Index Pi-Py

Piana

Pianna, Oswaldo, Filho (b. Feb. 27, 1949, Porto Velho, Guaporé [now Rondônia], Brazil), governor of Rondônia (1991-95).

Piasi, Jackson (b. 1955), justice and legal affairs minister of Solomon Islands (1994). He was also minister of lands and housing (1997-2000).

Piatkowski, Jan (b. Oct. 4, 1935, Gnieszowice, Poland - d. July 22, 2016), justice minister and prosecutor-general of Poland (1993).

Piazza Tangüis, Walter (b. Feb. 22, 1924, Lima, Peru - d. May 7, 2015), economy and finance minister of Peru (1977).

Pibulsongkram, Nitya (b. June 30, 1941, Bangkok, Thailand - d. May 24, 2014, Bangkok), foreign minister of Thailand (2006-08). He was also ambassador to the United States (1996-2000).

P. Pibulsongkram

Pibulsongkram, (Luang) Plaek, also spelled Pibulsonggram, Phibunsongkhram, etc., original name Plaek Khittasangkha (b. July 14, 1897, Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. June 11, 1964, Tokyo, Japan), prime minister (1938-44, 1948-57), foreign minister (1939-41, 1941-42, 1949), defense minister (1934-41, 1941-43, 1949-57), interior minister (1938-41, 1948-49, 1955-57), and finance minister (1949-50) of Thailand. While taking advanced military training in France (1924-27), he became involved with Thai students who were plotting to overthrow the absolute monarchy. He took the name Pibulsongkram ("ready for war") and in 1928 he received the title Luang. He took a leading part in the bloodless revolution of 1932 which obliged King Prajadhipok to grant a constitution, and subsequently he and his civilian associate Pridi Banomyong wielded the power behind the throne. He came to public prominence by suppressing the 1933 royalist insurrection of Prince Boworadet. As defense minister he worked to popularize military values in the fashion of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. After becoming premier in 1938, he changed the name of the country from Siam to Thailand in 1939 and espoused ultranationalist and irredentist views. With the rank of field marshal, he fought a Japanese attack on Dec. 8, 1941, but soon concluded an alliance with Japan, declaring war on the United States and Britain on Jan. 25, 1942. Increasing dissatisfaction with his cultural reforms forced him to resign in 1944 and a civilian government took power. But the army seized the government in 1947, and he resumed the premiership in 1948, winning the support of the West by his efforts to contain the spread of Communism in Thailand. In 1957 he was ousted by disgruntled military colleagues. Thereafter he lived in retirement in Japan.

Picado Michalski, Teodoro (b. Jan. 10, 1900, San José, Costa Rica - d. June 1, 1960, Managua, Nicaragua), president of Costa Rica (1944-48). He was also minister of education (1932-36) and president of Congress (1941-44).

Picanon, Édouard (b. Sept. 2, 1854, Chemilly, Allier, France - d. June 27, 1939), lieutenant governor of Cochinchina (1898-1901) and governor of New Caledonia (1902-05) and French Guiana (1906-07).

Picard, (Louis Joseph) Ernest (b. Dec. 24, 1821, Paris, France - d. May 13, 1877, Paris), finance minister (1870-71) and interior minister (1871) of France. He was also minister to Belgium (1871-73).

Picardo

Picardo, Fabian (Raymond) (b. Feb. 18, 1972, Gibraltar), chief minister of Gibraltar (2011- ).

Piccioni, Attilio (b. June 14, 1892, Poggio Bustone, Rieti province, Italy - d. March 10, 1976, Rome, Italy), foreign minister of Italy (1954, 1962-63). He was also justice minister (1950-51).

Picco, Isabelle (F.) (b. Nov. 8, 1962, Monaco), Monegasque diplomat. She has been permanent representative to the United Nations (2009- ).

Piccoli

Piccoli, Flaminio (b. Dec. 28, 1915, Kirchbichl, Austria - d. April 11, 2000, Rome, Italy), Italian politician. He became an officer in one of Italy's Alpine regiments and saw action in World War II in Albania and Greece. Captured by the Nazis after Italy's capitulation in 1943, he escaped and was taken prisoner by the Germans but escaped again from a train deporting him to Poland and made his way back to Italy. Once described as "the most Christian Democrat of Christian Democrats," Piccoli took over as party president in July 1978 when the party was reeling from the murder by Red Brigades terrorists of former prime minister Aldo Moro. He also held the post of party secretary (1969, 1980-82) during a political career spanning 40 years and was three times Italian minister for state participation in industry in the 1970s. He remained active in politics until his death and was still president of the Christian Democratic Party, which emerged from the wreckage of the Democrazia Cristiana (DC) when it collapsed in 1992 under the weight of corruption scandals. He never succeeded in his ambition to become prime minister. He was once derided by Moro, one of his many opponents within the DC, as "a mixture of abnegation and opportunism."

Picek

Picek, Vlastimil (b. Oct. 25, 1956, Turnov, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), defense minister of the Czech Republic (2013-14). He was chief of staff of the Czech Armed Forces in 2007-12.

Pichai Chunhavajira (b. Feb. 15, 1949), finance minister and a deputy prime minister of Thailand (2024- ).

Pichardo Pagaza, Ignacio (b. Nov. 13, 1935, Toluca, México, Mexico - d. April 14, 2020, Mexico City, Mexico), governor of México (1989-93). He was also Mexican comptroller-general (1987-88), ambassador to Spain (1994) and the Netherlands (1996-2000), president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (1994), and minister of energy (1994-95).

Pichon, Stephen (b. Aug. 10, 1857, Arnay-le-Duc, Côte-d'Or, France - d. Sept. 18, 1933, Vers-en-Montagne, Jura, France), resident-general of Tunisia (1901-06) and foreign minister of France (1906-11, 1913, 1917-20). He was also minister to Haiti (1894-96), Brazil (1896-98), and China (1898-1901).

Pické, Carolus Joannes (b. April 21, 1831, Koudekerke [now part of Veere], Zeeland, Netherlands - d. March 18, 1887, Middelburg, Netherlands), justice minister of the Netherlands (1866). He was also mayor of Middelburg (1880-87).

Pickens, Andrew (b. Dec. 13, 1779, Edgefield county, S.C. - d. July 1, 1838, Pontotock, Miss.), governor of South Carolina (1816-18).

Pickens, Francis W(ilkinson) (b. April 7, 1805, Saint Paul's Parish, S.C. - d. Jan. 25, 1869, Edgefield, S.C.), governor of South Carolina (1860-62); son of Andrew Pickens. He was also U.S. minister to Russia (1858-60).

Pickens, Israel (b. Jan. 30, 1780, Mecklenburg county, N.C. - d. April 24, 1827, near Matanzas, Cuba), governor of Alabama (1821-25).

Pickerd, Edward Thomas (b. Sept. 15, 1917 - d. Aug. 10, 2012), administrator of Norfolk Island (1972-75 and [acting] 1976).

Pickering, Fredrick Augustus (b. 1835, Tortola island, British Virgin Islands - d. Jan. 5, 1926), president of the British Virgin Islands (1884-87).

Pickering, John (b. Sept. 22, 1737, Newington, New Hampshire - d. April 11, 1805, Portsmouth, N.H.), acting president of New Hampshire (1789).

Pickering, Thomas R(eeve) (b. Nov. 5, 1931, Orange, N.J.), U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1989-92). He was also ambassador to Jordan (1974-78), Nigeria (1981-83), El Salvador (1983-85), Israel (1985-88), India (1992-93), and Russia (1993-96).

Pickering, Timothy (b. July 17, 1745, Salem, Massachusetts - d. Jan. 29, 1829, Salem), U.S. postmaster general (1791-95), secretary of war (1795), and secretary of state (1795-1800).

Pickering, William (b. March 15, 1798, Yorkshire, England - d. April 22, 1873, Albion, Ill.), governor of Washington (1862-66).

Picó Cañas, Germán (b. May 25, 1905, Santiago, Chile - d. July 12, 1988, Santiago), finance minister of Chile (1947, 1951-52). He was also president of the National Press Association (1954-75).

Picquart, (Marie) Georges (b. Sept. 6, 1854, Strasbourg, France - d. [following fall from horse] Jan. 19, 1914, Amiens, France), war minister of France (1906-09).

Picqué

Picqué, Charles (b. Nov. 1, 1948, Etterbeek [now in Brussels-Capital region], Belgium), minister-president of Brussels-Capital (1989-99, 2004-13).

Picquié, Albert (Jean Georges Marie Louis) (b. Sept. 1, 1853, Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne, France - d. May 10, 1917), governor of New Caledonia (1892-94), acting governor-general of French Indochina (1910), and governor-general of Madagascar (1910-14).

Picula

Picula, Tonino (b. Aug. 31, 1961, Mali Losinj, Croatia), foreign minister of Croatia (2000-03).

Pidal, Pedro José Pidal Carniado, marqués de (b. Nov. 25, 1799, Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain - d. Dec. 28, 1865, Madrid, Spain), interior minister (1844-46, 1846-47) and foreign minister (1848-49, 1849-51, 1856-57) of Spain. He was also ambassador to the Papal State (1858). He was created marqués in 1847.

Pidjot, Roch (b. Nov. 8, 1907, La Conception [now part of Mont-Dore commune], New Caledonia - d. Nov. 23, 1990, Mont-Dore), vice president of the Government Council of New Caledonia (1962-63).

Piebalgs, Andris (b. Sept. 17, 1957, Valmiera, Latvian S.S.R.), finance minister and a deputy prime minister of Latvia (1994-95). He was also minister of education (1990-93), ambassador to Estonia (1995-97) and the European Union (1998-2003), EU commissioner for energy (2004-10) and development (2010-14), and leader of the Unity party (2016-17).

Piechocinski, Janusz (b. March 15, 1960, Studzianki [now Studzianki Pancerne], Poland), Polish politician. He was a deputy prime minister and minister of economy (2012-15).

Piechocki, Stefan (b. Aug. 2, 1883, Czekanów, near Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland - d. Aug. 19, 1968, Koscian, Poland), justice minister of Poland (1925-26).

Pieck

Pienaar

Pieck, (Friedrich) Wilhelm (Reinhold) (b. Jan. 3, 1876, Guben, Germany - d. Sept. 7, 1960, East Berlin), president of East Germany (1949-60).

Piedra (del Castillo), Enrique de la (b. June 1, 1883, Lambayeque, Peru - d. July 6, 1948, Lima, Peru), finance minister of Peru (1924-25). He was also president of the Senate (1925-27).

Piedra (del Castillo), Julio de la (b. Aug. 28, 1896, Chiclayo, Peru - d. Feb. 6, 1984, Lima, Peru), Peruvian politician; brother of Enrique de la Piedra del Castillo. He was president of the Senate (1952-54, 1963-64, 1967).

Piedra y Piedra, Carlos Manuel (b. 1895? - d. August 1988, Havana, Cuba), interim president of Cuba (1959).

Pieltaín (Jove-Huergo), Cándido (b. 1822 - d. Aug. 21, 1888, Madrid, Spain), governor of Cuba (1873).

Pieme Tutokot, Dieudonné (b. Feb. 22, 1966, Mweka, Unité Kasaïenne [now in Kasaï], Congo [Léopoldville (now Kinshasa)]), governor of Kasaï (2019-24).

Pienaar, Louis (b. June 23, 1926, Stellenbosch, South Africa - d. Nov. 5, 2012, Cape Town, South Africa), administrator-general of South West Africa (1985-90) and home affairs minister of South Africa (1992-93). He was also South African ambassador to France (1975-79) and minister of education (1990-92) and environment (1990-93).

Piepers, Marinus (b. Nov. 19, 1771, Middelburg, Netherlands - d. Jan. 24, 1861, The Hague, Netherlands), war minister of the Netherlands (1818).

Pieracki, Bronislaw (Wilhelm) (b. May 28, 1895, Gorlice, Austria [now in Poland] - d. [assassinated] June 15, 1934, Warsaw, Poland), deputy prime minister (1931) and interior minister (1931-34) of Poland.

Pierantozzi

B. Pierce

Pierantozzi, Sandra (Sumang), née Sumang (b. Aug. 9, 1953, Koror, Palau), vice president (2001-04) and minister of state (2009-10) of Palau. She was also minister of administration (1990-92) and health (2001-04). She was a presidential candidate in 2012.

Pierce, Benjamin (b. Dec. 25, 1757, Chelmsford, Massachusetts Bay [now Mass.] - d. April 1, 1839, Hillsboro, N.H.), governor of New Hampshire (1827-28, 1829-30).

F. Pierce

Pierce, Franklin, byname Young Hickory (b. Nov. 23, 1804, Hillsboro, N.H. - d. Oct. 8, 1869, Concord, N.H.), president of the United States (1853-57); son of Benjamin Pierce. He entered political life as a Democrat, serving in the New Hampshire legislature (1829-33), the U.S. House of Representatives (1833-37), and the Senate (1837-42). Except for a brief stint as an officer in the Mexican War (1846-48), he remained out of the public eye until the Democratic convention of 1852, when he was nominated for president as a "dark horse" after the leading candidates, Lewis Cass, Stephen A. Douglas, and James Buchanan, were deadlocked. The ensuing presidential campaign was dominated by controversy over the slavery issue. Both the Democrats and the Whigs were too badly split internally to stake out strong stands on the issue; the chief question was the finality of the Compromise of 1850, and while both parties declared themselves in favour of it, the Democrats were more thoroughly united in its support. As a result, Pierce, though almost unknown nationally, won the November election, defeating Whig candidate Winfield Scott by 254 to 42 in the electoral college. He then tried to promote sectional unity by naming people from both sides of the slavery debate to his cabinet. He also sidestepped the domestic antagonisms by aggressively promoting the extension of U.S. territorial and commercial interests abroad. An attempt to buy Cuba from Spain failed, but almost 78,000 sq km of territory were acquired from Mexico (Gadsden Purchase, 1853) for $10,000,000. In 1854 he signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, by which the settlers of those territories were to decide by themselves whether to permit slavery. It led to a wild rush of pro- and anti-slavery adherents into Kansas, where they began a civil war. Denied renomination by the Democrats, he retired from public life in 1857.

Pierce, Gilbert A(shville) (b. Jan. 11, 1839, East Otto, N.Y. - d. Feb. 15, 1901, Chicago, Ill.), governor of Dakota (1884-86). He was also a U.S. senator from North Dakota (1889-91) and minister to Portugal (1893).

Pierce, Dame Karen (Elizabeth) (b. Sept. 23, 1959), British diplomat; knighted 2018. She has been ambassador to Afghanistan (2015-16) and the United States (2020- ) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2018-20).

Pierce, Walter M(arcus) (b. May 30, 1861, near Morris, Ill. - d. March 27, 1954, Eola Hills, Ore.), governor of Oregon (1923-27).

Piercot, (Guillaume) Ferdinand (Joseph) (b. Sept. 12, 1797, Brussels, France [now in Belgium] - d. Dec. 9, 1877, Liége [now Liège], Belgium), interior minister of Belgium (1852-55). He was also mayor of Liége (1842-52, 1862-67, 1870-77).

Pieri, Claude (b. Jan. 21, 1922, Corte, Corse, France - d. June 4, 2002, Toulon, France), administrator-superior of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (1982-87).

Pieris, (Peter) Mohan (Maithri) (b. Aug. 30, 1951), Sri Lankan official. He has been attorney general (2008-11), chief justice of the Supreme Court (2013-15), and permanent representative to the United Nations (2021- ).

Pierkhan, (Mohamed Afzal) Faried (b. Aug. 8, 1960), foreign minister of Suriname (1996-97). He was labour minister in 1997-99.

Pierlot, Hubert (Marie Eugène, comte) (b. Dec. 23, 1883, Cugnon, Belgium - d. Dec. 13, 1963, Uccle, Belgium), interior minister (1934-35, 1940-43), justice minister (1937, 1942), prime minister (1939-45), foreign minister (1939), and defense minister (1942-44) of Belgium. Upon the German occupation of Belgium in 1940, he left for France; he fled to Spain after the French Vichy regime broke its diplomatic relations with Belgium; and, after having been arrested, he escaped from Barcelona (October 18) via Lisbon (October 19) to arrive in London on October 25. He returned to Belgium in 1944.

Pierluisi

Pierluisi (Urrutia), Pedro (Rafael) (b. April 26, 1959, San Juan, Puerto Rico), governor of Puerto Rico (2019, 2021- ). He was also Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in the U.S. Congress (2009-17).

Piérola (y Villena), Carlos de (b. Nov. 2, 1852, Lima, Peru - d. Dec. 5, 1933, Lima), Peruvian politician; son of Nicolás de Piérola (1788-1857); brother of Nicolás de Piérola (1839-1913). He was president of the Chamber of Deputies (1897-99, 1900-01, 1902-03) and a presidential candidate (1915).

Piérola (y Flores del Campo), Nicolás (Fernández) de (b. Oct. 11, 1788, Camaná [now in Arequipa region], Peru - d. Jan. 23, 1857, Chorrillos, Peru), finance minister of Peru (1852-54).

Piérola (y Villena), (José) Nicolás (Baltasar Fernández) de (b. Jan. 5, 1839, Arequipa, Peru - d. June 23, 1913, Lima, Peru), finance minister (1869, 1870-71), supreme chief (1879-81), and president (1895-99) of Peru; son of the above.

Pierpont, Francis H(arrison) (b. Jan. 25, 1814, near Morgantown, Va. [now in W.Va.] - d. March 24, 1899, Pittsburg [now Pittsburgh], Pa.), governor of Virginia (1865-68 [in U.S.-controlled area from 1861]).

Pierre

Pierre, Philip J(oseph) (b. Sept. 18, 1954, Castries, St. Lucia), prime minister and finance minister of Saint Lucia (2021- ). He was also minister of tourism, civil aviation, and international financial services (1997-2000), commerce, international financial services, and consumer affairs (2000-01), and commerce, tourism, investment, and consumer affairs (2001-06) and deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure, port services, and transport (2011-16). He became leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party in 2016.

Pierre-Alype, (Marie) François (Julien) (b. 1886 - d. 1956), acting head of state of Syria (1926) and governor of French Somaliland (1937-38) and Guadeloupe (1938-40). He was also prefect of the départements of Charente-Inférieure (1940) and Gironde (1940-42).

Pierre-Louis, Joseph Nemours (b. Oct. 24, 1900, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti - d. April 1966, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), provisional president of Haiti (1956-57). He was also minister of justice and worship (1937-38) and president of the Supreme Court (1946-57).

M. Pierre-Louis

Pierre-Louis, Michèle (Duvivier), née Duvivier (b. Oct. 5, 1947, Jérémie, Haiti), prime minister of Haiti (2008-09). She was also interim minister of justice and public security (2008).

Pierrepont, Edwards, original name Munson Edwards Pierpont (b. March 4, 1817, North Haven [now New Haven], Conn. - d. March 6, 1892, New York City), U.S. attorney general (1875-76). He was also minister to the United Kingdom (1876-77).

Pierrot

Pierrot, Marcelle (b. Dec. 20, 1949, Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe), prefect of Guadeloupe (2013-14). She was the first female and the first local-born holder of the post. She was also prefect of the départements of Lot (2007-09), Tarn (2009-11), and Vosges (2011-13).

Pierson, Nicolaas Gerard (b. Feb. 7, 1839, Amsterdam, Netherlands - d. Dec. 24, 1909, Heemstede, Noord-Holland, Netherlands), finance minister (1891-94, 1897-1901) and prime minister (1897-1901) of the Netherlands. He was also president of the central bank (1885-91).

Pieters, Danny (Cyrille H.M.) (b. Oct. 13, 1956, Uccle [now in Brussels-Capital region], Belgium), Belgian politician. He was chairman of the Senate (2010-11).

Pietrewicz, Miroslaw (Piotr) (b. Jan. 2, 1941, Nowa Wies, Poland - d. May 6, 2022, Warsaw, Poland), Polish politician. He was minister-head of the Central Planning Office (1993-96), a deputy prime minister (1996-97), and minister of the treasury (1996-97).

Piétri, François (b. Aug. 10, 1882, Bastia, Corse, France - d. Aug. 18, 1966, Ajaccio, Corse), French defense minister (1932) and finance minister (1934). He was also minister of colonies (1929-30, 1930, 1933), budget (1931-32), military marine (1934-35), marine (1935-36), and merchant marine (interim, 1935) and ambassador to Spain (1940-44).

Piétri, Joseph (Marie) (b. Feb. 25, 1820, Sartène, Corse, France - d. Jan. 4, 1902, Sartène), prefect of police of Paris (1866-70); brother of Pierre Piétri. He was also prefect of the départements of Ariège (1853-55), Cher (1855-61), Hérault (1861-65), and Nord (1865-66).

Pietri (Méndez), Luis Gerónimo (b. March 10, 1892, Río Caribe, Sucre, Venezuela - d. July 14, 1969, Caracas, Venezuela), interior minister of Venezuela (1938-41). He was also minister of labour and communications (1937-38), governor of the Distrito Federal (1941-42), and ambassador to Colombia (1950-53).

Piétri, Pierre (Marie) (b. May 23, 1809, Sartène, Corse, France - d. Feb. 28, 1864, Paris, France), prefect of police of Paris (1852-58). He was also prefect of the départements of Ariège (1849-51) and Haute-Garonne (1851-52).

Piette, (Louis Eugène) Maurice (b. May 16, 1871, Vervins, Aisne, France - d. 1953), minister of state of Monaco (1923-32). He was also prefect of the French département of Meuse (1918-19).

Piggott

Piggott, Arnold (Alvin) (b. 1946?), foreign minister of Trinidad and Tobago (2006-07). He was also minister of works and transport (2001-02) and agriculture, land, and marine resources (2007-10) and high commissioner to Canada (2003-06).

Pignon, Léon (Marie Adolphe Pascal) (b. April 19, 1908 - d. April 4, 1976), commissioner of Cambodia (1947-48) and high commissioner of French Indochina (1948-50).

Pigott, John Robert Wilson (b. Nov. 27, 1850 - d. Feb. 6, 1928), acting administrator of British East Africa (1891, 1893-95).

Pihl, Jüri (b. March 17, 1954, Kuressaare, Estonian S.S.R. - d. Feb. 3, 2019), interior minister of Estonia (2007-09). He was also director of the Internal Security Service (1993-2003), prosecutor-general (2003-05), and chairman of the Social Democratic Party (2009-10).

Piip, Ants (b. Feb. 28, 1884, Tuhalaane municipality, Russia [now in Estonia] - d. Oct. 1, 1942, Molotov oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. [now in Perm kray, Russia]), foreign minister (1919, 1921-22, 1925-26, 1933, 1939-42 [from 1940 in exile government]), prime minister (1920), and state elder and minister of war (1920-21) of Estonia. He was also diplomatic representative in the United Kingdom (1920) and minister to the United States (1923-25). He was arrested in 1941 and died the following year in a Soviet prison camp.

Pijade, Mosa (b. Jan. 4, 1890, Belgrade, Serbia - d. March 15, 1957, Paris, France), Yugoslav politician. He was a deputy premier (1953-54) and president of the Federal Assembly (1954-57).

Pijman, Gerrit Jan (b. Jan. 31, 1750, Deventer, Netherlands - d. June 9, 1839, Utrecht, Netherlands), war minister (1798-1800, 1803-06) and chairman of the Executive Authority (1801) of the Batavian Republic.

Pijnacker Hordijk, Cornelis (b. April 13, 1847, Drumpt, Wadenoijen municipality, Gelderland, Netherlands - d. Sept. 3, 1908, Haarlem, Netherlands), interior minister of the Netherlands (1882-83), king's commissioner of Drenthe (1885-88), and governor-general of the Netherlands East Indies (1888-93).

Pike, Sir Theodore (Ouseley) (b. Aug. 2, 1904, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland - d. Dec. 27, 1987, Guildford, Surrey, England), governor of British Somaliland (1954-59); knighted 1956.

Pikioune, Gaetan (b. July 6, 1965), finance minister of Vanuatu (2016-20).

Pikrammenos

Piks

Pikrammenos, Panagiotis (b. 1945, Athens, Greece), interim prime minister (2012) and deputy prime minister (2019-23) of Greece. He was president of the Council of State (supreme administrative court) in 2009-12.

Piks, Rihards (b. Dec. 31, 1941, Riga, Latvia), foreign minister of Latvia (2004). He was also minister of culture (1996-97).

Piksayev, Aleksandr (Osipovich) (b. Aug. 18, 1922, Melsyany [now in Mordovia], Russia - d. Sept. 16, 2019), chairman of the Council of Ministers (1971-78) and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1978-88) of the Mordovian A.S.S.R.

Piksin, Ivan (Alekseyevich) (b. 1905, Miloradovka, Samara province, Russia - d. Oct. 28, 1973, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Mordovian A.S.S.R. (1948-51).

Pil, Ivan (Alferyevich) (b. 17... - d. 1801, Simbirsk [now Ulyanovsk], Russia), governor of Riga (1782-83) and Pskov (1785-88) and governor-general of Irkutsk and Kolyvan (1789-94).

Pildegovics, Andrejs (b. Aug. 11, 1971, Vladivostok, Russian S.F.S.R.), Latvian diplomat. He was ambassador to the United States (2007-12) and Mexico (2008-12) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2018-23).

Pile, William A(nderson) (b. Feb. 11, 1829, near Indianapolis, Ind. - d. July 7, 1889, Monrovia, Calif.), governor of New Mexico (1869-71). He was also U.S. minister to Venezuela (1871-74).

Pilet-Golaz

Pili

Pilet-Golaz, Marcel (Édouard Ernest), original surname (before marriage) Pilet (b. Dec. 31, 1889, Cossonay, Switzerland - d. April 11, 1958, Paris, France), president (1934, 1940) and foreign minister (1940-45) of Switzerland. He was also minister of interior (1929) and posts and railways (1930-40).

Pilgrim, (Brian) Michael (b. Jan. 3, 1947, Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia), interim prime minister of Saint Lucia (1982). He was also minister of development, planning, and industry (1980-81).

Pili, Mauro (b. Oct. 16, 1966, Carbonia, Sardegna, Italy), president of Sardegna (1999, 2001-03).

Pilip, Ivan (b. Aug. 4, 1963, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), finance minister of the Czech Republic (1997-98). He was also minister of education, youth, and sports (1994-97) and acting chairman of the Freedom Union-Democratic Union (2002-03).

P.S.S. Pillai

Pillai, P.S. Sreedharan (b. 1953, Venmony panchayat [now in Alappuzha district], Travancore-Cochin [now Kerala], India), governor of Mizoram (2019-21) and Goa (2021- ).

Pillai, Pattom (A.) Thanu (b. July 15, 1885, Trivandrum [now Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala], India - d. July 27, 1970, Trivandrum), prime minister of Travancore (1948), chief minister of Travancore-Cochin (1954-55) and Kerala (1960-62), and governor of Punjab (1962-64) and Andhra Pradesh (1964-68).

R. Pillai

A. Pillay

Pillai, Ranj (b. January 1974), premier of Yukon (2023- ).

Pillar, Sir William (Thomas) (b. Feb. 24, 1924 - d. March 18, 1999), lieutenant governor of Jersey (1985-90); knighted 1980.

Pillay, Ariranga (Govindasamy) (b. June 14, 1945, Port Louis, Mauritius), acting president of Mauritius (2002). He was chief justice in 1996-2007.

Pillay, J(oseph) Y(uvaraj Manuel) (b. March 30, 1934, Klang, Selangor, Federated Malay States [now in Malaysia]), acting president of Singapore (2017). He was also high commissioner to the United Kingdom (1996-99).

Pillay, Navanethem, byname Navi Pillay (b. Sept. 23, 1941, Durban, South Africa), United Nations high commissioner for human rights (2008-14). She was also president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1999-2003).

Pillay, Patrick (Georges), foreign minister of Seychelles (2005-09). He was also minister of education and culture (1993-98), culture and sports (1998-2000), industry and international business (2000-01), and health (2001-05), high commissioner to the United Kingdom (2010-13), a presidential candidate (2015), and speaker of parliament (2016-18).

Pillen

Pillen, Jim, byname of James D. Pillen (b. Dec. 31, 1955, Columbus, Neb.), governor of Nebraska (2023- ).

Piller, Jan (b. July 4, 1922, Plzen, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic] - d. Oct. 20, 1995, Prague, Czech Republic), a deputy premier of Czechoslovakia (1962-65). He was also first secretary of the Communist Party committee of Stredoceský kraj (1968-69) and head of the Central Council of the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (1970-71).

Pillersdorf, Franz (Xaver) Freiherr von (baron of) (b. March 1, 1786, Vienna, Austria - d. Feb. 22, 1862, Vienna), interior minister (1848) and acting prime minister (1848) of Austria.

Pilling, Sir (Henry) Guy (b. 1886, East Dereham, Norfolk, England - d. June 13, 1953, Nairobi, Kenya), governor of Saint Helena (1938-41) and resident of Zanzibar (1941-46); knighted 1941.

Pilloton, Éric (Henri) (b. March 5, 1964, Paris, France), administrator-superior of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2007-08). He was also prefect of Mayenne département (2009-12).

Pillsbury, John S(argent) (b. July 29, 1828, Sutton, N.H. - d. Oct. 10, 1901, Minneapolis, Minn.), governor of Minnesota (1876-82).

Pilný, Ivan (b. July 6, 1944, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), finance minister of the Czech Republic (2017).

Pilsudski, Jan, h. Pilsudski (b. Jan. 15, 1876, Vilna, Russia [now Vilnius, Lithuania] - d. Dec. 21, 1950, Penley, Wales), finance minister of Poland (1931-32); brother of Józef Pilsudski.

Józef Pilsudski

Pilsudski, Józef (Klemens), h. Pilsudski (b. Dec. 5, 1867, Zulów, Russia [now Zalavas, Lithuania] - d. May 12, 1935, Warsaw, Poland), Polish statesman. Arrested on a false charge of plotting the assassination of Emperor Aleksandr III, he was banished to eastern Siberia in 1887-92; after his return, he joined the Polish Socialist Party and edited an underground newspaper. He was again arrested in 1900 but feigned insanity to secure his transfer to a military hospital, from which he escaped in 1901. In World War I, Germany and Austria-Hungary proclaimed the independence of Poland, and he was appointed head of the military department of the newly created Polish Council of State. But he refused to comply with German demands that Polish units should swear "fidelity in arms with the German and Austrian forces," and was arrested in July 1917. Released after the German collapse, he arrived in Warsaw on Nov. 10, 1918, and four days later was head of state and commander in chief of the Polish army. In the Russo-Polish war of 1919-20, he led the Polish forces far to the east into historic Polish lands. A counteroffensive by the Red Army forced the Poles to retreat, but Pilsudski, made marshal of Poland on March 19, 1920, won the culminating battle in August that brought victory to Poland. He remained head of state until the adoption of a new constitution and a general election in 1922; he refused to stand for the presidency. Becoming disillusioned with the parliamentary system, he led a coup with the aid of the army on May 12, 1926. On May 15 he became defense minister, a post he held until his death. The parliament elected him president on May 31, but he refused the office again. In October he accepted the premiership, which he held until 1928 and again in 1930. Regardless of his official posts he was the major influence behind the scenes, controlling foreign affairs in particular.

Pimen I, secular name Sergey (Mikhailovich) Izvekov (b. July 23 [July 10, O.S.], 1910, Kobylino, Kaluga province, Russia - d. May 3, 1990, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Locum Tenens (1970-71) and patriarch (1971-90) of Moscow and All Russia. He was also bishop of Balta (1957) and Dmitrov (1957-60), archbishop of Dmitrov (1960-61) and Tula (1961), and metropolitan of Leningrad (1961-63) and Krutitsy (1963-71).

Pimentel, António de Serpa (b. Nov. 20, 1825, Coimbra, Portugal - d. March 2, 1900, Lisbon, Portugal), prime minister of Portugal (1890). He was also minister of public works, commerce, and industry (1859-60), war (1860, 1890), finance (1872-77, 1879), foreign affairs (1881-83), and interior (1890).

Pimentel, Antonio Gomes (b. 1839 - d. Jan. 27, 1917, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), federal interventor in Amazonas (1891).

Pimentel, Aquilino (Quilinging), also called Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., byname Nene Pimentel (b. Dec. 11, 1933, Claveria, Misamis [now in Misamis Oriental], Philippines - d. Oct. 20, 2019, Manila, Philippines), Philippine politician. He was mayor of Cagayan de Oro (1980-84), minister of local government (1986), a vice presidential candidate (1992), and president of the Senate (2000-01).

Pimentel, Aquilino Martin (de la Llana), also called Aquilino Pimentel III, byname Koko Pimentel (b. Jan. 20, 1964, Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, Philippines), Philippine politician; son of Aquilino Pimentel. He was president of the Senate (2016-18).

Pimentel (Velasco), Emilio (b. 1857, Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico - d. March 12, 1926, Veracruz, Mexico), governor of Oaxaca (1902-11); brother of Rafael Pimentel.

Pimentel, Esperidião Eloy de Barros (b. Nov. 18, 1823, Alagoas, Brazil - d. March 15, 1906, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Santa Catarina (acting, 1859), Rio Grande do Sul (1863-64), Alagoas (1865-66), Rio de Janeiro (1866-68), and Bahia (1884-85); son-in-law of João Capistrano Bandeira de Mello.

Pimentel, Fernando Damata (b. March 31, 1951, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil), governor of Minas Gerais (2015-19). He was also mayor of Belo Horizonte (2003-09) and Brazilian minister of development, industry, and foreign trade (2011-14).

Pimentel, Francisco de Meneses (b. 1887, Santa Quitéria, Ceará, Brazil - d. 1973, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), governor of Ceará (1935-45) and justice and interior minister of Brazil (1955-56).

Pimentel, Francisco de Paula Prestes (b. April 30, 1841, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. June 14, 1898, Belo Horizonte, Brazil), president of Sergipe (1888-89).

Pimentel, Graciliano Aristides do Prado (b. April 20, 1840, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil - d. March 10, 1899, Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais, Brazil), president of Alagoas (1868), Maranhão (1878), and Minas Gerais (1880).

Pimentel, João José da Costa (b. 1802, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Aug. 25, 1862), president of Mato Grosso (1849-51).

Pimentel, Joaquim Galdino (b. April 22, 1849 - d. Oct. 26, 1905, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Mato Grosso (1885-86) and Rio Grande do Sul (1888-89).

Pimentel, Paulo Cruz (b. Aug. 7, 1928, Avaré, São Paulo, Brazil), governor of Paraná (1966-71).

Pimentel (Velasco), Rafael (b. 1855, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico - d. July 31, 1929, Mexico City, Mexico), governor of Chihuahua (1892) and Chiapas (1899-1905).

Pimentel, Sancho de Barros (b. Oct. 16, 1849, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil - d. Feb. 20, 1924, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Piauí (1878), Paraná (1881-82), and Ceará (1882).

Pinagé, João Valentino Dantas (b. April 4, 1808, Acari, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil - d. April 16, 1863, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil), acting president of Rio Grande do Norte (1838).

Pinard, (Pierre) Ernest (b. Oct. 10, 1822, Autun, Saône-et-Loire, France - d. Sept. 12, 1909, Bourg-en-Bresse, Ain, France), interior minister of France (1867-68).

Pinard, Lionel Achille (b. April 17, 1912, Roseau, Dominica - d. 1998), administrator of Grenada (1962-64).

Piñate, (Germán) Eduardo (b. Sept. 6, 1956, San Fernando de Apure, Apure, Venezuela), governor of Apure (2021-24). He has also been Venezuelan minister of labour (2018-21, 2024- ) and education (2021).

Pinaud, Luiz Miguel (b. March 14, 1889, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Aug. 2, 1973, Niterói), acting governor of Rio de Janeiro (1963).

Pinay

Pinay, Antoine (b. Dec. 30, 1891, Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise, Rhône, France - d. Dec. 13, 1994, Saint-Chamond, Loire, France), French politician. He earned the Croix de Guerre for heroism during World War I and began his career in politics in 1929, when he was elected mayor of Saint-Chamond, a position he held until he retired in 1977. He was a deputy in 1936-38 and a senator in 1938-40. He supported Marshal Philippe Pétain in 1940 but later joined the resistance. In 1946 he was again elected to the National Assembly, where he served as leader of the Independents in 1956-58. He was secretary of state for economic affairs (1948-49) and minister of public works, transportation, and tourism (1950-52) before becoming premier and finance minister (1952-53), in which post he introduced successful austerity measures and issued the "emprunt Pinay," a bond that allowed citizens to convert gold and cash hidden during the war into legal, tax-exempt savings. He adamantly pursued an anti-inflationary policy, a stance that was unpopular among economists of his day. He resigned after losing his parliamentary majority, but returned to the cabinet as foreign minister in 1955-56. In 1958 he helped bring Charles de Gaulle back to power and was given the finance portfolio again. He pursued a policy of limiting inflation even if it meant curtailing industrial expansion. He introduced a new franc, deflating the standard franc by removing the last two zeroes, a monumental deed for which he earned the moniker "the man who saved the franc." After a disagreement with de Gaulle, he left the government in 1960. He was president of regional economic development for Rhône-Alpes in 1964-73 and was then named France's first ombudsman (1973-74). He rebuffed overtures to run for president in 1965 and 1969.

Pinc, Frantisek (b. May 23, 1944, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), interior minister of Czechoslovakia (1989). He was also minister of fuel and power (1989-90).

Pinchback, P(inckney) B(enton) S(tewart) (b. May 10, 1837, near Macon, Ga. - d. Dec. 21, 1921, Washington, D.C.), acting governor of Louisiana (1872-73).

Pinchot, Gifford (b. Aug. 11, 1865, Simsbury, Conn. - d. Oct. 4, 1946, New York City), U.S. forester (1898-1910) and governor of Pennsylvania (1923-27, 1931-35).

Pinckney, Charles (b. Oct. 26, 1757, Charles Town [now Charleston], South Carolina - d. Oct. 29, 1824, Charleston), governor of South Carolina (1789-92, 1796-98, 1806-08). He was also U.S. minister to Spain (1802-04).

C.C. Pinckney

Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth (b. Feb. 25, 1746, Charles Town [now Charleston], South Carolina [now in U.S.] - d. Aug. 16, 1825, Charleston), U.S. statesman. Becoming a member of the South Carolina Assembly in 1769, he served in the first South Carolina Provincial Congress in 1775, on the Council of Safety, as chairman of the committee that drafted the plan of government for the colony, and later in both houses of the state legislature. During the war of independence he was an aide to Gen. George Washington (1777) at Brandywine and Germantown, Pa., and later commanded a regiment at Savannah, Ga.; he was taken prisoner in 1780 at the fall of Charles Town, exchanged in 1782, and promoted to brigadier general in 1783. In the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he served along with his cousin Charles Pinckney (1757-1824), he opposed religious tests for office, suggested 1808 as the date to end the slave trade, and favoured Senate ratification of treaties as a check on the executive. He accepted appointment as minister to France in 1796 but was refused recognition by the French Directory and left France for Amsterdam in 1797. He returned to Paris later that year on a mission (with John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry) to head off hostilities between the two countries. The mission failed when one of the group of French negotiators (later referred to in the correspondence as "X, Y, and Z"; hence, "XYZ affair") suggested that the U.S. representatives offer a gift and Pinckney is said to have replied, "No! No! Not a sixpence!" He returned home and was made a major general. In 1798, when war seemed likely, he accepted command of all forces in the South, but the crisis passed. He was an unsuccessful Federalist candidate for vice president in 1800 and for president in 1804 and 1808.

T. Pinckney

Pinckney, Thomas (b. Oct. 23, 1750, Charles Town [now Charleston], South Carolina [now in U.S.] - d. Nov. 2, 1828, Charleston), U.S. politician; brother of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. During the war of independence, he participated in the Florida campaign (1778) and the siege of Savannah (1779) and was captured at Camden (1780). After the war he turned to politics. As governor of South Carolina (1787-89), he helped restore order to the war-torn state and improved the lot of the Loyalists. He was president of the state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788. As U.S. minister to Great Britain (1792-96) he failed to resolve Anglo-American differences, but as envoy extraordinary to Spain in 1795, he negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo, or Pinckney's Treaty (Oct. 27, 1795), by which the United States was granted navigation of the Mississippi River through Spanish territory for three years with a provision for renewal, and the boundary with Spanish Florida was fixed at the 31st parallel. He was the Federalist candidate for vice president in 1796 but was defeated when some Federalist electors voted against him. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1797-1801 and a major general in the War of 1812.

Pind, Søren (b. Nov. 20, 1969, Herning, Denmark), justice minister of Denmark (2015-16). He was also minister of development assistance (2010-11), refugees, immigrants, and integration (2011), and education and research (2016-18).

Pinda

Pinda, Mizengo (Kayanza Peter) (b. Aug. 12, 1948, Rukwa region, Tanganyika [now in Tanzania]), prime minister of Tanzania (2008-15). He was also minister of state for regional administration and local government (2006-08).

Pindall, X(enophon) O(verton) (b. Aug. 21, 1873, near Middle Grove, Mo. - d. [fall from railroad embankment] Jan. 2, 1935, Little Rock, Ark.), acting governor of Arkansas (1907-09).

Pindaré, Antonio Pedro da Costa Ferreira, barão de (b. Dec. 26, 1778, Alcântara, Maranhão, Brazil - d. July 18, 1860, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Maranhão (1835-37). He was made baron in 1854.

L.O. Pindling

Pindling, Sir Lynden O(scar) (b. March 22, 1930, Nassau, Bahamas - d. Aug. 26, 2000, Nassau), premier (1967-69) and prime minister (1969-92) of The Bahamas. He helped found the Progressive Liberal Party in 1953 as a grassroots opposition to the mostly white, colonial-run United Bahamian Party. He became party treasurer and was chosen parliamentary leader soon after being elected to parliament in the 1956 elections. He became his party's first premier after the 1967 elections and formed an all-black government. Pindling, known as "Black Moses," headed the government for 25 years, winning the elections of 1968, 1972, 1977, 1982, and 1987 and leading The Bahamas to independence from Britain in 1973. He was knighted in 1983. His policies helped create a large black middle class and widened educational opportunities. But The Bahamas also became a major drug trafficking haven in the late 1970s and 1980s, largely as the result of government inaction. A series of scandals in which Pindling was alleged to have covered for drug lords in the 1980s and taken bribes as chairman of the state-run Hotel Corporation clouded the country's relations with the United States and contributed to Pindling's defeat in the 1992 elections by Hubert Ingraham. In January 1997 a government commission investigating the Hotel Corporation condemned Pindling for accepting more than $750,000 in loans from Bahamas developers. The commission did not recommend further action. After his party won only 6 of the 40 seats in the National Assembly in the March 1997 elections, he agreed to step down to "give the party a new face."

