1.
Celtic Manor Resort
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Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in Newport, South East Wales. It was the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup, the first to be held in Wales, the resort, owned by Sir Terry Matthews, is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, overlooking Junction 24 of the M4 motorway. The golf courses extend over the ridge and down the side of the hill into the Vale of Usk. The resort covers 2,000 acres of land, the earliest record of a building on the resort site was 1634, when it was the residence of the High Sheriff of Monmouthshire, Lewis Van. The Manor House was built in 1860 by Thomas Powell, the largest coalmine owner in the South Wales coalfield, the worlds biggest coal exporter and the first coal millionaire. Powells son, Thomas Powell Jnr, and his bride Julia Jenkins were given the mansion as a gift when they married in 1859. After Thomas and Julia Powells deaths on safari in Africa, Coldra Hall was leased to a number of tenants, Charles Firbank was also a high sheriff of Monmouthshire and well known for his generosity, entertaining parties of a hundred or more blind and disabled people. On Firbanks death in 1915, the hall was sold to Sir John Wyndham, a colliery and shipping entrepreneur, in 1930 Wyndham donated the house to the local health authority and, in 1940, it became the Lydia Beynon Maternity Hospital, named in honour of his mother. Over 60,000 babies were born there, including the present owner Sir Terry Matthews and it closed as a hospital on 1 March 1977. Matthews bought the Manor House in 1980, investing £100m in a redevelopment and refurbishment project, the house was renovated, retaining all its best older features. Initially with 17 bedrooms, the Celtic Manor Hotel opened in 1982, with the addition of a modern three-storey extension, by the early 1990s the hotels capacity was expanded to 70 bedrooms. It received Egon Ronay Guide awards for the best hotel in Wales for five consecutive years, work began on the Roman Road course in 1992 – named after the main route connecting the former Roman fortress of Caerleon with the town of Caerwent which crosses the land. By 1994, work had commenced on the 400-bedroom Resort Hotel, as well as a golf clubhouse. The new development was completed and opened in 1999, the former Celtic Manor Hotel was renamed The Manor House to distinguish it from the new Resort Hotel. To prepare for the 2010 Ryder Cup, The Twenty Ten Course, designed by Ross McMurray, was built and this was the first golf course in history to be purpose-built for the event. The development included a 120-metre-long £2m twin-suspension bridge, the course and a new clubhouse and surrounding infrastructure, which was promised as part of the bid to host the event in 2001. The new bridge, The Twenty Ten Bridge, links the practice ground to the golf course across the River Usk and was opened by the First Minister of Wales. Rowecord Engineering of Newport, provided all the steelwork and structure, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said, The problematic situation is entirely of the owner’s own making and refusal to safeguard the listed building over many years
2.
Newport, Wales
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Newport is a cathedral and university city and unitary authority area in south east Wales. It is located on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, at the 2011 census it is the third largest city in Wales, with a city population of 145,700 and an urban population of 306,844. The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area with a population of 1,097,000, Newport has been a port since medieval times, when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream and it grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales largest coal-exporting port and it was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists. During the 20th century, when the docks declined in importance and it was granted city status in 2002. Newport hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010, the city was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit. It is the largest urban area within the county boundaries of Monmouthshire. The City of Newport, which includes surrounding rural areas as well as the built up area, is governed by Newport City Council. Bronze Age fishermen settled around the estuary of the River Usk. In AD75, on the edge of their empire. According to legend, in the late 5th century Saint Woolos church was founded by Saint Gwynllyw, the church was certainly in existence by the 9th century and today has become Newport Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. The Normans arrived from around 1088–1093 to build the first Newport Castle and river crossing downstream from Caerleon, the settlement of Newport is first mentioned as novo burgus established by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1126. The name was derived from the original Latin name Novus Burgus, the city can sometimes be found labelled as Newport-on-Usk on old maps. The original Welsh language name for the city, Casnewydd-ar-Wysg means New castle-on-Usk, the original Newport Castle was a small motte-and-bailey castle in the park opposite Newport Cathedral. It was buried in rubble excavated from the Hillfield railway tunnels that were dug under Stow Hill in the 1840s and no part of it is currently visible. Around the settlement, the new town grew to become Newport, obtaining its first charter in 1314 and was granted a second one, by Hugh Stafford, in the 14th century friars came to Newport where they built an isolation hospital for infectious diseases. After its closure the hospital lived on in the place name Spitty Fields, austin Friars also remains a street name in the city
3.
Cardiff
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Cardiff is the capital and largest city in Wales and the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is the chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media. The unitary authority areas mid-2011 population was estimated to be 346,100, the Cardiff metropolitan area makes up over a third of the total population of Wales, with a mid-2011 population estimate of about 1,100,000 people. Cardiff is a significant tourist centre and the most popular destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked sixth in the world in National Geographics alternative tourist destinations, the city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan. Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities, the Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city. Cardiff was made a city in 1905, and proclaimed the capital of Wales in 1955, since the 1980s, Cardiff has seen significant development. A new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building, home to the Welsh Assembly, sporting venues in the city include the Millennium Stadium, SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff International Sports Stadium and Cardiff Arms Park. The city was awarded the title of European City of Sport twice, due to its role in hosting major sporting events, first in 2009. The Millennium Stadium hosted 11 football matches as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the opening event. Caerdydd derives from the earlier Welsh form Caerdyf, the change from -dyf to -dydd shows the colloquial alteration of Welsh f and dd, and was perhaps also driven by folk etymology. This sound change had probably first occurred in the Middle Ages, Caerdyf has its origins in post-Roman Brythonic words meaning the fort of the Taff. The fort probably refers to that established by the Romans, the anglicised form Cardiff is derived from Caerdyf, with the Welsh f borrowed as ff /f/, as also happens in Taff and Llandaff. As English does not have the vowel the final vowel has been borrowed as /ɪ/, although some sources repeat this theory, it has been rejected on linguistic grounds by modern scholars such as Professor Gwynedd Pierce. A group of five Bronze Age tumuli is at the summit of The Garth, four Iron Age hill fort and enclosure sites have been identified within Cardiffs present-day county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort, an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares. The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta that acted as border defences, the fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a settlement, or vicus, was established
4.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
5.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
6.
Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
7.
James G. Stavridis
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James George Jim Stavridis is a retired United States Navy admiral and the current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a graduate school for international affairs. He is also chairman of the board of the U. S. Naval Institute, Stavridis graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1976. While in the Navy, Stavridis served as the commander, U. S, european Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The first Navy officer to have held these positions, Stavridis earned a Ph. D and Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1984, where he won the Gullion Prize. Stavridis retired from the Navy in 2013 after thirty-seven years of service and his book The Accidental Admiral, describing his time in the Navy, was published in October 2014. He is a fellow of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He was considered as a vice president by the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Stavridis was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, son of Shirley Anne and he is married to Laura Hall, author of Navy Spouses Guide. His paternal grandparents were Asia Minor Greeks, born and raised in Western Anatolia and his mothers family was Pennsylvania Dutch. He barely escaped with his life in a boat crossing the Aegean Sea to Athens. His brother was not so lucky and was killed by the Turks as part of the violence directed at the Greek minority, Stavridis is a 1976 distinguished graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy. He is a surface warfare officer and served at sea in aircraft carriers, cruisers. Barry won the Battenberg Cup as the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet under his command, in 1998, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 21 and deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1998, winning the Navy Leagues John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership. From 2002 to 2004, Stavridis commanded Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, afterwards, as Vice Admiral, Stavridis served as senior military assistant to the United States Secretary of Defense. On October 19,2006, he became the first Navy officer to command the United States Southern Command in Miami, in July 2009, he became Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He retired as SACEUR in 2013, ashore, Stavridis served as a strategic and long range planner on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At the start of the Global War on Terror, he was selected as the director of the Navy Operations Group, Deep Blue and he has also served as the executive assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the senior military assistant to the United States Secretary of Defense. Stavridis has long advocated the use of power, which he defines as the balance of hard
8.
Berlin Wall
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The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992, the barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area that contained anti-vehicle trenches, fakir beds and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany, the West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the Wall of Shame—a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt—while condemning the Walls restriction on freedom of movement. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration, during this period, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany, crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall, contrary to popular belief the Walls actual demolition did not begin until the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, the capital of Berlin, as the seat of the Allied Control Council, was similarly subdivided into four sectors despite the citys location, which was fully within the Soviet zone. Within two years, political divisions increased between the Soviets and the occupying powers. Property and industry was nationalized in the East German zone, if statements or decisions deviated from the described line, reprimands and punishment would ensue, such as imprisonment, torture and even death. Indoctrination of Marxism-Leninism became a part of school curricula, sending professors. The East Germans created a political police apparatus that kept the population under close surveillance. In 1948, following disagreements regarding reconstruction and a new German currency, Stalin instituted the Berlin Blockade, preventing food, materials and supplies from arriving in West Berlin. The United States, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several countries began a massive airlift, supplying West Berlin with food. The Soviets mounted a public campaign against the Western policy change. Communists attempted to disrupt the elections of 1948, preceding large losses therein, in May 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade, permitting the resumption of Western shipments to Berlin. The German Democratic Republic was declared on 7 October 1949, by a secret treaty, the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs accorded the East German state administrative authority, but not autonomy. The Soviets permeated East German administrative, military and secret police structures and had full control, East Germany differed from West Germany, which developed into a Western capitalist country with a social market economy and a democratic parliamentary government
9.
David Cameron
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David William Donald Cameron is a British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. He served as the Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016 and was Member of Parliament for Witney from 2001 to 2016, Cameron identifies as a One-Nation Conservative, and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies. Born in London to wealthy upper middle-class parents, Cameron was educated at Heatherdown School, Eton College, from 1988 to 1993 he worked at the Conservative Research Department, assisting the Conservative Prime Minister John Major, before leaving politics to work for Carlton Communications in 1994. Becoming an MP in 2001, he served in the shadow cabinet under Conservative leader Michael Howard. Cameron sought to rebrand the Conservatives, embracing an increasingly liberal position. The 2010 general election led to Cameron becoming Prime Minister as the head of a government with the Liberal Democrats. His administration introduced large-scale changes to welfare, immigration policy, education and it privatised the Royal Mail and some other state assets, and legalised same-sex marriage. When the Conservatives secured a majority in the 2015 general election he remained as Prime Minister. To fulfil a manifesto pledge, he introduced a referendum on the UKs continuing membership of the EU, Cameron supported continued membership, following the success of the Leave vote, he resigned to make way for a new Prime Minister and was succeeded by Theresa May. Cameron has been praised for modernising the Conservative Party and for decreasing the United Kingdoms national deficit, conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, and has been accused of political opportunism and elitism. Cameron is the son of Ian Donald Cameron a stockbroker, and his wife Mary Fleur, a retired Justice of the Peace. Camerons parents were married on 20 October 1962, the journalist Toby Young has described Camerons background as being upper-upper-middle class. Cameron was born in Marylebone, London, and raised in Peasemore, Berkshire and he has a brother, Alexander Cameron, QC, a barrister, and two sisters, Tania Rachel and Clare Louise. Blairmore was built by Camerons great-great-grandfather, Alexander Geddes, who had made a fortune in the trade in Chicago, Illinois. Blairmore was sold soon after Ians birth, Cameron has said, On my mothers side of the family, her mother was a Llewellyn, so Welsh. Im a real mixture of Scottish, Welsh, and English and he has also referenced the German Jewish ancestry of one of his great-grandfathers, Arthur Levita, a descendant of the Yiddish author Elia Levita. From the age of seven, Cameron was educated at two independent schools, at Heatherdown School in Winkfield in Berkshire, which counts Prince Andrew, owing to good grades, Cameron entered its top academic class almost two years early. At the age of thirteen, he went on to Eton College in Berkshire and his early interest was in art
10.
