and the Christian Democrats. SLS+SKD also formed an alliance with the Social Democrats, commanding the support of 44 out of 90 parliamentary seats. Bajuk was elected by 46 votes to 44; in two previous rounds of voting he failed to win enough support. His government soon broke down over whether to move away from the system of election by proportional representation, and new elections were won by a centre-left coalition led again by Drnovsek. In 2004 Bajuk became finance minister.

Bakalli, Mahmut (b. Jan. 19, 1936, Djakovica [Gjakovë], Banovina of Zeta, Yugoslavia [now in Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro] - d. April 14, 2006, Pristina, Kosovo), secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Kosovo (1971-81). He stepped down following disagreements with the central body of the Yugoslav Communist Party over the handling of unrest by ethnic Albanian students. During the Kosovo war in 1998-99, he was part of a five-man delegation that met with Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in a failed bid to end the conflict. Years later, he was the first witness to testify against Milosevic at his war crimes trial at the UN tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Bakalli was also part of the Kosovo Albanian delegation to the failed Rambouillet peace talks in France in 1999 and argued international mediation was needed before the negotiation process even started. When the talks in France failed, he talked of the importance behind NATO's coming to Kosovo, long before the bombings even began. He helped Ramush Haradinaj - a former rebel commander who became Kosovo's prime minister in 2005 and resigned after being indicted for war crimes by the UN tribunal - with organizing a political party, mostly because he believed people in Kosovo needed a third choice. At the time of his death, he was an adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Çeku.

Bakaric

Bakaric, Vladimir (b. March 8, 1912, Velika Gorica, near Zagreb, Austria-Hungary - d. Jan. 16, 1983, Zagreb, Yugoslavia), Yugoslav politician. He was a member of the Communist Party from 1933. During World War II he helped organize partisan resistance in his native Croatia, and in 1945 he headed the first postwar government of the Croatian national republic within the Yugoslav federation. In 1971-72 he supported Tito's moves to suppress Croatian nationalism. A Marxist theoretician who was, nevertheless, strongly opposed to the Soviet system, Bakaric helped frame the 1974 federal constitution designed to promote decentralization. He was the last survivor of Marshal Tito's World War II compatriots to retain high office within the party hierarchy, being a member of the Presidium of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia and vice-president of the federal republic's collective Presidency. Under the system of rotation of offices instituted by Tito, Bakaric would have succeeded Petar Stambolic as head of state in May 1983.

Bakary, Djibo (b. 1922, Soudouré, Niger - d. April 16, 1998, Niamey, Niger), Niger politician. A devoted socialist, Bakary was a trade union leader until 1956 when he became the first elected mayor of the capital Niamey. The radical politician and nationalist campaigned for a "No" vote in a referendum for a French West African federation in 1958. Djibo's party, Sawaba (Hausa for independence), and the Democratic Party of Guinea under the late leader Ahmed Sékou Touré voted against the French federation, setting the stage for Guinea's acrimonious break with Paris. Djibo's party was in the minority in Niger, and he fled into exile after the "Yes" vote prevailed there. He launched a failed invasion against the independence government in 1964 with a band of commandos. Djibo returned to Niger after the army seized power in 1974 but was arrested two years later and jailed for plotting. He was freed in 1987 after the death of military ruler Seyni Kountché.

Bakayoko, Youssouf (b. April 19, 1943, Bouaké, Ivory Coast), foreign minister of Côte d'Ivoire (2006- ).

Baker, Howard (Henry, Jr.) (b. Nov. 15, 1925, Huntsville, Tenn.), U.S. politician. His staunchly Republican family included a grandmother who was a sheriff and a father who would serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1951 to 1964. He served in the Navy during World War II. In 1964, campaigning in Tennessee against foreign aid and the Civil Rights Act, Baker lost his first try for a U.S. Senate seat. Running again in 1966, he moderated his politics and became the first popularly elected Republican U.S. senator in the state's history. Representing Tennessee in the Senate from 1967 to 1985, he became effective in Washington with his pragmatism and moderate politics. As minority leader from 1977 to 1981, Baker fought for some of Pres. Jimmy Carter's policies, most notably the Democrat's Panama Canal treaties. Baker's support for that issue enraged Republican conservatives, some of whom were still angry with him for his sharp and persistent questioning of aides of Pres. Richard Nixon during the Watergate hearings in 1973. A reputation for statesmanship was not enough to win Baker the White House, however. One of nine candidates for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, he dropped out after gaining only nine delegates in four months of campaigning. Four years earlier the party had rebuffed his bid to be Pres. Gerald Ford's running mate. In each case the Republican right wing helped ensure Baker's defeat. As Senate majority leader from 1981, he united the warring wings of his party behind Pres. Ronald Reagan's tax and budget agenda. He declined to run for reelection in 1984 but in 1987 became Reagan's chief of staff during the investigation of the Iran-contra affair. Baker resigned that office in mid-1988.

J. Baker

Baker, James (Addison, III) (b. April 28, 1930, Houston, Texas, U.S.), U.S. secretary of state (1989-92). Originally a Democrat, he switched to the Republican Party and ran his longtime friend George Bush's campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1970. Though Bush lost the race, Baker became deeply involved in Republican politics thereafter. He was named undersecretary of commerce by Pres. Gerald Ford in 1975 and that same year helped Ford secure the Republican presidential nomination for the 1976 election. Baker joined Ford's reelection campaign that year and in August became national chairman of the Ford campaign. Despite Ford's loss in the election, Baker earned a reputation as a campaign tactician of uncommon ability. In 1978 Baker ran for the office of state attorney general in Texas but lost. From January 1979 to May 1980 he was Bush's campaign chairman for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination. After Bush accepted the vice presidential slot on a ticket headed by Ronald Reagan that year, Baker joined Reagan's campaign staff as a senior adviser. Under Reagan he served as White House chief of staff (January 1981-January 1985) and secretary of the Treasury (February 1985-August 1988). Baker adroitly managed Bush's successful campaign for the presidential election of November 1988 and in the same month was nominated secretary of state. He was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 25, 1989, and sworn in on January 27. In that post Baker helped the U.S. reach agreement with the Soviet Union on the reunification of Germany, and helped orchestrate the international coalition that opposed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. He resigned in 1992 in order to serve as White House chief of staff while simultaneously directing Bush's (unsuccessful) reelection campaign. In 1997-2004 he was UN mediator in the Western Sahara conflict.

Baker of Dorking (of Iford in the County of East Sussex), Kenneth (Wilfred) Baker, Baron (b. Nov. 3, 1934, Newport, Monmouth, Wales), British politician. He won election to the House of Commons at a by-election in 1968. He lost his seat (Acton, in west London) in 1970 but was almost immediately adopted to defend a large Conservative majority at Marylebone, in central London. His close association with Edward Heath, then prime minister, culminated in his becoming Heath's political private secretary in 1974. When Heath was deposed as leader of the Conservative Party by Margaret Thatcher (1975), Baker was not - as Thatcher would say - "one of us," and he was voted out of the Conservative leadership by the party MPs. Excluded from her first government, he wrote her a letter urging the importance of information technology, with the result that, in January 1981, she made him responsible for it as minister, a high-profile post that gave him the chance to promote the wider use of electronic and computer technology in schools and industry. In September 1984 he was appointed minister for local government. He carried through the abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) in the face of an inspired, and expensive, antiabolition publicity campaign conducted by GLC Labour leader Ken Livingstone, as well as resistance from the House of Lords. He came into the cabinet as secretary of state for the environment in September 1985. In May 1986 he was promoted to education secretary. In 1988 he accomplished another signal achievement for Thatcher when he piloted a radical Education Reform Bill onto the statute book. As a result of his achievements, he came to be seen as a possible successor to Thatcher, although the right-wingers regarded him as ideologically shallow. In 1990-92 he was home secretary. He was created a life peer in 1997.

Bakhit

Bakhit, Marouf (Suleiman) al-, Arabic Ma`ruf Sulayman al-Bakhit (b. 1947), prime minister and defense minister of Jordan (2005-07). He previously served as ambassador to Turkey (2002-05) and Israel (2005).

Bakhsh, Pir Illahi (d. Oct. 8, 1975), chief minister of Sindh (1948-49).

Bakht, Sikander (b. Aug. 24, 1918, Delhi - d. Feb. 23, 2004, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India), foreign minister of India (1996) and governor of Kerala (2002-04).

Bakhtiar

Bakhtiar, Shahpur (b. 1914, Tehran, Iran - d. Aug. 6, 1991, Suresnes, France), prime minister of Iran (1979). He went to Spain during the Civil War and fought with the Loyalists against Franco's forces. During World War II he helped the French resistance against the Nazi occupation. After the war he returned to Iran, where he became a leading figure in the nationalist struggle led by Mohammad Mossadegh's National Front. He served as deputy labour minister in Mossadegh's short-lived (1951-53) government. While Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was married to Soraya Esfandiari, a cousin of Bakhtiar, he tried to persuade him to take a high post. Bakhtiar refused and was jailed several times for his opposition to the shah's autocratic rule. On Jan. 4, 1979, the shah, seeking to forestall a fundamentalist revolution, named him prime minister. Bakhtiar accepted the position only on condition that the shah leave the country. He tried to implement moderate reforms, but was unable to resist the revolutionary Islamic fundamentalist forces under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The return of Khomeini to Iran from exile in France on February 1 brought a quick end to Bakhtiar's government. He went into hiding, and turned up in July in France. He established the National Movement of the Iranian Resistance with headquarters in Paris and branches in other countries, along with its own newspapers and two clandestine radio stations beaming his messages into Iran. Over the years, as his return to Tehran seemed ever more remote, his goals continually shifted, with his political allies ranging from leftists to constitutional monarchists. Bakhtiar, who had escaped at least two previous assassination attempts, was found stabbed to death in his home.

