Rulers
Index Ka
D. Ka |
Ka, Djibo (Leyti) (b. Feb. 21, 1948, Linguère, Louga region, northern Senegal - d. Sept. 14, 2017, Dakar, Senegal), foreign minister (1991-93) and interior minister (1993-95) of Senegal. He was also minister of information and telecommunications (1981-88), plan and cooperation (1988-90), and national education (1990-91). Once considered Pres. Abdou Diouf's heir apparent, he won a surprise 11 seats in 1998 legislative elections only six months after forming his Union for Democratic Renewal, following his expulsion from the ruling Socialist Party. He came fourth in the 2000 presidential elections, which were won by Abdoulaye Wade. Under Wade he became minister of maritime economy (2004-07) and minister of the environment (2007-12).
Ka, Ibra Deguéne (b. Jan. 4, 1939, Koul-Meckhé, Thiès region, Senegal), Senegalese diplomat. He was ambassador to Algeria (1978-81), Tunisia (1981-85), the United States (1988-93), and Switzerland (1994-96), high commissioner to The Gambia (1985-88), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1996-2001).
Kaabi, Abdallah (b. Sept. 26, 1951, Kairouan, Tunisia), interior minister of Tunisia (2001-02). He was also governor of Ariana (1988-90) and Tunis (1990-99) and minister of youth, sports, and physical education (2004-08).
Kaag |
Kaag, Sigrid (Agnes Maria) (b. Nov. 2, 1961, Rijswijk, Netherlands), foreign minister (2018 [acting], 2021) and finance minister (2022-24) of the Netherlands. She has also been UN special coordinator for Lebanon (2015-17), minister without portfolio (foreign trade and development cooperation) (2017-21), leader of the Democrats 66 (2020-23), a deputy prime minister (2022-24), and UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza (2024- ).
Kaahumanu |
Kaahumanu, Hawaiian Ka`ahumanu, later Elikapeka Ka`ahumanu (b. 1772? [some sources say March 17, 1768], Hana, Maui - d. June 5, 1832, Manoa Valley, Oahu), premier (1819-32) and regent (1823-32) of Hawaii. She was the favourite queen of Kamehameha I, whom she married when she was 13 or 14. After her husband's death in 1819 she stated before an assembly of chiefs that it was the late king's wish that she should share in the rule of Hawaii. The assembly accepted this and created for her the post of kuhina nui (premier). She was seen as a strong and resolute stabilizing force to the young king Kamehameha II. She instigated many reforms that she continued in her own regency. She urged the new king to end most of the traditional taboos - which, for example, restricted women from eating foods such as bananas, pork, or coconuts, and prevented them from eating in the presence of men. When the king went to England in 1823, she was appointed regent and she remained in that position after his death, until Kamehameha III should come of age. In 1821 she kidnapped and married King Kaumualii of Kauai, the only island never conquered by Kamehameha I. She also married Kaumualii's son, Kealiiahonui, whom she later released at the request of the Christian missionaries. With Kaumualii's death in 1824, Kauai's separate status was ended and all Hawaiian islands united. Kaahumanu embraced Protestant Christianity in April 1824 and was baptized in December 1825, after which she was known as the "New Kaahumanu." She worked zealously to spread Christianity and disallowed any competing faith. When Catholic missionaries arrived in the islands in 1827, she ordered them to leave.
Kaak | F. Kaba |
Kaak, Mustapha, Arabic Mustafa al-Ka`ak (b. April 17, 1893, Tunis, Tunisia - d. July 6, 1984), prime minister of Tunisia (1947-50).
Kaambi, Roubani (b. Dec. 10, 1955, Mistoudjé, Grande Comore, Comoros), Comoran politician. He was justice minister (1993) and permanent representative to the United Nations and ambassador to the United States (2012-14).
Kääriäinen, Seppo (Arimo) (b. March 29, 1948, Iisalmen rural municipality [now part of Iisalmi], Finland), defense minister of Finland (2003-07). He was also minister of trade and industry (1993-95).
Kaas, Frederik Julius (b. Aug. 24, 1758, Copenhagen, Denmark - d. Jan. 11, 1827, Copenhagen), minister of state of Denmark (1814). He was also justice minister (1813-27).
Kaay, Willem van der (b. May 5, 1831, Alkmaar, Netherlands - d. July 29, 1918, The Hague, Netherlands), justice minister of the Netherlands (1894-97).
Kaba, (Sidibé) Fatoumata (b. 1959?), foreign minister of Guinea (2005-06). She was also ambassador to Nigeria (2002-05) and Ethiopia (2013-18), minister of international cooperation (2006-07), and permanent representative to the United Nations (2018-20). She was appointed ambassador to the United States in 2022.
I.K. Kaba | Sidiki Kaba |
Kaba, Ibrahima Kalil (b. 1973?), foreign minister of Guinea (2021). He was also chief of the presidential cabinet (2012-21).
Kaba, Nialé (b. 1962, Bouko, Ivory Coast [now Côte d'Ivoire]), Ivorian politician. She has been minister of housing promotion (2012) and planning and development (2016- ) and minister to the prime minister with responsibility for economy and finance (2012-16).
Kaba, Sékou, interior minister of Guinea (1961-63). He was also ambassador to the Soviet Union (1976-80).
Kaba, Sidiki (b. Aug. 21, 1950, Tambacounda, Senegal), justice minister (2013-17), foreign minister (2017-19), defense minister (2019-23), interior minister (2023-24), and prime minister (2024) of Senegal.
Kaba, Sori (b. 1928), Guinean diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1960-61) and ambassador to the Soviet Union (1961-62).
Kabadi, (Jacques) Haroun (b. April 29, 1949, Dindjebo, Chad), prime minister of Chad (2002-03). He was also minister of communication (1998) and agriculture (2007-08) and president of the National Assembly (2011-21).
Kabaloyev, Bilar (Yemazayevich) (b. Nov. 24 [Nov. 11, O.S.], 1917, Stary Lesken, Terek oblast [now Anzorey, Kabardino-Balkariya republic], Russia - d. April 1, 2009, Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, Russia), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the North Ossetian A.S.S.R. (1961-82).
Kabanda, Célestin (b. 1936, Rusagara, Rwanda), Rwandan diplomat. He was ambassador to the United States (1964-69), Canada (1966-69), France, Italy, and Spain (1969-72), Libya (1977-79), and Ethiopia (1979-84), permanent representative to the United Nations (1967-69, 1984-89), and prefect of Ruhengeri (1973-74) and Gikongoro (1975-77).
Kabange Numbi, Fortunat, byname of Ferdinand Kabange Numbi (b. 1934 - d. [assassinated] June 18, 1964, Albertville, Nord-Katanga, Congo [Léopoldville] [now Kalemie, Tanganyika, Congo (Kinshasa)]), vice president (1964) and president (1964) of Nord-Katanga.
Kabanov, Aleksandr (Fyodorovich) (b. 1899, Balabanovo, Moscow province, Russia - d. June 11, 1975, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean A.S.S.R. (1944-45) and chairman of the Executive Committee of Crimea oblast (1945-46). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Penza oblast (1939-42) and minister of industrial crops of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1946-47).
Kabanov, Ivan (Grigoryevich) (b. Feb. 1 [Jan. 20, O.S.], 1898, Usolye, Perm province, Russia - d. July 2, 1972, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was people's commissar of public utilities (1937-38) and a deputy premier (1938) of the Russan S.F.S.R. and people's commissar/minister of food industry (1938-39), electrical industry (1941-51), and external trade (1953-58) and chairman of the State Committee for Material-Technical Supply (1952-53) of the Soviet Union.
Kabariti, Abdul Karim al-, Arabic `Abd al-Karim al-Kabariti (b. Dec. 15, 1949, Amman, Jordan), foreign minister (1995-97) and prime minister and defense minister (1996-97) of Jordan; son-in-law of Ahmad al-Lawzi. Kabariti, from a leading Jordanian political and business family, rose quickly after becoming a member of parliament in 1989 elections, holding the tourism (1989-91) and labour (1991-93) portfolios before becoming foreign minister. He had a reputation for modernization and openness, cultivating journalists to spread his message. In 1996 King Hussein, ignoring criticism of his policies, appointed as prime minister Kabariti, who was noted for his outspoken support of the king's controversial moves away from Iraq and toward Israel. As foreign minister he had been subjected to sniping from other ministers because of his views and high profile. He had strong links with Syria, a key neighbour angered by Jordan's peace treaty with Israel in 1994 and its increasingly close cooperation with Israel. Kabariti backed the king's call for change in Iraq, drawing criticism from many politicians. His government implemented tough economic change. In 1999-2000 he was chief of the royal court.
Kabashima, Ikuo (b. Jan. 28, 1947), governor of Kumamoto (2008- ).
Kabasubabo (Katulondi), Hubert (b. Sept. 6, 1961, Luluabourg [now Kananga], Congo [Léopoldville (now Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï Occidental (2011-12).
Kabayama, Sukenori, in full (from 1895) Hakushaku (Count) Sukenori Kabayama, original surname Hashiguchi (b. Dec. 9 [Nov. 12, lunar calendar], 1837, Satsuma domain [now in Kagoshima prefecture], Japan - d. Feb. 8, 1922, Tokyo, Japan), governor-general of Taiwan (1895-96) and home affairs minister of Japan (1896-98). He was also minister of navy (1890-92) and education (1898-1900) and chief of the naval staff (1894-95).
A. Kabba | T. Kabba |
Kabba, Alie, foreign minister of Sierra Leone (2018-19). He was also permanent representative to the United Nations (2019-21) and ambassador to Egypt (2021-22).
Kabba, Timothy (Musa), foreign minister of Sierra Leone (2023- ). He was also minister of mines and mineral resources (2020-23).
Kabbah |
Kabbah, Ahmad Tejan (b. Feb. 16, 1932, Pedembu, Eastern Region, Sierra Leone - d. March 13, 2014, Freetown, Sierra Leone), president of Sierra Leone (1996-97, 1998-2007). He began a career in the Colonial Administrative Service, rising to the rank of permanent secretary at the ministry of trade and industry and the ministry of education. He left Sierra Leone in 1968 after the All People's Congress took power and spent many years working in East Africa and New York for the United Nations Development Programme. When the army ousted the All People's Congress government in 1992, Kabbah was appointed to chair the National Advisory Council which had the task of drawing up a new constitution and preparing a return to multiparty democracy. He brought the Sierra Leone People's Party, the country's oldest political party, back to power after nearly 30 years when he won 59.5% of the vote in the 1996 election. The new president's main task was to halt the army's five-year-old war with rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had wrecked the mining-based economy and driven more than a third of the population from their homes. His party manifesto pledged to crack down on corruption and economic indiscipline, and to maintain cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, which agreed a three-year Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility in March 1994. The rebels opposed the elections and said they would not recognize any civilian government but Kabbah was confident he could continue peace talks started by Julius Maada Bio's administration. In May 1997, he was ousted in a military coup, but he was reinstated in March 1998, after an intervention by the Economic Community of West African States, whose Nigerian-led troops overthrew the military regime. He was reelected in 2002.
Kabbaj, Mohamed (b. 1946, Fès, Morocco), finance minister of Morocco (1995-97). He was also minister of supply (1981-93) and vocational training (1984-93) and governor of Casablanca (2005-09).
Kabbaj, Omar (b. Aug. 15, 1942, Rabat, Morocco), president of the African Development Bank (1995-2005).
Kaberuka, Donald (b. Oct. 5, 1951, Byumba, northern Rwanda), finance minister of Rwanda (1997-2005) and president of the African Development Bank (2005-15).
Kabes, Jaroslav (b. June 18, 1896, Tábor, Austria [now in Czech Republic] - d. Aug. 15, 1964, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), finance minister of Czechoslovakia (1949-53). He was also general director of the State Bank (1954-57).
Kabeya Matshi Abidi, Patrick Mathias (b. Aug. 31, 1980, Mbuji-Mayi, Zaire [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï Oriental (2022- ).
Kabeya Shikayi, John (b. April 19, 1976, Kananga, Kasaï Occidental, Zaire [now in Kasaï Central, Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï Central (2022-24).
Kabeya wa Mukeba, originally Joseph Alidor Kabeya (b. Dec. 28, 1935, Tshilomba, Lusambo province, Belgian Congo [now in Kasaï Oriental province, Congo (Kinshasa)]), Zairian official. He was prosecutor-general (1966-68), ambassador to the Central African Republic (1973-76), Ethiopia (1975-77), and the Soviet Union (1980-87), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1977-79).
J. Kabila |
Kabila (Kabange), Joseph1 (b. June 4, 1971, Hewa Bora II, Kivu [now in Sud-Kivu], Zaire [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), president of Congo (Kinshasa) (2001-19); son of Laurent Kabila. He went into exile in Tanzania at the age of five, and in 1996 took part in his father's Rwandan-backed military offensive against Pres. Mobutu Sese Seko. After his father took power in 1997, Kabila was sent to China for further military training, but was called home after a new rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda broke out in 1998, leading to the worst war in modern African history which brought at least six foreign armies onto Congolese soil. He was given the rank of general. He showed little interest in politics before he succeeded as president on his father's assassination. As president, he worked with the United Nations to bring peace to the country, seeking to disarm rebel militia and secure the withdrawal of Rwandan, Ugandan, and Burundian troops. Alongside deals for the withdrawal of foreign troops, an agreement was signed in December 2002 among rival Congolese parties that launched a transition process towards democracy. However, both his presidential election victories, in 2006 and 2011, led to unrest and cries of electoral fraud. His constitutionally-mandated final term ended in 2016 but he refused to step down. Only in 2018 did he agree not to run in new elections.
1 Opponents claim that his original name was Hyppolite Christopher Kanambe Kazembere N'Twale (or some variation thereof), that he is of Rwandese origin, that he is the adopted, not biological, son of Laurent Kabila, and that he was involved in the latter's assassination.
L. Kabila |
Kabila, Laurent (Désiré) (b. Nov. 27, 1939 or 1941, Jadotville [now Likasi] or Baudouinville [now Moba], Belgian Congo [now Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. Jan. 16, 2001, Kinshasa), president of Congo (Kinshasa) (1997-2001). He became a youth leader in a political party allied to Congo's first post-independence prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, who was deposed in 1961 and later killed. Kabila fought in the July 1964 Stanleyville uprising, the best known of a series of uprisings against the central government. He met with the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, who before long became disillusioned with Kabila; the Cubans withdrew from the country in November 1965 and the rebellion was crushed. In 1967, Kabila and 26 associates established the People's Revolutionary Party and continued their revolution from Uvira, near Lake Tanganyika. They set up a leftist state with collective farms, health clinics, and schools. Kabila disappeared from view in 1988 and was thought dead. He reemerged as a rebel leader in October 1996. Forming the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, he marched west toward the capital city of Kinshasa, forcing Pres. Mobutu Sese Seko to give up power. Kabila then proclaimed himself president. Reportedly, his troops had been responsible for the murders of thousands of Hutu refugees who had fled Rwanda into Zaire in 1994. At first, Kabila was extremely popular among the Congolese, but he began to resemble the man he ousted, and soon faced a rebellion himself that tore Congo apart. Kabila fell out with Uganda and Rwanda just a year after taking power. They then backed rebels which gained control of most of the north and east of the country. Fighting alongside Kabila's forces were Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia. He was assassinated by one of his own soldiers.
Kabila (Mwanzambala), Zoé (b. June 26, 1979, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), governor of Tanganyika (2019-21); brother of Joseph Kabila.
Käbin, Johannes, Russian Ivan Gustavovich Kebin (b. Sept. 24, 1905, Kalvi, Estonia - d. Oct. 26, 1999, Tallinn, Estonia), first secretary of the Communist Party (1950-78) and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1978-83) of the Estonian S.S.R.
Kabir, Humayun (b. Sept. 25, 1938), Bangladeshi diplomat. He was ambassador to Iran (1979-83) and the United States (1994-96), high commissioner to Zimbabwe (1988-91), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1991-93).
Kablia, Dahou (Azouane) Ould (b. May 4, 1933, Tangier, Morocco), interior minister of Algeria (2010-13). He was also wali of Mostaganem (1963-64), Tiaret (1964-65), Tlemcen (1965-70), Oran (1970-74), Skikda (1974-78), and Alger (1978-80).
Kabongo Boniface Kalowa, also called Ilunga Balowa Boniface or Dibwe Kalowa Boniface (b. between 1905 and 1910 - d. [assassinated] Oct. 25, 1960, northern Katanga), king of the Luba (1946-60).
Kabongo (Jacques) Makassa Dibwe (d. early 1980s), king of the Luba (1960-8...).
Kaboré, John Boureima (b. March 26, 1932, Zorgo, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso] - d. May 12, 2020, Clamart, Hauts-de-Seine, France), Upper Volta diplomat. He was ambassador to Ghana (1961-63) and the United States (1963-66) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1963-66).
R.M.C. Kaboré |
Kaboré, Roch Marc Christian (b. April 25, 1957, Ouagadougou, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso]), finance minister (1992-93), prime minister (1994-96), president (2015-22), and defense minister (2016-17) of Burkina Faso. He was also minister of transport and communications (1989-90) and president of the National Assembly (2002-12).
Kaboyev, Georgy (Fyodorovich), also known as Tatari Kaboyev (b. 1887, Khumalag, Terek oblast [now in North Ossetia-Alania republic], Russia - d. [executed] July 13, 1938), chairman of the Executive Committee of North Ossetian autonomous oblast (1928-30).
A. Kabua |
Kabua, Amata (b. Nov. 17, 1928, Jabor Island, Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands - d. Dec. 19, 1996, Honolulu, Hawaii [Dec. 20, Marshalls time]), president (1979-96) and finance minister (1983-85) of the Marshall Islands. He became chief clerk of the Council of Iroij (paramount chiefs) while in his late 20s. He was elected to the first Marshall Islands Congress in 1958 and, in 1963, was elected to represent the Marshall Islands on the territory-wide legislative body - the Congress of Micronesia. He founded the Political Movement for the Marshall Islands Separation from Micronesia (1972) and served as president of the Marshall Islands from the time the republic gained internal self-government. He was elected to his fifth term of office in 1995. He died in office. He was also Iroijlaplap (paramount chief) of Kwajalein.
Kabua, Amatlain Elizabeth (b. Aug. 15, 1953, Majuro, Marshall Islands), Marshall Islands politician; daughter of Amata Kabua. She was mayor of Majuro Atoll (1986-97), ambassador to Japan (1997-2003) and Fiji (2009-12), and permanent representative to the United Nations (2012-14, 2016-24).
D. Kabua | I. Kabua |
Kabua, David (b. 1951, Majuro, Marshall Islands), president of the Marshall Islands (2020-24); son of Amata Kabua. He was also minister of health (2012-14) and internal affairs (2014-16) and minister in assistance to the president (2016).
Kabua, Imata (Jabro) (b. May 20, 1943, Enmat Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands - d. Sept. 18, 2019, Honolulu, Hawaii), president of the Marshall Islands (1997-2000); cousin of Amata Kabua. He was a senator (1976-96, 2000-04) from Kwajalein, of which he was also Iroijlaplap (paramount chief).
Kabua, Kitlang (Mildred) (b. June 26, 1991, Ebeye Island, Marshall Islands), foreign minister of the Marshall Islands (2022-23). She was also minister of education, sports, and training (2020-22).
Kabudi |
Kabudi, Palamagamba (John Aidan Mwaluko) (b. Feb. 24, 1956), foreign minister of Tanzania (2019-21). He was also minister of justice and constitutional affairs (2017-19).
Kabui, Sir Frank (Utu Ofagioro) (b. April 20, 1946, Suluagwari village, near Malu'u, Malaita, Solomon Islands), governor-general of the Solomon Islands (2009-19); knighted 2009. He was also attorney general (1980-94).
Kabui, Joseph (Canisius) (b. September 1954, central Bougainville, Papua New Guinea - d. June 7, 2008, Buka, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea), president of Bougainville (1999, 2005-08).
Kabula Mavula, Larousse (b. May 1, 1974, Mawanga, Zaire [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), special commissioner (2015-16) and governor (2016-17) of Kwango.
Kabulova, Tamara (Shalvovna) (b. May 1, 1938 - d. Feb. 17, 2023), chairman of the Executive Committee of the South Ossetian autonomous oblast (1980-86).
Kabuya Mulamba Kabitanga, Martin (b. July 7, 1970, Luluabourg [now Kananga], Congo [Kinshasa]), governor of Kasaï Central (2019-20).
Kabyakow |
Kabyakow, Andrey (Uladzimiravich) (Belarusian), Russian Andrey (Vladimirovich) Kobyakov (b. Nov. 21, 1960, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), prime minister of Belarus (2014-18). He was also first deputy prime minister (2000-01), deputy prime minister (2001-10), economy minister (2002-03), and ambassador to Russia (2011-12).
Kácer |
Kácer, Rastislav (b. July 9, 1965, Nová Bana, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), foreign minister of Slovakia (2022-23). He was also ambassador to the United States (2003-08), Hungary (2013-18), and the Czech Republic (2020-22).
Kachakov, Yordan (Krustev) (b. Feb. 1, 1885, Hadzhi Eles [now part of Purvomay], Bulgaria - d. Nov. 11, 1934, Sofia, Bulgaria), justice minister of Bulgaria (1933-34).
Kachalla, Mala (b. November 1941, Maiduguri, Nigeria - d. April 18, 2007, Maiduguri), governor of Borno (1999-2003).
Kachalov, Nikolay (Nikolayevich) (b. 1916, Vyazma, Smolensk province, Russia), Soviet politician. He was a deputy premier and minister of construction of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1963-67).
Kachin, Dmitry (Ivanovich) (b. Nov. 7, 1929, Bolshaya Rechka, Buryat-Mongol A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was first secretary of the party committee of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city (1965-68), chairman of the Executive Committee (1969-71) and first secretary of the party committee (1971-86) of Kamchatka oblast, and ambassador to Vietnam (1986-90).
Kachmazov, Anatoly (Abramovich), chairman of the Executive Committee of the South Ossetian autonomous oblast (1986-90).
Kacin, Jelko (b. Nov. 26, 1955, Celje, Slovenia), defense minister of Slovenia (1994-97). He was also minister of information (1991-93) and a presidential candidate (1992).
Kacker, Shyam Nath (b. Dec. 2, 1922, Allahabad [now Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh], India - d. Sept. 1, 1988, New Delhi, India), law and justice minister of India (1979-80). He was also mayor of Allahabad (1965-71).
Kacou, Alcide (Augustin) (b. March 14, 1919, Bingerville, Ivory Coast [now Côte d'Ivoire] - d. April 18, 2011, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire), Ivorian politician. He was minister of technical education (1957-61), public works and transport (1961-70), posts and telecommunications (1961-64), and construction (1963-64).
Kaçorri, Nikoll (b. Feb. 21, 1862, Krej-Lura, Ottoman Empire [now in Albania] - d. May 29, 1917, Vienna, Austria), deputy prime minister of Albania (1912-13).
Kaczmarek, Janusz (Kazimierz) (b. Dec. 25, 1961, Gdynia, Poland), interior minister of Poland (2007). He was also national prosecutor (2005-07).
Kaczorowski, Ryszard (b. Nov. 26, 1919, Bialystok, Poland - d. [plane crash] April 10, 2010, near Smolensk, Russia), president of the Polish Republic in exile (1989-90).
J. Kaczynski | L. Kaczynski |
Kaczynski, Jaroslaw (Aleksander) (b. June 18, 1949, Warsaw, Poland), prime minister of Poland (2006-07); brother of Lech Kaczynski. He was also a presidential candidate (2010) and a deputy prime minister (2020-22, 2023).
Kaczynski, Lech (Aleksander) (b. June 18, 1949, Warsaw, Poland - d. April 10, 2010, near Smolensk, Russia), justice minister (2000-01) and president (2005-10) of Poland. In 2002 he was elected mayor of Warsaw. He won popularity for taking a tough stance on crime and promoting efforts to commemorate Warsaw's history - including a museum devoted to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and a planned museum on the history of Poland's Jews. But he also drew the ire of gay-rights activists and others when he banned a yearly homosexual rights parade in Warsaw for the second consecutive year. Defying the ban, more than 2,000 gay-rights activists marched in Warsaw. In 2005 Kaczynski won presidential elections. For some time it seemed that his twin brother, Jaroslaw, might become prime minister at the same time. They both belonged to the Law and Justice party (PiS) and were known for their tough talk in the fight against crime and corruption and for advocating traditional morality. To avoid confusion, the identical twins very rarely appeared together in public. Although Law and Justice won the parliamentary elections, Jaroslaw turned down the prime minister's job in an apparent attempt to avoid foiling Lech's presidential bid. Less than a year later, however, Jaroslaw did assume the premiership, establishing a unique political double act. But it lasted only until 2007 when Jaroslaw's coalition collapsed and PiS was defeated in new parliamentary elections. Lech was killed with his wife and many other Polish public figures when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for landing in western Russia, where the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre was to be marked.
Kada, Yukiko (b. May 18, 1950), governor of Shiga (2006-14).
Kadambayev, Toktarbay (Kadambayevich) (b. July 13, 1944, Aksu, Kustanay [now Kostanay] oblast, Kazakh S.S.R.), head of Kostanay oblast (1995-98).
Kadannikov, Vladimir (Vasilyevich) (b. Sept. 3, 1941, Gorky [now Nizhny Novgorod], Russian S.F.S.R. - d. June 3, 2021, Moscow, Russia), a first deputy prime minister of Russia (1996). He was also director-general of Volga Automotive Plant (1988-96).
Kádár |
Kádár, János, original name János Czermanik or Csermanek (b. May 26, 1912, Fiume, Hungary [now Rijeka, Croatia] - d. July 6, 1989, Budapest, Hungary), first secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party (1956-88). He joined the then-outlawed Communist Party in 1931 and over the next several years was repeatedly arrested and jailed. During World War II he took the nom de guerre of Kádár for his work in the Hungarian resistance. He joined the party's Central Committee in 1942, and after the war he was elected (1945) to the Provisional National Assembly and held several government posts, including minister of internal affairs (1948-50). As part of a Stalinist purge he was arrested in April 1951 on charges of treason, sentenced to four years in prison, and allegedly tortured. However, after Iosif Stalin's death and under pressure from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, he was released in July 1954 and entered Prime Minister Imre Nagy's reformist cabinet. Although Kádár appeared to support Nagy's liberal policies, on Nov. 4, 1956, he denounced Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact and, with Soviet support, took control of the government. He instituted severe repressive measures under which Nagy was tried and executed (1958). By the early 1960s he had begun to implement the "goulash Communism" that brought Hungary improved relations with the West, a rising standard of living, and relative freedom from Soviet intervention. On June 9, 1977, Pope Paul VI received him in audience at the Vatican - symbolically marking the end of Hungary's moral isolation. The Hungarian economy stagnated in the 1980s, and in 1988 he was shifted to the ceremonial post of party president. He was removed from that post and from the Central Committee shortly before his death.
Kadare, Besiana (b. 1972), Albanian diplomat. Daughter of the writer Ismail Kadare, she was permanent representative to the United Nations (2016-21).
Kaddour | Kadhimi |
Kaddour, Hafez, foreign minister of Libya (Bashagha government; 2022-23).
Kadhimi, Mustafa al-, byname of Mustafa Abdul Latif Mashtat (b. 1967, Baghdad, Iraq), prime minister (2020-22) and acting foreign minister (2020) of Iraq. He was also head of the National Intelligence Service (2016-20).
Kadirgamar |
Kadirgamar, Lakshman (b. April 12, 1932, Manipay, Jaffna district, Northern province, Ceylon [now in North Eastern province, Sri Lanka] - d. Aug. 13, 2005, Colombo, Sri Lanka), foreign minister of Sri Lanka (1994-2001, 2004-05). He was fatally shot by a sniper late on Aug. 12, 2005, and died shortly after midnight. Though it was not immediately clear who was behind the shooting, Kadirgamar, a Tamil Christian, had often publicly said that he was a potential target of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As foreign minister he had claimed credit for getting the LTTE outlawed in several other countries, including in the U.S. and Britain.
Kadis, Kostas (b. Aug. 30, 1967, Nicosia, Cyprus), Cypriot politician. He has been minister of health (2007-08), education and culture (2014-18), and agriculture, rural development, and environment (2018-23) and European commissioner for fisheries and oceans (2024- ).
Kadlecíková, Mária (b. April 6, 1948, Kolárovo, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), a deputy prime minister of Slovakia (2001-02).
Kadri Pasha, Mehmed (b. 1832, Gaziantep, Ottoman Empire [now in Turkey] - d. Feb. 11, 1884, Adrianople, Ottoman Empire [now Edirne, Turkey]), grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1880). He was also mayor of Constantinople (1874-75, 1876-77), minister of public works (1875), interior (1879), and commerce (1879), head of the Council of State (1877-78), and governor of Baghdad (1878) and Adrianople (1882-84).
Kadric, Esed (b. Sept. 10, 1979, Maoca, near Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina), mayor of Brcko (2020-23).
Kaduma, Ibrahim Muhammad (b. 1937, Mtwango, Njombe district, Tanganyika [now in Tanzania]), foreign minister of Tanzania (1975-77). He was also minister of trade (1980-81) and communications and transport (1981-82).
Kadyrbekov |
Kadyrbekov, Ishenbay (Duyshombiyevich) (b. July 16, 1949, Naryn, Kirgiz S.S.R.), Kyrgyz politician. In the March 2005 revolution, he was first elected speaker of the upper house and as such declared acting president, but the lower house did not approve this and named Kurmanbek Bakiyev acting president instead. Bakiyev then named Kadyrbekov minister of transport and communication. In September 2005, however, parliament rejected his renomination for this post.
A. Kadyrov |
Kadyrov, Akhmad (Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich) (b. Aug. 23, 1951, Karaganda, Kazakh S.S.R. - d. May 9, 2004, Grozny, Chechnya), Moscow-backed head of the administration (2000-03) and president (2003-04) of Chechnya. In 1993, he was appointed as the deputy mufti of Chechnya and two years later became the republic's mufti. He called for jihad against the Russian troops and fought along the Chechen fighters during the 1994-96 war. But when the second war broke out in October 1999, he threw his lot in with Moscow. He was sacked later by elected Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, who branded Kadyrov as the "enemy number one." He appealed to the Kremlin when it was looking for someone to head Chechnya in June 2000, after its troops swept away Maskhadov. Kadyrov assumed power as president in 2003 after elections seen by his countrymen and rights groups as a farce. Media reports accused the Kremlin of rigging the race for the sake of Kadyrov after four front-runners had mysteriously withdrawn or been ejected from Chechnya's troubled election, leaving him as the almost certain winner. Kadyrov found himself branded a traitor and spent much of his time ducking assassination attempts. He was killed when a land mine exploded underneath a VIP seating area in a Grozny stadium during a ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Kadyrov, Gayrat (Khamidullayevich) (b. Dec. 7, 1939, Tashkent, Uzbek S.S.R.), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek S.S.R. (1984-89). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Chirchik city (1975-79).
R. Kadyrov |
Kadyrov, Ramzan (Akhmadovich) (b. Oct. 5, 1976, Tsentoroy village, Chechen-Ingush A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), deputy prime minister (2004-06), acting prime minister (2005-06), prime minister (2006-07), president (2007-10), and head of the republic (2010- ) of Chechnya; son of Akhmad Kadyrov. At 16 he led a rebel group fighting Russian control of Chechnya but he switched sides to back Moscow in the 1990s. After the assassination of his father in 2004, he rose to become prime minister and quickly emerged the single most powerful individual in the republic, stamping his authority by using a feared private militia, known as the Kadyrovtsy. Pres. Vladimir Putin awarded him Russia's highest state honour, the Hero of Russia medal. In 2007 Putin appointed him president of Chechnya.
Kafando |
Kafando, Michel (b. Aug. 18, 1942, Ouagadougou, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso]), foreign minister (1982-83, 2014-15), transitional president (2014-15, 2015), and defense and security minister (2015, 2015) of Upper Volta/Burkina Faso. He has also been permanent representative to the United Nations (1981-82, 1998-2011) and UN special envoy for Burundi (2017-19).