M. Pindling

Pindling, Dame Marguerite (Matilda), née McKenzie (b. June 26, 1932, Long Bay Cays, South Andros, Bahamas), governor-general of The Bahamas (2014-19); widow of Sir Lynden O. Pindling; knighted 2006.

Pine, Sir Benjamin Chilley Campbell (b. 1809, London, England - d. Feb. 25, 1891, London), lieutenant governor of Natal (1850-55, 1873-75) and Saint Christopher (1860-66) and governor of the Gold Coast (1857-58) and the Leeward Islands (1869-73); knighted 1856. He was appointed governor of Western Australia in 1868 but never took office.

Pineau

Pineau, Christian (Paul) (b. Oct. 14, 1904, Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France - d. April 5, 1995, Paris, France), French politician. During World War II he created the first resistance network to operate in the occupied zone of France. In 1942 he worked with Charles de Gaulle in London, returning to France the following year. He was arrested in Lyon and in December 1943 deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Liberated in April 1945, he became minister of supply (May-November 1945) under de Gaulle. He was a Socialist deputy from 1946 to 1958 and served as minister of public works and transports (1947-48, 1948-50) and tourism (1948-50). In his role as foreign minister (1956-58) he signed the Treaty of Rome (1957) establishing the European Economic Community.

Pineda (Ugarte), (José) Laureano (b. July 4, 1802 - d. Sept. 17, 1853), director of Nicaragua (1851, 1851-53); son of Pedro Benito Pineda.

Pineda, Pedro Benito (d. [assassinated] 1827), acting chief in rebellion of Nicaragua (1826-27).

Pineda Milla, Ricardo (Arturo) (b. June 1, 1928 - d. May 11, 2014, Tegucigalpa, Honduras), foreign minister of Honduras (1974-75). He was also ambassador to the United Kingdom (1976-82) and Mexico (1983-86).

Pinedo (Obarrio), Federico (b. Dec. 29, 1955, Buenos Aires, Argentina), provisional president of the Senate (2015-19) and acting president (2015) of Argentina; son of Federico Pinedo (Saavedra).

Pinedo (Rubio), Federico (b. Aug. 19, 1855, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. Jan. 1, 1929, Buenos Aires), justice and education minister of Argentina (1906-07). He was also mayor of Buenos Aires (1893-94).

Pinedo (Saavedra), Federico (b. April 22, 1895, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. Sept. 10, 1971, Buenos Aires), finance minister (1933-35, 1940-41) and economy minister (1962) of Argentina; son of Federico Pinedo (Rubio).

Pinedo Vidal, Miguel (b. Feb. 15, 1942, Riohacha, La Guajira, Colombia), Colombian politician. He was president of the Chamber of Representatives (1985-86) and the Senate (1999-2000).

Pinell Centellas, Armando (b. 1918), finance minister of Bolivia (1973). He was also president of the Central Bank (1952-54) and ambassador to Argentina (1954-57?).

Piñera (Echenique), José (Manuel) (b. Oct. 6, 1948), Chilean politician. He was minister of labour and social security (1978-80) and mining (1980-81) and a presidential candidate (1993).

S. Piñera

Piñera (Echenique), (Miguel Juan) Sebastián (b. Dec. 1, 1949, Santiago, Chile - d. [helicopter crash] Feb. 6, 2024, Lago Ranco, Los Ríos, Chile), president of Chile (2010-14, 2018-22); brother of José Piñera. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2005-06.

Piñero, Norberto (b. June 6, 1858, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. July 1, 1938, Buenos Aires), federal interventor in San Luis (1896-97) and finance minister of Argentina (1906, 1913). He was also minister to Chile (1897-98).

Piñerúa Ordaz, Luis (María) (b. 1921, Güiria, Sucre, Venezuela - d. Feb. 8, 2001), governor of Monagas (1960-61) and interior minister of Venezuela (1974-75, 1992-93). He was a presidential candidate in 1978.

Pines-Paz, Ophir (b. July 11, 1961, Rishon LeZion, Israel), interior minister of Israel (2005). He was also minister of science, culture, and sport (2006).

Pinet-Laprade, (Jean Marie) Émile (b. July 13, 1822, Mirepoix, Ariège, France - d. Aug. 17, 1869, Saint-Louis, Senegal), governor of Senegal (1863, 1865-69).

Ping, Jean (b. Nov. 24, 1942, Omboué, Gabon), foreign minister of Gabon (1994, 1999-2008), president of the UN General Assembly (2004-05), and chairman of the Commission of the African Union (2008-12). He was also minister of information, posts and telecommunications, tourism and recreation, and reform of the parastatal sector (1990), mines, petroleum, energy, and water resources (1990-91, 1992-94), and planning, environment, and tourism (1997-99) and a presidential candidate (2016).

Pingree, Hazen S(tuart) (b. Aug. 30, 1840, near Denmark, Maine - d. June 18, 1901, London, England), mayor of Detroit (1890-97) and governor of Michigan (1897-1901).

Pingree, Samuel E(verett) (b. Aug. 2, 1832, Salisbury, N.H. - d. June 1, 1922, Hartford, Vt.), governor of Vermont (1884-86).

Pinheiro, Edward Cattete (b. Feb. 27, 1912, Monte Alegre, Pará, Brazil - d. Jan. 13, 1992, Brasília, Brazil), acting governor of Pará (1956). He was also Brazilian minister of health (1961).

Pinheiro, Ênio dos Santos (b. May 25, 1915 - d. 1997), governor of Guaporé/Rondônia (1953-54, 1961-62).

Pinheiro, Ibsen Valls (b. July 5, 1935, São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - d. Jan. 24, 2020, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul), Brazilian politician. He was president of the Chamber of Deputies (1991-93).

J. Pinheiro

Pinheiro, João de Deus (Rogado Salvador) (b. July 11, 1945, Lisbon, Portugal), foreign minister of Portugal (1987-92). Earlier he was state secretary for education and school administration (1981-82), consultant on science policy at UNESCO and OECD and vice chairman of the National Board for Scientific and Technological Research (1983-84), and minister of education and culture (1984-86). Later he was EU commissioner for relations with the European Parliament, culture and audiovisual policy (1993-95) and external relations with ACP countries and South Africa (1995-99).

Pinheiro, Joaquim (António) Franco, acting governor-general of Angola (1974).

Pinheiro, Luiz Antonio Fernandes (b. Nov. 1, 1835, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Oct. 20, 1905, Rio de Janeiro), president of Espírito Santo (1868-69).

Pinheiro, Miguel Ximenes (Gomes) Rodrigues Sandoval de Castro e Viegas, visconde de (b. Feb. 25, 1806, Montevideo, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata [now in Uruguay] - d. May 22, 1884, Lisbon, Portugal), governor-general of Angola (1853-54).

Pinheiro, Pedro de Alcantara (d. June 1870, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil), acting president of Rio Grande do Norte (1869).

Pinheiro, Severino Marques de Queiroz (d. Dec. 11, 1945), acting governor of Pernambuco (1921-22).

Pinho, João Ferreira de Araujo (b. June 19, 1851, Santo Amaro, Bahia, Brazil - d. July 23, 1917, Salvador, Bahia), president of Sergipe (1876-78) and governor of Bahia (1908-11).

Piniés (Rubio), Jaime de (b. Nov. 18, 1917, Madrid, Spain - d. Dec. 29, 2003, Madrid), president of the UN General Assembly (1985-86). He was Spain's permanent representative to the United Nations (1968-72, 1973-85) and ambassador to the United Kingdom (1972-73).

Pinilla (Vargas), Claudio (b. Oct. 14, 1859, La Paz, Bolivia - d. Oct. 30, 1938, La Paz), foreign minister (1903-08, 1911-12) and interior minister (1913-14) of Bolivia. He was also minister to Chile (1899-1901, 1915-20).

Pinilla (Fábrega), José M(anuel) (b. March 28, 1915, Panama City, Panama - d. Aug. 10, 1979, Panama City), chairman of the Provisional Junta of Panama (1968-69).

Pinkett, Francis Frederick (b. 1838 - d. May 28, 1887, Freetown, Sierra Leone), acting governor of Sierra Leone (1881, 1884-85). He was chief justice (1881-87).

Pinkham, Lucius E(ugene) (b. Sept. 19, 1850, Chicopee Falls, Mass. - d. Nov. 2, 1922, San Francisco, Calif.), governor of Hawaii (1913-18).

Pinkney, William (b. March 17, 1764, Annapolis, Maryland - d. Feb. 25, 1822, Washington, D.C.), mayor of Annapolis (1795-1800) and U.S. attorney general (1811-14). He was also minister to the United Kingdom (1807-11) and Russia (1816-18).

Pinkowski

Pinkowski, Józef (b. April 17, 1929, Siedlce, Poland - d. Nov. 11, 2000), prime minister of Poland (1980-81). He was also chairman of the Presidium of the People's Council of Warszawa województwo (1965-71).

Pinney, Charles Robert (b. Nov. 18, 1883, Benalla, Victoria - d. Nov. 18, 1945, Sydney, N.S.W.), administrator of Norfolk Island (1932-37); son-in-law of Sir Hubert Murray.

Pino Suárez, José María (b. Sept. 8, 1869, Tenosique, Tabasco, Mexico - d. [assassinated] Feb. 22, 1913, Mexico City, Mexico), governor of Yucatán (1911) and vice president of Mexico (1911-13). He was also president of the Senate (1911-12) and education minister (1912-13).

Pinochet

Pinochet Ugarte, Augusto (José Ramón) (b. Nov. 25, 1915, Valparaíso, Chile - d. Dec. 10, 2006, Santiago, Chile), president of Chile (1974-90); son-in-law of Osvaldo Hiriart Corvalán. He graduated from the military academy in Santiago in 1936 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1941, captain in 1946, lieutenant general in 1959, colonel in 1966, brigadier general in 1969, and major general in 1971. Though appointed army commander in chief by Pres. Salvador Allende on Aug. 23, 1973, he planned and led the military coup in which Allende died (Sept. 11, 1973). He was named chairman of the victorious junta and immediately moved to crush Chile's liberal opposition, arresting approximately 130,000 individuals in a three-year period. Declaring himself president in 1974, he relegated the rest of the junta to an advisory role. He instituted free-market policies and determined to extirpate leftism in Chile; a government report later indicated that more than 3,000 were killed and nearly 28,000 tortured by his regime. Under the terms of a new constitution that went into effect in March 1981, a plebiscite was held on Oct. 5, 1988, resulting in a "no" vote of 55% to a "yes" vote of 43% for his continuation as president. He remained in office until, after free elections, a new president was installed in 1990. He continued as commander-in-chief of the army, as permitted by the constitution written by his regime. He retired from the army on March 10, 1998, and the following day was sworn in as senator for life - another guarantee he reserved for himself in the constitution. On Oct. 16, 1998, in response to a warrant by a Spanish judge, he was arrested at a London hospital where he was recovering from back surgery. After he was ruled unfit to stand trial, he could finally leave Britain on March 2, 2000. Although he was stripped of his immunity in Chile and charged with various crimes, he was never brought to trial.

Pinotti, Roberta (b. May 20, 1961, Genoa, Italy), defense minister of Italy (2014-18).

Pinson, Boris (Davidovich) (b. 1892, Vitebsk, Russia [now in Belarus] - d. [executed] Nov. 23, 1936), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Tatar A.S.S.R. (1923-24). He was also chairman of the Military-Revolutionary Committee (1917) and executive secretary of the party committee (1921) of Vitebsk province.

Pintassilgo

Pintassilgo, Maria de Lurdes (Ruivo da Silva Matos), Lurdes also spelled Lourdes, Pintassilgo also spelled Pintasilgo (b. Jan. 10, 1930, Abrantes, Portugal - d. July 10, 2004, Lisbon, Portugal), prime minister of Portugal (1979-80). She was minister of social affairs (1974-75) in provisional governments after the revolution which ended more than 30 years of dictatorship, and also served as ambassador to UNESCO (1975-79). She ran unsuccessfully for president in 1986 for the Socialist Party and was a member of the European Parliament in 1987-89.

A. Pintat

Pintat Santolària, Albert (b. June 23, 1943), foreign minister (1997-2001) and head of government (2005-09) of Andorra. His first political post was mayor of Sant Julià de Lòria (1982-83). He also was ambassador, in 1995-97 to Benelux and the EU and in 2001-04 to Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Pintat-Solans, Josep (b. Jan. 21, 1925, Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra - d. Oct. 20, 2007, Barcelona, Spain), head of government of Andorra (1984-90).

Pintér

Pintér, Sándor (b. July 3, 1948, Budapest, Hungary), interior minister (1998-2002, 2010- ) and a deputy prime minister (2018-22) of Hungary. He worked his way up to national police chief in 1991, but was sacked in November 1996 by the Socialist government for his failure to curb mostly gangland turf war-related violent crime. He became one of the most reliable allies of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the only cabinet member serving in all his governments.

Pinto, Adrião Acácio da Silveira (b. 17... - d. 1868), governor of Macau (1837-43) and governor-general of Angola (1848-51).

Pinto (Garmendia), Aníbal (b. March 15, 1825, Santiago, Chile - d. June 9, 1884, Valparaíso, Chile), president of Chile (1876-81); son of Francisco Antonio Pinto; brother-in-law of Manuel Bulnes. He was also intendant of Concepción (1862-70) and minister of war and navy (1871-75).

Pinto, Antonio da Costa (b. Nov. 25, 1802, Paracatu, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. March 20, 1880, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Minas Gerais (1836-37), Pernambuco (1848), and Bahia (1860-61).

Pinto, Antonio Pereira (b. March 20, 1819, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. June 5, 1880, Rio de Janeiro), president of Espírito Santo (1848) and Santa Catarina (1849); grandson of José Pereira Pinto.

Pinto, Carlos de Cerqueira (b. Aug. 23, 1823, Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil - d. March 30, 1897, Feira de Santana, Bahia), acting president of Espírito Santo (1867) and Santa Catarina (1868-69).

Pinto, Carlos Henrique da Silva Maia (b. June 5, 1866, Porto, Portugal - d. Nov. 2, 1932, Foz do Douro, Porto), prime minister and interior minister of Portugal (1921). He was also minister of colonies (1921) and war (acting, 1921).

Pinto, Eduardo de Andrade (b. June 23, 1834, Vila Real da Praia Grande [now Niterói], Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Jan. 10, 1895), war minister of Brazil (1879). He was also navy minister (1878).

E.T. Pinto

Pinto, Elsa (Maria Neto d'Alva) Teixeira (de Barros), defense minister (2008-10) and foreign minister (2018-20) of São Tomé and Príncipe. She was also justice minister (2004-06, 2010), a presidential candidate (2011), and attorney general (2013).

Pinto (y Díaz de la Puente), Francisco Antonio (b. July 23, 1785, Santiago, Chile - d. July 18, 1858, Santiago), president of Chile (1827-29 [acting], 1829). He was also intendant of Coquimbo (1823-24, 1825-26), minister of foreign affairs and interior (1824-25) and war (provisional, 1824-25), and president of the Chamber of Deputies (1843-45) and the Senate (1847, 1847-49).

Pinto (Blanco), Gilberto (Amílcar) (b. Jan. 18, 1963), governor of Sucre (2021- ).

Pinto, João José de Andrade (b. June 21, 1825, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Sept. 22, 1898, Rio de Janeiro), acting president of Santa Catarina (1861).

Pinto, João Pereira de Castro (b. Nov. 3, 1863, Mamanguape, Paraíba, Brazil - d. July 11, 1944, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Paraíba (1912-15).

Pinto, José Antonio (b. 1848, Cartago, Colombia - d. April 1928, Cartago), Colombian politician. He was governor of Cauca (1896-98, 1900-01, 1902) and Valle del Cauca (1914-15) and treasury minister (1901).

Pinto, José de Magalhães (b. July 28, 1909, Santo Antônio do Monte, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. March 6, 1996), governor of Minas Gerais (1961-66) and foreign minister of Brazil (1967-69). He was also president of the Senate (1975-77).

Pinto, José Pereira (b. Lagos, Portugal - d. Jan. 30, 1794, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), governor of Santa Catarina (1786-91).

Pinto, Liberato Damião Ribeiro (b. Sept. 29, 1880, Lisbon, Portugal - d. Sept. 4, 1949, Lisbon), prime minister and interior minister of Portugal (1920-21). He was also minister of navy (1921) and finance (1921).

Pinto, Manoel Cerqueira (d. June 18, 1878, Lisbon, Portugal), acting president of Maranhão (1868, 1868).

Pinto, Manoel da Costa (b. Aug. 27, 1780, Lisbon, Portugal - d. March 3, 1852, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Maranhão (1828-29).

Pinto, Olavo Bilac Pereira (b. Feb. 8, 1908, Santa Rita do Sapucaí, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. April 18, 1985, Brasília, Brazil), Brazilian politician. He was president of the Chamber of Deputies (1965-66) and ambassador to France (1967-70).

Pinto, Olegário Herculano da Silveira (b. March 16, 1857, Goiás, Goiás, Brazil - d. Aug. 12, 1929), president of Goiás (1913-14).

O. Pinto

Pinto, Ottomar de Sousa (b. Jan. 19, 1930, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil - d. Dec. 11, 2007, Brasília, Brazil), governor of Roraima (1979-83, 1991-95, 2004-07). He was also mayor of Boa Vista (1997-2001).

Pinto, Ruperto Clodoaldo (b. 1927, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil - d. March 1997), governor of Fernando de Noronha (1971-75).

Pinto, Sebastião Barreto Pereira (b. 1775, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - d. Dec. 22, 1841, Porto Alegre), president of Minas Gerais (1840-41).

Pinto Agüero, Guillermo (b. Jan. 28, 1869, Chillán, Chile - d. October 1911, Bolivia), justice (and education) minister of Chile (1905-06); son of José Manuel Pinto Arias. He was also minister to Ecuador, Colombia, and Central America (1907-09), Panama (1909), and Bolivia (1911).

Pinto Arias, José Manuel (b. April 1818, Santiago, Chile - d. Nov. 12, 1874, Santiago), war and marine minister of Chile (1865-66).

Pinto Concha, Arístides (b. Feb. 7, 1859, Talca, Chile - d. June 5, 1924, Arica, Chile), war and marine minister of Chile (1910-11). He was also inspector-general of the army (1921-22).

Pinto Cruz, Francisco Antonio (b. Aug. 15, 1858, Concepción, Chile - d. Aug. 29, 1905, Berlin, Germany), war and marine minister of Chile (1892-93); son of Aníbal Pinto. He was also minister of justice and education (1893-94) and minister to Germany (1894-98, 1902-05).

Pinto Hernández, Miguel Ángel (b. Nov. 17, 1961, Bucaramanga, Colombia), Colombian politician. He was president of the Chamber of Representatives (2016-17) and acting president of the Senate (2023).

Pinto Lima, Francisco Xavier Pinto de Lima, barão de (b. Feb. 20, 1832, São Salvador da Bahia [now Salvador], Bahia, Brazil - d. Aug. 9, 1901, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Rio Grande do Sul (1870-71), São Paulo (1872), and Rio de Janeiro (1874-78). He was also Brazilian navy minister (1864-65). He was made baron in 1888.

Pinto Rubianes, Pedro (Alfredo) (b. Jan. 31, 1931, Quito, Ecuador - d. April 18, 2022, Quito), finance minister (1982-84) and vice president (2000-03) of Ecuador.

Pinxten, Karel (Alfons Hugo Arnold Maria) (b. July 19, 1952, Overpelt [now part of Pelt], Limburg, Belgium), defense minister of Belgium (1994-95). He was also minister of agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises (1995-99).

Pînzari, Alexandru (b. Jan. 3, 1973, Causeni, Moldavian S.S.R.), defense minister of Moldova (2020-21).

Pinzón (Flórez), Cerbeleón (b. Sept. 25, 1813, Vélez, New Granada [now in Colombia] - d. Feb. 24, 1870, Bogotá, Colombia), foreign minister (1849, 1854-55), acting war minister (1854, 1855-56), and interior minister (1855-56) of New Granada.

Pinzón (Bueno), Juan Carlos (b. Dec. 22, 1971, Bogotá, Colombia), defense minister of Colombia (2011-15). He was also ambassador to the United States (2015-17, 2021-22).

Pinzón (Romero), Próspero (b. Jan. 1, 1856, Hato Viejo [now Villapinzón], Cundinamarca, New Granada [now Colombia] - d. Jan. 1, 1901, Bogotá, Colombia), war minister of Colombia (1900). He was also governor of Boyacá (1889-92) and Cundinamarca (1895-96).

Pioda, Giovanni Battista (b. Dec. 13, 1786, Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland - d. June 29, 1845, Lugano, Ticino), member of the Council of State of Ticino (1830-39).

Pioda, Giovanni Battista (b. Oct. 4, 1808, Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland - d. Nov. 3, 1882, Rome, Italy), interior minister of Switzerland (1857-63); son of the above. He was also a member of the Council of State of Ticino (1842-47), president of the National Council (1853-54), and minister to Italy (1864-82).

Pioda, Giovanni Battista (b. April 24, 1850, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland - d. Nov. 30, 1914, Anzio, Lazio, Italy), Swiss diplomat; son of the above. He was minister to the United States (1894-1902) and Italy (1902-14).

Piotrowska, Teresa (b. Feb. 5, 1955, Tczew, Poland), interior minister of Poland (2014-15).

Pipe-Wolferstan, Littleton Edward (b. Aug. 8, 1866 - d. March 7, 1957, Forwood, Minchinhampton, England), acting British adviser in Kedah (1915-16) and resident councillor of Malacca (1921-22).

Piper, Gustaf Abraham (b. May 15, 1692 - d. March 10, 1761, Viksberg, Stockholm county, Sweden), governor of Österbotten (1746-61).

Piperkov, Ivan (Totev) (b. Nov. 5, 1952), Bulgarian diplomat. He was acting permanent representative to the United Nations (2006-07).

Pipinelis, Panagiotis (b. March 21, 1899, Piraeus, Greece - d. July 19, 1970, Athens, Greece), foreign minister (1950, 1963, 1967-70) and prime minister (1963) of Greece. He was also minister to Hungary (1936-40), Bulgaria (1940-41), and the Soviet Union (1941-42) and minister of commerce (1961-63) and coordination (1967).

Pipite, Marcellino, foreign minister of Vanuatu (2004). He was also minister of the comprehensive reform programme (2004), youth and sports (2006), agriculture (2006-07, 2010-11), education (2011, 2011, 2011-12), ni-Vanuatu business (2012-13), and tourism and commerce (2013-14) and speaker of the parliament (2015). In 2015 he was one of 14 government MPs to be handed jail sentences for corruption; when the president was travelling overseas, Speaker Pipite then used his powers as acting president to pardon himself and the others. On his return the president overturned the pardons, with the Supreme Court ruling them as unconstitutional.

Piqué

Piqué i Camps, Josep (b. Feb. 21, 1955, Vilanova i La Geltrú, Barcelona province, Spain - d. April 6, 2023, Madrid, Spain), foreign minister of Spain (2000-02). He was also minister of industry and energy (1996-2000) and science and technology (2002-03) and chairman of the People's Party of Catalonia (2002-07).

Piquet, Jules Georges (b. Jan. 13, 1839, Chevignat, Ain, France - d. Jan. 18, 1923, Chevignat), resident-general of Cambodia (1886-87), acting governor of Cochinchina (1887), governor of French India (1888-89), and governor-general of French Indochina (1889-91).

Piracha, Ehsan-ul-Haq (d. Feb. 1, 2019), Pakistani politician. He was minister of state for finance, economic affairs, planning, and development (1988-90) and minister of commerce (1993).

Pirapama, Manoel Ignacio Cavalcanti de Lacerda, barão de (b. Sept. 6, 1799, Grajaú, Pernambuco, Brazil - d. March 11, 1882, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Brazilian politician. He was president of the Senate (1854-61). He was made baron in 1861.

Pirasteh, Sayyed Mehdi (b. 1919, Arak, Persia [now Iran]), interior minister of Iran (1963-64). He was also ambassador to Iraq (1964-68) and Belgium (1968-71).

Piratininga, Antonio Joaquim da Rosa, barão de (b. 1821, São Roque, São Paulo, Brazil - d. Dec. 27, 1886, São Roque), acting president of São Paulo (1869). He was made baron in 1872.

Pirc Musar

Pirc Musar, Natasa (b. May 9, 1968, Ljubljana, Slovenia), president of Slovenia (2022- ). She was also information commissioner (2004-14).

Pires, Antonio Olyntho dos Santos (b. Dec. 15, 1860, Serro, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. Feb. 25, 1925, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais), president of Minas Gerais (1889). He was also Brazilian minister of transport (1894-96).

Pires, Feliciano Nunes (b. Dec. 29, 1785, Desterro [now Florianópolis], Santa Catarina, Brazil - d. Sept. 2, 1860, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Santa Catarina (1831-35) and Rio Grande do Sul (1837).

Pires, José Nogueira Valente (b. Dec. 26, 1914 - d. Oct. 15, 2010), governor of Portuguese Timor (1968-72).

Pires, Manuel Ary da Silva (b. Sept. 10, 1900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. July 28, 1983, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil), federal interventor in Mato Grosso (1937).

Pires, Maria Helena Lopes de Jesus, byname Milena Pires (b. June 19, 1966, Dili, Portuguese Timor [now Timor-Leste]), Timor-Leste diplomat; wife of Zacarias da Costa. She was permanent representative to the United Nations (2016-21).

Pires, Mário Lemos (b. June 30, 1930, Lamego, Portugal - d. May 22, 2009, Lisbon, Portugal), governor of Portuguese Timor (1974-75).

P. Pires

Pires, Pedro (Verona Rodrigues) (b. April 29, 1934, Fogo, Cape Verde), prime minister (1975-91), defense minister (1990-91), and president (2001-11) of Cape Verde.

Pires (de Souza), (Francisco) Waldir (b. Oct. 21, 1926, Acajutiba, Bahia, Brazil - d. June 22, 2018, Salvador, Bahia), governor of Bahia (1987-89) and defense minister of Brazil (2006-07). He was also minister of social welfare (1985-86).

Pirie-Gordon, Christopher (Martin), (14th) Laird of Buthlaw (b. Sept. 28, 1911 - d. July 16, 1980), British political agent in the Trucial States (1953-55).

Pirinski

Pirinski, Georgi (Georgiev) (b. Sept. 10, 1948, New York City), deputy prime minister (1990) and foreign minister (1995-96) of Bulgaria. He ran for president with the Together for Bulgaria left-wing coalition in 1996, but the Central Electoral Commission ruled that he did not meet the constitutional requirement that candidates must be Bulgarian citizens by birth. He was speaker of parliament in 2005-09.

Piriz Ballon, Ramiro (b. April 20, 1938, Montevideo, Uruguay - d. Oct. 20, 2000, Tokyo, Japan), Uruguayan diplomat. He was ambassador to Egypt and Jordan (1985-90) and Japan (1999-2000) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1990-95).

Pîrlog

Pîrlog, Vitalie (b. July 28, 1974, Nisporeni, Moldavian S.S.R.), justice minister (2006-09) and acting prime minister (2009) of Moldova. He was also director of the Security and Intelligence Service (2017-18).

Pirmez, Eudore (b. Sept. 14, 1830, Marcinelle, Netherlands [now in Belgium] - d. March 2, 1890, Saint-Gilles [now in Brussels-Capital region], Belgium), interior minister of Belgium (1868-70).

Pirocanac, Milan (S.) (b. Jan. 7, 1837, Jagodina, Serbia - d. March 1, 1897, Belgrade, Serbia), foreign minister (1874-75, 1881-83) and prime minister (1880-83) of Serbia. He was also justice minister (1880-81).

Pironti, Michele (b. Jan. 14, 1814, Misciano, Kingdom of Naples [Italy] - d. Oct. 14, 1885, Torre del Greco [now in Napoli metropolitan city], Italy), justice minister of Italy (1869).

Piros, László (b. May 30, 1917, Újkígyós, Hungary - d. Jan. 13, 2006, Szeged, Hungary), interior minister of Hungary (1954-56). He was also head of the State Security Authority (1953-56).

Pirow, Oswald (b. Aug. 14, 1890, Aberdeen, Cape Colony [now in Eastern Cape, South Africa] - d. Oct. 11, 1959, Pretoria, South Africa), justice minister (1929-33) and defense minister (1933-39) of South Africa.

Piruzyan, Aram (Sergeyevich) (b. Feb. 10, 1907, Baku, Russia [now in Azerbaijan] - d. Oct. 2, 1996, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Armenian S.S.R. (1937-43). He was also first deputy premier (1948?-52) and minister of food industry (1950-57), light industry (1953), and trade (1957-61).

Pîrvu, Virgil (b. Nov. 15, 1910, Moieciu de Jos, Brasov county, Romania - d. ...), finance minister of Romania (1968-69).

Pirzada, Abdul Hafeez (b. Feb. 24, 1935, Sukkur, India [now in Pakistan] - d. Sept. 1, 2015, Reading, England), finance minister of Pakistan (1977); son of Pirzada Abdus Sattar. He was also minister of education (1971-73), information (1971-72), inter-provincial coordination (1972-73), law and parliamentary affairs (1973-74), and education and provincial coordination (1974-77).

Pirzada, Syed Sharifuddin (b. June 12, 1923, Burhanpur [now in Madhya Pradesh], India - d. June 2, 2017, Karachi, Pakistan), foreign minister of Pakistan (1966-68) and secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (1985-88). He was also attorney general (1965-66, 1968-71, 1977-84) and minister of law and parliamentary affairs (1979-84).

Pisanelli, Giuseppe (b. Dec. 29, 1812, Tricase, Kingdom of Naples [Italy] - d. April 5, 1879, Naples, Italy), justice minister of the Two Sicilies (1860) and Italy (1862-64).

Pisani, Edgard (b. Oct. 9, 1918, Tunis, Tunisia - d. June 20, 2016), high commissioner of New Caledonia (1984-85). He was also prefect of the départements of Haute-Loire (1946-47) and Haute-Marne (1947-54), French minister of agriculture (1961-66), equipment (1966-67), housing (1967), and New Caledonia (1985), European commissioner for development (1981-84), and a vice president of the European Commission (1984).

Pisanu, Giuseppe (b. Jan. 2, 1937, Ittiri, Sassari province, Sardegna, Italy), interior minister of Italy (2002-06). He was also minister for implementation of the government program (2001-02).

Pisas

Pisas, Gilmar (Simon), byname Pik Pisas (b. Oct. 28, 1971, Soto, Curaçao), prime minister and justice minister of Curaçao (2017, 2021- ). Earlier in 2017 he was president of parliament.

Pishevari, (Sayyid) Jafar, original name Javadzadeh Khalkhali (b. 1892, Khalkhal, Iran - d. 1947, Azerbaijan S.S.R.), head of government of Iranian Azerbaijan (1945-46).

Pisnik, Alois (b. Sept. 8, 1911, Donawitz, Steiermark, Austria - d. Oct. 8, 2004, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany), first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Magdeburg (1952-79).

Pistarini (Ludena), Pascual (Ángel) (b. Oct. 6, 1915, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina - d. October 1999, Buenos Aires, Argentina), member of the Revolutionary Junta of Argentina (1966).

Pistorius, Boris (Ludwig) (b. March 14, 1960, Osnabrück, Niedersachsen, West Germany), defense minister of Germany (2023- ). He was also lord mayor of Osnabrück (2006-13).

Pita, Afelee F(alema) (b. Feb. 11, 1958), Tuvaluan diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (2006-12) and ambassador to the United States (2010-12).

Pita Romero, Leandro (b. Nov. 22, 1898, Santa María de Ortigueira, La Coruña province, Spain - d. June 25, 1985, Buenos Aires, Argentina), foreign minister of Spain (1933-34). He was also navy minister (1933), minister without portfolio (1934-35), and ambassador to the Vatican (1934-36).

Pitakaka, Sir (Puibangara) Moses (b. Jan. 24, 1945 - d. Dec. 25, 2011, Honiara, Solomon Islands), governor-general of the Solomon Islands (1994-99); knighted 1995.

Pitarka, Bashkim (b. 1942, Durrës, Albania), Albanian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1986-92).

F. Pitcher

Pitcher, Frederick (William Henry), byname Freddie Pitcher (b. Feb. 5, 1967), finance minister (2007-08) and president (2011) of Nauru. He was also minister of island development and industry (2004-05), commerce, industry, and resources (2005-07), and commerce, industry, and environment (2008-11).

Pitcher, Nathaniel (b. Nov. 30, 1777, Litchfield county, Conn. - d. May 25, 1836, Sandy Hill [now Hudson Falls], N.Y.), acting governor of New York (1828-29).

Pithart

F. Pitra

Pithart, Petr (b. Jan. 2, 1941, Kladno, Bohemia and Moravia [now in Czech Republic]), prime minister of the Czech Republic (1990-92). He was also a deputy premier of Czechoslovakia (1990) and president of the Czech Senate (1996-98, 2000-04).

Pithey, Jack William (b. Dec. 30, 1903, Potchefstroom, Transvaal [now in South Africa] - d. Nov. 20, 1984), acting president of Rhodesia (1978-79). He was president of the Senate in 1970-78.

Pitirim, secular name Pavel (Vasilyevich) Oknov (b. July 10 [June 28, O.S.], 1858, Livonia province, Russia [now in Latvia] - d. March 25, 1919, Novocherkassk, Russia), metropolitan of Petrograd (1915-17). He was also bishop of Tula (1896-1904) and Kursk (1904-09), archbishop of Kursk (1909-11), Vladikavkaz (1911-13), and Samara (1913-14), and exarch of Georgia (1914-15).

Pitkin, Frederick W(alker) (b. Aug. 31, 1837, Manchester, Conn. - d. Dec. 18, 1886, Pueblo, Colo.), governor of Colorado (1879-83).

Pitkovsky, Mikhail (Feliksovich) (b. June 1897, Odessa, Kherson province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. [executed] May 7, 1938), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of North Ossetian autonomous oblast (1928-30). He was also acting chairman of the Executive Committee of Kalinin oblast (1937).

Pitra, Frantisek (b. Nov. 13, 1932, Mestec, Chrudim district, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic] - d. Jan. 2, 2018), prime minister of the Czech Socialist Republic (1988-90). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Jihoceský kraj (1977-81).

Pitra, Santana André, byname Petroff, interior minister of Angola (1992-97). He was also provincial commissioner of Huambo (1979-82).

Pitt, Albert (b. 1842, Hobart, Tasmania - d. Nov. 18, 1906), defence minister of New Zealand (1906). He was also attorney-general (1903-06).

Pitt, Thomas (b. July 5, 1653, Blandford, Dorset, England - d. April 28, 1726, Swallowfield, Berkshire, England), governor of Madras (1698-1709).

Pitt the Elder

Pitt, William, the Elder, (from 1766) (1st) Earl of Chatham, (1st) Viscount Pitt (of Burton Pynsent), byname the Great Commoner (b. Nov. 15, 1708, London, England - d. May 11, 1778, Hayes, Kent, England), British statesman; grandson of Thomas Pitt. In 1735 he entered Parliament, where he showed oratorical power and a readiness to appeal to public opinion, a novelty in English political life. In February 1746 he was appointed joint vice treasurer of Ireland, and two months later he became paymaster general of the forces. Because of his attacks on the Duke of Newcastle's ministry, he was dismissed from the pay office in 1755, but with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War the popular demand for Pitt became irresistible. In 1756 he formed a ministry with the Duke of Devonshire as its nominal head; in 1757 Newcastle returned to office on the understanding that he should control all the patronage while Pitt was responsible for the conduct of the war. His resolute and concerted policy led to a "year of victories" over France in 1759, notably in Canada. As a result of the war, Britain reigned supreme in North America and India and gained preeminence as an imperial power. But, before the war ended, Pitt had been forced to resign in 1761 when the new king, George III, and the cabinet objected to his plan to declare war on Spain. In 1766 the king asked him to form a ministry drawn from all sections of Parliament. His judgment and wisdom were impaired at this time and his ministry (in which he held the secondary post of lord privy seal, for which he was created Earl of Chatham) proved disastrous. From May 1767 until his formal resignation in October 1768, he withdrew completely, leaving the operations of government to others. His health subsequently improved again; in the House of Lords, he championed the cause of the American colonies, while opposing independence.

Pitt the Younger

Pitt, William, the Younger (b. May 28, 1759, Hayes, Kent, England - d. Jan. 23, 1806, London, England), British prime minister (1783-1801, 1804-06); son of William Pitt the Elder. In 1780, he failed to secure election to Parliament for Cambridge University, but in 1781 a patron provided him with a seat for Appleby in Westmorland. He made a successful maiden speech and displayed astonishing self-confidence. In 1782, he became chancellor of the exchequer under Lord Shelburne, and in December 1783, at age 24, King George III asked him to form a government. Many of the reforms he sought were frustrated by his lack of a strong political base in the Commons, but due to the support of the king he became the longest-serving British prime minister. He clung to neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars as long as possible, but on Feb. 1, 1793, the French declared war on England, confident of victory after their successes against the Austro-Prussian forces and believing that England was ripe for revolution. Pitt's fiscal policies enabled the country to weather the long conflict with France. The French Revolution also had disastrous repercussions in Ireland, creating new hatreds to exacerbate the old religious feuds and a rebellion in 1798, convincing Pitt that a union of the two countries was necessary. This was realized, but Catholic emancipation was opposed by the king; Pitt resigned over the issue in 1801. He was reappointed in 1804. The Third Coalition against France, engineered by Pitt, collapsed after the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz, but Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar in October 1805 ensured Britain's naval supremacy for the rest of the war. Pitt's health failed, and he died in office.

Pitta (de Castro), Laurindo (b. Nov. 22, 1854, São Fidélis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Dec. 21, 1904, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Espírito Santo (1885).

Pittermann

Pittermann, Bruno (b. Sept. 3, 1905, Vienna, Austria - d. Sept. 19, 1983, Vienna), Austrian politician. He was first elected to parliament in 1945. When the Socialist leader Adolf Schärf became federal president in 1957, Pittermann succeeded him as party chairman and as vice chancellor. In 1966 the Conservatives won a majority in parliament, the Socialists were forced out of the coalition, and Pittermann lost his place in the government. In 1967 he was succeeded as party leader by Bruno Kreisky. He left parliament in 1971. From 1964 to 1976 he was president of the Socialist International. He was a staunch opponent of rightist dictatorships as well as Soviet-bloc Communist regimes.

Pittman, Vail (Montgomery) (b. Sept. 17, 1883, Vicksburg, Miss. - d. Jan. 29, 1964, Reno, Nev.), governor of Nevada (1945-51).

Pittner, Ladislav (b. May 18, 1934, Malacky, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia] - d. Aug. 15, 2008, Bratislava, Slovakia), interior minister of Slovakia (1990-92, 1994, 1998-2001).

Pius VI

Pius VI, original name Giovanni Angelo Braschi (b. Dec. 25, 1717, Cesena, Papal State [now in Italy] - d. Aug. 29, 1799, Valence, France), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1775-99). He served in various administrative capacities in the church before being ordained priest in 1758. Appointed treasurer of the apostolic chamber by Pope Clemens XIII in 1766, he was made cardinal in 1773 by Pope Clemens XIV, after whose death a four-month conclave elected Braschi pope. The papacy at the time was almost completely bereft of power and influence due to the forces of the Enlightenment and nationalism. The Holy Roman emperor Joseph II applied Febronianism, an ecclesiastical doctrine that advocated restriction of papal power. A visit by Pius to Vienna in 1782 secured no concessions. The situation in France was equally overwhelming. The revolutionary government turned to the church's wealth, which it confiscated as a direct backing for its paper currency. In 1790 the French National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, causing a major conflict between Rome and the Revolution. Pius explored possibilities of modifying the plan, but when an oath of fidelity to the new regime was demanded from the clergy, he formally denounced the Civil Constitution and the Revolution itself on March 10, 1791. The French church was completely split, half accepting, half defying the new regime. In 1796 the pope's territory was invaded by Napoléon Bonaparte. A peace treaty was signed at Tolentino on Feb. 19, 1797, by which the pope yielded five states of the church. A riot in Rome (December 1797), in which a French general was killed, led to French occupation of that city (Feb. 15, 1798) and the proclamation of a republic. In March 1799 he was seized by the French; he died a prisoner.

Pius VII

Pius VII, original name Giorgio Barnaba Niccolò Luigi Chiaramonti, in religion Gregorio Chiaramonti (b. Aug. 14, 1742, Cesena, Papal State [now in Italy] - d. Aug. 20, 1823, Rome, Papal State [now in Italy]), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1800-23). He took his vows as a Benedictine at Cesena in 1758 (when he took the name Gregorio) and in 1785 was made bishop of Imola and cardinal by Pope Pius VI, who died in French captivity in 1799. Under Austrian protection at Venice, a conclave lasting 14 weeks elected Chiaramonti on March 14, 1800. Napoléon Bonaparte, the first consul of France, approached him about a settlement of the religious question in France, and the historic Concordat of 1801 provided for a complete reorganization of the dioceses and declared Roman Catholicism France's chief religion. Pius renounced the ecclesiastical property that had been secularized; on the other hand the church hierarchy was to be salaried by the French state. In 1804 he agreed to come to Paris to consecrate Napoléon emperor, but he failed in his effort to get a modification of the "organic articles," appended to the Concordat by a French unilateral action in 1802, which forbade the exercise of any papal jurisdiction in France without the permission of the government. Relations deteriorated, and Rome was occupied by French troops in 1808, followed by Napoléon's annexation of the Papal State to France (1809). After Pius excommunicated the invaders on June 10, 1809, he was taken prisoner in July, remaining in exile until the defeat of Napoléon in 1814. The Congress of Vienna (1814-15) restituted nearly all of the Papal State, including Rome, to the papacy. Disavowing his earlier liberal leanings, he then sought to reestablish the church on its old foundations.