Bakiyev

Bakiyev, Kurmanbek (Saliyevich) (b. Aug. 1, 1949, Masadan village, Suzak region, Jalal-Abad oblast, Kirgiz S.S.R.), prime minister (2000-02, 2005) and president (2005- ) of Kyrgyzstan. He was governor of Chu oblast in 1997-2000. During his first term as prime minister, he stuck to tough fiscal rules for dealing with the country's large debt burden. Under his leadership, the U.S. Air Force was allowed to establish a base near the capital Bishkek, and former opposition leader Feliks Kulov was imprisoned for abuse of power and theft. His government cracked down on demonstrators, with his interior minister saying that riots that broke out in Bakiyev's home region in the south in March 2002 were an attempt to overthrow the government. Police fired into the crowd of 1,500 protesting the arrest of their local parliamentary deputy in Jalal-Abad, and five people died. An investigation found senior officials responsible for the tragedy, and Bakiyev was forced to resign. Bakiyev moved over to the opposition after his resignation, becoming leader of the People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan. The 2005 parliamentary elections, in which he lost his seat in the March runoff, sparked protests about alleged rigging. As head of the Coordination Council of the People's Unity, he was a leading figure in the revolution that quickly ended Pres. Askar Akayev's rule, and was then appointed prime minister and acting president. In July he won a landslide victory in presidential elections.

Bakkoush, Abdul Hamid al-, Arabic `Abd al-Hamid al-Bakkush (b. 1933 - d. May 2, 2007, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), prime minister of Libya (1967-68).

Bako, Mahamane Sani (b. April 25, 1951, Tessaoua, Niger - d. Dec. 13, 1997), foreign minister of Niger (1985-88, 1989-91).

Bakocevic, Aleksandar (b. Nov. 8, 1928, Uzice, Yugoslavia [now in Serbia] - d. Jan. 13, 2007, Belgrade, Serbia), mayor of Belgrade (1986-89) and president of the National Assembly of Serbia (1991-93).

Bakoyannis

Bakoyannis, Dora, née Theodora Konstantinou Mitsotakis (b. May 6, 1954, Athens, Greece), foreign minister of Greece (2006- ); daughter of Konstantinos Mitsotakis. She entered politics after her husband Pavlos Bakoyannis was gunned down by the November 17 Revolutionary Organization on Sept. 26, 1989. She served as culture minister in her father's government in 1992-93 and in October 2002 became the first woman to be elected mayor of Athens, taking office Jan. 1, 2003. In mid-December 2002, she barely avoided assassination herself when an attacker with a history of psychiatric treatment fired a shotgun at her.

A.H. al-Bakr

Bakr, Ahmad Hassan al- (b. July 1, 1914, Tikrit, Iraq - d. Oct. 4, 1982, Baghdad), president of Iraq (1968-79). He entered the Iraqi Military Academy in 1938. He took part in the Rashid Ali revolt in 1941, was arrested, imprisoned, and compulsorily retired from the army, but was reinstated in 1957. As a brigadier general, he was one of the "free officers," a group that overthrew the monarchy in 1958. He was again forced to retire from the army in 1959 because of his alleged leadership of a rebellion in Mosul organized by members of the Ba`th party and others favouring closer ties with the United Arab Republic. He took part in the Ba`th coup of February 1963 and became vice president and prime minister. In November 1963 Field Marshal Abdul Salam Arif staged a countercoup against the Ba`th, and Bakr was removed as prime minister; in January 1964 he was also removed as vice president. On July 17, 1968, with other Ba`thist officers, Bakr seized power and thereafter governed in concert with the Ba`th leader Saddam Hussein. His truculent foreign policy effectively isolated him from his Muslim neighbours, and his total opposition to any diplomatic solution to the Arab-Israeli dispute brought him into conflict with more moderate Arab heads of state. Bakr's border claims against Iran made it impossible to bring the Iraqi Kurds under control until an agreement was reached in 1975. His economic policy began with a cautious continuation of the former regime's five-year plan but turned toward industrial expansion as oil revenues increased. After suffering a heart attack in 1976, Bakr delegated most administrative matters to Saddam Hussein, in whose favour he resigned, ostensibly on grounds of ill health, on July 16, 1979.

R. Bakr

Bakradze

Bakr, Rashid (al-Tahir) (b. 1930, Karkoj, Blue Nile province [now state], Sudan), speaker of the People's National Assembly (1974-76), prime minister (1976-77), and second vice president (1980-81) of The Sudan.

Bakradze, David (b. July 1, 1972, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), foreign minister of Georgia (2008). He became speaker of parliament in June 2008.

Bakunin

Bakunin, Mikhail Aleksandrovich (b. May 30 [May 18, old style], 1814, Premukhine, Russia - d. July 1 [June 19, O.S.], 1876, Bern, Switzerland), Russian anarchist. He consorted with French and German Socialists, including Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Karl Marx, and with numerous Polish émigrés who inspired him to combine the cause of the national liberation of the Slav peoples with that of social revolution. The February Revolution of 1848 in Paris gave him his first taste of street fighting; and after a few days of eager participation he travelled eastward in the hope of fanning the flames in Germany and Poland. In Prague in June 1848, he attended the Slav congress, which ended when Austrian troops bombarded the city; and later in the year, in Germany, he wrote his first major manifesto, An Appeal to the Slavs. Tired of inaction, Bakunin once more plunged into revolutionary intrigues and, engaging in the Dresden insurrection of May 1849, failed this time to escape arrest. The Saxon authorities handed him over to Austria, and Austria to Russia. He was released in 1857. In 1868, he joined the First International, a federation of working-class parties aiming at transforming the capitalist societies into Socialist commonwealths and their eventual unification in a world federation. At the Hague congress in 1872 Marx secured the expulsion of Bakunin and his followers from the International. The breach split the revolutionary movement in Europe for many years to come. Bakunin formulated no coherent body of doctrine. His writings were often left incomplete. But anarchist movements owing allegiance to Bakunin continued to flourish in Italy and especially in Spain, where as late as 1936 the anarchists were the strongest revolutionary party.

Bala Gaye

Bala Gaye, Musa Gibril (b. Aug. 13, 1946), finance minister (2003-05, 2005- ) and foreign minister (2005) of The Gambia.

Balafrej, Ahmed (b. 1908, Rabat, Morocco - d. April 14, 1990, Rabat), foreign minister (1956-58, 1961-63) and prime minister (1958) of Morocco.

Balaguer

Balaguer (Ricardo), Joaquín (Antonio) (b. Sept. 1, 1906/07¹, Navarrete [now Villa Bisonó], Dominican Republic - d. July 14, 2002, Santo Domingo), president of the Dominican Republic (1960-62, 1966-78, 1986-96). He held numerous executive and diplomatic posts under the Trujillo regime, including foreign minister (1953-55) and vice president (1957-60). He was sworn in as president when Hector Trujillo (brother of Gen. Rafael Trujillo) resigned because of illness. As Rafael Trujillo still effectively held all power, Balaguer, who was only the nominal president, could effect little real change or reform. After Rafael Trujillo's assassination in 1961, Balaguer tried to liberalize the government, and the Organization of American States lifted the economic sanctions that had been imposed during Trujillo's dictatorship. But Balaguer's changes went too fast for the trujillistas and not fast enough for others. A short-lived military coup forced him to resign in 1962 and take refuge in the United States. Balaguer returned to the Dominican Republic during the U.S. military intervention of 1965 and ran successfully for president in 1966. He was reelected in 1970 and 1974, but these latter terms were marred by political violence, inflation, and alleged electoral fraud. He lost the 1978 election (the first since 1966 to allow the major opposition party to be represented) to Antonio Guzmán Fernández, also lost the 1982 election, but regained the presidency in the 1986 election and was reelected in 1990 and 1994. During his presidency he undertook an unprecedented public-works program, causing heavy debts and an endangered economy. After international observers questioned the fairness of Balaguer's reelection in 1994, he was pressured to cut short his four-year term and call new elections in 1996. In 2000 the blind nonagenarian ran again for president, finishing third.
¹ In his autobiography, Balaguer states that it is impossible to determine whether the year of his birth was 1906 or 1907; his birth certificate was established much later.

Balakrishnan

Balakrishnan, K(onakuppakatil) G(opinathan) (b. May 12, 1945), governor of Gujarat (1999).

Balakshin, Pavel (Nikolayevich) (b. July 10, 1936), head of the administration of Arkhangelsk oblast (1991-96).

Balasuriya, Jagath, governor of North Central province, Sri Lanka (2003-06).

Balasuriya, (Neranjala Pushpa) Kumari (b. 1949), governor of Southern province, Sri Lanka (2006- ); wife of Jagath Balasuriya.

Balayogi

Balayogi, Ganti Mohana Chandra (b. Oct. 1, 1951, Yedurulanka village, East Godavari district [now in Andhra Pradesh] - d. March 3, 2002, near Kaikalur, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh), Indian politician. A stranger to politics till 1982, he was attracted to the politics of Telugu Desam founder N.T. Rama Rao. Balayogi was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 as a Telugu Desam candidate from Amalapuram. He lost his seat in 1996 but made his way to the Andhra Pradesh state assembly from Mummidivaram in East Godavari district. He was the minister of higher education in the Chandrababu Naidu government till his election to the 12th Lok Sabha (1998). On March 24 he was elected as speaker, the first time in history that a Dalit leader was elected to the chair. His tenure as speaker was often marred by noisy clashes between the ruling party members and the opposition. He died in a helicopter crash.

Balcytis

Balcytis, Zigmantas (b. Nov. 16, 1953, Juodziai village, Silute district, Lithuanian S.S.R.), finance minister (2005-07) and acting prime minister (2006) of Lithuania.