Kafaoglu, (Ilhami) Adnan Baser, from 1984 officially Adnan Baserkafaoglu (b. Dec. 25, 1926, Yozgat, Turkey - d. March 21, 2002, Istanbul, Turkey), finance minister of Turkey (1982-83).
Kafarova, Elmira (Mikail kyzy) (b. March 1, 1934, Baku, Azerbaijan S.S.R. - d. Aug. 1, 1993, Baku), foreign minister (1983-87) and chairwoman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1989-90) of the Azerbaijan S.S.R. She was also minister of education (1980-83), a deputy premier (1987-89), and chairwoman of the Supreme Soviet (1990-92).
Kafe (Madi Soilihi), Said (b. 1937, Mtsapéré, Mayotte - d. May 25, 2002, Paris, France), finance minister (1978-82) and foreign minister (1982-90) of the Comoros.
Kafi |
Kafi, Ali (Hussain), Arabic `Ali Husayn Kafi (b. Oct. 17, 1928, El Harrouch, Skikda wilaya, Algeria - d. April 16, 2013, Algiers, Algeria), chairman of the High State Committee of Algeria (1992-94). He was also ambassador to Egypt (1961-62), Syria (1962-63), Lebanon (1963-66), Libya (1967-75), and Tunisia (1975-82).
Kafle, Nirmal Raj, Nepalese diplomat. He was chargé d'affaires at the United Nations (2018-19). In 2022 he was appointed ambassador to Brazil.
Kagame |
Kagame, Paul (b. Oct. 23, 1957, Gitarama, southern Rwanda), president of Rwanda (2000- ). He grew up in exile in Uganda. His parents had taken him there as a young child when Hutu violence toward the Tutsi flared in 1959 during the buildup to Rwandan independence. He joined the forces of Yoweri Museveni, who took power in Uganda in 1986. He became Museveni's chief of intelligence and gained a reputation for incorruptibility and severity by enforcing a stringent code of behaviour; he earned the nickname Commander Pilate (after Pontius Pilate). Many Ugandans resented the Rwandan presence in their country, however, and as the 1980s closed, Kagame and three other expatriate Rwandan military leaders plotted an invasion of their homeland. In 1990, that invasion - mostly involving Tutsi veterans of the Ugandan army - was undertaken and repulsed. In the process the other three members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR) command were killed. Kagame assumed direction of the civil war, which was suspended in August 1993 by a peace agreement that promised - but never delivered - real power sharing. In 1994 the FPR waged a successful military campaign to gain control of the country from the Hutu majority after the genocidal bloodbath that followed the death of Pres. Juvénal Habyarimana. Hundreds of thousands of the minority Tutsi and their Hutu allies perished at the hands of Hutu militia. The new government included a Hutu president and prime minister, but real power appeared to rest with Kagame, who assumed the titles of vice president and minister of defense. In interviews he said that he was determined to bring an end to the cycles of violence. He also called on the Tutsi and Hutu to live together as one people. He became president following the resignation of Pres. Pasteur Bizimungu in 2000. He won popular presidential elections in 2003, 2010, and 2017 in which effective opposition was not allowed. In 2018-19 he was chairman of the African Union.
Kagami, Hideo (b. 1923, Yamanashi prefecture, Japan), Japanese diplomat. He was ambassador to Iraq (1979-82) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1988-90).
L. Kaganovich |
Kaganovich, Lazar (Moiseyevich) (b. Nov. 22 [Nov. 10, O.S.], 1893, Kabany, Kiev province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. July 25, 1991, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician; brother of Mikhail Kaganovich and Yuly Kaganovich. He joined the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1911, organized trade unions in the Ukraine, and after the Revolution of 1917 became head of the Bolsheviks in Belorussia. He was also chairman of the party committee (1918-19) and the Executive Committee (1919) of Nizhny Novgorod province and of the Revolutionary Committee (1919) and Executive Committee (1919-20) of Voronezh province. His success in consolidating Soviet rule in Belorussia and in Turkestan (1920-21) brought him to Iosif Stalin's attention. By 1924 Kaganovich was a full member of the Communist Party Central Committee in Moscow, and in 1930 he was elected to full membership in the Politburo. In 1925-28 he was general secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party. During the 1930s he wielded enormous power, directing the forcible reorganization of the peasantry into collective farms and purging Stalin's opponents from the party. As first secretary of the party committees of Moscow oblast (1930-35) and Moscow city (1931-34), he oversaw the modernization of the capital, including the construction of a subway system and the razing of many historic and religious buildings. He also administered national industrialization as people's commissar of railways (1935-37, 1938-42, 1943-44), heavy industry (1937-39), the fuel industry (1939), and the oil industry (1939-40), minister of the building materials industry (1946-47, 1956-57), and chairman of the state committees for material-technical supply (1948-52) and for labour and wages (1955-56). Although his power decreased after World War II, in 1947 he was sent to quell unrest in Ukraine, where he came into conflict with Nikita Khrushchev. After Stalin's death (1953), Kaganovich opposed Khrushchev's rise to power and subsequent de-Stalinization program. He was relieved of his posts after an abortive attempt to oust Khrushchev in June 1957. Kaganovich was expelled from the party in 1962.
Kaganovich, Mikhail (Moiseyevich) (b. Oct. 16, 1888, Kabany, Kiev province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. [suicide] July 1, 1941, Kazan, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was people's commissar of defense insustry (1937-39) and aviation industry (1939-40).
Kaganovich, Yuly (Moiseyevich) (b. July 17, 1892, Kabany, Kiev province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. July 31, 1962, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was first secretary of the party committees of Nizhny Novgorod/Gorky city (1932-34) and oblast (1937-39) and chairman of the executive committee of Gorky oblast (1934-37).
Kaggia, Bildad (Mwaganu) (b. 1921, Dagoretti, Kenya - d. March 7, 2005, Nairobi), Kenyan politician. He fought for Britain in World War II as a member of the King's African Rifles and on his return to Kenya in 1946 became a militant trade unionist. He became actively involved in the East African trade union movement that brought much needed labour backing to Kenya's independence movement at a critical stage. He was imprisoned by British colonial authorities along with Jomo Kenyatta and four others in 1952, when Mau Mau forest fighters launched their revolt against white settlers, and freed only in 1961. Initially made an assistant minister of education on independence in 1963, he was sacked in 1964 after he questioned the nationalist credentials of the government. He accused Kenyatta's administration of grabbing land and colluding in corruption. He refused Kenyatta's offer of a large tract of land, saying he had fought for Kenyans and not for himself and that thousands of landless Kenyans who had supported the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule deserved it more. In 1966 he resigned the parliamentary seat he had won on a Kenya African National Union (KANU) ticket to seek reelection under the Kenya People's Union that had been formed by Oginga Odinga, but he was defeated in the election. He soon fell out with Odinga. He unsuccessfully contested the 1969 and 1974 elections. Disillusioned, he then left politics. He strongly believed he was rigged out by Kenyatta. He died in poverty.
Kagwa, Sir Apolo (b. 1864 - d. Feb. 21, 1927), Katikkiro (1889-1926) and regent (1898-1914) of Buganda; knighted 1902.
Kah, Yusupha Alieu, Gambian politician. He was ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia (2002-05) and France, Hungary, Romania, and Switzerland (2014-15) and minister of trade, industry, and employment (2009-10), economic planning and industrial development (2010), trade, regional integration, and employment (2010-11), and works, construction, and infrastructure (2011).
Kahane |
Kahane, Meir, original name Martin David (b. Aug. 1, 1932, New York City - d. Nov. 5, 1990, New York City), Israeli politician. In 1946 he joined Betar, the paramilitary youth movement of the right-wing Herut party; the next year he threw eggs and tomatoes at visiting British foreign secretary Ernest Bevin to protest Britain's position on Palestine. He was ordained an Orthodox rabbi (1957) and served several years as a rabbi in New York and then (1963) in Israel on a kibbutz. He returned to the U.S. and began writing a column for the Jewish Press, an English-language weekly, and later books, using the pen name Michael King. Between 1965 and 1967 Kahane and a partner from Betar days worked together as government consultants in Washington, D.C., and rallied support for U.S. involvement in Vietnam. In 1968 he formed the militaristic Jewish Defense League (JDL) presumably to protect Jews from black militants in New York City. He sent armed patrols of young Jews into black neighbourhoods and attracted followers with the post-Holocaust slogan "Never Again." After being sentenced to one year in jail for conspiring to make bombs, Kahane moved (1971) to Israel, formed the extremist Kach political party, and campaigned for the removal (violent if necessary) of all Arabs from Israel and Israeli-held territories. His extremist views were accepted by enough young voters to get him elected (1984) to the Knesset (parliament). His term ended (1988) when Israel banned his Kach party for its anti-democratic, racist, "Nazi-like" stance. Kahane was shot to death in a New York hotel by a naturalized American of Egyptian descent. His burial in Jerusalem was punctuated by mob violence and cries of "Death to the Arabs!"
Kahin |
Kahin, Dahir Riyale, Somali Daahir Riyaale Kaahin (b. 1952, Quljeedo village, near Borama, Awdal region, British Somaliland), president of Somaliland (2002-10). He was elected vice president of Somaliland in February 1997 and served in this capacity until he succeeded as president in May 2002 following the death of Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal. He was confirmed by the narrow margin of 80 votes in presidential elections in April 2003.
Kahlon, Moshe (b. Nov. 19, 1960, Hadera, Israel), finance minister of Israel (2015-20). He was also minister of communications (2009-13), welfare and social services (2011-13), environmental protection (2016), and economy and industry (2016-17).
Kahn-Ackermann, Georg (b. Jan. 4, 1918, Charlottenburg [now part of Berlin], Germany - d. Sept. 6, 2008, Münsing, Germany), secretary-general of the Council of Europe (1974-79).
Kahraman, Ismail (b. Dec. 7, 1940, Ikizdere, Rize province, Turkey), Turkish politician. He was minister of culture (1996-97) and speaker of the Grand National Assembly (2015-18).
Kahveci, Adnan (b. Feb. 20, 1949, Sürmene, Trabzon province, Turkey - d. [traffic accident] Feb. 5, 1993, Gerede, Bolu province, Turkey), finance (and customs) minister of Turkey (1990-91).
Kaid, Ahmed, also known as Kaid Ahmed or Commandant Slimane (b. March 17, 1921, Tiaret, Algeria - d. March 5, 1978, Rabat, Morocco), finance minister of Algeria (1965-67). He was also minister of tourism (1963-64).
Kaidyshev, Yury (Vasilyevich) (b. Aug. 7, 1940, Bodaybo, Irkutsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. May 22, 2011, Moscow, Russia), prime minister of Sakha (1994-97).
Kaifu |
Kaifu, Toshiki (b. Jan. 2, 1931, Ichinomiya, Japan - d. Jan. 9, 2022), prime minister of Japan (1989-91). He was first elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) in 1960. He served as deputy chief secretary of Prime Minister Takeo Miki's cabinet in 1974-76 and then became minister of education (1976-77) under Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. He held this latter post again in 1985-86 under Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. After prime ministers Noboru Takeshita and Sosuke Uno had successively resigned in 1989 owing to financial scandals and public dissatisfaction with the LDP, Kaifu in August was chosen to fill out Uno's term as president of the party, and was elected by the House of Representatives to succeed the latter as prime minister. In October he was elected to a full two-year term as president of the LDP, and in February 1990 he won a sweeping victory for the LDP in national elections, retaining a majority in the House of Representatives. With the outbreak of the Persian Gulf crisis in 1990, his political stature declined by the day. The public, dismayed at the lack of a coherent Middle East policy, blamed Kaifu for lack of leadership. A proposal to send uniformed members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces to the Gulf met strong domestic opposition and had to be abandoned when the parliament adjourned in November. He declined to seek reelection to the LDP presidency in October 1991 after he lost the support of key party leaders, who had been angered by his efforts at electoral reform. His term as prime minister ended the following month. He later left the LDP, and in December 1994 became head of the New Frontier Party (Shinshinto); in December 1995 he yielded the leadership to Ichiro Ozawa.
Kaikai, Francis Mustapha, Sierra Leonean politician. He has been permanent representative to the United Nations (2018-19) and minister of planning and economic development (2019- ).
Kailani, Muhammad Rasul al- (b. Salt, Transjordan [now in Jordan]), interior minister of Jordan (1969-70). He was also ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1985-89).
Kailashnathan |
Kailashnathan, K(uniyil) (b. May 25, 1953), lieutenant governor of Puducherry (2024- ).
Kaim, Franciszek (b. Feb. 13, 1919, Wola Drwinska, Poland - d. Sept. 11, 1996), a deputy premier of Poland (1970-79). He was also minister of heavy industry (1967-70) and metallurgy (1976-80).
Kaine, Tim(othy Michael) (b. Feb. 26, 1958, St. Paul, Minn.), governor of Virginia (2006-10) and chairman of the Democratic National Committee (2009-11); son-in-law of A. Linwood Holton, Jr. He was also mayor of Richmond (1998-2001). In 2012 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 2016 he was chosen by Hillary Clinton as her vice presidential running mate.
Trevor Kaine |
Kaine, Trevor (Thomas) (b. Feb. 17, 1928, Penguin, Tas. - d. June 3, 2008, Canberra, A.C.T.), Australian politician. He was a senior public servant, spending 13 years in the Defence Department and reaching the rank of wing commander during a 22-year career before entering Australian Capital Territory politics. He was an elected member of the A.C.T. Legislative Assembly (1974-77) and the A.C.T. House of Assembly (1982-86). He was again elected to the Assembly (as member for Brindabella) on May 8, 1989, and became leader of the A.C.T. Liberal Party on May 11. From Dec. 5, 1989, he was chief minister as well as treasurer, minister for economic development, and minister for land, planning, and the environment, serving until June 6, 1991, when power shifted back to the Labor Party. He continued to serve as the Liberal leader until Kate Carnell took over the role on April 21, 1993. He was urban services minister in the first Carnell government from 1995, but left the party in May 1998 after clashing with Carnell and formed the United Canberra Party which was a collection of independents. As an independent he was instrumental in the sacking of Carnell in 2000. He left politics in 2001.
Kaisen, Wilhelm (b. May 22, 1887, Hamburg, Germany - d. Dec. 19, 1979, Bremen, West Germany), mayor of Bremen (1945-65).
Kaiser, Khwaja Mohammad (b. Sept. 13, 1918, Dacca, India [now Dhaka, Bangladesh] - d. March 13, 1985, Beijing, China), Pakistani/Bangladeshi diplomat. He was Pakistani ambassador to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland (1966-68) and China (1969-72) and Bangladeshi ambassador to Burma (1972-76) and China (1984-85) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1976-82).
P. Kaiser |
Kaiser, Peter (b. Dec. 4, 1958, Klagenfurt, Kärnten, Austria), Landeshauptmann of Kärnten (2013- ).
Kaishev |
Kaishev, Vladimir (Grigoryevich) (b. March 18, 1954, Suvorovskaya, Stavropol kray, Russian S.F.S.R.), prime minister of Karachayevo-Cherkessia (2008-10).
Kaisiepo, Frans (b. Oct. 10, 1921, Wardo, Biak island, Netherlands East Indies [now in Papua, Indonesia] - d. April 10, 1979, Jakarta, Indonesia), governor of Irian Barat (1964-73).
Kaissi, Abbas (b. 1926, Fès, Morocco), justice minister of Morocco (1974-77). He was also minister of administrative affairs (1972-73).
Kaissouni, Abdel Moneim (b. June 9, 1916), finance minister of Egypt (1954-58). He was also minister of economy (1958-62), treasury and planning (1962-64), economy and foreign trade (1964-65), and planning (1967-68, 1977-78) and a deputy premier (1964-66, 1976-77).
Kaitila, Esa (Heikki) (b. April 22, 1909, Vyborg, Russia - d. June 18, 1975, Helsinki, Finland), finance minister of Finland (1964-66). He was also minister of social affairs (1953-54) and trade and industry (1957) and deputy prime minister (1957).
Kajdomçaj, Hysen (Albanian), Serbian Hisen Kajdomcaj (b. June 29, 1943), president of the Presidency of Kosovo (1989-90).
Kajiwara, Taku (b. Nov. 14, 1933, Gifu, Gifu, Japan - d. Aug. 29, 2017), governor of Gifu (1989-2005).
Kajiyama, Seiroku (b. March 27, 1926, Hitachiota, Ibaraki, Japan - d. June 6, 2000, Tokyo, Japan), home affairs minister of Japan (1987-88). He was also minister of international trade and industry (1989-90) and justice (1990) and chief cabinet secretary (1996-97).
Kak, Ram Chandra (b. June 5, 1893, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir - d. Feb. 10, 1983), prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir (1945-47).
Kaka, Noma (b. 1920, Dogondoutchi, Niger - d. Feb. 22, 1993, Dogondoutchi), defense minister of Niger (1965-70). He was also minister of rural economy (1970-72) and mines and geology (1972-74).
Kakabadze, Eduard (Rasimovich), prime minister of Ajaria (2002?-03).
Kakabayev, Annaberdy, interior minister of Turkmenistan (2002-03).
Kakalyev, Yazkuly (b. 1961, Yangala, Turkmen S.S.R. [now in Akhal velayat, Turkmenistan]), economy and finance minister of Turkmenistan (2002-04).
A.H. Kakar |
Kakar, Anwarul Haq (b. 1971, Muslim Bagh, Balochistan, Pakistan), interim prime minister of Pakistan (2023-24).
M.A.W. Kakar |
Kakar, Malik Abdul Wali (b. 1956), governor of Balochistan (2023-24).
Kakaraya, Sir Pato (b. 1942, Sambakmanda village, Enga, New Guinea [now in Papua New Guinea]), Papua New Guinean politician; knighted 2000. He was youth, recreation, and women affairs minister (1977-78) and environment and conservation minister (1978-80). He was elected governor-general in December 2003, but this was challenged and the election was finally ruled invalid in March 2004; he never took office. He lost a new election for the post in May 2004, and another in 2011.
Kakayev, Yagshigeldy (Ilyasovich), Turkmen Ýagsygeldi (Ilýasowiç) Kakaýew (b. 1959, Takhtinsky rayon, Tashauz oblast, Turkmen S.S.R. [now Gerogly etrap, Dashoguz velayat, Turkmenistan] - d. July 8, 2020, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan), a deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan (2010 [acting], 2012-13, 2015-17). He was also chairman of Turkmengaz State Concern (2007-08).
Kakfwi |
Kakfwi, Stephen (b. Nov. 7, 1950, near Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories), premier of the Northwest Territories (2000-03).
Kakhanov, Ivan (Semyonovich) (b. July 24 [July 12, O.S.], 1825, Kaluga, Russia - d. March 10, 1909, Paris, France), governor-general of Vilna, Kovno, and Grodno (1884-93). He was also governor of Piotrków (1867-84).
Kakhanov, Mikhail (Semyonovich) (b. Nov. 13 [Nov. 1, O.S.], 1833, Caucasus - d. Jan. 13 [Jan. 1, O.S.], 1900, St. Petersburg, Russia), governor of Pskov (1868-72); brother of Ivan Kakhanov.
Kakhanov, Semyon (Vasilyevich) (b. April 14 [April 2, O.S.], 1842 - d. Aug. 27 [Aug. 14, O.S.], 1908), governor of Terek oblast (1890-99).
Kakharov, Abdulakhad (Kakharovich) (b. April 17 [April 4, O.S.], 1913, Kanibadam, Russia [now in Tajikistan] - d. April 12, 1984, Dushanbe, Tadzhik S.S.R.), chairman of the Council of Ministers and foreign minister of the Tadzhik S.S.R. (1961-73). He was also chairman of the Executive Committee of Leninabad oblast (1954-55), a deputy premier (1956-61), and chairman of the State Planning Committee (1957-61).
Kakhiani, Mikhail (Ivanovich) (b. 1896, Batum, Russia [now Batumi, Ajaria, Georgia] - d. [executed] Dec. 11, 1937, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), executive/first secretary of the Communist Party of the Georgian S.S.R. (1924-30).
Kakhovsky, Vasily (Vasilyevich) (b. 1738 - d. June 25, 1794, Yekaterinoslav, Russia [now Dnipro, Ukraine]), governor of Tavricheskaya oblast (1784-88) and Yekaterinoslav province (1788-94).
Kakimoto, Yoshiya (b. Feb. 7, 1938, Yamatotakada, Nara, Japan), governor of Nara (1991-2007).
Kakizawa, Koji (b. Nov. 26, 1933, Tokyo, Japan - d. Jan. 27, 2009, Tokyo), foreign minister of Japan (1994). The former Finance Ministry bureaucrat was first elected to the House of Councillors as a member of the New Liberal Club in 1977 and entered the lower house in 1980. He then left the NLC and joined the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP). After defecting from the LDP and forming the Liberal Party in 1994, he held the post of foreign minister for about two months in the coalition government of Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, which excluded the LDP. He rejoined the LDP in 1995. After being expelled from it again, he made an unsuccessful run for governor of Tokyo in 1999. He served in the lower house until 2003.
Kakodkar, Dayanand B(alkrishna) (b. March 12, 1911, Kotkarwada, Portuguese India [now Maoswadda, Goa, India] - d. Aug. 12, 1973, Panaji, Goa, Daman and Diu [now in Goa], India), chief minister of Goa, Daman and Diu (1962-66, 1967-73).
Kakodkar, Shashikala G(urudutt) (b. Jan. 7, 1935, Pernem, Portuguese India [now in Goa, India] - d. Oct. 28, 2016), chief minister of Goa, Daman and Diu (1973-79); daughter of Dayanand B. Kakodkar.
Kaksitis, Juris (b. April 27, 1943, Stameriena, Gulbene district, Latvia), acting justice minister (1993), deputy prime minister (1997-98), and acting interior minister (1997) of Latvia.
Kakubo |
Kakubo, Stanley (Kasongo) (b. April 24, 1980, Livingstone, Zambia), foreign minister of Zambia (2021-23).
Kakudji, Gaëtan (b. Oct. 3, 1942, Ankoro, Katanga, Belgian Congo [now in Tanganyika, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. July 21, 2009, Brussels, Belgium), governor of Katanga (1997-98) and interior minister of Congo (Kinshasa) (1998-2001).
Kakule Mbahingana, Elias (b. Feb. 10, 1947, Bulambo-Vuhovi, Belgian Congo [now in Nord-Kivu, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. Dec. 22, 2011, Butembo, Nord-Kivu), governor of Bas-Zaïre (1988-89) and Kasaï Oriental (1989-92). He was tourism minister of Congo (Kinshasa) in 2007.
Kalaba |
Kalaba, Harry (b. June 12, 1976), foreign minister of Zambia (2014-16, 2016-18). He was also minister of lands, natural resources, and environmental protection (2013-14).
Kalachov, Aleksey (Alekseyevich), governor of Yelizavetpol (1905-08).
Kalakaua |
Kalakaua, David, Hawaiian Kawika Ekamae Kamaeanaina Nalo`iaehu Kalakaua, or according to another source La`amea Kamanakaupu`u Mahinulani Nalo`iaehu o Kalani i Lumialani Kalakaua (b. Nov. 16, 1836, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands - d. Jan. 30, 1891, San Francisco, Calif.), king of Hawaii (1874-91). The son of a high chief, Kalakaua was a candidate to the throne in 1873 but lost the election to William Charles Lunalilo. But Lunalilo died the following year, and the legislature then elected Kalakaua. In 1874 he visited the United States, and in 1881 he took a trip around the world. Although he secured a somewhat favourable reciprocity treaty with the U.S. in 1876, he yielded in 1887 to demands to give the U.S. the exclusive right to enter Pearl Harbor and maintain a naval coaling and repair station there. Regarded as the catalyst for Hawaii's cultural resurgence, he gave his chief patronage to music, his foremost musical legacy being Hawai'i Pono'i, the national anthem to which he wrote the words and which was readopted as the state song of Hawaii in 1967. Kalakaua increasingly endeavoured to restore the ancient Hawaiian social order with its customs and ideas of absolutism and divine right. His reign was marked by extravagance, corruption, personal interference in politics, and fomentation of race feeling, until he was compelled to promulgate (1887) a new constitution providing for responsible ministerial government and other guarantees. The struggle continued, however - there was an armed insurrection by the opposition in 1889 - and did not end with his death, which occurred during a visit to the U.S. amid rumours that he was about to sell his kingdom.
Kalam |
Kalam, A(vul) P(akir) J(ainulabdeen) Abdul (b. Oct. 15, 1931, Rameswaram, Madras province [now in Tamil Nadu state], India - d. July 27, 2015, Shillong, Meghalaya, India), president of India (2002-07). He joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in 1958 and soon moved to the Indian Space Research Organisation, being project director of SLV-III, India's first indigenously designed and produced satellite launch vehicle. Rejoining DRDO in 1982 he planned the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which produced the Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, and Nag missiles. In 1992-97 he was scientific adviser to the defense minister, and in November 1999 he was named principal scientific adviser to the government with the rank of cabinet minister. He was awarded two of the highest national honours, Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Bharat Ratna (1997). In 1998 he put forward a major plan for the application of science to problems of everyday life, called Technology Vision 2020. Kalam (nicknamed Missile Man) was an unorthodox choice for president in 2002. He had just retired from the space and defense research programs when the government put forward his name. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) found that the numbers in the electoral college did not guarantee a safe passage for its candidate unless a section of the opposition also supported him. The government's failure to halt sectarian rioting in Gujarat state - during which a large number of persons, mostly Muslims, had been killed - had prompted accusations that the NDA was anti-Muslim. The stature and popular appeal of Kalam (a Muslim) were such that even the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, also proposed his candidacy. He easily won the election, defeating Lakshmi Sehgal, a token candidate put up by the left.
Kalamperovic, Jusuf (b. Jan. 19, 1945, Bar, Montenegro), interior minister of Montenegro (2005-09). He was also minister of maritime trade and transportation (1993-94, 1998-2003) and a deputy prime minister (2003-06).
Kalanovic, Verica (b. July 19, 1954, Trstenik, Serbia), a deputy prime minister of Serbia (2011-12). She was also minister of the national investment plan (2008-11) and regional development and local self-government (2012-13) and joint acting president of United Regions of Serbia (2014-15).
Kalashnikov, Aleksey (Maksimovich) (b. Oct. 17, 1914 - d. June 11, 2006), Soviet politician. He was a deputy premier of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1971-85).
Kalashnikov, Viktor (Kirillovich) (b. March 8, 1940, Novozhiznenskoye, Stalingrad [now Volgograd] oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Dec. 1, 2023, Moscow, Russia), chairman of the Executive Committee (1990) and head of the administration (1991-92) of Voronezh oblast.
Kalaw, Teodoro (Manguiat) (b. March 31, 1884, Lipa, Batangas, Philippines - d. Dec. 4, 1940, Manila, Philippines), interior secretary of the Philippines (1920-22). He was also director of the National Library (1916-17, 1929-39).
Kalbus, Tõnis (b. Dec. 4, 1880, Tori parish, Pärnu county, Russia [now in Estonia] - d. March 20, 1942, Sosva camp, Sverdlovsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), justice minister (1925-26, 1927-30) and interior minister (1928-30) of Estonia.
Kalchenko |
Kalchenko, Nikifor (Timofeyevich) (Russian), Ukrainian Nykyfor (Tymofiyovych) Kalchenko (b. Feb. 9 [Jan. 27, O.S.], 1906, Koshmanovka, Poltava province, Russia [now Koshmanivka, Ukraine] - d. May 14, 1989, Kiev, Ukrainian S.S.R.), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian S.S.R. (1954-61). He was also chairman of the Executive Committee of Odessa oblast (1938-41), minister of industrial crops (1946-47), state farms (1947-50), agriculture (1950-52), agriculture and food reserves (1953-54), food reserves (1961-62), and production and procurement of agricultural products (1962-64), first deputy premier (1952-54, 1962-76), and a deputy premier (1961-62).
Kalemli, Mustafa (b. March 26, 1943, Tavsanli, Kütahya, Turkey), interior minister of Turkey (1987-89, 1991). He was also minister of labour and social security (1983-86), health and social welfare (1986-87), and forestry (1991) and speaker of the Grand National Assembly (1996-97).
Kalenderov, Mihail (Sotirov) (b. Dec. 16, 1887, Trun, Bulgaria - d. 19...), justice minister (1935) and finance minister (1935) of Bulgaria.
Kalenga Mwenzemi, Jackson (b. Dec. 12, 1956), governor of Haut-Lomami (2017-19).
Kalfin |
Kalfin, Ivailo (Georgiev) (b. May 30, 1964, Sofia, Bulgaria), foreign minister of Bulgaria (2005-09). He was also a deputy prime minister (2005-09, 2014-16), minister of labour and social policy (2014-16), and a presidential candidate (2011, 2016).
Kalfus, Josef (b. June 25, 1880, Eisenbrod, Austria [now Zelezný Brod, Czech Republic] - d. June 12, 1955, Zelezný Brod), finance minister of Czechoslovakia (1936-37, 1937-39) and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-45).
Kaliel, Mohammed (Bello) (b. June 17, 1944, Kaliel [now in Kebbi state], Nigeria - d. March 11, 2015, Turkey), governor of Bauchi (1976-78). He was also Nigerian minister of water resources (1999-2001).
Kalilani, Jean (Alfazema Nachika), home affairs and internal security minister of Malawi (2015-16). She was also minister of health (2011-12, 2014-15), gender, children, disability, and social welfare (2016-18), and lands, housing, and urban development (2018-19).
Kalimatov |
Kalimatov, Makhmud-Ali (Maksharipovich) (b. April 9, 1959, Kazakh S.S.R.), head of the republic of Ingushetia (2019- ).
Kalin, Ivan (Petrovich), Romanian Ivan Calin (b. March 10, 1935, Plop, Moldavian S.S.R. [now Plopi, Moldova] - d. Jan. 2, 2012, Chisinau, Moldova), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1980-85) and chairman of the Council of Ministers (1985-90) of the Moldavian S.S.R. He was also acting chairman of the Moldovan parliament (2009).
Kalinák, Robert (b. May 11, 1971, Bratislava, Slovakia), a deputy prime minister (2006-10, 2012-18, 2023- ), interior minister (2006-10, 2012-18), and defense minister (2023- ) of Slovakia.
M. Kalinin |
Kalinin, Mikhail (Ivanovich) (b. Nov. 19 [Nov. 7, O.S.], 1875, Verkhnyaya Troitsa, Tver province, Russia - d. June 3, 1946, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. As an industrial worker in St. Petersburg, he soon caught on to the revolutionary doctrines then in vogue in Russia. He joined the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party in 1898 and became one of the first supporters of Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction. He worked unceasingly for the propagation of the party's tenets, was arrested in 1899 and again in 1903, and participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905 in St. Petersburg. In 1912 he became a candidate member of the Bolsheviks' Central Committee, a member of their Russian bureau, and co-founder of their newspaper Pravda ("Truth"). After the Bolshevik coup d'état (November 1917), he served as mayor of Petrograd (St. Petersburg). In March 1919 he became head of the Soviet state as chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. On the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922 he also became a joint chairman of the U.S.S.R. Central Executive Committee. From 1938 to March 1946 his official post was chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. In December 1925 he also became a full member of the Politburo of the party's Central Committee. Although he tended to favour the party's right wing in intraparty disputes over industrial and agricultural policies in the 1920s, in crucial votes he supported Iosif Stalin. As a result, he not only survived the purges of the 1930s, during which Stalin eliminated his political rivals, but also retained his high party and government offices until shortly before his death. The former German city of Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad after his death.
Kalinin, Nikolay (Ivanovich) (b. 1921? - d. May 15, 2008), acting chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Karelian A.S.S.R. (1979, 1984).
Kalinowski, Jaroslaw (b. April 12, 1962, Wyszków, Poland), Polish politician. He was a deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture (1997, 2001-03), chairman of the Polish Peasant Party (1997-2004), and a minor presidential candidate (2000, 2005).