Pius VIII

Pius VIII, original name Francesco Saverio Castiglioni (b. Nov. 20, 1761, Cingoli, Papal State [now in Italy] - d. Nov. 30, 1830, Rome, Papal State [now in Italy]), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1829-30). He studied canon law, was ordained in 1785, and became vicar-general at Anagni and later at Fano. Made bishop of Montalto in 1800, he was imprisoned in 1808 during the French domination of Italy for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to Napoléon. In 1816 he was made bishop of Cesena and cardinal. Appointed grand penitentiary, a leading role in the Curia, he was made bishop of Frascati in 1821; later that year he became prefect of the Congregation of the Index. At the conclave of 1823 he was already a candidate, but was considered too moderate. Despite his poor health, Castiglioni, the candidate of France, was elected Pope Leo XII's successor on March 31, 1829, and was crowned on April 5. He was generally broad-minded and conciliatory. Although the July Revolution (1830) in France was anticlerical in spirit, Pius encouraged French ecclesiastics to support the new king, Louis-Philippe. At the beginning of his pontificate the Catholic Emancipation Bill, which made it possible for Catholics to sit in Parliament and to hold public offices, was passed in England. On the other hand, the situation of the Catholics in the new Rhineland possessions of Protestant Prussia caused some concern; he allowed priests to assist passively at mixed marriages in which promises of Catholic education of the children had not been given, a concession that did not satisfy Prussia.

Pius IX

Pius IX, original name Giovanni Maria Giambattista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro, conte Mastai-Ferretti (b. May 13, 1792, Senigallia, Papal State [now in Italy] - d. Feb. 7, 1878, Rome, Italy), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1846-78). Ordained in 1819, he became archbishop of Spoleto in 1827, bishop of Imola in 1832, and cardinal in 1840. He was not the most prominent liberal candidate likely to succeed Gregorius XVI in 1846, but it took the conclave only two days to determine his election and so prevent that of the conservative Luigi Lambruschini. However, in 1848, the year of revolutions, he was faced with demands much beyond what he had been prepared to grant. Having granted a constitution for Rome in March 1848, a radical ministry was appointed in November; when the Swiss Guards were disbanded the pope was a virtual prisoner. On November 24-25, he fled to Gaeta in the kingdom of Naples. A new constituent assembly on Feb. 9, 1849, declared the temporal power at an end and a democratic republic to be established. The papacy thereupon appealed to the rulers of France, Austria, Spain, and Naples for assistance. This resulted in the restoration of papal rule, and he returned on April 12, 1850, repudiating his former liberalism. Notable events of his reign (the longest in history) included the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and the first Vatican Council (1869-70), during which the doctrine of papal infallibility was defined. On Sept. 20, 1870, Italian troops occupied Rome, and in October a plebiscite was held in which an overwhelming majority voted for the incorporation of Rome in the kingdom of Italy. He refused to recognize this and for the rest of his days regarded himself a prisoner in the Vatican. His beatification in 2000 was controversial because of his alleged anti-Semitism.

Pius X

Pius X, Saint, original name Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (b. June 2, 1835, Riese, Venetia [now in Italy] - d. Aug. 20, 1914, Rome, Italy), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1903-14). Ordained in 1858, he acted as parish priest at various places in Venetia until his appointment in 1875 as canon of the cathedral and superior of the episcopal seminary at Treviso. Pope Leo XIII made him bishop of Mantua in 1884 and cardinal and patriarch of Venice in 1893. Elected pope in succession to Leo, he had little interest in the latter's social reforms, laying his emphasis rather upon the spiritual work of the church. In 1910, he ordered that all teachers in seminaries and clerics before ordination take an oath denouncing Modernism, a contemporary intellectual movement seeking to employ secular disciplines to reinterpret traditional Catholic teaching; he had earlier condemned Modernism in the encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis (1907). He ceased to pursue actively the quarrel with the Italian government and allowed individual Catholics to enter Italian politics. He opposed Christian social movements independent of the church hierarchy. On his accession, there was already a growing anticlericalism in France, and in 1905 the French formally separated church from state, an act he condemned on Feb. 11, 1906. He issued decrees easing the regulations governing daily communion and reformed the liturgy, reviving Gregorian plainsong and recasting the breviary and the missal. A revision of canon law was begun in 1904 and brought to virtual completion shortly before his death. He also strengthened the church's central administration by the apostolic constitution Sapienti consilio (1908). He was beatified on June 3, 1951, and canonized May 29, 1954.

Pius XI

Pius XI, original name Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (b. May 31, 1857, Desio, Lombardy [now in Italy] - d. Feb. 10, 1939, Vatican City), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1922-39). Ordained in 1879, he became prefect of the Vatican Library in 1914, nuncio to Poland in 1919, archbishop of Milan and cardinal in 1921, and was elected to the papacy on Feb. 6, 1922. Soon Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy, with whom he signed (Feb. 11, 1929) the Lateran Treaty that allowed the existence of the independent Vatican City state ruled by the pope, with the papacy in turn recognizing the kingdom of Italy and its lawful rule of Rome and announcing permanent neutrality in military and diplomatic conflicts of the world. At the same time, a concordat established the validity of church marriage in Italy, provided compulsory religious instruction for Catholic schoolchildren, and declared Roman Catholicism to be Italy's state religion. He also concluded concordats that strengthened Catholicism in other European countries, including Latvia (1922), Poland (1925), Romania and Lithuania (1927), Prussia (1929), and Austria and Germany (1933). He wrote several protests against the Third Reich in 1933-36, as well as the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (1937), and denounced the introduction of Nazi racial attitudes into Italy in 1938. He also spoke out against atheistic Communism and against persecution of Catholics in Mexico and Spain. He required every religious order to engage actively in overseas missionary work, with the result that the number of missionaries doubled during his pontificate. In 1926 he consecrated the first Chinese bishops. In his encyclical Quadragesimo anno (1931), he elaborated the theses of Leo XIII's Rerum novarum on social and economic matters.

Pius XII

Pius XII, original name Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (b. March 2, 1876, Rome, Italy - d. Oct. 9, 1958, Castel Gandolfo, near Rome), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (1939-58). He was ordained in 1899 and passed into the Vatican Secretariat of State in 1901; in 1911 he became a monsignor and in 1917 he was made archbishop and sent as nuncio to Bavaria to negotiate a concordat. In 1920 he was appointed nuncio to the German republic with the same aim; his discussions with the Berlin government failed, but he signed agreements with Bavaria in 1924 and Prussia in 1929. He was named cardinal in 1929 and became secretary of state in 1930 and additionally camerlengo (chamberlain) in 1935. After 9 years as secretary of state, during which he travelled on papal missions to North and South America and to France, he was elected pope in the shortest conclave since 1623. During the few months between his election and the outbreak of World War II, he turned his diplomatic gifts to preventing the catastrophe, but not in the spirit of appeasement - the Vatican had disliked the Munich Agreement (1938), by which Czechoslovakia was sacrificed to expanding German power by Britain and France. Pius especially strove to keep Italy neutral and was deeply saddened when he failed. In a notable series of Christmas broadcasts (1939-48), he looked firmly toward the postwar future and to the opportunities it would offer for a new order in which the international community would be given real expression, replacing the egoistic nationalism that had bred war. Regarding his conduct in relation to the war itself, he has been charged with neglecting, in the interests of a calculated neutrality, to raise an authoritative voice in defense of the persecuted, Christian or Jewish. In 1946 he enacted severe measures against Catholics collaborating with Communists.

Pivic, Nezir (b. July 4, 1983, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina), premier of Zenica-Doboj (2023- ).

Pivovarov, Nikolay (Buinovich) (b. 1912, Shunta ulus, Irkutsk province, Russia - d. 1998), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Buryat A.S.S.R. (1967-77). He was also minister of local industry (1951-57) and deputy premier (1966-67).

Piwnik, Barbara (Elzbieta) (b. March 5, 1955, Kosowice, Poland), justice minister and prosecutor-general of Poland (2001-02).

Piwonka Jilabert, Alfredo (b. Dec. 26, 1887, Osorno, Chile - d. March 17, 1942, Santiago, Chile), interior minister of Chile (1933-34). He was also minister of development (1932-33) and public health (1933-34).

Piza (Rocafort), Rodolfo (Emilio Francisco Manuel de Jesús) (b. Aug. 12, 1958, San José, Costa Rica), Costa Rican politician; son of Rodolfo Piza Escalante. He was a presidential candidate (2014, 2018, 2022) and minister of the presidency (2018-19).

Piza Escalante, Rodolfo (Emilio) (b. July 24, 1930, San José, Costa Rica - d. Jan. 13, 2002, San José), Costa Rican diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1978-82).

Pizarro (Tomasio), Rómulo (Bernardo Joaquín) (b. 1955?, Arequipa, Peru), interior minister of Peru (2005-06).

Plachinda, Ivan (Semyonovich), original surname Sporosh (b. March 1898, Glodosy, Kherson province, Russia [now Hlodosy, Kirovohrad oblast, Ukraine] - d. [executed] March 10, 1937), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Moldavian A.S.S.R. (1931-32). He was also executive secretary of the party committee of Vinnitsa city (1930-31) and first secretary of the party committee of Poltava city (1932-36).

Plagino, Alexandru C. (b. Aug. 21, 1821 - d. Oct. 4, 1894, Plainesti, Romania), Romanian politician. He was president of the Senate (1869-71) and minister to Italy (1885-91) and the United Kingdom (1891-93).

Plaisted, Frederick W(illiam) (b. July 26, 1865, Bangor, Maine - d. March 4, 1943, Los Angeles, Calif.), governor of Maine (1911-13); son of Harris M. Plaisted.

Plaisted, Harris M(errill) (b. Nov. 2, 1828, Jefferson, N.H. - d. Jan. 31, 1898, Bangor, Maine), governor of Maine (1881-83).

Plaja, Eugenio (b. April 26, 1914, Rome, Italy - d. May 7, 1991), Italian diplomat. He was ambassador to Egypt (1969-73) and permanent representative to the United Nations (1973-75).

Plakida

Plakida, Viktor (Tarasovych) (b. Aug. 2, 1956), prime minister of Crimea (2006-10).

Plamadeala, Mihai, interior minister of Moldova (1997-98). He was also secretary of the Supreme Security Council (1998-2000).

Plamenac, Jovan (S.) (b. 1873 - d. [executed] 1944), prime minister (1919-21, 1922) and foreign minister (1919-21) of Montenegro in exile. He was also minister of education (1907-09, 1912-13) and interior (1909-10, 1910, 1912-13, 1919-21).

Planas Suárez, Simón (b. May 6, 1813, Jobal, Lara, Venezuela - d. April 22, 1864), foreign minister (1853-55) and interior and justice minister (1853-55, 1864) of Venezuela.

Planche, Jacques Ferdinand (b. Jan. 28, 1829, Grenoble, France - d. 1894), commandant of the French Settlements in Oceania (1878-80).

Planet Cordero, Antonio (b. May 3, 1894, Ovalle, Chile - d. ...), foreign minister of Chile (1931). He was also justice minister (1931).

Planinc

Planinc, Milka, née Malada (b. Nov. 21, 1924, Drnis, Yugoslavia [now in Croatia] - d. Oct. 7, 2010, Zagreb, Croatia), prime minister of Yugoslavia (1982-86). In 1941 she joined the Communist Youth Union of Yugoslavia, and in 1943 she was accepted as a soldier of the Yugoslav Liberation Army. After the war she joined the Yugoslav Communist Party (in 1952 renamed League of Communists). In 1963 she became secretary for education and science of the republic of Croatia. She established her political reputation as a loyal supporter of Tito, whom she helped to overcome the outbreak of Croatian nationalism in 1971. A member of the Central Committee of the Croatian branch of the League of Communists since 1959, she became its chairman in 1971 and also a member of the federal Executive Committee. She became Eastern Europe's first woman head of government when she was appointed president of the Federal Executive Council for a four-year term in 1982. Because of the active role she played in Croatia, she had the reputation of being something of an "iron lady." Once in office, she acted to increase the federal government's effectiveness in combating Yugoslavia's mounting economic problems. Among these were an inflation rate of approximately 30%, a per capita foreign indebtedness greater than that of Poland, and an unemployment rate exceeding 13% of the work force. Her measures included the introduction of a greater number of technocrats, particularly economists, into the new government; the raising of the price of gasoline, for the third time in a year, to the highest in Europe; and a price freeze affecting all goods and services apart from privately grown fruit and vegetables. However, the situation remained unfavourable at the end of her term, with an inflation rate of over 80%.

Plant, George (b. Norfolk Island), administrator of Norfolk Island (2023- ).

Plantier, (Emilien Célestin) Nicolas du (b. 1871 - d. ...), French resident of Grande Comore (1899).

Plantz, William Rufus (b. Feb. 10, 1895, St. Thomas, Danish [now U.S.] Virgin Islands - d. 1984), administrator of Bonaire (1927-28).

Plasencia

Plasencia (González), Félix (Ramón), foreign minister of Venezuela (2021-22). He has also been minister of tourism and foreign trade (2019-20), ambassador to China (2020-21) and Colombia (2022-23), general secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (2023-24), and chargé d'affaires in the United Kingdom (2024- ).

Plassnik

Plassnik, Ursula (b. May 23, 1956, Klagenfurt, Austria), foreign minister of Austria (2004-08). She was also ambassador to Switzerland (2004, 2016-21) and France (2011-16).

Plasterk, Ronald (Hans Anton) (b. April 12, 1957, The Hague, Netherlands), interior minister of the Netherlands (2012-17). Known as a molecular biologist, he was also minister of education, culture, and science (2007-10).

Plastiras, Nikolaos (b. Nov. 4, 1883, Vounesi [now Morfovouni], near Karditsa, Greece - d. July 26, 1953, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (1945, 1950, 1951-52). He was also minister of military, marine, aviation, and mercantile marine (1945), interior (acting, 1945), and foreign affairs (provisional, 1950).

Plata (Páez), Luis Guillermo (b. 1967, Bogotá, Colombia), Colombian politician. He was minister of commerce, industry, and tourism (2007-10) and ambassador to Spain (2021-22).

Plate, Juan (b. April 8, 1918), finance minister of Paraguay (1944-45). He was also minister of agriculture (1943-44) and ambassador to Argentina (1956-58) and the United States (1958-68).

Platen, Baltzar (Julius Ernst) greve von (b. April 16, 1804, Frugården, Skaraborg [now in Västra Götaland], Sweden - d. March 20, 1875, Stockholm, Sweden), prime minister for foreign affairs of Sweden (1871-72). He was also minister of sea defense (1849-52, 1862-68) and minister to the United Kingdom (1857-61).

Plater, George (b. Nov. 8, 1735, "Sattorly," near Leonardtown, Maryland - d. Feb. 10, 1792, Annapolis, Md.), governor of Maryland (1791-92).

Platon, secular name Nikolay (Ivanovich) Gorodetsky (b. May 14 [May 2, O.S.], 1803, Pogoreloye Gorodishche, Tver province, Russia - d. Oct. 13 [Oct. 1, O.S.], 1891, Kiev, Russia [now in Ukraine]), metropolitan of Kiev (1882-91). He was also bishop of Kovno (1843-48) and Riga (1848-50) and archbishop of Riga (1850-67), the Don (1867-77), and Kherson (1877-82).

Platon, secular name Porfiry (Fyodorovich) Rozhdestvensky (b. Feb. 23 [Feb. 11, O.S.], 1866, Kursk province, Russia - d. April 20, 1934, New York City), exarch of Georgia (1915-17). He was also bishop of Chigirin (1902-07), a member of the Russian State Duma (1907), archbishop of the Aleutians and North America (1907-14) and Kishinev (1914-15), and metropolitan of Tiflis (1917-18), Kherson (1918-23), and All America and Canada (1922-34).

Platon I, secular name Pavel Malinovsky (d. June 25 [June 14, O.S.], 1754), Locum Tenens (1745-48) and metropolitan (1748-54) of Moscow. He was also bishop of Krutitsy (1742-48).

Platon II, secular name Pyotr (Georgiyevich) Levshin (b. July 10 [June 29, O.S.], 1737, Chashnikovo, Moscow province, Russia - d. Nov. 23 [Nov. 11, O.S.], 1812), metropolitan of Moscow (1775-1811). He was also archbishop of Tver (1770-75).

Platou, Carl (Nicolai Stoud) (b. July 25, 1885, Bergen, Norway - d. Feb. 1, 1956, Oslo, Norway), governor of Oslo and Akershus (1945-55); nephew of Theodor Christian Stoud Platou.

Platou, Theodor Christian Stoud (b. June 11, 1858, Christiansand [now Kristiansand], Norway - d. April 24, 1942), governor of Buskerud (1902-28).

Platov, Vladimir (Ignatyevich) (b. Oct. 23, 1946, Ovechkino, Vladimir oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. April 16, 2012, Vladimir, Russia), governor of Tver oblast (1995-2003).

Platteel, Pieter Johannes (b. Aug. 14, 1911, Utrecht, Netherlands - d. Aug. 19, 1978, Hilversum, Noord-Holland, Netherlands), governor of Netherlands New Guinea (1958-62). He was also mayor of Ede (1962-68) and Hilversum (1968-76).

Platter, Günther (b. June 7, 1954, Zams, Tirol, Austria), defense minister (2003-07) and interior minister (2004, 2007-08) of Austria and Landeshauptmann of Tirol (2008-22).

Platts, Frederick William (b. 1865, Melbourne, Victoria - d. May 24, 1941), resident commissioner of the Cook Islands (1916-21).

Platzeck

Platzeck, Matthias (b. Dec. 29, 1953, Potsdam, East Germany), minister-president of Brandenburg (2002-13). He was mayor of Potsdam in 1998-2002 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 2005-06.

Plavsic

Plavsic (Banjac), Biljana (b. July 7, 1930, Tuzla, Yugoslavia [now in Bosnia and Herzegovina]), president of the Republika Srpska (1996-98). Despite repeated offers, she never joined the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. Her political career began in earnest in 1990. She was one of the founding members of Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party, which later that year captured virtually all of the Serbian votes in Bosnia's first free elections. She denied that Bosnia's three nationalities - the Muslims, Croats, and Serbs - could live together in peace, and described the Muslims as "a genetic defect on the Serbian body." She once said that it would be worth it for the Serbs to lose even one million dead in war if that was the price to be paid for a Greater Serbia. She mistrusted former Communists, like Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, whom she regarded as an opportunist. She served as one of the Serbian members of Bosnia's multi-ethnic presidency from December 1990 until the beginning of the civil war in April 1992. She soon became Karadzic's vice president, a position she held until 1996, when she succeeded Karadzic as president after international pressure forced him to leave the public stage. She then won the presidency in her own right in elections held in September. She now demanded respect for the Dayton peace accord, as it provided the legal foundations for a Bosnian Serb state. In June 1997, Milosevic's and Karadzic's police tried to stage a coup against her. Subsequently, one Bosnian Serb institution after another split into two, with one faction pledging loyalty to Karadzic and his group in Pale, and the other backing Plavsic, based in Banja Luka. Charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, she surrendered to the UN tribunal in The Hague in January 2001. On Feb. 27, 2003, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison. She was released in October 2009.

Plavyuk

Plavyuk, Mykola (Vasylovich) (b. June 5, 1925, Rusów, Poland [now Rusiv, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, Ukraine] - d. March 10, 2012, Hamilton, Ont.), president in exile of Ukraine (1990-92).

Playfair, Frederick Lyon (b. Dec. 4, 1830, Fife, Scotland - d. Dec. 17, 1907), acting superintendent of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1871-72).

T. Playford

Sir T. Playford

Playford, Thomas (b. Nov. 26, 1837, London, England - d. April 19, 1915, Kent Town, South Australia), premier of South Australia (1887-89, 1890-92).

Playford, Sir Thomas (b. July 5, 1896, Norton Summit, South Australia - d. June 16, 1981, Adelaide, South Australia), premier of South Australia (1938-65); grandson of Thomas Playford. He became lieutenant, serving in World War I at both Gallipoli and in France, where he was badly wounded. He became a member of the South Australian parliament in 1933 and premier in 1938, serving a record 27 years in that post. He was knighted in 1957. In the 1965 elections his party, the Liberal and Country League, was defeated and he retired from parliament in 1967.

Plaza (Plaza y Plaza), Guillermo de la (b. Feb. 19, 1918, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. Oct. 6, 2011, Buenos Aires), federal interventor in Formosa (1957-58); grandnephew of Victorino de la Plaza. He was also Argentinian ambassador to Bolivia (1970-71) and Uruguay (1974-81).

Plaza (y Palacios¹), Victorino de la (b. Nov. 2, 1840, Salta, Argentina - d. Oct. 2, 1919, Buenos Aires, Argentina), president of Argentina (1914-16). He was also finance minister (1876-80, 1883-85), foreign minister (1882-83, 1908-10), and vice president (1910-14).
¹ Also referred to as Victorino de la Plaza y Silva. The reason for the ambiguity is that his mother was an illegitimate child, with her mother's family name Palacios; this was used in Victorino's father's will; however, the mother's father's family name was Silva, and she often used it as her own (it is not known whether she had been legitimized). Victorino's own will calls her María Manuela Silva de De la Plaza. Victorino's birth or baptismal records have not been found.

Plaza (y) Gutiérrez (de Caviedes), Leonidas (b. April 18, 1865, Charapotó, Manabí province, Ecuador - d. Sept. 17, 1932, Huigra village, Chimborazo province, Ecuador), president (1901-05, 1912-16) and finance minister (1911) of Ecuador. In 1905-06, General Plaza served as minister to the United States.

G. Plaza

Plaza Lasso (de la Vega), Galo (Lincoln) (b. Feb. 17, 1906, New York City - d. Jan. 28, 1987, Quito, Ecuador), president of Ecuador (1948-52) and secretary-general of the Organization of American States (1968-75); son of Leonidas Plaza Gutiérrez. He served as mayor of Quito (1937-38), defense minister (1938-40), ambassador to the United States (1944-46), and a senator (1947-48) before being elected president; he was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1960. Plaza was widely regarded as one of the country's most esteemed diplomats, and he undertook highly successful missions for the UN as an observer and mediator in such charged areas as Congo (Kinshasa), Cyprus, and Lebanon. During his tenure as secretary-general of the OAS, he traveled to member countries (with the exception of Cuba) to reacquaint himself with the needs of each. In later years he was widely respected as an elder statesman and appeared frequently on television and radio. He was president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in 1977-78.

Plazas Alcid, Guillermo (b. April 26, 1936, Baraya, Huila, Colombia), justice minister of Colombia (1988-89). He was also mayor of Neiva (1964-65, 1975, 1995-97), president of the Senate (1977-79), and ambassador to the Soviet Union (1979-81, 1989-90), Honduras (1992-93), and Nicaragua (1997-2000).

Plazynski, Maciej (b. Feb. 10, 1958, Mlynary, Poland - d. [plane crash] April 10, 2010, near Smolensk, Russia), Polish politician. He was governor of Gdanskie województwo (1990-96) and marshal of the Sejm (1997-2001).

Pleasant, Ruffin G(olson) (b. June 2, 1871, Shiloh, La. - d. Sept. 12, 1937, Shreveport, La.), governor of Louisiana (1916-20).

Pleasants, James, Jr. (b. Oct. 24, 1769, Goochland county, Virginia - d. Nov. 9, 1836, Goochland county), governor of Virginia (1822-25).

Plener, Ignaz Edler von (b. May 21, 1810, Vienna, Austria - d. Feb. 17, 1908, Vienna), finance minister (1860-65) and prime minister (1870) of Austria. He was also minister of commerce (1867-70).

Plenkovic

Plenkovic, Andrej (b. April 8, 1970, Zagreb, Croatia), prime minister of Croatia (2016- ).

Plepyte (Jara), Audra (b. Oct. 30, 1971, Vilnius, Lithuanian S.S.R.), Lithuanian diplomat. She has been ambassador to Spain and Argentina (2010-14) and the United States (2021- ) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2017-21).

Plesca, Valeriu (b. Nov. 8, 1958, Dumitreni, Moldavian S.S.R.), defense minister of Moldova (2004-07).

Pleske, Eduard (Dmitriyevich) (b. Nov. 1 [Oct. 20, O.S.], 1852, St. Petersburg, Russia - d. May 9 [April 26, O.S.], 1904, St. Petersburg), finance minister of Russia (1903-04). He was also governor of the State Bank of the Russian Empire (1894-1903).

Pleskot, Václav (b. Jan. 1, 1921, Milostín, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic] - d. Sept. 29, 2012), acting foreign minister of Czechoslovakia (1968-69). He was ambassador to France in 1960-66.

Plesu

Plesu, Andrei (Gabriel) (b. Aug. 23, 1948, Bucharest, Romania), foreign minister of Romania (1997-99). He was also minister of culture (1989-91).

Pleve, Vyacheslav (Konstantinovich), in English also spelled Plehve (b. April 20 [April 8, O.S.], 1846, Meshchovsk, Kaluga province, Russia - d. [assassinated] July 28 [July 15, O.S.], 1904, St. Petersburg, Russia), interior minister of Russia (1902-04). He was also director of the Department of Police (1881-84) and secretary of state (1894-1902).

Pleven

Pleven, René (Jean) (b. April 15, 1901, Rennes, France - d. Jan. 13, 1993, Paris, France), prime minister of France (1950-51, 1951-52). In 1940 he joined Gen. Charles de Gaulle in London and was sent to assist in rallying French Equatorial Africa to the Free French cause. After his return to London, he became commissioner of economy, finance, and the colonies (1941-42), vice president of the National Committee of the Free French (1942-43), commissioner of foreign affairs (1942-43), and again commissioner of colonies (1942-44), during which time the Free French headquarters were moved to Algiers (1943), and then finance minister in de Gaulle's first government formed in Paris (1944-46), also holding the portfolio of national economy in 1945. He was a member of the first constituent assembly (1945-46) and of the National Assembly elected on Nov. 10, 1946. He was co-founder (with François Mitterrand) of the small left-centre Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR) in 1946 and its president in 1946-53. He was twice defense minister (1949-50, 1952-54) and twice premier. He helped lay the foundations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and convened a conference in Paris in July 1950 to draw up a plan for a European Defense Community, though the necessary treaty was rejected by the National Assembly in 1954. With U.S. aid, he carried on the war in Indochina against the nationalist Viet Minh, being harshly criticized for failing to prevent the decisive defeat at Dien Bien Phu (1954). He served briefly as foreign minister in May-June 1958 and quit the UDSR in October 1958 to support de Gaulle's new constitution. He formed a new party, the Union for a Modern Democracy, in 1959. In 1966 he had a falling out with de Gaulle over France's withdrawal from NATO. He was minister of justice in 1969-73. After losing his legislative seat in the 1973 elections he became president of the Regional Council of Bretagne (1974-76).

Plevljak, Fikret (b. 1956, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina), premier of Zenica-Doboj canton (2011-13).

Plevneliev

Plevneliev, Rosen (Asenov) (b. May 14, 1964, Gotse Delchev, southern Bulgaria), president of Bulgaria (2012-17). He was also minister of regional development and public works (2009-11).

Plicanic, Senko (b. April 8, 1963, Nova Gorica, Slovenia), justice minister of Slovenia (2012-13, 2013-14).

Plimsoll, Sir James (b. April 25, 1917, Sydney, New South Wales - d. May 8, 1987, Hobart, Tasmania), Australian diplomat. He served in the Australian army in 1942-47. He won international acclaim for his diplomatic skills while serving as the Australian representative on the UN Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea (1950-52). He returned to Australia in 1953 and was assistant secretary (1953-59) and later secretary (1965-70) at the Department of External Affairs in Canberra. He was Australia's permanent representative at the UN (1959-63) and held such important posts as ambassador to the U.S. (1970-74), the U.S.S.R. and Mongolia (1974-77), and Japan (1981-82) and was Australia's high commissioner in India (1963-65) and the U.K. (1980-81). From 1982 to his death he was governor of Tasmania. He was knighted in 1962 and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1978.

Plitin, Volodymyr (Nykyforovych) (b. Dec. 31, 1938, Cheremkhovo, Irkutsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. May 11, 2015), a deputy prime minister of Ukraine (1994-95). He was also minister of construction (1990-91).

Plósz, Sándor (b. June 10, 1846, Pest [now part of Budapest], Hungary - d. May 29, 1925, Budapest), justice minister of Hungary (1899-1905).

Plotnikov, Andrey (Pavlovich) (b. Dec. 6, 1912, Fastovetskaya [now in Krasnodar kray], Russia - d. April 4, 1991), acting chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1984).

Plow, Edward Chester (b. Sept. 28, 1904, St. Albans, Vt. - d. April 25, 1988, Brockville, Ont.), lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia (1958-63).

Plowden, Charles Terence Chichele (b. Feb. 6, 1883 - d. July 13, 1956), resident in Mysore and chief commissioner of Coorg (1933-37).

Plugchieva(-Aleksandrova), Meglena (Ivanova) (b. Feb. 12, 1956, Balchik, Bulgaria), a deputy prime minister of Bulgaria (2008-09). She was also ambassador to Germany (2004-08), Switzerland (2012-18), and Montenegro (2019-22).

Pluijm-Vrede

Pluijm-Vrede, Adèle (Pauline) van der (b. March 21, 1952, Curaçao), acting governor of Curaçao (2012-13). She was deputy governor of the Netherlands Antilles (2002-10) and of Curaçao (2010-14).

Plumb (of Coleshill in the County of Warwickshire), (Charles) Henry Plumb, Baron (b. March 27, 1925, Ansley, Warwickshire, England - d. April 15, 2022), president of the European Parliament (1987-89). He was knighted in 1973 and created a life peer in 1987.

Plumer, Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, (1st) Viscount (b. March 13, 1857, London, England - d. July 16, 1932, London), governor of Malta (1919-24) and high commissioner of Palestine (1925-28). He was knighted in 1906 and created Baron Plumer in 1919 and Viscount Plumer in 1929; he was also made a field marshal in 1919.

Plumer, William (b. June 25, 1759, Newburyport, Massachusetts Bay [now Mass.] - d. Dec. 22, 1850, Epping, N.H.), governor of New Hampshire (1812-13, 1816-19).

Plunket, William Lee Plunket, (5th) Baron (b. Dec. 19, 1864, Dublin, Ireland - d. Jan. 24, 1920, London, England), governor of New Zealand (1904-10); son-in-law of Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. He succeeded as baron in 1897.

Plyushch, Ivan (Stepanovych) (b. Sept. 11, 1941, Borzna, Chernigov [Chernihiv] oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R. - d. June 26, 2014), Ukrainian politician. He was chairman of the Executive Committee of Kiev oblast (1984-90), chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (1991-94, 2000-02), a minor presidential candidate (1994), and secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (2007).

Poaty-Souchlaty, Alphonse (b. March 25, 1941, Kouilou region, Middle Congo [now Congo (Brazzaville)]), prime minister of Congo (Brazzaville) (1989-90). He was also minister of finance (1975-77), small and medium-sized enterprises (1984-89), and trade (1986-89).

Pobedonostsev, Konstantin (Petrovich) (b. Nov. 30 [Nov. 18, O.S.], 1827, Moscow, Russia - d. March 23 [March 10, O.S.], 1907, St. Petersburg, Russia), Russian official. He was chief procurator of the Holy Synod (1880-1905).

Pobee, Martha Ama Akyaa, Ghanaian diplomat. She was chargé d'affaires in Israel (2000-02) and South Africa (2012-15) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2015-21).

Pobéguin, (Charles) Henri (Olivier) (b. Feb. 25, 1856, Valence, Drôme, France - d. Jan. 25, 1951, Paris, France), French resident of Grande Comore (1897-99).

Poc (b. 1833, Battambang, Cambodia - d. 1907), prime minister of Cambodia (1903-07). He was also minister of marine (1889-95), palace (1898-99), and justice (1899-1903).

Pochinok, Aleksandr (Petrovich) (b. Jan. 12, 1958, Chelyabinsk, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. March 16, 2014, Moscow, Russia), Russian politician. He was head of the State Tax Service (1997-98) and minister of taxes (1999-2000) and labour and social development (2000-04).

Poçi, Spartak (Dilaver) (b. Jan. 4, 1949, Tiranë, Albania), public order minister of Albania (1999-2000). He was also minister of public works (2000-02) and transport and telecommunications (2002-05).

Pociatek, Ján (b. Sept. 16, 1970, Bratislava, Slovakia), finance minister of Slovakia (2006-10). He was also minister of transport, construction, and regional development (2012-16).

Pocs, Eizens, Russian Eyzhen (Antonovich) Poch (b. Nov. 20, 1932, Atasiene parish, Latvia), foreign minister of the Latvian S.S.R. (1989-90). He was also Soviet/Russian ambassador to Zambia (1990-92).

Podberezkin, Aleksey (Ivanovich) (b. Feb. 7, 1953, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Russian politician. He was a minor presidential candidate (2000) and co-chairman of the Social Justice Party (2005-08).

Podedworny, Boleslaw (b. Jan. 7, 1898, Pechratka, Poland - d. Nov. 18, 1972, Warsaw, Poland), joint acting chairman of the Council of State of Poland (1964). He was minister of forestry (1947-54) and a deputy chairman of the Council of State (1957-71).

Podgornov, Nikolay (Mikhailovich) (b. May 15, 1949), head of the administration of Vologda oblast (1991-96).

Podgorny

Podgorny, Nikolay (Viktorovich) (b. Feb. 18 [Feb. 5, O.S.], 1903, Karlovka, Poltava province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. Jan. 11, 1983, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet statesman. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1930. His first government appointment was that of deputy people's commissar of the food-processing industry in the Ukraine in 1939; in 1940 he was promoted to deputy commissar of the Soviet food-processing industry. He formed ties with Nikita Khrushchev, and with his help secured his first responsible position in the Communist Party, as first secretary of the Kharkov regional party committee, in 1950. In 1953 he became second secretary of the Ukrainian party committee, and he soon rose to first secretary (1957-63). The 20th all-union party congress (1956) elected him a member of the Central Committee. He became a candidate Politburo member in 1958 and a full member in 1960, and was promoted to secretary of the Central Committee in 1963. Losing a power struggle with Leonid Brezhnev, who had become party first secretary in 1964, Podgorny relinquished his secretaryship in 1965 and was given the less-influential post of chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. He enhanced this position of ceremonial head of state and traveled widely abroad; his meeting with Pope Paul VI in 1967 was the first between a top-level Soviet leader and a Roman Catholic pontiff. When in 1972 Podgorny's protégé Pyotr Shelest was replaced by Vladimir Shcherbitsky, a Brezhnev supporter, as first secretary of the Ukrainian party, Podgorny's influence was further reduced. As a result of his resistance to Brezhnev's wish to assume the Presidium chairmanship, Podgorny was ousted from the Politburo on May 24, 1977, and in June was "relieved" of his duties as Presidium chairman, with Brezhnev assuming the title.

Podgorodnikov, Ivan (Grigoryevich) (b. 1841 - d. March 20 [March 7, O.S.], 1910), governor of Suwalki (1891-95) and Radom (1895-99) and acting governor-general of Warsaw (1900-01).

Podinilame, (Herath Ralalage) Jayatilake (b. March 19, 1946 - d. April 28, 2013), chief minister of Sabaragamuwa (1993-98). He was also Sri Lankan minister of North West regional development (2001-04).

F. Poe

Poe, Fernando, Jr., byname of Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (b. Aug. 20, 1939, Manila, Philippines - d. Dec. 14, 2004, Manila), Philippine presidential candidate (2004). A movie legend known across the nation as FPJ and "Da King," he was a reluctant presidential candidate, but was cajoled into leading the opposition ticket at the request of his good friend, ex-president Joseph Estrada, himself a former actor. Poe came within 3% of blocking a fresh term for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the May 2004 elections, promising all Filipinos "breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Various exit polls claimed that he had won, and he maintained that he was cheated and a survey in September found that the majority of Filipinos agreed.

Poe (Llamanzares), (Mary) Grace (Natividad Sonora), original name Mary Grace Natividad Contreras Militar (b. 1968), Philippine presidential candidate (2016); adopted daughter of Fernando Poe, Jr. She was found as an infant on Sept. 3, 1968, in Jaro, Iloilo, by one Edgardo Militar; her name was changed upon adoption in 1974 (Llamanzares added on marriage in 1991).

Poenaru, Constantin (b. April 8, 1842, Bucharest, Walachia [now in Romania] - d. 1912, Bucharest), war minister of Romania (1894-95). He was also chief of the General Staff (1898-1901).

Pogány, József, original surname Schwarz, also known as John Pepper (b. Nov. 8, 1886, Budapest, Hungary - d. 1939, U.S.S.R.), foreign commissar of Hungary (1919). He was also commissar of education (1919).

Pogea, Gheorghe (b. Dec. 21, 1955, Pestisu Mic, Hunedoara county, Romania), finance minister of Romania (2008-09).

C. Poggi

Poggi, Claudio (Javier) (b. Oct. 7, 1963, Alcira Gigena, Córdoba, Argentina), governor of San Luis (2011-15, 2023- ).

Poggi, João José Innocencio (b. 1796? - d. Dec. 20, 1875, Paraíba [now João Pessoa], Paraíba, Brazil), acting president of Paraíba (1866).

Poggia

Poggia, Mauro (b. April 25, 1959, Moutier, Bern, Switzerland), president of the Council of State of Genève (2022-23).

Pogosov, Pyotr (A.), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of Nagorny Karabakh (1934-37).

Pogosyan, Genrikh (Andreyevich) (b. 1931 - d. 2000), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous oblast (1988-89).

Pogosyan, Stepan (Karapetovich) (b. Feb. 10, 1932, Agakchi, Armenian S.S.R. - d. May 17, 2012, Yerevan, Armenia), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Armenian S.S.R. (1990-91). He was also chairman of the State Committees for Television and Broadcasting (1978-88) and Publishing, Printing, and Book Trade (1990) and first secretary of the party committee of Yerevan city (1990).

Pohamba

Pohamba, Hifikepunye (Lucas) (b. Aug. 18, 1935, Okanghudi, Ohangwena region, Ovamboland, South West Africa [now Namibia]), president of Namibia (2005-15). In 1960, he helped found the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). A year later, he was arrested by tribal chiefs opposed to SWAPO, chained for several days, and publicly flogged at a traditional court for "political activism." He then left South West Africa; on his way back in 1962 he was again arrested and spent several months in Southern Rhodesian and South African prisons before being deported to his home area in Ovamboland, in the north of the country. In 1964, he went into exile for a second time and set up SWAPO's Zambia office. He returned in March 1966 with Sam Nujoma to challenge the South African apartheid administration in South West Africa. Both men were deported the next day back to Zambia, where he served until December 1969. He was then elected member of the SWAPO central committee in exile. In 1977, he made it to the Politburo. Until 1989 he represented SWAPO across the African continent, with a brief spell out for social and political studies in the Soviet Union. He headed SWAPO's election campaign before becoming an MP in 1990. He then held the portfolios of internal affairs (1990-95), fisheries and marine resources (1995-97), and lands (2002-05) under President Nujoma. He became secretary-general (1997) and vice president (2002) of the ruling SWAPO, and he won 76.4% of the vote as its presidential candidate in the November 2004 election, campaigning on a platform that called for continuity. It was a standing joke in Namibia that Pohamba and Nujoma even look alike - until Pohamba shaved his beard off. He was reelected in 2009, again with 76.4%. In 2015 he was awarded the 2014 Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership.

Poher

Poher, Alain (Émile Louis Marie) (b. April 17, 1909, Ablon-sur-Seine, near Paris, France - d. Dec. 9, 1996, Paris), French politician. He began his public service career in 1938 as an administrator. He served with distinction in World War II, earning the War Cross and the Resistance medal. After the liberation, he was elected mayor of his hometown, a post he held for 23 years. In 1946 he joined the office of then finance minister Robert Schuman. He was elected to the Senate later that year. In 1948, he quit the Senate to take a series of government posts with the Fourth Republic, serving as budget minister and secretary of state for finances. He won reelection to the Senate in 1952, championing European construction projects throughout the decade. As president of the Senate (1968-92), he was twice called upon to serve as short-term interim president of France - in 1969, when Gen. Charles de Gaulle resigned, and again in 1974, when Pres. Georges Pompidou died. He was also president of the European Parliament (1966-69). Poher made a bid for the presidency himself in 1969, but Pompidou defeated him in an election runoff. The veteran centrist retired from politics in 1992.

Pohiva

Pohiva, (Samuela) 'Akilisi (b. April 7, 1941, Fakakakai, Ha'apai, Tonga - d. Sept. 12, 2019, Auckland, N.Z.), prime minister (2014-19) and foreign minister (2014-17, 2018-19) of Tonga. He was also minister of education and training (2014-17), internal affairs (2017-18), and public enterprises (2019; acting).

Poignant, Per Gustaf Emil (b. Dec. 8, 1829, Stockholm, Sweden - d. June 8, 1910, Stockholm), governor of Gotland (1883-1900).

Poignet, Augustin (b. April 28, 1928, Sibiti, Middle Congo [now Congo (Brazzaville)] - d. June 26, 2008, Paris, France), defense minister (1968) and president of the Senate (1992-97) of Congo (Brazzaville).

Poilievre, Pierre (Marcel) (b. June 3, 1979, Calgary, Alta.), Canadian politician. He has been minister of employment and social development (2015) and leader of the Conservative Party (2022- ).