Stephen Harper
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Stephen Joseph Harper PC is a Canadian entrepreneur and retired politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada, from February 6,2006 to November 4,2015. He was the first prime minister to come from the modern Conservative Party of Canada, which was formed by a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party, Harper was member of parliament for the riding of Calgary Heritage in Alberta from 2002 to 2016. Earlier, from 1993 to 1997, he was the MP for Calgary West and he was one of the founding members of the Reform Party, but did not seek re-election in the 1997 federal election. Harper instead joined and later led the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobbyist group, in 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party and returned to parliament as Leader of the Opposition. In 2003, he reached an agreement with Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay for the merger of their two parties to form the Conservative Party of Canada and he was elected as the partys first leader, in March 2004. Harper stepped down as MP on August 26,2016, the 2006 federal election resulted in a minority government led by the Conservative Party with Harper becoming the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. By proportion of seats, this was Canadas smallest minority government since Confederation, despite this, it was the longest-serving minority government overall. The 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved in March,2011, after a vote that deemed the Cabinet to be in contempt of parliament. Harper resigned as party leader on October 19,2015, Harper moved back to Calgary, Alberta, and commuted to Ottawa as an opposition backbench member of parliament. Harper was born and raised in Leaside, Toronto, the first of three sons of Margaret and Joseph Harris Harper, an accountant at Imperial Oil. Harper attended Northlea Public School and, later, John G. Althouse Middle School and Richview Collegiate Institute and he graduated in 1978, and was a member of Richview Collegiates team on Reach for the Top, a television quiz show for Canadian high school students. Harper enrolled at the University of Toronto but dropped out two months. He then moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he work in the mail room at Imperial Oil. Later, he advanced to work on the computer systems. He took up post-secondary studies again at the University of Calgary and he later returned there to earn a masters degree in economics, completed in 1991. Harper has kept strong links to the University of Calgary, Harper was the first prime minister since Joe Clark without a law degree. Harper became involved in politics as a member of his high schools Young Liberals Club and he later changed his political allegiance because he disagreed with the National Energy Program of Pierre Trudeaus Liberal government. He left the PC Party that same year and he was then recommended by the University of Calgarys economist Bob Mansell to Preston Manning, the founder and leader of the Reform Party of Canada
11.
Barack Obama
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Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president and he previously served in the U. S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state and he grew up mostly in Hawaii, but also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, in 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and professor, Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U. S. Senate. In 2008, Obama was nominated for president, a year after his campaign began and he was elected over Republican John McCain, and was inaugurated on January 20,2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, during his first two years in office, Obama signed more landmark legislation than any Democratic president since LBJs Great Society. Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, after a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, Obama increased U. S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the U. S. -Russian New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, after winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60% approval rating. He currently resides in Washington, D. C and his presidential library will be built in Chicago. Obama was born on August 4,1961, at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu and he is the only President to have been born in Hawaii. He was born to a mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, of mostly English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss and his father, Barack Obama Sr. was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyangoma Kogelo. Obamas parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2,1961, six months before Obama was born. In late August 1961, Obamas mother moved him to the University of Washington in Seattle for a year
12.
Chancellor of Germany
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The Chancellor of Germany is the head of government of Germany. The official title in German is Bundeskanzler, sometimes shortened to Kanzler, the term, dating from the early Middle Ages, is derived from the Latin term cancellarius. In German politics, the Chancellor is equivalent to that of a minister in many other countries. German has two equivalent translations of prime minister, Premierminister and Ministerpräsident, while Premierminister usually refers to heads of governments of foreign countries, Ministerpräsident may also refer to the heads of government of most German states. The current Chancellor is Angela Merkel, who is serving her term in office. She is the first female chancellor, thus being known in German as Bundeskanzlerin, the role of the Chancellor has varied greatly throughout Germanys modern history. Today, the Chancellor is the effective leader. The office of Chancellor has a history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire. The title was, at times, used in several states of German-speaking Europe, the modern office of Chancellor was established with the North German Confederation, of which Otto von Bismarck became Chancellor in 1867. After the Unification of Germany in 1871, the became known in German as Reichskanzler. With Germanys constitution of 1949, the title Bundeskanzler was revived in German, during the various eras, the role of the Chancellor has varied. From 1871 to 1918, the Chancellor was only responsible to the Emperor, with the founding of the republic and the constitutional reform in 1918, the Parliament was granted the right to dismiss the Reichskanzler. According to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, the Chancellor was appointed by the President and responsible to Parliament, when the Nazis came to power on 30 January 1933, the Weimar Constitution was de facto set aside. After the death of President Hindenburg in 1934, Adolf Hitler, the 1949 constitution gave the Chancellor much greater powers than during the Weimar Republic, while strongly diminishing the role of the President. Since 1867,33 individuals have served as heads of government of Germany or its predecessor, due to his administrative tasks, the head of the clerics at the chapel of an Imperial palace during the Carolingian Empire was called Chancellor. The chapels college acted as the Emperors chancery issuing deeds and capitularies and these three Prince-Archbishops were also Prince-electors of the Empire electing the King of the Romans. Already in medieval times, the German Chancellor had political power like Archbishop Willigis or Rainald von Dassel under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. In 1559, Emperor Ferdinand I established the agency of an Imperial chancellery at the Vienna Hofburg Palace, upon the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, Emperor Ferdinand II created the office of an Austrian Court Chancellor in charge of the internal and foreign affairs of the Habsburg Monarchy
13.