Kalisz, Ryszard (Roman) (b. Feb. 26, 1957, Warsaw, Poland), interior minister of Poland (2004-05). He was also head of the presidential chancellery (1998-2000).
Kaljevic, Ljubomir (b. Oct. 8 [Sept. 26, O.S.], 1841, Uzice, Serbia - d. April 2 [March 20, O.S.], 1907, Belgrade, Serbia), prime minister (1875-76) and foreign minister (1903) of Serbia. He was also finance minister (1874-75), president of the National Assembly (1875), and minister to Romania (1881-86) and Greece (1886-89).
Kaljulaid, Kersti (b. Dec. 30, 1969, Tartu, Estonian S.S.R.), president of Estonia (2016-21).
Kaljurand, Marina, née Rajevskaja (b. Sept. 6, 1962, Tallinn, Estonian S.S.R.), foreign minister of Estonia (2015-16). She was also ambassador to Israel (2004-06), Russia (2006-08), Kazakhstan (2007-11), and the United States (2011-14).
Kalkatin, Ivan (Stepanovich) (b. 1800 - d. April 25, 1856), governor of Kovno (1843-48).
Kalkku, Elina, Finnish diplomat. She has been permanent representative to the United Nations (2022- ).
Kalla, (Muhammad) Jusuf (b. May 15, 1942, Watampone, Netherlands East Indies [now in Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia]), vice president of Indonesia (2004-09, 2014-19). He was a presidential candidate in 2009.
Kállai, Gyula (b. June 1, 1910, Berettyóújfalu, Hajdú-Bihar county, Hungary - d. March 12, 1996, Budapest, Hungary), Hungarian politician. He helped restore Communist rule in Hungary after the 1956 pro-democracy uprising and held numerous government positions, including that of foreign minister (1949-51), cultural affairs minister (1956-58), minister of state (1958-60), deputy prime minister (1960-65), prime minister (1965-67), and president of the National Assembly (1967-71).
Kallas, Kaja (b. June 18, 1977, Tallinn, Estonian S.S.R.), prime minister of Estonia (2021-24) and European high representative for foreign affairs and security policy (2024- ); daughter of Siim Kallas.
Kallas, Siim (b. Oct. 2, 1948, Tallinn, Estonian S.S.R.), foreign minister (1995-96), finance minister (1999-2002), and prime minister (2002-03) of Estonia. In 1991-95 he was governor of the central bank. He was the chairman of the Estonian Reform Party from its foundation in 1994 to November 2004. He became Estonia's first EU commissioner in May 2004 (for economic and monetary affairs 2004, administrative affairs, audit, and anti-fraud 2004-10, and transport 2010-14) and a vice president of the Commission in November 2004, serving until 2014.
Kállay (de Nagy-Kálló), Tibor (b. Jan. 6, 1881, Budapest, Hungary - d. May 24, 1964, Budapest), finance minister of Hungary (1921-24).
Kállay de Nagy-Kálló, Miklós (b. Jan. 23, 1887, Nyíregyháza, Hungary - d. Jan. 14, 1967, New York City), prime minister (1942-44) and foreign minister (1942-43) of Hungary. He was also agriculture minister (1932-35).
Kallel, Abdallah (b. Dec. 7, 1943, Sfax, Tunisia), defense minister (1989-91, 1996-97) and interior minister (1991-95, 1999-2001) of Tunisia. He was also justice minister (1997-99) and president of the Chamber of Councillors (2005-11).
Kallergis, Dimitrios (b. 1868, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. January 1923, Rome, Italy), foreign minister of Greece (1910). He was also chargé d'affaires in Bulgaria (1899).
Kallias, Konstantinos (Michail) (b. July 9 [June 26, O.S.], 1901, Chalkis, Greece - d. April 7, 2004), justice minister of Greece (1958-61). He was also minister of posts, telegraph, and telephone (1945) and education (1952-54). He was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest male author, having published an autobiography at age 101.
Kallimachis, Alexandros (b. 1802 - d. 1879), governor of Samos (1850-54); son of Scarlat Alexandru Callimachi. He was Ottoman minister to the United Kingdom (1848-49) and France (1849-53) and declined to personally exercise the Samos governorship.
Kallio | Kalliomäki |
Kallio, Kyösti, original name Gustaf Kalliokangas (b. April 10, 1873, Ylivieska, western Finland - d. Dec. 19, 1940, Helsinki, Finland), prime minister (1922-24, 1925-26, 1929-30, 1936-37) and president (1937-40) of Finland. He was also minister of agriculture (1917-18, 1919-20, 1921-22), defense (1923), and transport and public works (1925) and speaker of parliament (1920, 1922, 1924-25, 1927, 1929, 1930-36).
Kalliomäki, Antti (Tapani) (b. Jan. 8, 1947, Siikainen, Finland), deputy prime minister and finance minister of Finland (2003-05). He was also minister of trade and industry (1995-99) and education (2005-07). He won an Olympic silver medal in pole vault in 1976.
Kallmyr, Jøran (André Smedal) (b. April 15, 1978, Fræna, Møre og Romsdal, Norway), justice minister of Norway (2019-20).
Kallon, Maigore (Christian) (b. Feb. 1, 1929, Korlu, Jawe, Sierra Leone - d. March 5, 2015, Freetown, Sierra Leone), interior minister (1964-65) and foreign minister (1965-67, 1996) of Sierra Leone.
Kallsberg |
Kallsberg, Anfinn (b. Nov. 19, 1947, Klaksvík, Faeroe Islands - d. Feb. 20, 2024), prime minister of the Faeroe Islands (1998-2004). He was also minister of fisheries (1983-85, 1989) and finance and economy (1996-98) and chairman of the Lagting (1991-93).
Källstrand, Bo (Gösta) (b. Jan. 18, 1949, Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden), governor of Västernorrland (2008-14).
Kalman, Jozef (b. April 18, 1951, Pohorelá, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), a deputy prime minister (1994-98) and acting foreign minister (1998) of Slovakia. He was a minor presidential candidate in 2004.
Kalmurzayev, Sarybay (Sultanovich) (b. June 10, 1949, Chu [now Shu] rayon, Dzhambul [now Zhambyl] oblast, Kazakh S.S.R. - d. July 26, 2012), head of Zhambyl oblast (1998-99). He was also chairman of the State Committee for State Properties (1994-97) and head of the administration of the president (1997-98, 1999-2002) of Kazakhstan.
Kalmykov, Betal (Edykovich) (b. Nov. 5 [Oct. 24, O.S.], 1893, Atazhukino, Terek oblast [now in Kabardino-Balkariya republic], Russia - d. [executed] Feb. 27, 1940), chairman of the Executive Committee of Kabardian/Kabardino-Balkar autonomous oblast (1921-30), executive/first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Kabardino-Balkar autonomous oblast (1930-36), and first secretary of the party committee of the Kabardino-Balkar A.S.S.R. (1936-38). He was also chairman of the Military-Revolutionary Committee of Kabarda and Balkariya (1919) and the Revolutionary Committees of Kabardino-Balkariya (1920) and Kabarda (1921).
Kalmykov, Yury (Khamzatovich) (b. Jan. 1, 1934, Batalpashinsk, Karachay-Cherkess autonomous oblast, Stavropol kray, Russian S.F.S.R. [now Cherkessk, Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Russia] - d. Jan. 16, 1997, Moscow, Russia), justice minister of Russia (1993-94).
Kalnberzins, Janis, Russian Yan (Eduardovich) Kalnberzin (b. Sept. 17 [Sept. 5, O.S.], 1893, Katlakalns parish, Courland province, Russia [now in Latvia] - d. Feb. 4, 1986), first secretary of the Communist Party (1940-59) and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1959-70) of the Latvian S.S.R. He was also first secretary of the party committee of Riga city (1940-50).
Kalniete |
Kalniete, Sandra (b. Dec. 22, 1952, Togur, Tomsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), foreign minister of Latvia (2002-04). In 1997-2002 she was ambassador to France. She became Latvia's first EU commissioner in May 2004 (portfolio of agriculture and fisheries), but was not renominated to the new Commission that took office in November. She was also leader of the Civic Union party (2008-09).
Kalnings, Ringolds (b. Oct. 24 [Oct. 12, O.S.], 1873, Riga, Russia [now in Latvia] - d. Aug. 24, 1940, Belgrade, Yugoslavia [now in Serbia]), finance minister of Latvia (1921-22, 1924).
Kalnins, Arnis (b. Jan. 24, 1935, Naukseni parish, Latvia - d. Feb. 28, 2023), Latvian politician. He was a deputy premier (1989-91) and minister of economic reform (1991-92).
Kalnins, Eduards (b. Dec. 31, 1876, Platere parish, Russia [now in Ogre municipality, Latvia] - d. June 28, 1964, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.), war minister of Latvia (1926, 1928).
Kálnoky von Köröspatak, Gustav (Siegmund) Graf (Count) (b. Dec. 29, 1832, Lettowitz, Austria [now Letovice, Czech Republic] - d. Feb. 13, 1898, Prödlitz, Austria [now Brodek u Prostejova, Czech Republic]), foreign minister of Austria-Hungary (1881-95). He was also minister to Denmark (1874-79) and ambassador to Russia (1880-81).
Kalo, Toara Daniel (b. Jan. 12, 1959), internal affairs minister of Vanuatu (2012-13). He was also minister of justice (2013), tourism, trade, commerce, and ni-Vanuatu business (2013-14), youth and sports (2015), education (2015-16), and health (2016).
Kalogeropoulos, Nikolaos (Spyridonou) (b. 1853, Chalcis, Greece - d. Jan. 7, 1927, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (1916, 1921). He was also minister of justice (1903), finance (1904, 1908 [provisional], 1909, 1916, 1920-21), interior (1905-08), military (1916 [pr.]), provisioning (1920-21 [pr.]), foreign affairs (1921, 1922), and national economy (1922 [pr.]).
Kalolo, Kelihiano (b. April 22, 1946, Tokelau), Ulu of Tokelau (2012-13, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2023-24). He has been faipule of Atafu (2011-14, 2017- ).
Kalombo Musoko, Iron-Van (b. March 24, 1981, Ngandajika, Kasaï Oriental, Zaire [now in Lomami, Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Lomami (2024- ).
Kalong Ningkan, Tan Sri Stephen (b. Aug. 20, 1920, Betong, Sarawak [now in Malaysia] - d. March 30, 1997, Kuching, Sarawak), chief minister of Sarawak (1963-66, 1966). He received the titles Datuk (1964), Datuk Amar (1988), and Tan Sri (June 4, 1995).
Kalonji (Ditunga), Albert (b. June 8, 1929, Hemptinne, Congo-Kasaï, Belgian Congo [now Bukonde, Kasaï Occidental, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. April 20, 2015, Mbuji-Mayi, Congo [Kinshasa]), president (1960-61) and king (1961) of Sud-Kasaï. He was justice minister of Congo (Léopoldville) in the Joseph Iléo government in September 1960. After a period in exile in Luxembourg in 1962-64, he was agriculture minister of Congo (Léopoldville) in 1964-65.
Kalosil | Kalousek |
Kalosil, Moana Carcasses (Katokai) (b. Jan. 12, 1959 [or Jan. 27, 1963], Taravao, Tahiti, French Polynesia), foreign minister (2003-04), finance minister (2004-05, 2010-11), internal affairs minister (2009-10), and prime minister (2013-14) of Vanuatu. In 2015 he became deputy prime minister and minister of trade. Later that year he was found guilty of corruption, along with half the government; he was sentenced to four years' jail.
Kalotiti, Eric Belleay, Vanuatu diplomat. He was chargé d'affaires at the United Nations (2013-14).
Kalousek, Miroslav (b. Dec. 17, 1960, Tábor, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), finance minister of the Czech Republic (2007-09, 2010-13). He was also leader of the Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (2003-06) and Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 (2015-17).
Kalpage, Stanley (b. Aug. 30, 1925 - d. Dec. 16, 2000), Sri Lankan diplomat. He was high commissioner to India (1989-91) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1991-94).
Kalpins, Voldemars, Russian Voldemar (Krishevich) Kalpin (b. Feb. 19, 1916, Smolensk, Russia - d. Feb. 11, 1995, Riga, Latvia), foreign minister of the Latvian S.S.R. (1959-62). He was also culture minister (1958-62).
Kalpokas |
Kalpokas (Masike-Vanua), Donald (b. Aug. 23, 1943, Lelepa island, New Hebrides [now Vanuatu] - d. March 20, 2019), foreign minister (1983, 1987-91, 1998) and prime minister (1991, 1998-99) of Vanuatu. He was also minister of education (1978-83, 2003-04), lands, energy, and water supply (1983-87), judicial services (1987-91), and health (2002-03). He replaced Walter Lini as leader of the Vanua'aku Pati in 1991. He resigned as prime minister in 1999 to avoid a motion of no confidence; opposition parliamentarians said he was "listening too much to foreign advisors." In 2007-13 he was permanent representative to the United Nations.
Kalsakau, George (Kaltoi Sigari Manulapalapa) (b. Sept. 14, 1930 - d. Dec. 31, 2001), chief minister of the New Hebrides (1977-78). He was also mayor of Port Vila (1981-...).
I. Kalsakau |
Kalsakau, (Alatoi) Ishmael, prime minister (and minister of public service) of Vanuatu (2022-23); son of George Kalsakau. He was also attorney general (2007-15) and deputy prime minister and internal affairs minister (2020-22).
Kalsakau, Joshua (Tafura) (b. Aug. 12, 1971), Vanuatu politician; son of George Kalsakau. He was minister of ni-Vanuatu business (2004-05) and justice (2007-08) and deputy prime minister and minister of public utilities (2011).
Kalsakau, Kalpokor (b. 1945, Port Vila, New Hebrides [now Vanuatu]), finance minister of the New Hebrides/Vanuatu (1979-87); nephew of George Kalsakau.
Kalsakau, Steven, Vanuatu politician; nephew of George Kalsakau. He was minister of agriculture (2002-03, 2004, 2009-10), lands and natural resources (2011-12), education, youth, and sports (2012-13), and climate change (2014).
Kaltenbach, Jean (Paul) (b. April 5, 1927, Saint-Hippolyte, Doubs, France - d. April 16, 2021, Le Port-Marly, Yvelines, France), president of the Regional Council of Champagne-Ardenne (1988-98).
Kaltongga (Mausoki), Bakoa (b. April 6, 1969), foreign minister (2008), justice minister (2008-10, 2011), and finance minister (2011) of Vanuatu.
Kalu, Orji (Johnson) Uzor (b. April 21, 1960, Aba [now in Abia state], Nigeria), governor of Abia (1999-2007).
Kaludjerovic |
Kaludjerovic, Nebojsa (b. Dec. 17, 1955, Niksic, Montenegro), foreign minister of Montenegro (2012). He was also permanent representative of Serbia and Montenegro (2004-06) and Montenegro (2006-10) to the United Nations and Montenegrin ambassador to the United States (2016-21).
Kalule-Settala, Laurence (b. 1924, Kampala, Uganda), finance minister of Uganda (1964-71); brother-in-law of Milton Obote. He was also president of National Olympic Committee (1962-65) and minister of community development (1963) and industry and communications (1963-64).
Kalumba |
Kalumba, Katele (b. Feb. 22, 1952), health minister (1996-98), tourism minister (1998), home affairs minister (1998-99), finance minister (1999-2002), and foreign minister (2002) of Zambia. After evading a police manhunt for nearly three months, he was arrested on Jan. 14, 2003, at Chiengi, Zambia; he appeared in court on corruption charges on January 16 charged with giving $11.5 million meant to buy corn to a businessman and conspiring with the former intelligence chief to steal cars, motorcycles, and boats. In May 2010 he was convicted of corruption in connection with irregular payments of $25 million to two American security firms and sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour.
Kalumbo Mbogho, (Jean-Pierre) (d. Aug. 26, 2012, Beni, Nord-Kivu, Congo [Kinshasa]), governor of Nord-Kivu (1991-93).
Kalume, Jorge (b. Dec. 3, 1920, Belém, Pará, Brazil - d. Oct. 26, 2010, Brasília, Brazil), governor of Acre (1966-71). He was also mayor of Rio Branco (1989-93).
Kalvitis | Kalyoncu |
Kalvitis, Aigars (b. June 27, 1966, Riga, Latvian S.S.R.), prime minister of Latvia (2004-07). He was also minister of agriculture (1999-2000) and economy (2000-02).
Kalvoda, Jan (b. Oct. 30, 1953, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), a deputy prime minister of the Czech Republic (1992-97). He was also justice minister (1996-97) and chairman of the Civic Democratic Alliance (1992-97).
Kalwas, Andrzej (Jan) (b. June 23, 1936, Wloclawek, Poland), justice minister and prosecutor-general of Poland (2004-05).
Kalyoncu, Ömer (Soyer) (b. 1950, Kyrenia [Girne], Cyprus [now in North Cyprus]), prime minister of North Cyprus (2015-16). He was also minister of public works and transport (2004-05).
Kalyuzhny, Viktor (Ivanovich) (b. April 18, 1947, Birsk, Bashkir A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), Russian minister of energy and fuels (1999-2000). He was also ambassador to Latvia (2004-08).
Kam (Binns), Leonardo (Alfonso) (b. 1948), foreign minister of Panama (1989). He was also permanent representative to the United Nations (1988-89) and ambassador to China (2019-24).
Kama, Aliyu (Adu Umar) (b. June 15, 1949), governor of Plateau (1988-90).
Kama, Kaido (b. Dec. 18, 1957, Viljandi, Estonian S.S.R.), justice minister (1992-94) and interior minister (1994-95) of Estonia.
Kamada, Kaname (b. Oct. 2, 1921 - d. Dec. 3, 2005), governor of Kagoshima (1977-89).
Kamal, A(bu) H(ena) M(ohammad) Mustafa (b. June 15, 1947, Comilla, India [now in Bangladesh]), finance minister of Bangladesh (2019-24). He was also planning minister (2014-19).
Kamal, Ahmad (b. April 9, 1938 - d. May 25, 2023, New York City), Pakistani diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1995-99).
Kamal, Hassan (Muhammad) (b. Sept. 6, 1907, Cairo, Egypt - d. ...), Egyptian diplomat. He was permanent representative of Qatar to the United Nations (1971-72).
Kamal, Ibrahim, finance minister (1937-38, 1941) and justice minister (1941) of Iraq.
Kamal, Muhammad Ibrahim (b. Jan. 7, 1927 - d. Nov. 22, 2001, Cairo, Egypt), foreign minister of Egypt (1977-78). He began his diplomatic career in the mid-1950s, becoming ambassador to Congo (Léopoldville/Kinshasa) (1960?-64, 1968-72), Sweden (1972-73), and West Germany (1973-77). An associate of Pres. Anwar as-Sadat, Kamal was named foreign minister in 1977 after his predecessor, Ismail Fahmy, quit to protest Sadat's peacemaking visit to Israel. Kamal accompanied Sadat to the U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations in Camp David, but resigned to protest what he saw as the accords' vagueness in dealing with the Palestinian issue. The accords signed in 1978 were formalized in a 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel - the first between an Arab nation and the Jewish state. In 1984, Kamal published his memoirs, denouncing the accords for falling short of guaranteeing Palestinian rights.
Kamali, Shafiq al- (b. 1930, Iraq), Iraqi politician. He was minister of youth (1968-70) and information (1970-72) and ambassador to Spain (1970).
Kamalidenov, Zakash (Kamalidenovich) (b. June 10, 1936, Orpa, Kazakh A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. [now in Atyrau oblast, Kazakhstan] - d. May 7, 2017, Almaty, Kazakhstan), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1988). He was also director of the Kazakh KGB (1982-85).
Kamalov, Kallibek (Kamalovich) (b. March 18, 1926), chairman of the Council of Ministers (1959-63) and first secretary of the Communist Party committee (1963-84) of the Karakalpak A.S.S.R. He was also mayor of Nukus (1952-53).
Kamalov, Murat (Kallibekovich) (b. June 24, 1955, Nukus, Karakalpak A.S.S.R., Uzbek S.S.R.), chairman of parliament of Karakalpakstan (2020-22); son of Kallibek Kamalov.
Kamalov, Sabir (Kamalovich) (b. May 2, 1910, Tashkent, Russia [now in Uzbekistan] - d. June 6, 1990, Tashkent), chairman of the Council of Ministers (1955-57) and first secretary of the Communist Party (1957-59) of the Uzbek S.S.R. He was also people's commissar of agriculture (1940), first secretary of the party committees of the Karakalpak A.S.S.R. (1941-46) and Fergana oblast (1949-50), and chairman of the Executive Committee of Fergana oblast (1959-62).
Kamalov, Timur (Kamalovich) (b. June 5, 1938, Karakalpak A.S.S.R., Uzbek S.S.R. - d. March 26, 2013), chairman of parliament of Karakalpakstan (1997-2002).
Kamana, Dunstan W(eston) (b. April 19, 1937, Choma, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] - d. Sept. 13, 2009, Lusaka, Zambia), Zambian diplomat. He was ambassador to the Soviet Union (1972-74) and the United States (1992-2000), high commissioner to Canada (1974-75), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1975-77).
Kamanda (Tshibangu Muteba), Patrice (b. Jan. 17, 1963, Élisabethville, Congo [Léopoldville] [now Lubumbashi, Congo (Kinshasa)]), special commissioner (2015-16) and governor (2016-19) of Lomami.
Kamanda |
Kamanda wa Kamanda, Gérard (b. Dec. 10, 1940, Kikwit, Belgian Congo [now Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. Jan. 20/21, 2016, Kinshasa, Congo [Kinshasa]), foreign minister of Zaire (1982-83, 1995-96, 1996-97). He was also permanent representative to the United Nations (1979-82), justice minister (1983-84, 1994-96), a deputy prime minister (1994-97), interior minister (1996), and a presidential candidate (2006).
Kamanga |
Kamanga, Reuben (Chitandika) (b. Aug. 26, 1929, Chitandika village, Chipata district, Eastern province, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] - d. Sept. 20, 1996, Lusaka, Zambia), Zambian politician. He was imprisoned several times during the independence struggle especially during the period 1959-60. He later went to live in Cairo (1960-62). He served as deputy president of the United National Independence Party (UNIP) and as minister of labour and mines and minister of transport and communication just before independence. At the dawn of independence day (1964), he was named as vice president, the position he held for three years. He also served as leader of the National Assembly during the same period. When Pres. Kenneth Kaunda reshuffled his government in 1967, Kamanga was demoted to foreign minister, the post he served until he became minister of rural development (1968-73). He was the member of the UNIP Central Committee in charge of rural development (1973-76, 1983-91) and political and legal affairs (1976-83). He retired from politics in 1991.
Kamanzi, Stanislas (b. Sept. 30, 1962, Byumba, Gituza, Rwanda), Rwandan politician. He was ambassador to France (1999-2001), permanent representative to the United Nations (2003-06), minister of infrastructure (2006-08), natural resorces (2008-09), and environment and lands (2009-14), and high commissioner to Nigeria (2015-23) and Ghana (2017-20).
Kamara, Abu Bakar (b. July 29, 1929, Mabanta, Sierra Leone), first vice president of Sierra Leone (1987-91). He was also minister of justice (1980-82, 1984-85), trade and industry (1982-84), health (1985), and lands, housing, and country planning (1985-87).
Kamara, Ibrahim M'Baba (b. 1948, Sierra Leone), Sierra Leonean politician. He was minister of lands (1978-79), lands, housing, and country planning (1979-85), and social welfare and rural development (1985), ambassador to Ethiopia (1996-99, 2006-08) and the United States (2003-06), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1999-2003).
Kamara, János (b. May 1, 1927, Budapest, Hungary - d. July 3, 2000, Budapest), interior minister of Hungary (1985-87).
Marjon Kamara |
Kamara, Marjon (Vashti) (b. Aug. 13, 1949, Monrovia, Liberia), foreign minister of Liberia (2016-18). She was also permanent representative to the United Nations (2009-16).
Kamara, Mohamed Lamin (b. 1943), foreign minister of Sierra Leone (1992-93). He became deputy foreign minister in 2002.
S. Kamara | Kamara-Taylor |
Kamara, Samura (Matthew Wilson) (b. 1963, Kamalo, Bombali district, Sierra Leone), finance minister (1996, 2009-12) and foreign minister (2012-17) of Sierra Leone. He was also governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone (2007-09) and a presidential candidate (2018, 2023).
Kamara-Taylor, Christian A(lusine) (b. June 3, 1917, Kafanta, Tonko Limba chiefdom [now Kambia district], Sierra Leone - d. March 27, 1985, Fadugu, Sierra Leone), finance minister (1971-75), interior minister (1975-77), prime minister (1975-78), and second vice president (1978-84) of Sierra Leone. He was also minister of lands, mines, and labour (1968-71).
Kamaraj, Kumaraswami, original name Kamakshi Kumaraswami Nader (b. July 15, 1903, Virudunagar [now in Tamil Nadu], India - d. Oct. 2, 1975, Madras [now Chennai], India), Indian politician. At age 15 he entered politics by organizing fund-raising rallies for the Congress Party in his home district. He served nearly eight years in British jails, beginning with participation in Mohandas Gandhi's salt march in 1921. Elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1937, he went on to win a seat in the lower house of the Indian parliament in the general elections of 1952. In 1954 he became chief minister of Madras, displacing Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, a nationally respected Congress leader but also a Brahmin. Kamaraj, in contrast, was of low caste and his elevation to the leadership of the state Congress Party marked the relegation of the Brahmins who had hitherto dominated Madras politics. He underscored his strong belief in personal contact by visiting nearly all the villages in his state more than once. In 1963 he gave up the chief ministership and soon thereafter became president of the party (1964-68). His name was given to a plan for revitalizing the party by shifting certain leaders from legislative to organizational roles, but this "Kamaraj Plan" was not conceived by Kamaraj. His influence was decisive in the choice of two prime ministers - Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964 and Indira Gandhi in 1966 - both times nullifying the rival claims of rightist Morarji Desai. He was defeated in his hometown in a 1967 state assembly election and soon after was maneuvered out of the party leadership by Mrs. Gandhi. In 1969 he was part of an old-guard leaders' group that tried to remove her from power, but the party split, leaving Kamaraj and his associates with a small splinter group.
Kamari, Akop (Minayevich), original surname Bendzhanyan (b. 1885, Lyulasaz, Yelizavetpol province, Russia [now in Azerbaijan] - d. 1930), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of Nagorny Karabakh (1923-24).
Kamarulzaman | Kamat |
Kamarulzaman (bin) Mat Salleh, Datuk Seri (b. Aug. 15, 1964), lord mayor of Kuala Lumpur (2023-24). He received the titles Datuk (2021) and Datuk Seri (2024).
Kamat, Digambar (b. March 8, 1954, Margao, Portuguese India [now in Goa, India]), chief minister of Goa (2007-12).
Kamau, Macharia (b. March 3, 1958), Kenyan diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (2010-18), president of the Executive Board of UNICEF (2014), and (jointly with Mary Robinson) UN special envoy on El Niño and climate (2016-18).
Kambanda |
Kambanda, Jean (b. Oct. 19, 1955, Gishamvu, Rwanda), prime minister of Rwanda (1994). He was prime minister during a time when genocide was committed against Rwanda's ethnic Tutsi population. He was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 18, 1997, and convicted on Sept. 4, 1998, after pleading guilty to genocide before a UN tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania. "The accused was trapped and was made a puppet," his defense lawyer told the court. "The strings were pulled and he danced. Having no will of his own... the responsibility of the accused was diminished." However, the indictment, to which Kambanda confessed, highlighted two incidents in which Kambanda directly conspired to promote massacres. Around April 19, 1994, Kambanda's government dismissed the local official of the southern province of Butare, who had succeeded in preserving the peace in his province, so that a new official could start massacres of the Tutsi civilian population. On May 3, 1994, Kambanda was asked at a government meeting how to protect children who had survived massacres and were at a hospital. "Jean Kambanda gave no response and no other minister from his cabinet offered satisfactory and necessary measures to secure the security of the survivors... on that same day, after the meeting, the children were killed," the indictment said. On Oct. 19, 2000, following an appeal, Kambanda was finally sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kambarov, Tursun (b. 1912 - d. January 1986), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Karakalpak A.S.S.R. (1949-50). He was also first secretary of the party committees of Namangan (1945-46), Samarkand (1950-54), and Fergana (1954-62) oblasti and Samarkand city (1950).
Kambayi Cimbumbu, Denis (b. Oct. 3, 1966), governor of Kasaï Central (2018-19).
Kambhampati |
Kambhampati, Hari Babu (b. June 15, 1953, Timmasamudram, Guntur district, Madras [now in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh], India), governor of Mizoram (2021- ).
Kambogo, Abdu Razzaq Guy (b. Sept. 6, 1974), foreign minister of Gabon (2019). He was also ambassador to Morocco (2013-19).
Kamboj, Ruchira (b. May 3, 1964), Indian diplomat. She has been high commissioner to South Africa and Lesotho (2017-19), ambassador to Bhutan (2019-22), and permanent representative to the United Nations (2022- ).
Kambona, Oscar (Salathiel) (b. Aug. 13, 1928, Songea, Tanganyika [now in Tanzania] - d. June 3, 1997, London, England), home affairs minister (1962-63) and foreign minister (1963-65) of Tanganyika/Tanzania. He was also minister of education (1960-62), regional administration (1965-67), and local government and rural development (1967).
Kambovski, Vlado (b. Jan. 5, 1948, Bitola, Macedonia [now North Macedonia]), justice minister of Yugoslavia (1989-92) and Macedonia (1998-99). He was also president of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (2011-15).
Kambulu Nkonko, Joseph Moïse (b. Feb. 2, 1966, Ndekesha, Luluabourg [now in Kasaï Central], Congo [Léopoldville (now Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï Central (2024- ).
Kambwili, Chishimba (b. June 3, 1969), foreign minister of Zambia (2011-12). He was also minister of labour (2012), youth, sports, and gender (2012-15), and information and broadcasting services (2015-16).
Kamehameha I |
Kamehameha I, original name Paiea ("Hard-Shelled Crab"), byname Kamehameha the Great, full Hawaiian name Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Keali`ikui Kamehameha o `Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kunuiakea (b. November 1758?, Kohala district, Hawaii island - d. May 8, 1819, Kailua), king of Hawaii (1795-1819). He was the son of Keoua, a high chief, and of Kekuiapoiwa, a daughter of the former king Alapai. A Hawaiian tradition tells that a bright star, Kokoiki, appeared just before he was born. The date of the legend coincides with the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1758. When Kokoiki was viewed by the kahunas, Hawaii's mystic seers, it was prophesied that a great leader was about to be born who would defeat all his rivals and reign supreme over all the islands. The infant prince was ordered to be put to death by Alapai but was reared secretly and grew to manhood, taking the name Kamehameha, meaning "The Very Lonely One," or "The One Set Apart." At the death of King Kalaniopuu in 1782, the island of Hawaii was divided between his son, Kiwalao, and his nephew, Kamehameha. Despite jealousy between the two cousins, relations were peaceful until July 1782, when a dispute between their chiefs at Keomo led to the outbreak of war. In the ensuing battle at Mokuohai, Kiwalao was slain. Kamehameha then embarked upon a series of conquests that by 1795 had brought all the islands but Kauai and Niihau under his control. When these were ceded to him through peaceful negotiations in 1810, he was undisputed ruler of the entire island group. A shrewd businessman, he amassed a fortune for his kingdom through a government monopoly on the sandalwood trade and through the imposition of port duties on visiting ships. Acclaimed as the strongest Hawaiian ruler, he maintained his kingdom's independence throughout the difficult period of European discovery and exploration of the islands.