Poincaré

Poincaré, Raymond (Nicolas Landry) (b. Aug. 20, 1860, Bar-le-Duc, Meuse, France - d. Oct. 15, 1934, Paris, France), French statesman. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1887, he was education minister in 1893, the youngest minister in the history of the Third Republic. In 1894-95 he served as finance minister and in 1895 again as education minister. He left the Chamber in 1903 to serve in the Senate until 1912; during this time he served in the cabinet only once, as finance minister in 1906. In January 1912, however, he became prime minister and foreign minister. Believing that in the existing state of Europe war was inevitable, he bolstered alliances with Russia and Britain to ensure France would not be isolated as it had been in 1870. On Jan. 17, 1913, he was elected president by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, despite the opposition of the left under Georges Clemenceau, a lifelong enemy. Throughout World War I (1914-18) he strove to preserve national unity, and in 1917, when war weariness was prevalent, he confided the government to the iron-willed Clemenceau, as the man best qualified to lead the country to victory. After the completion of his term as president in 1920, he returned to the Senate and was for a time chairman of the reparations commission. In 1922 he again became prime minister and foreign minister. He refused a delay in German reparation payments and in January 1923 ordered French troops into the Ruhr in reaction to the default. Defeated by a leftist coalition in 1924, he was returned as prime minister in 1926, also taking the finance portfolio. He stabilized the declining franc and led the country to a period of new prosperity. He won another electoral victory in 1928, but illness forced him to resign in 1929. He had been elected to the Académie française in 1909.

Poindexter, George (b. 1779, Louisa county, Va. - d. Sept. 5, 1853, Jackson, Miss.), governor of Mississippi (1820-22). He was also a U.S. representative (1817-19) and senator (1830-35) from Mississippi.

Poindexter, Joseph B(oyd) (b. April 14, 1869, Canyon City, Ore. - d. Dec. 3, 1951, Honolulu, Hawaii), governor of Hawaii (1934-42).

Poinsett, Joel R(oberts) (b. March 2, 1779, Charleston, S.C. - d. Dec. 12, 1851, near present Statesburg, S.C.), U.S. secretary of war (1837-41). He was also minister to Mexico (1825-29).

Poinso-Chapuis, Germaine (Marie Joséphine) (b. March 6, 1901, Marseille, France - d. Feb. 20, 1981, Marseille), French politician. The first woman to serve in the French cabinet, she was minister of public health and population (1947-48).

Point

Point, Steven (Lewis) (b. July 28, 1951, Chilliwack, B.C.), lieutenant governor of British Columbia (2007-12).

Poiré (Romero), Alejandro (Alfonso) (b. Jan. 15, 1971, Mexico City, Mexico), interior minister of Mexico (2011-12).

Poiret, Jean Louis Georges (b. April 25, 1872, Le Mans, Sarthe, France - d. 1932), governor of French Guinea (1912-13, 1915-29).

Poisson, Émile (b. May 25, 1905, Ouidah, Dahomey [now Benin] - d. June 4, 1999, Paris, France), justice minister of Dahomey (1959-60). He was also mayor of Ouidah (1956-59) and ambassador to France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Benelux countries (1964-67).

Pok, Fabian (b. Feb. 22, 1963), defense minister of Papua New Guinea (2012-17). He was also minister of forests (1997-98), public enterprise and communications (1998-99), trade, tourism, commerce, industry, and police (1999), lands and physical planning (1999-2000), petroleum and energy (2000, 2017-19), and labour and employment (2001-02).

Pokasui, James, defense minister of Papua New Guinea (1987-88).

Pokhrel, Ishwor, Ishwor also spelled Ishwar, Pokhrel also spelled Pokharel (b. Feb. 4, 1954, Mamkha-2, Okhaldhunga district, Nepal), deputy prime minister (2012, 2018-21), foreign minister (2012), and defense minister (2018-20) of Nepal. He was also minister of industry, commerce, and supplies (2004-05).

Pokhvisnev, Mikhail (Nikolayevich) (b. 1811 - d. Nov. 4, 1882, Paris, France), governor of Vilna (1857-63). He was also head of the Russian Directorate for Press Affairs (1866-70).

Pokka, (Pirkko) Hannele (b. May 25, 1952, Ruovesi, Finland), governor of Lapland (1994-2008). She was also Finnish justice minister (1991-94).

Poklukar, Bostjan (b. Jan. 27, 1971, Jesenice, Slovenia), interior minister of Slovenia (2018-20, 2023- ).

Pokotilo, Vasily (Ivanovich) (b. Aug. 20 [Aug. 8, O.S.], 1856 - d. af. 1919), governor of Fergana oblast (1904-07) and Semirechye oblast (1907-08). He was also ataman of the Don Cossack Host (1912-15).

Pokrovsky, Nikolay (Nikolayevich) (b. Feb. 8 [Jan. 27, O.S.], 1865, St. Petersburg, Russia - d. Dec. 12, 1930, Kaunas, Lithuania), foreign minister of Russia (1916-17). He was also state comptroller (1916).

Pol, Marek (Ludwik) (b. Dec. 8, 1953, Slupsk, Poland), Polish politician. He was minister of industry and trade (1993-95) and a deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure (2001-04).

Pol Pot

Pol Pot, original name Saloth Sar (b. January 1925, Prek Sbov, Kompong Thom province, Cambodia - d. April 15, 1998, north of Anlong Veng, near the Cambodia-Thailand border), Cambodian political leader. In the 1940s he joined the anti-French resistance under Ho Chi Minh. In 1963 he became leader of the Communist Party of Cambodia and disappeared into the jungle, where he adapted the charismatic revolutionary persona known as Brother Number One. At some point he adopted the name Pol Pot (supposedly short for "political potential"). He built up the party and trained his Khmer Rouge guerrillas, who first clashed with the Cambodian army and police in 1968. He led the Khmer Rouge forces - an army of 70,000 - in their overthrow of Gen. Lon Nol's regime in 1975 and became prime minister in 1976. As Cambodia's agriculture had been all but destroyed by years of massive U.S. bombing, he organized a harsh agrarian society without money or property, abolishing schools, religion, and family life and killing those that would not fit in - intellectuals, artists, technicians, former government officials, monks, and minorities. His regime has been blamed for the deaths of about 1.7 million people, nearly one-quarter of his nation's population, through starvation, disease, torture, execution, and hard labour. After being overthrown by a Vietnamese invasion in January 1979, he led the Khmer Rouge forces against the new Hanoi-supported government in Phnom Penh. Although replaced as "prime minister" in December 1979 and removed from the military leadership of the Khmer Rouge in 1985, he apparently remained a guiding force in the organization until June 1997, when he ordered top general Son Sen killed, causing a split among the hardliners. His rivals captured him on June 20 and staged a "people's tribunal" against him in July. He was found guilty of treason and placed under house arrest. He apparently died of heart failure in a hut in the jungle.

Polácek, Karel (b. July 7, 1913, Starý Plzenec, Austria [now in Czech Republic] - d. Oct. 28, 1976, Plzen, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), a deputy premier of Czechoslovakia (1955-58). He was also minister of heavy machine building (1953), machine building (1953-55), and general machine building (1958-65), a minister without portfolio (1965-66), and head of the Central Council of the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (1968-70).

Polak, Carel (Hendrik Frederik) (b. Sept. 2, 1909, Rotterdam, Netherlands - d. Feb. 28, 1981, Oegstgeest, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands), justice minister of the Netherlands (1967-71).

Polancec, Damir (b. June 25, 1967, Koprivnica, Croatia), a deputy prime minister of Croatia (2005-09). He was also minister of economy, labour, and entrepreneurship (2008-09).

Polar (Vargas), (José) Jorge (María) (b. April 21, 1855, Arequipa, Peru - d. June 6, 1932, Arequipa), justice and education minister of Peru (1904-06); son of Juan Manuel Polar. He was also minister to Cuba and Venezuela (1919).

Polar (Carasas), Juan Manuel (b. Dec. 27, 1809, Arequipa, Peru - d. May 14, 1881, Arequipa), finance minister (1868) and foreign minister (1868) of Peru. He was also minister to Bolivia (1859) and Chile (1859-62).

Polar Ugarteche, (José Miguel) Mario (b. Sept. 5, 1912, Arequipa, Peru - d. Nov. 16, 1988, Lima, Peru), second vice president of Peru (1963-68).

Polat, Oyun (Oyunovich) (b. Nov. 1, 1906 - d. 1992), chairman of the Presidium of the Little Khural of Tannu Tuva (1938-40).

Polatkan, Hasan (b. 1915, Eskisehir, Ottoman Empire [now in Turkey] - d. [executed] Sept. 16, 1961, Imrali, Turkey), finance minister of Turkey (1950-55, 1956-60). He was also minister of labour (1950) and industry (acting, 1958).

Polenz, Ruprecht (Rolf Gotthelf) (b. May 26, 1946, Denkwitz, near Bautzen, Germany), German politician; general secretary of the Christian Democratic Union (2000).

Poleshko, Georgy (Ya.), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Dagestan A.S.S.R. (1921-22).

Poletti, (Aldo) Charles (b. July 2, 1903, Barre, Vt. - d. Aug. 8, 2002, Marco Island, Fla.), acting governor of New York (1942-43). He briefly (for 29 days) moved up from lieutenant governor in December 1942 after Gov. Herbert H. Lehman resigned to direct war-relief efforts in Europe. Poletti himself received an Army commission in 1943 and directed the reconstruction of infrastructure and food supplies as Allied forces pushed into Italy. He later directed civil affairs operations in Rome, Naples, and Milan.

Polevanov, Vladimir (Pavlovich) (b. Nov. 11, 1949), head of the administration of Amur oblast (1993-94). He was also Russian deputy prime minister and chairman of the State Committee for Management of State Property (1994-95).

Polezhayev, Leonid (Konstantinovich) (b. Jan. 30, 1940, Omsk, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Executive Committee (1990-91), head of the administration (1991-95), and governor (1995-2012) of Omsk oblast.

Polfer

Polfer, Lydie, during former marriage known as Lydie Wurth-Polfer (b. Nov. 22, 1952, Luxembourg), deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Luxembourg (1999-2004); ex-wife of Hubert Wurth. She has also been mayor of Luxembourg city (1982-99, 2013- ).

Polic, Nedzad (b. Nov. 16, 1969, Zavidovici [now in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]), premier of Zenica-Doboj (2003-06).

Polignac, Auguste Jules Armand Marie, prince de (b. May 14, 1780, Versailles, France - d. March 29, 1847, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Seine-et-Oise [now in Yvelines], France), prime minister and foreign minister of France (1829-30). He was also ambassador to the United Kingdom (1823-29).

Polis, Jared (Schutz) (b. May 12, 1975, Boulder, Colo.), governor of Colorado (2019- ).

Pólit (Cevallos), Rafael (b. 1823 - d. 1897), foreign minister and acting president of Ecuador (1875). He was also president of the Senate (1875).

Politis, Ioannis (b. 1890, Piraeus, Greece - d. June 3, 1959, Athens, Greece), foreign minister of Greece (1945, 1951). He was also minister to Germany (1930-33), Poland (1933-35), Austria (1936-38), Norway, Sweden, and Finland (1938-40), France (1939-40), and Italy (1940), a minister without portfolio (1947), and minister of national economy (1948).

Politis, Nikolaos (Sokratis) (b. 1872, Corfu, Greece - d. March 4, 1942, Cannes, France), foreign minister of Greece (1917-20, 1922). He was also ambassador to France (1924-25, 1927-40).

Polivanov, Aleksey (Andreyevich) (b. March 16 [March 4, O.S.], 1855 - d. Sept. 25, 1920, Riga, Latvia), war minister of Russia (1915-16). He was also chief of the General Staff (1905-06).

Polivanov, Viktor (Petrovich) (b. Nov. 6 [Oct. 25, O.S.], 1831 - d. Oct. 27 [Oct. 15, O.S.], 1889, St. Petersburg, Russia), governor of Estonia (1875-85).

Polk, Charles (b. Nov. 15, 1788, Bridgeville, Del. - d. Oct. 27, 1857, Milford, Del.), governor of Delaware (1827-30 and [acting] 1836-37); third cousin once removed of James K. Polk.

Polk, Frank Lyon (b. Sept. 13, 1871, New York City - d. Feb. 7, 1943, New York City), acting U.S. secretary of state (1920); grandnephew of James K. Polk.

J.K. Polk

Polk, James K(nox) (b. Nov. 2, 1795, Mecklenburg county, N.C. - d. June 15, 1849, Nashville, Tenn.), president of the United States (1845-49). He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1823-25) and then in the U.S. House of Representatives (1825-39), where he was a supporter of Andrew Jackson. He became speaker of the House in 1835, but gave up the post in 1839 to run for governor of Tennessee. He was narrowly elected, but was defeated for reelection in 1841 and 1843 by small majorities. His bid for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination in 1840 also failed. In 1844, however, he was nominated as compromise candidate for president by the Democratic Party; he is regarded as the first "dark horse" nominee in the history of the presidency. In the campaign, he called for the immediate annexation of Texas. He won a popular plurality of about 38,000 and 170 electoral votes against 105 for Henry Clay (Whig). At 49 he was the youngest successful presidential candidate up to that time. His administration was marked by large territorial gains. He concluded the annexation of Texas and provoked a war with Mexico (1846-48), as a consequence of which the Southwest and far West (California) became part of the U.S. domain. Meanwhile, the northwestern (Oregon) boundary was fixed by treaty with Britain, establishing the international frontier at the 49th parallel, and the continental United States emerged a recognized reality. The passage of the Walker Tariff Act of 1846 lowered import duties and did much to pacify British public opinion that had been inflamed over the Oregon compromise. His administration may also be credited with the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and the authorization of the Smithsonian Institution.

Polk, Trusten (b. May 29, 1811, near Bridgeville, Del. - d. April 16, 1876, St. Louis, Mo.), governor of Missouri (1857); fourth cousin of James K. Polk.

Polk, William Hawkins (b. May 24, 1815, Maury county, Tenn. - d. Dec. 16, 1862, Nashville, Tenn.), U.S. diplomat; brother of James K. Polk. He was chargé d'affaires in the Two Sicilies (1845-47).

Poll, Frederik van de (b. Sept. 28, 1780, Bloemendaal, Netherlands - d. Nov. 13, 1853, Utrecht, Netherlands), governor of Utrecht (1840-50). He was also mayor of Amsterdam (1829-36).

Pollack-B.

Pollack-Beighle, Yldiz (Deborah) (b. April 21, 1983, Paramaribo, Suriname), foreign minister of Suriname (2017-20).

Pollard, John Garland (b. Aug. 4, 1871, King and Queen county, Va. - d. April 28, 1937, Washington, D.C.), governor of Virginia (1930-34).

Pollen, Daniel (b. June 2, 1813, Dublin, Ireland - d. May 18, 1896, New Zealand), premier of New Zealand (1875-76). He was also minister of native affairs (1876-77).

Pollitt

Pollitt, Harry (b. Nov. 22, 1890, Droylsden, Lancashire, England - d. June 27, 1960, at sea en route from Australia to England), British Communist. He became a leader in the boilermakers union and organizer of the Hands Off Russia movement, playing an active part in the agitation which led to the Jolly George strike (1920), when dockers refused to load arms for the Polish war against Russia. He was a foundation member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in 1920 and in 1921 attended a congress of the Third International in Moscow, where he met Vladimir Lenin. In 1925 he was one of 13 leading Communists tried for uttering a seditious libel and contravening the provisions of the Incitement to Mutiny Act. He was condemned to a year's imprisonment and served 11 months at Wandsworth. The Comintern was displeased by the CPGB's independent line, and in 1929 the party was forced to call a special congress, as a result of which Pollitt became general secretary. He declared support for Britain's war against Germany early in September 1939, but when the Soviet Union invaded Poland two weeks later, the official Moscow line changed; the CPGB then decided that the war was an imperialist one, and Pollitt was removed from the secretaryship. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, however, the war again became an anti-Fascist one and Pollitt was returned to the party leadership. He was caught again in a contradiction in 1956, when he praised Stalin while the secret 20th party congress in Moscow was condemning the former Soviet leader. Pollitt resigned as general secretary and was given the nominal post of party chairman, which he held until his death. During his career he stood for Parliament nine times without success.

Pollock, James (b. Sept. 11, 1810, Milton, Pa. - d. April 19, 1890, Lock Haven, Pa.), governor of Pennsylvania (1855-58).

Polman, Han, byname of Johannes Marcellus Maria Polman (b. Jan. 16, 1963, Ootmarsum, Netherlands), king's commissioner of Zeeland (2013- ).

Polo (Vega), Solón (b. Feb. 4, 1871, Chiclayo, Peru - d. Sept. 4, 1934, Lima, Peru), foreign minister of Peru (1904-05, 1906-08, 1915-16, 1933-34). He was also minister to Bolivia (1909-11).

Pololikashvili, Zurab (b. Jan. 12, 1977, Tbilisi, Georgian S.S.R.), secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (2018- ). He was also Georgian ambassador to Spain, Andorra, Morocco, and Algeria (2006-09) and minister of economic development (2009-10).

Polonsky, Vladimir (Ivanovich) (b. June 17 [June 5, O.S.], 1893, Tobolsk [now in Tyumen oblast], Russia - d. [executed] Oct. 30, 1939), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan S.S.R. (1930-33).

Polónyi, Géza (b. April 3, 1848, Knezics, Hungary [now part of Zitavany, Slovakia] - d. Feb. 1, 1920, Budapest, Hungary), justice minister of Hungary (1906-07).

Polovtsov, Aleksandr (Aleksandrovich) (b. June 12 [May 31, O.S.], 1832, St. Petersburg, Russia - d. Oct. 7 [Sept. 24, O.S.], 1909, Rapti, St. Petersburg province [now part of Dzerzhinskogo, Leningrad oblast], Russia), Russian secretary of state (1883-92); nephew of Yuvenaly.

Polozkov, Ivan (Kuzmich) (b. Feb. 16, 1935, Leshch-Plota, Kursk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1990-91). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Krasnodar kray (1985-90).

Poltavchenko

Poltavchenko, Georgy (Sergeyevich) (b. Feb. 23, 1953), plenipotentiary of the president in Tsentralny federal district (2000-11) and governor of Saint Petersburg (2011-18).

Poltorak, Stepan (Tymofiyovych) (b. Feb. 11, 1965, Vesela Dolyna, Odessa oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R.), defense minister of Ukraine (2014-19). He was also commander of the National Guard (2014).

Poltoranin, Mikhail (Nikiforovich) (b. Nov. 22, 1939, Ridder, Kazakh S.S.R.), a deputy prime minister of Russia (1992). He was also minister of press and information (1990-92).

Poltoratsky, Konstantin (Markovich) (b. May 31 or June 1 [May 20 or 21, O.S.], 1782 - d. March 27 [March 15, O.S.], 1858, St. Petersburg, Russia), governor of Yaroslavl (1830-42); brother-in-law of Dmitry Mertvago.

Polubotok, Pavlo (Leontiyovych) (b. 1660 - d. Dec. 28 [Dec. 17, O.S.], 1724, St. Petersburg, Russia), acting hetman of Ukraine (1722-24).

Polumordvinov, Grigory (Afanasyevich) (b. March 21 [March 9, O.S.], 1897, Ozerki, Saratov province, Russia - d. [executed] Dec. 29, 1937), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Mordovian national okrug (1928-29). He was also acting executive secretary of the party committee of Penza province (1925) and first secretary of the party committee of Kostroma city (1935-37).

Poluyanov, Nikolay (Andreyevich) (b. July 14, 1952), head of the administration of Komi-Permyak autonomous okrug (1991-2000).

Polverini, Renata (b. May 14, 1962, Rome, Italy), president of Lazio (2010-13).

Polvon-zoda, Abdusamat (Abdukhamidovich), justice minister of Uzbekistan (2000-05).

Polyakov, Aleksandr (Aleksandrovich) (b. August 1902, Penza, Russia - d. [executed] May 1938, Saransk, Mordovian A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), acting first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Mordovian A.S.S.R. (1937).

Polyakov, Ivan (Yevteyevich) (b. Nov. 25, 1914 - d. Feb. 8, 2004), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Belorussian S.S.R. (1977-85). He was also chairman of the Executive Committee of Gomel oblast (1956-57) and first secretary of the party committees of Gomel (1957-64) and Minsk (1964-77) oblasti.

Polyakov, Mikhail (Kharitonovich) (b. Sept. 12 [Aug. 31, O.S.], 1884, Yekaterinburg, Russia - d. [executed] June 21, 1939, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Crimean Revolutionary Committee (1921).

Polyansky

Polyansky, Dmitry (Stepanovich) (b. Nov. 7 [Oct. 25, O.S.], 1917, Slavyanoserbsk, Yekaterinoslav province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. Oct. 8, 2001, Moscow, Russia), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1958-62). He was also chairman of the Executive Committee of Crimea oblast (1952-54), first secretary of the party committees of Crimea (1954-55) and Chkalov (1955-57) oblasti and Krasnodar kray (1957-58), and Soviet deputy (1962-65) and first deputy (1965-73) prime minister, minister of agriculture (1973-76), and ambassador to Japan (1976-82) and Norway (1982-87).

Polye, Don (Pomb) (b. Feb. 1, 1967, Enga province, Papua New Guinea), foreign minister (2010-11) and finance minister (2011-12, 2012) of Papua New Guinea. He was also minister of transport and civil aviation (2002-07), higher education, research, science, and technology (2005-06, 2006, 2022-24), works, public services, culture, and tourism (2007), works, transport, and civil aviation (2007-09, 2010), treasury (2011-14), and sports (2022- ) and deputy prime minister (2006-07, 2010).

Polynice, Edmond (Sylvestre), chairman (1914, 1914) and member (1915) of the Committee of Public Welfare and member of the Revolutionary Committee (1915) of Haiti.

Pomaret, Charles (b. Aug. 16, 1897, Montpellier, Hérault, France - d. Sept. 11, 1984, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France), interior minister of France (1940). He was also minister of labour (1938-40, 1940).

Pomárico Ramos, Armando (de Jesús) (b. March 22, 1955, Plato, Magdalena, Colombia), Colombian politician. He was governor of Magdalena (1990-91) and president of the Chamber of Representatives (1999-2000).

Pomat, Job (b. Feb. 4, 1960), Papua New Guinean politician. He has been minister for inter-government relations (2007-11) and fisheries (2011-12), speaker of parliament (2017- ), and acting governor-general (2023).

Pombal, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, marquês de (b. May 13, 1699, Lisbon, Portugal - d. May 8, 1782, Pombal, Portugal), Portuguese statesman. He served as ambassador to England (1738-45) and Austria (1745-49) and was appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs and war in 1750. He soon came to dominate Portuguese politics and King José I gave him a free hand. He showed resourcefulness in re-planning Lisbon after the great earthquake of 1755, and in 1756 was made principal minister (secretário de estado dos negócios do reino). A believer in enlightened despotism, he opposed the tyranny of the church and the intrigues of nobles and Jesuits, and banished the Jesuits in 1759. He established elementary schools, reorganized the army, introduced fresh colonists into the Portuguese settlements, and established West India and Brazil companies. The tyranny of the Inquisition was broken. Agriculture, commerce, and finance were improved. Pombal's whole program, however, was executed by ruthless suppression of all opposition. The creation of a wine monopoly caused an uprising in Porto, which was put down (1757) with ferocity. A group of nobles accused of an attempt (1758) to kill the king were tortured to death. Thousands of people were imprisoned. He was created conde de Oeiras in 1759 and marquês de Pombal in 1769. His power as virtual ruler of the country ended on the accession of Maria I (1777), when he was quickly dismissed. In 1781 he was found guilty of abuse of power and declared to be deserving of exemplary punishment, but in view of his age and infirmity was only banished from Lisbon.

Pombo (O'Donnell), Lino de (b. Jan. 7, 1797, Cartagena, New Granada [now in Colombia] - d. Nov. 20, 1862, Bogotá, Colombia), foreign minister (1833-38, 1840, 1855-57) and finance minister (1845-46) of New Granada. He was also acting governor of Cundinamarca (1840-41) and minister to Venezuela (1841-43).

Pomerants, Marko (b. Sept. 24, 1964, Tamsalu, Estonian S.S.R.), interior minister of Estonia (2009-11). He was also minister of social affairs (2003-05) and environment (2015-17).

Pomeroy

Pompeo

Pomeroy, Allan (b. 1906 - d. July 7, 1966, Seattle, Wash.), mayor of Seattle (1952-56).

Pomeroy-Colley, Sir George Pomeroy, surname until May 8, 1880, Colley (b. Nov. 1, 1835, Dublin, Ireland - d. [killed in action] Feb. 27, 1881, Majuba Hill, Natal [near present Volksrust, Mpumalanga, South Africa]), governor of Natal (1880-81); knighted 1879.

Pometta, Francesca (b. June 24, 1926, Geneva, Switzerland - d. March 16, 2016), Swiss diplomat. She was permanent observer to the United Nations (1982-87) and ambassador to Italy and Malta (1987-91).

Pommies, Robert (b. Dec. 18, 1941, Paris, France), administrator-superior of Wallis and Futuna (1990-93) and prefect of Réunion (1995-98). He was also prefect of Indre département (1994-95).

Pompeo, Mike, byname of Michael Richard Pompeo (b. Dec. 30, 1963, Orange, Calif.), U.S. CIA director (2017-18) and secretary of state (2018-21).

Pompidou

Pompidou, Georges (Jean Raymond) (b. July 5, 1911, Montboudif, Cantal, France - d. April 2, 1974, Paris, France), French statesman. He served (1944-46) on Charles de Gaulle's personal staff and remained a member of his "shadow cabinet" after de Gaulle's sudden resignation from the premiership in January 1946. He then was assistant to the general commissioner for tourism (1946-49) and also, with no legal qualifications, held the post of maître des requêtes at the Conseil d'État, France's highest administrative court (1946-57). On de Gaulle's return to power at the time of the Algerian crisis (June 1958), Pompidou became his chief personal assistant (until January 1959). In 1962 the relatively unknown Pompidou was appointed premier and he remained in the post for six years and three months, a phenomenon unknown in French politics for four generations. At the time of the student-worker revolt of May 1968, he participated in negotiations with workers and employers, persuaded de Gaulle to make the necessary reforms, and concluded the Grenelle Agreement (May 27) that finally ended the strikes. In the following election campaign, his calls for the restoration of law and order helped the Gaullists win an unprecedented majority in the National Assembly on June 30. His dismissal from the premiership by de Gaulle in July caused a major sensation, but he continued to enjoy great influence and popularity, and when de Gaulle abruptly resigned in April 1969, Pompidou campaigned for the presidency and was elected on June 15, receiving more than 58% of the vote in the runoff against Alain Poher. During his term as president, he largely continued the policies initiated by de Gaulle, but with greater flexibility; for example, he no longer blocked Britain's entry into the Common Market. He died in office.

Ponce (Ramírez), Fernando (d. January 1891), provisional president of Panamá (1868) and war and navy minister of Colombia (1877).

Ponce, Generoso Paes Leme de Souza (b. July 10, 1852, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil - d. Nov. 7, 1911, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Mato Grosso (1892 [acting], 1907-08).

Ponce (Borja), N(icolás) Clemente (b. June 22, 1866, Quito, Ecuador - d. Nov. 21, 1929, Panama City, Panama), foreign minister of Ecuador (1920-24). He was also minister to Bolivia (1910-11).

Ponce Arenas, (Manuel) Luis (b. Jan. 27, 1912, Lima, Peru - d. Sept. 10, 1980, Callao, Peru), interior minister of Peru (1967-68). He was also navy minister (1965-67).

Ponce Brousset, Manuel María (b. April 5, 1874, Arequipa, Peru - d. July 18, 1966, Lima, Peru), chairman of the military junta of Peru (1930).

Ponce Enríquez, Camilo (b. Jan. 31, 1912, Quito, Ecuador - d. Sept. 14, 1976, Quito), foreign minister (1944-45), interior minister (1953-55), and president (1956-60) of Ecuador. He was also minister of public works (1947). He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1968.

Ponce Lozada, Luis, interior and justice minister (1947, 1950-51) and defense minister (1951) of Bolivia. He was also minister of public works and communications (1948) and president of the Chamber of Deputies (1949-50).

Ponce Miranda, Neftalí (b. Feb. 5, 1908, Quito, Ecuador - d. ...), foreign minister of Ecuador (1948-52, 1963-64). He was also chargé d'affaires in Colombia (1944), representative to the United Nations (1945-47), and ambassador to Brazil (1954-60) and the United States (1962-63).

Ponce Yépez, José María (b. Aug. 6, 1913, Quito, Ecuador - d. 1990), foreign minister of Ecuador (1970-71). He was also chargé d'affaires in Colombia (1946) and Cuba (1949-52) and ambassador to Cuba (1954-56), Bolivia (1956-57), Peru (1957-60), Brazil (1961-63, 1969-70), and Guatemala (1963-68, 1971-74).

Poncelet, Jean-Pol (b. April 10, 1950, Carlsbourg [now part of Paliseul], Belgium), defense minister of Belgium (1995-99). He was also a deputy prime minister and minister of energy (1998-99).

Poncelet, Jules (Jean Pierre Joseph) (b. May 19, 1869, Offagne, Belgium - d. April 23, 1952, Offagne), chairman of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium (1930-36).

Ponchardier

Pongpol

Ponchardier, Dominique (b. March 3, 1917, Saint-Étienne, France - d. April 17, 1986, Nice, France), high commissioner of the French Territory of the Afars and Issas (1969-71). He was also French ambassador to Bolivia (1964-68).

Pond, Charles H(obby) (b. April 26, 1781, Milford, Conn. - d. April 28, 1861, Milford), governor of Connecticut (1853-54).

Ponder, James (b. Oct. 31, 1819, Milton, Del. - d. Nov. 5, 1897, Milton), governor of Delaware (1871-75); brother-in-law of brother of Gove Saulsbury.

Ponge, Étienne (Joseph), resident of Wallis and Futuna (1898-1901).

Pongpol Adireksarn (b. March 23, 1942), foreign minister (1992) and deputy prime minister (2001-02) of Thailand. He was also minister of agriculture and cooperatives (1997-2000) and education (2002-03).

Poniatowski

Poniatowski, (Prince) Michel (Casimir) (b. May 16, 1922, Paris, France - d. Jan. 15, 2002, Opio, Alpes-Maritimes, France), French politician. He numbered a marshal of France, an Austrian field marshal, and a king of Poland among his forebears. In 1948 he joined the Ministry of Finance, where from 1959 he was closely associated with Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. He managed the campaign that brought Giscard to the presidency in 1974. By turns he was minister of state, minister of the interior (1974-77), president of the National Federation of Independent Republicans, honorary president of the Republican Party, and Giscard's personal envoy abroad with the rank of ambassador. He was involved in a cause célèbre known as the de Broglie affair, which began on Dec. 24, 1976, when former minister Prince Jean de Broglie was shot and killed in Paris. Over the succeeding years the case brewed into a scandal involving business, politics, and a host of shady deals. De Broglie had been engaged in a variety of activities in a number of different firms. At the time of his death he had debts amounting to Fr 12 million. A founder, with Giscard and Raymond Marcellin, of the Independent Republicans and the reputed bankroller of the party, he died a victim of enemies who decided to eliminate him when he became a liability. In 1980 the Socialist Party, with the support of the Communists, set forth a motion that Poniatowski, interior minister at the time of the murder, should appear before the High Court of Justice accused of "failure to assist a person who knew himself to be in danger." He brought a libel action against the Socialist and Communist parties and affirmed before the parliamentary commission appointed to examine the motion that "he was never in receipt of preliminary information concerning a plan to assassinate Jean de Broglie."

Ponikowski, Antoni (b. May 29, 1878, Siedlce, Poland - d. Dec. 27, 1949, Warsaw, Poland), prime minister of Poland (1918, 1921-22). He was also minister of religious affairs and education (1921-22).

Poniman (b. July 18, 1926, Surakarta, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Tengah, Indonesia] - d. April 30, 2010, Jakarta, Indonesia), defense minister of Indonesia (1983-88). He was also army chief of staff (1980-83).

Ponomarenko, Panteleimon (Kondratyevich) (b. Aug. 9 [July 27, O.S.], 1902, Shelkovsk farm, Kuban oblast [now in Krasnodar kray], Russia - d. Jan. 18, 1984, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party (1938-47) and chairman of the Council of People's Commissars/Ministers (1944-48) of the Belorussian S.S.R. and first secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh S.S.R. (1954-55). He was also Soviet minister of food reserves (1950-52) and culture (1953-54), a deputy premier (1952-53), and ambassador to Poland (1955-57), India (1957-59), Nepal (1958-59), and the Netherlands (1959-62).

Ponomarev, Mikhail (Aleksandrovich) (b. Sept. 2, 1918, Berezovka, Perm province, Russia - d. Aug. 30, 2001, Moscow, Russia), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Kalmyk A.S.S.R. (1959-61). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Vladimir oblast (1961-83 [rural in 1963-64]).

Ponos, Zdravko (b. Nov. 3, 1962, Golubic, near Knin, Croatia), Serbian politician. He was chief of the General Staff (2006-08) and a presidential candidate (2022).

Pons Campuzano, Antonio (b. Nov. 10, 1897, Guayaquil, Ecuador - d. Jan. 7, 1980, Guayaquil), interior minister (1934-35) and acting president (1935) of Ecuador. He was also minister to Argentina (1935-37).

Pons Irazazábal, Félix (b. Sept. 14, 1942, Palma de Mallorca, Spain - d. July 2, 2010, Palma de Mallorca), Spanish politician. He was minister of territorial administration (1985-86) and president of the Congress of Deputies (1986-96).

Pons Irazazábal, José María (b. April 12, 1948, Palma de Mallorca, Spain), Spanish diplomat; brother of Félix Pons Irazazábal. He was ambassador to the Netherlands (1995-2001), Denmark (2001-03), Austria (2008-10), and Malta (2014-18).

Ponsot, (Auguste) Henri (b. March 2, 1877, Bologna, Italy - d. March 1, 1963, Paris, France), French high commissioner of Syria and Lebanon (1926-33) and resident-general of Morocco (1933-36). He was also ambassador to Turkey (1936-38).

Pont, René (Lucien) (b. April 10, 1915 - d. Feb. 19, 2008), governor of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (1958-60).

Ponta

Ponta, Victor(-Viorel) (b. Sept. 20, 1972, Bucharest, Romania), prime minister of Romania (2012-15).

Pontal, Manoel Ignacio de Mello e Souza, barão do (b. 1771, Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal - d. May 20, 1859, Ponte Nova, Minas Gerais, Brazil), president of Minas Gerais (1831-33, 1833, and [acting] 1835). He was made baron in 1841.

Pontas, Sutan Kumala (b. 1898? - d. July 19, 1972), governor of Sumatera Utara (1956-60).

Ponte, João de Saldanha da Gama Mello Torres Guedes de Brito, (6°) conde da (b. Dec. 4, 1773, Portugal - d. May 24, 1809, São Salvador da Bahia [now Salvador], Brazil), governor of Bahia (1805-09); grandson of João de Saldanha da Gama.

Pontes, Manoel José Pires da Silva (d. 1850), president of Espírito Santo (1833-35).

Pontes, Marcos Cesar (b. March 11, 1963, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil), Brazilian politician. The first Brazilian astronaut, he was minister of science, technology, innovation, and communications (2019-22).

Pontes, Rodrigo de Souza da Silva (b. Oct. 27, 1799, São Salvador da Bahia [now Salvador], Brazil - d. Jan. 30, 1855, Buenos Aires, Argentina), president of Alagoas (1836-38) and Pará (1842-43); son of Antonio Pires da Silva Pontes Leme. He was also Brazilian minister to Argentina (1852-55).

Ponton, Louis (Georges André) (b. Dec. 22, 1906, Tananarive [now Antananarivo], Madagascar - d. July 31, 1944, Fort-de-France, Martinique), governor of Martinique (1943-44).

Pontus, Charles (b. March 26, 1829, Ath, Netherlands [now in Belgium] - d. March 1, 1907, Brussels, Belgium), war minister of Belgium (1884-93).

Ponty, (Amédée) William (Merlaud-) (b. Feb. 4, 1866, Rochefort, Charente-Inférieure [now Charente-Maritime], France - d. June 13, 1915, Dakar, Senegal), delegate (1899-1904) and lieutenant governor (1904-08) of Haut-Sénégal-Niger and governor-general of French West Africa (1908-15).

Ponulele, Aminuddin (b. July 5, 1939, Palu, Netherlands East Indies [now in Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia] - d. Jan. 27, 2021, Palu), governor of Sulawesi Tengah (2001-06).

Poonacha, Cheppudira Muthana (b. 1910, Attur village, Coorg province [now in Karnataka state], India - d. Aug. 3, 1990, Gonikoppal, Karnataka, India), chief minister of Coorg (1952-56) and governor of Madhya Pradesh (1978-80) and Orissa (1980-83). He was also Indian minister of railways (1967-69) and steel and heavy engineering (1969).

Poos

Poos, Jacques (François) (b. June 3, 1935, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - d. Feb. 19, 2022), finance minister (1976-79), deputy prime minister and foreign and economy minister (1984-99), and defense minister (1989-94) of Luxembourg.

Pop, Mihail (b. Oct. 31, 1955, Sredneye Vodyanoye, Ukrainian S.S.R.), finance minister of Moldova (2005-08).

Pop, Willem Frederik (b. June 14, 1858, The Hague, Netherlands - d. July 24, 1931, Voorburg [now part of Leidschendam-Voorburg], Zuid-Holland, Netherlands), war and navy minister of the Netherlands (1920-21). He was also chief of the General Staff (1918-20).

Popa, Gherasim, a deputy premier of Romania (1957-61). He was also minister of metallurgical and machine-building industry (1955-57) and heavy industry (1957-59).

Popal, Ali Ahmad (b. Feb. 22, 1916, Kabul, Afghanistan - d. Nov. 21, 2004), Afghan politician. He was minister of education (1956-64, 1967-68), second deputy prime minister (1962-64), first deputy prime minister (1967-68), and ambassador to West Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland (1964-66), Turkey (1966-67), Pakistan, Ceylon/Sri Lanka, and Thailand (1969-74), Japan, Australia, and South Korea (1974-77), and the Soviet Union, Finland, Romania, and Mongolia (1977-78).

Pope, Amy E(ileen) (b. March 15, 1974), director-general of the International Organization for Migration (2023- ).

Pope, John (b. February 1770, Prince William county, Virginia - d. July 12, 1845, Springfield, Ky.), governor of Arkansas (1829-35).

N. Pope

Pope, Neil (Albert) (b. March 3, 1949, Melbourne, Vic.), administrator of Norfolk Island (2012-14).

Popelka, Augustin (b. April 25, 1854, Brünn, Austria [now Brno, Czech Republic] - d. May 22, 1938, Brno), justice minister of Czechoslovakia (1920-21).

Popescu, Ionut (b. Dec. 10, 1964), finance minister of Romania (2004-05).

Popescu

Popescu-T.

Popescu, Nicolae, byname Nicu Popescu (b. April 25, 1981, Kishinev, Moldavian S.S.R. [now Chisinau, Moldova]), foreign minister of Moldova (2019, 2021-24). He has also been a deputy prime minister (2021- ).

Popescu-Tariceanu, Calin (Constantin Anton) (b. Jan. 14, 1952, Bucharest, Romania), prime minister of Romania (2004-08). He was also minister of industry and trade (1996-97), president of the Senate (2014-19), and a presidential candidate (2014).

Popham, Sir Henry Bradshaw (b. Aug. 1, 1881 - d. April 15, 1947), administrator of Dominica (1933-37) and governor of the Windward Islands (1937-42); knighted 1938.

Popiel, Karol (Michal) (b. Oct. 28, 1887, Rzochów [now part of Mielec], Austria [now in Poland] - d. June 6, 1977, Rome, Italy), justice minister of Poland in exile (1941-42). He was also minister of reconstruction of public administration (1943-44) and leader of the Labour Party (1945-46).

Popielawski, Stefan (b. 1880, Warcie, Sieradz county, Poland - d. Dec. 16, 1934, Lódz, Poland), governor of Bialostockie województwo (1920-24).

Poplasen

Poplasen, Nikola (b. 1951, Stanisic, near Sombor, Vojvodina, Serbia), Bosnian politician. He served as deputy speaker of the Bosnian Serb assembly both during and after the 43-month Bosnian civil war. In 1997, he became president of the Radical Party. He defeated Western-backed incumbent Biljana Plavsic for the presidency of the Bosnian Serb Republic in 1998 elections. His party was a coalition partner of the hardline nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS), founded in 1990 by wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. It was a branch of the Radical Party of Serbian ultra-nationalist Vojislav Seselj, whose paramilitary "White Eagles" took part in the Bosnian war. During the election campaign he said he would use all constitutional means to unite the Serb republic with Serbia proper but backed down after Western officials warned him that the Dayton peace accord did not permit any border changes. His relations with the international community sponsoring the peace process steadily deteriorated in 1999, culminating in his dismissal by international peace coordinator Carlos Westendorp for obstructing the Dayton agreement. He refused to accept Westendorp's decision to sack him and called for a referendum on the issue, but this came to nothing.

Popok, Yakov (Abramovich) (b. Oct. 2 [Sept. 20, O.S.], 1894, Khislavichi, Mogilyov province [now in Smolensk oblast], Russia - d. [executed] July 28, 1938, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen S.S.R. (1930-37). He was also first secretary of the party committee of the Volga German A.S.S.R. (1937-38).

Popolizio

Poposki

A. Popov

Popolizio (Bardales), Néstor (Francisco) (b. Feb. 25, 1955, Pucallpa, Peru), foreign minister of Peru (2018-19). He was also ambassador to Portugal (2011-13) and Colombia (2013-16) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2019-21). In 2021 he was appointed ambassador to the Czech Republic.

Poposki, Nikola (b. Oct. 24, 1977, Skopje, Macedonia [now North Macedonia]), foreign minister of Macedonia (2011-17). He was also a deputy prime minister (2016-17).

Popov, Anatoly (b. July 10, 1960, Sovetskoye village, Stalingrad [now Volgograd] oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), prime minister (2003-04) and acting president (2003) of Chechnya.

Popov, Blagoja (b. 1920 - d. 1992), chairman of the Executive Council of Macedonia (1974-82). He was also mayor of Skopje (1963-69).

D. (I.) Popov

Popov, Dimitur (Iliev) (b. June 26, 1927, Kula, Bulgaria - d. Dec. 5, 2015), prime minister of Bulgaria (1990-91).

Popov, Dimitur (Petrov) (b. March 29, 1912, Ihtiman, Bulgaria - d. May 20, 1982, Sofia, Bulgaria), finance minister of Bulgaria (1962-76). He was also mayor of Sofia (1952-61).