Angela Merkel
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Angela Dorothea Merkel is a German politician who is currently Chancellor of Germany. She is also the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Merkel has been described at various times as the de facto leader of the European Union, the most powerful woman in the world, and the worlds second most powerful person. Following German reunification in 1990, Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Merkel was appointed as the Minister for Women and Youth in the federal government under Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1991, and became the Minister for the Environment in 1994. In the 2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the vote, in 2007, Merkel was President of the European Council and chaired the G8, the second woman to do so. Merkel played a role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon. One of Merkels consistent priorities has been to strengthen economic relations. Merkel played a role in managing the financial crisis at the European and international level. On 26 March 2014, Merkel became the incumbent head of government in the European Union. On 20 November 2016, Merkel announced she would seek re-election to a fourth term and she has two younger siblings, her brother Marcus Kasner, a physicist, and her sister Irene Kasner, an occupational therapist. In her childhood and youth, Merkel was known among her peers by the nickname Kasi, Merkel is of Polish and German descent. Her paternal grandfather Ludwik Kaźmierczak was a German policeman of Polish ethnicity and he married Merkels grandmother Margarethe, a German girl from Berlin, and relocated to her hometown where he worked in the police. In 1930 they Germanized the Polish name Kaźmierczak to Kasner, Merkels maternal grandparents were the Danzig politician Willi Jentzsch and Gertrud Alma née Drange, a daughter of the city clerk of Elbing Emil Drange. Merkel has mentioned her Polish heritage on several occasions, but her Polish roots became better known as a result of a 2013 biography, religion played a key role in the Kasner familys migration from West Germany to East Germany. In 1954, he received a pastorate at the church in Quitzow, the family moved to Templin and Merkel grew up in the countryside 80 km north of East Berlin. Like most young people in the German Democratic Republic, Merkel was a member of the Free German Youth, membership was nominally voluntary, but those who did not join found it difficult to gain admission to higher education. She did not participate in the coming of age ceremony Jugendweihe, however. Later, at the Academy of Sciences, she became a member of the FDJ district board, Merkel claimed that she was secretary for culture. When Merkels one-time FDJ district chairman contradicted her, she insisted that, According to my memory, I believe I wont know anything when Im 80
14.
Matteo Renzi
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Matteo Renzi is an Italian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from February 2014 until December 2016. His government is the fourth longest one in the history of Italy as a republic, Renzi served as President of the Province of Florence from 2004 to 2009 and as Mayor of Florence from 2009 to 2014. At the age of 39 years and 42 days upon assuming office and he was also the first serving Mayor to become Prime Minister. In 2014 the American magazine Fortune ranked Renzi as the third most influential person under 40 in the world, moreover, Renzi is nicknamed il Rottamatore due to his ambition of renovating the Italian political establishment. Renzi was born in 1975 in Florence, Tuscany, the second of four children and his father, Tiziano Renzi, was a small business owner and Christian Democratic municipal councillor in Rignano sullArno. During this time he was a Scout in the Association of Catholic Guides, in 1999 he graduated from the University of Florence with a degree in law, with a thesis on Giorgio La Pira, the former Christian Democratic Mayor of Florence. He then went on to work for CHIL Srl, a company owned by his family. During this time Renzi was also a referee at amateur level. In 1994, he participated as a competitor for five episodes in the television program La Ruota Della Fortuna hosted by Mike Bongiorno. Renzis interest in politics began in high school, in the same year he married Agnese Landini, with whom he later had three children. In 2001 he joined Francesco Rutellis The Daisy party, composed by members of the disbanded Peoples Party, on 13 June 2004 he was elected President of Florence Province with 59% of the vote, as the candidate of the centre-left coalition. He was the youngest person to become President of an Italian Province, after five years as the President of Florence Province, Renzi announced that he would seek election as the Mayor of Florence. On 9 June 2009, Renzi, by now a member of the Democratic Party, won the election on a second round vote with 60% of the votes, following this public meeting, the Italian media gave Renzi the nickname il Rottamatore, or The Scrapper. In 2011, Renzi organised a public meeting, also in Florence. After the first round of the December election, Renzi gained 35. 5% of the vote, finishing second behind Bersani and qualifying for the second ballot. Renzi eventually gained a total of 39% of the vote, against Bersanis 61%. 5% of the vote, despite opinion polls placing the party at almost 30%. Following the resignation of Pier Luigi Bersani in April 2013, Renzi announced that he would stand for the position of Secretary of the Democratic Party, the PDs loss of seats led to party members doubts concerning Bersanis leadership abilities. Renzis impressive resume at such a young in age in combination with his reputation as political outsider thanks to his scrapping made him very electable in comparison
15.