Kamehameha II |
Kamehameha II, also called Liholiho, full Hawaiian name Kalani Kalei`aimoku o Kaiwikapu o La`amea i Kauikawekiu Ahilapalapa Keali`i Kauinamoku o Kahekili Kalaninui i Mamao `Iolani i Ka Liholiho (before becoming king: Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu `Iolani) (b. November 1797, Hilo, Hawaii island - d. July 14, 1824, London, England), king of Hawaii (1819-24); son of Kamehameha I. When he was five his father declared him his successor. When the father died, the Council of Chiefs laid down the conditions under which the young man could succeed. He was to assume only his father's ceremonial role, the administrative power being vested largely in his father's favourite wife, Kaahumanu. In 1820 he admitted the first company of missionaries (from New England), who, within two years, had learned the language, reduced it to writing, and printed the first textbook. Kamehameha resisted conversion to Christianity, allegedly because he refused to give up four of his five wives as well as rum drinking. In November 1823 he sailed on a visit to England, in a delegation that included two of his wives. They reached Portsmouth in late May 1824 and traveled immediately to London, where although their arrival was completely unexpected, they were accorded respectful treatment by the British government. All arrangements were made for their comfort and entertainment. They were shown the sights of the city and taken to the Theatre Royal. Unfortunately, before Kamehameha's scheduled audience with King George IV, both he and his favourite queen, Kamamalu, caught measles, a disease to which, like many Polynesians, they had no immunity. On July 8, Queen Kamamalu died, and six days later the king passed away. Their bodies were placed in splendid coffins, put aboard the HMS Blonde, and returned to their homeland, arriving in May 1825.
Kamehameha III |
Kamehameha III, also called Kauikeaouli, full Hawaiian name Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwala`o i ke kapu Kamehameha (before becoming king: Keaweawe`ula Kiwala`o Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa) (b. March 17, 1813, Keauhou, North Kona, Hawaii island - d. Dec. 15, 1854, Honolulu, Oahu), king of Hawaii (1825-54); son of Kamehameha I; brother of Kamehameha II. Still a minor when he succeeded to the throne, he was initially under the regency of Kamehameha I's favourite wife, Kaahumanu, who had been regent ever since Kamehameha II left for a visit to England in 1823 and died there. On her death in 1832 the regency fell to Kamehameha I's daughter Kinau, but in the following year Kamehameha III assumed power in his own right. After hearing a series of lectures on government delivered by an American clergyman, William Richards, Kamehameha III promulgated the Declaration of Rights, called Hawaii's Magna Carta, on June 7, 1839, the Edict of Toleration on June 17, 1839, and Hawaii's first written constitution on Oct. 8, 1840. This constitution contained several innovations, including an elected legislature and a supreme court. The first compilation of laws was published in 1842. In 1843, the British wanted some questionable land claims by British subjects settled in their favour. On February 10 Lord George Paulet of the Royal Navy sailed into Honolulu harbour and captured the town. Rather than fulfilling the British demands, the king signed a provisional cession of his kingdom to the British on February 25. Summoned by the Hawaiian government, Paulet's superior, Adm. Richard D. Thomas, sailed from Valparaíso to Honolulu and repudiated Lord Paulet, and on July 31 the Hawaiian flag was raised again. To forestall more warlike incursions, the Hawaiian foreign minister then negotiated a series of treaties with Western nations, in an effort to preserve Hawaiian independence. In 1852 Kamehameha signed a new constitution.
Kamehameha IV |
Kamehameha IV, original name Alexander Liholiho, Hawaiian Alekanetero Liholiho Keawenui `Iolani (b. Feb. 9, 1834, Ewa, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands - d. Nov. 30, 1863, Honolulu, Oahu), king of Hawaii (1854-63). The son of Kekuanaoa, governor of Oahu, and Kinau, a woman chief who had been kuhina nui (prime minister), Prince Alexander Liholiho was adopted as a child by his uncle, Kamehameha III, who appointed him as his heir. Crowned on Jan. 11, 1855, after his uncle's death, he became a popular and benevolent monarch and was virtually an idol to the Hawaiian people. He brought to an end the annexation movement that had been championed by many American missionaries and took steps to ensure the independence of his kingdom. He strove to ally his monarchy with the British Empire as a balance to the previously dominating American influence. He corresponded with Queen Victoria, adopted British royal court ritual, and welcomed the Church of England into the islands. Impatient with the puritanical American missionaries and suspicious of U.S. businessmen, he gradually removed all American members from the cabinet and encouraged Hawaii's commercial interests with other nations. In 1856 he married Emma Rooke (1836-1885), who encouraged him to promote education and public health. This included the construction of a sailors' home and the Queen's Hospital in Honolulu in 1860 to provide free medical care for Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians. He also established Hawaii's first chamber of commerce, took an active interest in economic expansion, and sponsored an agricultural program designed to spur native interest in farming. Island harbours were improved to accommodate Hawaii's rapidly growing whaling industry. Kamehameha withdrew from public life upon the death of his only son, Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli (1858-1862).
Kamehameha V |
Kamehameha V, also called Lot Kamehameha, Hawaiian Lota Liholiho Kapuaiwa (b. Dec. 11, 1830, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands - d. Dec. 11, 1872, Honolulu), king of Hawaii (1863-72). He was the elder brother of Kamehameha IV, and served as interior and finance minister in his government (1854-63). Succeeding as king, he immediately revealed his intention to rule with a strong hand. He refused to take an oath to maintain the existing, comparatively liberal constitution, which he viewed as too restrictive of the king's powers. He considered universal manhood suffrage as too advanced, as votes of native Hawaiians have been bought with gifts or promises of free liquor, and this manipulation might ultimately lead to U.S. annexation. In 1864 he called a constitutional convention, but the delegates rejected restrictions on suffrage, and he himself wrote and promulgated a new constitution, which remained in effect for 23 years. It gave the king more power, abolished the position of kuhina nui (premier), and enfranchised literate resident males who possessed property valued at $150, paid lease-rent of $25 per year, or earned an annual income of $75. He at first continued his brother's policy of seeking, through Foreign Minister Robert C. Wyllie, a treaty guaranteeing Hawaiian sovereignty, but he ended this policy following Wyllie's death in 1865. He also imported the first wave of Japanese labourers. In the later years of his reign he grew so obese (weighing about 170 kg) that he remained almost constantly confined to his palace, becoming at last unable to stand or support himself. He never married, and on his deathbed he offered the throne to Bernice Pauahi Bishop, but she refused. The Kamehameha dynasty ended with his death and the legislature elected a cousin, William Charles Lunalilo, to succeed him.
Kamei, Hikaru (b. Jan. 1, 1909, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan - d. Sept. 26, 1986), governor of Fukuoka (1967-83).
Kamenev, Aleksandr (Fyodorovich), Soviet politician. He was a deputy premier of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1991).
Kamenev, Lev (Borisovich), original surname Rosenfeld (b. July 18 [July 6, O.S.], 1883, Moscow, Russia - d. [executed] Aug. 24, 1936, Moscow), Soviet politician. He was chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets (1917), a Soviet deputy premier (1923-26), people's commissar of external and internal trade (1926), and ambassador to Italy (1927).
Kamenický, Ladislav (b. Oct. 4, 1970), finance minister of Slovakia (2019-20, 2023- ).
Kamensky, Mikhail (Davydovich) (b. 1889, Shpola, Kiev province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. 19...), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the (Kara-)Kirgiz autonomous oblast (1924-25).
Kamentsev, Vladimir (Mikhailovich) (b. Jan. 8, 1928, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. May 3, 2003, Moscow), Soviet politician. He was minister of fisheries (1979-86) and a deputy premier (1986-89).
Kamienski, Antoni (b. June 13, 1878, Lódz, Poland - d. August 1944, Warsaw, Poland), governor of Lódzkie województwo (1919-22) and interior minister of Poland (1922).
Kamikawa |
Kamikawa, Yoko (b. March 1, 1953, Shizuoka, Japan), justice minister (2014-15, 2017-18, 2020-21) and foreign minister (2023-24) of Japan.
Kamil, Abdallah Mohamed, Arabic `Abd Allah Muhammad Kamil (b. 1936, Obock, French Somaliland [now Djibouti]), vice president of the Government Council of French Somaliland (1966-67), president of the Government Council of the French Territory of the Afars and Issas (1976-77), and foreign minister (1977-78) and prime minister (1978) of Djibouti.
Kamil, Abdullah (b. Dec. 27, 1919, Binjai, Netherlands East Indies [now in Sumatera Utara, Indonesia] - d. July 11, 1991, Jakarta, Indonesia), Indonesian diplomat. He was ambassador to Yugoslavia (1968-71) and Austria (1975-79) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1979-82).
Kamil (al-Majid), Hussein, defense minister of Iraq (1991); cousin and son-in-law of Saddam Hussein. He was also minister of oil (acting, 1990-91) and industry and minerals (1993-95).
Kamil Pasha, Kibrisli Mehmed (b. 1832, Nicosia, Ottoman Empire [now in Cyprus] - d. Oct. 16, 1913, Nicosia), grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1885-91, 1895, 1908-09, 1912-13). He was also minister of waqfs (1880, 1882-85) and education (1880-81) and governor of Aleppo (1877-79) and Aydin (1895-1907).
Kamil Pasha, Yusuf (b. 1808, Arapgir, Ottoman Empire [now in Turkey] - d. Oct. 10, 1876, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]), grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1863). He was also minister of commerce (1852-53, 1854) and justice (1872) and head of the Council of State (1869-71, 1872-75, 1876).
Kamilov |
Kamilov, Abdulaziz (Khafizovich), also spelled Komilov (b. Nov. 16, 1947, Yangiyul, Uzbek S.S.R.), foreign minister of Uzbekistan (1994-2003, 2012-22); son-in-law of Sharaf Rashidov. He was also ambassador to the United States (2003-10), Canada (2004-10), and Brazil (2008-10).
Kaminski, Mariusz (b. Sept. 25, 1965, Sochaczew, Poland), interior minister of Poland (2019-23). He was also head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (2006-09) and minister-coordinator of special services (2015-19).
Kaminskis, Janis (b. Oct. 22, 1878, Elksni parish, Russia [now in Latvia] - d. June 9, 1942, Molotov oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. [now in Perm kray, Russia]), finance minister of Latvia (1939-40). He was also auditor-general (1934-39).
Kaminsky, Grigory (Naumovich) (b. Nov. 1 [Oct. 20, O.S.], 1895, Yekaterinoslav, Russia [now Dnipro, Ukraine] - d. [executed] Feb. 10, 1938), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan S.S.R. (1920-21). He was also chairman of the party committee (1918-20), Executive Committee (1918-19, 1919-20), and Revolutionary Committee (1919) of Tula province and people's commissar of health of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1934-37) and the Soviet Union (1936-37).
Kamio, John (Ben), administrator of Yobe (1996-98).
Kamitatu Etsu, Olivier (Jean Cléophas) (b. April 17, 1964, Brussels, Belgium), Congo (Kinshasa) politician; son of Cléophas Kamitatu Massamba. He was president of the National Assembly (2003-06) and minister of planning (2007-12, 2014-15).
Kamitatu Massamba, Cléophas (b. June 10, 1931, near Masi-Manimba, Kwilu district, Léopoldville province, Belgian Congo [now in Kwilu province, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. Oct. 12, 2008, South Africa), president of Léopoldville province (1960-62), interior minister (1962-63) and foreign minister (1965) of Congo (Léopoldville), and finance minister of Zaire (1988). He was also minister of planning and industrial development (1963-64), environment, nature conservation, and tourism (1980-81), agriculture and rural development (1981-82), and agriculture, rural development, and environment (1982-83).
Kamitz, Reinhard (b. June 18, 1907, Halbstadt, Austria [now Mezimestí, Czech Republic] - d. Aug. 9, 1993, Vienna, Austria), finance minister of Austria (1952-60). He was also president of the Austrian National Bank (1960-68).
Kamiyama, Mitsunoshin (b. Oct. 31 [Sept. 27, lunar calendar], 1869, Choshu domain, Nagato province [now in Yamaguchi prefecture], Japan - d. July 30, 1938), governor-general of Taiwan (1926-28). He was also governor of Kumamoto (1912-13).
Kamm |
Kamm, Jakob (b. 1947), Landammann of Glarus (2002-06).
Kamminga, Jan (b. Jan. 3, 1947, Groningen, Netherlands), queen's commissioner of Gelderland (1997-2005).
Kamminga, Roelien (J.) (b. April 13, 1978, Groningen, Netherlands), Dutch politician. She was acting chairman of the Second Chamber (2023).
Kamol Vanprapar (b. Dec. 7, 1908 - d. ...), justice minister (1972-73) and interior minister (1973-74) of Thailand.
Kamougue, Wadal Abdelkader (b. May 20, 1939, Bitam, Gabon - d. May 9, 2011, Koumra, Chad), foreign minister (1975-78), president of the National Assembly (1997-2002), and defense minister (2008-10) of Chad. He was a presidential candidate in 1996 and 2001. He was also minister of agriculture (1987-89), justice (1989-90), commerce and industry (1990), and civil service and labour (1993-94).
Kamoun |
Kamoun, Mahamat (b. Nov. 13, 1961, Ndélé, Central African Republic), prime minister of the Central African Republic (2014-16). He was a minor presidential candidate in 2020.
Kamp, Henk, byname of Henricus Gregorius Jozeph Kamp (b. July 23, 1952, Hengelo, Overijssel, Netherlands), defense minister of the Netherlands (2002-07, 2021-22). He was also minister of housing, regional planning, and environment (2002-03), social affairs and employment (2010-12), and economic affairs (2012-17).
Kampani, Manohar Lal (b. Jan. 17, 1925, Gujrat, India [now in Pakistan] - d. April 22, 2021, New Delhi, India), lieutenant governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1982-85).
Kämpe, (Anna) Katarina, née Floreby (b. May 5, 1965, Oskarshamn, Kalmar, Sweden), acting governor of Stockholm (2011-12).
Kampengauzen, Baron Baltazar (Baltazarovich), German Balthasar Freiherr von Campenhausen (b. Jan. 16 [Jan. 5, O.S.], 1772, Lentsengof [Lenzenhof], Riga province, Russia [now Lenci, Latvia] - d. Sept. 23 [Sept. 11, O.S.], 1823, St. Petersburg, Russia), interior minister of Russia (1823); son of Baron Baltazar (Ivanovich) Kampengauzen. He was also state comptroller (1811-23).
Kampengauzen, Baron Baltazar (Ivanovich), German Balthasar Freiherr von Campenhausen (b. Nov. 28, 1745, Orellen, Russia [now Ungurmuiza, Latvia] - d. July 12, 1800, Peddast, Russia [now Pädaste, Estonia]), governor of Livonia (1797); son of Balthasar Freiherr von Campenhausen.
Kampmann, Jens (b. March 30, 1937, Frederiksberg, Denmark), Danish politician; son of Viggo Kampmann. He was minister of transport, communications, and environmental protection (1971-73) and taxation (1977-78).
V. Kampmann |
Kampmann, (Olfert) Viggo (Fischer) (b. July 21, 1910, Frederiksberg, Denmark - d. June 3, 1976, Store Torøje, Fakse municipality, Storstrøm county [now in Sjælland region], Denmark), prime minister of Denmark (1960-62). He was the first man with an academic background to reach the top of the Danish Social Democratic Party, setting a pattern to be followed later by his successor, Jens Otto Krag, and others. From the department of statistics Kampmann went to the Danish taxation department, and it was his ability as an administrator that brought him into the cabinet of Hans Hedtoft as finance minister for a brief term in 1950. He held the finance portfolio again from 1953 to 1960 and was appointed prime minister when Hans Christian Hansen, the prime minister and an old school trade union Social Democrat, died. Two years later, he resigned after having suffered a series of heart attacks. In spite of his background, he was a popular figure in his party and had the trust of trade union members to a far greater degree than his successor Krag. He had an excellent reputation for finance matters but was not ever really comfortable with foreign affairs, and the popularity he enjoyed among Danish politicians in all parties when he was appointed head of government was not able to survive his period in office at the head of a coalition with the Radical-Liberal party.
Kamran Mirza, Prince, styled Naib us-Saltana (1867-70) and Amir-i-Kabir (from 1870) (b. July 22, 1856, Tehran, Persia [now Iran] - d. April 15, 1929, Tehran), prime minister of Persia (1909); son of Naser ad-Din Qajar; brother of Mozaffar ad-Din Qajar. He was also minister of war (1884-96, 1906-07) and governor-general of Khorasan (1916-17).
Kamshilov, Pyotr (Petrovich) (b. Jan. 21, 1947, Krasnoarmeysk, Saratov oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the government of Saratov oblast (1999-2000).
Kamukuny Mukinayi, Ambroise (b. Feb. 9, 1955 - d. Nov. 4, 2020, Kinshasa, Congo [Kinshasa]), acting governor of Kasaï Central (2020).
Kamunanwire, Perezi (Karukubiro) (b. July 25, 1937, Mbarara, Uganda), Ugandan diplomat. He was ambassador to West Germany (1986-88), the Vatican (1987-88), and the United States (2006-13) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1988-96).
N. Kan |
Kan, Naoto (b. Oct. 10, 1946, Ube, Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan), finance minister (2010) and prime minister (2010-11) of Japan. He was also minister of health and welfare (1996), president of the Democratic Party of Japan (1996-99, 2002-04, 2010-11) and deputy prime minister (2009-10).
Kan Chaoxi (b. 1884, Panshan, Liaoning, China - d. 1951, Shenyang, China), governor of Rehe (1924-25). Nicknamed "the Broadsword," he was a member of Zhang Zuolin's bandit gang. After Zhang took control over the northeastern region as a government-designated general after the republic was founded, Kan became commander of the 1st Compound Brigade. He was also promoted to commander of the 3rd Division upon his nomination in Rehe, serving as head of the Fengtian (Liaoning) Execution Bureau. He was sacked upon Zhang's death in 1928, living in Dalian thereafter. After the Japanese took control of the northeast, Kan, together with Zhao Xinbo (1887-1951), organized an "Autonomous Peace Preservation Association" against the central government in Liaoning province, thus echoing Japanese forces. He became president of the central bank of Manchukuo in 1932. He was detained as a traitor after World War II, and was executed in 1951 during the Communist Party-led Movement to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries.
Kan-Dapaah, Albert (b. March 14, 1953), interior minister (2006-07) and defense minister (2007-09) of Ghana. He was also minister of energy (2001-03) and communications and technology (2003-06).
Kanaan |
Kanaan, Ghazi, Arabic Ghazi Kan`an (b. 1942, Bhamra village, Latakia governorate, Syria - d. Oct. 12, 2005, Damascus, Syria), interior minister of Syria (2004-05). He was military intelligence chief in Lebanon from 1982 to 2002, then was appointed chief of the Syrian Political Security Directorate before becoming interior minister. He was questioned by the UN about the assassination in February 2005 of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, and days before the investigation report was due out, he shot himself. The report implicated Syria in the assassination, but Kanaan's name did not appear.
Kanakaratne, Neville (b. July 19, 1923, Colombo, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] - d. Sept. 20, 1999, Galle, Southern province, Sri Lanka), governor of Southern province (1995-99). He was also ambassador to the United States (1970-78) and the Soviet Union (1982-87) and high commissioner to India (1991-94).
Kanakaris-Rouphos, Athanasios (Benizelou), byname Thanos Kanakaris-Rouphos (b. 1838 - d. 1902), Greek politician; son of Benizelos Rouphos. He was minister of ecclesiastical affairs and public education (1876, 1877, 1890) and mayor of Patras (1879-83, 1895-99).
Kanakaris-Rouphos, Loukas (Athanasiou) (b. Aug. 23, 1878, Patras, Greece - d. 1949, Athens, Greece), foreign minister of Greece (1925-26); son of Athanasios Kanakaris-Rouphos. He was also general administrator of Crete (1913-15) and minister of interior (1916), justice (provisional, 1916), national economy (1922, 1922), and ecclesiastical affairs and public education (1925).
Kanaris |
Kanaris, Konstantinos (Michail) (b. 1790, Psara, Greece - d. Sept. 14, 1877, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (1844, 1848-49, 1864, 1864-65, 1877). During the War of Greek Independence (1821-32) he contributed his own ship to the fleet of the Greek navy. He soon achieved fame through his effective use of fire ships. On June 18, 1822, near the island of Chios, he blew up the Turkish admiral's flagship and so harassed the Turkish fleet that it retreated to the Dardanelles. In November 1822 he destroyed another large Turkish ship in the harbour of Tenedos. He was then considered to have disposed of nearly 4,000 Turks in the two ventures. Though unable to save his home island of Psara, which fell to the Turks in June 1824, he burned or sank several Turkish ships off Samos and Lesbos and harassed and delayed the Egyptian squadrons, whose objective was Crete. In August 1825 he attempted to burn the entire Egyptian fleet at Alexandria and thus destroy the legions of Muhammad Ali, but he was baffled by a change in the wind. When the Greeks tried to organize a regular navy he was made an officer and was placed in command of the frigate Hellas in 1826. In 1827 he was elected to the Greek Congress. A retiring man, he played little part in the stormy politics of the War of Independence; but after the war he was associated with the opposition to King Othon, though he served twice as prime minister under him. He was also marine minister (1843-44, 1845-47, 1848-49, 1854-55, 1864, 1864-65, 1877) and justice minister (provisional, 1846-47). He was a vice-president of the government that deposed Othon in 1862, being also member of a provisional triumvirate until 1863. He came back from retirement to preside over the ministry formed during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877, but he died in office.
Kanazir, Dusan (b. June 28, 1921, Mosorin, Yugoslavia [now in Vojvodina, Serbia] - d. Sept. 19, 2009, Belgrade, Serbia), minister for science and technology of Serbia (1996-98). He was better known as a molecular biologist and as president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (1981-94).
Kanbayashiyama, Eikichi (b. Oct. 18, 1904, Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Japan - d. Aug. 10, 1971), director-general of the Defense Agency of Japan (1966).
Kanda, Atsushi (b. May 11, 1941, Tochigi prefecture, Japan - d. Feb. 22, 2008, Moka, Tochigi prefecture), director-general of the Defense Agency of Japan (1994).
Kanda, Ken (b. Aug. 30, 1951, Kpandu, British Togoland [now in Ghana]), Ghanaian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (2011-15).
Kanda, Masaaki (b. Oct. 1, 1951), governor of Aichi (1999-2011).
Kande Mupompa, Alex (b. Sept. 23, 1950, Luluabourg, Belgian Congo [now Kananga, Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï Occidental (2013-15) and special commissioner (2015-16) and governor (2016-17) of Kasaï Central.
Kandymov, Seyitbay, Turkmen Seýitbaý Gandymow (b. 1949, Karach, Chardzhou oblast, Turkmen S.S.R. [now Lebap velayat, Turkmenistan]), a deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan (2000-02). He was also head of the Central Bank (1999-2002).
Kane, Cheikh Hamidou, dit Mathiara (b. Dec. 18, 1939, Dagana, Senegal - d. May 15, 2009, Dakar, Senegal), defense minister of Senegal (1995-2000). He was also minister of commerce and crafts (1993-95).
Kane, Cheikh Saad Bouh (b. 1923, M'Bagne, Mauritania), interior minister (1975-77) and justice minister (1977-78) of Mauritania. He was also president of the National Assembly (1966-68) and ambassador to Algeria (1970-75).
Kane, Falilou (b. July 14, 1938, Joal, Senegal), Senegalese politician. He was secretary-general of the Common African and Malagasy Organization (1968-74), ambassador to Canada (1975-79), Tunisia (1980-81), the United States (1984-88), and Belgium (1988-96), permanent representative to the United Nations (1979-80), and commerce minister (1981-83).
Kane, Richard Rutledge (b. 1877 - d. Nov. 4, 1958, Australia), resident commissioner of the British Solomon Islands (1921-29).
Kaneda, Katsutoshi (b. Oct. 4, 1949, Katagami, Akita, Japan), justice minister of Japan (2016-17).
Kaneko, Genjiro (b. May 8, 1944), governor of Nagasaki (1998-2010).
Kaneko, Ippei (b. Feb. 12, 1913, Kokufumachi, Gifu prefecture, Japan - d. 1989), finance minister of Japan (1978-79). He was also director-general of the Economic Planning Agency (1984-85).
Kalani Kaneko |
Kaneko, Kalani (Radford), foreign minister of the Marshall Islands (2024- ). He was also health minister (2016-20).
Kaneko, Kentaro, in full Hakushaku (Count) Kentaro Kaneko (b. March 13 [Feb. 4, lunar calendar], 1853 - d. May 16, 1942, Hayama, near Tokyo, Japan), justice minister of Japan (1900-01). He was also minister of agriculture and commerce (1898). He was created baron (1895), viscount (1907), and count (1934).
Kaneko, Yasushi (b. Feb. 27, 1961, Fukada [now Asagiri], Kumamoto prefecture, Japan), internal affairs minister of Japan (2021-22).
Kanellopoulos, Athanasios (b. 1923, Andritsaina, Greece - d. Dec. 16, 1994), finance minister (1978-80) and justice minister (1990-91) of Greece. He was also minister of commerce (1963 [acting], 1974), agriculture (1980-81), and the presidency of the government (1989), a deputy prime minister (1990-92), and a minister of state (1991-92).
Kanellopoulos, Efthymios (b. 1876, Athens, Greece - d. 1933), provisional foreign minister of Greece (1922). He was also high commissioner in Constantinople (1918-21), minister of national economy (1922), and minister to Germany (1924-30) and Switzerland (1930-33).
Kanellopoulos, Panagiotis (Kanellou) (b. Dec. 13, 1902, Patrai, Greece - d. Sept. 11, 1986, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (1945, 1967); nephew of Dimitrios Gounaris. A convinced republican, he founded the National Unionist Party in 1935 and was exiled (1936-40) during the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas. During World War II he fought on the Albanian front, organized a resistance group, and in 1942 joined the government in exile in the Middle East, being deputy prime minister and defense minister until 1943. He returned to Greece in 1944, and during the ensuing chaos his brief government was one of many. Elected member of parliament for Patrai in 1946, he served in a succession of centrist governments as minister of air (1947), of war (1949-50), and of national defense (1952-55). He was deputy prime minister in 1950, 1954-55, 1959-61, and 1961-63. Kanellopoulos became leader of the National Radical Union in 1963 and prime minister in 1967 when his party withdrew its support from the caretaker government of Ioannis Paraskevopoulos. He returned to parliament in 1974 but retired from politics following his unsuccessful candidacy for the presidency the following year.
Kanemaru, Shin (b. Sept. 17, 1914, Suwa village, Yamanashi prefecture, Japan - d. March 28, 1996, Yamanashi, Japan), Japanese politician. He was minister of construction (1972-73), director-general of the National Land Agency (1974-76) and the Defense Agency (1977-78), and deputy prime minister (1986-87).
Kanerva |
Kanerva, Ilkka (Armas Mikael) (b. Jan. 28, 1948, Lokalahti, Finland - d. April 14, 2022, Turku, Finland), foreign minister of Finland (2007-08). He was also minister of transport (1990-91) and labour (1991-95) and deputy prime minister (1991). He was asked to resign as foreign minister by the chairman of his conservative National Coalition Party after he sent some 200 cell phone text messages to an erotic dancer.
Kang, Sukhdev Singh (b. May 15, 1931 - d. Oct. 12, 2012, Chandigarh, India), governor of Kerala (1997-2002). He was also chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court (1989-93).
Kang Kyong Shik, also spelled Kang Kyung Shik (b. May 10, 1936), finance minister of South Korea (1982-83, 1997). He was also a deputy prime minister (1997).
Kang K.W. |
Kang Kyung Wha (b. April 7, 1955, Seoul, South Korea), foreign minister of South Korea (2017-21).
Kang Sheng (Wade-Giles K'ang Sheng), original name Zhang Zongke, pseudonym Zhao Rong (b. 1898, Zhucheng, Shandong, China - d. Dec. 16, 1975, Beijing, China), secretary of the Communist Party committee (1949) and chairman of the government (1949-54) of Shandong. He became one of the highest-ranking party leaders during the Cultural Revolution period (1966-69).
Kang Sok Ju (b. Aug. 4, 1939, Pyongwon county, South Pyongan province, Korea [now in North Korea] - d. May 20, 2016), acting foreign minister of North Korea (2007). He was also a vice premier (2010-16).
Kang Song San (b. March 3, 1931 - d. 2007), premier of North Korea (1984-86, 1992-97). Kang supported an opening of the Stalinist nation to economic reforms to save it from collapse. Two years of devastating floods had set off widespread famine. He was replaced on Feb. 21, 1997, apparently for health reasons. He had not been seen in public since January 1996. He was among seven senior North Korean officials thought to be politically close to Hwang Jang Yop (a close adviser to de facto leader Kim Jong Il who defected in Beijing on Feb. 12, 1997) and therefore likely targets of an impending purge by a hardline group headed by Kim.
Kang Young Hoon (b. May 30, 1922 - d. May 10, 2016, Seoul, South Korea), prime minister of South Korea (1988-90). He was also ambassador to the United Kingdom (1981-84) and the Vatican (1984-87).
Kanga, Jean-Claude Victor (b. 1931, Banka, French Cameroons [now in Cameroon] - d. June 17, 1991), finance minister of Cameroon (1964-66). He was also minister of justice (1960-61), national economy (1961-64), and information and tourism (1966).
Kangaloo |
Kangaloo, Christine (Carla) (b. Dec. 1, 1961, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago), president of Trinidad and Tobago (2023- ). She was also minister of legal and consumer affairs (2005-07) and science, technology, and tertiary education (2007-10) and president of the Senate (2015-23).
Kangiwa, (Alhaji) Shehu (d. [after falling off his pony while playing polo] Nov. 17, 1981), governor of Sokoto (1979-81).
Kangleon, Ruperto (Kadava) (b. March 27, 1890, Macrohon, Leyte, Philippines - d. Feb. 27, 1958, Quezon City, Philippines), defense secretary of the Philippines (1946-50). He was also governor of Leyte (1944-45).
Kangulumba (Kakoma) Kisesele, Léopold (b. April 16, 1951, Kimbongo, Léopoldville province, Belgian Congo [now in Kwango province, Congo (Kinshasa)]), acting governor of Kwango (2020).
Kangxi (Wade-Giles K'ang-hsi; reign name), personal name Xuanye, temple name Shengzu, posthumous name Ren huangdi (b. May 4, 1654, Beijing, China - d. Dec. 20, 1722, Beijing), emperor of China (1661-1722). He succeeded as the second emperor of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty at the age of 8, and ruled personally at 15, cultivating the image of an ideal Confucian ruler, and stressing traditional morality. His chosen reign name means "Peaceful Harmony." He organized the compilation of a Ming history, an accurate atlas of the empire (completed 1717), a 42,000-character dictionary (1716), and a 5,000-volume encyclopedia (1726). He opened four ports, including Guangzhou (Canton), to foreign ships, stimulating great industrial growth. He adopted the Western calendar, and permitted an East India Company trading post (1699). He encouraged the introduction of Western education and arts and of Roman Catholicism. The "Revolt of the Three Feudatories" was crushed (1673-81), and he conquered Taiwan (1683), Outer Mongolia (1696), and Tibet (1720). He negotiated the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia in 1689, the first treaty made between China and a Western power; as a result, trade relations were initiated and the boundaries between the two countries were defined.
Kania |
Kania, Stanislaw (b. March 8, 1927, Wrocanka, near Krosno, Poland - d. March 3, 2020, Warsaw, Poland), first secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party (1980-81). He joined the anti-Nazi resistance movement in 1944 and the Communist Party in April 1945. After helping its Rzeszow provincial organization create a party youth movement, he was sent to the party school, graduating in 1952. He was made an alternate member of the Central Committee in 1964, a full member of that body in 1968, and a full member of the Politburo in December 1975. On Sept. 6, 1980, quite unexpectedly, Poland learned that Edward Gierek, the party leader since Dec. 20, 1970, had been hospitalized following a heart attack. The party's Central Committee had released him from his post of first secretary and had unanimously called Kania to that position. Kania told the Central Committee that the wave of strikes rolling across Poland was directed not against the role of the party and its foreign policy but against the party's serious mistakes in economic matters and against "distortions in public life." He developed his policies in detail in his report presented to the Central Committee on October 6. Repeating his attachment to "democratic centralism" (i.e., Communist Party preponderance), he avoided mentioning "proletarian internationalism" (i.e., undisputed Soviet leadership of the "socialist camp"). On October 21 Kania met the Polish primate, Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, in Warsaw to discuss problems of internal peace and development. On October 30 he visited Moscow, and on November 14 he received strike leader Lech Walesa. Kania appeared to wish to cooperate with the new independent trade union Solidarity, and in this he was supported by the "liberal" wing of the party. In October 1981 he was dismissed amid mounting criticism of his inability to meet the challenge of Solidarity.