Popov, Gavriil (Kharitonovich) (b. Oct. 31, 1936), mayor of Moscow (1991-92).

Popov, Georgi (Ivanov) (b. May 28, 1889, Chernozem, Bulgaria - d. 1958, Sofia, Bulgaria), a deputy premier of Bulgaria (1946-50). He was also minister of social policy (1945-46) and forestry (1949-50).

Popov, Georgy (Mikhailovich) (b. Sept. 15 [Sept. 2, O.S.], 1906, Moscow, Russia - d. Jan. 14, 1968, Moscow), Soviet politician. He was mayor of Moscow (1944-50), first secretary of the party committees of Moscow city and Moscow oblast (1945-49), minister of urban construction (1949-51) and agricultural machine building (1951), and ambassador to Poland (1953-54).

Popov, Hristo (Georgiev) (b. Dec. 18, 1858, Sumnu, Ottoman Empire [now Shumen, Bulgaria] - d. Oct. 28, 1951, Sofia, Bulgaria), interior minister of Bulgaria (1915-16). He was also mayor of Sofia (1899-1901).

Popov, Hristo (Ivanov) (b. 1862, Stojakovo, Ottoman Empire [now in North Macedonia] - d. 1933, Sofia, Bulgaria), justice minister of Bulgaria (1913-18).

Popov, Ivan (Nikolov) (b. Dec. 8, 1907, Turnovo [now Veliko Turnovo], Bulgaria - d. Jan. 16, 2000), a deputy premier of Bulgaria (1971-74). He was also chairman of the State Committee for Science and Technical Progress (1962-71) and minister of machine building (1971-73).

Popov, Ivan (Vladimirov) (b. April 4, 1890, Svishtov, Bulgaria - d. [suicide] Oct. 29, 1944, Bucharest, Romania), foreign minister of Bulgaria (1940-42). He was also chargé d'affaires in Hungary (1933-35) and minister to Czechoslovakia (1936-37), Yugoslavia (1937-40), and Romania (1944).

Popov, Mihai (b. 1949, Chebruchi, Moldavian S.S.R. [now Cioburciu, Moldova]), foreign minister of Moldova (1994-97). He was also ambassador to Belgium (1993-94, 2002-04) and France (1997-2002).

Popovic, Koca (b. March 14, 1908, Belgrade, Serbia - d. Oct. 20, 1992, Belgrade), foreign minister (1953-65) and vice president (1966-67) of Yugoslavia.

Popovici, Mihai (b. Oct. 21, 1879, Brasov, Romania - d. May 7, 1966, Bucharest, Romania), finance minister (1920, 1927, 1928-29, 1930-31), interior minister (1930), and justice minister (1932-33) of Romania; brother-in-law of Constantin Sarateanu.

Popovics, Sándor (b. Oct. 22, 1862, Pest [now part of Budapest], Hungary - d. April 15, 1935, Budapest), finance minister of Hungary (1918). He was also governor of the Austro-Hungarian Bank (1909-18) and president of the Hungarian National Bank (1924-35).

Popovski, Dusan (b. March 5, 1930, Mrenoga, near Bitolj, Yugoslavia [now in North Macedonia] - d. 1998), president of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia (1988-89).

Popovski, Vlado (b. Sept. 21, 1941, Dolno Dupeni, near Prespa, Yugoslavia [now in North Macedonia]), defense minister (1992-94, 2001-02) and justice minister (1994-97) of Macedonia. He was also director of the Intelligence Agency (1995-99).

Popple, Alured (b. 1699 - d. bf. October 1746), governor of Bermuda (1738-44).

Popple, William (b. c. 1701 - d. Feb. 8, 1764), governor of Bermuda (1747-63); brother of Alured Popple.

Popsoi

Popsoi, Mihai (b. May 10, 1987, Kotchikha, Kirov oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), foreign minister of Moldova (2024- ).

Poptomov, Vladimir (Tomov) (b. Feb. 8, 1890, Belitsa, Bulgaria - d. May 1, 1952, Sofia, Bulgaria), foreign minister of Bulgaria (1949-50). He was also a deputy premier (1950-52).

Pora, Paul (Schmidt) (b. Dec. 6, 1946), finance minister of Papua New Guinea (1988-92). He was also minister of civil aviation and tourism (1994-95).

Poraz, Avraham (b. Aug. 9, 1945, Bucharest, Romania), interior minister of Israel (2003-04).

Porcile, Julio César (b. Nov. 30, 1927 - d. Dec. 9, 2013), labour minister of Argentina (1981-82).

Porciúncula, José Thomaz da (b. Dec. 25, 1854, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Sept. 28, 1901), president of Maranhão (1890) and Rio de Janeiro (1892-94).

Poroshenko

Poroshenko, Petro (Oleksiyovych) (b. Sept. 26, 1965, Bolgrad [now Bolhrad], Odessa oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R.), foreign minister (2009-10) and president (2014-19) of Ukraine. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, he entered the business world; in 1996 he founded a confectionery manufacturer that achieved prominence in the eastern European market. His political career began in 1998, when he was elected to the Ukrainian parliament representing Vinnytsya. He founded the Solidarity party in 2000 before helping to establish the Party of Regions, but switched his allegiance again to the Our Ukraine party of Viktor Yushchenko in 2001. In 2002 he was named head of the parliamentary budget committee. After the Orange Revolution made Yushchenko president in 2005, Poroshenko became secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (2005) and head of the parliamentary finance committee (2006-07). His term as foreign minister ended when the Orange parties were swept from power in 2010. Later he resumed his affiliation with the Party of Regions and became minister of economic development and trade (2012) before returning again to the parliament to co-chair the committee on cooperation with the European Union. In 2013 Pres. Viktor Yanukovych scuttled a planned association agreement with the EU, triggering a wave of popular protest which led to Yanukovych fleeing to Russia in February 2014. This was soon followed by the crisis over Crimea, its annexation by Russia in March, and the pro-Russian separatism in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Against that backdrop Ukraine held snap presidential elections in May, and Poroshenko won a landslide victory. After ordering a summer offensive that drastically reduced the area under rebel control, in September Poroshenko agreed to a ceasefire. Parliamentary elections in October reaffirmed his mandate. In December Ukraine dropped its status as a nonaligned country and Poroshenko pledged to work toward membership in NATO. Meeting in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2015, Poroshenko and the leaders of Russia, France, and Germany outlined a 12-point agreement that would bring an end to fighting in the east. The conflict was largely frozen; although Russia suffered international sanctions, the lost territories remained outside Ukraine's control. In 2018 he declared a month-long martial law after Russia seized Ukrainian naval ships in the Kerch Strait. In the 2019 election he was roundly defeated by comedian Volodymyr Zelensky.

Porozhanov, Rumen (Andonov) (b. Aug. 17, 1964), finance minister of Bulgaria (2014).

Porras (Osores), Melitón F(rancisco) (b. Oct. 26, 1860, Lima, Peru - d. April 5, 1944, Lima), foreign minister (1895, 1898-99, 1908-10, 1919-20) and prime minister (1919) of Peru; son-in-law of Francisco Rosas Balcázar. He was also minister to Chile (1896-98), Ecuador (1902-05), Bolivia (1905-08), and Italy (1911-12).

Porras Barahona, Belisario (b. Nov. 27, 1856, Las Tablas, Colombia [now in Panama] - d. Aug. 28, 1942, Panama City, Panama), president of Panama (1912-16, 1918-20, 1920-24). He was also minister to the United States (1911, 1916-18), Peru (1924-25), the United Kingdom and France (1925-26, 1932-35), and Italy (1931-32).

Porras Barrenechea, Raúl (b. March 23, 1897, Pisco, Peru - d. Sept. 27, 1960, Lima, Peru), foreign minister of Peru (1958-60); nephew of Melitón F. Porras. He was also ambassador to Spain (1948-49) and president of the Senate (1957).

Porritt

Porritt, Arthur (Espie) Porritt, Baron (b. Aug. 10, 1900, Wanganui, N.Z. - d. Jan. 1, 1994, London, England), governor-general of New Zealand (1967-72). The physician, who had gone to Britain in 1923 as a Rhodes scholar, was surgeon to King George VI (1946-52) and sergeant surgeon to Queen Elizabeth II (1952-67). He was also president of the Royal College of Surgeons (1960-63), the British Medical Association (1960-61), and the Royal Society of Medicine (1966-67). In New Zealand he was perhaps better known as a former Olympic athlete. A champion runner both in New Zealand and at Oxford, he led his native country's Olympic team as captain in 1924 and 1928 and as manager in 1936. In 1924 he won the bronze medal in the 100-m race behind Britain's Harold Abrahams and American Jackson Scholz (the race immortalized in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire). He was the New Zealand member of the International Olympic Committee (1934-67) and chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation (1945-66). He was knighted in 1950, created a baronet in 1963, and awarded a life peerage in 1973. He was the first native-born governor-general of New Zealand (since his appointment, all governors-general have been New Zealand-born, with the exception of Sir David Beattie who was born in Australia). However, New Zealanders found him to be more distant than the English and Scottish peers who had preceded him. He brought with him all the cultural baggage of Britain at a time when New Zealand was creating a culture of its own. After his term as governor-general he went back to Britain and became chairman (1973-79) and president (1979-88) of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council.

Portal, Sir Gerald Herbert (b. March 13, 1858, Laverstoke, Hampshire, England - d. Jan. 25, 1894, London, England), British consul-general in Zanzibar (1891-93), administrator of British East Africa (1892), and commissioner of Uganda (1893); knighted 1892.

Portales (y Palazuelos), Diego (José Víctor) (b. June 26, 1793, Santiago, Viceroyalty of Peru [now in Chile] - d. [assassinated] June 6, 1837, Valparaíso, Chile), interior minister (1830-31, 1835-37) and war and marine minister (1830, 1831-32, 1835-37) of Chile. He was considered the real power in the country from 1830.

Portalis, Joseph Marie, comte (b. Feb. 19, 1778, Aix [now Aix-en-Provence], France - d. Aug. 5, 1858, Passy [now part of Paris], France), foreign minister of France (1829). He was also justice minister (1828-29).

Portas

Portas, Paulo (Sacadura Cabral) (b. Sept. 12, 1962, Lisbon, Portugal), defense minister (2002-05), foreign minister (2011-13), and deputy prime minister (2013-15) of Portugal.

Portela, Epifanio (b. May 29, 1855, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. April 11, 1916, Rome, Italy), acting foreign minister of Argentina (1910). He was also minister to Brazil (1896-98), Chile (1899-1902), Spain (1902-05), the United States and Mexico (1905-10), and Italy and Switzerland (1911-16).

Portela, Francisco Flamarion (b. Oct. 13, 1954, Coreaú, Ceará, Brazil), governor of Roraima (2002-04).

Portela Valladares, Manuel (b. Jan. 31, 1867, Pontevedra, Spain - d. April 29, 1952, Bandol, Var, France), prime minister of Spain (1935-36). He was also minister of development (1923) and interior (1935, 1935-36) and governor-general of Catalonia (1935).

Portela y Möller, Guillermo (Francisco Leopoldo) (b. Nov. 1, 1886, Guanajay, Cuba - d. 1958), member of the Executive Commission of the Provisional Government of Cuba (1933).

Portella, Francisco (b. July 22, 1833, Oeiras, Piauí, Brazil - d. Dec. 22, 1913, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), governor of Rio de Janeiro (1889-91).

Portella, Joaquim Pires Machado (b. March 12, 1827, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil - d. Aug. 13, 1907, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), acting president of Pernambuco (1857, 1861, 1862) and president of Pará (1871), Minas Gerais (1871-72), and Bahia (1872-73).

Portella, Manoel do Nascimento Machado (b. Dec. 25, 1833, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil - d. Dec. 9, 1895, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), acting president of Pernambuco (1869, 1871, 1872), president of Minas Gerais (1885-86) and Bahia (1888-89), and interior minister of Brazil (1887).

Porteous, George (b. April 7, 1903, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland - d. Feb. 7, 1978, Saskatoon, Sask.), lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan (1976-78).

Porter, Albert G(allatin) (b. April 20, 1824, Lawrenceburg, Ind. - d. May 3, 1897, Indianapolis, Ind.), governor of Indiana (1881-85). He was also U.S. minister to Italy (1889-92).

Porter, Augustus Seymour (b. Jan. 18, 1798, Canandaigua, N.Y. - d. Sept. 18, 1872, Niagara Falls, N.Y.), mayor of Detroit (1838-39); nephew of Peter B. Porter.

Porter, David (James) (b. Aug. 3, 1953, Hobart, Tas.), acting governor of Tasmania (2014).

Porter, David R(ittenhouse) (b. Oct. 31, 1788, near Norristown, Pa. - d. Aug. 6, 1867, Harrisburg, Pa.), governor of Pennsylvania (1839-45).

Porter, George B(ryan) (b. Feb. 9, 1791, Norristown, Pa. - d. July 6, 1834, Detroit, Mich.), governor of Michigan (1831-34).

Porter, James D(avis) (b. Dec. 7, 1828, Paris, Tenn. - d. May 18, 1912, Paris, Tenn.), governor of Tennessee (1875-79). He was also U.S. minister to Chile (1893-94).

Porter, James M(adison) (b. Jan. 6, 1793, Selma, Pa. - d. Nov. 11, 1862, Easton, Pa.), U.S. secretary of war (1843-44).

Porter, Sir Leslie (Alexander Selim) (b. Aug. 19, 1854 - d. April 8, 1932), acting lieutenant governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (1910, 1911); knighted 1911.

Porter, Sir Ludovic (Charles) (b. Nov. 27, 1869 - d. March 9, 1928), acting governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (1922); knighted 1921.

Porter, Peter B(uell) (b. Aug. 4, 1773, Salisbury, Connecticut - d. March 20, 1844, Niagara Falls, N.Y.), U.S. secretary of war (1828-29).

Portes Gil

Portes Gil, Emilio (Cándido) (b. Oct. 3, 1891, Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico - d. Dec. 10, 1978, Mexico City, Mexico), provisional president of Mexico (1928-30). He was in Mexico City when the revolution led by Venustiano Carranza began, and after late 1914 he served the revolution in various legal capacities in Mexico City, in Sonora, and in Tamaulipas. In 1920, however, he supported Álvaro Obregón, and after Obregón's victory over Carranza in the presidential elections, he became provisional governor of Tamaulipas. He served parts of four terms in the National Congress, was governor of Tamaulipas in 1925-28, and secretario de gobernación (interior minister) in 1928. He became provisional president after President-elect Obregón was assassinated. Afterwards he was again interior minister (1930). In 1930-31 he was president of the sole political party, the National Revolutionary Party (PNR), but dissension forced his resignation and he was sent to Europe as minister to France and delegate to the League of Nations (1931-32). After his return, he became attorney general (1932-34) and foreign minister (1934-35). In 1935 he again became head of the PNR, but he retired from politics in 1936. In 1962, when all living ex-presidents were given government posts, he was named chairman of the National Insurance Commission.

M. Portillo

Portillo, Michael (Denzil Xavier) (b. May 26, 1953, Bushey, Hertfordshire, England), British defence secretary (1995-97). He was also employment secretary (1994-95). He began his political career as a hardliner and protégé of Margaret Thatcher, but softened his image and moved toward the centre after losing his seat in the House of Commons in the Labour landslide of 1997. He won a by-election in Kensington and Chelsea in 1999 and quickly became the party's spokesman on economic issues, being named shadow chancellor of the exchequer in February 2000. After his admission that he had gay experiences as a young man, critics called him a hypocrite, noting he had opposed allowing gays into the military. In 2001 he unsuccessfully ran for the Conservative Party leadership.

A. Portillo

Portillo Cabrera, Alfonso (Antonio) (b. Sept. 24, 1951, Zacapa, Guatemala), president of Guatemala (2000-04). After leaving office in 2004 he was stripped of immunity from prosecution and fled to Mexico; in 2008 he was extradited to face embezzlement charges in Guatemala. In January 2010 he was arrested following a U.S. request for his extradition on money-laundering charges; he was extradited in May 2013.

Portland, Henry Bentinck, (1st) Duke of, (1st) Marquess of Titchfield (b. 1682 - d. July 4, 1726), governor of Jamaica (1722-26). He succeeded as (2nd) Earl of Portland in 1709 and was created duke and marquess in 1716.

Portland, William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, (3rd) Duke of, (3rd) Marquess of Titchfield (b. April 14, 1738, Bulstrode, Buckinghamshire, England - d. Oct. 30, 1809, Bulstrode), lord lieutenant of Ireland (1782) and British prime minister (1783, 1807-09) and home secretary (1794-1801); grandson of Henry Bentinck, Duke of Portland. He was also lord president of the council (1801-05). He succeeded as duke in 1762.

Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, (4th) Duke of, (4th) Marquess of Titchfield (b. June 24, 1768, London, England - d. March 27, 1854, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, England), British lord privy seal (1827) and lord president of the council (1827-28); son of William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland. He added "Scott" (his wife's name) to his name in 1795 and succeeded as duke in 1809.

Porto, Avelino (José) (b. Nov. 5, 1935 - d. Sept. 12, 2024), health minister of Argentina (1991).

Pôrto, Dorval Pires (b. July 8, 1878, Porto Alegre, Brazil - d. Feb. 8, 1954, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), governor of Amazonas (1930). He was also mayor of Manaus (1914-16).

Porto, Francisco de Souza (b. 1885 - d. July 10, 1964), acting president of Sergipe (1927). He was also mayor of Aracaju (1933-34).

Porto, Terêncio Furtado de Mendonça (b. Dec. 6, 1914 - d. Dec. 12, 1970), governor of Amapá (1962-64).

Porto Santo, António de Saldanha da Gama, conde de (b. Feb. 5, 1778, Lisbon, Portugal - d. July 23, 1839, Lisbon), governor of Maranhão (1804-06) and Angola (1807-10) and foreign minister of Portugal (1825-26); grandson of João de Saldanha da Gama; brother of João de Saldanha da Gama Mello Torres Guedes de Brito, conde da Ponte. He was also minister to Russia (1815-20) and Spain (1820, 1823-25). He was created count in 1823.

Portocarrero (Baca), Bernabé, finance minister (1865-67, 1888-89) and war and interior minister (1868) of Nicaragua.

Portocarrero Lasso de la Vega, Melchor, conde de Monclova (b. 1636 - d. Sept. 15, 1705, Lima, Peru), viceroy of Peru (1689-1705).

Portugal, Clotário (de Macedo) (b. June 8, 1881, Campo Largo, Paraná, Brazil - d. Feb. 9, 1947, Curitiba, Paraná), federal interventor in Paraná (1945-46).

Portugal (Escobedo), Julio Ernesto (b. 1894 - d. June 18, 1972, Lima, Peru), prime minister of Peru (1946-47). He was also mayor of Arequipa (1939-41) and health minister (1946-47).

Portugal, Thomaz Antonio de Villa-Nova (b. Sept. 18, 1755, Tomar, Portugal - d. May 16, 1839, Lisbon, Portugal), principal minister and finance minister of Brazil (1817-21). He was also minister of foreign affairs and war (1817-20).

Portuondo Tamayo, Rafael (María de la Caridad Benito) (b. 1840 - d. July 15, 1908), chairman of the Executive Council of the Assembly of Representatives of the Cuban Revolution (1898-99).

Porumbaru, Emanoil (b. 1845, Bucharest, Walachia [now in Romania] - d. Oct. 11, 1921, Bucharest), foreign minister of Romania (1914-16). He was also minister of public works (1896-97, 1903-04) and president of the Senate (1916-18).

Posada (Molina), Jerson (Rogelio), interim finance minister of El Salvador (2023- ).

Posada de la Peña, Francisco (b. 1929 - d. March 10, 1998, Barranquilla, Colombia), justice minister of Colombia (1965-66). He was also governor of Atlántico (1963-65), ambassador to the United States (1986-87), Chile (1992-94), the Netherlands (1994), and Venezuela (1994-96), and minister of labour (1990-92).

Posada Díaz, Jaime (b. Dec. 18, 1924, Socorro, Santander, Colombia - d. July 2, 2019, Bogotá, Colombia), Colombian politician. He was minister of national education (1961-62) and governor of Cundinamarca (1987-90).

Posada Herrera, José (b. March 31, 1814, Llanes, Oviedo province, Spain - d. Sept. 7, 1885, Llanes), prime minister of Spain (1883-84). He was also interior minister (1858-63, 1865-66), ambassador to the Papal State (1868-69), and president of the Congress of Deputies (1876-78, 1881-83).

Posada Moreno, Jesús María (b. April 4, 1945, Soria, Spain), president of the Junta of Castilla-León (1989-91). He was also Spanish minister of agriculture, fisheries, and food (1999-2000) and president of the Congress of Deputies (2011-16).

Posada Sánchez, Augusto (b. Oct. 13, 1971, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia), Colombian politician. He was president of the Chamber of Representatives (2012-13).

Posadowsky-Wehner, Arthur Adolf Graf von, Freiherr von Postelwitz (b. June 3, 1845, Glogau, Prussia [now Glogów, Poland] - d. Oct. 23, 1932, Naumburg, Prussia [now in Sachsen-Anhalt], Germany), finance minister (1893-97) and vice chancellor and interior minister (1897-1907) of Germany.

Posey, Thomas (b. July 9, 1750, near Alexandria, Virginia - d. March 19, 1818, Shawneetown, Ind.), governor of Indiana (1813-16).

Posibeyev, Grigory (Andreyevich) (b. Oct. 23, 1935, Mari-Malmyzh, Kirov oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. June 9, 2002, Kingisepp, Leningrad oblast, Russia), first secretary of the Communist Party committee (1981-91) and chairman of the Supreme Soviet (1990) of the Mari A.S.S.R.

Poska, Jaan (b. Jan. 24, 1866, Laiuse municipality, Russia [now in Estonia] - d. March 7, 1920, Tallinn, Estonia), foreign minister of Estonia (1918-19). He was also mayor of Tallinn (1913-17) and justice minister and deputy prime minister (1918).

Posnett, Sir Richard Neil (b. July 19, 1919, Kotagiri, India - d. May 11, 2009), governor of British Honduras/Belize (1972-76) and Bermuda (1981-83); knighted 1979. He was also British high commissioner to Uganda (1979).

Pospísil

Pospísil, Jirí (b. Nov. 24, 1975, Chomutov, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), justice minister of the Czech Republic (2006-09, 2010-12). He was also leader of Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 (2017-19).

Poss, Mary (Canada) (b. Oct. 25, 1951, Dallas, Texas), acting mayor of Dallas (2001-02).

Posse, Arvid (Mauritz Arvidsson) greve (b. Jan. 5, 1792, Bergunda socken [now part of Växjö municipality], Kronoberg, Sweden - d. July 22, 1850, Göteborg, Sweden), governor of Skaraborg (1824-31) and prime minister for justice of Sweden (1840, 1846-48); brother of Fredrik greve Posse; great-great-grandson of Knut greve Posse.

Posse, Arvid Rutger Fredriksson greve (b. Feb. 17, 1820, Kropp, Malmöhus [now in Skåne], Sweden - d. April 24, 1901, Stockholm, Sweden), prime minister (1880-83) and finance minister (1880-81) of Sweden; son of Fredrik greve Posse; nephew of Arvid greve Posse and Knut Axel greve Posse. He was also speaker of the Second Chamber of the Riksdag (1876-80).

Posse, Fredrik (Salomon) greve (b. Feb. 27, 1785, Konungsund socken, Östergötland, Sweden - d. April 27, 1853, Närlunda, Malmöhus [now part of Helsingborg, Skåne], Sweden), governor of Malmöhus (1834-51); great-great-grandson of Knut greve Posse.

Posse, Knut greve (b. 164..., Forshem socken, Skaraborg [now in Västra Götaland], Sweden - d. Aug. 7, 1714), governor of Stockholm city (1705-14). He was made friherre (baron) in 1696 and greve (count) in 1706.

Posse, Knut Axel greve (b. Sept. 19, 1796, Bergunda socken [now part of Växjö municipality], Kronoberg, Sweden - d. July 27, 1856, Copenhagen, Denmark), governor of Kristianstad (1852-56); brother of Fredrik greve Posse and Arvid greve Posse; great-great-grandson of Knut greve Posse.

N. Posse

Posse, Nicolás (José) (b. 1965), cabinet chief of Argentina (2023-24).

Posse af Säby, Mauritz greve (b. 1712, Lübeck [Germany] - d. July 19, 1787, Stockholm, Sweden), governor of Älvsborg (1763-69); son of Nils friherre Posse af Säby. He was also Swedish minister to Russia (1752-63). He was raised from friherre (baron) to greve (count) in 1771.

Posse af Säby, Nils (Mauritzson) friherre (b. Feb. 21, 1660, Geneva, Switzerland - d. April 12, 1723), governor of Gotland (1711-16) and Göteborg och Bohus (1719-23).

Posser

Posser da Costa, Guilherme (b. May 18, 1953, São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe), foreign minister (1987-88, 1990-91, 1994-96) and prime minister (1999-2001) of São Tomé and Príncipe. He was also ambassador to Belgium (1986-87), president of the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party (2005-07), and a presidential candidate (2021).

Possolo, Lourenço Germack (b. April 25, 1779 - d. 18...), governor-general of Angola (1844-45).

Postelnicu, Tudor (b. Oct. 13, 1931, Provita de Jos, Prahova county, Romania - d. Aug. 12, 2017, Bucharest, Romania), interior minister of Romania (1987-89). He was also first secretary of the party committee and chairman of the executive committee of the Buzau county (1976-78) and chief of the State Security Department (Securitate) (1978-87).

Posthuma, Folkert (Evert) (b. May 20, 1874, Leeuwarden, Netherlands - d. [assassinated] June 3, 1943, Vorden, Gelderland, Netherlands), Dutch politician. He was minister of agriculture, industry, and trade (1914-18).

Postiaux, Louis Joseph (b. Aug. 15, 1882, Antwerp, Belgium - d. 1948), acting governor of Ruanda-Urundi (1929-30) and governor of Katanga (1931-32).

Poston

Potapenko

Poston, Jim, byname of James Poston (b. June 19, 1945, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England - d. Oct. 13, 2007), governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands (2002-05).

Postovalov, Sergey (Osipovich) (b. 1907, Kislyanskoye, Tomsk province, Russia - d. March 17, 1983, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Executive Committee of Crimea oblast (1949-52). He was also first secretary of the party committees of Cherkess autonomous oblast (1948-49) and Kaluga oblast (1952-61).

Poswick, Charles (Marie Jean Joseph Elvire Ghislain, baron) (b. Oct. 6, 1924, Limbourg, Liége [now Liège] province, Belgium - d. July 28, 1994, Heusden-Zolder, Limburg province, Belgium), defense minister of Belgium (1966-68, 1980).

Posyet, Konstantin (Nikolayevich) (b. Jan. 2, 1820 [Dec. 21, 1819, O.S.], Helsingfors [now Helsinki], Finland - d. May 8 [April 26, O.S.], 1899, St. Petersburg, Russia), Russian minister of communications (1874-88).

Potác, Svatopluk (b. March 24, 1925, Tupec, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic] - d. Sept. 5, 2014), a deputy premier of Czechoslovakia (1981-88). He was also general manager (1969-71) and chairman (1971-81, 1988-89) of the State Bank and chairman of the State Planning Commission (1981-88).

Potanin, Vladimir (Olegovich) (b. Jan. 3, 1961, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), a first deputy prime minister of Russia (1996-97).

Potape, Francis (Mulungu) (b. June 16, 1972), governor of Hela (2015-16, 2016-17). He was also Papua New Guinean minister of climate change (2010), transport and administrative services (2010-11), and petroleum and energy (2011, 2011-12 [Somare government]).

Potapenko, Valery (Nikolayevich) (b. 1958), head of administration of Nenets autonomous okrug (2006-09).

Potapov, Aleksandr (Lvovich) (b. Sept. 27 [Sept. 15, O.S.], 1818, Semidubrovnoye village, Voronezh province, Russia - d. Nov. 5 [Oct. 24, O.S.], 1886, St. Petersburg, Russia), governor-general of Vilna, Kovno, and Grodno (1868-74). He was also ataman of the Don Cossack Host (1866-68) and chief of gendarmes (1874-76).

Potapov, Leonid (Vasilyevich) (b. July 4, 1935, Uakit, Buryat A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Nov. 12, 2020, Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, Russia), chairman of the Supreme Council (1991-94) and president (1994-2007) of Buryatia. He was also chairman of the Executive Committee of Mary oblast (Turkmen S.S.R.) (1987-90) and first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Buryat A.S.S.R. (1990-91).

Potapov, Yakov (Fyodorovich) (b. 1890, Dodz, Vologda province, Russia - d. [executed] 1942), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of Komi autonomous oblast (1921-22).

Pote Sarasin (b. March 25, 1905, Bangkok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. Sept. 28, 2000, Bangkok), Thai politician. He served as foreign minister in 1949-50 and as ambassador to the United States in 1952-57. In September 1957 he became the first secretary-general of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), a regional defense grouping established by the United States as a bulwark against Communism. Later that month, however, he was appointed caretaker prime minister of Thailand after long-serving dictator Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsongkram was overthrown in a coup by his army chief, Sarit Thanarat. Pote stepped down three months later when an election brought Sarit's crony, Gen. Thanom Kittikachorn, into the premier's post. He then (January 1958) was reappointed secretary-general of SEATO, serving until 1963. He was minister of economic affairs (1963-69) and national development (1963-68, 1969-71) and a deputy prime minister (1969-71). In 1971-72 he was director of economic, finance, and industry affairs in the National Executive Council formed after Prime Minister Thanom suspended the constitution.

Potgieter, (Andries) Hendrik (b. Dec. 19, 1792, Graaff-Reinet district, Cape Colony [now in Eastern Cape province, South Africa] - d. Dec. 16, 1852, Schoemansdal, Zoutpansberg [now in Mpumalanga province, South Africa]), Boer leader in Transvaal. With his trekker party he left the Cape Colony late in 1835. Joined by other trekkers, they halted near Winburg, north of the Orange River (February 1836). As commandant and leader, Potgieter treated with the local Bantu tribes to establish Boer title to the land. He clashed with the hostile Matabele (1836-37) and won the battle at the Marico River (November 1837), which opened the high veld interior to the Boers. After the massacre of Piet Retief in Natal (February 1838), he joined an unsuccessful expedition against the Zulu king Dingane, but returned to Winburg in May 1838, convinced that the destiny of the trekkers lay northward. His ideal was an interior republic, remote from British influence, but linked commercially with the Portuguese at Delagoa Bay. He founded three settlements in the Transvaal: Potchefstroom (1838) in the southwest, Andries-Ohrigstad (1845) in the northeast, and one in the Zoutpansberg (1848), the northernmost region colonized in the Great Trek. As a leader he exercised authority along local, military, and patriarchal lines. In the conflicts within the Transvaal trekker community, he supported the military party against the Volksraad (elected council) and favoured local autonomy rather than the establishment of a centralized state. When Great Britain recognized the independence of the Transvaal Boers in the Sand River Convention (Jan. 17, 1852), he held aloof from the negotiations, which were conducted on the Boer side by his rival Andries Pretorius, but in March he ratified the convention.

Pothier, Aram J(ules) (b. July 26, 1854, St.-Jean-Chrysostome, Canada East [now Que.] - d. Feb. 3, 1928, Woonsocket, R.I.), governor of Rhode Island (1909-15, 1925-28).

Potocki(-Pilawa), Alfred (Józef) Graf (b. July 29, 1822, Landshut, Galicia, Austria [now Lancut, Poland] - d. May 18, 1889, Paris, France), prime minister of Austria (1870-71) and Statthalter of Galicia (1875-83). He was also minister of agriculture (1867-70).

Potocnik, Janez (b. March 22, 1958, Kropa, Slovenia), Slovenian politician. He was minister without portfolio (European affairs) (2002-04) and EU commissioner for enlargement (jointly with Günter Verheugen, 2004), science and research (2004-10), and environment (2010-14).

Potolot (Ngbangadimbo), Joseph (b. March 13, 1939, Mbaïki, Oubangui-Chari [now Central African Republic] - d. af. 1987), foreign minister of the Central African Republic (1971-75). He was also president of the Supreme Court (1969-70, 1979-82) and minister of civil service and labour (1970-71), public works (1975-76), justice (1976-77), and interior (1977-78).

Potomsky

Potomsky, Vadim (Vladimirovich) (b. Aug. 12, 1972, Mary, Turkmen S.S.R.), governor of Oryol oblast (2014-17).

Potter, Sir Henry (Steven) (b. March 7, 1904 - d. Nov. 14, 1976), acting governor of Kenya (1952) and resident of Zanzibar (1954-59); knighted 1956.

Potter, James (b. 1729, County Tyrone, Ireland - d. November 1789, near present Marion, Pa.), acting president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania (1782).

Potter, Louis (Joseph Antoine) de (b. 1786 - d. 1859), member of the Provisional Government of Belgium (1830).

Potter, Marie-Louise (Cecile) (b. March 15, 1959, Seychelles), Seychellois diplomat. She was permanent representative to the United Nations and ambassador to the United States (2012-17).

W.E. Potter

Potter, William E(verett) (b. July 17, 1905, Oshkosh, Wis. - d. Dec. 5, 1988, Orlando, Fla.), governor of the Panama Canal Zone (1956-60). He was commissioned second lieutenant of the U.S. Army in 1928 and advanced through the ranks to major general in 1956. He was company officer of the First Engineers at Washington, D.C., in 1928-29, assigned to the Nicaragua Canal survey in 1929-32, appointed Officer of the 25th Armored Engineers, and also of the 1138th Armored Engineering group in 1940-43; assistant for plans and operations ETO and Communications Zone in 1943-45; district engineer of Kansas City in 1945-48; assistant chief engineer for civil works, Department of Army, Washington, in 1949-51; and engineer in charge of the Missouri River Division in Omaha, Neb. His tenure as governor of the Panama Canal Zone was characterized by a number of impressive accomplishments, including the initiation of the $20 million project to build the Bridge of the Americas, plans for widening the Panama Canal channel to a minimum of 500 feet, lighting Gaillard Cut to allow for 24-hour transit operations, and community improvements such as a special education program for handicapped children. Under the 1955 treaty with Panama, Potter also oversaw the introduction of an equitable wage system that did not discriminate by citizenship and the transfer to Panama of some $28 million in property, including Colón's Hotel Washington. Additionally, supply and support facilities that were offering services that could be provided by Panama were closed. Governor Potter rejected plans for the construction of a new governor's residence, insisting that the existing house be restored in order to preserve its historic value. Whenever possible, materials for the restoration were obtained in Panama.

Pottier, Bernard (b. July 11, 1942, Vernon, Eure, France), French resident commissioner of the New Hebrides (1978). He also served as ambassador to Myanmar (1994-99), Laos (2002-04), and Luxembourg (2004-07).

Pottinger, Sir Henry (Eldred), (1st) Baronet (b. Oct. 3, 1789, Mount Pottinger, near Belfast, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland] - d. March 18, 1856, Malta), administrator (1841-43) and governor (1843-44) of Hong Kong and governor of the Cape Colony (1847) and Madras (1848-54). He was created a baronet in 1840.

Potts, Benjamin F(ranklin) (b. Jan. 29, 1836, Carroll county, Ohio - d. June 17, 1887, Helena, Mont.), governor of Montana (1870-83).

Potulov, Ippolit (Mikhailovich) (b. 1825 - d. ...), governor of Orenburg (1856-58).

Potulov, Lev (Vladimirovich) (b. May 24 [May 12, O.S.], 1877 - d. af. 1931), governor of Kutaisi (1914-16) and Baku (1916-17); grandson of Ippolit Potulov.

Potyomkin, Vladimir (Petrovich) (b. Oct. 19 [Oct. 7, O.S.], 1874, Tver, Russia - d. Feb. 23, 1946, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was Soviet minister to Greece (1929-32) and ambassador to Italy (1932-34) and France (1934-37) and people's commissar of education of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1940-46).

Potyomkin-Tavrichesky, Knyaz (Prince) Grigory (Aleksandrovich), in English commonly rendered Potemkin (b. Sept. 24 [Sept. 13, O.S.], 1739, Chizhovo, Smolensk province, Russia - d. Oct. 16 [Oct. 5, O.S.], 1791, near Radenii Vechi, Moldavia [now in Moldova]), Russian statesman. He entered the Russian Horse Guards in 1755 and took part in the 1762 coup that made Yekaterina II empress, attracting her notice. Having distinguished himself in the Turkish War of 1768-74, he became Yekaterina's favourite in 1774; they may also have secretly married. He was made governor-general of Novorossiya (1774-83), Azov (1775-83), and Astrakhan (1776-83) provinces, Saratov (1780-83), Yekaterinoslav (1783-91), and Kharkov (1787-91) viceroyalties, and Tavricheskoye oblast (1784-91). He was an able administrator and constructed a fleet in the Black Sea. He gained for Russia the Crimea and the north coast of the Black Sea, and he founded Sevastopol (in the Crimea), Nikolayev (now Mykolayiv, Ukraine), and Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine). In 1784 he became field marshal and president of the Military Collegium. He also pursued a "Greek project" aimed at restoring the Byzantine Empire under Yekaterina's grandson Konstantin, but the scheme did not succeed. Yekaterina's tour of the south in 1787 was a triumph for him, for he disguised all the weak points of his administration; the apocryphal tale of his erecting artificial villages to be seen by the empress in passing is the origin of the term "Potemkin village" to denote any pretentious facade covering up an unimpressive reality. He was made Graf (count) in 1775 and a Reichsfürst of the Holy Roman Empire in 1776; Yekaterina made him svetleyshy knyaz with the added name Tavrichesky (i.e., prince of Tauris, the ancient name of the Crimea) in 1787. In the Second Turkish War (1787-92) he headed the army, but died while on his way to Iasi, Moldavia, to conduct the peace negotiations as chief Russian plenipotentiary.

Poubelle, Eugène René (b. April 15, 1831, Caen, France - d. July 16, 1907, Paris, France), prefect of Seine département (1883-96). He was also prefect of Charente (1871-72), Isère (1872-73), Corse (1873), Doubs (1878-79), and Bouches-du-Rhône (1879-83) and ambassador to the Holy See (1896-98).

Poudel, Bishnu (Prasad), also spelled Paudel (b. Nov. 20, 1959, Syanja, Nepal), defense minister (2011), finance minister (2015-16, 2020-21, 2022-23, 2024- ), and home affairs minister (2021) of Nepal. He has also been minister of youth, sports, and culture (1997), water resources (2008-09), and industry, commerce, supplies, energy, water resources, and irrigation (2021) and a deputy prime minister (2021, 2022-23, 2024- ).

R.C. Poudel

Poudel, Ram Chandra, also spelled Paudel (b. Oct. 14, 1944, Bahun Pokhara, Nepal), president of Nepal (2023- ). He was also minister of local development (1991-92, 2000), agriculture (1992-94), information and communication (2000), home affairs (2000-01), and peace and reconstruction (2007-08), speaker of the House of Representatives (1994-99), and deputy prime minister (2000-01).

Pouget

Pouget, Christian (b. Jan. 31, 1964, Marseille, France), prefect of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (2021-23). He has also been prefect of Aude département (2023- ).

Poujade, Pierre (Marie) (b. Dec. 1, 1920, Saint-Céré, Lot, France - d. Aug. 27, 2003, La Bastide-l'Évêque, Aveyron, France), French politician. He long saw himself as the defender of the "little man," creating in 1953 the Union for the Defense of Merchants and Craftsmen (UDCA), which he would lead for 30 years. He gained fame that same year for leading a group of shopkeepers in a revolt against government tax inspectors, marking the true start of the Poujadist movement, which at the height of its popularity claimed half a million members. In 1956, his political party polled 11.6% and won 52 seats in the National Assembly, notably allowing then 27-year-old Jean-Marie Le Pen, later the leader of the extreme-right National Front party, to enter parliament. Two years later, with the creation of the Fifth Republic, Poujade's party was swept out of office. His movement faded, torn by internal disputes and disagreements over France's participation in Western European affairs. His last fling was to put forward candidates in the European elections of 1979, but they received less than 1% of votes cast. In the mid-1980s, at the end of his political career, he was named by then Socialist president François Mitterrand to serve as an advisor on his Economic and Social Council, a post he held for five years.

Poukré-Kono, Fernand (b. 1955, Fort-Lamy [now N'Djamena], Chad), Central African Republic diplomat. He has been chargé d'affaires (1996-97, 2002-03) and permanent representative (2003-11) to the United Nations and ambassador to Ethiopia (after 2011).

Poulet, Georges (Marie Joseph) (b. April 14, 1914, Le Fay, near Parnac, Indre, France - d. Oct. 7, 2008), acting governor of New Caledonia (1961), governor of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (1965-67), and high commissioner of the Comoros (1973-74).

Poulet, Georges (Virgile) (b. Nov. 7, 1859, Paris, France - d. 19...), acting governor of French Guinea (1907-08, 1910), lieutenant governor of Gabon (1911-12), acting governor-general of French Equatorial Africa (1913), and governor of Martinique (1914-15).

Poulitsas, Panagiotis (b. Sept. 22, 1881, Geraki, Greece - d. Jan. 16, 1968, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (1946). He was also president of the Council of State (1943-51).

Poullet

Pourier

Poullet, Prosper (Antoine Marie Joseph), vicomte/burggraaf (from 1925) (b. March 5, 1868, Leuven, Belgium - d. Dec. 3, 1937, Leuven), prime minister of Belgium (1925-26). He was also chairman of the Chamber of Representatives (1917-19), interior minister (1925, 1932-34), justice minister (1925-26), and defense minister (1926).

Poulsen, Søren Pape (b. Dec. 31, 1971, Viborg, Denmark - d. March 2, 2024, Odense, Denmark), justice minister of Denmark (2016-19). He was also mayor of Viborg (2010-14) and leader of the Conservative People's Party (2014-24).

Poulsen, Troels Lund (b. March 30, 1976, Vejle, Denmark), defense minister (2023 [acting], 2023- ) and deputy prime minister (2023- ) of Denmark. He has also been minister of environment (2007-10), taxation (2010-11), education (2011), business and growth (2015-16), employment (2016-19), and economy (2022-23, 2023) and leader of Venstre (2023- ).