Mariano Rajoy
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Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish politician who is the Prime Minister of Spain. He became leader of the Peoples Party in 2004 and Prime Minister in 2011 following the Peoples Party landslide victory in that general election. He was the Leader of the Opposition between 2004 and 2011 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapateros government and he is the son of Mariano Rajoy Sobredo, a jurist, and president of the Provincial Court of Pontevedra, the city where he grew up. Later on, his father was transferred to León and the family moved there. He was duly enrolled, together with his brothers Luis and Enrique, after finishing secondary school he started university, enrolling in the Law Faculty in Santiago de Compostela. He was assigned to Padrón, Villafranca del Bierzo and Santa Pola, in that year, Rajoy sustained facial injuries in a traffic accident. Since then, he has worn a beard to cover the scars from these injuries. Rajoy married Elvira Viri Fernández Balboa on 28 December 1996, in La Toja island, while on the campaign trail in 2011, Rajoy published his autobiography, En Confianza. Rajoy started his career in 1981 as a member of the right-wing party Peoples Alliance. In 1982, he was appointed by Galician regional President, Xerardo Fernández Albor, on 11 June 1986, Rajoy was elected President of the Provincial Council of Pontevedra, a position he held until July 1991. He occupied this position until the end of September 1987. In May 1988 he was elected General Secretary of the PA in Galicia during a congress of the regional party. When in 1989 the AP merged with other parties to form the Peoples Party, with Manuel Fraga as its president, Rajoy was named a member of its National Executive Committee and he was reelected to parliament in 1993. Before the PPs triumph in the 1996 elections, he was a PP-designated member of the Commission of Parliamentary Control of the RTVE. In April, the president of Castile and León and presidential candidate of the government general elections in 1989. Confirmed in the National Executive, Mariano Rajoy was appointed deputy secretary general of the party and he was re-elected in Pontevedra in the election on 6 June 1993. On 3 March 1996, the PP won the parliamentary elections and formed a government with the support of the Basque Nationalist Party, Convergence and Union. He changed his portfolio on 20 January 1999 and replaced Esperanza Aguirre as Minister of Education, just after his appointment, he was reelected vice-secretary general of the PP during its thirteenth national conference
16.
Celtic knot
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Celtic knots, called Icovellavna, are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular art. Most are endless knots, and many are varieties of basket weave knots, the use of interlace patterns had its origins in the artwork of the late Roman Empire. Knot patterns first appeared in the third and fourth centuries AD, spirals, step patterns, and key patterns are dominant motifs in Celtic art before the Christian influence on the Celts, which began around 450. These designs found their way into early Christian manuscripts and artwork with the addition of depictions from life, such as animals, plants and even humans. In the beginning, the patterns were intricate interwoven cords, called plaits, a fragment of a Gospel Book, now in the Durham Cathedral library and created in northern Britain in the 7th century, contains the earliest example of true knotted designs in the Celtic manner. J. Romilly Allen has identified eight elementary knots which form the basis of all the interlaced patterns in Celtic decorative art. In modern times Celtic art is thought of in terms of national identity. Though tatooing was not a Celtic tradition, Celtic knot tattoos became popular in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s
17.
Welsh Dragon
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The Welsh Dragon appears on the national flag of Wales. Its association with these leaders along with evidence from archaeology, literature. During the reigns of the Tudor monarchs, the red dragon was used as a supporter in the English Crowns coat of arms, the red dragon is often seen as symbolising all things Welsh, and is used by many public and private institutions. C. Newport Gwent Dragons, and London Welsh RFC, in the Mabinogion story Lludd and Llefelys, the red dragon fights with an invading White Dragon. His pained shrieks cause women to miscarry, animals to perish, Lludd, king of Britain, goes to his wise brother Llefelys in France. Llefelys tells him to dig a pit in the centre of Britain, fill it with mead, Lludd does this, and the dragons drink the mead and fall asleep. Lludd imprisons them, still wrapped in their cloth, in Dinas Emrys in Snowdonia, the tale is taken up in the Historia Brittonum. The dragons remain at Dinas Emrys for centuries until King Vortigern tries to build a castle there, every night the castle walls and foundations are demolished by unseen forces. Vortigern consults his advisers, who tell him to find a boy with no natural father, Vortigern finds such a boy who is supposed to be the wisest wizard ever to live. On hearing that he is to be put to death to end the demolition of the walls, the boy is dismissive of the advice, Vortigern excavates the hill, freeing the dragons. They continue their fight and the red dragon finally defeats the white dragon, the boy tells Vortigern that the white dragon symbolises the Saxons and that the red dragon symbolises the people of Vortigern. If Vortigern is accepted to have lived in the 5th century, then people are the British whom the Saxons failed to subdue. The same story is repeated in Geoffrey of Monmouths History of the Kings of Britain, note that Arthurs father was named Uther Pendragon. Owain Glyndŵrs banner known as Y Ddraig Aur or The Golden Dragon and it was famously raised over Caernarfon during the Battle of Tuthill in 1401 against the English. Henry Tudor flew the red dragon of Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon as his banner, overlaid on a green and white representing the Tudor House. After the battle the flag was carried in state to St. Pauls Cathedral to be blessed, in 1953, the red dragon badge of Henry VII was given an augmentation of honour. The badge was the basis of a flag of Wales in which it was placed on a background divided horizontally with the top half white, in 1959, Government use of this flag was dropped in favour of the current flag at the urging of the Gorsedd of Bards. The badge is used by the Wales Office and is printed on Statutory Instruments made by the National Assembly for Wales
18.
Newport Transporter Bridge
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The Newport Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk and it is a Grade I listed structure. The transporter bridge is rare, with only eight remaining in use out of a total of twenty built worldwide. The bridge was designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin and it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906. Newport Museum holds a cigar cutter which was presented to Viscount Tredegar on the day of the opening. Interestingly for the time, a Corporation Of Newport drawing dated December 1902 is calibrated in metres, the height of the towers is 73.6 metres, and the height to the underside of the main girder truss above the road level is 49.97 m. The distance between the centres of the anchorage caissons is 471.06 m and this winch is sufficient to drive the gondola through its 196.56 m total travel at a speed of 3 metres per second. This is the oldest and largest of the three historic transporter bridges which remain in Britain, and also the largest of eight such bridges which remain worldwide), when compared with Middlesbroughs Transporter Bridge, the Newport Transporter is 5 m taller, but 23 m less in overall length. It also utilizes approximately 1,400 long tons of steel compared to 2,600 long tons used to construct Middlesbroughs Transporter. This difference in weight is due to the Newport bridge making use of cables to support. Today, the bridge is regarded as the most recognisable symbol of the city of Newport. As well as a transport link, the bridge is also open as a tourist attraction – visitors can climb the towers. The bridge forms part of the highway network and is also where route 4 of the National Cycle Network crosses the River Usk. It was the point of the local millennium celebrations of 2000, where fireworks were fired from its length. It was the centre-piece of the Crow Point Festival in September 2006 to celebrate its centenary and it is used for charity events such as sponsored abseils. The bridge was shut down in 1985 because of wear and tear, following a £3 million refurbishment, it reopened in 1995. Service was suspended again in December 2008 with the bridge facing a £2 million repair bill, £1.225 million was spent on refurbishment, financed by grants from the Welsh Government, Newport Council and Cadw. It re-opened on 30 July 2010, the bridge was closed on 16 February 2011, because of operational problems, but re-opened again on 4 June
19.