Kanika Phommachanh (b. Jan. 8, 1951, Champassak, Laos), Laotian diplomat. She was permanent representative to the United Nations (2007-12).
Kanis, Pavol (b. Aug. 27, 1948, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), defense minister of Slovakia (1994, 1998-2001).
Kanju, (Mohammad) Siddique Khan (b. 1946? - d. [killed] July 28, 2001, Kahror Pacca, Lodhran district, Punjab, Pakistan), foreign minister of Pakistan (1991-93).
Kankrin, Graf Ivan (Viktorovich) (b. Jan. 26 [Jan. 14, O.S.], 1857, Veselyanka, Yekaterinoslav province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. 1920), governor of Bessarabia (1908-12); grandson of Graf Yegor Kankrin.
Kankrin, Graf Yegor (Frantsevich), German Georg Ludwig Daniel von Cancrin (b. Nov. 26, 1774, Hanau, Hesse-Kassel [now in Hessen, Germany] - d. Sept. 21 [Sept. 9, O.S.], 1845, Pavlovsk, St. Petersburg province, Russia), finance minister of Russia (1823-44). He was made Graf (count) in 1829.
Kanku, Dominique (b. June 9, 1963, Miabi, Sud-Kasaï [now in Kasaï Oriental], Congo [Léopoldville] [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï Oriental (2004-07).
Kankulov, Masha (Gerandukovich) (b. 1889, Ashabovo, Terek oblast [now in Kabardino-Balkariya republic], Russia - d. 1944), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kabardino-Balkar A.S.S.R. (1938-39).
Kanna, Khalil (b. c. 1905, Fallujah, Ottoman Empire [now in Iraq] - d. ...), finance minister of Iraq (1955-57). He was also a minister without portfolio (1950) and minister of education (1950-52, 1953, 1954-55).
Kannamwar, Marotrao Sambashio (b. Jan. 10, 1900, Chanda [now Chandrapur] district, Maharashtra, India - d. Nov. 25, 1963, Bombay [now Mumbai], Maharashtra, India), chief minister of Maharashtra (1962-63).
Kannik, Indrek (b. Nov. 25, 1965, Tallinn, Estonian S.S.R.), defense minister of Estonia (1994).
Kannisto, Heikki (Albert), original name Henrik Albert Candelin (b. Jan. 19, 1898, Oulu, Finland - d. Feb. 19, 1957, Oulu), justice minister (1950-51) and interior minister (1953-54) of Finland.
Kanokov |
Kanokov, Arsen (Bashirovich) (b. Feb. 22, 1957, Shitkhala village, Kabardino-Balkar A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), president (2005-12) and head of the republic (2012-13) of Kabardino-Balkariya.
Kant |
Kant, Krishan (b. Feb. 28, 1927, Kot Mohammad Khan, Amritsar district, Punjab - d. July 27, 2002, New Delhi), Indian politician. He took part in the country's independence struggle against the British. He entered the Indian parliament as a member of the upper house (Rajya Sabha) in 1966 and subsequently was a member of the lower house (Lok Sabha) in 1977-80. He was appointed governor of Andhra Pradesh in 1990. One of the longest serving governors in India, he remained in that post until he became vice president in 1997. He was the joint vice-presidential candidate of the ruling United Front coalition and the Congress party. Throughout his political career, he was a strong proponent of India's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Kant was also one of the founders of the People's Union of Civil Liberties, an influential human rights group.
Kantathi |
Kantathi Suphamongkhon (b. April 3, 1952), foreign minister of Thailand (2005-06); son of Konthi Suphamongkhon.
Kantawala, R(amanlal) M(aneklal) (b. Oct. 6, 1916, Cambay [now in Gujarat], India - d. May 2, 1992), acting governor of Maharashtra (1976-77). He was chief justice of the Bombay High Court (1972-78).
Kante, Mamadou Boubacar (b. September 1926, Hombori, French Sudan [now Mali]), Malian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1967-70, 1975-79) and ambassador to Cuba (1967-69, 1977-79) and the United States (1975-76).
Kantemir, Antiokh (Dmitriyevich) (b. Sept. 21 [Sept. 10, O.S.], 1708, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. April 11, 1744, Paris, France), Russian diplomat; son of Dimitrie Constantin Cantemir. He was minister to Great Britain (1731-38) and ambassador to France (1738-44).
Kanther, Manfred (b. May 26, 1939, Schweidnitz, Prussia, Germany [now Swidnica, Poland]), interior minister of Germany (1993-98).
Kantor |
Kantor, Mickey, byname of Michael Kantor (b. Aug. 7, 1939, Nashville, Tenn.), U.S. secretary of commerce (1996-97). He worked in the presidential campaigns of unsuccessful Democratic candidates George McGovern, Jerry Brown, and Walter Mondale, as well as the winning campaign of Jimmy Carter. Kantor was Pres. Bill Clinton's campaign chief during the 1992 presidential race and was named U.S. trade representative in 1993. In this position Kantor gained a reputation as a vigorous and pugnacious negotiator, notably with Japanese government representatives, with whom he reached a hard-fought compromise agreement on automobiles in mid-1995. He became commerce secretary in April 1996, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Ron Brown in an airplane crash in Croatia. As a member of the Clinton administration, Kantor played a persuasive role in gaining Congressional passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and pursued a goal of widening access for U.S. manufacturers in global markets.
Kanu, (Godwin) Ndubuisi (b. November 1943 - d. Jan. 13, 2021), governor of Imo (1976-77) and Lagos (1977-78).
Kanu, (James) Yayah (d. Dec. 29, 1992), chairman of the National Provisional Defense Council of Sierra Leone (1992). He initially appeared to have been one of the leaders of the coup that ousted Pres. Joseph Saidu Momoh in April 1992. After Momoh fled, Kanu briefly led a National Provisional Defense Council and told the BBC that the soldiers favoured a return to multiparty democracy. His role is still unclear, though he was definitely not among those who planned and executed the coup. It appears that he rather acted as a kind of pacifier to the coup-makers, or a mediator between them and the troops who remained loyal to Momoh, or that it was a trick of the actual ringleaders of the coup to tap into Kanu's huge popularity in the army, so that the army would not resist the coup, which in fact was largely bloodless. Kanu's mediation efforts were unsuccessful and he was imprisoned the same day. In December he was among 26 people executed for an alleged coup plot.
Kanukov, Kharti (Badiyevich) (b. 1883, Salsk district, Don Cossack Host [now in Rostov oblast], Russia - d. Feb. 7, 1933, Elista, Kalmyk autonomous oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. [now Kalmykia, Russia]), chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Kalmyk autonomous oblast (1925).
Kanungo, Nityanand (b. May 4, 1900, Bakhrabad, Bengal [now in Odisha], India - d. Aug. 2, 1988, Cuttack, Orissa [now Odisha], India), governor of Gujarat (1965-67) and Bihar (1967-71). He was also Indian minister of industries (1955-56) and minister of state for consumer industries (1956-57), commerce (1957-62), industry (1962-64), and cultural affairs (1964-65).
Kánya, Kálmán (b. Nov. 7, 1869, Sopron, Hungary - d. Feb. 28, 1945, Budapest, Hungary), foreign minister of Hungary (1933-38). He was also Austro-Hungarian minister to Mexico (1913-18) and Hungarian minister to Germany (1925-33).
Kanyamuhanga (Gafundi), Léonard (d. July 31, 2000, Bujumbura, Burundi), governor of Nord-Kivu (1996-2000).
Kanyenkiko, Anatole (b. 1952, Mwumba, Ngozi province, Burundi), prime minister of Burundi (1994-95). He was also mayor of Bujumbura (1992-93) and minister of public works and equipment (1993-94).
Kanza |
Kanza, Thomas (b. 1934, Boende, Équateur province, Belgian Congo [now Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. Oct. 25, 2004, Oxford, England), foreign minister of the People's Republic of the Congo (1964-65). He was Congo's permanent representative to the United Nations (1960), minister of international cooperation (1997-98) and of labour and social welfare (1998-99), and ambassador to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway (1999-2004).
Kao Kim Hourn (b. 1966, Koh Sotin district, Kompong Cham province, Cambodia), secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2023- ).
Kapambwe, Lazarous (b. Dec. 31, 1959), Zambian diplomat. He has been ambassador to Ethiopia (2003-07) and the United States (2020- ) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2007-12, 2017-20).
Kapanli, Turhan (b. 1916, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. Nov. 20, 1980, Ankara, Turkey), defense minister of Turkey (1977-78). He was also minister of agriculture (1965), rural affairs (1969-71), forestry (1975-77), and social security (1977).
Kaparov, Myrza (b. June 17, 1938 - d. Aug. 28, 2009), acting foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan (1993-94). He was also minister of sport and tourism (1994-96).
Kapger, Aleksandr (Khristianovich) (b. 1809 - d. Dec. 12 [Nov. 30, O.S.], 1876), military governor of Tiflis (1858-60).
Kaphantaris, Georgios (Konstantinou), also spelled Kafantaris (b. Oct. 13, 1873, Anatoliki Fragkista, Greece - d. Aug. 29, 1946, Athens, Greece), prime minister and foreign minister of Greece (1924). He was also minister of interior (1915), agriculture (1919-20), justice (1924), and finance (1926-28, 1933) and a deputy prime minister and minister without portfolio (1945-46).
Kaplan, Eliezer (b. Jan. 27, 1891, Minsk, Russia [now in Belarus] - d. July 13, 1952, Genoa, Italy), finance minister of Israel (1948-52). He was also minister of trade and industry (1949-50) and deputy prime minister (1952).
Kapllani, Muhamet (b. 1943, Kavajë, Albania), foreign minister of Albania (1991).
Kapo, Hysni (b. March 4, 1915, Terbaç, near Vlorë, Albania - d. Sept. 23, 1979, Paris, France), Albanian politician. He was ambassador to Yugoslavia (1945-47), a deputy premier (1950-58), and agriculture minister (1951-54).
Kapo, Vito, née Kondi (b. Nov. 8, 1922, Nivan, Zagoria district, Albania - d. Feb. 29, 2020, Tiranë, Albania), Albanian politician; wife of Hysni Kapo. She was minister of light industry (1982-90) and food industry (1982-87).
Kapodistrias, Ioannis (Antoniou), Russian Graf Ivan (Antonovich) Kapodistriya, Italian Conte Giovanni Antonio Capo d'Istria (b. Feb. 11, 1776, Corfu island, Republic of Venice [now in Greece] - d. [assassinated] Oct. 9, 1831, Nauplia [now Nafplio], Greece), governor of Greece (1828-31). In 1803 he became secretary of state of the Septinsular Republic, consisting of the Ionian Islands, which was established in 1800 after Russia and Turkey drove out the French; France regained the islands after the Peace of Tilsit in 1807. Kapodistrias left Corfu and entered the Russian diplomatic service in 1809, becoming minister to Switzerland (1814-15) and being given joint responsibility for foreign affairs as secretary of state (1815-22), although formally Karl Nesselrode had seniority over him. When Emperor Aleksandr I refused to support the Greek revolt against Turkey (begun March 1821), Kapodistrias, who had a deep sympathy for the cause of Greek independence, although he had earlier refused to lead the major Greek revolutionary organization, took an indefinite leave of absence from Russian service in 1822 and spent the next five years in Switzerland, devoting himself to the Greek cause from his retreat in Geneva. On April 14, 1827, a revolutionary assembly elected him governor of Greece. Resigning from the Russian service, he then toured Europe seeking financial and diplomatic support for the war of independence and arrived at Nauplia, Greece's capital, in January 1828. He tried to build up a centralized administration. When Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was chosen by the great powers to become sovereign prince of Greece, Kapodistrias wrote him deploring conditions in the country and asking that the boundaries of the Greek state be greater than those delineated by the powers. Leopold rescinded his acceptance of the Greek throne, and Kapodistrias was subsequently accused of deliberately having discouraged the prince in order to maintain his own position. Meanwhile, the authoritarian ways of Kapodistrias and his pro-Russian attitude antagonized many other leaders of the war of independence, including the powerful Mavromichalis family; two members of the family assassinated him.
Kapofi, Frans (b. Jan. 25, 1953, Onaame, Ohangwena region, South West Africa [now Namibia]), home affairs minister (2018-21) and defense minister (2021- ) of Namibia. He was also minister of presidential affairs (2015-18), justice (acting, 2019-20), and safety and security (2020-21).
Kapoma, Tens C(hisola) (b. June 26, 1946), Zambian diplomat. He was ambassador to Congo (Kinshasa) (2003-05) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2005-07).
Kapoor, Harkishan Lal (b. Dec. 10, 1923, Rohtak [now in Haryana], India - d. Feb. 14, 2020, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India), lieutenant governor of Delhi (1985-88).
Kapoor, Vijai (Kumar) (b. Sept. 13, 1938), lieutenant governor of Delhi (1998-2004).
Kappeyne van de Coppello, Jan (b. Oct. 2, 1822, The Hague, Netherlands - d. July 28, 1895, The Hague), prime minister and interior minister of the Netherlands (1877-79).
Kapse, Ram(chandra Ganesh) (b. Dec. 1, 1933, Nasik [now in Maharashtra], India - d. Sept. 29, 2015, Kalyan, Maharashtra, India), lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (2004-06).
Kaptsevich, Pyotr (Mikhailovich) (b. 1772, Pereyaslavl, Russia [now Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine] - d. July 15 [July 3, O.S.], 1840, Orenburg, Russia), governor-general of West Siberia (1822-27).
Kapu |
Kapu, David Tiva, governor-general of Solomon Islands (2024- ).
Kapur, Balraj Krishna (b. Jan. 12, 1910, Lahore, India [now in Pakistan] - d. ...), Indian political officer in Sikkim (1952-55). He was also chargé d'affaires in Iran (1951-52) and the Netherlands (1955-56), ambassador to the Netherlands (1956-57) and Sweden and Finland (1966-67), and high commissioner to Ghana (1957-60) and Ceylon (1960-64).
Kaputin |
Kaputin, Sir John (Rumet) (b. July 11, 1941, Matupit island, New Guinea [now in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea]), justice minister (1973-74), finance minister (1980-82), and foreign minister (1992-94, 1999-2000) of Papua New Guinea and secretary-general of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (2005-10); knighted 1994. He was also minister of planning and development (1978-80), higher education (1980), minerals and energy (1985-88), mining and petroleum (1994), and mining (1999).
Kapuya, Juma (Athumani) (b. June 22, 1945), defense minister of Tanzania (2006-08). He was also minister of education (1995-2000), labour, youth development, and sports (2000-06), and labour, employment, and youth development (2008-10).
Kapwepwe, Simon (Mwansa) (b. April 12, 1922, Chinsali, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] - d. Jan. 26, 1980, Kalulushi, Zambia), foreign minister (1964-67), vice-president (1967-70), and finance minister (1968-69) of Zambia. He was closely associated with Pres. Kenneth Kaunda from the early days of black nationalism in the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and after that area gained independence in 1964. Both belonged to the Bemba tribe in the north of the country and became teachers before entering nationalist politics, first within the African National Congress and then, from 1958, in their breakaway Zambia African National Congress. In 1960 both joined the newly formed United National Independence Party (UNIP), which under Kaunda's leadership won a large majority in pre-independence elections in 1964. Kapwepwe's growing opposition to Kaunda's policies became apparent in 1969 when he tendered (but at Kaunda's request withdrew) his resignation from the vice-presidency. However, in October 1970 he was replaced as vice-president, though he retained the local government portfolio he had assumed that January. In August 1971 he resigned from the government and formed the United Progressive Party (UPP) to "stamp out... capitalism, tribalism, and sectionalism." The UPP was banned in February 1972, and Kapwepwe was placed under detention until January 1973. In 1977 he rejoined the UNIP, the sole legal party since the early 1970s, but his intended candidacy in the 1978 presidential election was disqualified by UNIP's national council.
Kara-ool | Karabayev |
Kara-ool, Sholban (Valeryevich) (b. July 18, 1966, Ulug-Khem region, Tuva A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the government of Tuva (2007-21).
Karabashev, Valentin (Stefanov) (b. July 4, 1960, Sofia, Bulgaria - d. Jan. 23, 2017, Borovets, Bulgaria), Bulgarian politician. He was a deputy prime minister and minister of trade (1992-94).
Karabayev, Ednan (Oskonovich) (b. Jan. 17, 1953, Talas, Kirgiz S.S.R.), foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan (1992-93, 2007-09).
Karabekir, Kazim, until Jan. 1, 1935, Kazim Karabekir Pasha, originally Musa Kazim (b. July 23, 1882, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. Jan. 26, 1948, Ankara, Turkey), Turkish politician. He was chairman of the Progressive Republican Party (1924-25) and speaker of the Grand National Assembly (1946-48).
Karadayi, Mustafa (Sali) (b. May 8, 1970, Borino, Bulgaria), Bulgarian politician. He was leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (2016-23) and a presidential candidate (2021).
Karadjordje ("Black George"), byname of Djordje Petrovic (b. Nov. 14 [Nov. 3, O.S.], 1762, Visevac, Serbia - d. July 25 [July 13, O.S.], 1817, Radovanje, Serbia), chief (1804-08) and supreme chief (1808-13) of Serbia.
Karaduman, Necmettin (b. 1927, Trabzon, Turkey - d. June 22, 2017, Istanbul, Turkey), Turkish politician. He was governor of Kahramanmaras (1966-70), Erzurum (1970-75), and Mersin (1975-76) and speaker of the Grand National Assembly (1983-87).
Karadzhayev, Annageldy, Turkmen Annageldi Garajayýew (b. 1966, Babadaykhan, Turkmen S.S.R. [now in Akhal velayat, Turkmenistan]), a deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan (2017-18). He was also minister of culture (2014-17).
Karadzhov, Grozdan (Spasov) (b. Dec. 14, 1966, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria), Bulgarian politician. He was a deputy prime minister and minister of regional development and public works (2021-22).
Karadzic |
Karadzic, Radovan (b. June 19, 1945, Petnjica, Montenegro), Bosnian Serb leader. In 1985 he was imprisoned for 11 months for fraud involving the use of state funds. In 1990 he helped found the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and became its president. Two years later, when the Bosnian Serbs declared an independent state allied with Yugoslavia, he became its president. With the support of Slobodan Milosevic, president of Serbia, and with Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military leader, he began a campaign to take control of parts of the country and to purge the areas of non-Serb peoples. Throughout the period 1992-95, he alternately pursued ruthless military actions and expressed interest in peace efforts advanced by Western leaders. On July 25, and again on Nov. 16, 1995, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, held in The Hague, indicted him for crimes that included genocide, murder, rape, and other mistreatment of civilians. As the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, he was held to be responsible for the "ethnic cleansing" of Serb-held areas of Bosnia, during which tens of thousands of Muslims and other non-Serbs had been killed and driven from their homes. At the end of 1995, after Milosevic had closed the borders with Bosnia and apparently withdrawn support from the Bosnian Serbs, Karadzic was pressured into signing accords reached in talks near Dayton, Ohio, that provided for a division of the country into Bosnian-Croat and Serb sections but with a unified presidency. On July 19, 1996, it was announced that Karadzic would step down as president of the self-proclaimed Republika Srpska and as head of the SDS on account of his war crimes indictments. He went into hiding in 1997. NATO troops tried several times to arrest him but without success. He was finally arrested in Serbia in 2008, where, with a changed appearance and using the name Dragan Dabic, he was living in the open, practicing alternative medicine. He was then sent to The Hague, where his trial began in 2009. In 2016 he was convicted of genocide and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Karagiannis, Dionysios, English Denis Carayannis (b. March 5, 1918), Greek diplomat. He was ambassador to Albania (1971-73) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1974-75).
Karagiozov, Angel (Dimitrov) (b. 1875, Turnovo, Ottoman Empire [now Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria] - d. Sept. 1, 1961, Sofia, Bulgaria), justice minister of Bulgaria (1935, 1936-37). He was also chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation (1927-38).
Karakachanov, Krasimir (Donchev) (b. March 29, 1965, Ruse, Bulgaria), defense minister (and deputy prime minister for public order and security) of Bulgaria (2017-21). He was a presidential candidate in 2011 (1% of the vote) and 2016 (15%).
Karakaçi, Ndriçim, defense minister of Albania (1991).
Karakas, Cahit (b. 1928, Bartin, Turkey), Turkish politician. He was minister of public works (1971) and communications (1971) and speaker of the National Assembly (1977-80).
Karaki, Khaled al- (b. 1946, Karak, Transjordan [now Jordan]), Jordanian politician. He was minister of culture and higher education (1989-91), information (1995-96), and education (2010-11), a deputy prime minister (1995-96, 2010-11), chief of the royal court (1992-93, 2011), and president of the University of Jordan (2007-10).
Karakozov, Armenak (Nikitich), original name Armenak (Makichevich) Karagozyan (b. 1890, Khndzoresk, Yelizavetpol province, Russia [now in Armenia] - d. 1938), chairman of the Interim Revolutionary Committee (1923) and of the Central Executive Committee and Council of People's Commissars (1923-28) of Nagorny Karabakh. He was also chairman of the Council of National Economy (1921) and Supreme Council of National Economy (1921-22) of the Armenian S.S.R.
Karall, Lorenz (b. Aug. 10, 1894, Grosswarasdorf, Hungary [now in Burgenland, Austria] - d. March 17, 1965, Walbersdorf, Burgenland), Austrian politician. From 1945 to 1956 he was Landeshauptmann (premier) of Burgenland, and from 1956 to 1960 president of the Burgenland state parliament.
Karamanev, Georgi (Mitev) (b. May 10, 1931, Rozovets, Bulgaria - d. March 26, 2021), a deputy premier of Bulgaria (1982-87). He was also minister of domestic trade and services (1971-84) and production and trade in consumer goods (1984-86) and ambassador to Greece (1988-91).
Karamanlis, Achilleas (Georgiou) (b. Dec. 27, 1929, Proti, Greece), environment minister of Greece (1991-93); brother of Konstantinos Karamanlis.
Konstantinos Karamanlis |
Karamanlis, Konstantinos (Georgiou), also called Constantine Karamanlis (b. March 8 [Feb. 23, O.S.], 1907, Küpköy, Macedonia, Ottoman Empire [now Proti, Greece] - d. April 22, 1998, Athens, Greece), prime minister (1955-63, 1974-80) and president (1980-85, 1990-95) of Greece. Born when Macedonia was under Turkish rule, he became a Greek citizen in 1913 after the Turks were expelled following the Second Balkan War. Launched into politics by the conservative royalist Populist Party, he was elected to parliament in 1935 for Serrai, which continued to reelect him. He was minister of labour (1946-47, 1947), transport (1948), social welfare (1948-50), national defense (1950, 1955-56, 1958-61), public works (1952-55), and communications (1954-55). When Prime Minister Alexandros Papagos died in 1955, King Pavlos chose Karamanlis as prime minister. He formed not only his government but also his own party, the National Radical Union, and in parliamentary elections in February 1956 obtained 161 seats out of 300; he retained a parliamentary majority in elections held in 1958 and 1961. In 1963, he resigned after King Pavlos rejected his advice that the king's state visit to London be postponed. Living in Paris, he maintained public silence on Greek affairs. On July 24, 1974, after the fall of the military junta that took over in 1967, he returned to Athens as prime minister. He averted a catastrophic war with Turkey over Cyprus without loss of prestige. In parliamentary elections held in November 1974, his New Democracy Party won 220 of 300 seats. He called a plebiscite that resulted in a 70% vote to end the monarchy. In May 1980 he resigned as prime minister and was elected to the mostly ceremonial position of president. In 1985 the Socialist prime minister Andreas Papandreou unexpectedly withdrew his party's support for Karamanlis' reelection, but he became president again in 1990.
Kostas Karamanlis |
Karamanlis, Kostas (also spelled Costas Karamanlis), byname of Konstantinos (Alexandrou) Karamanlis (b. Sept. 14, 1956, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (2004-09); nephew of Konstantinos Karamanlis. He joined the youth organization of the New Democracy (ND) party in 1974 and has been a party member since 1979. He was elected second MP for Thessaloniki in the elections of June 1989 and April 1990, and first MP in October 1993, September 1996, and April 2000. He served as vice president at the Council of Europe, member of the Greek parliament's Standing Interparliamentary Committee for National Defense and Foreign Affairs, and member of ND's Central Committee and Political Council from 1993 to 1997. He was elected ND president on March 21, 1997. In April 1998 he was elected vice president of the European Democratic Union and in February 1999 vice president of the European People's Party. He lost a close election to Kostas Simitis and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 2000, but won in 2004 over Georgios Papandreou, who was like himself a scion and namesake of a prominent previous leader (Papandreou's grandfather had beaten Karamanlis' uncle in elections in 1963). He also took over the culture ministry, which supervised the 2004 Olympics held in Athens. After being reelected in 2007, his popularity eroded quickly, damaged by financial scandals, including a land-swap deal that cost the state more than €100 million ($145 million) and forced two of his aides to resign. His policies of new taxes, tighter pension rules, and selling stakes in companies prompted strikes and protests. He called early elections in 2009; his party lost to Papandreou's PASOK and he resigned as its leader.
Karamanlis, Kostas A., byname of Konstantinos (Achilleas) Karamanlis (b. Dec. 12, 1974, Athens, Greece), Greek politician; cousin of Kostas Karamanlis. He was minister of infrastructure and transport (2019-23).
Karamanov, Uzakbay (Karamanovich) (b. Aug. 20, 1937, Uyala village, Kzyl-Orda [now Kyzylorda] oblast, Kazakh S.S.R. - d. Sept. 25?, 2017), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1989-91). He was also chairman of the State Committee for Supply (1987-89).
Karamarko, Tomislav (b. May 25, 1959, Zadar, Croatia), interior minister of Croatia (2008-11). He was also leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (2012-16) and first deputy prime minister (2016).
Karami, Abdul Hamid, also spelled Abdul Hamid Karamé, Arabic `Abd al-Hamid Karama (b. 1890 - d. Oct. 23, 1950), prime minister and finance minister of Lebanon (1945). He descended from the traditional family of muftis of Tarabulus (Tripoli) and held that position himself until removed by the French authorities.
O. Karami |
Karami, Omar (Abdul Hamid), also spelled Omar Karamé, Arabic `Umar (`Abd al-Hamid) Karama (b. Sept. 7, 1934 [or March 7, 1935], Al Nouri, near Tripoli, northern Lebanon - d. Jan. 1, 2015, Beirut, Lebanon), prime minister of Lebanon (1990-92, 2004-05); son of Abdul Hamid Karami; brother of Rashid Karami. He entered politics after his brother was assassinated and became education and culture minister (1989-90). He was member of parliament from 1991. He resigned as prime minister in 1992 after angry demonstrations in Beirut over the collapse of the Lebanese pound. He was again appointed to the post in 2004 when Rafiq Hariri declined to head a new government after sharp political differences with Syrian-backed president Émile Lahoud. Karami resigned after the assassination of Hariri.
R. Karami |
Karami, Rashid (Abdul Hamid), also spelled Rachid Karamé, Arabic Rashid (`Abd al-Hamid) Karama (b. Dec. 30, 1921, Miriata, near Tripoli, northern Lebanon - d. June 1, 1987, near Beirut, Lebanon), prime minister (1955-56, 1958-60, 1961-64, 1965-66, 1966-68, 1969-70, 1975-76, 1984-87), interior minister (1955-56, 1958), finance minister (1958-60, 1961-64, 1965-66, 1966-68, 1969-70, 1975-76), and foreign minister (1969, 1984-87) of Lebanon; son of Abdul Hamid Karami. He first entered politics in 1951 when he was elected a deputy for Tripoli. He became justice minister, joined the opposition, and then served in various cabinets as economy minister (1953-55). On Sept. 19, 1955, aged 33, he became Lebanon's youngest prime minister, but he opposed Pres. Camille Chamoun and espoused the anti-Western Nasserite views that were then fashionable, and six months later he resigned. In 1958 he again became prime minister, appointed by Gen. Fouad Chehab, who succeeded Chamoun as president. He also held the defense (1958-60) and economy (1958-59) portfolios. With short breaks, he was prime minister until 1970, though he resigned after the bloody repression of a pro-Palestinian demonstration on April 23, 1969. In the 1970 presidential election the Chehabists lost to Suleiman Franjieh. In late 1974 Karami went into active opposition with Saeb Salam and Raymond Eddé. In 1975 Franjieh, against his will, appointed Karami prime minister as the candidate of the Islamic leftist opposition; he was also minister of finance, defense, information, and agriculture. In the civil war that followed, Karami collaborated with the Palestine Liberation Organization and with Kamal Jumblatt's National Movement. In 1977 he declared that he would leave politics, but in 1978 he was reconciled with Franjieh. He maintained good relations with Syrian leaders in the years following the invasion of Beirut by the Israelis, and this proved to be the key to his return to power in 1984. He was killed in a helicopter crash that was the result of sabotage.
Karamyan, Ashot (Abramovich) (b. 1898, Shusha, Russia [now in Artsakh, Azerbaijan] - d. 19...), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of Nagorny Karabakh (1929-30). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Khodzhent/Leninabad city (Tadzhik S.S.R.) (1935-37).
Karanja, Josephat Njuguna (b. Feb. 5, 1931, Githiga, near Githunguri, Kenya - d. Feb. 28, 1994, Nairobi, Kenya), vice-president and home affairs minister of Kenya (1988-89). He was also high commissioner to the United Kingdom (1963-70) and ambassador to the Vatican (1966-70).
Karannagoda, Wasantha (Kumar Jayadeva) (b. Nov. 22, 1952), governor of North Western province, Sri Lanka (2021-23). He was also commander of the navy (2005-09) and ambassador to Japan (2011-15).
Karaosmanoglu, Atilla (b. Sept. 20, 1932, Manisa, Turkey - d. Nov. 10, 2013, Istanbul, Turkey), a deputy prime minister of Turkey (1971).
Karapanos, Alexandros (Konstantinou) (b. 1873, Arta, Greece - d. Nov. 8, 1946), foreign minister of Greece (1916, 1928-29); son of Konstantinos Karapanos; nephew of Georgios Zographos. He was also foreign minister of Northern Epirus (1914).
Karapanos, Konstantinos (b. March 16 [March 4, O.S.], 1840, Arta, Greece - d. 1914), finance minister (1890-91) and justice minister (1904-05) of Greece. He was also minister of marine (1902-03) and ecclesiastical affairs and public education (1904-05).
K. Karapetyan |
Karapetyan, Karen (Vilgelmovich) (b. Aug. 14, 1963, Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous oblast, Azerbaijan S.S.R.), prime minister of Armenia (2016-18 and [acting] 2018). He was also mayor of Yerevan (2010-11) and first deputy prime minister (2018).
Karapetyan, Saak (Karapetovich) (b. May 29 [May 16, O.S.], 1906, Armavir, Russia [now in Armenia] - d. Dec. 6, 1987, Yerevan, Armenian S.S.R.), foreign minister (1944-47) and chairman of the Council of Ministers (1947-49, 1950-52) of the Armenian S.S.R. He was also a deputy premier (1944-47).
Karas, Viliam (b. April 2, 1976, Presov, Slovakia), justice minister of Slovakia (2022-23).
Karasawa, Toshiki (b. Feb. 10, 1891, Nagano prefecture, Japan - d. March 14, 1967), justice minister of Japan (1957-58). He was also governor of Wakayama (1931-32).
Karasek, Franz (b. April 22, 1924, Vienna, Austria - d. March 10, 1986, Vienna), secretary-general of the Council of Europe (1979-84).