Baldomir (Ferrari), Alfredo (b. Aug. 27, 1884, Montevideo - d. Feb. 25, 1948, Montevideo), president of Uruguay (1938-43). He entered the army in 1900 and later studied architecture and engineering, designing many of Uruguay's buildings and works of art. He became head of the engineering section (1917) and architect (1919) to the Uruguayan general staff. In 1923 he became professor of engineering at the National Military School in Montevideo and subsequently was chief of military construction. He was chief of police in Montevideo in 1931-34 and became defense minister in 1934. The next year he was promoted to the rank of general in the engineers corps. Elected president in 1938, he succeeded his brother-in-law, Gabriel Terra. He appointed as his foreign minister Alberto Guani, whose long association with the League of Nations as permanent delegate for Uruguay gave him great insight into European politics. After the scuttling of the German battleship Graf Spee off Montevideo, General Baldomir redoubled his efforts to preserve the integrity of his country against the pro-Axis elements in the parliament and he began negotiations to place the naval bases of Uruguay at the disposal of the United States. Finally, in January 1942, he broke off diplomatic relations with the Axis powers. After a vote of censure in the Senate, he staged a coup on February 21, dissolving parliament and filling the capital with troops. His term, which was to expire in 1942, was extended but democratic constitutional government was restored by elections in November, in which Baldomir's Colorado Party and its presidential candidate, Juan José de Amézaga, won and a new constitution was approved.

Baldwin, Brian (Paul) (b. Dec. 7, 1944), administrator of Tristan da Cunha (1998-2001).

R. Baldwin

Baldwin, Robert (b. May 12, 1804, York [now part of Toronto], Upper Canada [now Ontario] - d. Dec. 9, 1858, Spadina, near Toronto), joint premier of Canada (1841, 1842-43, 1848-51). He first became a member of the Upper Canada House of Assembly for York on Jan. 30, 1830. However the death of King George IV forced the dissolution of Parliament; an election was called, and Baldwin lost his seat. In 1836 he served briefly on the Executive Council of Upper Canada and supported the union of Canada, condemning the Rebellion of 1837. He served (1841) on the Executive Council under Baron Sydenham but the governor's refusal to grant responsible government pushed Baldwin to resign and join the opposition. In 1842, under the governorship of Sir Charles Bagot, Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine formed a Liberal administration and held office until Bagot's successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, caused most of the ministers to resign. In 1848 the Liberals were returned to power. Under the Earl of Elgin, Baldwin and Lafontaine saw the realization of their aim of responsible government and the enactment of other reforms, including municipal self-government for Canada West (former Upper Canada, now Ontario) and freeing of the University of Toronto from sectarian control. Feeling increasingly out of sympathy with the advanced reformers in his party and offended by an attempt to abolish the Court of Chancery in Canada West, which he had personally helped to establish, he resigned in 1851. He was not reelected to Parliament by Toronto. In 1858 the coalition Liberal-Conservative Party invited him to stand for a seat in the upper house, but, dissociated from the radicals, he could not identify with the conservative element of the Liberal Party either.

Baldwin of Bewdley, Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin, (2nd) Earl, Viscount Corvedale of Corvedale (b. March 1, 1899 - d. Aug. 10, 1958, London, England), governor of the Leeward Islands (1948-50); son of Stanley Baldwin, Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. He succeeded to the earldom in 1947.

S. Baldwin

Baldwin of Bewdley, Stanley Baldwin, (1st) Earl, Viscount Corvedale of Corvedale (b. Aug. 3, 1867, Bewdley, Worcestershire, England - d. Dec. 14, 1947, Astley Hall, near Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire [now in Hereford and Worcester]), British prime minister (1923-24, 1924-29, 1935-37). He was elected member of the House of Commons for the Bewdley division of Worcestershire in 1908. In December 1916 he became parliamentary private secretary to Bonar Law, chancellor of the exchequer in David Lloyd George's World War I coalition ministry. In 1922 he became chancellor of the exchequer in the new Conservative government headed by Bonar Law. When ill health forced Law to resign, Baldwin was asked, on May 22, 1923, to form a government. In October he appealed for a mandate to reverse Law's free-trade policy; but a mandate was refused, and Baldwin's first ministry ended Jan. 22, 1924. He returned to office Nov. 4, 1924, following the downfall of the first Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald. In 1927 he secured passage of the antiunion Trade Disputes Act. A Conservative electoral defeat caused Baldwin to resign June 4, 1929. He returned to the government in 1931 as lord president of the council in MacDonald's national coalition ministry. Another general election in 1935 brought him back into power as prime minister, with a majority of 250. In view of the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, the unopposed German reoccupation of the Rhineland, and German-Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War, he began to strengthen the military establishment. In 1936 he procured the abdication of the new king, Edward VIII. Five months later he resigned in favour of Neville Chamberlain, was made an earl and a knight of the garter, and retired from politics.

Balewa

Balewa, (Alhaji) Sir Abubakar Tafawa (b. 1912, Tafawa Balewa village, Bauchi emirate, Northern Nigeria - d. January 1966, near Ifo, Nigeria), prime minister of Nigeria (1957-66). In 1946 he was elected to the House of Assembly of the Northern Region and in 1947 was one of five representatives to the Central Legislative Council in Lagos. He was reelected to the assembly in 1951 despite the hostility of some conservative emirs of the generally Muslim north. A leader in the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), he was both a defender of northern special interests and an advocate of reform and Nigerian unity. From 1952 until his death Balewa served in the federal government, first as minister of works and from 1954 as minister of transport. In 1955, to study ways of developing the Niger and Benue rivers, he visited the Netherlands. He also visited the U.S., where he toured the Mississippi water control system and was made an honorary citizen of New Orleans. As leader of the NPC in the House of Representatives, he was made the first prime minister of Nigeria in 1957. After the preindependence elections of 1959, he formed a coalition government of the NPC and Nnamdi Azikiwe's National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. As prime minister of independent (1960) Nigeria, he was sharply circumscribed in his powers by those delegated to regional premiers. By 1963 ethnic differences and thinly veiled separatist tendencies in the nation had begun to boil. He was killed in the first of two Nigerian army coups in 1966; he was abducted on January 15, and his death was announced on January 22, his remains having been discovered the previous day. Balewa attained the honorary title of Alhaji after a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1957 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1960.

Balfour

Balfour, Arthur James Balfour, (1st) Earl of, Viscount Traprain of Whittingehame (b. July 25, 1848, Whittingehame, East Lothian, Scotland - d. March 19, 1930, Woking, Surrey, England), British prime minister (1902-05); nephew of Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury. He entered Parliament as a Conservative member for Hertford in 1874. In the second Salisbury ministry, he was secretary for Scotland (1886-87) and then chief secretary for Ireland (1887-91). An implacable opponent of Irish Home Rule, he earned the name "Bloody Balfour" because of his severity in suppressing insurrection. He became (1891) leader of the House of Commons and first lord of the treasury, thus being second in command to Lord Salisbury. During William Ewart Gladstone's last Liberal ministry (1892-94) he led the opposition in the House of Commons. In the last Salisbury government (1895-1902) Balfour became more powerful as his uncle's health declined. After Salisbury's retirement, Balfour became prime minister. Negotiations for an Anglo-French agreement (Entente Cordiale) were completed in 1904. Increasing Conservative disunity finally caused him to resign, although he remained the official party leader until November 1911. On May 25, 1915, when H.H. Asquith formed a wartime coalition ministry, Balfour succeeded Winston Churchill as first lord of the Admiralty. In David Lloyd George's coalition he was foreign secretary (1916-19). He is perhaps best remembered for the so-called Balfour Declaration (1917), pledging British aid for Zionist efforts to establish a home for world Jewry in Palestine. After the war Balfour served twice in the cabinet post of lord president of the council (1919-22, 1925-29). In 1922 he was created an earl and a knight of the garter.

Balfour-Paul, (Hugh) Glencairn (b. Sept. 23, 1917, Dumfriesshire, Scotland), British political agent in the Trucial States (1964-66). He was also ambassador to Iraq (1969-71).

Balgimbayev

Balkenende

Balgimbayev, Nurlan (Utebovich), Kazakh Nurlan Utep-uly Balgimbayev (b. Nov. 20, 1947), prime minister of Kazakhstan (1997-99).

Balindlela, (Zisiwe) Nosimo (Beauty) (b. Nov. 28, 1949, Hermanus, Cape province [now in Western Cape], South Africa), premier of Eastern Cape (2004- ).

Balkenende, Jan Peter, byname of Jan Pieter Balkenende (b. May 7, 1956, Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands), prime minister of the Netherlands (2002- ).

Ball, Sir Alexander John, (1st) Baronet (baptized July 22, 1756, Painswick, Gloucestershire, England - d. Oct. 25, 1809, Attard, near Valletta, Malta), president of the Provisional Government in rebellion (1799-1800), British representative (1800-01), and civil commissioner (1803-09) of Malta. He was made a baronet on June 24, 1801.

Balladur

Balladur, Édouard (b. May 2, 1929, Izmir, Turkey), prime minister of France (1993-95). He worked for the Council of State as a junior official. In 1962 he joined the Office of Radio and Television Broadcasting (ORTF). The head of ORTF recommended him to Prime Minister (later Pres.) Georges Pompidou, and during the 1960s and '70s Balladur was a member of Pompidou's staff, serving as adviser (1964-68) and becoming deputy secretary-general to the president (1969) and then secretary-general (1974). From 1984 to 1988 Balladur served as councillor of state, and he was an adviser to Jacques Chirac, the leader of the neo-Gaullist party Rally for the Republic (RPR). In 1986 Balladur was elected to the National Assembly as deputy for Paris, but he gave up his seat to join newly appointed Prime Minister Chirac's cabinet as minister of economy, finance, and privatization. A political moderate, Balladur had helped develop the formula for "cohabitation," the sharing of power between the Socialist president, François Mitterrand, and Chirac's conservative government. As finance minister he launched an ambitious privatization program; oversaw the easing of controls on prices, capital, and labour; and supported the introduction of a single European currency. Chirac's government left office in 1988, and Balladur was reelected to the National Assembly. After conservatives won an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly elections of March 21, 1993, Mitterrand, forced to choose a right-wing head of government, appointed Balladur as prime minister. Balladur thus headed another "cohabitation" government. In 1995 he ran for president but finished only third behind Lionel Jospin and Jacques Chirac; he then supported Chirac in the runoff.