Eurofighter Typhoon
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The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter. NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency manages the project and is the prime customer, the aircrafts development effectively began in 1983 with the Future European Fighter Aircraft programme, a multinational collaboration among the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. Disagreements over design authority and operational requirements led France to leave the consortium to develop the Dassault Rafale independently. A technology demonstration aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, first took flight on 6 August 1986, the aircrafts name, Typhoon, was adopted in September 1998, the first production contracts were also signed that year. The Royal Air Force of Oman and the Kuwait Air Force are export customers, the Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft, designed to be a supremely effective dogfighter in combat. The Typhoon had its debut during the 2011 military intervention in Libya with the Royal Air Force. The type has also taken responsibility for air-defence duties for the majority of customer nations. The UK had identified a requirement for a new fighter as early as 1971, the AST403 specification, issued by the Air staff in 1972, led to the P.96 conventional tailed design presented in the late 1970s. The P.96 design had potential for growth. However, the simultaneous West German requirement for a new fighter had led by 1979 to the development of the TKF-90 concept and this was a cranked delta wing design with forward close-coupled-canard controls and artificial stability. In 1979, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm and British Aerospace presented a proposal to their respective governments for the ECF. In October 1979 Dassault joined the ECF team for a tri-national study and it was at this stage of development the Eurofighter name was first attached to the aircraft. The development of different national prototypes continued, the UK produced two designs, the P.106 was a single-engined lightweight fighter, superficially resembling the JAS39 Gripen, the P.110 was a twin-engined fighter. The RAF rejected the P.106 concept on the grounds it had half the effectiveness of the aircraft at two-thirds of the cost. West Germany continued to refine the TKF-90 concept, consequently, the Panavia partners launched the Agile Combat Aircraft programme in April 1982. The ACA was very similar to the BAe P.110, having a delta wing, canards. One major external difference was the replacement of the engine intakes with a chin intake. The ACA was to be powered by a version of the RB199
20.
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
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The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. Its alumni include Anthony Hopkins, Aneurin Barnard and Rob Brydon, the College was established in 1949 as Cardiff College of Music at Cardiff Castle, but has since moved to purpose-built accommodation within the castle grounds of Bute Park near Cardiff University. It later changed its name to the Welsh College of Music & Drama before being awarded its Royal title in The Queens Golden Jubilee in 2002, making it the fifth conservatoire to be awarded this title. From its opening, the Colleges degrees were awarded by the University of Wales, in 2007, however, it left the university and agreed to a merger with the University of Glamorgan. The University of Glamorgan merged with the University of Wales, Newport in 2013 to form the University of South Wales, the college provides education and training in the performing arts, with approximately two-thirds of its 550 students studying music-related courses and the rest studying drama-related courses. It was the first and is one of two All-Steinway conservatoires in the UK, along with Leeds College of Music
21.
Petro Poroshenko
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Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko is the fifth and current President of Ukraine, in office since 2014. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2011, from 2008 until 2013, Poroshenko headed the Council of Ukraines National Bank. Outside government, Poroshenko has been a prominent oligarch with a career in acquiring and building assets. His most recognized ownerships are Roshen, the confectionery company which has earned him the nickname of Chocolate King, and a TV channel 5 kanal. He was elected president on 10 May 2014, capturing more than 54% of the vote in the first round, thereby winning outright, Poroshenko was born in the city of Bolhrad, in Odessa Oblast, on 26 September 1965. He also spent his childhood and youth in Bendery, where his father Oleksiy was heading a machine building plant. In his youth, Poroshenko practiced judo and sambo, and was Candidate for Master of Sport of the USSR, despite good grades he was not awarded the normal gold medal at graduation, and on his report card he was given a C for his behavior. After getting into a fight with four Soviet Army cadets at the military commissariat, in 1989, Poroshenko graduated, having started studying in 1982, with a degree in economics from the international relations and law department at the Kiev State University. At this university he was friends with Mikheil Saakashvili who he in May 2015 would appoint as Governor of Odessa Oblast, in 1984 Poroshenko married a medical student, Maryna Perevedentseva. Their first son, Oleksiy, was born in 1985, from 1989 to 1992 Poroshenko was an assistant at the universitys international economic relations department. At the same time, he was deputy director of the Republic Union of Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs, Poroshenkos brother, Mykhailo, older by eight years, died in a 1997 car accident under mysterious circumstances. His business success in the confectionery industry earned him the nickname Chocolate King, Poroshenkos business empire also includes several car and bus plants, Kuznya na Rybalskomu shipyard, the 5 Kanal television channel, as well as other businesses in Ukraine. According to Poroshenko since becoming President of Ukraine he has relinquished the management of his businesses, in March 2012, Forbes placed him on the Forbes list of billionaires at 1, 153rd place, with $1 billion. As of May 2015, Poroshenkos net worth was about $720 million, losing 25 percent profit ever since Russias ban of Roshen products and the state of the Ukrainian economy. The estimate of his assets was set at 979 million US dollars, a 20% growth, the article noted that Poroshenko remained one of the only two European leaders who owned a business empire of such scale, with Silvio Berlusconi being the other one. A number of businesses were part of the Ukrprominvest which Poroshenko headed in 1993–1998. The investment group was dissolved in April 2012, Poroshenko has stated that upon beginning his political activity he passed on his holdings to a trust fund. Bogdan group Roshen group 5 Kanal television channel Kuznya na Rybalskomu shipyard Poroshenko first won a seat in the Verkhovna Rada in 1998 for the 12th single-mandate constituency
22.