Karasevsky, Aleksandr (Ivanovich) (b. 1796 - d. Jan. 6, 1857 [Dec. 25, 1856, O.S.], Moscow, Russia), Russian official. He was acting chief procurator of the Holy Synod (1855-56).
Karashev, Aaly (Azimovich) (b. Oct. 30, 1968, Ak-Jar, Uzgen district, Osh oblast, Kirgiz S.S.R.), acting prime minister of Kyrgyzstan (2012). He was also governor of Osh oblast (2007-09), a deputy prime minister (2009-10), and first deputy prime minister (2011-12, 2015-16).
Karashukeyev, Yerbol (Shyrakpayevich) (b. Nov. 26, 1976, Alma-Ata oblast, Kazakh S.S.R. [now Almaty oblast, Kazakhstan]), head of Zhambyl oblast (2023- ). He was also Kazakh minister of agriculture (2021-23).
Karatodori Bey, Kostaki, Greek Konstantinos (Stephanou) Karatheodoris (b. 1841, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. 1922, Athens, Greece), governor of Samos (1906); brother of Aleksandir Karatodori Pasha.
Karatodori Pasha, Aleksandir, Greek Alexandros (Stephanou) Karatheodoris (b. July 20, 1833, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. Jan. 27, 1906, Constantinople), foreign minister of the Ottoman Empire (1878-79). He was also chargé d'affaires in Prussia (1865), ambassador to Italy (1874-76), minister of public works (1878), and governor of Crete (1878, 1895-96) and Samos (1885-95). He received the title Pasha in 1878.
Karavayev, Arseny (Vasilyevich) (b. March 28 [March 15, O.S.], 1903 - d. April 2, 1970), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Udmurt A.S.S.R. (1952-59).
Karavelov, Petko (Stoichev) (b. March 24, 1843, Koprivshtitsa, Ottoman Empire [now in Bulgaria] - d. Jan. 24, 1903, Sofia, Bulgaria), prime minister and finance minister of Bulgaria (1880-81, 1884-86, 1886, 1901-02). He was also president of the National Assembly (1879-80), minister of justice (1880-81), public works, commerce, and agriculture (acting, 1884-85), and education (1901-02), and mayor of Plovdiv (1883-84).
Karayalçin, Murat (b. Oct. 26, 1943, Samsun, Turkey), foreign minister of Turkey (1994-95). He was also mayor of Ankara (1989-93) and deputy prime minister (1993-95).
Karayancheva, Tsveta (Valcheva) (b. Feb. 25, 1968, Bolyarovo, Bulgaria), Bulgarian politician. She was chairman of the National Assembly (2017-21).
Karayeu, Yury (Khadzhimuratavich) (b. June 21, 1966, Ordzhonikidze, North Ossetian A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. [now Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, Russia]), interior minister of Belarus (2019-20).
Karayev, Dzhuma (Durdy) (b. Jan. 10, 1910, Bayram-Ali, Russia [now in Turkmenistan] - d. May 4, 1960, Ashkhabad, Turkmen S.S.R. [now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan]), chairman of the Council of Ministers and foreign minister (1958-59) and first secretary of the Communist Party (1958-60) of the Turkmen S.S.R. He was also first secretary of the party committees of Kerky (1943-47) and Tashauz (1952-58) oblasti and minister of agriculture (1947-50).
Karbasian, Masoud (b. 1956, Isfahan, Iran), economy and finance minister of Iran (2017-18). He was also managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (2018-21).
Karchava, Grigory (Zosimovich) (b. 1907, Chkhorotsku district, Russia [now in Georgia] - d. ...), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Abkhaz A.S.S.R. (1953).
Karczewski, Stanislaw (b. Nov. 14, 1955, Warsaw, Poland), Polish politician. He was marshal of the Senate (2015-19).
A. Kardanov |
Kardanov, Alik (Khusinovich) (b. July 26, 1954, Khabez district, Cherkess autonomous oblast, Stavropol kray, Russian S.F.S.R. [now in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Russia]), prime minister of Karachayevo-Cherkessia (2000-03, 2005-08).
Kardanov, Murat (Yakubovich) (b. Sept. 15, 1960), prime minister of Karachayevo-Cherkessia (2012-15).
Kardelj |
Kardelj, Edvard (b. Jan. 27, 1910, Ljubljana, Austria [now in Slovenia] - d. Feb. 10, 1979, Ljubljana), Yugoslav politician. From the age of 16 he was a member of the outlawed Communist Party, initially in its youth league. He was imprisoned (1930-32) for his trade-union and party activities, and in 1934 he fled into exile, eventually making his way from Czechoslovakia to the Soviet Union, where he received indoctrination in underground methods. It was in 1934, prior to his leaving, that Kardelj first met Josip Broz Tito. Back in Yugoslavia from 1937 on, he was arrested several times and imprisoned. After the German occupation of Yugoslavia (1941), Kardelj helped organize the resistance front in Slovenia and thereafter accompanied Tito in much of the Partisans' fighting. After the war he served under Tito as a deputy premier (1945-63) and president of the Federal Assembly (1963-67), and he drew up (1946) the Soviet-inspired federal constitution of Yugoslavia. He became one of the country's major theoreticians and legalists, directing the creation of all the succeeding constitutions of 1953, 1963, and 1974. Over the years Kardelj handled many foreign missions and tasks as well, though he officially held the post of foreign minister only from 1948 to 1953. Throughout, he was a key figure in the collective leadership of the Yugoslav Communist Party, known as the League of Communists. Kardelj was the main architect of a theory known as socialist self-management, which served as the basis of Yugoslavia's political and economic system and distinguished it from the Soviet system. In foreign affairs he pioneered the concept of nonalignment for Yugoslavia between the West and the Soviet Union. The Croatian town of Ploce was named Kardeljevo in his honour in 1950-54 and 1980-90.
Karefa-Smart |
Karefa-Smart, John (Albert Musselman) (b. June 17, 1915, Rotifunk, Bumpe chiefdom [now Moyamba district], Sierra Leone - d. Aug. 26, 2010, Freetown, Sierra Leone), foreign minister of Sierra Leone (1961-64). He was also minister of lands, mines, and labour (1957-59) and a presidential candidate (1996, 2002).
Karekin I |
Karekin I, also spelled Garegin I, original name Neshan Sarkisyan (b. Aug. 27, 1932, Kessab, Syria - d. June 29, 1999, Yerevan, Armenia), Catholicos of All Armenians, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (1995-99). He was admitted to the Theological Seminary of the Armenian Catholicate of Cilicia in 1946, ordained a deacon in 1949, and graduated with high honours in 1952. In the same year, he was ordained a celibate priest, received the name Karekin and entered the religious order of the Catholicate of Cilicia. He was granted the ecclesiastical degree of "vardapet" in 1955 and joined the Theological Seminary in Antelias, Lebanon, first as a faculty member and later as dean. In recognition of his service to the church, he was elevated to the position of senior archmandrite in 1963, consecrated as bishop in 1964, and made archbishop in 1973. During this time Bishop Karekin served the Church in many capacities in the Middle East and North America. In 1983, as Karekin II, he became Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, having been Catholicos Coadjutor since 1977. He worked to improve and expand religious education in the Catholicate, as well as to expand its capacity to support research and publishing projects. He acted as an ambassador of the church, making numerous visits to religious leaders the world over. He also contributed to the leadership of the Middle East Council of Churches and was named to serve on the Central Board of Directors of the Armenia Fund, Inc., an organization created by Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. He was elected the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the highest office of the Armenian Church, on April 4, 1995, succeeding the deceased Vazgen I. He was now known as Karekin I, as he was the first supreme patriarch to bear that name.
Karekin II, also spelled Garegin II, original name Ktrich Nersesyan (b. Aug. 21, 1951, Voskehat village, Armenian S.S.R.), Catholicos of All Armenians, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (1999- ).
Karelova, Galina (Nikolayevna) (b. June 29, 1950, Nizhnyaya Salda, Sverdlovsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), a deputy prime minister of Russia (2003-04).
Kargbo, Karefa (Ansumana Francis), foreign minister of Sierra Leone (1993-94); son of Thomas Kahota Kargbo.
Kargbo, Thomas Kahota (b. June 15, 1937, Kamasasa, Sierra Leone - d. May 16, 2016, Freetown, Sierra Leone), Sierra Leonean diplomat. He was ambassador to the United States (1993-96).
Kargbo, Tom Obaleh (b. July 17, 1945, Mabonto, Sierra Leone - d. March 10, 2022), Sierra Leonean diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1987-92).
Karginov, Kazbek (Georgiyevich) (b. June 18, 1940 - d. Feb. 20, 2018), acting prime minister of North Ossetia-Alania (2000-02).
Karhilo, Aarno (Eino), surname until 1936 Grönlund (b. Nov. 22, 1927, Helsinki, Finland - d. Sept. 3, 2008, Helsinki), Finnish diplomat. He was ambassador to Japan (1971-72), France (1977-82), and the Soviet Union (1983-88) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1972-77).
Karib, Georgy (Markarovich), original surname Tovmasyan (b. Oct. 1, 1886, Nukha, Yelizavetpol province, Russia [now Shaki, Azerbaijan] - d. [executed] Sept. 27, 1938), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Chechen autonomous oblast (1930-32).
Karibov, Anatoly (Shamsutdinovich) (b. June 2, 1955, Makhachkala, Dagestan A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), acting prime minister of Dagestan (2013, 2018).
Karibzhanov, Fazyl (Karibzhanovich) (b. Nov. 24, 1912, Akmolinsk oblast [in present Omsk oblast], Russia - d. Aug. 25, 1960, Alma-Ata, Kazakh S.S.R. [now Almaty, Kazakhstan]), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1960). He was also chairman of the Executive Committee of Karaganda oblast (1951) and minister of agriculture and food reserves (1953-54).
Karibzhanov, Zhanybek (Salimovich) (b. Nov. 23, 1948, Aybas, Omsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), head of Kokshetau oblast (1992-93), Akmola oblast (1997), and Vostochno-Kazakhstan oblast (2007-08). He was also a Kazakh deputy prime minister (1993-94, 1996-99), chairman of the State Committee for State Properties (1993-94), agriculture minister (1994-96, 1999), and ambassador to China (2001-07) and Vietnam, Mongolia, and North Korea (2003-07).
Karie, (David) Robert, home affairs minister of Vanuatu (1995-96, 1996-98).
Karim, A.H.S. Ataul (b. Sept. 30, 1933 - d. July 28, 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh), Bangladeshi diplomat. He was ambassador to the Vatican (1985-87) and the United States (1988-91) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1988-90).
Karim, Sayyid Anwarul (b. 1928 - d. March 17, 2009), Bangladeshi diplomat. He was permanent observer (1972-74) and permanent representative (1974-76) to the United Nations and ambassador to Burma (1976-78).
Karimi-Rad, Jamal (b. 1956, Qazvin, Iran - d. [car accident] Dec. 28, 2006, near Salafchegan, Qom province, Iran), justice minister of Iran (2005-06).
Karimov, Abdulla (Karimovich) (b. 1896 - d. 1940), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Uzbek S.S.R. (1937).
I. Karimov |
Karimov, Islam (Abduganiyevich), Uzbek Islom (Abduganiyevich) Karimov (b. Jan. 30, 1938, Samarkand, Uzbek S.S.R. - d. Sept. 2, 2016, Tashkent, Uzbekistan), president of Uzbekistan (1990-2016). He was a Soviet Politburo member, finance minister (1983-86) and chairman of the State Planning Committee and deputy premier (1986) of the Uzbek S.S.R., first secretary of the party committee of Kashkadarya oblast (1986-89), then Uzbek party chief from 1989 until the Soviet Union collapsed. He was elected president of the newly-independent state in 1992 for five years, beating Mohammed Salih of the later-banned Erk with 86% of the vote. Nicknamed "Papa" by his people, Karimov extended his term until 2000 through a 1995 referendum, in which officials said he received unanimous support. He said the extended term would be his last, but he was reelected in 2000. He once hailed Uzbekistan's first multiparty parliamentary polls as a step towards democracy, but parliament's first act was to call the referendum extending his term and it has not challenged his decisions since. Another referendum held on Jan. 27, 2002, extended his term until 2007. Criticized in the West for his human rights record and economic policies, he was nonetheless seen as a factor of stability in a tense part of the world. He survived an assassination attempt on Feb. 16, 1999. His government had been waging a battle against groups he said were trying to foment conservative Islamic tendencies among the largely secular population. He won praise from some other former Soviet rulers for clamping down on opposition and crime. He suppressed the nationalist opposition movements Birlik and Erk and the media were under state control. Pro-market rhetoric drew some foreign investors to Uzbekistan, but they were slower to come than to neighbouring Kazakhstan, considered more liberal. Karimov imposed strict foreign-exchange limits, allowing only a select group of foreign investors to repatriate profits, and took a gradualist approach to liberalizing the economy. He came under particular criticism after the bloody crackdown of a rebellion in the city of Andijan in 2005, where hundreds were killed. He was reelected in 2007 and 2015 and died in office.
Karimov, Jamshed (Khilolovich) (b. Aug. 4, 1940, Stalinabad, Tadzhik S.S.R. [now Dushanbe, Tajikistan]), prime minister of Tajikistan (1994-96). He was also chairman of the State Planning Committee (1988-89), a deputy prime minister (1988-89, 1991, 1992-93), first secretary of the party committee of Dushanbe city (1989-91), first deputy prime minister (1991-92), and ambassador to Kazakhstan (1996-97) and China (1997-2002).
Karimova, Gulnara (Islamovna) (b. July 8, 1972, Fergana, Uzbek S.S.R.), Uzbek diplomat; daughter of Islam Karimov. She was ambassador to Spain (2010-12).
Karins |
Karins, (Arturs) Krisjanis (b. Dec. 13, 1964, Wilmington, Del.), prime minister (2019-23) and foreign minister (2023-24) of Latvia. He was also economy minister (2004-06) and acting defense minister (2006).
Karinyan, Artashes (Balasyevich), original surname Gabrielyan (b. Nov. 11 [Oct. 30, O.S.], 1886, Balakhani, Baku province, Russia [now in Azerbaijan] - d. May 29, 1982, Yerevan, Armenian S.S.R.), chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Armenian S.S.R. (1925-28). He was also people's commissar of justice (1921).
Karis |
Karis, Alar (b. March 26, 1958, Tartu, Estonian S.S.R.), president of Estonia (2021- ). He was also auditor general (2013-18).
Kariyawasam, Prasad (b. March 21, 1954), Sri Lankan diplomat. He was ambassador to the Vatican (2001-03), permanent representative to the United Nations (2005-08), non-resident ambassador to Chile and Colombia and high commissioner to Jamaica and The Bahamas (2005-08), high commissioner to India (2009-14), non-resident ambassador to Bhutan and Afghanistan (2010-14), and ambassador to the United States (2014-17).
Karjalainen |
Karjalainen, Ahti (Kalle Samuli) (b. Feb. 10, 1923, Hirvensalmi, Finland - d. Sept. 7?, 1990, Helsinki, Finland), prime minister of Finland (1962-63, 1970-71). He joined the Agrarian (later the Centre) Party, and became its secretary of information. In 1950 he was named secretary to Prime Minister Urho Kekkonen, and as Kekkonen ascended to what would be a 25-year presidency, beginning in 1956, Karjalainen's political star also rose. He worked closely in shaping foreign policy during the postwar years, when Finland adopted neutrality and good relations with the Soviet Union. He became minister of trade and industry (1959-61) and was foreign minister three times (1961-62, 1964-70, 1972-75) and, in addition to his own premierships, deputy prime minister (1964-66, 1972-75, 1976-77) and was elected to the Eduskunta (parliament) in 1966. In the mid-1970s, however, Kekkonen reportedly began to see his chief assistant as a rival. After serving as minister of economy (1976-77), Karjalainen was named (1979) deputy governor of the Bank of Finland. In 1982 he was named its governor, but he was fired the following year from that office and from a Finnish-Soviet economic commission he had chaired since 1968, reportedly owing to an alcohol addiction. His memoirs, The President's Man (1989), created a stir with its revelations about high-level Finnish-Soviet politics.
Karkaryan, Gayk (Avetisovich) (b. 1904 - d. 1988), chairman of the Executive Committee of Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous oblast (1937-39). He was also minister of food industry of the Azerbaijan S.S.R.
Karki, Gyanendra Bahadur (b. July 15, 1930, Dhankuta, Nepal - d. May 18, 1992), foreign minister of Nepal (1972-75). He was also ambassador to Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore and minister to Laos (1969-71), minister of education, land reforms, agriculture, food, and forestry (1971-72), and ambassador to the Soviet Union (1977-82).
Karki, Gyanendra Bahadur (b. 1957, Bhojpur, Nepal), finance minister of Nepal (2017-18); cousin of Bidya Devi Bhandari. He was also minister of law, justice, and parliamentary affairs (2021) and communications and information technology (2021-22).
Karkoszka, Alojzy (b. June 15, 1929, Roczyny, Poland - d. Aug. 20, 2001, Warsaw, Poland), a deputy premier of Poland (1975-76). He was also first secretary of the party committees of Gdanskie (1970-71) and Warszawskie (1976-80) województwa and minister of construction and building materials industry (1971-75).
Karkoszka, Andrzej (b. 1945, Lódz, Poland), acting defense minister of Poland (1995-96).
Karl I |
Karl I, in full Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, Hungarian Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária (b. Aug. 17, 1887, Persenbeug Castle, Austria - d. April 1, 1922, Quinta do Monte, Madeira, Portugal), emperor of Austria and, as Károly IV, king of Hungary (1916-18). A grandnephew of the emperor Franz Joseph I, Karl became heir presumptive to the Habsburg throne upon the assassination of his uncle Franz Ferdinand (June 28, 1914), whose children were barred from succession because of his morganatic marriage. After his accession, Karl, a peace-loving man, made attempts to take Austria-Hungary out of World War I through secret overtures to the Allied powers, the most promising being through his brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus von Bourbon-Parma. All failed, largely because the emperor refused to cede any territories to Italy. Because he had also supported French claims to Alsace-Lorraine, his reputation both in Germany and at home suffered when his efforts were made public. World War I accelerated the centrifugal forces of nationalism in Karl's multinational empire. His solution, transformation of the western part of his empire into a federated state, announced in October 1918, proved insufficient and too late. On Nov. 11, 1918, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian armies on the Italian front, Karl renounced all participation in affairs of state but did not abdicate. Exiled to Switzerland in March 1919, he was deposed by the Austrian parliament that April. In 1921 he twice tried to regain his Hungarian throne but failed and was sent to exile in Madeira, living there in very poor conditions and dying of pneumonia. Upon Karl's death in 1922, his widow, Zita von Bourbon-Parma (1892-1989), went into mourning and wore black for the rest of her life, dying at age 96 in Switzerland. Karl was beatified by the pope on Oct. 3, 2004.
Karl VI, in full Karl Josef Franz, Hungarian Károly József Ferenc (b. Oct. 1, 1685, Vienna, Austria - d. Oct. 20, 1740, Vienna), king of Spain in rebellion (as Carlos III) (1703-14) and archduke of Austria (as Karl III), king of Hungary (as Károly III), and Holy Roman emperor (1711-40); son of Leopold I (1640-1705); brother of Joseph I.
Karl VII, in full Karl Albrecht (b. Aug. 6, 1697, Brussels, Spanish Netherlands [now Belgium] - d. Jan. 20, 1745, Munich, Bavaria [Germany]), duke and elector of Bavaria (as Karl Albrecht) (1726-45) and Holy Roman emperor (1742-45); son-in-law of Joseph I.
Karl Friedrich (b. April 30 [April 19, O.S.], 1700, Stockholm, Sweden - d. June 18, 1739, Rohlfshagen, Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp [now part of Rümpel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany]), duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1702-39); son of Friedrich IV.
Karlin | Karlsson |
Karlin, Aleksandr (Bogdanovich) (b. Oct. 29, 1951, Medvedka, Tyumentsevsky rayon, Altay kray, Russian S.F.S.R.), governor of Altay kray (2005-18).
Karlsen, Mimi (b. Jan. 23, 1957, Maniitsoq, Greenland), interior minister of Greenland (2021- ). She has also been minister of culture, education, research, and church (2009-11), social affairs, culture, church, and equality (2011-13), and social affairs and labour market (2021- ).
Karlsons, Karlis (b. Jan. 30, 1907, Riga, Russia [now in Latvia] - d. Jan. 25, 1962, Riga), finance minister of Latvia (1940). He was also people's commissar of local industry of the Latvian S.S.R. (1940-41).
Karlsson, Jan O(lof) (b. Dec. 20, 1939, Stockholm, Sweden - d. Sept. 19, 2016), acting foreign minister of Sweden (2003). He was minister of development aid and migration in 2002-03.
Karmal |
Karmal, Babrak (Karmal is a pseudonym) (b. Jan. 6, 1929, Kamari village, near Kabul, Afghanistan - d. Dec. 1, 1996, Moscow, Russia), president of the Revolutionary Council (head of state) of Afghanistan (1979-86). The ethnic Tajik soon became a political firebrand, running in parliamentary elections at 18 and joining a movement demanding freedom to form political parties. He was jailed for his political views in 1953. During three years in prison he was attracted to Communism. He was a founding member (1963) of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and from 1965 to 1973 served in the National Assembly. When the party split (1967) into the Khalq ("Masses") and the Parcham ("Banner") parties, he became leader of the more moderate, pro-Soviet Parcham. The Khalq and the Parcham reunited in 1977 with Nur Mohammad Taraki as leader and Karmal and Hafizullah Amin as his deputies. In 1978, he was again behind bars but was freed during Afghanistan's April Marxist revolution and elected revolutionary council vice chairman and deputy prime minister; he then briefly became ambassador to Czechoslovakia, refusing to return on being recalled in September 1978. In December 1979 he was installed as the leader of Afghanistan amid an airlift of Soviet forces that marked the beginning of a war that killed at least 15,000 Soviet troops. Karmal held a troika of top posts as president of the Revolutionary Council, Communist Party boss, and (until 1981) prime minister, but gradually lost power amid growing Kremlin dissatisfaction with his failure to curb anti-Communist rebels and gain support for his government. In 1986, he resigned as party leader and president, officially for health reasons. Since shortly after he resigned, he lived out of the public spotlight, spending most of his time in a two-story cottage outside Moscow.
Karmalin, Nikolay (Nikolayevich) (b. June 6 [May 25, O.S.], 1824, Ryazan province, Russia - d. Aug. 5 [July 23, O.S.], 1900), governor of Erivan (1869-73) and Kuban oblast (1873-82).
Karmazin, Yuriy (Anatoliyovych) (b. Sept. 21, 1957, Zvenigorodka [Zvenyhorodka], Cherkassy [Cherkasy] oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R. - d. Nov. 9, 2022), Ukrainian politician. He was a minor presidential candidate (1999, 2019).
Karmokov, Khachim (Mukhamedovich) (b. May 2, 1941, Zayukovo, Kabardino-Balkar A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Dec. 30, 2023, Moscow, Russia), chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Kabardino-Balkariya (1991-92). He was also chairman of the Audit Chamber of Russia (1994-2000).
Karmyshev, Lakay (b. 1930, Chilcha, Tadzhik S.S.R. [now in Khatlon province, Tajikistan]), chairman of the Executive Committee of Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous oblast (1970-72). He was also chairman of the Committee of People's Control of the Tadzhik S.S.R. (1972-84).
Karnavian, (Muhammad) Tito (b. Oct. 26, 1964, Palembang, Sumatera Selatan, Indonesia), home affairs minister of Indonesia (2019- ). He was also national police chief (2016-19).
Karnebeek, Abraham Pieter Cornelis van (b. Sept. 14, 1836, Amsterdam, Netherlands - d. Oct. 9, 1925, The Hague, Netherlands), king's commissioner of Zeeland (1879-84) and foreign minister of the Netherlands (1885-88); son-in-law of Jan Jacob Rochussen. He was also minister-resident to Sweden (1876-79).
Karnebeek, Herman Adriaan van (b. Aug. 21, 1874, The Hague, Netherlands - d. March 29, 1942, The Hague), foreign minister of the Netherlands (1918-27) and queen's commissioner of Zuid-Holland (1928-42). He was also mayor of The Hague (1911-18) and president of the Assembly of the League of Nations (1921-22).
Karner, Gerhard (b. Nov. 13, 1967, Melk, Niederösterreich, Austria), interior minister of Austria (2021- ).
Karoblis, Raimundas (b. April 14, 1968, Vaskai, Lithuanian S.S.R.), defense minister of Lithuania (2016-20). In 2022 he was appointed head of the EU delegation to Tajikistan.
Karoblis, Vincas (b. Sept. 20, 1866, Natiskiai, Russia [now in Lithuania] - d. May 25, 1939, Gegute, Lithuania), justice minister of Lithuania (1920-23, 1925-26).
Károlyi de Nagykároly, Gyula gróf (b. May 7, 1871, Nyírbakta [now part of Baktalórántháza], Hungary - d. April 23, 1947, Budapest, Hungary), prime minister (1919 [counter-government], 1931-32), foreign minister (1930-31), and acting finance minister (1931) of Hungary.
Károlyi de Nagykároly, Mihály (Ádám György Miklós) gróf (b. March 4, 1875, Budapest, Hungary - d. March 19, 1955, Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France), prime minister (1918-19), finance minister (1918), foreign minister (1918-19), and provisional president (1918-19) of Hungary.
Karoui |
Karoui, Hamed, Arabic Hamid al-Qaruwi (b. Dec. 30, 1927, Sousse, Tunisia - d. March 27, 2020), prime minister of Tunisia (1989-99). He was also youth and sports minister (1986-87) and justice minister (1988-89).
Kárpáti, Ferenc (b. Oct. 16, 1926, Putnok, Hungary - d. Sept. 27, 2013, Budapest, Hungary), defense minister of Hungary (1985-90).
Karpinski, Stanislaw (b. Oct. 23, 1870, Raducz, Poland - d. Dec. 24, 1943, Warsaw, Poland), finance minister of Poland (1919). He was also president of the Bank Polski (1924-29).
Karpinsky, Pavel (Feliksovich) (b. 1858 - d. [assassinated] 1919), interim chairman of the People's Council of Terek oblast (1918). He was also people's commissar of state control of the Terek People's Soviet Republic (1918).
Karpov, Aleksandr (Ivanovich) (b. August 1896, Tetyushi, Kazan province [now in Tatarstan republic], Russia - d. [executed] Jan. 17, 1938), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Tatar A.S.S.R. (1921). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Makeyevka city (c. 1934).
Karpov, Ivan (Nikolayevich) (b. Sept. 15, 1892, Ust-Medveditskaya, Don Cossack Host [now Serafimovich, Volgograd oblast], Russia - d. ...), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Kalmyk A.S.S.R. (1935-39).
Karpov, Vladimir (Aleksandrovich) (b. Oct. 27, 1948, Turov, Arkhangelsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. May 19, 2015), head of the administration of Bryansk oblast (1993-95).
Karpova, Yevdokiya (Fyodorovna) (b. March 8, 1923, Ryazan province, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Dec. 5, 2000, Moscow, Russia), Soviet politician. She was a deputy premier of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1966-87).
Karriyev, Chary (Soyunovich) (b. Oct. 17, 1932, Ashkhabad, Turkmen S.S.R. [now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan]), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Turkmen S.S.R. (1978-85). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Ashkhabad oblast (1974-76).
Karriyev, Murad (Orazguliyevich) (b. April 1932, Abadan, Turkmen S.S.R. [now part of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan] - d. Aug. 28, 2012), justice minister of Turkmenistan (2007-12).
Karroubi, Mehdi (b. Sept. 26, 1937, Aligudarz, Lorestan, Iran), Iranian politician. He was speaker of parliament (1989-92, 2000-04) and a presidential candidate (2005, 2009).
Karsowidjojo, Ferdinand Roslan, original name (until 1947) Roslan (b. 1909 - d. May 8, 1977), interior minister of Suriname (1969-73).
Kartashev, Anton (Vladimirovich) (b. July 23 [July 11, O.S.], 1875, Kyshtym, Perm province, Russia - d. Sept. 10, 1960, Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France), Russian politician. He was chief procurator of the Holy Synod (1917) and minister of religion (1917).
Kartawidjaja, Djuanda (b. Jan. 14, 1911, Tasikmalaya, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Barat, Indonesia] - d. Nov. 7, 1963, Jakarta, Indonesia), prime minister (1957-59) and first minister (1959-63) of Indonesia. He was also minister of communications (1946-49, 1950-53), public works (1948), economic affairs (1949-50), planning (1956-57), defense (1957-59), and finance (1959-60).
Karti |
Karti, Ali (Ahmed) (b. Oct. 27, 1953, Hajar Alasal, Sudan), foreign minister of The Sudan (2010-15).
Kartozia, Samson (Alekseyevich) (b. Jan. 30, 1893, Kvitauli, Sukhumi okrug, Kutaisi province, Russia [now in Abkhazia, Georgia] - d. [executed] Oct. 29, 1937, Kiev, Ukrainian S.S.R.), chairman of the Central Executive Committee of Abkhazia (1922-23).
Karttunen, Osmo P(ekka) (b. Nov. 8, 1922, Helsinki, Finland - d. June 29, 1985), finance minister of Finland (1962-63). He was also chairman of the Finnish Football Association (1963-74).
Kartvelishvili, Dmitry (Levanovich) (b. Dec. 23, 1927, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Georgian S.S.R. (1982-86). He was also mayor of Kutaisi (1971-75) and deputy premier and chairman of the State Planning Committee (1979-82).
Kartvelishvili, Lavrenty (Iosipovich) (b. April 28 [April 16, O.S.], 1890, Samtredia, Russia [now in Georgia] - d. [executed] Aug. 22, 1938), chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Georgian S.S.R. (1927-28) and first secretary of the Communist Party of the Transcaucasian S.F.S.R. (1930-31) and of the Georgian S.S.R. (1931). He was also first secretary of the party committees of Dalnevostochny kray (1933-36) and the Crimean A.S.S.R. (1936-37).
Karuhije, Ignace (b. June 10, 1934, Janja, Ruhengeri prefecture, Rwanda), Rwandan diplomat. He was prefect of Ruhengeri (1968-72), ambassador to Burundi (1972-73) and Belgium (1973-76), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1976-81).
Am. Ab. Karume |
Karume, Amani Abeid (b. Nov. 1, 1948, Zanzibar [now in Tanzania]), president of Zanzibar (2000-10); son of Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume. He was also minister of trade, industry, and marketing (1990-95) and communications and transport (1995-2000).
Karume, Sheikh Abeid Amani (b. Aug. 4, 1905, Mwera, Zanzibar [now in Tanzania] - d. April 7, 1972, Zanzibar), president of Zanzibar (1964-72) and first vice president of Tanzania (1964-72). He first entered politics in 1954 as town councillor. Later he became president of a social organization for black migrant workers called the Zanzibar African Association, which in 1957 united with the Shirazi Association to form the pro-British Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) with Karume as president. In July 1957, by appealing directly to the African community making up four-fifths of the population, the ASP won control of the colonial Legislative Council. He led it in opposition to the ruling Arab coalition which was seemingly intent on maintaining the dominance of the Arab community. Zanzibar became independent on Dec. 10, 1963. On Jan. 12, 1964, young ASP militants overthrew the sultan and established African rule. Karume became president of the new People's Republic of Zanzibar. He was described as an honest, phlegmatic, but strong-minded man and a devout Muslim. His role in the revolution was disputed; there were claims that he was a figurehead for the real leadership said to centre on Sheikh Abdulrahman Muhammad Babu, Abdullah Kassim Hanga, and Hassan Nassor Moyo. On March 8 he proclaimed the Zanzibar Manifesto which nationalized and redistributed the land, 80% of which was held by the 13% Arab population. In April he negotiated a union with mainland Tanganyika under which Zanzibar retained considerable authority in domestic affairs. He became first vice president of the United Republic, renamed Tanzania in October. Speculation was rampant whether Zanzibar was prevented from becoming a Communist state or whether Tanganyika would go Communist along with the island. But Karume raised objection to any further integration and both partners went their own way domestically, Zanzibar becoming increasingly authoritarian; in December 1971 he assumed the title of president of the Revolutionary Council. He was assassinated by four gunmen.