Ballantrae, Bernard Fergusson, Baron (b. May 6, 1911 - d. Nov. 28, 1980, London), governor-general of New Zealand (1962-67); son of Sir Charles Fergusson. He was made a life peer in 1972.

Ballantyne

Ballantyne, Sir Frederick (Nathaniel) (b. July 5, 1936), governor-general of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2002- ); knighted 2002.

Ballard, Greg (b. Nov. 20, 1954, Indianapolis, Ind.), mayor of Indianapolis (2008- ).

Ballay, Noël (Eugène Victor) (b. July 14, 1847, Fontenay-sur-Eure, Eure-et-Loir, France - d. Jan. 26, 1902, Saint-Louis, Senegal), lieutenant governor of Gabon (1886-89), acting commissioner-general of Gabon and Congo (1888-90), governor of French Guinea (1891-1900), and governor-general of French West Africa and governor of Senegal (1900-02).

Ballmer

Ballmer, Adrian (b. Jan. 23, 1947, Basel, Switzerland), president of the government of Basel-Land (2004-05, 2008- ).

Ballot, (Marie Paul) Victor (b. Oct. 11, 1853, Fort-de-France, Martinique - d. March 17, 1939, Paris), governor of Dahomey (1894-99) and Guadeloupe (1907-08).

Balmaceda

Balmaceda (y Fernández), José Manuel (Emiliano Fernández de) (b. July 19, 1840, Santiago, Chile - d. Sept. 19, 1891, Santiago), president of Chile (1886-91). He was elected to the Chilean congress in 1870. A leader of a liberal, anticlerical group, he was sent as minister to Argentina (1878), where he successfully prevented Argentina from entering the War of the Pacific. While serving in the cabinet of Pres. Domingo Santa María (1881-86), he promoted public works. He was seen as the real man at the wheel and at the next election he was triumphantly returned by the Liberal Party. As president he advanced public education and railroad construction but inherited the legislative revolt against the executive begun in the 1860s. His attempts to prevent congressional limitation of the presidential powers led to the outbreak of civil war in January 1891. Congress, with navy support, defeated Balmaceda's forces within eight months. He took refuge in the Argentine legation and, rather than surrender to a trial, he committed suicide by shooting himself through the temple; this news was received with great rejoicing throughout Chile. His defeat left parliamentary government entrenched until the mid-1920s.

Balodis, Antons (b. Jan. 15, 1880, Jerceni, Russia [now in northern Latvia] - d. Jan. 1, 1942), foreign minister of Latvia (1928-30).

Balsemão

Balsemão, Francisco (José Pereira) Pinto (b. Sept. 1, 1937, Lisbon), prime minister of Portugal (1981-83). He was publisher from 1973 of the Expresso, which was strongly critical of the Salazar-Caetano regime. In 1975 Balsemão was vice-president of the Constituent Assembly and in 1977, opposition spokesman on foreign affairs. A pragmatist and conciliator, Balsemão was the opposite of Francisco Sá Carneiro, whom he succeeded as premier on Jan. 9, 1981, following the latter's death in a plane crash in December 1980. The two had been co-founders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in 1974, but the former leader's abrasive personality had caused numerous defections from the party. Those who picked Balsemão to succeed Sá Carneiro saw him as a more flexible manager who could steer Portugal through the difficult task of revising the 1976 Socialist constitution and preparing the country for membership in the European Communities. Balsemão maintained the free market-private enterprise slant of the PSD but with a much more urbane style, knowing that he would need a two-thirds majority in the Assembly to get his party's planned constitutional amendments passed. Balsemão's critics underestimated his role in keeping the PSD together when Sá Carneiro's intolerance of dissidents threatened to fragment the party. However, he had yet to convince the political and business communities of his determination in pursuing the PSD's program. An August 1981 crisis in which Balsemão called his critics' bluff and challenged them to find a replacement ended in triumph for him. The incident served to strengthen his hand and forced the dissidents to accept their share of the responsibility of running the country in a difficult period. He did not run for another term as PSD leader in 1983.

Baltimore (of Baltimore), Charles Calvert, (3rd) Baron (b. Aug. 27, 1637, England - d. Feb. 21, 1715, London), governor of Maryland (1661-76, 1679-84). He was sent over as governor of Maryland in 1661 by his father, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, and at his father's death in 1675 he succeeded as proprietor of the colony. Like his grandfather, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, Charles Calvert was a Roman Catholic, and anti-Catholic feeling was strong among Maryland's Protestant majority. Matters were further aggravated by the hostility of the Susquehanna Indians, as well as by Calvert's need to defend his territorial jurisdiction against claims by William Penn to the north. Antagonism in the Maryland Assembly led Calvert in 1670 to restrict the suffrage by property qualifications and occasionally to set aside acts of the legislature. In 1684 he went to England to defend himself in the dispute with Penn and to answer charges of favouring Catholics and obstructing customs collection. He never returned. After the Revolution of 1688 in England, he was deprived of the province. He was accused of taking part in two Roman Catholic plots but was never arrested. His son, Benedict Leonard Calvert (4th Baron Baltimore), conformed to the established Church of England in 1713 and thereupon had the colony of Maryland restored to him.

Baltimore, Charles Calvert, (5th) Baron (b. Sept. 29, 1699 - d. April 24, 1751), governor of Maryland (1720-27, 1732-33).

Bamali, (Alhaji Mallam) Nuhu, Bamali also spelled Bamalli (b. 1917, Lere [now in Kaduna state], Nigeria - d. Feb. 25, 2001), foreign minister of Nigeria (1965-66); grandson of Malam Musa ibn Muhammad (ruler of Zaria).

Bamana

Bamana, Younoussa (b. April 1, 1935, Kani Kéli, Mayotte - d. June 22, 2007, Mamoudzou, Mayotte), prefect of Mayotte (1975-76). He was proclaimed prefect by pro-French demonstrators who did not want Mayotte to become part of the newly independent state of Comoros. He was president of the General Council of Mayotte from 1977 to 2004, and also the first deputy from Mayotte to the French parliament (1978-81).

Bambridge, Georges (b. June 1, 1887, Papeete, French Settlements in Oceania [now French Polynesia] - d. Jan. 19, 1942, Pirae, French Settlements in Oceania), mayor of Papeete (1933-42) and member of the Provisional Government of the French Settlements in Oceania (1940).

Bamigboye, Theophilus (Oladapo) (b. March 3, 1951), administrator of Bauchi (1996-98) and Osun (1998-99).

Bamina

Ban

Bamina, Joseph (b. 1925, Bukeye, Burundi - d. [executed] Dec. 16, 1965), prime minister of Burundi (1965). He was also president of the Senate in 1965.

Ban Ki Moon, Revised Romanization Ban Gi-mun (b. June 13, 1944, Eumseong, North Chungchong province, Korea [now in South Korea]), foreign minister of South Korea (2004-06) and secretary-general of the United Nations (2007- ). He was ambassador to Austria in 1998-2000.

Banana

Banana, Canaan (Sodindo) (b. March 5, 1936, Esiphezini, Essexvale district [now Esigodini district], Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe] - d. Nov. 10, 2003, Harare), president of Zimbabwe (1980-87). On Nov. 26, 1998, he was found guilty of two cases of sodomy, nine cases of indecent assault, attempted sodomy, and of committing "unnatural" sexual acts. Banana, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, had denied in court that he tried to sexually attack his aides-de-camp, guards, and cook or two other men he picked up on the streets. In a highly publicized trial that lasted 17 days, one of the alleged victims described how Banana had treated him to drinks, a game of cards, and ballroom music before drugging and raping him on a carpet in the presidential State House library. The aide also alleged he watched pornographic videos with his boss before they had sex. Until his indictment, Banana had been under police investigation for months after allegations that he had raped and forced one of his former aides into a homosexual relationship during his presidency. The aide, Jefta Dube, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for the 1995 fatal shooting of a fellow policeman, Patrick Mashiri, who goaded him by calling him "Banana's wife." Banana - a Methodist church priest, married with four children - dismissed all suggestions that he is a homosexual as "a mortuary of pathological lies and a malicious vendetta of vilification and character assassination." Banana fled the country ahead of his conviction, going first to Botswana and then to South Africa, but returned in December 1998 and was placed under house arrest. In January 1999 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail, but with nine years suspended. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction in May 2000. He was released in 2001 after serving eight months in jail, getting time off for good behaviour.

H.K. Banda

Banda, Hastings Kamuzu (b. 1898?¹, near Kasungu, British Central Africa Protectorate [now Malawi] - d. Nov. 25, 1997, Johannesburg, South Africa), prime minister (1963-66) and president (1966-94) of Malawi (until 1964 Nyasaland). He first became involved in his homeland's politics when white settlers in the region demanded the federation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland in 1949. Banda and others in Nyasaland strongly objected to this extension of white dominance, but the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was nevertheless established in 1953. In 1959 he was imprisoned by the British colonial authorities. He was released in 1960 and a few months later accepted British constitutional proposals granting Africans in Nyasaland a majority in the Legislative Council. He was minister of natural resources and local government in 1961-63, and he became prime minister in 1963, the year the federation was finally dissolved. He retained the post of prime minister when Nyasaland achieved independence in 1964 under the name of Malawi. Malawi became a republic in 1966 with Banda as president. He headed an austere, autocratic one-party regime and jailed or executed his opponents. He had himself declared president for life in 1971. He concentrated on building up infrastructure and increasing agricultural productivity. His foreign-policy orientation was decidedly pro-Western. Widespread domestic protests and the withdrawal of Western aid forced him to legalize other political parties in 1993. In the country's first multiparty presidential elections (1994), he was defeated by Bakili Muluzi. Muluzi's government tried him for the 1983 murder of four political opponents but he was found not guilty. He finally retired from opposition politics in July 1997.
¹ Banda's official birthday was May 18, 1906, but he was widely believed to be older and the hospital where he died gave his age as 99. For many years, it was a criminal offense to discuss his age in Malawi. His nephew, former local government minister Katola Phiri, said Banda was actually born in 1896 and that his original name was Ackim Kamkhwala Banda before he changed it to Hastings Kamuzu Banda. (There even has been a story that Banda died young, while a medical student, and that Richard Armstrong, an American medical student who had befriended him, had taken his place.)