Poulton, Henry Mortimer (b. April 23, 1898 - d. Sept. 1, 1973), chief commissioner of Baluchistan (1946) and Panth Piploda (1946-47).

Poungui, Ange Édouard (b. 1942, Bouenza region, Middle Congo [now Congo (Brazzaville)]), finance minister (1971-73), vice president (1972-73), and prime minister (1984-89) of Congo (Brazzaville). He was also minister of planning (1973-76).

Pourier, Miguel (Arcangel) (b. Sept. 29, 1938, Rincon, Bonaire - d. March 24, 2013, Curaçao), prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles (1979, 1994-98, 1999-2002).

Pourmohammadi, Mostafa (b. December 1959, Qom, Iran), interior minister (2005-08) and justice minister (2013-17) of Iran. He was also head of the General Inspection Office (2008-13) and a minor presidential candidate (2024).

Poussier

Poussier, Antoine (b. 1974), prefect of Martinique (acting, 2020) and French Guiana (2023- ).

Pouvanaa

Pouvanaa (Tetuaapua) a Oopa (b. May 10, 1895, Fare village, Huahine island, French Settlements in Oceania [now French Polynesia] - d. Jan. 11, 1977, Papeete, French Polynesia), vice president of the Government Council of French Polynesia (1957-58). In April 1958 he announced a plan to secede from France and form an independent Tahitian republic. He was arrested on Oct. 11, 1958, and accused of planning to set fire to Papeete; he was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment and exiled to France in 1960; he was pardoned and returned in 1968. In 1971 he was elected senator, remaining in office until his death.

Pouyer-Quertier, Augustin (Thomas) (b. Sept. 2, 1820, Étoutteville-en-Caux, Seine-Inférieure [now Étoutteville, Seine-Maritime], France - d. April 2, 1891, Rouen, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime]), finance minister of France (1871-72).

Pouzère, Henri (b. Dec. 27, 1943, Oubangui-Chari [now Central African Republic] - d. Feb. 25, 2018, Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France), Central African Republic politician. He was a minor presidential candidate (1999, 2005) and minister of posts, telecommunications, and new technologies (2013-14).

Pouzet, Richard (Georges Jean) (b. July 5, 1904, Rochefort-sur-Mer, Charente-Inférieure [now Charente-Maritime], France - d. June 1, 1971), acting prefect of Seine département (1958). He was also prefect of the départements of Mayenne (1946-48) and Sarthe (1949-50).

Povalo-Shveykovsky, Aleksandr (Nikolayevich) (b. 1834 - d. 1903), governor of Fergana oblast (1893-98).

Povalyukhin, I. (I.), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Kabardino-Balkar autonomous oblast (1928). He was also executive secretary of the party committee of Vladikavkaz city (1930-31).

Poveda Burbano, Alfredo (Ernesto) (b. Jan. 24, 1926, Píllaro, Ecuador - d. June 7, 1990, Miami, Fla.), chairman of the Supreme Council of Ecuador (1976-79). The admiral was interior minister in 1973-75, then became navy commander. In 1976 he replaced Gen. Guillermo Rodríguez Lara, who four years earlier had overthrown Pres. José María Velasco Ibarra. Although Poveda reached power through the military hierarchy, he set up a system to return the government to civilian power. He named a group of judges and lawyers to develop a new alternative to the 1945 constitution. Voters, given the choice between the two documents in a 1978 plebiscite, chose the new constitution, which allowed for no presidential reelection and a one-house legislature. Poveda in 1979 turned over power to the winner of general elections, Jaime Roldós Aguilera. He then retired from the military.

Povoas, Sebastião Francisco de Mello e (b. 1790?, Lisbon, Portugal - d. March 29, 1830, Lisbon), governor of Rio Grande do Norte (1812-16) and governor (1819-21) and president of the Governing Junta (1821-22) of Alagoas.

Powell, Clifford R(oss) (b. July 26, 1893, Lumberton, N.J. - d. March 28, 1973, Burlington, N.J.), acting governor of New Jersey (1935).

Colin Powell

Powell, Colin (Luther) (b. April 5, 1937, New York City - d. Oct. 18, 2021, Bethesda, Md.), U.S. secretary of state (2001-05). Entering the army, he served in Vietnam in 1962-63 and 1968-69 and was wounded on both tours. In 1972, after an interview with Frank Carlucci, then deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Powell became a White House fellow, his first political position, and soon became an assistant to Carlucci. Powell commanded a battalion in South Korea in 1973-74 and worked in the Pentagon in 1974-75. In 1975 he became a colonel. In 1979 he served briefly as executive assistant to the secretary of energy, became a major general, and was senior military assistant to the secretary of defense. In 1983 Caspar Weinberger, who had known Powell when both were in the OMB and who had become secretary of defense, made Powell his senior military assistant. He became a lieutenant general assigned to the V Corps in Europe in 1986. In 1987 he became deputy to Carlucci, who was then assistant to the president for national-security affairs, and later that year he was appointed to succeed Carlucci. In April 1989 he became a four-star general, and in August Pres. George Bush nominated him chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first black officer to hold the highest military post in the United States. He played a leading role in planning the invasion of Panama (1989) and the Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations of the Persian Gulf crisis and war (1990-91). He retired from the military in 1993. He joined the Republican Party and became secretary of state (again the first black to hold that position) during the first term of Pres. George W. Bush. In this post he failed to win broad international support for the Iraq War, which he sought to justify in a speech at the UN (February 2003) with what turned out to be false intelligence. After the deadly 2021 Capitol riot incited by Pres. Donald Trump, Powell said he could no longer consider himself a Republican.

E. Powell

Powell, (John) Enoch (b. June 16, 1912, Birmingham, England - d. Feb. 8, 1998, London, England), British politician. He entered politics after World War II hoping, he said, "to stop the disintegration of the Empire." In 1950 he was elected to Parliament as a Conservative. His first important post was as financial secretary to the treasury in 1957. He resigned in 1958 in protest against the government's free-spending policies. He was back in office in 1960 as minister of health, but again out in the cold in 1963 when he refused to serve in Sir Alec Douglas-Home's government. He unsuccessfully challenged Edward Heath for the party leadership in 1965. On April 20, 1968, in what came to be called his "Rivers of Blood" speech (because of its reference to Virgil's prediction of war, during which the Tiber would foam with blood), he described Britain as "heaping up its own funeral pyre" over immigration, arguing that the nationality acts were flooding Britain with Indian, Pakistani, African, and West Indian immigrants, who could claim British citizenship because of their Commonwealth status, and that this would ultimately cause a bloody race war. Heath condemned the speech as "racialist in tone and liable to exacerbate racial tensions" and dismissed Powell as shadow defense secretary. He would never hold a senior political position again. In February 1974 he gave up the Wolverhampton seat he had held for 24 years, supporting the Labour Party in that election due to its opposition to Britain's entry into the Common Market. From October 1974 he was returned to Parliament as an Ulster Unionist from the Protestant Northern Ireland district of Down South. He lost his seat in 1987, largely because political boundary changes had made his constituency more Nationalist in composition.

Powell, Jerome (Hayden), byname Jay Powell (b. Feb. 4, 1953, Washington, D.C.), chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (2018- ).

Powell, John Wesley (b. March 24, 1834, Mount Morris, N.Y. - d. Sept. 23, 1902, Haven, Maine), director of the U.S. Geological Survey (1881-94). He was also director of the U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region (1869-79).

Powell, Lazarus W(hitehead) (b. Oct. 6, 1812, near Henderson, Ky. - d. July 3, 1867, near Henderson), governor of Kentucky (1851-55). He was also a U.S. senator from Kentucky (1859-65).

Powell, Samuel S. (b. Feb. 16, 1815, New York City - d. Feb. 6, 1879, Brooklyn, N.Y.), mayor of Brooklyn (1857-60, 1872-73).

Powell, Wesley (b. Oct. 13, 1915, Portsmouth, N.H. - d. Jan. 6, 1981, Hampton Falls, N.H.), governor of New Hampshire (1959-63).

Power, Charles Gavan, byname Chubby Power (b. Jan. 18, 1888, Sillery [now part of Québec], Que. - d. May 30, 1968, Québec, Que.), acting defence minister of Canada (1940). He was also minister of pensions and national health (1935-39), postmaster general (1939-40), and minister of national defence for air (1940-44).

Power, Patrick, byname Paddy Power (b. Nov. 19, 1928, Caragh, County Kildare, Ireland - d. Aug. 14, 2013, Caragh), defence minister of Ireland (1982). He was also minister of fisheries and forestry (1979-81) and trade, commerce, and tourism (1982).

Power, Samantha (Jane) (b. Sept. 21, 1970, London, England), U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (2013-17). She has also been administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (2021- ).

Powers, Llewellyn (b. Oct. 14, 1836, Pittsfield, Maine - d. July 28, 1908, Houlton, Maine), governor of Maine (1897-1901).

Powers, Ridgley C(eylon) (b. Dec. 24, 1836, Mecca, Ohio - d. Nov. 11, 1912, near Los Angeles, Calif.), governor of Mississippi (1871-74).

Powis, Edward Clive, (1st) Earl of (b. March 7, 1754, London, England - d. May 16, 1839, London), governor of Madras (1798-1803); son of Robert Clive, Baron Clive of Plassey. He was nominated as lord lieutenant of Ireland in 1805, but did not take up the post. He succeeded as (2nd) Baron Clive of Plassey in 1774 and was created Baron Clive of Walcot in 1794 and Baron Powis, Baron Herbert of Chirbury, Viscount Clive of Ludlow, and Earl of Powis in 1804.

Powles, Sir Guy (Richardson) (b. April 5, 1905, Otaki, Horowhenua district, N.Z. - d. Oct. 24, 1994, Wellington, N.Z.), high commissioner of Western Samoa and administrator of Tokelau (1949-60); knighted 1961. He was also New Zealand high commissioner to India and Ceylon and ambassador to Nepal (1960-62), ombudsman (1962-75), and chief ombudsman (1975-77).

Powles, Michael (John) (b. July 24, 1939), New Zealand diplomat. He was high commissioner to Fiji (1980-82), ambassador to Indonesia (1982-86) and China (1989-93), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1996-2001).

Pownall, Charles Alan (b. Oct. 4, 1887, Atglen, Pa. - d. July 19, 1975), governor of Guam (1946-49).

Poyarkov, Mikhail (Petrovich), governor of Yelizavetpol (1916-17).

Poyen-Bellisle, Louis de (d. 1937, Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, France), acting lieutenant governor of Chad (1930, 1932, 1933-34).

Poynter, William A(mos) (b. May 29, 1848, Wooford county, Ill. - d. April 5, 1909, Lincoln, Neb.), governor of Nebraska (1899-1901).

Pozdnyakov

Pozdnyakov, Dmitry (Aleksandrovich) (b. June 27, 1980, Semiley, Mordovian A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), prime minister of Mordovia (2023- ).

Pozela, Vladas (b. April 9, 1879, Steigviliai, Russia [now in Lithuania] - d. Sept. 21, 1960, Adelaide, S.Aus.), interior minister of Lithuania (1926).

Pozen, Valery (Mikhailovich) (b. 1832 - d. ...), governor of Baku (1876-81); brother-in-law of Nikolay (Mikhailovich) Muravyov.

Pozgalev, Vyacheslav (Yevgenyevich) (b. Nov. 15, 1946, P'yongyang, Korea [now in North Korea]), head of the administration (1996) and governor (1996-2011) of Vologda oblast. He was also chairman of the Executive Committee (1990-91) and mayor (1991-96) of Cherepovets.

Pozner, Viktor (Markovich) (b. Nov. 8, 1877, Grozny [now in Chechnya], Russia - d. March 31, 1957, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), executive secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkestan A.S.S.R. (1921).

Pozo (Crespo), Mauricio (b. Jan. 18, 1959, Quito, Ecuador), economy and finance minister of Ecuador (2003-04, 2020-21).

Pozo Malo

Pozzo di Borgo

Pozo Malo, (Hernán) Lautaro (b. April 17, 1957, Quito, Ecuador), acting foreign minister of Ecuador (2010). In 2017-22 he was ambassador to Sweden.

Pozo Rubio, Raimundo Fernández Villaverde (y García del Rivera), marqués de (b. Jan. 20, 1848, Madrid, Spain - d. July 15, 1905, Madrid), prime minister of Spain (1903, 1905). He was also minister of interior (1885, 1892), justice (1890-91), finance (1899-1900, 1902-03), and overseas (1899).

Pozzo di Borgo, Cécile (Marie Thérèse), née Mouton-Brady (b. Jan. 4, 1952, Paris, France), administrator-superior of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2014-18). She was French ambassador to the Dominican Republic (2005-08) and Peru (2008-11) and prefect of Aveyron département (2011-14).

Prabowo, Hadi (b. April 3, 1960, Klaten, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia), acting governor of Kalimantan Tengah (2015-16) and Sumatera Selatan (2018).

Pracha Guna-Kasem (b. Dec. 29, 1934, Bangkok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. Oct. 8, 2009), Thai diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1975-80) and ambassador to France and Algeria (1985-87).

Prachuab C.

Prachuab Chaiyasan (b. Aug. 20, 1944, Udon Thani province, Thailand), foreign minister of Thailand (1996-97). He was also minister of science, technology, and energy (1988-90), public health (1990), agriculture and cooperatives (1994-95), and university affairs (1998-2000).

Prachuab Suntrangkoon, also spelled Suntharangkul (b. April 4, 1920, Sawankhalok district, Sukhothai province, Siam [now Thailand] - d. 1992), a deputy prime minister (1981-86) and interior minister (1986-88) of Thailand.

Prada (Gil), (Hernando) Alfonso (b. Oct. 6, 1964, Bogotá, Colombia), interior minister of Colombia (2022-23). He has also been secretary-general of the presidency (2017-18) and ambassador to France (2023- ).

Pradales

Pradales Gil, Imanol (b. April 21, 1975, Santurtzi, Vizcaya province, Spain), president of the government of País Vasco/Euskadi (2024- ).

Pradel, Seymour (b. July 10, 1876, Jacmel, Haiti - d. April 25, 1943, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), interior minister of Haiti (1912-13, 1913-14, 1915).

Prader, Georg (b. June 15, 1917, Sankt Pölten, Niederösterreich, Austria - d. March 16, 1985, Vienna, Austria), defense minister of Austria (1964-70).

Pradhan, Bhimsen Das, defense minister of Nepal (2017-18).

Pradhan, Lyonpo Om (b. Oct. 6, 1946, Neoly, Bhutan), Bhutanese politician. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1980-84, 1998-2003), ambassador to India, Nepal, and the Maldives (1984-85), and minister of trade and industry (1989-98).

Pradhan, R(amchandra) D(attatraya) (b. June 27, 1928 - d. July 31, 2020, Mumbai, India), governor of Arunachal Pradesh (1987-90) and acting governor of Bihar (1989).

Pradhan, Sahana (b. July 15, 1932, Kathmandu, Nepal - d. Sept. 22, 2014, Balkhu, Nepal), foreign minister of Nepal (2007-08). Widow of Pushpa Lal Shrestha, who established the Nepal Communist Party in 1949, she became actively involved in women's rights and the democratic movement to overthrow the Rana regime. After the banning of political parties in 1960, she took part from time to time in the movement for the restoration of democracy. She was jailed for a few months for her political involvements. During the 1990 people's movement, she was the chairman of the United Left Front that allied with the Nepali Congress to launch the agitation, which restored multiparty democracy. She became minister for industry and commerce in the interim government under the prime ministership of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in 1990-91. Later she became minister for forest and soil conservation (1997) and women and social welfare (1997). A Standing Committee member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), she became Nepal's first woman foreign minister in 2007.

Pradilla (Rueda), Antonio María (b. Dec. 6, 1822, Barichara, Colombia - d. Dec. 12, 1878, Bogotá, Colombia), acting president of Santander (1860, 1860) and foreign minister of Colombia (1864, 1869-70). He was also minister to Venezuela (1861-62) and the United Kingdom (1862-64).

Prado, Antônio (da Silva), Júnior (b. April 5, 1880, São Paulo, Brazil - d. Nov. 17, 1955, São Paulo), prefect of the Distrito Federal (1926-30); son of Antonio da Silva Prado.

Prado, Antonio Caio da Silva (b. June 13, 1853, São Paulo, Brazil - d. May 25, 1889, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil), president of Alagoas (1887-88) and Ceará (1888-89); brother of Antonio da Silva Prado.

Prado, Antonio da Silva (b. Feb. 25, 1840, São Paulo, Brazil - d. April 23, 1929, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), foreign minister of Brazil (1888). He was also minister of agriculture (1885-87, 1888-89) and mayor of São Paulo (1899-1911).

Prado, Luiz da Silva (b. 1812, Rosário [now Rosário do Sul], Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - d. May 19, 1870), acting president of Mato Grosso (1870).

Prado, Manoel José de Menezes (b. Feb. 6, 1844, Rosário do Catete, Sergipe, Brazil - d. March 1, 1897, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Espírito Santo (1876-77) and Piauí (1885-86).

Prado, Manoel Martiniano (b. Oct. 16, 1902 - d. Sept. 2, 1967), governor of Acre (1935-37).

M.I. Prado

Prado (Ochoa), Mariano Ignacio (b. Dec. 18, 1826, Huánuco, Peru - d. May 5, 1901, Paris, France), president (1865-68, 1876-79) and prime minister (1865-67) of Peru. He was also president of the Chamber of Deputies (1874, 1875).

Prado Amor, Julio (b. Aug. 26, 1870, Valparaíso, Chile - d. 1951), justice (and education) minister of Chile (1919).

Prado Montaño, Julio (b. Sept. 23, 1909, Vallegrande, Bolivia - d. Sept. 12, 1978), defense minister of Bolivia (1956-57).

Prado Salmón, Gary (Augusto) (b. Nov. 15, 1938, Rome, Italy - d. May 6, 2023, Santa Cruz, Bolivia), Bolivian politician; son of Julio Prado Montaño. He was minister of planning and coordination (1978-79) and ambassador to the United Kingdom (1990-93) and Mexico (2000-02).

Prado Salmón, Julio (Nils) (b. Aug. 3, 1940, La Paz, Bolivia - d. June 21, 2016, Tarumatú, Porongo municipality, Bolivia), Bolivian politician; son of Julio Prado Montaño; brother of Gary Prado Salmón. He was minister of planning (1971-73).

Prado Vallejo, Julio (b. July 3, 1924, Quito, Ecuador - d. Oct. 20, 2006, Quito), foreign minister of Ecuador (1967-68).

Prado y Ugarteche, (Max) Javier (b. Dec. 3, 1871, Lima, Peru - d. June 25, 1921, Lima), foreign minister (1905-06) and prime minister and interior minister (1910) of Peru; son of Mariano Ignacio Prado. He was also minister to Argentina (1904).

Prado y Ugarteche, Jorge (Antonio) (b. May 13, 1887, Lima, Peru - d. July 29, 1970, Lima), prime minister and interior minister of Peru (1933); brother of Javier Prado y Ugarteche. He was a presidential candidate in 1936.

Prado y Ugarteche, Manuel (Carlos Antonio) (b. April 21, 1889, Lima, Peru - d. Aug. 14, 1967, Paris, France), president of Peru (1939-45, 1956-62); son of Mariano Ignacio Prado; brother of Javier Prado y Ugarteche and Jorge Prado y Ugarteche. He was also president of the Central Reserve Bank (1934-39).

Prados, Camillo Maria Ferreira Armond, barão, visconde e conde de (b. Aug. 7, 1815, Barbacena, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. Aug. 14, 1882, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Rio de Janeiro (1878). He was also president of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (1864-66, 1878-81). He was made baron in 1861, viscount in 1871, and count in 1881.

Praia Grande, Caetano Pinto de Miranda Montenegro, visconde (de Villa Real) da (baptized April 25, 1796, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. Feb. 11, 1851, Rio de Janeiro), president of Espírito Santo (1829-30) and Alagoas (1830-31); son of Caetano Pinto de Miranda Montenegro, visconde e marquês da Praia Grande. He was made viscount in 1828.

Praia Grande, Caetano Pinto de Miranda Montenegro, visconde e marquês (de Villa Real) da (b. Sept. 16, 1748, Lamego, Portugal - d. Jan. 11, 1827, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), governor of Mato Grosso (1796-1803) and Pernambuco (1804-17) and minister of finance (1822) and justice (1822-23) of Brazil. He was made viscount in 1825 and marquess in 1826.

Prajadhipok

Prajadhipok, also called Phrapokklao, or Rama VII (b. Nov. 8, 1893, Bangkok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. May 30, 1941, Virginia Water, Surrey, England), king of Siam (1925-35). He was the 32nd and last son of King Chulalongkorn, the youngest of five sons by Queen Saowabha. Not expecting to succeed to the throne, he was prepared for a military career at Eton College and then at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, England. He emerged in 1914 as a fully qualified lieutenant in the British Army, and for a time was on active duty with the Royal Horse Artillery at Aldershot. In 1918 he married Rambhai Barni (1904-1984). When King Vajiravudh died on Nov. 26, 1925, Prajadhipok had been a likely heir to the throne for less than a year and the certain heir for only two days. He was crowned on Feb. 25, 1926. His first task was to straighten out the country's finances. He was convinced of the necessity of moving toward democratic political reforms, but allowed himself to be restrained by senior members of the royal family, and his inactivity brought on the revolution of June 24, 1932, which bloodlessly ended the absolute monarchy. He took a leading part in the promulgation of the new constitution, which was ratified on June 27. But when the National Assembly moved to change the provision of the criminal code which required the king's command before a death sentence could be carried out, he first threatened to abdicate (October 1934), saying the people should be allowed to express their opinion on the question through a plebiscite or a general election. The government resisted his demands on this and other issues and he finally abdicated on March 2, 1935, while in England for medical treatment. He reverted to his earlier title of Prince of Sukhodaya and remained in exile in England.

Prak

Prak Sokhonn, also spelled Prak Sokhon (b. May 3, 1954, Phnom Penh, Cambodia), foreign minister of Cambodia (2016-23). He was also ambassador to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland (1999-2003), minister of posts and telecommunications (2013-16), and a deputy prime minister (2018-23).

Prakasa, Sri (b. Aug. 3, 1890, Benares [now Varanasi], India - d. June 23, 1971), governor of Assam (1949-50), Madras (1952-56), Bombay (1956-60), and Maharashtra (1960-62). He was also Indian high commissioner to Pakistan (1947-49) and minister of commerce (1950-51) and natural resources and scientific research (1951-52).

Prakob Hutasingh (b. Feb. 5, 1912, Bangkok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. July 28, 1994), justice minister (1973-74) and deputy prime minister (1974-75) of Thailand. He was also president of the Supreme Court (1967-72).

Prall, Horace G(riggs) (b. March 6, 1881, near Ringoes, Hunterdon county, N.J. - d. April 23, 1951, Trenton, N.J.), acting governor of New Jersey (1935).

K. Pramoj

Pramoj, Kukrit (b. April 20, 1911, Phitsanulok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. Oct. 9, 1995, Bangkok, Thailand), prime minister of Thailand (1975-76). The son of a prince, he had the title Mom Rajawong. He joined the finance ministry but also began writing stories and poems. Entering politics after World War II, he served in parliament in 1946-47 and during the subsequent period of military rule (1947-73) jabbed at the regimes with his sharp tongue and through the newspaper Siam Rath, which he founded in 1950. He was also an actor and foreshadowed history by portraying the leader of a fictitious Southeast Asian country in the Marlon Brando film The Ugly American (1963). When a student-led revolution overthrew the military dictators in 1973, he became a powerful force in parliament, helped to create a new constitution, and formed the Social Action Party. In March 1975, after a government headed by his brother Seni Pramoj failed, he became prime minister (from January 1976 also interior minister). He lasted 13 months in a tumultuous era, as Communist regimes came to power in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos after decades of war. To prevent Thailand from falling under Communism, he established diplomatic ties with China and orchestrated the withdrawal of 40,000 U.S. troops who had used Thailand as a base for Indochina war operations. A proposal for raising the price of rice in Bangkok proved unpopular, and he dissolved parliament in January 1976, in hopes of consolidating his power through an election. But he lost, and the premiership went again to his brother in April. Months later, the military regained power. By 1980 he was back as the leader of the largest party in a coalition government, but with politically neutral Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda as prime minister. He retired as party leader in 1986 but returned briefly in 1990. Four of his books are considered modern Thai classics.

S. Pramoj

Pramoj, Seni (b. May 26, 1905, Nakhon Sawan, north of Bangkok, Siam [now Thailand] - d. July 28, 1997, Bangkok), prime minister of Thailand (1945-46, 1975, 1976). He was the great-grandson of King Rama II, earning him the title Mom Rajawong. He became a judge in the Bangkok Appeals Court before heading to the United States as Thai ambassador in 1940. After Japan invaded Thailand in 1941 he disassociated himself from the government in Bangkok. He refused to deliver his government's January 1942 declaration of war against the United States and Britain to U.S. officials. Soon after, he began organizing a guerrilla force known as the Seri Thai - or Free Thai - to fight Japanese forces occupying his country. Because of his role in the Seri Thai movement, the U.S. did not fight Thailand or treat it as a defeated enemy at the end of the war. The CIA's forerunner, the Office of Strategic Services, supplied Pramoj with aid to organize Thai resistance forces in the U.S. After returning to Thailand in 1945, he was prime minister for 4 months. A year later he helped found the centrist-conservative Democrat Party. He also served as foreign minister (1945-46) and minister of justice (1947-48), then returned to the legal profession. In 1961 he headed a panel of lawyers to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to challenge a claim by Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia that Thailand had no rights to Phra Viharn, a mountain temple on the border of the two countries. Pramoj lost the case. He was leader of the Democrat Party in 1968-79 and re-entered parliament in 1969. His second term as prime minister came after the January 1975 election. His government fell within a month and he was replaced by his brother, Kukrit Pramoj. Elections in April 1976 again made Seni prime minister (also interior minister and from August defense minister), but in October the military seized power in a coup.

Pramudwinai

Pramudwinai, Don (b. Jan. 25, 1950), foreign minister of Thailand (2015-23). He was also ambassador to Switzerland (1994-99), China, North Korea, and Mongolia (2001-04), Belgium and Luxembourg (2004-07), and the United States (2009-10) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2007-09).

Pranowo, Ganjar (b. Oct. 28, 1968, Karanganyar, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia), governor of Jawa Tengah (2013-18, 2018-23). He was an Indonesian presidential candidate in 2024.

Prapas Charusathiara, also spelled Praphas Charusathien (b. Nov. 25, 1912, Udon Thani province, Siam [now Thailand] - d. Aug. 18, 1997, Bangkok, Thailand), interior minister (1957-73) and defense minister (1971-72) of Thailand. He was also deputy prime minister (1963-71, 1972-73).

Prapiestis, Jonas (b. Aug. 2, 1952, Kupiskis, Lithuanian S.S.R.), justice minister of Lithuania (1992-96).

Praptosuhardjo, Prijadi (b. June 26, 1939, Klaten, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Tengah, Indonesia] - d. Dec. 5, 2001, Jakarta, Indonesia), finance minister of Indonesia (2000-01).

Prasad, Baleshwar (b. Jan. 1, 1914, Chapra, Saran district, Bihar, India - d. 1996), dewan of Sikkim (1959-63), chief commissioner (1963-69) and lieutenant governor (1969-70) of Manipur, chief commissioner of Tripura (1971-72), and lieutenant governor of Delhi (1972-74). He was also Indian ambassador to Burma (1970-71).

G. Prasad

Prasad, Ganga (b. July 8, 1937, Patna, Bihar, India), governor of Meghalaya (2017-18) and Sikkim (2018-23).

Prasad, Mahabir, also spelled Mahavir (b. Nov. 11, 1939 - d. Nov. 28, 2010, New Delhi, India), governor of Haryana (1995-2000) and Himachal Pradesh (1995, 1996-97). He was also Indian minister of small-scale, agro-, and rural industries (2004-07) and micro, small, and medium enterprises (2007-09).

Prasad, Mata (b. Oct. 11, 1925, Machhali Shahar, Jaunpur district, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh [now in Uttar Pradesh], India - d. Jan. 20, 2021, Lucknow, India), governor of Arunachal Pradesh (1993-99).

R. Prasad

Prasad, Rajendra (b. Dec. 3, 1884, Zeradei, Saran district, Bihar, India - d. Feb. 28, 1963, Patna, Bihar, India), president of India (1950-62). In 1917 he was captivated by the personality and ideas of Mohandas Gandhi. He gave up his law practice in 1920 to join the non-cooperation movement; from that time he was one of Gandhi's most devoted and closest followers. He became an active journalist in the nationalist interest, writing for Searchlight in English and founding and editing the Hindi weekly Desh ("Country"). One of the foremost exponents of Hindi, he claimed for it preeminence as the national language of India. He was president of the Congress Party three times (1934, 1939, 1947). He was imprisoned several times by the British for non-cooperation activities, but his only long term of imprisonment came about through a Congress policy with which he personally disagreed, the campaign of "open rebellion" during World War II, which resulted in the entire Congress Party's Working Committee being imprisoned for nearly three years (August 1942-June 1945). In September 1946 he was sworn in as member for food and agriculture in the interim government preceding full independence. From December 1946 to 1949 he presided over the Constituent Assembly which drafted the lengthy and complicated constitution for the new India. He was unanimously elected as India's first president in 1950. After the first general election (1952), he was again chosen by an overwhelming majority of the new electoral college; in 1957 he was triumphantly elected to a third term. "Rajen Babu," as he was affectionately known, bore himself with a simple, unaffected dignity; his official salary was more than once substantially reduced on his own urging.

Prasad, Ravi Shankar (b. Aug. 30, 1954, Patna, Bihar, India), law and justice minister of India (2014, 2016-21). He was also minister of state (independent charge) for information and broadcasting (2003-04) and minister of communications (2014-16, 2019-21), information technology (2014-21), and electronics (2016-21).

Prasad, Satyendra, Fijian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (2018-23).

Prasad, Siddheshwar (b. June 19, 1929, Bind, Bihar, India - d. Jan. 22, 2023, Patna, Bihar), governor of Tripura (1995-2000).

Prasad, Sukhdev (b. March 20, 1921, Piparpanti village, Gorakhpur district, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh [now in Uttar Pradesh], India - d. May 18, 1995), governor of Rajasthan (1988-90).

Prasada, Shankar (b. March 11, 1905 - d. ...), chief commissioner of Ajmer (1947-48) and Delhi (1948-54).

Praslin, César Gabriel de Choiseul-Chevigny, duc de (b. Aug. 14, 1712, Paris, France - d. Nov. 15, 1785, Paris), foreign minister of France (1761-66). He was also ambassador to Austria (1758-61) and minister of marine and colonies (1766-70). He was created duc de Praslin in 1762.

Prasong Soonsiri (b. Aug. 11, 1927), foreign minister of Thailand (1992-94).

Prat Carvajal, Arturo (b. March 6, 1878, Valparaíso, Chile - d. April 26, 1942, Santiago, Chile), finance minister of Chile (1916-17, 1931).

Prat Echaurren, Jorge (b. April 24, 1918, Viña del Mar, Chile - d. Dec. 20, 1971, Curacaví, Chile), finance minister of Chile (1954-55); son of Arturo Prat Carvajal.

Prat-Gay, Alfonso (b. Nov. 24, 1965, Buenos Aires, Argentina), finance minister of Argentina (2015-16); nephew of Gastón de Prat Gay. He was also president of the Central Bank (2002-04).

Prat Gay, Gastón (María) de (b. Dec. 28, 1934, Tucumán, Argentina), Argentinian diplomat. He was ambassador to the Soviet Union/Russia (1989-92) and Estonia and Latvia (1992).

Prata, Guilhermina Contreiras da Costa (b. May 8, 1952, Luanda province, Angola), justice minister of Angola (2008-12). She has also been ambassador to France (2023- ).

Prats (Pérez), Belisario (Matías) (b. Feb. 24, 1827, Santiago, Chile - d. Sept. 14, 1897, Santiago), foreign minister of Chile (1870-71). He was also minister of interior (1870-71, 1878-79, 1890) and war and navy (1876-77), president of the Chamber of Deputies (1872-75), and president of the Supreme Court (1885).

Prats Bello, (Martín) Belisario (b. Oct. 28, 1857 - d. July 2, 1929, Santiago, Chile), war and marine minister of Chile (1906, 1907-08); son of Belisario Prats. He was also minister of industry and public works (1897).

Prats González, Carlos (José) (b. Feb. 2, 1915, Talcahuano, Chile - d. [assassinated] Sept. 30, 1974, Buenos Aires, Argentina), interior minister (1972-73) and defense minister (1973) of Chile.

C. Pratt

Pratt, Dame Cynthia (Alexandria), née Moxey, byname Mother Pratt (b. Nov. 5, 1945, Nassau, Bahamas), deputy prime minister and minister of national security (2002-07), acting prime minister (2005), and governor-general (2023- ) of The Bahamas; knighted 2024.

Pratt, Sir John (b. 1657, Oxford, England - d. Feb. 24, 1725, London, England), British acting chancellor of the exchequer (1721); knighted 1714. He was lord chief justice (1718-25).

Pratt, Solomon Athanasius James, byname Jolliboy (b. Dec. 25, 1921, Bathurst [now Banjul], Gambia - d. Dec. 28, 2017, London, England), foreign minister (1971-73) and interior minister (1978-80) of Sierra Leone. He was also minister of development and economic planning (1968-69, 1973-75, 1977-78), trade and industry (1980-81), and transport and communications (1981) and attorney-general (1971, 1975-77).

Pratt, Thomas G(eorge) (b. Feb. 18, 1804, Georgetown, Md. [now part of Washington, D.C.] - d. Nov. 9, 1869, Baltimore, Md.), governor of Maryland (1845-48); son-in-law of Joseph Kent.

Pravdic, Aleksandar (b. Jan. 28, 1958, Cacak, Serbia), a deputy prime minister of Serbia (2001).

Prawiranegara, Sjafruddin (b. Feb. 28, 1911, Anjerkidul, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Barat, Indonesia] - d. Feb. 15, 1989, Jakarta, Indonesia), head of an emergency government (1948-49) and of a provisional government in rebellion (1958-61) of Indonesia. He was also minister of finance (1946-47, 1949-51), economic affairs (1946-47), and national welfare (1948) and governor of Bank Indonesia (1953-58).

Prawiro, Radius (b. June 29, 1928, Yogyakarta, Netherlands East Indies [now Indonesia] - d. May 26, 2005, Munich, Germany), finance minister of Indonesia (1983-88). He was also governor of Bank Indonesia (1966-73), minister of trade (1973-83) and cooperatives (1978-83), and coordinating minister for economy, finance, industry, and development supervision (1988-93).

Prawit Wongsuwan (b. Aug. 11, 1945), defense minister (2008-11, 2014-19) and a deputy prime minister (2014-23) of Thailand. He was also army commander (2004-05).

Prayitno, Irwan (b. Dec. 20, 1963, Yogyakarta, Indonesia), governor of Sumatera Barat (2010-15, 2016-21).

Prayitno, Prapto (b. July 6, 1925, Sragen, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Tengah, Indonesia] - d. Oct. 29, 2002), governor of Riau (1980). He was also Indonesian ambassador to Switzerland (1984-87).

Prayut

Prayut Chan-o-cha, until September 2014 spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha (b. March 21, 1954, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand), director of the Peace and Order Maintaining Command (2014) and prime minister (2014-23) of Thailand. He rose through the ranks of the military, and by the time of the 2006 coup had attained the rank of major general. At the time the military ousted elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. After a new constitution was drafted, Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, became prime minister and was widely believed to serve as a proxy for Thaksin, who had fled into exile. Unrest between pro- and anti-Thaksin factions brought the government to a halt in late 2013, until the military stepped in again on May 22, 2014. That day General Prayuth, who had become commander-in-chief of the army in 2010, watched as a meeting called at army headquarters between the opposing political factions reportedly degenerated into a shouting match, and suddenly declared: "I have decided to seize power," then marched out of the army complex to announce the coup to Thailand and the world. While some believed the coup only happened because the general lost his notoriously short temper, others said it was planned long before. He drafted a constitution that absolved him of responsibility for the coup and allowed him to remain a military official while leading the country. A new legislature, composed of military and police officials handpicked by the junta, nominated him as prime minister. On August 25 he was formally endorsed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He promised to uphold the monarchy, bring an end to human trafficking and to the ongoing Muslim insurgency in the south, and fight corruption. The junta immediately began cracking down on any form of dissent.

Prazeres, Zeferino (Vaz) dos (Santos) (b. Aug. 13, 1960), president of the Regional Government of Príncipe (2002-06).

Prazhevsky, Nikolay (Prokofyevich) (b. Oct. 25 [Oct. 14, O.S.], 1787 - d. Dec. 7 [Nov. 25, O.S.], 1849), governor of Bessarabia (1828-29).

Pré, Roland (Joanes Louis) (b. Dec. 26, 1907, Renazé, Mayenne, France - d. 1980), governor of Gabon (1946-47), French Guinea (1948-51), Upper Volta (1952-53), and French Somaliland (1954) and high commissioner of French Cameroons (1954-56).

Prebensen, Nicolai Christian Grove (b. April 13, 1850, Risør, Nedenes amt [now in Agder fylke], Norway - d. May 24, 1938, Hisøy [now part of Arendal municipality], Aust-Agder [now in Agder]), governor of Finmarkens amt (1889-94) and Nedenes amt (1896-1906). He was also Norwegian minister to Russia (1906-17).

Predoiu

Predoiu, (Marian) Catalin (b. Aug. 27, 1968, Buzau, Romania), justice minister (2008-12, 2019-20, 2021-23), acting foreign minister (2009), interim prime minister (2012, 2023), and interior minister (2023- ) of Romania.

Pregl, (Kazimir) Zivko (b. Aug. 28, 1947, Ljubljana, Slovenia - d. Nov. 29, 2011, Ljubljana), a deputy premier of Yugoslavia (1989-91).

Preissac, François Jean de (b. Dec. 22, 1778, Montauban [now in Tarn-et-Garonne département], France - d. May 6, 1852, Montauban), French administrator. He was prefect of the départements of Gers (1828-29) and Gironde (1830-33, 1836-38).

Prem

Prem Tinsulanonda (b. Aug. 26, 1920, Songkhla province, Siam [now Thailand] - d. May 26, 2019, Bangkok, Thailand), defense minister (1979-86) and prime minister (1980-88) of Thailand. He graduated from the Chulalongkorn Royal Military Academy in 1941 and became a cavalry man. His training included a stint at the U.S. Army Cavalry School, Fort Knox, Ky. It was after his appointment as commander of the 2nd Army in 1974 that he achieved national recognition as one of the country's most capable field officers with a reputation for incorruptibility. Never directly involved in the political infighting that seemed continuous in Bangkok, Prem was recognized in political circles as a traditionalist and firm royalist. In 1977 he joined Kriangsak Chomanan's cabinet as deputy minister of the interior. His major concern in that post was to formulate programs to assist villagers as part of the government's intensified efforts to combat Communist subversion in rural areas. Two years later he was promoted to defense minister while concurrently holding the post of Army commander in chief. A bachelor, Prem was fond of saying that he was married to the army. In 1980 Kriangsak became the country's first military leader to leave the premiership voluntarily, and Prem was the first to assume the post with such obvious hesitation that he instantly became known as the "reluctant prime minister." The change of guard followed a loss of support in parliament suffered by Kriangsak as a result of mounting economic problems and a rising crime wave. In eight years as head of five moderate, pro-American coalition governments, Prem fought off two military coup attempts (1981, 1985) and guided rapid economic development. He unexpectedly refused to serve a further term in 1988. He became president of the Privy Council in 1998, and as such was regent after the death of King Bhumibol in 2016.

Premachandra, G(amlath) M(ohottige) (b. Sept. 24, 1940 - d. [assassinated] Oct. 24, 1994, Colombo, Sri Lanka), chief minister of North Western province (1993-94). He was also labour minister of Sri Lanka (1990-91).

R. Premadasa

Premadasa, Ranasinghe (b. June 23, 1924, Colombo, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] - d. May 1, 1993, Colombo), prime minister (1978-89) and president (1989-93) of Sri Lanka. A low-caste Sinhalese, he was as a youth involved in a movement called Sucharitha (social consciousness among the low-caste people) that promoted Buddhist moral values. He joined the Ceylon Labour Party in 1949, entered the Colombo municipal council in 1950, and became deputy mayor in 1955. He then crossed to the United National Party (UNP) and ran unsuccessfully for parliament in 1956. He won a seat in 1960 but lost it again when a snap election was called four months later. He was reelected in 1965, when the UNP gained a majority, and became chief government whip. As minister of local government (1968-70; local government, housing, and construction, 1977-88), he pursued a program of building a million low-cost homes, projecting himself as a friend of the working man. He was also minister of highways (1980-89) and defense, policy planning and implementation, and Buddha Sasana (1989-93). He opposed the 1987 Indian-Sri Lankan accord aimed at ending the Tamil insurrection in northern Sri Lanka, and there were charges that he supplied arms to the Tamils. In the December 1988 presidential elections he defeated former prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. In his Jan. 2, 1989, inaugural address he spoke in both Tamil and Sinhalese and appealed to the extreme factions that had boycotted the elections to lay down their arms. In the next six months, however, more than 1,700 people were killed in the continuing violence, and he was forced to reimpose the state of emergency that had been lifted when he took office. He was killed in a suicide bombing at a May Day parade, only eight days after Lalith Athulathmudali, an opposition leader and former minister of security, was shot dead. The killings were blamed on Tamil rebels.

Premadasa, Sajith (b. Jan. 12, 1967, Colombo, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]), Sri Lankan presidential candidate (2019, 2024); son of Ranasinghe Premadasa. He was also minister of housing and Samurdhi (2015), housing and development (2015-18), and housing, construction, and cultural affairs (2018-19).

Premajayantha, Susil (b. Jan. 10, 1955), chief minister of Western province (1995-98, 1999-2000) and home affairs minister of Sri Lanka (2018). He was also minister of education (2000-01, 2005-10, 2022-24), power and energy (2004-05), petroleum industries (2010-13), environment and renewable energy (2013-15), and science, technology, and research (2015-18).