Karunakaran |
Karunakaran, K(annoth) (b. July 5, 1918, Kannur [now in Kerala], India - d. Dec. 23, 2010, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala), chief minister of Kerala (1977, 1981-82, 1982-87, 1991-95). He was also Indian minister of industry (1995-96).
Karunanayake | Karunanidhi |
Karunanayake, Ravi, byname of Sandresh Ravindra Karunanayake (b. Feb. 19, 1963, Colombo, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]), finance minister (2015-17) and foreign minister (2017) of Sri Lanka. He was also minister of commerce and consumer affairs (2001-04) and power, energy, and enterprise development (2018-19).
Karunanidhi, Kalaignar Muthuvel (Kalaignar is a popular epithet meaning artist or creator) (b. June 3, 1924, Thirukuvalai, Tanjore district, Madras [now Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu], India - d. Aug. 7, 2018, Chennai, India), chief minister of Tamil Nadu (1969-76, 1989-91, 1996-2001, 2006-11).
Karvelis, Petras (b. June 29, 1897, Jiestrakis, Russia [now in Lithuania] - d. Aug. 10, 1976, Baden-Baden, West Germany), finance minister of Lithuania (1925-26, 1926-27).
Karyono, Adhy (b. April 7, 1971, Cirebon, Jawa Barat, Indonesia), acting governor of Jawa Timur (2024- ).
Karzai, Habibullah (b. Feb. 19, 1936 - d. Nov. 22, 2010), Afghan diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1972-73).
Hamid Karzai |
Karzai, Hamid (b. Dec. 24, 1957, Karz village, Kandahar province), president of Afghanistan (2002-14); nephew of Habibullah Karzai. His father was chief of the Popalzay tribe and was assassinated in the Pakistani city of Quetta in 1999, a killing believed linked to Afghanistan's violent feuds. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, Karzai was in Pakistan. But when Islamic insurgents took power from the pro-Moscow regime in 1992, he became Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister. The government led by Burhanuddin Rabbani fought bitterly among themselves, destroying large sections of Kabul and killing 50,000 civilians. Karzai left Rabbani's government in the first years, disillusioned by the bickering between the groups. He had asked Rabbani and his regime, which was largely run by minority Tajiks, to incorporate more ethnic Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. He initially supported the creation of the Taliban in 1994 as an alternative to the lawlessness of the warlords who ruled his native Kandahar. In 1995 the Taliban approached Karzai to be their permanent representative at the United Nations. But by then he was disillusioned by the religious movement because he said it had been hijacked by neighbouring Pakistan. After the fall of the Taliban in 2001 he was chosen to lead an interim administration, and in 2002 an emergency Loya Jirga (the traditional grand assembly) elected him president. He won a popular presidential election in 2004; his reelection in 2009 was marred by allegations of fraud. Due to his limited authority in many parts of the country, he was often lampooned as the "mayor of Kabul."
Kasa, Jozef, Hungarian József Kasza (b. Feb. 6, 1945, Subotica, Vojvodina, Serbia - d. Feb. 3, 2016, Subotica), a deputy prime minister of Serbia (2001-04). He was also chairman of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (1995-2007).
Kasagic | Kasaila |
Kasagic, Rajko (b. Oct. 15, 1942, Razboj, Srbac municipality, Croatia [now in Bosnia and Herzegovina]), prime minister of the Republika Srpska (1995-96).
Kasaila, Francis (Lazaro) (b. Oct. 28, 1968), foreign minister of Malawi (2016-17, 2019-20). He was also minister of transport and public works (2014-16), labour, youth, sports, and manpower development (2017-18), industry, trade, and tourism (2018-19), and agriculture and food security (2020).
Kasambara, Ralph, byname of Raphael Zolekera Masano Kasambara (b. Sept. 26, 1968, Nkhata Bay, Malawi - d. June 7, 2024, Lilongwe, Malawi), justice minister of Malawi (2012-13). He was also attorney general (2004-06, 2012-13).
Kasanda, Peter L(esa) (b. Aug. 24, 1938, Kasama, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia]), Zambian diplomat. He was ambassador to the Soviet Union (1976-79), West Germany (1986-87), France (1987-89), and China (1989-94) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1994-2000).
Kasap, Stanislav (Mikhailovich) (b. Aug. 21, 1983, Tiraspol, Moldavian S.S.R. [now in Transnistria, Moldova]), acting prime minister of Transnistria (2022).
Joseph Kasavubu |
Kasavubu, Joseph, Kasavubu also spelled Kasa-Vubu (b. 1910? [other sources say 1913 or 1917], Tshela, Belgian Congo [now in Kongo Central province, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. March 24, 1969, Boma, Congo [Kinshasa]), president of Congo (Léopoldville) (1960-65). Entering the civil service in 1942, he rose to the rank of chief clerk, the highest position open to Africans under the Belgian colonial administration. He was an early leader in the independence movement, and during the late 1940s held important offices in Congolese cultural societies and alumni associations which were actually political organizations operating in defiance of Belgian authorities. As a member of the powerful Bakongo (or Kongo), one of the largest tribal groups in the country, he sought an independent Congo with a federal structure that would ensure a certain measure of Bakongo autonomy; in 1955 he became president of Abako (Alliance des Ba-Kongo), the powerful cultural-political association of the Bakongo. In 1957 Abako candidates swept the first municipal elections permitted by Belgian authorities in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), and he was elected mayor of the Dendale district. In the Congo's first national elections in 1960, Patrice Lumumba's party outpolled Abako and its allies, but neither side could form a parliamentary coalition. As a compromise measure, Kasavubu and Lumumba formed an uneasy partnership with the former as president and the latter as premier. With the backing of the army under Col. Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko), Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba and appointed a new government. Kasavubu then tacitly supported Mobutu's first coup in late 1960. Kasavubu's role in Congolese politics effectively ended, however, with Mobutu's final overthrow of the government in 1965.
Kasavubu, Justine M'Poyo (b. April 14, 1951, Léopoldville, Belgian Congo [now Kinshasa, Congo (Kinshasa)]), Congo (Kinshasa) politician; daughter of Joseph Kasavubu. She was minister of civil service (1997) and ambassador to Belgium (1997-98) and a minor presidential candidate in 2006.
Kasciunas, Laurynas (b. Jan. 8, 1982, Vilnius, Lithuanian S.S.R.), defense minister of Lithuania (2024- ).
Kase, Toshikazu (b. Jan. 12, 1903, Chiba prefecture, Japan - d. May 21, 2004, Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan), Japanese diplomat. He was permanent observer (1955-56) and permanent representative (1956-57) to the United Nations and ambassador to Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (1958-60).
Kaseba-Sata, Christine, Zambian diplomat; widow of Michael Sata. She was ambassador to France (2018-23).
Kasemsri, Kasem S(amosorn) (b. March 9, 1931), foreign minister of Thailand (1995-96). He was also ambassador to Indonesia (1972-75), China (1975-79), and the United States (1982-86).
Kasenally, (Ahmud) Swalay, also spelled Swaley (b. 1937), foreign minister of Mauritius (1993-94). He was also minister of energy and communications (1982-83), environment and tourism (1990-92), economic planning and development (1992-93), and energy, water resources, postal services, scientific research, and technology (1994-95).
Kasese-Bota, Patricia Mwaba (b. May 16, 1969), Zambian diplomat. She was permanent representative to the United Nations (2012-17).
Kashamura (Shambu), Anicet (b. Dec. 17, 1928, Kalehe, Belgian Congo [now in Sud-Kivu province, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. Aug. 18, 2004), president of Kivu (1961). He was minister of information of Congo (Léopoldville) in 1960.
Kashani, (Sayyed) Mahmoud (Mostafavi-) (b. 1942, Tehran, Iran), Iranian presidential candidate (1985, 2001).
Kasich, John (Richard) (b. May 13, 1952, McKees Rocks, Pa.), governor of Ohio (2011-19). He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1983-2001. In July 2015 he became a candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He stayed in the race even when he could no longer mathematically win a majority of delegates, having won only his home base of Ohio among the first 40 state contests, finally dropping out in May 2016.
Kasický, Frantisek (b. Nov. 18, 1968, Gelnica, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), defense minister of Slovakia (2006-08). He was also ambassador to NATO (2008-13) and Norway and Iceland (2013-17).
Kasirga, Fahri (b. Jan. 20, 1953, Çayeli district, Rize province, Turkey), justice minister of Turkey (2007). He was also secretary-general of the presidency (2014-18).
Kasit |
Kasit Piromya (b. Dec. 15, 1944, Thonburi [now part of Bangkok], Thailand), foreign minister of Thailand (2008-11). He was also ambassador to the Soviet Union/Russia and Mongolia (1991-93), Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (1994-96), Germany (1997-2001), Japan (2001-04), and the United States (2004-05).
Kaska, Radko (b. Feb. 23, 1928 - d. [plane crash] Feb. 28, 1973, near Szczecin, Poland), interior minister of Czechoslovakia (1970-73).
Kaskarelis |
Kaskarelis, Vasilis (b. Nov. 26, 1948, Athens, Greece), foreign minister of Greece (2023). He was also ambassador to the United States (2009-12).
Kasm, Abdul Rauf al-, Arabic `Abd al-Raw´uf al-Kasm (b. 1932, Damascus, Syria), prime minister of Syria (1980-87). He was also governor of Damascus (1979-80).
Kasonde, Emmanuel (b. Dec. 23, 1935, Mungwi, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] - d. Dec. 12, 2008, Lusaka, Zambia), finance minister of Zambia (1991-93, 2002-03).
Kasoulidis, Georgios (Ch.) (b. 1956), Cypriot diplomat. He was acting permanent representative to the United Nations (2003) and ambassador to Qatar (2003-07), Denmark and Iceland (2009-12), and Russia (2013-17).
I. Kasoulidis |
Kasoulidis, Ioannis (Glafkou) (b. Aug. 10, 1948, Nicosia, Cyprus), foreign minister of Cyprus (1997-2003, 2013-18, 2022-23). He was a presidential candidate in 2008.
Kaspransky, Akhmetkamal (Akhmedinurovich), byname Izmaylov (b. Aug. 27 [Aug. 15, O.S.], 1895, Beykeyevo, Ufa province, Russia - d. [executed] Dec. 10, 1937, Ufa, Russian S.F.S.R.), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Bashkir A.S.S.R. (1920).
Kasprzycki, Tadeusz (Adam) (b. Jan. 16, 1891, Warsaw, Poland - d. Dec. 4, 1978, Montreal, Que.), military affairs minister of Poland (1935-39).
Kasrawi, Farouk, Arabic Faruq Kasrawi (b. Feb. 12, 1942 - d. Nov. 10, 2021), foreign minister of Jordan (2005). He was formerly ambassador to Japan (1990-2000; also non-resident ambassador to South Korea and the Philippines) and to Germany (2000-02).
Kassali, Brahim Djamel, also spelled Kessali (b. Nov. 11, 1954, Paris, France), finance minister of Algeria (2022-23).
Kassé, Sékou (b. Aug. 7, 1954, Youwarou, French Sudan [now Mali]), Malian diplomat. He has been permanent representative to the United Nations (2013-16) and ambassador to India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand (2019- ).
Kassem |
Kassem, Abdul Karim, or `Abd al-Karim Qasim (b. May 4, 1914, Baghdad - d. Feb. 9, 1963, Baghdad), prime minister of Iraq (1958-63). He attended the Iraqi military academy and advanced steadily through the ranks until by 1955 he had become a high-ranking officer. Like many Iraqis, he disliked the socially conservative and pro-Western policies of the monarchy. By 1957 he had assumed leadership of the several opposition groups that had formed in the army. On July 14, 1958, he and his followers used troop movements planned by the government as an opportunity to seize military control of Baghdad and overthrow the monarchy. He became prime minister and assumed direction of a new republic. The major issue facing Kassem was that of Arab unity. The union of Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic (U.A.R.) early in 1958 had aroused immense enthusiasm in the Arab world. Despite strong pan-Arab sentiment in Iraq, he was determined to achieve internal stability before considering any kind of federation with the U.A.R. In turn the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, came to resent Kassem's rule and tried to bring about its downfall. In March 1959 pan-Arab opponents of Kassem launched an open rebellion in Mosul. The bulk of the army remained loyal, and the uprising was crushed with little difficulty. But his support steadily narrowed. In the spring of 1961 a rebellion broke out among the Kurds, undermining even Kassem's military support, as much of the army became tied down in a seemingly endless and fruitless attempt to put down the rebellion. This situation drew a number of officers into open resistance to the Kassem regime. Abdul Salam Arif led dissident army elements in a coup in February 1963, which overthrew the government and killed Kassem himself.
Kassini, Graf (Count) Artur (Pavlovich) (or Arturo Cassini) (b. 1835, St. Petersburg, Russia - d. 1919, near Paris, France), Russian diplomat; son-in-law of Dmitry Bibikov; grandson-in-law of Anton Moller. He was minister-resident in the Hanseatic cities (1888-91), minister to China (1891-97), and ambassador to the United States (1898-1905) and Spain (1905-09).
Kasso, Lev (Aristidovich) (b. June 20, 1865, Paris, France - d. Dec. 9 [Nov. 26, O.S.], 1914, Petrograd [now St. Petersburg], Russia), education minister of Russia (1910-14).
Kassoma |
Kassoma, (António) Paulo (b. June 6, 1951, Rangel município, Luanda, Angola), prime minister of Angola (2008-10). He was also minister of transport and communications (1990-92) and territorial administration (1992-97), governor of Huambo (1997-2008), speaker of parliament (2010-12), and secretary-general of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (2016-18).
Kast (Sommerhoff), Felipe (José) (b. June 9, 1977, Santiago, Chile), Chilean politician; son of Miguel Kast; nephew of José Antonio Kast. He was minister of planning (2010-11) and a candidate for the Chile Vamos (centre-right coalition) presidential nomination (2017).
Kast (Rist), José Antonio (b. Jan. 18, 1966, Santiago, Chile), Chilean presidential candidate (2017, 2021); brother of Miguel Kast. He was secretary-general of the Independent Democratic Union (2012-14), but left that party in 2016 and ran as an independent.
Kast (Rist), Miguel, originally Michael Kast (b. Dec. 18, 1948, Oberstaufen, Bayern, Germany - d. Sept. 18, 1983, Santiago, Chile), Chilean politician. He was head of the Office of Planning (1978-80), minister of labour and social security (1980-82), and president of the Central Bank (1982).
Kasteel |
Kasteel, Piet, byname of Petrus Albertus Kasteel (b. Nov. 4, 1901, Zwolle, Overijssel, Netherlands - d. Dec. 12, 2003, Rome, Italy), governor of Curaçao (1942-48). He was also Dutch minister (1948-55) and ambassador (1955-56) to Chile, minister (1956-58) and ambassador (1958-64) to Ireland, and ambassador to Israel (1964-67).
Kastenka, Anatol (Ivanavich) (b. Jan. 27, 1940), defense minister of Belarus (1994-95).
Kastrup, Christian Ulrik (b. 1784, Stavanger, Norway - d. Sept. 6, 1850, Inderøen [now Inderøy], Nordre Trondhjems amt [now in Trøndelag fylke], Norway), governor of Finmarkens amt (1828-29), Stavanger amt (1829-33), and Nordre Bergenhus amt (1833-44).
Kastrup, Dieter (b. March 11, 1937, Bielefeld, Germany), German diplomat. He was ambassador to Italy (1995-98) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1998-2001).
Kasuba, Abdul Gani (b. Dec. 21, 1951, Bibinoi, Halmahera, Maluku [now in Maluku Utara], Indonesia), governor of Maluku Utara (2014-19, 2019-23).
Kasumbu Mbaya Borrey, Armand (b. Aug. 31, 1964, Bukavu, Congo [Léopoldville] [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Bas-Uélé (2016-19).
Kasumov, Mir Bashir (Fattakh ogly) (b. 1879, Dashbulag, Russia [now in Azerbaijan] - d. April 23, 1949, Baku, Azerbaijan S.S.R.), acting chairman of the Central Executive Committee (1937-38) and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1938-49) of the Azerbaijan S.S.R. He was also people's commissar of social security (1935-37).
K.M. Kasuri |
Kasuri, Khurshid Mehmood (b. 1941, Lahore, India [now in Pakistan]), foreign minister of Pakistan (2002-07).
Kasuri, Mian Mahmud Ali (b. Oct. 31, 1910, Kasur, Punjab, India [now in Pakistan]), Pakistani politician. He was minister of law and parliamentary affairs (1971-72).
Kasuya, Gizo (b. Sept. 23 [Aug. 15, lunar calendar], 1866, Fujisawa [now part of Iruma], Musashi province [now in Saitama prefecture], Japan - d. May 4, 1930), Japanese politician. He was speaker of the House of Representatives (1923-27).
Kasyan, Sergey (Ivanovich), original name Sarkis (Oganesovich) Ter-Kasparyan, Armenian Sargis (Hovhanesi) Ter-Gasparyan (b. Jan. 28 [Jan. 16, O.S.], 1876, Shusha, Yelizavetpol province, Russia [now in Artsakh, Azerbaijan] - d. [executed] December 1937), chairman of the Military Revolutionary Committee (1920-21) and chairman of the Central Executive Committee (1928-31) of the Armenian S.S.R. and co-chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Transcaucasian S.F.S.R. (1927-31). He was also people's commissar of agriculture of the Armenian S.S.R. (1920-21).
Kasyanov |
Kasyanov, Mikhail (Mikhailovich) (b. Dec. 8, 1957, Solntsevo, Moscow oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), prime minister of Russia (2000-04). In 1981 he joined the department of external trade of the State Planning Committee of the Russian S.F.S.R., rising through the ranks until his transfer to the Ministry of Finance in 1993, where he was handed the task of dealing with Russia's external debt. On Oct. 16, 1995, he was appointed a deputy finance minister. In the wake of the Russian financial crash of Aug. 17, 1998, he headed a task force for negotiations over Russian banks' debt. Critics accused him of corruption and he acquired a nickname of "Misha 2%." On Feb. 17, 1999, he was appointed first deputy finance minister and on May 25, 1999, Pres. Boris Yeltsin made him finance minister. On Jan. 10, 2000, Acting Pres. Vladimir Putin named Kasyanov first deputy prime minister, effectively making him acting prime minister. On May 7, 2000, President Putin designated Kasyanov as prime minister. The State Duma confirmed him on May 17 (325-55 with 15 abstentions). The appointment was seen by many as part of a secret deal between Putin and Yeltsin, aimed at securing positions for Yeltsin's clan under the new leadership. During Kasyanov's government Russia enjoyed an economic rise, but its fruits went mostly to the rich. Kasyanov was said to oppose Putin's views on economic development of the country and the arrest of powerful tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Kasyanov's government twice faced a no-confidence vote in the State Duma (in March 2001 and June 2003), but both attempts fell short of the required 226 votes by 101 and 54 votes respectively. Kasyanov's firing came only with the demise of the Yeltsin clan. On Feb. 24, 2004, Putin sacked Kasyanov's government without clear explanation. Kasyanov then virtually disappeared from the public stage. His attempted presidential candidacy in 2008 was rejected by the election commission.
Kasymaliyeva, Aida (Kamchybekovna) (b. Aug. 7, 1984, Osh, Kirgiz S.S.R.), Kyrgyz diplomat. She has been appointed permanent representative to the United Nations in 2021.
Kasymbek, Zhenis (Makhmuduly) (b. May 7, 1975, Chu [now Shu], Dzhambul [now Zhambyl] oblast, Kazakh S.S.R.), head of Karaganda oblast (2019-22) and Astana city (2022- ). He was also Kazakh minister of transport and communications (2014), investment and development (2016-18), and industry and infrastructure development (2018-19) and a deputy prime minister (2019).
Kasymov, Alibek (Khamidovich) (b. Sept. 18, 1954, Alma-Ata, Kazakh S.S.R. [now Almaty, Kazakhstan]), defense minister of Kazakhstan (1995-96).
Kasymov, Kalmukhanbet (Nurmukhanbetovich) (b. May 18, 1957, Dmitriyevka, Alma-Ata oblast, Kazakh S.S.R. [now Bayserke, Almaty oblast, Kazakhstan]), interior minister of Kazakhstan (2011-19).
Kasymov, Kurbanmukhamed (Gadzharovich) (b. July 30, 1954, Geokcha, Turkmen S.S.R. [now part of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan] - d. Sept. 2, 2021, Ashgabat), interior minister (1993-98), defense minister (1998-99), and justice minister (1999-2001) of Turkmenistan. He was also prosecutor (1991-93), a deputy prime minister (1993), and ambassador to China (2001-08) and Kazakhstan (2008-09).
Katainen |
Katainen, Jyrki (Tapani) (b. Oct. 14, 1971, Siilinjärvi, Finland), finance minister (2007-11) and prime minister (2011-14) of Finland. He was also leader of the National Coalition Party (2004-14), EU commissioner for economic and monetary affairs and the euro (2014), and a vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for jobs, growth, investment, and competitiveness (2014-19).
Katakazi, Gavriil (Antonovich) (b. July 17, 1794 - d. April 25, 1867), Russian diplomat; brother of Konstantin (Antonovich) Katakazi. He was minister to Greece (1833-43).
Katakazi, Konstantin (Antonovich) (b. 1775 - d. 1826), governor of Bessarabia (1817-25); son-in-law of Constantin Alexandru Ipsilanti.
Katakazi, Konstantin (Gavrilovich) (b. Aug. 25, 1828 - d. April 1, 1890), Russian diplomat; son of Gavriil Katakazi. He was minister to the United States (1869-72).
Katakazi, Mikhail (Konstantinovich) (b. May 19 [May 7, O.S.], 1823 - d. Sept. 5 [Aug. 24, O.S.], 1891), governor of Kiev (1868-71); son of Konstantin (Antonovich) Katakazi.
Katali, (François) Xavier (b. 1941 - d. May 5, 1986, Brazzaville, Congo), member of the Military Committee of the Congolese Labour Party (during presidential vacancy 1977) and interior minister (1977-84) of Congo (Brazzaville).
Katanandov |
Katanandov, Sergey (Leonidovich) (b. April 21, 1955, Petrozavodsk, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the government (1998-2002) and head of the republic (2002-10) of Karelia. He was also mayor of Petrozavodsk (1990-98).
Kataoka, Kenkichi (b. Feb. 14, 1844 [Dec. 26, 1843, lunar calendar] - d. Oct. 31, 1903), Japanese politician. He was speaker of the House of Representatives (1898-1903).
Kataoka, Naoharu (b. Oct. 13 [Sept. 18, lunar calendar], 1859, Tosa province [in present Kochi prefecture], Japan - d. May 21, 1934), finance minister of Japan (1926-27). He was also minister of commerce and industry (1925-26).
Katapodis, Nikolaos (b. 1925 - d. 2018), Greek diplomat. He was ambassador to China (1973-75), Mexico (1976-78), and West Germany (1985-87) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1978-81).
G.C. Kataria | V. Kataria |
Kataria, Gulab Chand (b. Oct. 13, 1944, Delwara [now in Rajsamand district, Rajasthan], India), governor of Assam (2023-24) and Punjab (2024- ).
Kataria, Virendra (b. April 20, 1931, Abohar, Punjab, India), lieutenant governor of Puducherry (2013-14).
Katay |
Katay Don Sasorith, byname William Rabbit (b. July 12, 1904 - d. Dec. 29, 1959, Vientiane, Laos), prime minister of Laos (1954-56). In 1926-45 he held a civil service post in the French administration of Laos. During World War II he was the chief spokesman of the national resistance movement, joining with others to form the Lao Issara (Free Laos), which fought first against the Japanese and then against the French, who tried to reoccupy Laos in 1945. A provisional government was formed, with him as minister of finance, but its triumph was short-lived, and in 1946 the government was forced to flee to Thailand. He published a newspaper in which he called for the overthrow of the French, and he wrote Contribution à l'histoire du mouvement d'indépendance national Lao (1948; "Contribution to the History of the Lao National Independence Movement"), under his pen name, William Rabbit, adapted from his own name (Katay means "rabbit" in Lao). He returned to Vientiane in 1949 and won election to the National Assembly in 1951. From then on his rise to power was rapid; when Laos finally achieved independence from France in 1954, he was named premier. Always suspicious of the Pathet Lao, the Communist-dominated but overwhelmingly nationalist military organization, he secured U.S. financial support to combat what he termed "foreign Communist aggression." Claiming that the Viet Minh (North Vietnamese Communist forces) were invading Laos through the Pathet Lao, he was able to obtain aid from the U.S. government to resist them. In 1956 he lost parliamentary support and was forced to give Prince Souvanna Phouma the premiership. At the time of his death he was deputy premier and minister of justice, home affairs, and religious affairs.
Tetsu Katayama |
Katayama, Tetsu (b. July 28, 1887, Tanabe, Wakayama prefecture, Japan - d. May 30, 1978, Fujisawa, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan), prime minister of Japan (1947-48). He became a member of the central executive committee of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) and later a member of the Diet (parliament). Following World War II he became (1946) chief secretary of the JSP and then (June 1947-February 1948) prime minister of a coalition government formed by the JSP, the conservative Democratic Party, and the People's Cooperative Party (Kokkyoto). After eight months as the first Socialist prime minister in the history of constitutional Japan, he slipped from power because of confrontations between the leftist and rightist forces within the JSP. During his later years, he served as adviser to the JSP and vigorously fought to protect the Japanese constitution.
Katayama, Toranosuke (b. Aug. 2, 1935), home/internal affairs minister of Japan (2000-03). He was also minister of public management and posts and telecommunications (2000-03) and co-president of the Japan Innovation Party (2016-21).
Katayama, Yoshihiro (b. July 29, 1951), governor of Tottori (1999-2007) and internal affairs minister of Japan (2010-11).
Katayev, Yevgeny (Fyodorovich) (b. 1914 - d. Sept. 20, 1972), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Komi A.S.S.R. (1963-72). He was also deputy premier (1954-59), first deputy premier (1962-63), and minister of food reserves (1962-63).
Kategaya |
Kategaya, Eriya (Tukahirwa) (b. July 4, 1945, Kyamate, Mbarara district, Uganda - d. March 2, 2013, Nairobi, Kenya), foreign minister (1996-2001) and interior minister (2001-03) of Uganda. He was also minister of commerce (1980) and East African affairs (2006-13) and first deputy prime minister (1988-2003, 2006-13).
Katenga, Bridger W(inston) (b. June 20, 1926, Ndola, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] - d. 1975), Malawian diplomat. He was ambassador to Ethiopia (1964-66), The Sudan (1965-66), and West Germany (1967-71), high commissioner to Kenya (1965-66) and the United Kingdom (1971-72), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1966-67).
Katic, Andreja (b. Dec. 22, 1969, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia), defense minister (2015-18) and justice minister (2018-20) of Slovenia.
Katina, Natalya (Igorevna) (b. May 14, 1974, Kuybyshev, Russian S.F.S.R. [now Samara, Russia]), acting chairman of the government of Samara oblast (2023-24).
Katircioglu, Mahmut Muhtar, until Jan. 1, 1935, Mahmut Muhtar Pasha (b. Dec. 11, 1866, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. March 18, 1935, aboard the Esperia, en route from Alexandria, Egypt, to Naples, Italy), Ottoman official; son of Gazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasha; son-in-law of Ismail Pasha. He was governor of Aydin (1909-10), navy minister (1910-11, 1912), and ambassador to Germany (1913-15).
Katjiuongua, Moses Katjikuru (b. April 24, 1942, Windhoek, South West Africa [now Namibia] - d. March 8, 2011, Windhoek), chairman of the Transitional Government of National Unity of Namibia (1985-86, 1988).
Katju, Kailash Nath (b. June 17, 1887, Jaora [now in Madhya Pradesh], India - d. Feb. 17, 1968), governor of Orissa (1947-48) and West Bengal (1948-51), Indian minister of home affairs (1951-55), law (1951-52), and defense (1955-57), and chief minister of Madhya Pradesh (1957-62).
Katnic, Milorad (b. Dec. 12, 1977, Titograd [now Podgorica], Montenegro), finance minister of Montenegro (2010-12).
Kato, Katsunobu, original surname Murosaki (b. Nov. 22, 1955, Tokyo, Japan), finance minister of Japan (2024- ). He was also a minister of state (2015-17), minister of health, labour, and welfare (2017-18, 2019-20, 2022-23), and chief cabinet secretary (2020-21).
Kato, Koichi (b. June 17, 1939, Yamagata prefecture, Japan - d. Sept. 9, 2016, Tokyo, Japan), Japanese politician. He was director-general of the Defense Agency (1984-86) and chief cabinet secretary (1991-92).
Kato, Moriyuki (b. Sept. 18, 1934 - d. March 21, 2020), governor of Ehime (1999-2010).
Kato, Ryogoro (b. March 11, 1883, Seto, Aichi, Japan - d. Dec. 20, 1970), justice minister of Japan (1954). He was also a minister without portfolio (1954, 1954) and speaker of the House of Representatives (1958-60).
Takaaki Kato |
Kato, Takaaki, also called Komei Kato (b. Jan. 25, 1860, Nagoya, Japan - d. Jan. 28, 1926, Tokyo, Japan), prime minister of Japan (1924-26). In 1887 he became private secretary to Foreign Minister Shigenobu Okuma, and on the resignation of his chief he was transferred to the finance department. He became ambassador to England (1894-99) and served as foreign minister for a few months in 1900-01 and again in 1906, resigning in opposition to the nationalization of the railways. He remained out of office until 1908, when he was reappointed ambassador to London. It was on the account of the treaty that he and Sir Edward Grey signed on July 13, 1911, that Japan declared war on Germany on Aug. 23, 1914. Recalled in 1913, Kato became foreign minister for the third time, in the short-lived cabinet of the unpopular prime minister Taro Katsura. Kato reorganized the party created by Katsura, the Constitutional Association of Friends (Rikken Doshikai), renaming it the Constitutional Party (Kenseikai). Under his leadership, it became the major opposition to the more conservative Friends of Constitutional Government Party (Rikken Seiyukai). In April 1914 he again took over the foreign ministry under his old patron Okuma. After the March 1915 election, Kato resigned in protest of Okuma's corrupt tactics at the polls. The following decade proved a quiet period for Kato, but in June 1924 he became prime minister of a new coalition government. His party won a majority in the Diet in 1925, and he was able to name his own cabinet. A new period of democratic government began: universal male suffrage was enacted, the army was greatly reduced in size and influence, the power of the House of Peers was lessened, and moderate social legislation was introduced. He died in office. He was made a baron in 1911 and a viscount in 1916.
Kato, Takenori (b. Nov. 21, 1915, Kasaoka, Okayama, Japan - d. Feb. 9, 2000), governor of Okayama (1964-72) and Japanese minister of home affairs (1977-78).
Kato, Tomosaburo, in full Shishaku (Viscount) Tomosaburo Kato (b. Feb. 22, 1861, Aki domain [now part of Hiroshima prefecture], Japan - d. Aug. 24, 1923, Tokyo, Japan), prime minister of Japan (1922-23). He was also minister of the navy (1915-23). He became Danshaku (baron) in 1920 and Shishaku (viscount) in 1923.
Katonivere | Katrougkalos |
Katonivere, Ratu Wiliame (Maivalili), Turaga na Tui Macuata (b. April 20, 1964, Suva, Fiji), president of Fiji (2021-24).
Katrougkalos, Giorgos (S.-P.) (b. March 27, 1963, Athens, Greece), foreign minister of Greece (2019). He was also minister of labour and social solidarity (2015, 2015-16).