J. Banda

Banda, Joyce (Hilda) (b. 1951?), foreign minister of Malawi (2006- ).

Banda, Rupiah (Bwezani) (b. Feb. 13, 1937, Gwenda, Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]), foreign minister (1975-76) and vice president (2006- ) of Zambia. He was also ambassador to the United Arab Republic (1965-67) and the United States (1967-69) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1974-75).

A. Bandaranaike

Bandaranaike, Anura (Priyadarshi Solomon Dias) (b. Feb. 15, 1949, Colombo, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] - d. March 16, 2008, Colombo), foreign minister of Sri Lanka (2005); son of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike; brother of Chandrika Kumaratunga. He first entered parliament in 1977 and held the positions of opposition leader (1983-88), minister of higher education (1993-94), and parliamentary speaker (2000-01). He was appointed minister of industry, tourism, and investment promotion when Kumaratunga's party returned to power in 2004. He kept the tourism portfolio when he was appointed foreign minister in 2005. When a new cabinet was appointed later that year, he lost the foreign portfolio again but was confirmed as tourism minister, a post he held until January 2007, when he was given the less significant portfolio of national heritage. In February 2007 he was sacked as part of a cleanup of dissidents within the government and said he was happy to be out of a "carnival of clowns," but within two weeks he was reinstated in the post as the differences between him and Pres. Mahinda Rajapakse were said to be resolved. In December, however, he resigned and defected from the government.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike

Bandaranaike, S(olomon) W(est) R(idgeway) D(ias) (b. Jan. 8, 1899, Colombo, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] - d. Sept. 26, 1959, Colombo), prime minister of Ceylon (1956-59). He became interested in the fight for self-government and joined the National Congress Party. In 1931 he was elected to the newly formed legislative assembly, the State Council. In 1947, as a prominent member of the governing United National Party (UNP), he was elected to the new House of Representatives and appointed minister of health and local government. He resigned from the government and the Western-oriented UNP in 1951 and founded the Sinhale Haha Sabha. Before the next election - in 1952 - he dissolved the latter group and founded the nationalist Sri Lanka (Blessed Ceylon) Freedom Party. It gained only nine seats in the House, but he was returned with a record majority and became leader of the opposition. Four years later he formed the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP; People's United Front), a political alliance of four nationalist-socialist parties, which swept the election; he became prime minister on April 12, 1956. The MEP advocated a neutralist foreign policy and strong nationalist policies at home. Sinhalese, the language spoken by the majority community, replaced English as the official language of the country, and Buddhism, the majority religion, was given a prominent place in the affairs of state. By amicable agreement the British relinquished their military bases on the island, and Ceylon established diplomatic relations with communist states. A disgruntled Buddhist monk, Talduwe Somarama, shot Bandaranaike on Sept. 25, 1959, and he died the following day. After the 1960 elections, his widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, became prime minister.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo (Ratwatte Dias), original name Sirimavo Ratwatte (b. April 17, 1916, Ratnapura, Ceylon [now in Sabaragamuwa province, Sri Lanka] - d. Oct. 10, 2000, Colombo), prime minister (1960-65, 1970-77, 1994-2000) of Sri Lanka (until 1972 Ceylon); widow of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. After her husband was assassinated in 1959, she was induced by his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to become the party's leader (May 1960). The SLFP won a decisive victory at the general election in July 1960, and she became the world's first woman prime minister. She carried on her husband's policies of socialism, neutrality in international relations, and the active encouragement of the Buddhist religion and of the Sinhalese language and culture. In 1964 her coalition with the Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party caused dissension in her government, which was subsequently defeated in the general election of 1965. In 1970, however, her socialist coalition, the United Front, regained power, and as prime minister she pursued more radical policies. Her strategy, which included the nationalization of important industries, was nullified by repressive measures and failure to deal with ethnic rivalries and economic distress; in the election of July 1977 her party retained only 8 of 168 seats in the National Assembly and she was replaced as prime minister. In 1980 parliament expelled her and barred her from political office, but in 1986 Pres. J.R. Jayewardene granted her a pardon that restored her rights. In 1994 her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, was elected president and appointed Bandaranaike to a third term as prime minister, a position that had become largely ceremonial. She stepped down in August 2000 to let her daughter reorganize the cabinet ahead of elections; she died shortly after voting on election day.

Bandeira

Bangoura

Bandeira (Tavares Vaz da Conceição), Alda (b. Sept. 22, 1949, Santana, São Tomé), foreign minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (1991-93, 2002); wife of Norberto Costa Alegre.

Banerji, Asoka Nath (b. Dec. 19, 1917, Banaras, India), governor of Himachal Pradesh (1981-83) and Karnataka (1983-88).

Bangoura, (Camara Hadja) Mahawa (b. March 13, 1947, Conakry, French Guinea [now Guinea]), foreign minister of Guinea (2000-02). She was permanent representative to the United Nations in 1994-2000.

Bangui, Sylvestre (b. March 15, 1934, Mbaïki, Lobaye, Oubangui-Chari [now Central African Republic] - d. June 4, 1996, Paris), foreign minister of the Central African Republic (1979-80). He served as ambassador to France in 1975-79.

Bangura

Banharn

Bangura, Zainab (Hawa) (b. Dec. 18, 1959, Tonkolili district, Sierra Leone), foreign minister of Sierra Leone (2007- ).

Banharn Silpa-archa, also spelled Silapa-archa (b. Aug. 19, 1932, Suphan Buri province), interior minister (1990, 1995-96), finance minister (1990-91), and prime minister (1995-96) of Thailand.

Bani

Bani, John (Bennett) (b. July 1, 1941, Pentecost island, New Hebrides [now Vanuatu]), president of Vanuatu (1999-2004). Father John Bani, an Anglican priest, became involved in politics in the 1970s, together with Father Walter Lini and Donald Kalpokas. The three founded a newspaper which was successful in advocating independence for Vanuatu. Bani was elected the fifth president of Vanuatu when he succeeded in getting the required two-thirds support of the Electoral College, made up of 49 members of Parliament and the heads of Vanuatu's six provincial councils. He received 43 votes. Only members of the National United Party voted against him.

Bani-Sadr

Bani-Sadr, Abolhassan (b. March 22, 1933, Hamadan, near Abadan, Iran), president of Iran (1980-81). He was a leader of the antishah student movement in the early 1960s and was imprisoned twice for political activities. Wounded in the unsuccessful uprising of June 1963, he emigrated to France. He joined Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's entourage during the latter's exile in France, and the two returned to Iran together on Feb. 1, 1979. Bani-Sadr was appointed deputy minister of economy and finance in Mehdi Bazargan's government in July 1979 and became full minister in November of that year. He was elected first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Jan. 25, 1980, with 75% of the popular vote. Khomeini, the nation's religious leader, administered the oath of office on February 4. Two days later Khomeini appointed Bani-Sadr chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Iran's policy-making body. As president of the republic Bani-Sadr was appointed commander in chief of the armed forces on February 19. In August and September 1980 he was fortunate to escape injury in two helicopter crashes near the Iraq frontier. His presidency was an uphill struggle against enemies in the clergy seeking to reduce him to a figurehead and also against inexperienced departmental executives. Some indignant members of the Majlis (parliament) on December 16 demanded his punishment for revealing "military secrets." Khomeini dismissed him as commander-in-chief after military reverses against Iraq in 1981 and he was forced to flee the country in July as crowds of hardliners surrounded his office, baying for his head. He escaped to France where he allied himself with the Islamic leftist Mujaheddin-e Khalq movement, which was crushed in a wave of bloodshed. He lives in Versailles, near Paris, in a villa closely guarded by French police.

Bannon

Banny

Bannon, John Charles (b. May 7, 1943, Bendigo, Vic.), premier of South Australia (1982-92).

Banny, Charles Konan (b. Nov. 11, 1942, Divo, southern Ivory Coast), prime minister and finance minister of Côte d'Ivoire (2005-07).

Bañuelos, (José) Félix (b. Oct. 1, 1878, Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas - d. Sept. 2, 1948, Mexico City), governor of Quintana Roo (1931-32) and Zacatecas (1937-40).

Banyat Bantadtan (b. May 15, 1942, Surat Thani province, Thailand), interior minister of Thailand (2000-01).

Banzer

Banzer Suárez, Hugo, byname El Petiso (Spanish: "The Short One") (b. May 10, 1926, Concepción, Santa Cruz department - d. May 5, 2002, Santa Cruz de la Sierra), president of Bolivia (1971-78, 1997-2001). He served as minister of education (1964-66) in the cabinet of Pres. René Barrientos and as military attaché in Washington (1967-69) until he returned to Bolivia to head the Military College. In successive governmental changes between right- and left-wing officers, the conservative Banzer helped Gen. Rogelio Miranda overthrow Pres. Alfredo Ovando in September 1970; in August 1971 Banzer himself overthrew the leftist Gen. Juan José Torres, who had dismissed him as director of the Military College. Banzer encouraged foreign investment, but his restrictive policies regarding union activity and constitutional liberties led to opposition from labour leaders, clergymen, peasants, and students. All opposition was severely repressed. In 1974 he survived two coup attempts and also suppressed a peasant uprising. He declined to run for president in the 1978 elections, which were won by Gen. Juan Pereda Asbún amid universal charges of vote fraud. Pereda himself requested a new election, but before it could take place, he staged a coup, forcing Banzer to resign on July 21, 1978. Exiled by Pereda to Argentina, Banzer returned in 1979 and entered the presidential elections in that year and subsequent years. In 1985 he led the popular vote but lost in the subsequent runoff in the Congress. He placed second in the 1989 and 1993 elections. In 1997 he won the popular vote as well as the runoff in Congress and took office for a five-year term. His efforts to sharply reduce coca cultivation won him praise in Washington. He was forced by cancer to resign in 2001, a year before his term ended.