Prendergast, Sir Harry North Dalrymple (b. Oct. 15, 1834, India - d. July 24, 1913), acting resident in Mysore and chief commissioner of Coorg (1887-89, 1891-92) and acting chief commissioner of Baluchistan (1889); knighted 1885.

Prendergast, Sir James (b. Dec. 10?, 1826, London, England - d. Feb. 27, 1921, Wellington, N.Z.), acting governor of New Zealand (1879, 1880, 1882-83, 1889, 1892, 1897); knighted 1881. He was chief justice (1875-99).

Prendergast y Gordon, Luis, marqués de Victoria de las Tunas (b. Dec. 12, 1824, Cádiz, Spain - d. Dec. 21, 1892, Madrid, Spain), governor of Cuba (1881-83). He was also captain-general of Catalonia (1879-80, 1881).

Prentice

Prentice, Jim, byname of Peter Eric James Prentice (b. July 20, 1956, South Porcupine, Ont. - d. [plane crash] Oct. 13, 2016, near Kelowna, B.C.), premier of Alberta (2014-15). He was Canadian minister of Indian affairs and northern development (2006-07), industry (2007-08), and environment (2008-10).

Preoteasa, Grigore (b. Aug. 25, 1915 - d. Nov. 4, 1957, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), foreign minister of Romania (1955-57). During World War II, he was editor of the underground newspaper "Free Romania," which continued to be published later as a government-operated newspaper. In 1946 he became general manager of the Romanian news agency Agerpress. In 1949, he was sent to Washington as chargé d'affaires. A U.S.-Romanian rift six months later led to Washington's demand for his recall in retaliation for the expulsion of U.S. diplomats from Bucharest. He was deputy foreign minister while Ana Pauker was foreign minister and he kept his post when she was purged in 1952. Three years later he became foreign minister. He served as leader of the Romanian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1956. In July 1957 he was replaced as foreign minister, but was made an alternate member of the Communist Party Presidium and a secretary of the Central Committee. He was killed when a plane that also carried Premier Chivu Stoica and other officials crashed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport; the delegation came to Moscow for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution.

Prescott, Benjamin F(ranklin) (b. Feb. 26, 1833, Epping, N.H. - d. Feb. 21, 1895, Epping), governor of New Hampshire (1877-79).

Prescott, Sir Henry (b. May 4, 1783, Kew, Surrey, England - d. Nov. 18, 1874, London, England), governor of Newfoundland (1834-41); knighted 1856.

Prescott

Prescott of Kingston-upon-Hull, John (Leslie) Prescott, Baron (b. May 31, 1938, Prestatyn, North Wales), British politician. He became active in the Labour Party and the National Union of Seamen, being involved in a revolt against that union's right-wing leadership in 1961. In 1966 he stood unsuccessfully for the House of Commons; three months later he helped to organize a seamen's strike and was associated with the "tightly-knit group of politically motivated men" denounced by Labour prime minister Harold Wilson for bringing chaos to shipping. He entered Parliament in 1970 for Hull East. Having distanced himself from the far left, he backed Neil Kinnock's campaign for the party leadership in 1983 and later held the transport and employment portfolios in the shadow cabinet. In 1988 he unsuccessfully challenged Kinnock's deputy, Roy Hattersley, for his job. When Kinnock and Hattersley stepped down in 1992, Prescott stood again for the deputy leadership, but was defeated by Margaret Beckett. In 1993 Labour leader John Smith entrusted him with making a speech to close the debate on reforms to the party constitution. Much of the speech was unintelligible, but his passion enabled Smith to win the vote. When Smith died in 1994, Prescott ran for both leader and deputy leader. Tony Blair's winning the leadership was a foregone conclusion, but Prescott defeated Beckett for the deputy leadership, 57%-43%. When Labour won the 1997 elections, he became deputy prime minister and first secretary of state for environment, transport, and the regions. In 2001 he gained his own Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, within the Cabinet Office, but he lost transport and most of the environment brief. In 2002, his office became a department in its own right, but it was abolished again in 2006. He announced his resignation along with Blair in 2007. He was made a life peer in 2010.

Presthus, Rolf (b. July 29, 1936, Oslo, Norway - d. Jan. 1, 1988, Oslo), finance minister (1981-86) and defense minister (1986) of Norway. He was also chairman of the Conservative Party (1986-88).

Preston, James P(atton) (b. June 21, 1774, Montgomery county, Virginia - d. May 4, 1853, Montgomery county), governor of Virginia (1816-19).

Preston, William (b. Oct. 16, 1816, near Louisville, Ky. - d. Sept. 21, 1887, Louisville), U.S. diplomat; cousin of William B. Preston. He was minister to Spain (1859-61).

Preston, William B(allard) (b. Nov. 29, 1805, Smithfield plantation [now in Blacksburg], Va. - d. Nov. 16, 1862, Smithfield), U.S. secretary of the navy (1849-50); son of James P. Preston.

Pretelt

Pretelt de la Vega, Sabas (b. April 11, 1946, Cartagena, Colombia), interior minister of Colombia (2003-06). He was also ambassador to Italy (2006-10).

Preti, Luigi (b. Oct. 23, 1914, Ferrara, Italy - d. Jan. 19, 2009, Bologna, Italy), finance minister of Italy (1958-59, 1966-68, 1970-72). He was also minister of foreign trade (1962-63), minister without portfolio (reform of public administration) (1963-66), and minister of budget (1968-69), transport and civil aviation (1973-74), transport (1974, 1979-80), and merchant marine (1979).

Preto, José Ramos (b. 1871, Louriçal do Campo, Portugal - d. Jan. 7, 1949, Louriçal do Campo), acting prime minister of Portugal (1920). He was also justice minister (1920) and acting interior minister (1920).

Pretty, Eric Ernest Falk (b. March 8, 1891 - d. July 15, 1967), British resident in Brunei (1923-26, 1927-28, 1948-51).

Preud'homme, André (b. 1915, Wasmes, Hainaut province, Belgium), resident of Rwanda (1958-59).

Preus, David W(alter) (b. May 28, 1922, Madison, Wis. - d. July 23, 2021), president of the American Lutheran Church (1974-88).

Preus, Jacob (Aall Ottesen) (b. Aug. 28, 1883, Columbia county, Wis. - d. May 24, 1961, Minneapolis, Minn.), governor of Minnesota (1921-25).

Preus, Jacob Aall Ottesen, II (b. Jan. 8, 1920, St. Paul, Minn. - d. Aug. 13, 1994, Burnsville, Minn.), president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (1969-81); son of Jacob Preus.

Preuss, Hugo (b. Oct. 28, 1860, Berlin, Prussia [Germany] - d. Oct. 9, 1925, Berlin), interior minister of Germany (1918-19).

Préval

Préval, René (Garcia) (b. Jan. 17, 1943, Port-au-Prince, Haiti - d. March 3, 2017, Port-au-Prince), prime minister (1991) and president (1996-2001, 2006-11) of Haiti. He was closely associated with Jean-Bertrand Aristide since the fall of dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986. A grassroots militant at the time, he joined other activists in helping groom Aristide for the presidency and was named premier after Aristide was elected in 1990. Préval followed Aristide into exile when the army took power in a bloody 1991 coup and returned to Haiti after a U.S. invasion restored Aristide in 1994. Aristide came to refer to Préval as his "twin," although the often-reclusive Préval lacked Aristide's charisma and mass popularity. In 1995 he was easily elected as Aristide's successor. At his 1996 inaugural, he promised to turn his impoverished nation into "a vast construction site" and "reestablish the authority of the state." Rather, Préval's presidency saw a slow but steady unraveling of constitutional government in Haiti, capped by his 1999 decision to bypass a hostile parliament and impose a government by decree. The opposition accused him of conspiring with his mentor Aristide to establish a virtual dictatorship. He increased Haiti's ties with neighbouring Caribbean countries and improved often tense relations with the Dominican Republic. In contrast to Aristide, Préval's sincerity about adopting sometimes-painful economic measures backed by foreign donor nations was not called into question. Yet he fared little better than Aristide in reviving the economy, and Haiti remained as mired in poverty as ever. But he managed to become Haiti's first elected president to finish a full term, before handing over power to Aristide, under whom the country again descended into political chaos. He returned to public life in 2005, formed the Lespwa ("Hope") coalition, and was elected president again in 2006.

Prevost, Sir George (b. May 19, 1767 - d. Jan. 5, 1816, London, England), governor of Saint Lucia (1798-1802), Dominica (1802-05), Nova Scotia (1808-11), and Lower Canada (1811-15). He was created a baronet on Dec. 6, 1805.

Prévost

Prévost, Laurent (b. June 8, 1967, Boulogne-Billancourt, France), prefect of Martinique (2011-14) and high commissioner of New Caledonia (2019-21). He was also prefect of the French départements of Haute-Marne (2009-11), Val-de-Marne (2017-19), and Isère (2021-23).

Prica, Milos (b. March 7, 1961, Chicago, Ill.), Bosnian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (2005-08).

Price, Adolphus James (b. Sept. 4, 1846 - d. Oct. 5, 1937), acting governor of Saint Helena (1902-03).

Price, Charles Henry Uvedale (b. June 16, 1862 - d. Feb. 22, 1942), political resident of Aden (1915-16).

G.C. Price

Price, George Cadle (b. Jan. 15, 1919, Belize, British Honduras [now Belize City, Belize] - d. Sept. 19, 2011, Belize City), prime minister (1964-84, 1989-93) and foreign minister (1981-84) of Belize. His political involvement first came to the fore in the late 1940s, when the devaluation of the Belizean dollar caused serious economic hardship for many people. As a result, he was closely involved in the establishment of a People's Provisional Committee, which in 1950 became the People's United Party (PUP). He was mayor of Belize city in 1956-62. From 1954 onward he engaged in national politics and in 1961 he was appointed first minister. Following constitutional changes, he became premier in 1964, and he became the first prime minister of independent Belize on Sept. 21, 1981. He was also minister of finance and economic planning (1965-84). The PUP's long stay in power owed much to Price's personal brand of politics. It was hard to classify his political philosophy, which took in many socialist views yet encouraged the development of private enterprise and investment. Though there were suggestions that certain of the left-leaning younger members of the government might wish to take a stronger line on Central American political issues, Price resolutely steered Belize on a middle course. His style of politics and government was variously described as philosophical, low-key, or low-profile. He avoided dramatic gestures and instead emphasized quiet negotiation. His party was defeated, and he lost his own seat, in the first post-independence election, in 1984, when the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) campaigned under the theme "It's time for a change" and hammered the PUP for failing to improve economic conditions. He regained power in 1989, accusing the UDP of allowing foreigners too much influence in programs for increasing investment and tourism, but was again defeated in 1993, partly due to his acceptance of the withdrawal of a British military force which had been maintained in the country to protect against Guatemalan claims.

Price, James H(ubert) (b. Sept. 7, 1878, Greenbriar county, W.Va. - d. Nov. 22, 1943, Richmond, Va.), governor of Virginia (1938-42).

Price, Rodman M(cCauley) (b. Nov. 5, 1816, Sussex county, N.J. - d. June 7, 1894, Weehawken, N.J.), governor of New Jersey (1854-57).

Price, Sterling (b. Sept. 20, 1809, Prince Edward county, Va. - d. Sept. 29, 1867, St. Louis, Mo.), military governor of New Mexico (1847-48) and governor of Missouri (1853-57).

Price-Mars, Jean (b. Oct. 15, 1876, Grande Rivière du Nord, Haiti - d. March 1, 1969, Pétionville, Haiti), foreign minister of Haiti (1946-47, 1956-57). He was also minister to France (1915-16) and ambassador to the Dominican Republic (1947-49) and France (1957-60). He was born Jean-Price Mars, receiving the second first name Price in the memory of the mulatto writer Hannibal Price. In 1904, he changed his name by connecting Price, the name of a mulatto, and Mars, the name of his black father. He regarded this gesture as a proclamation of his desire to see his compatriots living in peace and in solidarity. His son Louis Mars did not generally use the combined name.

Prichette, Kintzing, also spelled Pritchette (b. June 24, 1800, Philadelphia, Pa. - d. April 12, 1869, aboard the Rona, North Pacific Ocean), acting governor of Oregon (1850).

Prickett, Sir Thomas (Other) (b. July 31, 1913, Lindfield, Sussex, England - d. Jan. 23, 2010, Malvern, Worcestershire, England), administrator of the British Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus (1964-66); knighted 1965.

Prideaux, Francis Beville (b. Nov. 26, 1871 - d. Sept. 6, 1938), British political agent in Bahrain (1904-09) and political resident in the Persian Gulf (1924-27).

Pridi

Pridi Banomyong, also spelled Pridi Phanomyong, also called Luang Pradit Manudharm (b. May 11, 1900, Ayutthaya, Siam [now Thailand] - d. May 2, 1983, Paris, France), prime minister of Thailand (1946). While studying in Paris he became convinced of the need to modernize his country, and he was the main civilian inspirer of the June 24, 1932, revolution that overthrew the Thai absolute monarchy. Afterwards he produced three influential documents: a revolutionary manifesto, a provisional constitution, and an economic plan. The latter betrayed a variety of radical influences and he was forced into temporary exile by a royalist reaction. After another coup by one of his original co-conspirators, Plaek Pibulsongkram, he returned and successively served as interior minister (1934-36), foreign minister (1936-38), and finance minister (1938-41). In 1941 he resigned in protest against pro-Japanese policies and was appointed one of three members of a regency council. In 1944 he became sole regent, holding the post until the king returned in December 1945. Simultaneously he was leader of the anti-Japanese underground Free Thai movement, enabling him to negotiate a peace settlement with the Allies which took Thailand, as the first ex-ally of the Axis, into the United Nations. He was now the real power behind successive civilian governments, and in March 1946 became prime minister himself, the first to have been popularly elected. But after King Ananda Mahidol died in unexplained circumstances in June, Pridi had to resign in August. In 1947 the army staged a coup d'état and he fled the country. A coup attempt on his behalf failed in 1949, and from then on he lived in China until he moved to Paris in 1970. At that time he was still regarded by his opponents as too much of a threat to be allowed to return to Thailand.

Priedkalns, Janis (b. March 28, 1934, Barbele, Latvia - d. June 14, 2022, Adelaide, S.Aus.), Latvian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1997-2000).

Priestman, Harold Eddey (b. 1888 - d. Oct. 14, 1956, Dublin, Ireland), acting high commissioner for Southern Africa (1944).

Prieto (Vial), (José) Joaquín (b. Aug. 20, 1786, Concepción, Chile - d. Nov. 22, 1854, Santiago, Chile), president of Chile (1831-41). He was also intendant of Concepción (1831) and Valparaíso (1843).

Prieto, José Luis, defense minister of Venezuela (2002-04).

Prieto (Fernández), Omar (José) (b. May 25, 1969, Sierra Maestra, San Francisco municipality, Zulia, Venezuela), governor of Zulia (2017-21).

Prieto Echaurren, Jorge, justice (and education) minister of Chile (1924); son of Alfredo Prieto Zenteno.

Prieto Gándara, Gonzalo (b. June 12, 1924, Valparaíso, Chile - d. 2008), justice minister of Chile (1973-74).

Prieto Hurtado, Joaquín (b. 1863, Santiago, Chile - d. Jan. 10, 1951, Viña del Mar, Chile), finance minister of Chile (1906).

Prieto Rojas, Justo Pastor (b. Oct. 15, 1897, Pilar, Paraguay - d. June 29, 1982, Asunción, Paraguay), foreign minister of Paraguay (1939-40). He was also minister of justice, worship, and education (1931, 1932-36) and president of the Senate (1939).

Prieto Tuero, Indalecio (b. April 30, 1883, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain - d. Feb. 12, 1962, Mexico City, Mexico), finance minister (1931) and defense minister (1937-38) of Spain. He was also minister of public works (1931-33) and navy and air (1936-37).

Prieto Zenteno, Alfredo (b. Dec. 16, 1846, Santiago, Chile - d. December 1930, Santiago), Chilean politician. He was governor of Lontué (1876-81) and intendant of Llanquihue (1882-87).

Prifti, Mihal (b. Sept. 25, 1918, Gjat, Gjirokastër district, Albania - d. March 16, 1986), Albanian politician. He was minister (1947-49) and ambassador (1954-58) to the Soviet Union, chairman of the People's Assembly (1951-54), and ambassador to China (1959-61).

Prikhodko, Sergey (Eduardovich) (b. Jan. 12, 1957, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Jan. 26, 2021, Moscow), a deputy prime minister of Russia (2013-18). He was also head of the Government Apparatus (2013-18).

Primakov

Primakov, Yevgeny (Maksimovich) (b. Oct. 29, 1929, Kiev, Ukrainian S.S.R. - d. June 26, 2015, Moscow, Russia), Russian politician. As befits one who spent much of his life in intelligence of one form or another, his background remained unclear; he would neither confirm nor deny reports that his parents were Jewish and that he had changed his surname from Finkelshtein to avoid anti-Semitic unpleasantries. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1959. In 1970 he was named deputy director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), the top foreign policy think tank, and in 1977, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies. He became director of IMEMO in 1985. A leading architect of perestroika (restructuring), he worked closely with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and rose to become a member of the Central Committee, a candidate member of the Politburo, and chairman of the Soviet of the Union, the upper house of the Supreme Soviet, in 1989-90. He played a prominent role in efforts to avert the 1991 Gulf War. He made several trips to Baghdad seeking what he called a "face-saving" way for Saddam Hussein to withdraw from occupied Kuwait. He became first deputy KGB chief and head of its First Directorate (foreign intelligence) after the failed 1991 coup against Gorbachev. The KGB was disbanded a few months later, but he went on to head Russia's new Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). After five years building up the SVR, Pres. Boris Yeltsin appointed him foreign minister in 1996, and prime minister in 1998. Even critics acknowledged he stabilized Russia in political and economic terms after a financial crisis in August 1998. Polls showed he would be a top candidate to succeed Yeltsin. But as his influence mounted, so did Yeltsin's increasingly thinly-veiled hostility, and he was sacked in 1999. He was president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2001-11.

Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, Rafael (b. July 12, 1813, Montevideo, Río de la Plata [now in Uruguay] - d. Feb. 3, 1902, Cádiz, Spain), governor of Puerto Rico (1873-74).

Primorac, Marko (b. Oct. 25, 1984, Zagreb, Croatia), finance minister (2022- ) and a deputy prime minister (2024- ) of Croatia.

Primrose, Philip Carteret Hill (b. Oct. 23, 1864, Halifax, Nova Scotia - d. March 17, 1937, Edmonton, Alta.), lieutenant governor of Alberta (1936-37).

Prince, LeBaron Bradford (b. July 3, 1840, Flushing, N.Y. - d. Dec. 22, 1922, Flushing), governor of New Mexico (1889-93).

Principe, Francesco (b. May 24, 1918, Rende, Calabria, Italy - d. Nov. 5, 2008, Cosenza, Calabria), president of Calabria (1985-87).

Principi

Principi, Anthony J(oseph) (b. April 16, 1944, New York City), U.S. secretary of veterans affairs (2001-05).

Prinetti, Giulio, (from 1903) marchese di Merate (b. June 6, 1851, Milan, Austria [now in Italy] - d. June 9, 1908, Rome, Italy), foreign minister of Italy (1901-03). He was also minister of public works (1896-97).

Pringgodigdo, Abdoel Gaffar (b. Aug. 24, 1904, Kasiman, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Timur, Indonesia] - d. 1988), justice minister of Indonesia (1950). He was also state secretary (1945).

Pringle, Robert (b. 16... - d. Sept. 13, 1736, Rotterdam, United Netherlands), British secretary at war (1718).

Pringle, Robert Keith (b. March 13, 1802, Selkirk, Scotland - d. Jan. 12, 1897), commissioner of Sind (1847-51).

Prinsen, Max, byname of Marinus Jacobus Prinsen (b. Jan. 10, 1899, Heerenveen, Friesland, Netherlands - d. Jan. 3, 1971, Haarlem, Noord-Holland, Netherlands), queen's commissioner of Noord-Holland (1954-64).

Printz, Johan Björnsson (b. July 20, 1592, Bottnaryd socken [now part of Jönköping municipality], Jönköping, Sweden - d. May 3, 1663, Bottnaryd socken), governor of New Sweden (1643-53).

Printzensköld, Carl (b. March 1, 1796, Sörbro, Värmland, Sweden - d. Dec. 10, 1866, Körunda, Stockholm county, Sweden), acting governor of Jämtland (1843-44).

Printzsköld, Otto Hack Roland (b. Oct. 18, 1846, Kalmar socken [now part of Håbo municipality], Uppsala, Sweden - d. March 1, 1930, Stockholm, Sweden), governor of Södermanland (1889-94).

Prío

Prío Socarrás, Carlos (b. July 14, 1903, Bahía Honda, Cuba - d. April 5, 1977, Miami Beach, Fla.), president of Cuba (1948-52). At the University of Havana he became a leader of a student group opposed to Gerardo Machado's dictatorship and he was imprisoned in 1931-33 for his activities. Later he helped organize the Partido Revolucionario Cubano Auténtico, went into exile in the United States when this party was outlawed, returned to Cuba in 1939, and was elected to the National Assembly. He became leader of his party in 1940 and was elected senator in that year and again in 1944. He then served as prime minister (1945-47) and labour minister (1946-47, 1947). In the latter post he purged the Communists from the Cuban Confederation of Labour. He was elected president in 1948 with the support of outgoing president Ramón Grau. Continuing the centrist policies of his predecessor, he pursued programs of agrarian reform and establishment of low-cost housing, a national bank, and labour courts, but despite vigorous efforts he was unable to solve Cuba's economic problems. Though his presidency was characterized by respect for civil liberties, he was strongly criticized for allowing groups of armed thugs to roam the streets of Havana and for widespread administrative corruption. In 1949 he tried to organize a democratic bloc in Latin America. He was deposed in 1952 by Fulgencio Batista, who gave gangsterism and corruption as reason. According to Batista spokesmen, Prío left for exile in the United States with $30 million in misappropriated funds. He returned to Cuba in 1959 to support Fidel Castro, but went back to Miami in 1961, becoming a spokesman for the Cuban exile community. His death from a gunshot was apparently a suicide.

Prior, Edward Gawler (b. May 21, 1853, Dallaghgill [now Dallowgill], Yorkshire, England - d. Dec. 12, 1920, Victoria, B.C.), lieutenant governor of British Columbia (1919-20).

Prior, Sir (Charles) Geoffrey (b. Dec. 9, 1896 - d. Oct. 11, 1972), British political agent in Bahrain (1929-32), political resident in the Persian Gulf (1939-46), and chief commissioner of Baluchistan (1946-47); knighted 1943.

Prishchepa, Mikhail (Mikhailovich) (b. 1906, Yurevka, Yekaterinoslav province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. ...), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous oblast (1941-44).

Prisse, Albert Florent Joseph, baron (b. June 24, 1788, Maubeuge [now in Nord département], France - d. Nov. 22, 1856, Rome, Papal State [now in Italy]), war minister of Belgium (1846-47). He was also minister to the Netherlands (1842-45). He was made baron in 1844.

Pritchard, Sir Charles Bradley (b. May 5, 1837, Clapham, Surrey [now part of London], England - d. Nov. 23, 1903, London), commissioner of Sind (1887-89); knighted 1891.

Pritchard, Joseph William (b. Aug. 5, 1903 - d. ...), chief commissioner of Coorg (1940-43).

Prithivi Narayan Shah Deva, or Prithvinarayana Saha (b. 1723 - d. Jan. 11, 1775), raja of Gorkha (1742-68) and king of Nepal (1768-75). Succeeding his father Narabhpati Saha on the throne of Gorkha, he ambitiously set out to enlarge his territory by conquering the quarrelsome and disunited surrounding principalities. His initial attempts to establish hegemony over the three Malla kingdoms of Kathmandu, Lalitapatan, and Bhatgaon were abortive; the raja of Kathmandu was able to repulse the encroachments with the aid of the British East India Company in 1767. The following year, however, the company's forces having been recalled, Kathmandu was taken. This allowed him to proclaim a new Kingdom of Nepal, which he made into a strong and independent state, establishing its capital at Kathmandu. He then extended his conquests east and west along the southern slopes of the Himalayas, annexing Tarai, Kumaon, Garhwal, Simla, and Sikkim in northern India, and also large portions of the Plateau of Tibet. By conquering Makwanpur, however, he brought down upon himself the combined forces of the East India Company and the nawab of Bengal, who together succeeded in retaking that area. Nepal at that time was almost twice as large in land area as it is today. Prithivi Narayan sealed his border and maintained peaceful but distant relations with the British, refusing to trade with them.

Pritytsky, Sergey (Osipovich) (b. Feb. 1 [Jan. 19, O.S.], 1913, Garkavichi, Grodno province, Russia [now in Poland] - d. June 13, 1971, Minsk, Belorussian S.S.R.), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Belorussian S.S.R. (1968-71). He was also first secretary of the party committees of Grodno (1948-51), Baranovichi (1953-54), Molodechno (1954-60), and Minsk (1960-62) oblasti.

Pritzbuer, Léopold (Eberhard Ludovic) de (b. Sept. 7, 1824, Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin [now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany] - d. May 21, 1889, Rochefort, Charente-Inférieure [now Charente-Maritime], France), governor of New Caledonia (1875-78).

Pritzker, J.B., byname of Jay Robert Pritzker (b. Jan. 19, 1965, Palo Alto, Calif.), governor of Illinois (2019- ); brother of Penny Pritzker.

Pritzker, Penny (Sue) (b. May 2, 1959, Chicago, Ill.), U.S. commerce secretary (2013-17).

Privat-Aubouard, Antoine (b. Aug. 14, 1874 - d. Dec. 9, 1934, Beirut, Lebanon), governor (1923-24) and acting president (1934) of Lebanon.

Privert

Privert, Jocelerme (b. Feb. 1, 1953, Petit Trou de Nippes, Haiti), interior minister (2002-04) and provisional president (2016-17) of Haiti. In January 2016 he became president of the Senate.

Prka, Bozo (b. Jan. 1, 1958, Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina), finance minister of Croatia (1994-97). He was also president of Privredna banka Zagreb (1998-2018).

Prlic

Prlic, Jadranko (b. June 10, 1959, Djakovo, Croatia), foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996-2001). He was a member of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), but left the party in September 2000. In May 2013 he was sentenced to 25 years in jail for murdering and deporting Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-95 war. He had been prime minister of the self-proclaimed Herceg-Bosna state that Croats carved out in central and southern Bosnia during the conflict.

Prlja, Aleksandar (b. 1935 - d. Oct. 20, 2002, Belgrade, Serbia), foreign minister of Serbia (1989-91).

Probyn, Sir Leslie (b. Feb. 23, 1862 - d. Dec. 17, 1938, Folkestone, Kent, England), acting high commissioner of Southern Nigeria (1903-04) and governor of Sierra Leone (1904-10), Barbados (1911-18), and Jamaica (1918-24); knighted 1909.

Procopé, Hjalmar (Johan Fredrik) (b. Aug. 8, 1889, Helsingfors [now Helsinki], Finland - d. March 8, 1954, Helsinki), foreign minister of Finland (1924-25, 1927-31). He was also minister of trade and industry (1920-21, 1924) and minister to Poland (1926-27) and the United States (1939-44).

Proctor, Fletcher D(utton) (b. Nov. 7, 1860, Proctor, Vt. - d. Sept. 27, 1911, Proctor), governor of Vermont (1906-08); son of Redfield Proctor (1831-1908).

Proctor, Mortimer R(obinson) (b. May 30, 1889, Proctor, Vt. - d. April 28, 1968, Proctor), governor of Vermont (1945-47); son of Fletcher D. Proctor.

Proctor, Redfield (b. June 1, 1831, Proctorsville, Vt. - d. March 4, 1908, Washington, D.C.), governor of Vermont (1878-80) and U.S. secretary of war (1889-91).

Proctor, Redfield (b. April 13, 1879, Proctor, Vt. - d. Feb. 5, 1957, Proctor), governor of Vermont (1923-25); son of the above; brother of Fletcher D. Proctor.

Prodanovic, Jasa (b. April 23, 1867, Cacak, Serbia - d. June 1, 1948, Belgrade, Serbia), a deputy prime minister of Yugoslavia (1946-48). He was also Serbian minister of trade (1909-10) and education (1910-11) and Yugoslav minister for Serbia (1945).

Prodi

Prodi, Romano (b. Aug. 9, 1939, Scandiano, near Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy), prime minister of Italy (1996-98, 2006-08) and president of the European Commission (1999-2004). His first government experience was as industry minister for five months in 1978-79 in the cabinet of Christian Democrat Giulio Andreotti. After two productive stints (1982-89, 1993-94) as chairman of the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction, the government's holding company, he made a run for prime minister against incumbent Silvio Berlusconi. At first, Prodi's mumbling speaking style and his sometimes disheveled appearance were political liabilities. Then he turned his absent-minded professor schtick into an advantage, contrasting his unpolished manner with the smooth, slick image of his media magnate opponent. Originally sponsored by the once-powerful Christian Democrats, he became the standard-bearer for a centre-left coalition dominated by their opponents, the ex-Communists. In the 1996 election, that alliance, called Ulivo (Olive Tree), won enough seats to form a government. As premier, he convinced Italians to make harsh financial sacrifices and coaxed reticent union leaders to accept cuts in social spending. He significantly reduced the budget deficit to get the country accepted into the European Monetary Union - a task that seemed all but impossible when he took office. But in the end, he was not able to win over the hardline Communist Refoundation party. His government came to an end in 1998 when it lost the support of its left-wing membership during a dispute over the budget. In 1999, he became president of the European Commission, overseeing the EU's eastward expansion in 2004. Winning a primary vote organized by the centre-left in 2005, he again became Berlusconi's challenger, and in the 2006 elections his Union coalition, which evolved out of Ulivo, won a narrow victory. His government collapsed in 2008 when the Christian Democrats withdrew from the coalition. He was also UN special envoy for the Sahel (2012-14).

Prodjodikoro, Wirjono (b. June 15, 1903, Surakarta, Netherlands East Indies [now in Jawa Tengah, Indonesia] - d. April 1985, Jakarta, Indonesia), justice minister of Indonesia (1963 [acting], 1966). He was also chief justice of the Supreme Court (1952-66) and coordinating minister of justice and home affairs (1963-66).

Proença, João Uva de Matos (d. Jan. 29, 1990), Portuguese diplomat. He was chargé d'affaires in Malawi (1972-74), ambassador to Nigeria (1976-79), Czechoslovakia (1979-81), and Canada (1988-90), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1986-88).

Proferansov, Dmitry (Petrovich) (b. June 9, 1903 - d. Feb. 20, 1982, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was minister of public utilities (1949-51) and housing and civil construction (1953-54) and a deputy premier (1951-53) of the Russian S.F.S.R.

Profos

Profos(-Meier), Brigitte, née Meier (b. Jan. 15, 1943), Landammann of Zug (2005-06).

Profumo

Profumo, John (Dennis) (b. Jan. 30, 1915, London, England - d. March 9, 2006, London), British politician. He entered Parliament as a Conservative in a 1940 by-election, becoming at age 25 the youngest MP in the House of Commons, and left in 1945 for an appointment as chief of staff in Japan. Returning to Parliament in 1950, he held several posts, becoming Harold Macmillan's secretary of war in July 1960. In July 1961 he was introduced to teenage showgirl Christine Keeler by fashionable London osteopath and artist Stephen Ward at Lord Astor's Cliveden country estate in Berkshire. He began an affair with Keeler, who was also involved with Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet intelligence officer and assistant naval attaché in London. In March 1963, Profumo, who was married to the actress Valerie Hobson, made a statement to MPs denying any impropriety in his relationship with Keeler. He resigned from the cabinet and from Parliament in June 1963 after admitting he had misled the House of Commons. The affair contributed to the fall of Macmillan's government in October. Profumo dedicated the rest of his life to charitable work, for which he was named Commander of the British Empire in 1975.

Prohaska, Slobodan (b. 1943, Belgrade, Serbia), a deputy prime minister of Serbia (1991). He was also minister of foreign economic relations and economic development (1991).

Prohens

Prohens (Rigo), Marga(lida) (b. May 24, 1982, Campos, Baleares, Spain), president of the government of Baleares (2023- ).

Prokes, Jozef (b. June 12, 1950, Nitra, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), a deputy prime minister of Slovakia (1993-94). He was also mayor of Nitra (1998-2002).

Prokhorov, Aleksandr (Dmitriyevich) (b. April 22, 1953, Kirovskoye, Sakhalin oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), head of the administration of Smolensk oblast (1998-2002). He was also mayor of Smolensk (1997-98).

Prokhorov, Mikhail (Dmitriyevich) (b. May 3, 1965, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Russian politician. He was chairman of Right Cause (2011) and Civic Platform (2012-14) and a presidential candidate (2012).

Prokkonen, Pavel (Stepanovich) (Russian), Finnish Paavo Prokkonen (b. July 16 [July 3, O.S.], 1909, Klyushina Gora [now in Karelia], Russia - d. July 18, 1979, Petrozavodsk, Karelian A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars/Ministers of the Karelo-Finnish S.S.R. (1940-47, 1950-56). He was also chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Karelian A.S.S.R. (1956-79) and first deputy chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1967-79).

Prokofyev, Aleksey (Makarovich) (b. 1900 - d. 1976), Soviet politician. He was people's commissar/minister of fuel industry (1942-47, 1954-57) and a deputy premier (1947-53) of the Russian S.F.S.R.

Prokop, Liese, née Sykora (b. March 27, 1941, Vienna, Germany [now in Austria] - d. Dec. 31, 2006, en route between Annaberg and St. Pölten, Austria), interior minister of Austria (2004-06).

Prokopovic, Pavol (b. June 29, 1955, Stropkov, Czechoslovakia [now in Slovakia]), Slovak politician. He was minister of transportation, posts, and communication (2002-06) and a deputy prime minister and economy minister (acting, 2003).

Prokopovich, Sergey (Nikolayevich) (b. July 27 [July 15, O.S.], 1871, Tsarskoye Selo [now Pushkin, part of St. Petersburg], Russia - d. April 4, 1955, Geneva, Switzerland), Russian politician. He was minister of commerce and industry (1917) and food (1917).

Prokopovych

Prokudin

Prokopovych, Vyacheslav (Kostyantynovych) (b. June 22 [June 10, O.S.], 1881, Kiev, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. June 7, 1942, France), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the non-Communist Ukraine (1920 and in exile 1926-39). He was also minister of education (1918).

Prokopyev, Ilya (Pavlovich) (b. July 29, 1926, Machamushi, Chuvash A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Feb. 20, 2017, Cheboksary, Chuvashia, Russia), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Chuvash A.S.S.R. (1974-88).

Prokopyev, Leonid (Prokopyevich) (b. April 7, 1934, Yanmurzino, Chuvash A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Jan. 9, 2006), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Chuvash A.S.S.R. (1975-89). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Cheboksary city (1974-75).

Prokopyev, Yury (Nikolayevich) (b. July 14, 1932, Nyurba, Yakut A.S.S.R., Russian S.F.S.R. [now Sakha republic, Russia] - d. Dec. 21, 2003), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Yakut A.S.S.R. (1982-91). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Yakutsk city (1978-82).

Prokudin, Pavel (Nikolayevich) (b. Aug. 17, 1966, Smolenka, Novosibirsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), prime minister of Transnistria (2015-16).

Prokuriça (Prokuriça), Baldo (Petar) (b. July 2, 1958, Vallenar, Chile), defense minister of Chile (2020-22). He was also governor of Huasco province (1988-90) and minister of mining (2018-20).

Pröll, Erwin (b. Dec. 24, 1946, Radlbrunn, Niederösterreich, Austria), Landeshauptmann of Niederösterreich (1992-2017).

Pröll, Josef (b. Sept. 14, 1968, Stockerau, Niederösterreich, Austria), chairman of the Austrian People's Party and vice chancellor and finance minister of Austria (2008-11); nephew of Erwin Pröll.

Promyslov, Vladimir (Fyodorovich) (b. July 28 [July 15, O.S.], 1908, Kabuzhskoye, Moscow province [now in Moscow oblast], Russia - d. May 22, 1993, Moscow, Russia), Soviet politician. He was chairman of the State Committee for Construction (1959-63) and a deputy premier and minister of construction (1963) of the Russian S.F.S.R. and mayor of Moscow (1963-86).

Pronin, Vasily (Prokhorovich) (b. Dec. 25, 1905, Pavlovo, Ryazan province, Russia - d. Oct. 12, 1993, Moscow, Russia), Soviet politician. He was mayor of Moscow (1940-44), first deputy premier (1944-46) and a deputy premier (1946) of the Russian S.F.S.R., and minister of labour reserves of the U.S.S.R. (1946-53).

Propriá, José da Trindade Prado, barão de (b. 1804, Santo Amaro de Brotas, Sergipe, Brazil - d. June 25, 1875, Várzea Grande engenho [now in Cabela municipality], Sergipe), acting president of Sergipe (1855, 1857, 1868, 1869, 1871-72). He was made baron in 1860.

Prosor, Ron (b. Oct. 11, 1958, Kfar Sava, Israel), Israeli diplomat. He has been ambassador to the United Kingdom (2007-11) and Germany (2022- ) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2011-15).

Protasov, Graf Nikolay (Aleksandrovich) (b. Jan. 7, 1799 [Dec. 27, 1798, O.S.], Moscow, Russia - d. Jan. 28 [Jan. 16, O.S.], 1855, St. Petersburg, Russia), Russian official; son-in-law of Knyaz Dmitry (Vladimirovich) Golitsyn. He was chief procurator of the Holy Synod (1836-55).

Protasov, Pyotr (Stepanovich) (b. July 12 [July 1, O.S.], 1730 - d. July 30 [July 19, O.S.], 1794), governor of Novgorod (1779-82) and Kaluga (1782-92).

Protet, Auguste Léopold (b. April 20, 1808, Saint-Servan-sur-Mer [now part of Saint-Malo], Ille-et-Vilaine, France - d. [killed] May 17, 1862, Nankiao, near Shanghai, China), governor of Senegal (1850-54) and commandant of the Naval Division of the Western Coasts of Africa (1856-59).

Protheroe, Montague (b. Jan. 25, 1841 - d. July 2, 1905), acting chief commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1875, 1876-78, 1881-83).

Protic, Stojan (b. Jan. 16, 1857, Krusevac, Serbia - d. Oct. 28, 1923, Belgrade, Serbia), acting foreign minister of Serbia (1918) and Yugoslavia (1918) and prime minister of Yugoslavia (1918-19, 1920). He was also Serbian minister of interior (1903-05, 1906-07, 1910-11 [acting], 1912-14) and finance (1909-12, 1917-18).

Protodyakonov, Vasily (Andreyevich) (b. Nov. 14 [Nov. 1, O.S.], 1912, Khorinsky nasleg [village], Yakutsk oblast [now in Sakha republic], Russia - d. May 4, 1993), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1947-48) and chairman of the Council of Ministers (1948-50, 1951-53) of the Yakut A.S.S.R. He was also people's commissar/minister of finance (1941-47).

Protopapadakis, Aristidis (Petrou) (b. 1903, Naxos island, Greece - d. September 1966, London, England), defense minister of Greece (1956-58, 1961-63); son of Petros Protopapadakis. He was also minister of aviation (1946-47, 1947 [provisional], 1948-50), labour (1947-48), industry (1952-55), and coordination (1958-61).

Protopapadakis, Petros (Emmanouil) (b. Jan. 12, 1860 [Dec. 31, 1859, O.S.], Apeiranthos, Naxos island, Greece - d. [executed] Nov. 28 [Nov. 15, O.S.], 1922, Athens, Greece), prime minister of Greece (1922). He was also minister of finance (1915, 1921-22) and provisioning (1921-22 and [provisional] 1922).

Protopopov, Aleksandr (Dmitriyevich) (b. Dec. 30 [Dec. 18, O.S.], 1866, Maresevo, Nizhny Novgorod province, Russia - d. Oct. 27, 1918, Moscow, Russia), interior minister of Russia (1916-17). He was also a member of the State Duma (1907-17).

Protopopov, Dmitry (Zakharovich) (b. Oct. 4, 1897, Kostenki, Voronezh province, Russia - d. March 3, 1986, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Tadzhik S.S.R. (1937-46).

Protyvsikh, Vasyl (Vasylovych), original surname Humenyuk (b. Oct. 16, 1946, Oleshkov [Oleshkiv], Ivano-Frankovsk [Ivano-Frankivsk] oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R.), Ukrainian politician. He was a minor presidential candidate in 2010, ahead of which he changed his surname to Protyvsikh ("Against all") to "express the opinions of all those citizens that are against all candidates and the disorder that Ukraine currently finds itself in."

Proust

Proust, Jean-Paul (b. March 3, 1940, Vaas, Sarthe, France - d. April 8, 2010, Marseille, France), prefect of Guadeloupe (1989-91), prefect of police of Paris (2001-04), and minister of state of Monaco (2005-10). He was also prefect of the départements of Isère (1987-89), Haute-Vienne (1991-92), Seine-Maritime (1992-97), and Bouches-du-Rhône (1997-99).

Prouteaux, Georges (David Pierre Marie), acting lieutenant governor of Oubangui-Chari (1926-28, 1929-30) and Chad (1932-33).

Prouty, George H(erbert) (b. March 4, 1862, Newport, Vt. - d. [car struck by train] Aug. 18, 1918, near Waterville, Que.), governor of Vermont (1908-10).

Prowse, Thomas William Lemuel (b. Aug. 31, 1888, Charlottetown, P.E.I. - d. Nov. 2, 1973, Charlottetown), lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island (1950-58).

Pruaitch

Pruaitch, Patrick (b. June 29, 1964), finance minister (2006, 2007-10, 2011-12), treasurer (2014-17), and foreign minister (2019-20) of Papua New Guinea. He was also minister of forestry (2002-07), lands and physical planning (2004-05), national planning and monitoring (2006), and forests and climate change (2012-14) and a minister without portfolio (2017-19).

Pruce

Pruce, Daniel (Robert) (b. July 1966, London, England), governor of the British Virgin Islands (2024- ). He was also British ambassador to the Philippines (2017-21).