Katsav |
Katsav, Moshe (b. Dec. 5, 1945, Yazd, central Iran), president of Israel (2000-07). He came to Israel with his parents in 1951. His political activity began in Herut's student organization, and he quickly climbed the political ladder. In 1969, he was elected mayor of Kiryat Malachi, near Tel Aviv, the youngest mayor in the state's history. In 1977, he became the first development town mayor to be elected to the Knesset, as a member of Likud. In the following Knesset term, he served as deputy housing minister, and was in charge of the neighbourhood rehabilitation project. Later he served as minister of labour and welfare (1984-88), minister of transportation (1988-92), and deputy prime minister and minister of tourism (1996-99). He narrowly defeated Shimon Peres in the August 2000 presidential elections, becoming Israel's eighth president, and the first to have been born in a Muslim country. As president, Katsav worked to strengthen the ties between Israel and the Diaspora, and worked to found an international Jewish forum to combat assimilation. In 2006 he came under intense pressure to resign over the alleged rape and sexual harassment of some of his female co-workers. In January 2007 Attorney General Meni Mazuz indicated he would press charges against Katsav but would first give him a chance to plead his case. Katsav took a three-month leave of absence (extended in April) and said he would resign if, after the hearing, Mazuz decided to go ahead with the indictment. In June Katsav signed a plea bargain in which the rape allegations were dismissed and he admitted only to lesser charges of sexual harassment and obstruction of justice. He then resigned. But in a dramatic reversal in April 2009, he rejected the deal and said he wanted to clear his name in court. In December 2010 he was convicted on two counts of raping an employee in 1998; in March 2011 he was sentenced to seven years in prison; he was released in December 2016.
Katsellis, Stelios (b. Aug. 12, 1931, Kyrenia, Cyprus - d. Jan. 1, 2018), defense minister of Cyprus (1985). He was also mayor of Kyrenia (1964-74), minister to the presidency (1980-82), and minister of education (1982-85).
Katsina, Hassan Usman (b. March 31, 1933, Katsina, Nigeria - d. July 24, 1995), governor of Northern region, Nigeria (1966-67). He was also Nigerian chief of army staff (1968-71).
Katsonga |
Katsonga, Davis (Chester) (b. Aug. 6, 1955), foreign minister (2005-06) and defense minister (2006-07) of Malawi. He was also minister of mines, natural resources, and environmental affairs (2004-05) and economic planning and development (2005).
Katsura, Taro (b. Jan. 4, 1848, Hagi, Nagato province, Japan - d. Oct. 10, 1913, Tokyo), prime minister (1901-06, 1908-11, 1912-13) and foreign minister (1905, 1905-06, 1912-13) of Japan. He served in the ranks of the imperial forces in the Meiji Restoration, which in 1868 wrested power from the feudal Tokugawa family and restored it to the emperor. He was military attaché to the Japanese legation in Berlin (1875-78), was appointed vice minister of war in 1886, and served in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). A protégé of Aritomo Yamagata, he was named governor-general of Taiwan in 1896 but did not proceed thither, instead accepting the portfolio of war (1898-1900). During his first premiership (1901-06) the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) was successfully fought, making Japan a world power. He became increasingly the antagonist of Hirobumi Ito (the founder of the Rikken Seiyukai party) on policy toward Korea, then a Japanese protectorate. While Ito strove to moderate Japanese rule in Korea, Katsura favoured outright annexation, a goal he achieved in 1910 during his second term as prime minister. While prime minister he was also minister of home affairs (1903-04), education (1905-06), and finance (1908-11). In 1912 he entered the service of the new emperor, Taisho, was named lord keeper of the privy seal and grand chamberlain, and was elevated to princely rank. Although he had previously opposed the idea of political parties, during his third premiership he tried to counter Seiyukai control of the Diet (parliament) by forming his own party, Rikken Doshikai. At first unsuccessful, it eventually became one of the two major political groups in pre-World War II Japan. But his third premiership lasted only seven weeks. When the Diet met, a vote of censure was brought forward, which compelled Katsura to suspend the session. This was followed by riots against his oligarchic methods and his program for greater armaments, leading to his resignation. He died a few months later. He held the titles of viscount (1895), count (1902), marquess (1907), and duke (1911).
Kattanga, Hussein A(thuman), Tanzanian diplomat. He has been ambassador to Japan, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand (2020-21) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2023- ).
Kattar, Demianos (b. 1960, Jezzine, Lebanon), finance, economy, and trade minister of Lebanon (2005). He was also minister of environment and administrative development (2020).
Katumba Mwanke, Augustin (b. Oct. 5, 1963, Pweto, Katanga Oriental, Congo [Léopoldville] [now in Haut-Katanga, Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. [plane crash] Feb. 12, 2012, near Bukavu, Sud-Kivu, Congo [Kinshasa]), governor of Katanga (1998-2001).
Katumbi Chapwe, Moïse (b. Dec. 28, 1964, Kashobwe, Katanga Oriental, Congo [Léopoldville] [now in Haut-Katanga, Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Katanga (2007-15). He was a presidential candidate in Congo (Kinshasa) in 2023.
Katuramu, John (Sanyu) (b. June 20, 1955, Kabale village, Kibiito sub-county, Kabarole district, Uganda), member of the Regency of Toro (1995-2000). He was arrested June 21, 2000, and sentenced to death Sept. 12, 2001, for the murder of Prince Happy Kijanangoma on March 25, 1999, two days before the latter was supposed to testify in court against Katuramu in a case that was intimately related to the affairs of the Toro kingdom. In 2009 his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Katushev, Konstantin (Fyodorovich) (b. Oct. 1, 1927, Boldino, Gorky oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. April 5, 2010, Moscow, Russia), Soviet politician. He was first secretary of the party committees of Gorky city (1963-65) and Gorky oblast (1965-68), a deputy premier (1977-82), ambassador to Cuba (1982-85), chairman of the State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations (1985-88), and minister of foreign economic relations (1988-91).
Katz, Vera, née Pistrak (b. Aug. 3, 1933, Düsseldorf, Germany - d. Dec. 11, 2017), mayor of Portland (1993-2004).
Y. Katz |
Katz, Yisrael (b. Sept. 21, 1955, Ashkelon, Israel), foreign minister (2019-20, 2024), finance minister (2020-21), and defense minister (2024- ) of Israel. He was also minister of agriculture and rural development (2003-06), transportation and road safety (2009-19), intelligence (2015-20), and energy (2022-24).
Katz-Suchy, Juliusz (b. Jan. 28, 1912, Sanok, Austria [now in Poland] - d. Oct. 28, 1971, Århus [now Aarhus], Denmark), Polish diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1947-51) and ambassador to India (1957-62).
Katzenbach, Nicholas deB(elleville) (b. Jan. 17, 1922, Philadelphia, Pa. - d. May 8, 2012, Skillman, N.J.), U.S. attorney general (1964-66).
Katzir |
Katzir, Ephraim, original name Ephraim Katchalski (b. May 16, 1916, Kiev, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. May 30, 2009, Rehovot, Israel), president of Israel (1973-78). An internationally prominent biophysicist, he was the first president (other than Chaim Weizmann) who did not have a Hebrew family name at the time of his election and acceded to the "unwritten law" that required adopting one, taking the name Katzir which his equally famous chemist brother Aharon had adopted earlier. (The requirement has since lapsed.)
Kaua, Toswel, Toswel also spelled Toswell (b. Aug. 28, 1947 - d. Nov. 16, 2010, Honiara, Solomon Islands), Solomon Islands politician. He was minister of mines and energy (2006), agriculture and livestock (2006-07), public service (2007), and justice and legal affairs (2007-09) and deputy prime minister (2007).
Kauffman, Léon (b. Aug. 16, 1869, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - d. March 25, 1952, Luxembourg, Luxembourg), finance minister (1916-18) and prime minister and foreign minister (1917-18) of Luxembourg. He was also president of the Council of State (1945-52).
Kauffmann, Wilhelm Frederik Ludvig (b. March 25, 1821, Rendsburg, Holstein [now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany] - d. Jan. 7, 1892, Fredensborg, Denmark), war minister of Denmark (1879-81).
Kaufman, Konstantin (Petrovich) (b. March 3 [Feb. 19, O.S.], 1818, near Warsaw, Poland - d. May 16 [May 4, O.S.], 1882, Tashkent, Russia [now in Uzbekistan]), governor-general of Turkestan (1867-82). He was also governor-general of Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, and Minsk (1865-66).
Kaufman, Pyotr (Mikhailovich) (b. June 19 [June 7, O.S.], 1857, Tiflis, Russia [now Tbilisi, Georgia] - d. March 6, 1926, Paris, France), education minister of Russia (1906-08); nephew of Konstantin Kaufman.
Kaufmann, Johan (b. April 20, 1918, Amsterdam, Netherlands - d. Dec. 16, 1999, Lausanne, Switzerland), Dutch diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1974-78) and ambassador to Japan (1978-83).
Kaul, Sheila (b. Feb. 7, 1915, Lucknow, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh [now in Uttar Pradesh], India - d. June 13, 2015, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh), governor of Himachal Pradesh (1995-96); sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru. She was also Indian minister of education (1980-84), culture and social welfare (1982-84), urban development (1991-95), and employment (1995).
Kaulbars, Johan (Fredrik) friherre von (b. April 9, 1689, Erfurt, Electorate of Mainz [now in Thüringen, Germany] - d. Dec. 16, 1762, Göteborg, Sweden), governor of Göteborg och Bohus (1749-62). He was made friherre (baron) in 1751.
Kaulbars, Lars Fredrik friherre von (b. Jan. 21, 1734, Herrevadskloster, Kristianstad [now in Skåne], Sweden - d. July 15, 1815, Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden), acting governor of Kalmar (1781-88); son of Johan friherre von Kaulbars.
Kaulins, Janis (b. July 10, 1889, Mitava, Russia [now Jelgava, Latvia] - d. [executed] April 30, 1942, Novosibirsk, Russian S.F.S.R.), interior minister of Latvia (1932-33). He was also minister of agriculture (1934-35).
Kauma, Michel (b. Dec. 12, 1913, Fayaoué district, Ouvéa commune, New Caledonia - d. July 21, 1998, Nouméa, New Caledonia), vice president of the Government Council of New Caledonia (1959-62).
Kaumi, Simon (Banamba) (b. Jan. 26, 1938), justice minister of Papua New Guinea (1998-99). He was also minister of provincial affairs and local-level government (1997-98). In 1975 he was the self-declared head of government of a separatist Papua republic.
Kaunda |
Kaunda, Kenneth (David) (b. April 28, 1924, Lubwa, near Chinsali, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia] - d. June 17, 2021, Lusaka, Zambia), prime minister of Northern Rhodesia (1964) and president (1964-91) and foreign minister (1969-70) of Zambia. In 1949 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), the first major anticolonial organization in Northern Rhodesia. In the early 1950s he became the ANC's secretary-general, a role that brought him into close contact with the movement's rank and file. When the ANC's leadership clashed over strategy in 1958-59, he carried a major part of the ANC operating structure into a new organization, the Zambia African National Congress. In January 1960 he was elected president of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), which enjoyed a spectacular growth, claiming 300,000 members by June 1960. In early 1961 the British government announced that formal decolonization of Zambia would commence. In 1964 Zambia was granted independence with Kaunda as its president. He was also minister of trade and industry (1969) and mines and state participation (1969-71). In 1972 he imposed one-party rule on Zambia, and in 1973 he introduced a new constitution that ensured his party's uncontested rule. In 1976 he assumed emergency powers, and he was reelected as president in one-candidate elections in 1978, 1983, and 1988. Several attempted coups against him in the early 1980s were squelched. He was chairman of the Organization of African Unity in 1970-71 and 1987-88. In 1990 he legalized opposition parties and set the stage for free, multiparty elections in 1991. In the elections, he and the UNIP were defeated by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy in a landslide. In May 1996, the constitution was amended to prevent Kaunda from competing in that year's presidential elections. On Dec. 25, 1997, he was arrested on charges of inciting an attempted coup in October 1997. Six days later he was released but placed under house arrest. Criminal charges were dropped in 1998.
Kaune Arteaga, Federico (b. 1934, Tarija, Bolivia - d. Aug. 24, 1985, La Paz, Bolivia), interior and justice minister of Bolivia (1985).
Kaunitz-Rietberg, Wenzel Anton Fürst von (b. Feb. 2, 1711, Vienna, Austria - d. June 27, 1794, Mariahilf [now part of Vienna]), foreign minister of Austria (1753-92). He entered the Austrian foreign service in 1740 and became minister to Sardinia (1742-44), then was sent to the Austrian Netherlands as chief minister to the Statthalter Karl von Lothringen. He distinguished himself at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) and became minister to France (1750-52). He directed Austrian foreign policy for almost 40 years, being raised from Graf (count) to Fürst (prince) in 1764. Kaunitz's "diplomatic revolution," abandoning Austria's alliance with Britain and soliciting support from the traditional enemy France, was implemented at the beginning of the Seven Years' War (1756-63), creating an apparently invincible coalition of the three major continental powers - Austria, France, and Russia. After the death of Archduchess Maria Theresia's husband, the Holy Roman emperor Franz I (1765), Kaunitz's influence increased. He participated in the first partition of Poland (1772) and worked toward a détente with Prussia. Nevertheless, Austria once again became involved in a war with that state over the Bavarian succession (1778-79). Having extended his influence to domestic affairs, he organized the state council to run the country (1760) and favoured reorganizing and centralizing the administration of many of the Habsburg domains. His relations with Joseph II, who succeeded Maria Theresia in 1780, were much less cordial; the foreign minister's powers were cut drastically. The French Revolution terminated the system of alliances for which Kaunitz had stood. Joseph's successor Leopold II drew closer to Prussia again, and the aged minister resigned under Franz II. He was also a liberal patron of arts and sciences.
Kaur Bhattal |
Kaur Bhattal, Rajinder (b. Sept. 30, 1945, Lahore, India [now in Pakistan]), chief minister of Punjab (India) (1996-97).
Kaura, Katuutire (Nathaniel) (b. Feb. 3, 1941, Ombujondjupa, near Okakarara, South West Africa [now Namibia] - d. Jan. 22, 2022, Windhoek, Namibia), Namibian presidential candidate (1999, 2004, 2009). He was president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (1998-2013).
Kausar, Masood (b. May 2, 1938, Kohat district, North-West Frontier Province, India [now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan]), governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2011-13).
Kaushal, Jagannath (b. April 23, 1915, Patiala [now in Punjab], India - d. May 31, 2001, Chandigarh, India), governor of Bihar (1976-79). He was also Indian minister of law, justice, and company affairs (1982-84).
Kaushal, Swaraj (b. July 12, 1952, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India), governor of Mizoram (1990-93); widower of Sushma Swaraj.
Kausikan, Bilahari (b. 1954?), Singaporean diplomat. He was ambassador to Russia (1994-95) and Mexico (1995-98) and permanent representative to the United Nations and high commissioner to Canada (1995-98).
Kavakure | Kavan |
Kavakure, Laurent (b. Jan. 5, 1959, Tangara, Ngozi province, Burundi), foreign minister of Burundi (2011-15). He was ambassador to Belgium in 2006-10.
Kavaldzhiev, Todor (Kolev) (b. Jan. 26, 1934, Glavan, Bulgaria - d. Feb. 6, 2019), vice president of Bulgaria (1997-2002).
Kavalerov, Timofey (Ilich) (b. Dec. 10, 1905, Salamatnur [now in Mari El republic], Russia - d. May 8, 1979, Yoshkar-Ola, Mari A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Mari A.S.S.R. (1938-44). He was also chairman of the Supreme Soviet (1951-55).
Kavaliku, (Senipisi) Langi (b. June 23, 1939, Pangai, Ha'apai, Tonga - d. [road accident] Dec. 3, 2008, Nuku'alofa, Tonga), deputy prime minister of Tonga (1991-2000). He was also a minister without portfolio (1967-69) and minister of education (1969-2000), works (1969-96), and civil aviation (1980-2000). He was given the title Hu'akavameiliku in 1969.
Kavan, Jan (b. Oct. 17, 1946, London, England), foreign minister (1998-2002) and a deputy prime minister (1999-2002) of the Czech Republic and president of the UN General Assembly (2002-03).
Kavanagh, Edward (b. April 27, 1795, Damariscotta Mills, Mass. [now in Maine] - d. Jan. 20, 1844, Newcastle, Maine), acting governor of Maine (1843-44).
Kavanagh, (John) Paul (b. March 12, 1956, Dublin, Ireland), Irish diplomat. He has been permanent representative to the United Nations (2007-09) and ambassador to France and Monaco (2009-13), China (2013-17), Mongolia (2014-17), the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Afghanistan (2017-18), and Japan (2018- ).
Kavcic, Stane (b. Oct. 30, 1919, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia [now in Slovenia] - d. March 27, 1987, Ljubljana), chairman of the Executive Council of Slovenia (1967-72).
Kavelin, Aleksandr (Aleksandrovich) (b. June 20 [June 9, O.S.], 1793, Moscow, Russia - d. Nov. 16 [Nov. 4, O.S.], 1850, Gatchina [now in Leningrad oblast], Russia), governor-general of St. Petersburg (1842-46).
Kavelin, Aleksandr (Aleksandrovich) (b. June 26 [June 14, O.S.], 1832 - d. Sept. 20 [Sept. 7, O.S.], 1906, St. Petersburg, Russia), governor of Tavrida (1873-81); son of the above; son-in-law of Konstantin Ogarev.
Kavtaradze, Akaky (Ivanovich) (b. 18... - d. 1937), executive secretary of the party committee of Terek oblast (1920).
Kavtaradze, Sergey (Ivanovich) (b. Aug. 15 [Aug. 3, O.S.], 1885, Zovreti, Kutaisi province, Russia [now in Georgia] - d. Oct. 17, 1971, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Georgian S.S.R. (1922-23). He was also chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Adzharistan (1921), people's commissar of justice of the Georgian S.S.R. (1921-22), and Soviet ambassador to Romania (1945-52).
Kawabata, Tatsuo (b. Jan. 24, 1945, Shiga prefecture, Japan), internal affairs minister of Japan (2011-12). He was also minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology (2009-10) and minister of state for science and technology policy (2010).
Kawada, Isao (b. Sept. 24, 1883, Tokyo, Japan - d. Sept. 27, 1963), finance minister of Japan (1940-41). He was also chief of the cabinet secretariat (1934) and acting minister of commerce and industry (1940).
Kawaguchi |
Kawaguchi, Yoriko (b. Jan. 14, 1941, Tokyo, Japan), foreign minister of Japan (2002-04). Earlier she was minister of the environment (2000-02).
Kawah, Lami (b. May 14, 1936, Robertsport, Liberia - d. May 20, 2023), Liberian politician. He was minister of transport (1998-99) and planning and economic affairs (1999-2001) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2001-06).
Kawahara, Mosuke (b. Oct. 10 [Sept. 15, lunar calendar], 1859, Okawauchi, Hizen province [now in Saga prefecture], Japan - d. May 19, 1929), Japanese politician. He was speaker of the House of Representatives (1929).
Kawai, Katsuyuki (b. March 11, 1963, Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan), justice minister of Japan (2019).
Kawai, Yahachi (b. Oct. 24, 1877, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan - d. July 21, 1960), Japanese politician. He was president of the House of Councillors (1953-56).
Kawakatsu, Heita (b. Aug. 16, 1948), governor of Shizuoka (2009-24).
Kawamura, Takeji (b. Sept. 1 [July 17, lunar calendar], 1871, Akita, Japan - d. Sept. 8, 1955), governor-general of Taiwan (1928-29). He was also governor of Wakayama (1911-14), Kagawa (1914-15), and Aomori (1917-18) and justice minister of Japan (1932).
Kawar, Dina (b. Dec. 8, 1962), Jordanian diplomat. She has been ambassador to France (2001-13), the Vatican (2002-13), Portugal (2005-13), and the United States (2016- ) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2014-16).
Kawara, Tsutomu (b. April 1, 1937, Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan - d. Jan. 13, 2013, Nanao), director-general of the Defense Agency of Japan (1987-88, 1999-2000). He was also minister of construction (1997-98).
Kawarada, Kakichi (b. Jan. 13, 1886, Tokyo, Japan - d. Jan. 22, 1955, Tokyo), home affairs minister of Japan (1937). He was also minister of education (1939-40).
Kawari, Hamad (ibn Abdulaziz) al- (b. May 18, 1948, Doha, Qatar), Qatari diplomat/politician. He was chargé d'affaires in Lebanon (1972-74), ambassador to Syria (1974-79), France (1979-84), Argentina, Brazil, and Canada (non-resident, 1984-90), and the United States (1990-92), permanent representative to the United Nations (1984-90), and minister of information and culture (1992-97) and culture, arts, and heritage (2008-16).
Kawashima, Shojiro (b. July 10, 1890, Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan - d. Nov. 9, 1970), Japanese politician. He was director-general of the Administrative Management Agency (1955, 1961-63), the Autonomy Agency (1955), and the Hokkaido Development Agency (1961-63).
Kawashima, Yoshiyuki (b. May 25, 1878, Ehime prefecture, Japan - d. Sept. 8, 1945), war minister of Japan (1935-36).
Kawawa, Rashidi (Mfaume) (b. May 27, 1926, Matepwende, Songea district, Tanganyika [now in Tanzania] - d. Dec. 31, 2009, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), prime minister (1962) and vice president (1962-64) of Tanganyika and second vice president (1964-77), defense minister (1964-72, 1977-80), and prime minister (1972-77) of Tanzania.
Kawel |
Kawel II, original name Thomas Tshombe, later Tshombe Isoj Kabwit (b. 1932? - d. Jan. 27, 2005, Musumba, Katanga [now in Lualaba], Congo [Kinshasa]), ruler of Ruund (Luunda) (1984-2005); brother of Moise Tshombe and Mbumb II Muteb.
Kawusu Konteh, Sheku Bockari (b. 1928, Kabala, Koinadugu district, Northern province, Sierra Leone - d. May 20, 1991), interior minister of Sierra Leone (1971, 1985-86). He was also minister of housing and country planning (1969-70), the Southern province (1970-71), lands (1971-73, 1976-77), mines (1971-77), and trade and industry (1984-85).
Kay-Mouat, Jon (b. June 6, 1933 - d. Nov. 26, 2010), president of the States of Alderney (1976-94, 1997-2002).
Kaya, Okinori (b. Jan. 30, 1889, Hiroshima, Japan - d. April 28, 1977, Tokyo, Japan), finance minister (1937-38, 1941-44) and justice minister (1963-64) of Japan.
Kaya, Sükrü, until Jan. 1, 1935, Sükrü Kaya Bey (b. March 9, 1883, Istanköy island, Ottoman Empire [now Kos, Greece] - d. Jan. 10, 1959, Istanbul, Turkey), foreign minister (1924-25) and interior minister (1927-38) of Turkey. He was also mayor of Izmir (1923) and minister of agriculture (1924).
Kayalar, Lütfullah (b. 1952, Akdagmadeni, Yozgat province, Turkey), finance minister of Turkey (1996). He was also minister of agriculture, forestry, and rural affairs (1989-91).
Kayibanda |
Kayibanda, Grégoire (b. May 1, 1924, Tare, Rwanda - d. Dec. 15, 1976, Kavumu, near Gitarama, Rwanda), prime minister (1960-62) and president (1961-73) of Rwanda. A Hutu, he founded the Ruanda Cooperative Movement (1952) which evolved into the Muhutu Social Movement (1957) and the Democratic Republican Movement Parmehutu (1959). His party won a majority of the seats in assembly elections in June 1960 and he became prime minister. The monarchy was definitively abolished in a referendum in September 1961, and in October the assembly elected him president. The country was granted independence on July 1, 1962. Tutsi guerrillas launched a civil war against the government in December 1963, and Kayibanda's harsh reprisals drove thousands of Tutsis into exile the following year. He was reelected to the presidency in October 1965 and October 1969. There were more outbreaks of ethnic violence in the early 1970s, and he was ousted in a bloodless army coup, led by Gen. Juvénal Habyarimana, just before the 1973 elections. In 1974 he was sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted to indefinite detention; he died under house arrest in 1976 and was posthumously amnestied in 1979.
Kayikwamba |
Kayikwamba Wagner, Thérèse (b. 1983, Kinshasa, Zaire [now Congo (Kinshasa)]), foreign minister of Congo (Kinshasa) (2024- ).
Kayinamura, Gideon (b. Nov. 12, 1945), Rwandan diplomat. He was ambassador to the United Kingdom (1994-96) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1996-99).
Kaynak, Veysi (b. Jan. 1, 1962, Kahramanmaras, Turkey), a deputy prime minister of Turkey (2016-17).
Kaysone |
Kaysone Phomvihane (b. Dec. 13, 1920, Na Seng, southern Laos - d. Nov. 21, 1992, Vientiane, Laos), prime minister (1975-91) and president (1991-92) of Laos. He protested against Japanese occupation of his country during World War II and, while in Vietnam, became involved with the nascent Indochinese Communist Party. He was sent back to Laos by Ho Chi Minh to join the anti-French revolutionary movement that came to be known as the Pathet Lao. In 1955 he co-founded and became general secretary of what would later be called the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (a post he would hold until his death). In 1958 he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Supreme People's Assembly. After the resumption of hostilities in 1964, he moved the Pathet Lao into caves in the northern mountains, withstanding U.S. carpet bombing of the area. After the disintegration of a short-lived, U.S.-backed postwar government in 1975, the 600-year-old monarchy was overthrown and Kaysone became prime minister of the newly created Lao People's Democratic Republic. The last king, Savang Vatthana, and his wife, Queen Khamphoui, were allowed to perish in a detention camp. Kaysone kept the country closely allied with Vietnam and isolated from Western influence. With the end of the cold war, however, he sought new donors, visiting France and Japan in 1989. After a new constitution was adopted in 1991, he became president. In 1992 he relaxed some government controls and scheduled December elections for the Supreme People's Assembly. He also released most political prisoners, including those army officers from the pro-Western regime held in detention camps since 1975, and he also distanced Laos from Vietnam by improving relations with China.
Kayumov, Lakim (Kayumovich) (b. 1933, Rumon village, Tadzhik S.S.R. [now in Sughd oblast, Tajikistan] - d. 1998), foreign minister of the Tadzhik S.S.R./Tajikistan (1989-92). He was also permanent representative to the United Nations (1992-94).
Kazakbayev |
Kazakbayev, Ruslan (Aytbayevich) (b. May 18, 1967, Talas region, Kirgiz S.S.R.), foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan (2010-12, 2020-22). He was appointed ambassador to Turkey in 2022.
Kazakov, Aleksandr (Ivanovich) (b. May 24, 1948, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), a deputy prime minister of Russia (1996). He was also chairman of the State Committee for Management of State Property (1996).
Kazakov, Aristarkh (Andreyevich) (b. 1878, Alekseyevskoye, Kazan province, Russia - d. Sept. 21, 1963, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Revolutionary Committee (1919) and the Central Executive Committee (1919) of the Turkestan S.F.R. He was also executive secretary of the party committee of Samara province (1920, 1920-21).
Kazakov, Vasily (Ivanovich) (b. Jan. 18, 1927, Pichurino, Moscow province [now oblast], Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Oct. 14, 2008), Soviet politician. He was mayor of Leningrad (1973-76) and a deputy premier of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1976-89).
Kazami, Akira (b. Feb. 12, 1886, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan - d. Dec. 20, 1961, Tokyo, Japan), justice minister of Japan (1940). He was also chief of the cabinet secretariat (1937-39).
Kazamias, Kikis (b. Aug. 27, 1951, Lefkoniko, Famagusta district, Cyprus), finance minister of Cyprus (2011-12). He was also minister of communications and works (2003-04).
Kazan, Sevket (b. Dec. 7, 1933, Adapazari, Turkey - d. March 9, 2020, Ankara, Turkey), justice minister of Turkey (1974, 1996-97). He was also minister of labour (1976-77).
Kazanets | Kazanokov |
Kazanets, Ivan (Pavlovich) (Russian), Ukrainian Ivan (Pavlovych) Kazanets (b. Oct. 12, 1918, Lotsmanska Kamyanka, Yekaterinoslav district, Yekaterinoslav province [now in Dnipropetrovsk district and oblast], Ukraine - d. Feb. 15, 2013), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian S.S.R. (1963-65). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Stalino oblast (1953-60) and Soviet iron and steel minister (1965-85).
Kazanokov, Ruslan (Ogurliyevich) (b. April 27, 1958), prime minister of Karachayevo-Cherkessia (2003-05, 2015-16).
Kazantsev, Viktor (Germanovich) (b. Feb. 22, 1946, Kokhanovo, Belorussian S.S.R. - d. Sept. 14, 2021, Krasnodar, Russia), plenipotentiary of the president in Yuzhny federal district (2000-04).
Kazembe Musonda, Jean-Claude (b. May 17, 1963, Kashobwe, Congo [Léopoldville] [now Congo (Kinshasa)] - d. July 31, 2021, Lubumbashi, Congo [Kinshasa]), governor of Haut-Katanga (2016-17, 2017).
Kazemi, (Sayyed) Baqir (Khan), Muazzib-ud-Dowleh (b. 1892, Tehran, Iran - d. 1976), foreign minister of Iran (1935-36, 1951-52). He was also minister of communications (1931-32), interior (1942-43), and finance (1952-53), minister to Iraq (1932-33), Afghanistan (1938-39), Turkey (1939-40), and Sweden (1945-50), and governor of Azarbayjan-e Sharqi province (1937-38).
Kazhegeldin |
Kazhegeldin, Akezhan (Magzhanovich) (b. March 27, 1952, Georgiyevka village, Zharminsky region, Semipalatinsk oblast, Kazakh S.S.R.), prime minister of Kazakhstan (1994-97). He was first deputy prime minister from December 1993 to October 1994. The main rival of Pres. Nursultan Nazarbayev, he ran foul of Kazakh authorities in late 1998 when he tried to run against Nazarbayev in a January 1999 presidential election. Kazhegeldin was barred from the poll on a legal technicality. He went into self-imposed exile and was threatened with arrest for alleged financial wrongdoing if he returned to his homeland. He was briefly detained in Moscow in autumn 1999 and in Italy in July 2000. In 2001 he was tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.
Kazi, Aftab Ghulam Nabi (b. Nov. 6, 1919, Naushahro Feroze, Sind, India [now in Pakistan] - d. Aug. 9, 2016, Islamabad, Pakistan), finance minister of Pakistan (1978). He was also governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (1978-86).
Kazimír, Peter (b. June 28, 1968, Kosice, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), finance minister (2012-19) and a deputy prime minister (2012-16, 2018-19) of Slovakia. He has also been acting economy minister (2015) and governor of the National Bank (2019- ).
Kazir, Alwali (Jauji) (b. Aug. 2, 1947, Kazir-Bula [now in Yobe state], Nigeria), governor of Kwara (1989-92). He was also Nigerian chief of army staff (1994-96).
Kazmakhov, Izrail (Musovich) (b. 1911 - d. 1981), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kabardian A.S.S.R. (1947-51).
Kaznacheyev, Aleksandr (Ivanovich) (b. Nov. 18 [Nov. 7, O.S.], 1788 - d. Aug. 1 [July 20, O.S.], 1880, Moscow, Russia), governor of Tavrida (1829-37). He was also gradonachalnik (city governor) of Feodosiya (1827-29) and Odessa (1848-54).
Kaznacheyev, Aleksey (Gavrilovich) (b. Jan. 10, 1823 [Dec. 29, 1822, O.S.] - d. July 4 [June 22, O.S.], 1888, Gatchina [now in Leningrad oblast], Russia), governor of Arkhangelsk (1866), Kovno (1866-68), and Kaluga (1868-71).
Kaznakov, Nikolay (Gennadiyevich) (b. Dec. 20 [Dec. 8, O.S.], 1824, Narovchat, Penza province, Russia - d. Feb. 24 [Feb. 12, O.S.], 1885, St. Petersburg, Russia), governor of Kiev (1864-66) and governor-general of West Siberia (1875-81).
Kazykhanov |
Kazykhanov, Yerzhan (Khozeyevich) (b. Aug. 21, 1964, Alma-Ata, Kazakh S.S.R. [now Almaty, Kazakhstan]), foreign minister of Kazakhstan (2011-12). He was also permanent representative to the United Nations (2003-07, concurrently ambassador to Cuba) and ambassador to Austria (2008-11), the United Kingdom (2014-16), and the United States (2017-21).