Bao Dai

Bao Dai (era name), personal name Nguyen Phuoc Vinh Thuy (b. Oct. 22, 1913, Hue, Annam [now in Vietnam] - d. July 31, 1997, Paris, France), emperor of Vietnam (1926-45) and premier (1949-50) and chief of state (1949-55) of South Vietnam. After the death of his father, Emperor Khai Dinh, in November 1925, he succeeded to the throne in January 1926 and assumed the title Bao Dai ("Keeper of Greatness"). He initially sought to reform and modernize the country but was unable to win French cooperation. The Japanese swept away French administration in Indochina in March 1945 and allowed him to remain as an essentially powerless ruler. When the Viet Minh seized power in August 1945, Ho Chi Minh and his colleagues asked him to resign. Judging that there was symbolic value to be gained by having Bao Dai linked to them, they offered him an advisory role as "Citizen Prince Nguyen Vinh Thuy." But in 1946 Bao Dai left Hanoi for China. In 1949 the French accepted the principle of an independent Vietnam but retained control of its defense and finance. Bao Dai returned on April 28, 1949, and became premier of a nominally independent State of Vietnam. Reinstalled as chief of state, he continued his pleasure-seeking ways, became generally known as the "Playboy Emperor," and left the affairs of state to his various pro-French Vietnamese appointees. When the 1954 peace accord between the French and communists resulted in the formal division of Vietnam into North and South, he tried to assume true power in South Vietnam. But in 1955 he was deposed by his premier Ngo Dinh Diem, who used his military power and a questionable referendum to declare himself head of state. Bao Dai fled to France, where he spent the rest of his life.

Bao G.

Bao Guiqing (b. 1867, Haicheng, Liaoning, China - d. March 1, 1934, Beijing, China), military and civil governor of Heilongjiang (1917-19), military (1919-21) and civil (1920-21) governor of Jilin, and army minister of China (1921-22). As a general loyal to the Qing dynasty, he supported the imperial order and led his forces to Wuhan to fight against the revolting army of Hubei in October 1911. He turned to Yuan Shikai after the founding of the republic, persecuting the revolutionary activists in the northeastern region. After Yuan's death, he turned to Zhang Zuolin and started his gubernatorial career in the northeast. He resigned from all his posts and quit politics upon the fall of Zhang Zuolin.

Baptista

Baquedano

Baptista, Lourival (Gomes da Costa) (b. Oct. 3, 1915, Sítio do Meio, Entre Ríos municipality, Bahia, Brazil), governor of Sergipe (1967-70).

Baquedano (González), Manuel (Jesús) (b. Jan. 1, 1823, Santiago - d. Sept. 30, 1897, Santiago), "accidental" chief of state of Chile (1891). General Baquedano was commander-in-chief of the Chilean army during the War of the Pacific against Peru and Bolivia in 1879. He did not take part in the revolution of 1891, but was temporarily placed in charge of the government when Pres. José Manuel Balmaceda resigned; three days later he handed over to the revolutionary junta.

Barabanov, Vladimir (Aleksandrovich) (b. Aug. 1, 1951), head of the administration of Bryansk oblast (1991-93, 1995-96).

Baraguir, Datu Amir bin Muhammad (b. Jan. 16, 1960, Salimbao barangay, Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao province, Philippines - d. Jan. 11, 2006, Salimbao), sultan of Magindanao (2000-06); son of Muhammad Gutierez bin Baraguir. He was enthroned on Dec. 12, 2005. Barely a month later, he was assassinated by two gunmen riding on a motorcycle.

Barak

Barak, Ehud, original name Ehud Brog (b. Feb. 12, 1942, Mishmar Hasharon kibbutz, central Palestine [now in Israel]), prime minister of Israel (1999-2001). He changed his name when he was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1959. In a distinguished military career, he was a commander in battles in the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973) but became known especially as the leader of special forces units that conducted commando raids. He served as head of military intelligence, and he became chief of General Staff in 1991. When he retired in 1995 as a lieutenant general, the highest rank, he was the most decorated soldier in the history of Israel's military. He joined the Labour Party in 1995 and under Labour governments he was interior minister in 1995 and foreign minister in 1995-96. In June 1997 he succeeded Shimon Peres as head of the Labour Party. In March 1999 he formed the One Israel bloc, an alliance of Labour with the Gesher Party of David Levy and Meimad, a moderate Orthodox Jewish movement. On May 17, 1999, he won a commanding victory in the prime ministerial elections, defeating the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu. But he was unable to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians, and in the fall of 2000 a new wave of violence broke out in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He called early elections, thereby heading off a potential challenge from Netanyahu to succeed him. Instead, he faced a more militant opponent, Ariel Sharon, who analysts believed would be an easier opponent for Barak. But the incumbent fell far behind his opponent in the polls, and in February 2001 lost by an unprecedented margin. He declined an offer to be defense minister in Sharon's government, resigned as party leader, and also quit as member of parliament. In 2007 he was reelected to the party leadership and became defense minister.

Baramidze, Giorgi (Aivengos dze) (b. Jan. 5, 1968, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), interior minister (2003-04) and defense minister (2004- ) of Georgia.

Baramuli, (Ahmad) Arnold (b. July 20, 1930, Pinrang, Netherlands East Indies [now in Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia] - d. Oct. 11, 2006, Jakarta, Indonesia), governor of Sulawesi Utara (1961-62).

Baranda García, Alfredo (b. 1944, Distrito Federal), interim governor of México (1986-87).

Bararunyeretse

Bararunyeretse, Libère (b. Feb. 9, 1954, Mugende, Gitaramuka commune, Karusi province, Burundi), interior minister (1991-92), foreign minister (1992-93), and president of the transitional Senate (2002-05) of Burundi. He was also ambassador to Belgium (1987).

Barata, Joaquim de Magalhães Cardoso (b. June 2, 1888 - d. May 29, 1959), governor of Pará (1930-35, 1943-45, 1956-59).

Baratieri

Baratieri, Oreste (b. Nov. 13, 1841, Condino, Lombardy, Austrian Empire [now in Italy] - d. Aug. 7, 1901, Sterzing, Tirol, Austria-Hungary [now Vipiteno, Italy]), Italian colonial administrator. He fell into disgrace with the Austrian authorities at an early age because of his support of the cause of Italian unification. He went to Milan, where, in 1859, he joined Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteers, serving under him in the Sicilian and south Italian campaigns of 1860. He commanded a regiment in Eritrea in 1887-91 and was named commander in chief of Italian troops in Africa in 1891. Although he came in conflict with the civilian authorities in Eritrea for his encouragement of private investment in the colony, his views prevailed when he was named governor in 1892. After opening Eritrea to private capital and extensive land settlement, Baratieri attempted, in 1895, to extend its borders into Ethiopia. Two defeats from the Ethiopians at the end of 1895 caused a demand for his recall, and Gen. Antonio Baldissera was sent out to replace him, the fact to be kept secret. Baratieri, however, heard of the intention, and endeavoured to win a great success before the arrival of Baldissera. However, he incurred an overwhelming disaster by the forces of the Ethiopian emperor, Menelik II, in the Battle of Adowa (Adwa) on March 1, 1896. It was the most severe defeat inflicted by what were termed "uncivilized" troops on a European power in the 19th century. This defeat led to the Italian recognition of full Ethiopian sovereignty and independence. Baratieri was recalled and later tried by court-martial, charged with having attacked the Abyssinians in a criminally rash manner. After a long trial he was acquitted. He was also a deputy of the Italian legislature in 1876-95.

Barazi

Barazi, Muhsin al- (b. 1904 - d. [executed] Aug. 14, 1949), foreign minister (1948, 1949) and prime minister (1949) of Syria.

Barba González, Silvano (b. Nov. 29, 1895, Valle de Guadalupe, Jalisco, Mexico - d. Dec. 14, 1967, Mexico City), interim governor (1926-27) and governor (1939-43) of Jalisco.

Barbalho, Jáder Fontenelle (b. Oct. 27, 1944, Belém, Pará, Brazil), governor of Pará (1983-87, 1991-94).

Barbaneagra, Alexei (b. Dec. 3, 1945), justice minister of Moldova (1990-94).

Barbara

Barbara, Agatha (b. March 11, 1923, Zabbar, Malta - d. Feb. 4, 2002, Zabbar), president of Malta (1982-87). She began her career as a school teacher with Malta's education department. She was elected to parliament in 1947 on the Labour Party ticket, becoming Malta's first woman lawmaker. She was returned to office in each subsequent general election until 1981. In 1955, she was named minister of education. One of her lasting contributions to Malta was her campaign to introduce full-time education for children, who up until then had only gone to school a few hours a day. The campaign required hundreds of teachers to be hired and trained. In 1958, after the Labour Party resigned from office, Barbara was sentenced to 43 days in prison after playing an active role in a national strike called by Labour to protest the British government's plan to reduce its presence in Malta. In another first for a Maltese woman, she was nominated president of the republic in 1982.

Barber, Anthony (Perrinott Lysberg) Barber, Baron (b. July 4, 1920, Doncaster, Yorkshire, England - d. Dec. 16, 2005, Suffolk, England), British politician. He was chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1970) and chancellor of the exchequer (1970-74) and was created a life peer in 1975.