Big Four (Western Europe)
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The Big Four, also known as G4 or EU4, refers to France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. These countries are considered major European powers and they are the Western European countries individually represented as members of the G7, the G8. The OECD describes them as the The Four Big European Countries, the leaders of the four countries usually have a series of joint video conference calls with the US president, or with other leaders, on international issues. With Russias President Vladimir Putin, they discussed, for example, France, Britain, Italy and Germany have been referred to as the big four of Europe since the Interwar period, when the four countries signed the Four-Power Pact and the Munich agreement. Britain and France, permanent members of the League of Nations executive council along with Italy, world War II saw Britain, France, Russia, China and the US fighting against Germany, Italy and Japan. The defeat of the axis powers resulted in the formation of the United Nations, Italy, Germany and Japan experienced a post-war economic miracle and took part in the 1st G6 summit along with France, the US and the UK in 1975. Since 1945, France and Britain have often acted alone in defence policy matters while Italy, the Quint is an informal decision-making group consisting of five western powers, the United States and the big four. It operates as a directoire of various such as NATO. The idea of a trilateral axis on foreign policy issues was proposed by French President Charles de Gaulle to his British, however, that plan was never implemented. Meetings between the ministers of these three countries and West Germany became known as Quad meetings around 1980. They were largely symbolic and led to no real decision, the Quint in its current form seems to have begun as the Contact Group excluding Russia. The Quint meets also at ministerial and experts level, a European Union membership referendum took place on Thursday 23 June 2016 in the UK and resulted in an overall vote to leave the EU, by 51. 9%. The British government have triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union to start the process to leave the EU, great power France–Italy relations France–Germany relations France–United Kingdom relations Germany–Italy relations Germany–United Kingdom relations Italy–United Kingdom relations EU three G6 G7
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NATO Quint
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The NATO Quint is an informal decision-making group consisting of the United States and the Big Four of Western Europe. It operates as a directoire of various such as NATO. The idea of a trilateral axis on foreign policy issues was proposed by French President Charles de Gaulle to his British, however, that plan was never implemented. Meetings between the ministers of these three countries and West Germany became known as Quad meetings around 1980. They were largely symbolic and led to no real decision, the Quint in its current form seems to have begun as the Contact Group excluding Russia. The Quint meets also at ministerial and experts level
24.
Minsk Protocol
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It was signed after extensive talks in Minsk, Belarus, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The agreement, which followed multiple previous attempts to stop fighting in the Donbass and it failed to stop fighting in Donbass. The agreement was drawn-up by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which consisted of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the group was established in June as a way to facilitate dialogue and resolution of the strife across eastern and southern Ukraine. Meetings of the group, along with representatives of the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics, took place on 31 July,26 August,1 September. The details of the agreement, signed on 5 September, largely resembled Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenkos 20 June fifteen-point peace plan, to ensure the monitoring and verification of the ceasefire by the OSCE. Decentralisation of power, including through the adoption of the Ukrainian law On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. To ensure the permanent monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border and verification by the OSCE with the creation of security zones in the regions of Ukraine. Immediate release of all hostages and illegally detained persons, a law preventing the prosecution and punishment of persons in connection with the events that have taken place in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. To continue the national dialogue. To take measures to improve the situation in Donbass. To ensure early local elections in accordance with the Ukrainian law On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, to withdraw illegal armed groups and military equipment as well as fighters and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine. To adopt a programme of economic recovery and reconstruction for the Donbass region, to provide personal security for participants in the consultations. In the two weeks after the Minsk Protocol was signed, there were frequent violations of the ceasefire by both parties to the conflict, talks continued in Minsk, and a follow-up to the Minsk Protocol was agreed to on 19 September 2014. This memorandum clarified the implementation of the Protocol, subsequently, Zakharchenko said that he had been misquoted, and that he had meant to say that these areas would be taken through peaceful means. While campaigning in the lead-up to the 2 November elections held by the DPR and LPR in violation of the Protocol and we are creating a new country. OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter confirmed that the elections ran counter to the letter and spirit of the Minsk Protocol, according to Lavrov, closer monitoring of the Russo-Ukrainian border, as specified by the Minsk Protocol, could only take place after such an amnesty law was approved. By January 2015, the Minsk Protocol ceasefire had completely collapsed, the New York Times said that the ceasefire had all but vanished. Amidst increasing violence in the zone, another round of Minsk talks was scheduled for 31 January
25.
Vladimir Putin
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician. Putin is the current President of the Russian Federation, holding the office since 7 May 2012 and he was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000, President from 2000 to 2008, and again Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012. During his second term as Prime Minister, he was the Chairman of the ruling United Russia Party, born in Leningrad, Putin studied German in high school and speaks the language fluently. He studied Law at the Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1975, Putin was a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsins administration, rising quickly through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 Presidential election by a 53% to 30% margin, thus avoiding a runoff with his Communist Party of the Russian Federation opponent and he was re-elected President in 2004 with 72% of the vote. During Putins first presidency, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, the growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom, high oil prices, and prudent economic and fiscal policies. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third presidential term in 2008. The 2008 Presidential election was won by Dmitry Medvedev, who appointed Putin Prime Minister, in September 2011, after presidential terms were extended from four to six years, Putin announced he would seek a third term as president. He won the March 2012 Presidential election with 64% of the vote, under Putins leadership, Russia has scored poorly on both the Democracy index and the Corruption index. Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings during his career. In 2007, he was the Time Person of the Year, in 2015, he was #1 on the Times Most Influential People List. Forbes ranked him the Worlds Most Powerful Individual every year from 2013 to 2016, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina. His birth was preceded by the death of two brothers, Viktor and Albert, born in the mid-1930s, Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad. Putins mother was a worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy. Early in World War II, his father served in the battalion of the NKVD. Later, he was transferred to the army and was severely wounded in 1942. On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No.193 at Baskov Lane and he was one of a few in the class of approximately 45 pupils who was not yet a member of the Young Pioneer organization
26.