Prüm, Pierre (b. Aug. 9, 1886 - d. Feb. 1, 1950), prime minister and foreign minister of Luxembourg (1925-26). He was also minister of interior and agriculture (1925-26).

Prunariu, Dumitru (Dorin) (b. Sept. 27, 1952, Brasov, Romania), Romanian diplomat. Known as the first Romanian cosmonaut (on a space mission in 1981), he was ambassador to Russia (2004-05). His wife Crina Rodica Prunariu (b. Jan. 6, 1953) was ambassador to Armenia (2007-13).

Prunskiene, Kazimiera (Danute) (sometimes spelled Kazimira), née Stankeviciute (b. Feb. 26, 1943, Vasiuliske village, Svencioniai region, Lithuania), prime minister of Lithuania (1990-91). She was also a presidential candidate (2004, 2009) and agriculture minister (2004-08).

Prusak, Mikhail (Mikhailovich) (b. Feb. 23, 1960), head of the administration of Novgorod oblast (1991-2007).

Prusakov, Mikhail (Dmitriyevich) (b. 1896, Lushno, Penza province, Russia - d. [executed] May 23, 1938), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Mordovian autonomous oblast/A.S.S.R. (1934-37). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Chelyabinsk city (1932-34).

Pryor, David (Hampton) (b. Aug. 29, 1934, Camden, Ark. - d. April 20, 2024, Little Rock, Ark.), governor of Arkansas (1975-79).

Prystaiko

Prystaiko, Vadym (Volodymyrovych) (b. Feb. 20, 1970, Kiliya, Odessa oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R.), foreign minister of Ukraine (2019-20). He was also ambassador to Canada (2012-14) and the United Kingdom (2020-23) and a deputy prime minister (2020).

Prystor, Aleksander (Blazej) (b. Jan. 2, 1874, Vilna, Russia [now Vilnius, Lithuania] - d. October? 1941, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.?), prime minister of Poland (1931-33). He was also minister of labour and social welfare (1929-30) and industry and commerce (1930-31) and marshal of the Senate (1935-38).

Prytz, Lars Adolf, original surname (until 1799) Pryss (b. Jan. 30, 1792, Åbo [now Turku], Finland - d. March 28, 1863, Stockholm, Sweden), governor of Gävleborg (1853-61).

Psilander, Gustaf friherre von (b. Aug. 16, 1669, Stockholm, Sweden - d. March 18, 1738, Karlskrona, Blekinge, Sweden), governor of Gotland (1716-28) and Kalmar (1728-34). He became friherre (baron) in 1719.

Psilander, Peter friherre von (b. Sept. 20, 1702, Karlskrona, Blekinge, Sweden - d. March 11, 1776, Stockholm, Sweden), governor of Kronoberg (1758-63); son of Gustaf friherre von Psilander.

Psimhis, Jean-Louis (Guy) (b. July 7, 1936, Bangui, Oubangui-Chari [now Central African Republic] - d. 199...), foreign minister of the Central African Republic (1985-88). He was also ambassador to France (1967-70), Belgium (1970-71, 1980-85), and India (1976-78) and minister of territorial administration (1971-73), economic planning, international cooperation, and statistics (1973), education (1973-76, 1978-79, 1989-91), and posts and telecommunications (1988-89).

Pu Dianjun (b. 1875, Guangan, Sichuan, China - d. Oct. 28, 1934, Beijing, China), military governor of Sichuan (1911).

Puapua

Puapua, Sir Tomasi (b. Sept. 10, 1938, Nanumanga island, Gilbert and Ellice Islands [now in Tuvalu]), prime minister (1981-89) and governor-general (1998-2003) of Tuvalu; knighted 1998. Member of parliament for Vaitupu (1977-98), he was elected prime minister to replace Toaripi Lauti, who had been implicated in an investment scandal. Puapua, who was also minister of civil service administration, local government, and foreign affairs, was reelected in 1985. A referendum in 1986 on a switch to republican status failed to receive national backing. He stepped down following the defeat of two cabinet members in parliamentary elections in 1989. As prime minister, he was outspoken in his opposition to France's testing of nuclear weapons on Mururoa Atoll, in French Polynesia. Following the September 1993 election the parliament was evenly split between supporters of Prime Minister Bikenibeu Paeniu and those of Puapua. Eventually a second general election was held in November, and Puapua then withdrew his challenge to Paeniu in favour of Kamuta Latasi, instead becoming parliamentary speaker (1993-98). In December 1996, he helped bring down the government of Latasi, through withdrawing his support. As governor-general, he pleaded to the industrialized world to consider the consequences of global warming for small island nations such as Tuvalu.

Puaux, Gabriel (b. May 19, 1883, Paris, France - d. Jan. 1, 1970, Austria), French high commissioner of Syria and Lebanon (1939-40) and resident-general of Morocco (1943-46). He was also French minister to Lithuania (1926-28), Romania (1928-33), and Austria (1933-38) and ambassador to Sweden (1947-48).

Puccinelli, André (b. July 2, 1948, Viareggio, Toscana, Italy), governor of Mato Grosso do Sul (2007-15). He was also mayor of Campo Grande (1997-2005).

Pucheta

Puerta

Pucheta (Valoriani viuda de Correa), Alicia (Beatriz) (b. Jan. 14, 1950, Asunción, Paraguay), vice president of Paraguay (2018). She was also chief justice (2007-08).

Pucheu, Pierre (Firmin) (b. June 27, 1899, Beaumont-sur-Oise, Seine-et-Oise [now in Val-d'Oise], France - d. [executed] March 20, 1944, Algiers, Algeria), interior minister of France (1941-42). He was also minister of industrial production (1941).

Puente (Cortés), José Agustín (Felipe Ceferino) de la (b. 1835, Lima, Peru - d. Jan. 18, 1910, Lima), finance minister of Peru (1894).

Puente, José Manuel de la, foreign minister (1865) and finance minister (1865) of Peru.

Puente (Quiñones), José María de la (b. 1850?, Trujillo, Peru - d. Sept. 12, 1912, Lima, Peru), interior minister of Peru (1896, 1897-99). He was also prefect of La Libertad (1895-98).

Puente Ganoza, Ricardo de la (b. June 16, 1900, Trujillo, Peru - d. March 18, 1952, Lima, Peru), interior minister of Peru (1942-45, 1950-52); son of José María de la Puente.

Puente Radbill, José (Carlos) de la (b. 1921, Lima, Peru - d. 2017), foreign minister of Peru (1976-79). He was also ambassador to the Soviet Union and Poland (1971-73).

Puente Raygada, Óscar (Francisco Reynaldo) de la (b. Oct. 4, 1938, Lima, Peru), prime minister (1992-93) and foreign minister (1992-93) of Peru. He was also minister of education (1990-91) and housing, construction, and sanitation (1991-92).

Puente y Lavalle, Gonzalo de la (b. July 20, 1923, Lima, Peru - d. Oct. 22, 2019, Lima), Peruvian politician; great-grandson of José Antonio de Lavalle (y Arias de Saavedra) and José Antonio García y García; great-great-grandson of Felipe Pardo y Aliaga. He was minister of industry, tourism, and integration (1982-83).

Puerta (Galarza), (Federico) Ramón (b. Sept. 9, 1951, Apóstoles, Misiones, Argentina), governor of Misiones (1991-99) and acting president of Argentina (2001). He was also ambassador to Spain (2016-19).

Pueyrredón (Carneiro da Fontoura), Honorio J. (b. July 9, 1872, San Pedro, Buenos Aires province, Argentina - d. Sept. 23, 1945, Buenos Aires, Argentina), foreign minister of Argentina (1917-22). He was also agriculture minister (1916-18) and ambassador to the United States (1924-28).

Puga Borne, Federico (b. Oct. 31, 1855, Chillán, Chile - d. Aug. 13, 1935), foreign minister of Chile (1899, 1905-06, 1907-08). He was also minister of justice and education (1888, 1889, 1896-97) and interior (1920) and minister to France (1909-16).

Puga Fisher, Eugenio (María Ruperto) (b. Aug. 24, 1894, Valparaíso, Chile - d. 1962, Santiago, Chile), justice minister of Chile (1944-45, 1946, 1947-48, 1950); nephew of Federico Puga Borne.

Puga Fisher, Ruperto (b. Oct. 18, 1902, Santiago, Chile - d. Oct. 17, 1975, Santiago), justice minister of Chile (1950); brother of Eugenio Puga Fisher; nephew of Federico Puga Borne. He was also minister of labour (1948-49, 1950).

Puga Monsalve, (Luis) Raúl (b. Dec. 5, 1891, Arauco, Chile - d. May 6, 1965, Concepción, Chile), justice minister of Chile (1938-41). He was also minister of agriculture (1941-42) and labour (acting, 1942).

Puga Osorio, Arturo (b. 1879, Santiago, Chile - d. 19...), interior minister (1932), junta chairman (1932), and defense minister (1932) of Chile.

Pugachov, Yemelyan (Ivanovich) (b. c. 1742, Zimoveyskaya-na-Donu, Russia - d. Jan. 21 [Jan. 10, O.S.], 1775, Moscow, Russia), Russian rebel leader. In 1773 he claimed to be the "surviving" emperor Pyotr III; he captured or besieged several cities before being defeated in 1774 and ultimately executed.

Pugh

Pugh, D(arwin) D(iengdoh) (b. Jan. 12, 1927, Sohra, India - d. Nov. 18, 2008, Shillong, India), chief minister of Meghalaya (1978-79). Pugh, the first Khasi chief minister of Meghalaya, was the general secretary of the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) which spearheaded the hill state movement resulting in the creation of Meghalaya. He headed a coalition government of the APHLC, the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP), and the People's Demand Implementation Convention (PDIC).

Pugliese, Juan Carlos (b. Feb. 17, 1915, Tandil, Buenos Aires province, Argentina - d. Jan. 17, 1994, Tandil), finance minister (1964-66) and economy minister (1989) of Argentina. He was also president of the Chamber of Deputies (1983-89).

Pugo, Boris (Karlovich), Latvian Boriss Pugo (b. Feb. 19, 1937, Kalinin [now Tver], Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Aug. 22, 1991, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Latvian S.S.R. (1984-88) and Soviet interior minister (1990-91). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Riga city (1975-76), director of the KGB of the Latvian S.S.R. (1980-84), and chairman of the CPSU Control Commission (1988-90). He committed suicide after having taken part in the failed coup against Pres. Mikhail Gorbachev.

Pugsley, William (b. Sept. 27, 1850, Sussex, New Brunswick - d. March 3, 1925, Toronto, Ont.), lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (1917-23).

Puhakka, Yrjö (Wilhelm) (b. Sept. 5, 1888, Juuka, Finland - d. Feb. 28, 1971, Helsinki, Finland), interior minister (1932-37) and justice minister (1954) of Finland.

X. Puig

Puig, Ximo, byname of Joaquín Francisco Puig Ferrer (b. Jan. 4, 1959, Morella, Castellón province, Spain), president of the Generalitat of Valencia (2015-23).

Puig Casauranc, José Manuel (b. Jan. 31, 1888, Laguna del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico - d. May 9, 1939, Havana, Cuba), chief of government of the Distrito Federal (1929-30) and foreign minister of Mexico (1933-34). He was also minister of education (1924-28, 1930-31) and industry, commerce, and labour (1928) and ambassador to the United States (1931-33), Argentina (1935-36), and Brazil (1936-37).

Puigdemont

Puigdemont (i Casamajó), Carles (b. Dec. 29, 1962, Amer, Girona province, Catalonia, Spain), president of the Generalitat of Catalonia (2016-17). After the 2017 declaration of Catalan independence, Spain dissolved his government and charged him with rebellion. He went into exile in Belgium. Spain issued a European arrest warrant, but it was believed it would fail in Belgium because the Spanish offense of rebellion did not exist in Belgian law. Spanish prosecutors withdrew the warrant before Belgian courts ruled on it. However, while he was on a visit to Finland in March 2018, Spain reactivated the warrant, leading to his arrest in Germany as he tried to return to Belgium by car. But Germany also rejected the rebellion charge, agreeing to release him on bail pending a decision on his extradition on a lesser charge of misuse of public funds. In July a German court ruled that he could be extradited on that charge, but Spain would have been barred from trying him on the more serious charge if the extradition were to proceed; the Spanish court rejected that proposal, lifting the arrest warrant altogether, whereupon he returned to Belgium. In May 2019 he won a seat in the European Parliament, but he could not take it up as it would have required him to return to Madrid and swear to the Spanish constitution. In October 2019 Spain reactivated the arrest warrant; he appeared before Belgian authorities but was released on bail. In January 2020 he took up his seat after a ruling from the European Court of Justice allowed him to do so.

Puirredón, Ismael, justice and education minister of Peru (1892-93).

Puisieulx, Louis Philogène Brûlart, vicomte de, marquis de Sillery (b. May 12, 1702 - d. Dec. 8, 1770, Paris, France), foreign minister of France (1747-51). He was also ambassador to Naples (1735-39).

Puja, Frigyes (b. Feb. 2, 1921, Battonya, Békés county, Hungary - d. July 5, 2008), foreign minister of Hungary (1973-83). He was also ambassador to Sweden (1953-55) and Austria (1955-59).

Pujol, Luiz Carlos Victor (b. March 10, 1909, Belém, Pará, Brazil - d. Aug. 7, 1981, Brasília, Brazil), acting prefect of Distrito Federal (1964).

Pujol i Soley, Jordi (b. June 9, 1930, Barcelona, Spain), president of the Generalitat of Catalonia (1980-2003). While at university he became involved in clandestine Catalan nationalist activities. He was considered to have instigated a protest during a visit by dictator Francisco Franco to Barcelona in 1960 and was given a seven-year jail sentence, although he was released after serving two years and eight months. In 1974 he founded the party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, from 1979 part of the alliance Convergència i Unió (CiU). He was elected to the Spanish Cortes (parliament) in 1977. Elected president after the restoration of the Catalan Generalitat, he was repeatedly reelected, becoming almost synonymous with Catalonia and, as a sort of father of the nation, almost above criticism. He supported the national government led by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1982, which in return agreed to generous financial transfers to the Catalonian government. However, in 1995, demanding greater autonomy for Catalonia, the CiU withdrew support from PSOE in the Cortes and from 1996 supported the Popular Party of Prime Minister José María Aznar. He retired in 2003. In 2014 he admitted to tax fraud, saying that he had hidden money in offshore accounts for more than three decades; the CiU then stripped him of his title of honorary chairman. By that time he also campaigned for outright Catalan independence, mirroring a shift in mood in the region.

Pukhanov, Redzhepmamed, Turkmen Rejepmämmet Puhanow (b. 1951, Ak-Kuyu, Ashkhabad oblast, Turkmen S.S.R. [now in Balkan velayat, Turkmenistan] - d. 2006), a deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan (1992-97). He was also head of Balkan velayat (1992-97).

Pukhayev, Erik (Georgiyevich) (b. May 5, 1957, Skhlit, South Ossetian autonomous oblast, Georgian S.S.R.), prime minister of South Ossetia (2017-20). He was also deputy prime minister (2014-17).

Puky (de Bizák), Endre (b. Feb. 20, 1871, Kassa, Hungary [now Kosice, Slovakia] - d. July 20, 1941, Szovátafürdö, Hungary [now part of Sovata, Romania]), foreign minister of Hungary (1932-33).

Pul

Pul, Kalikho (b. July 20, 1969, Walla village, Assam [now in Anjaw district, Arunachal Pradesh], India - d. [suicide] Aug. 9, 2016, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh), chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh (2016).

Pula, Imer (b. 1921 - d. January 2010), chairman of the Executive Council of Kosovo (1982-84).

Pulecio, Gerardo (b. 18... - d. Oct. 2?, 1930, Bogotá, Colombia), interior minister of Colombia (1905-06).

Pulido (Cardier), Gustavo (Adolfo) (b. Oct. 10, 1973, Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela), governor of Carabobo (2017).

Pulikovsky, Konstantin (Borisovich) (b. Feb. 9, 1948), plenipotentiary of the president in Dalnevostochny federal district (2000-05).

Pulkkinen, Yrjö (Rafael) (b. April 3, 1875, Parkano, Finland - d. Feb. 4, 1945, Helsinki, Finland), finance minister of Finland (1924-25). He was also minister of trade and industry (1925).

Pullaro

Pullaro, Maximiliano (b. Dec. 6, 1974, Hughes, Santa Fe, Argentina), governor of Santa Fe (2023- ).

Pumarejo (Vengoechea), Alberto (Mario) (b. May 2, 1893, Barranquilla, Colombia - d. Aug. 14, 1970, Barranquilla), war minister of Colombia (1934, 1937-38). He was also governor of Atlántico (1930-31), minister of posts and telegraphs (1931-34), minister to Venezuela (1938-41), and mayor of Barranquilla (1966).

Pun, Barshaman, byname Ananta (b. June 1, 1971), finance minister of Nepal (2011-13, 2024). He was also minister of peace and reconstruction (2011) and energy, water resources, and irrigation (2018-20).

Puna

Puna, Henry (Tuakeu) (b. July 29, 1949), prime minister (2010-20) and foreign minister (2013-20) of the Cook Islands and secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum (2021-24). He was also attorney general (2010-20) and minister of energy and renewable energy (2010-20), police (2010-12, 2020), transport (2013-18), and education (2018-20).

Pundari

Pundari, Sir John (Thomas) (b. Jan. 7, 1967), foreign minister (2001) and finance minister (2020-22) of Papua New Guinea; knighted 2019. He was also speaker of parliament (1997-99), deputy prime minister (1999), and minister of home affairs, women, youth, and churches (1999), lands and physical planning (2000-01), mining (2010-11), environment and conservation (2012-19), and rural development (2020-22).

Pung, Mihkel (b. Oct. 19, 1876, Vana-Põltsamaa municipality, Russia [now in Estonia] - d. Oct. 11, 1941, Sosva camp, Sverdlovsk oblast, Russian S.F.S.R.), foreign minister of Estonia (1932). He was also minister of economy (1931) and chairman of the Riiginõukogu (1938-40).

Punga, Hermanis (b. April 16, 1877, Libava, Courland, Russia [now Liepaja, Latvia] - d. April 12, 1941, Riga, Latvian S.S.R.), finance minister of Latvia (1923-24).

Puno, Ricardo (Concepcion), also known as Ricardo Puno, Sr. (b. Jan. 4, 1923, Guagua, Pampanga, Philippines - d. July 25, 2018), justice minister of the Philippines (1979-84).

Puno, Ronaldo (Villanueva) (b. April 25, 1948, Manila, Philippines), interior secretary of the Philippines (1999-2000, 2006-10); son of Ricardo Puno. He has also been chairman of the National Unity Party (2022- ).

Puntsagnorov, Tsevegzhavyn (b. Aug. 11, 1924, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), Mongolian politician. He was a deputy premier (1963-72), culture minister (1971-72), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1972-78).

Pupier, Henri, byname of Claude Jean Pupier (b. 1860 - d. ...), French resident of Grande Comore (1888-89).

Pupp, Alois (b. Jan. 11, 1902, St. Leonhard im Passeiertal, Austria [now San Leonardo in Passiria, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy] - d. Feb. 10, 1979, Bressanone, Trentino-Alto Adige), president of Bolzano-Alto Adige (1956-60).

B. Purcell

Purcell, Bill, byname of William Paxon Purcell III (b. Oct. 25, 1953, Philadelphia, Pa.), mayor of Nashville (1999-2007).

Purcell, Joe (Edward) (b. July 29, 1923, Warren, Ark. - d. March 5, 1987, Benton, Ark.), governor of Arkansas (1979). He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Beginning in 1955 he served for four years as city attorney in Benton. In 1959 be become municipal judge, a post that he held until 1966 when was elected attorney general of Arkansas on the Democratic ticket. He was reelected to that post in 1968. Two years later he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor. First elected lieutenant governor in 1974, he was reelected to the office in 1976 and 1978. Purcell served as acting governor from Jan. 3, 1979, when Gov. David Pryor resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate, until Jan. 9, 1979, when Gov. Bill Clinton was inaugurated. Actively involved in a variety of civic affairs, Purcell did not seek reelection as lieutenant governor in 1980.

Purchekov, Charymurad (Khivaliyevich), Turkmen Çarymyrat (Hywalyýewiç) Purçekow (b. 1968, Kizyl-Arvat, Ashkhabad oblast, Turkmen S.S.R. [now Serdar, Balkan velayat, Turkmenistan]), a deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan (2019-20, 2021-23). He was also minister of energy (2017-19, 2020-21).

Pürevsüren

Pürevsüren, Lündeg(iyn) (b. Dec. 24, 1964), foreign minister of Mongolia (2014-16). He was named ambassador to Switzerland in 2017.

Puri, Hardeep Singh (b. Feb. 15, 1952, Delhi, India), Indian politician. He has been ambassador to Brazil (2006-08), permanent representative to the United Nations (2009-13), minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban affairs (2017-24) and civil aviation (2019-21), and minister of petroleum and natural gas (2021- ).

Puric, Bozidar (b. Feb. 19, 1891, Belgrade, Serbia - d. Oct. 28, 1977, Chicago, Ill.), prime minister and foreign minister of Yugoslavia in exile (1943-44). He was also minister to France (1935-40).

Puricelli, Arturo (Antonio) (b. 1948), governor of Santa Cruz (1983-87) and defense minister (2010-13) and security minister (2013) of Argentina.

Purickis, Juozas (b. April 19, 1883, Kietaviskis, Russia [now in Lithuania] - d. Oct. 25, 1934, Kaunas, Lithuania), foreign minister of Lithuania (1920-21). He was also minister to Germany (1919-20).

Purins, Karlis (Aleksandrs) (b. Oct. 5, 1883, Smiltene parish, Russia [now part of Smiltene municipality, Latvia] - d. June 25, 1947, Greven, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany), finance minister of Latvia (1918-19, 1920-21).

Purisima, Cesar (Antonio Velasquez) (b. April 3, 1960), finance secretary of the Philippines (2005, 2010-16). He was also secretary of trade and industry (2004-05).

Purnama, Basuki Tjahaja, byname Ahok (b. June 29, 1966, Manggar, Sumatera Selatan [now in Bangka Belitung], Indonesia), governor of Jakarta (2014-17). In 2007 he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Bangka Belitung. In 2011 he was elected deputy governor of Jakarta, alongside Joko Widodo as governor. When the latter became president of Indonesia in 2014, Purnama, a Christian, succeeded him to become the capital's first non-Muslim governor since Henk Ngantung (1964-65) and the first ethnic Chinese in the post. He then hoped to become its first directly elected non-Muslim leader in 2017 but things began to go in another direction in September 2016 when, trying to address attacks from Muslim hardliners who argued that the Qur´an prohibited Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim, he said those who made that argument were misleading Muslims, a statement that was interpreted by some as insulting the Qur´an. Conservative Muslim groups organized several massive rallies against him in November-December, demanding that he be jailed for blasphemy, and charges were brought. He lost the 2017 election in the April runoff and in May, while still in office, was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison. He was not eligible to remain free during appeal and was immediately taken to prison. He subsequently resigned.

Purohit

Purryag

Purohit, Banwarilal (Bhagwandas) (b. April 16, 1940, Nawalgarh village [now in Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan], India), governor of Assam (2016-17), Meghalaya (2017), Tamil Nadu (2017-21), and Punjab (2021-24).

Purra, Riikka (Katriina) (b. June 13, 1977, Pirkkala, Finland), deputy prime minister and finance minister of Finland (2023- ). She has been leader of the Finns Party (2021- ). Shortly after entering the government, online posts of her from 2008 emerged in which she basically identified as a Nazi and expressed blatant racism and hysterical Islamophobia ("If I were given a gun, there would be dead bodies even on the commuter train").

Purryag, Rajkeswur, byname Kailash Purryag (b. Dec. 12, 1947, Camp Fouquereaux, Mauritius), foreign minister and deputy prime minister (1997-2000) and president (2012-15) of Mauritius. He was also minister of social security (1980-82), health (1984-86), and economic planning, information, and telecommunications (1995-97) and speaker of the National Assembly (2005-12).

Pursoo, Eugene M. (b. March 26, 1946, Soubise, St. Andrew, Grenada), Grenadian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1990-95).

Purushothaman

Purvanov

Purushothaman, Vakkom (B.) (b. April 12, 1928, Vakkom, Travancore [now in Kerala], India - d. July 31, 2023, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala), lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1993-96) and governor of Mizoram (2011-14) and Tripura (2014).

Purusi (Sadiki), Jean-Jacques (b. Dec. 5, 1964, Bugorhe, Kivu Central, Congo [Léopoldville] [now in Sud-Kivu, Congo (Kinshasa)]), governor of Sud-Kivu (2024- ).

Purvanov, Georgi (Sedefchov) (b. June 28, 1957, Sirishtnik, Pernik region, Bulgaria), president of Bulgaria (2002-12).

Purwaka, Setia (b. Feb. 28, 1950, Kediri, Jawa Timur, Indonesia), acting governor of Jawa Timur (2008-09).

Puscuta, Sergiu (b. Sept. 4, 1972, Lipcani, Moldavian S.S.R.), finance minister and a deputy prime minister of Moldova (2019-20).

Pusic

Pusic, Vesna (b. March 25, 1953, Zagreb, Croatia), foreign minister of Croatia (2011-16). She was also president of the Croatian People's Party (2000-08, 2013-16), a presidential candidate (2009), and first deputy prime minister (2012-16).

Pusta, Kaarel Robert (b. March 1, 1883, Narva, Russia [now in Estonia] - d. May 4, 1964, Madrid, Spain), foreign minister of Estonia (1920, 1924-25). He was also minister to France (1918-32), chargé d'affaires (1921-23) and minister (1923-32) to Belgium, minister to Italy (1921-23), Spain (1928-32), Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania (1932-34), and Sweden, Denmark, and Norway (1935).

Pustovoitenko

Pustovoitenko, Valeriy (Pavlovych) (b. Feb. 23, 1947, Adamovka village, Berezanka district, Nikolayev oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R. [now Adamivka, Mykolayiv oblast, Ukraine]), prime minister of Ukraine (1997-99). He was also mayor of Dnipropetrovsk (1989-93) and transport minister (2001-02).

Puteh, Abdullah (b. July 4, 1948, Meunasah Arun, Aceh, Netherlands East Indies [now Indonesia]), governor of Aceh (2000-05). Accused of corruption, he was arrested in Jakarta on Dec. 7, 2004, and suspended on December 26 for the duration of his trial. He was the first person to be brought to trial at Indonesia's new Anti-Corruption Court. In April 2005 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Putin

Putin, Vladimir (Vladimirovich) (b. Oct. 7, 1952, Leningrad, Russian S.F.S.R. [now St. Petersburg, Russia]), prime minister (1999-2000, 2008-12) and president (1999-2008, 2012- ) of Russia. He spent 15 years (1975-90) as a foreign intelligence officer for the Committee for State Security (KGB), including six years in Dresden, East Germany. After retiring from active KGB service with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he became an adviser to Anatoly Sobchak, mayor of St. Petersburg, and became known as "the man to see" to get things done in the city, earning the nickname "the Grey Cardinal" for his behind-the-scenes management of city affairs; by 1994 he was first deputy mayor. After Sobchak lost an election in 1996, Putin moved to Moscow, where he moved up quickly in administrative positions. As head of the watchdog Control Department, he ran the Kremlin's relations with Russia's 89 regions, resisting the idea of giving more power to regional leaders. In July 1998 Pres. Boris Yeltsin made Putin director of the Federal Security Service (the KGB's domestic successor), and he became secretary of the influential Security Council in March 1999. At that time, Yeltsin's entourage was casting about with increasing urgency for an heir to assume Yeltsin's mantle. Although virtually unknown to the general public, Putin was appointed prime minister in August 1999, and Yeltsin later endorsed him as his chosen presidential successor. In a surprise announcement, Yeltsin resigned on Dec. 31, 1999. Putin became acting president and was confirmed in presidential elections in March 2000, winning 52.9% of the vote. He was reelected in March 2004 with 71.2%. A constitutional two-term limit required him to step down in 2008. The economic situation improved during his presidency, and despite a questionable record on various human-rights issues, he retained broad popularity. This ensured the election of his hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, who appointed him prime minister again and admitted he would continue to play a "key role." Four years later, Putin was again elected president. Rivalries with the West over influence in Ukraine led to his annexation of the Crimea in 2014. He countered Western sanctions by attempting to subvert and destabilize Western democracies, possibly procuring the disruptive election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency in 2016. Not helping relations was his military support (from 2015) for Pres. Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. In 2018 he was reelected after his most serious opponent, Aleksey Navalny, was disqualified. In 2020 he won a constitutional referendum resetting the clock on term limits, allowing him to remain in power until 2036. In February 2022 he launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine, leading to unprecedented Western sanctions as well as massive Western military aid for Ukraine. Defying expectations, however, Russia adapted to the situation and Putin remained firmly in control. From December 2022 the frontline remained relatively stable with Russia controlling about one-sixth of Ukraine's territory; four regions were annexed in October. In 2024 he was reelected without serious opposition.

Putnam, (George) Herbert (b. Sept. 20, 1861, New York City - d. Aug. 14, 1955, Woods Hole, Mass.), U.S. librarian. He was librarian of Congress (1899-1939).

Putnin, Vladimir (Markovich), Latvian Voldemars Putnins (b. Feb. 6, 1896, Venden, Livonia, Russia [now Cesis, Latvia] - d. [executed] June 19, 1938, Rostov-na-Donu, Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Mordovian A.S.S.R. (1937). He was also executive secretary of the party committees of Penza (1921) and Stalingrad (1925-27) provinces and first secretary of the party committee of Rostov-na-Donu city (1932).

Putra

Putra ibni al-Marhum Syed Hasan Jamalullail, Syed Harun (b. Nov. 25, 1920, Arau, Perlis [now in Malaysia] - d. April 16, 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), raja of Perlis (1945-2000) and yang di-pertuan agong of Malaysia (1960-65).

Putyatin, Graf Yevfimy (Vasilyevich) (b. Nov. 20 [Nov. 8, O.S.], 1804, St. Petersburg, Russia - d. Oct. 28, 1883, Paris, France), education minister of Russia (1861-62). He was also envoy to China (1857-58). He was made Graf (count) in 1855 and admiral in 1858.

Puyat, Gil (Juco) (b. Sept. 1, 1907, Manila, Philippines - d. March 23, 1980), Philippine politician. He was president of the Senate (1967-72).

Puyi

Puyi (Pinyin), Wade-Giles P'u-i (personal name), era name Xuantong (Hsüan-t'ung; Manchu Gehungge yoso), zi (style) Haoran, later called Aixinjueluo Puyi¹ (b. Feb. 7, 1906, Beijing, China - d. Oct. 17, 1967, Beijing), emperor of China (1908-12) and of Manchukuo (1934-45). He succeeded to the throne at the age of three, on the death of his uncle, the Guangxu emperor. He reigned under a regency until Feb. 12, 1912, when, in response to the republican revolution of the previous year, he was forced to abdicate, ending the 267-year rule of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty and the 2,000-year-old imperial system. He was permitted to continue living in the palace in Beijing. An attempt to restore the Qing empire in 1917 failed. While he was taking English lessons, Puyi chose Henry as a name for himself; thereafter he was often referred to as Henry Puyi in the West. Forced to leave the palace in 1924, he sought refuge in the Japanese concession (colony) at Tianjin. In 1932 he was installed as chief executive of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (Manchuria), and in 1934 became its emperor, under the reign title of Kangde (K'ang-te). At the end of World War II he was taken prisoner by Soviet troops (August 1945). In 1946 he testified before the Tokyo war crimes tribunal that he was forced to take the figurehead position in Manchukuo and that he had no freedom whatsoever. He was held in Siberia until 1950 when he was returned to China, where he was imprisoned as a war criminal and "reeducated" until he was pardoned in 1959. Thereafter he lived in Beijing and worked in a botanical garden. His story was the subject of Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor (1987).
¹ The rulers of the Qing state did not have a xing (family name). Under the People's Republic of China the surviving members of the family, including Puyi, were identified with the xing Aixinjueluo, the sinicized form of the clan name Aisin gioro; thus Puyi wrote his autobiography as Aixinjueluo Puyi.

Puzak

Puzak, Kazimierz (b. Aug. 26, 1883, Ternopol, Austria-Hungary [now in Ukraine] - d. April 30, 1950, in prison in western Poland), Polish politician. He joined the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1904 and a year later moved to the Russian part of Poland where he worked in the underground revolutionary movement. He was arrested in 1911 by the Okhrana (tsarist political police) and sentenced to eight years' hard labour. The Russian Revolution of 1917 restored his freedom and in August 1918 he began to reorganize the PPS in Warsaw. On Poland's recovery of independence he represented Dabrowa in the constituent assembly and later was thrice returned to the Sejm as deputy for Czestochowa. From 1921 to 1945 he was secretary-general of the central executive committee of the PPS. During World War II he was prominent in the Warsaw underground resistance, in 1944 being elected chairman of the Council of National Unity (RJN), the parliament of the underground state. In March 1945, with 15 other resistance leaders, Puzak was arrested by the Soviet state security police and tried on charges of organizing terrorism and sabotage. He denied the right of a Soviet tribunal to judge a Polish patriot for his activity in Poland and, refusing to testify, was condemned on June 21, 1945, to 18 months' imprisonment, being released, however, in November. Once more in Poland, he was rearrested in June 1947 on a charge of espionage, and again denied the right of a Soviet-controlled government to sit in judgment. On Nov. 19, 1948, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

Puzanov, Aleksandr (Mikhailovich) (b. Oct. 25 [Oct. 12, O.S.], 1906 - d. March 1, 1998, Moscow, Russia), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1952-56). He was also chairman of the Executive Committee (1944-46) and first secretary of the party committee (1946-52) of Kuybyshev oblast, a first deputy premier of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1956-57), and Soviet ambassador to North Korea (1957-62), Yugoslavia (1962-67), Bulgaria (1967-72), and Afghanistan (1972-79).

Pyatachenko, Hryhoriy (Oleksandrovych) (b. March 22, 1932, Velikaya Step, Vinnitsa oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R. [now Velykyi Step, Vinnytsya oblast, Ukraine] - d. March 27, 2022), finance minister of Ukraine (1991-94).

Pyatakov

Pyatakov, Yuriy (Leonidovych), party pseudonyms Kyivsky, Lyalin, Petro, Yaponets (b. Aug. 18 [Aug. 6, O.S.], 1890, Cherkassy district, Kiev province, Russia [now in Ukraine] - d. [executed] Feb. 1, 1937), chairman of the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1918-19). Accused of anti-party and anti-Soviet activity and expelled from the Communist Party in 1936, he was sentenced to death on Jan. 30, 1937.

Pyka, Tadeusz (Hiacynt) (b. May 17, 1930, Piekary Wielkie [now Piekary Slaskie], Poland - d. May 23, 2009), a deputy premier of Poland (1975-80). He was also first secretary of the party committee of Bytom city (1964-67).

Pyle, (John) Howard (b. March 25, 1906, Sheridan, Wyo. - d. Nov. 29, 1987, Tempe, Ariz.), governor of Arizona (1951-55).

Pyle, Nick, byname of Nicholas John Pyle (b. Dec. 9, 1960), acting governor of Gibraltar (2020). He was British high commissioner to Botswana (2013-16) and deputy governor of Gibraltar (2016-22).

Pym

Pym (of Sandy in the County of Bedfordshire), Francis (Leslie) Pym, Baron (b. Feb. 13, 1922, Abergavenny, Wales - d. March 7, 2008, Sandy, Bedfordshire, England), British foreign secretary (1982-83). After becoming an MP in 1961, he spent much of his parliamentary career as a "whip" in the administrative office of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons. As chief whip (1970-73) in the Edward Heath government and as leader of the Commons (since 1981), he was the recognized professional in the business of keeping the party in line. It might be said to run in the family; his father had been a Conservative MP and a whip before him. In 1973-74 he was secretary of state for Northern Ireland. For the first two years of the Margaret Thatcher government (1979-81) he was secretary of state for defense. In April 1982, amid the crisis brought by the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, Pym suddenly found himself appointed foreign secretary. Lord Carrington, seemingly as firm a fixture as anyone in the cabinet, had felt obliged to resign as foreign secretary because of the failure of his department to read Argentine intentions correctly. Pym's first mission as foreign secretary, securing a negotiated settlement of the Falklands crisis, failed, but he won the respect and confidence of the diplomatic world by his sharp mind and by a combination of realism and toughness. He had hoped to get the Foreign Office post when the Thatcher government was formed in 1979. After circumstances brought the appointment, he was soon regarded as a great success. Observers of the Westminster scene even began to talk of Pym as the most likely successor to Thatcher as party leader. But when the government was reorganized in 1983, he was not reappointed to any ministerial post. In 1987 he was made a life peer.

Pynzenyk

Pynzenyk, Viktor (Mykhailovych) (b. April 15, 1954, Smologovitsya village, Zakarpatskaya oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R. [now Smolohovytsia, Zakarpattya oblast, Ukraine]), finance minister of Ukraine (2005-06, 2007-09). He was also minister of economic reform (1992-93), a deputy prime minister (1992-93, 1995-97), first deputy prime minister (1994-95), and leader of the Reforms and Order Party (1997-2010).

Pyotr, secular name Fyodor (Alekseyevich) Yekaterinovsky (b. 1820, Saratov province, Russia - d. May 27, 1889, Moscow, Russia), Russian Orthodox bishop of Novo-Arkhangelsk (1859-66), Yakutsk (1866-67), Ufa (1869-76), and Tomsk (1876-83).

Pyotr, secular name Pyotr (Fyodorovich) Polyansky (b. July 10 [June 28, O.S.], 1862, Storozhevoye, Voronezh province, Russia - d. [executed] Oct. 10, 1937), Locum Tenens of Moscow and All Russia (1925-37). He was bishop (1920-23) and archbishop (1923-24) of Podolsk and archbishop (1924) and metropolitan (1924-37) of Krutitsy. He was canonized in 1997.

Pyotr I, in full Pyotr Alekseyevich, byname Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) (b. June 9 [May 30, O.S.], 1672, Moscow, Russia - d. Feb. 8 [Jan. 28, O.S.], 1725, St. Petersburg, Russia), tsar (1682-1721) and emperor (1721-25) of Russia; nephew of Lev Naryshkin. The fourth son of Tsar Aleksey by his second wife, he was made co-tsar in 1682 jointly with his mentally disabled half-brother Ivan V on the death of his elder half-brother, Fyodor III, and under the regency of their sister, Grand Duchess Sofiya. In 1689 he had his sister arrested and immured in a convent, and ruled on his own with his brother (who died in 1696) as a figurehead. In 1695 he served as a humble bombardier in war against the Turks, in 1696 he captured the vital sea port of Azov, and in 1697 he began a 16-month tour of Europe (the "Grand Embassy"), travelling partly incognito, for the purpose of securing allies against the Turks but also amassing knowledge of Western technology and hiring thousands of craftsmen and military personnel to take back to Russia. He returned in the summer of 1698 to repress a revolt of the streltsy (regiments of musketeers), with the help of a Scottish general, Patrick Gordon. His wife Yevdokiya, accused of conspiracy, was divorced and sent to a convent. Pyotr, often brutally and against the wishes of his people, set about the Westernization of Russia. In alliance with Denmark and August II, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, he launched the Great Northern War against Sweden (1700-21). Initially defeated, he ordered the church bells in Moscow to be melted down to make new cannons, and by refusing to permit the election of a new patriarch was able to divert ecclesiastical revenues to the war effort. He triumphed over the Swedish army in 1709 at the Battle of Poltava, and Sweden ceded Karelia, Ingria, Estonia, and Livonia in the 1721 Peace of Nystad. In 1703 he had begun the construction of the new city and port of St. Petersburg, which was designated as the capital of the empire. In 1712 he married his Lithuanian mistress, the future Yekaterina I. In 1718 his son Aleksey was imprisoned for suspected treason and died after torture. He proclaimed himself emperor in 1721. In 1722 the Act of Succession gave him liberty to choose his successor, and in 1724 he had Yekaterina crowned empress; the move was unpopular, but at his death she succeeded him without opposition. During his reign Pyotr brought Russia into the general European state system for the first time in its history, and established it as a major power.

Pyotr II, in full Pyotr Alekseyevich (b. Oct. 23 [Oct. 12, O.S.], 1715, St. Petersburg, Russia - d. Jan. 30 [Jan. 19, O.S.], 1730, Moscow, Russia), emperor of Russia (1727-30); grandson of Pyotr I.

Pyotr III, in full Pyotr Fyodorovich, German Karl Peter Ulrich (b. Feb. 21 [Feb. 10, O.S.], 1728, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp [now in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany] - d. July 18 [July 7, O.S.], 1762, Ropsha, near St. Petersburg, Russia), duke of Holstein-Gottorp (1739-62) and emperor of Russia (1762); son of Karl Friedrich; grandson of Pyotr I; nephew of Yelizaveta. Though he officially died of a "hemorrhoidal colic," it is widely believed that he was killed.

Pysin, Konstantin (Georgiyevich) (b. Dec. 25 [Dec. 12, O.S.], 1910, Yekaterinovka, Perm province, Russia - d. Jan. 22, 1984, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), Soviet politician. He was chairman of the Executive Committees of Molotov oblast (1948-49) and Altay kray (1949-55), first secretary of the party committee of Altay kray (1955-61), agriculture minister of the U.S.S.R. (1962-63), and first deputy premier of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1964-71).

Pyun Yung Tai (b. Dec. 15, 1892, Seoul, Korea [now in South Korea] - d. March 10, 1969, Seoul), foreign minister (1951-55) and prime minister (1954) of South Korea.

Pyurbeyev, Andzhur (b. 1904 - d. [executed] Jan. 16, 1938), chairman of the Executive Committee (1929?-30?), first secretary of the Communist Party committee (1934-35), and chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (1935-37) of Kalmyk autonomous oblast/A.S.S.R.

Pyurveyev, Dorzhi (b. 1905, Iki Manlan, Astrakhan province [now in Kalmykia republic], Russia - d. 1953, Zonalnaya, Altay kray, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kalmyk A.S.S.R. (1938-43).