Barber, Hilia (Garez Gomes Lima) (b. 1942), foreign minister of Guinea-Bissau (1999).

Barberot, Roger (René Albert) (b. Jan. 20, 1915, Cherbourg, France - d. Nov. 14, 2002, Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France), administrator-superior of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (1973-79).

Barbie

Barbie, Klaus, byname Butcher of Lyon, French Boucher de Lyon (b. Oct. 25, 1913, Bad Godesberg [now part of Bonn], Germany - d. Sept. 25, 1991, Lyon, France), German Nazi leader. He joined the Hitler Youth in 1931 and became an aide to a local Nazi chief; he joined the SD, a special branch of the SS, in 1935 and was assigned to Berlin. After German forces overran western Europe in World War II, he served in the Netherlands (1940), at the Russian front (1941-42), and then was made chief of Gestapo Department IV in Lyon. In this position he became especially active against French partisans, promoting the torture and execution of thousands of prisoners. Among the more specific charges against him were that he ordered the death of Resistance leader Jean Moulin (1943) and the deportation (April 1944) of 44 Jewish children (aged 3-13) and their five teachers, all of whom later were delivered to the Auschwitz extermination camp. In August 1944, as Lyon was about to be liberated, he sent his infamous "last convoy" of 650 prisoners to Auschwitz. He himself slipped back to Germany. After the war he was seized by U.S. authorities, who recruited him in 1947 for counterintelligence work and in March 1951, as the French began to close in on Barbie to bring him to trial for war crimes, spirited him out of Germany to Bolivia. He lived there as a businessman under the name Klaus Altmann from 1951 to 1983. He was tracked down in Bolivia in 1972 and after long negotiations, the Bolivian government extradited him to France in February 1983 to stand trial. In May 1987 Barbie, who remained unrepentant, went on trial in Lyon for 177 counts of "crimes against humanity." On July 4 he was convicted on all charges with no extenuating circumstances and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Barbier, Georges (Charles Paul) (b. Aug. 31, 1890, Paris - d. 1956), resident of Wallis and Futuna (1924-28).

Barbosa (Carneiro), Raul (b. Aug. 19, 1911, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil - d. Aug. 16, 1975, Washington, D.C.), governor of Ceará (1951-54).

Barbosa de Magalhães, José Maria de Vilhena (b. Oct. 31, 1879, Aveiro, Aveiro district, Portugal - d. April 5, 1959), foreign minister of Portugal (1922). He was also justice minister (1914-15) and education minister (1917).

Barbot, Ivan (b. Jan. 5, 1937, Ploeuc-sur-Lié, Côtes-du-Nord [now Côtes-d'Armor], France), president of the International Criminal Police Organization (1988-92).

Barbour

Barbour, Haley (Reeves) (b. Oct. 22, 1947, Yazoo City, Miss.), U.S. politician; chairman of the Republican National Committee (1993-97) and governor of Mississippi (2004- ).

Barboza, Mário Gibson (Alves) (b. March 13, 1918, Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil), foreign minister of Brazil (1969-74).

Barclay, Arthur (b. July 31, 1854, Bridgetown, Barbados - d. July 10, 1938, Monrovia, Liberia), president of Liberia (1904-12).

Barclay, Edwin J(ames) (b. 1882, Brewerville, Montserrado county, Liberia - d. 1955), secretary of state (1920-30) and president (1930-44) of Liberia; nephew of Arthur Barclay.

C. Barco

Barco (Isakson), (María) Carolina (b. 1950, Boston, Mass.), foreign minister of Colombia (2002-06); daughter of Virgilio Barco Vargas. In 2006 she became ambassador to the U.S.

V. Barco

Barco Vargas, Virgilio (b. Sept. 17, 1921, Cúcuta, Norte de Santander department, Colombia - d. May 20, 1997, Bogotá), president of Colombia (1986-90). His political career began in 1943 when he became a Liberal councillor in the town of Durania, and he later was elected to the lower house of Congress. During a volatile period in the late 1940s and early 1950s, known as La Violencia, in which the Liberal and Conservative factions waged a brutal war against one another and in which hundreds of thousands of people died, Barco was forced into exile in the U.S. He returned to Colombia in 1954 and helped arrange the interparty peace that laid the groundwork for a stable democracy. Over the next 40 years, he served two terms in the Senate (1958-66), was ambassador to Britain (1961-62, 1990-92) and the United States (1977), mayor of Bogotá (1966-69), and a director of the World Bank (1969-74). His career peaked in 1986, when he won the presidential election with more than 58% of the votes, one of the largest margins in the country's history. From the beginning, his administration was characterized by a sense of drift, arising largely from the low profile that he adopted and the introduction of single-party government, bringing to an end almost three decades of power sharing between the Liberals and Conservatives. His term began with a plan to attack absolute poverty, which he saw as the root cause of the violence pervading the country. Events forced him to resume the dialogue with the leftist guerrillas begun by his predecessor and to concentrate his fire against the drug mafia. His efforts escalated the violence of the "narcoterrorists," and while the international community lauded his actions, he was denounced in Colombia. He retired from political life in 1992.

Barde, (Alhaji) Abubakar (b. 1938, Jalingo [now in Taraba state], Nigeria - d. June 17, 2002, Abuja, Nigeria), governor of Adamawa (1979-83).

Bardoux, Agénor (b. Jan. 15, 1829, Bourges, Cher, France - d. Nov. 23, 1897, Paris), mayor of Clermont-Ferrand (1870-71) and French minister of public instruction, fine arts, and worship (1877-79).

Bargalló

Bargalló Valls, Josep (b. Oct. 3, 1958, Torredembarra, Tarragona province, Catalonia, Spain), chief councillor of Catalonia (2004-06).

Barge, Charles Augustinus Henry (b. Nov. 2, 1844, Amsterdam - d. Sept. 25, 1919, Voorburg, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands), governor of Curaçao (1890-1901).

Bargues, Robert (Isaac) (b. 1900), high commissioner of Madagascar (1950-53).

Barinov

Barinov, Aleksey (Viktorovich) (b. Dec. 30, 1951, Tashabar, Tadzhik S.S.R.), governor of Nenets autonomous okrug (2005-06). Arrested on May 23, 2006, in connection with a criminal case allegedly involving extortion and embezzlement, he was suspended on June 2 and sacked on July 21.

Barka, James (Shaibu) (b. 1961, Kala'a [now in Adamawa state], Nigeria), acting governor of Adamawa (2008).

Barkley

Barkley, Alben W(illiam) (b. Nov. 24, 1877, on a farm in Graves county, Ky. - d. April 30, 1956, Lexington, Va.), vice president of the United States (1949-53). An early participant in Democratic politics, he was elected in 1912 to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving seven successive terms (1913-27). In 1926 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, in which he served until 1949. Increasing senatorial seniority enhanced his influence on the committees on foreign affairs and finance. He was a leading spokesman for the domestic and international policies of the administration of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. An able parliamentary tactician, he served from 1937 to 1947 as Senate majority leader, shepherding numerous wartime and emergency acts through the Senate. In 1947 he became minority leader, after the Republicans gained control. Barkley was keynote speaker at the 1936 Democratic National Convention, permanent chairman of the 1940 convention, and delivered the speech nominating Roosevelt for a fourth term at the 1944 convention. At the 1948 convention in Philadelphia Barkley was keynote speaker again and there was nominated for the vice presidency, though only after William O. Douglas declined the position; Barkley had been passed over for the vice presidency in 1944 because of his age. He was elected with Pres. Harry S. Truman and at age 71 was the oldest person to take office as U.S. vice president. He served steadfastly, if unspectacularly, for the next four years. He was the first vice president to be called the "Veep," a word coined by his young grandson. He sought the presidential nomination in 1952 but withdrew when informed that many considered him too old for that office. He was reelected to the Senate in 1954.

Barnala, Surjit Singh (b. Oct. 21, 1925, Atali village, Hohindergarh district, Punjab [now in Haryana], India), chief minister of Punjab (1985-87), lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1990-93), and governor of Tamil Nadu (1990-91, 2004- ), Uttaranchal (2000-03), and Andhra Pradesh (2003-04).

Barnes

Barnes, Roy (Eugene) (b. March 11, 1948, Atlanta, Ga.), governor of Georgia (1999-2003). Elected to the state Senate in 1974, Barnes left in 1990 to challenge Zell Miller for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Out of politics for two years, he was elected to the state House in 1992. In 1998 Barnes, whose folksy manner and slow Southern drawl concealed an insider's knowledge of government, campaigned as the candidate best able to preserve the legacy of the popular, retiring Miller. And Miller bestowed his blessing. In beating Barnes eight years ago en route to his first term, Miller also gave Barnes an advanced degree in politics. "I learned," Barnes often said, "I went to 'Zell Miller University.'" Among other things, Barnes learned the lottery, which he opposed in 1990, had won wide acceptance with voters. A cornerstone of his campaign was protecting education programs funded by the lottery. Barnes defeated Republican Guy Millner, a businessman with no political experience, 53%-44%.

Barnes Jones

Barnes Jones, Deborah (Elizabeth Vavasseur), née Barnes (b. Oct. 6, 1956), governor of Montserrat (2004-07).

Barnhart, Gordon (Leslie) (b. Jan. 22, 1945, Saltcoats, near Yorkton, Sask.), lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan (2006- ).

Barnier

Barnier, Michel (b. Jan. 9, 1951, La Tronche, Isère, France), foreign minister of France (2004-05). He was previously an EU commissioner (1999-2004). In 2007 he became agriculture minister.

Barocio Barrios, Enrique (b. April 25, 1891, Mexico City - d. 19...), governor of Quintana Roo (1924-25).

Baron, Frank(lin Andrew Merrifield) (b. Jan. 19, 1923), chief minister and finance minister of Dominica (1960-61).

Barón Crespo, Enrique (b. March 27, 1944, Madrid, Spain), president of the European Parliament (1989-92).

Baroni, Danilo (Luis) (b. 1922), governor of Chaco (1987-91).

Baroudi (Pasha), Mahmoud Sami al- (b. 1838, Etai al-Baroud, al-Beheira governorate, Egypt - d. 1904), prime minister of Egypt (1882).

Barozai, Sardar Mohammad Khan (b. bf. 1924 - d. May 2, 2004, Sibi, Balochistan, Pakistan), chief minister of Balochistan (1976-77).

Barra, Rodolfo (Carlos), justice minister of Argentina (1994-96).

Barre, Abdirahman Jama, foreign minister of Somalia (1977-87, 1989-90); brother of Muhammad Siad Barre.

M.S. Barre

Barre, Muhammad Siad, Somali Maxamed Siyaad Barre (b. 1919?, Ganane, Italian Somalia - d. Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria), president of Somalia (1969-91). He belonged to the small Marehan clan of the Darod clan group in the south. He joined the Somali police force after the British took control in 1941 and rose to the post of chief inspector. When Somalia was returned to Italian sovereignty in 1950, Barre was sent to the military academy in Italy. He transferred to the Somali national army when it was formed (1960), and by 1966 he held the rank of major general and had become commander in chief. After taking state power in a bloodless military coup against the elected government in October 1969, Barre made himself head of a Supreme Revolutionary Council and imposed autocratic rule through a personality cult and the harsh enforcement of an official ideology called "Scientific Socialism." He strengthened relations with the Soviet Union, officially outlawed clan loyalties (while using clan elders to establish order in rural areas), and promoted literacy with a newly introduced Roman alphabet. He later renounced his ties with the Soviets and sought U.S. aid, but allegations of human rights abuses hurt his international standing. He was OAU chairman in 1974-75. By 1990 fighting among clans and between clan militias and the government forced Barre to promise reforms, including free elections. He was forced out of office in January 1991 and in 1992 went into exile in Nigeria.

R. Barre

Barreda

Barre, Raymond (Octave Joseph) (b. April 12, 1924, Saint-Denis, Réunion - d. Aug. 25, 2007, Paris, France), prime minister of France (1976-81). He was also vice president of the European Commission (1967-73) and mayor of Lyon (1995-2001).

Barreda Fontes, José María (b. Feb. 4, 1953, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain), president of the Junta of Castilla-La Mancha (2004- ).

Barrera Valverde, Alfonso (b. March 29, 1929, Ambato, Ecuador), foreign minister of Ecuador (1980-81).

Barreto, Honório (Pereira) (b. April 24, 1813, Cacheu [now in Guinea-Bissau] - d. April 26, 1859, Bissau [now in Guinea-Bissau]), captain-major of Bissau (1836-39, 1840-41, 1855-58, 1858-59) and Cacheu (1846-47, 1852-...).

D. Barrett

Barrett, David (b. Oct. 2, 1930, East Vancouver, B.C.), premier of British Columbia (1972-75). Fired from his job at a B.C. prison for being "too political," Barrett joined the leftist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (later renamed New Democratic Party) and won a seat in the provincial legislature from the Dewdney riding in 1960. Following the resignation of NDP leader Robert Strachan (1969), Barrett ran for the NDP leadership, and narrowly lost to fellow MLA Tom Berger. Later that year, however, Berger lost his own seat in an election. Barrett became interim party leader and was confirmed as leader at the annual NDP convention in 1970. In the 1972 election, he ran a fresh, energetic campaign, contrasting greatly with the negative mudslinging of the Social Credit Party. He was easily elected premier, thus ending 20 years of Socred rule in the province. Determined to be an activist premier while he had the chance, he introduced a spate of legislation, including an increase to the minimum wage, new labour laws, a freeze on development of agricultural land, the creation of B.C. Petroleum and the Insurance Corporation of B.C., and a controversial royalty on mineral production. In 1975 he broke with NDP tradition by imposing back-to-work legislation to end labour strife. Many observers believed Barrett to have tried to do too much in too short a time. He was defeated by a revitalized Social Credit Party in the December 1975 election. He lost his own seat but won a by-election in June 1976 and took the role of opposition leader against Premier Bill Bennett until 1984. He ran successfully for the federal NDP in Esquimalt in 1988. In 1989 he ran for the national party leadership, narrowly losing to Audrey McLaughlin. When he lost his seat in 1993 he retired from politics.

Barrett, Sean, Irish Seán Ó Bairéad (b. Aug. 9, 1944, Dublin, Ireland), defense and marine minister of Ireland (1995-97).

Barrientos

Barrientos Ortuño, René (b. May 30, 1919, Tarata, Bolivia - d. [helicopter crash] April 27, 1969, near Arque village, Bolivia), vice president (1964) and president (1966-69) of Bolivia.

Barrillot, Georges (Jules Eugène), administrator of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (1933-36).

Barrionuevo, Walter (Basilio) (b. Feb. 29, 1954, Santiago del Estero province, Argentina), governor of Jujuy (2007- ).

Barrios, Gonzalo (b. Jan. 10, 1902, Acarigua, Portuguesa state, Venezuela - d. May 30, 1993, Caracas, Venezuela), foreign minister (1947-48) and interior minister (1964-66) of Venezuela. He was a presidential candidate in 1968.

Barrios Arrechea, Ricardo (Alfredo) (b. July 3, 1934, Posadas, Argentina), governor of Misiones (1983-87) and public health minister of Argentina (1987-89).

Barrios de Chamorro, Violeta: see Chamorro, Violeta Barrios de.

Barron, William W(allace) (b. Dec. 8, 1911, Elkins, W.Va. - d. Nov. 12, 2002, Charlotte, N.C.), governor of West Virginia (1961-65). He was elected attorney general of West Virginia in 1956 and was 49 when he was elected the state's 26th governor in 1960. He served at a time when the West Virginia constitution limited governors to a single four-year term. Barron pleaded guilty in 1971 to paying a $25,000 bribe to a federal jury foreman during his 1968 trial on corruption charges. Barron was acquitted of the charges, which stemmed from an investigation into his administration's bribes-for-contracts scheme. He also was indicted in 1970 on state charges involving activities on behalf of a law client after he left office. He was among 32 individuals and 11 companies indicted by a Kanawha County, W.Va., grand jury. West Virginia Supreme Court decisions later that year nullified the use of the state's bribery law in most of the cases. As a result, most of the state indictments, including the one against Barron, were dismissed. Barron served three years and four months of a 12-year sentence on the bribery conviction at the federal minimum-security prison at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Barron's public career also included serving as the mayor of Elkins, a two-term member of the House of Delegates, and chairman of the state Liquor Control Commission from 1953 to 1955.

Barros, Cássio Leite de (b. 1926? - d. March 21, 2004, Cuiabá, Brazil), governor of Mato Grosso (1978-79).

Barroso

Barroso, José Manuel Durão (b. March 23, 1956, Lisbon), foreign minister (1992-95) and prime minister (2002-04) of Portugal and president of the European Commission (2004- ). He was president of the Social Democratic Party in 1999-2004.

Barrot

Barrot, (Camille Hyacinthe) Odilon (b. July 19, 1791, Villefort, Lozère, France - d. Aug. 6, 1873, Bougival, Yvelines, France), French politician. He began his career in 1814 as a barrister in the Court of Cassation. His dissatisfaction with the government of the Bourbon Restoration was shown in his conduct of some political trials, and he was elected president of the society Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera ("Heaven helps those who help themselves"), an organization formed to aid liberal candidates for election to the Chamber of Deputies. He was a very active member of the party which brought about the revolution of July 1830 and was one of the three commissioners appointed by the Provisional Government to intimate that the crown jewels would be restored to the royal family on condition that they would depart immediately for Cherbourg. The proposition was accepted, and Barrot accompanied Charles X to the point of embarkation, being, on his return to Paris, nominated prefect of the Seine. Under the new king Louis-Philippe, Barrot was the first to declare against a reactionary policy. As deputy from Eure, he was an active member of the opposition in the Chamber of Deputies. During 1846-47 he was one of the managers of the "banquets" campaign, which attempted to pressure the government into extending the franchise. The reforms did not come, but a republican revolution did. After the flight of Louis-Philippe in 1848, Barrot joined the moderate Republicans. He headed the first ministry called by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (December 1848) and also became minister of justice. Dismissed from the government in October 1849, he was imprisoned briefly after the coup d'état of Dec. 2, 1851, and then retired to private life. In 1871 he became vice president of the new Council of State.

D. Barrow

Barrow, Dean (Oliver) (b. March 2, 1951, Belize, British Honduras [now Belize]), foreign minister (1985-89, 1993-98) and prime minister and finance minister (2008- ) of Belize.

E. Barrow

Barrow, Errol (Walton) (b. Jan. 21, 1920, St. Lucy, Barbados - d. June 1, 1987, Bridgetown, Barbados), prime minister (1966-76, 1986-87) and foreign minister (1966-71) of Barbados; brother of Nita Barrow. He served in the Royal Air Force (1940-47) and piloted more than 50 missions over Western Europe. In 1951 he entered politics and was elected to Parliament as a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). He became disillusioned with the party's conservatism and in 1955 helped found the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), becoming its chairman (1958-76). He served three terms as premier and prime minister between 1961 and 1976, taking Barbados into independence in 1966. He pursued a policy of agricultural diversification, encouraged tourism, and worked to establish a racially integrated society. He lost popularity as a result of the deterioration in the economy that followed the oil price rise of the early 1970s. Barrow's moves to increase the government's influence on judicial appointments also proved damaging, and the BLP won 17 out of 24 seats in the 1976 election. A sweeping election victory for the DLP returned Barrow to power as prime minister on May 28, 1986.