Social Democratic Party of Germany
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The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany. The party, led by Chairman Martin Schulz since 2017, has one of the two major contemporary political parties in Germany, along with the Christian Democratic Union. The SPD has governed at the level in Germany as part of a grand coalition with the CDU. The SPD participates in 14 state governments, nine of them governed by SPD Minister-Presidents, the SPD is a member of the Party of European Socialists and of the Socialist International, and became a founding member of the Progressive Alliance on 22 May 2013. Established in 1863, the SPD is the oldest extant political party represented in the German Parliament and was one of the first Marxist-influenced parties in the world. The General German Workers Association, founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers Party, founded in 1869, merged in 1875, under the name Socialist Workers Party of Germany. From 1878 to 1890, any grouping or meeting that aimed at spreading socialist principles was banned under the Anti-Socialist Laws, in 1890, when the ban was lifted and it could again present electoral lists, the party adopted its current name. In the years leading up to World War I, the party remained ideologically radical in official principle, by 1912, the party claimed the most votes of any German party. Despite the agreement of the Second International to oppose the First World War, after 1918 the SPD played an important role in the political system of the Weimar Republic, although it took part in coalition governments only in few years. Adolf Hitler prohibited the party in 1933 under the Enabling Act – party officials were imprisoned, killed or went into exile, in exile, the party used the name Sopade. In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, the Soviets forced the Social Democrats to form a party with the Communists. In the Western zones, the Communist Party was later banned by West Germanys Federal Constitutional Court, since 1949, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the SPD has been one of the two major parties, with the other being the Christian Democratic Union. From 1969 to 1982 and 1998 to 2005 the Chancellors of Germany were Social Democrats whereas the other years the Chancellors were Christian Democrats, the SPD was established as a Marxist party in 1875. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD re-established itself as a socialist party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions. With the Godesberg Program of 1959, however, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social-democratic party working within capitalism. The current party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of social democracy, according to the party platform, freedom, justice, and social solidarity, form the basis of social democracy. The coordinated social market economy should be strengthened, and its output should be distributed fairly, the party sees that economic system as necessary in order to ensure the affluence of the entire population. The SPD also tries to protect the poor with a welfare state
27.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
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Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is an international institute based in Sweden, dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on sources, to policymakers, researchers, media. In 1964, Prime Minister of Sweden Tage Erlander put forward the idea of establishing a research institute to commemorate Swedens 150 years of unbroken peace. A Swedish Royal Commission chaired by Ambassador Alva Myrdal proposed in its 1966 report to establish an institute, later named the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Swedish Riksdag decided that the Institute be established on 1 July 1966 with the legal status of an independent foundation. All SIPRI research is based exclusively on open sources, SIPRIs organisation consists of a Governing Board, Director, Deputy Director, Research Staff Collegium and support staff. An Advisory Committee serves as a body to the Institute. The Governing Board takes decisions on important matters concerning the research agenda, activities, organisation, other matters are decided by the Director. The Research Staff Collegium advises the Director on research matters, the staff of about 50 persons is international. The researchers are recruited for a specific period and represent various academic disciplines. Located in Sweden, the Institute offers a platform for researchers from different countries to work in close cooperation. The Institute also hosts guest researchers who work on issues related to the SIPRI research programme, although SIPRI is not a teaching institute, it receives interns whose programmes of study can contribute to and benefit from SIPRIs research. Contacts are maintained with other centres and individual researchers throughout the world. Frequent contacts are maintained with diplomatic missions in Stockholm and with Swedish research centres, Dr Bates Gill served as SIPRI Director from 2007–2012. In September 2012, the Swedish Government appointed the German economist Tilman Brück as his successor, Brück held the position of SIPRI Director from January 2013 to June 2014. In June 2014 the SIPRI Governing Board appointed Dr Ian Anthony as Director for an interim period, the current Director, Dan Smith, was appointed in September 2015. SIPRIs current Deputy Director is Jakob Hallgren, among these the biggest are the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Security and the Stockholm Security Conference. SIPRIs publications and information material are distributed to a range of policy makers, researchers, journalists, organisations. The results of the research are disseminated through the publication of books and reports by SIPRI and commissioned authors as well as through symposia, the Institute has forged its profile by concentrating on present-day realities, providing unbiased facts to states and individuals
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Cardiff Castle
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Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roman fort. The castle was commissioned either by William the Conqueror or by Robert Fitzhamon, and formed the heart of the town of Cardiff. In the 12th century the castle began to be rebuilt in stone, probably by Robert of Gloucester, with a shell keep, further work was conducted by Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester in the second half of the 13th century. After being held by the de Clare and Despenser families for centuries the castle was acquired by Richard de Beauchamp in 1423. Richard conducted extensive work on the castle, founding the main range on the west side of the castle, following the Wars of the Roses, the status of the castle as a Marcher territory was revoked and its military significance began to decline. During the English Civil War Cardiff Castle was initially taken by a Parliamentary force, when fighting broke out again in 1648, a Royalist army attacked Cardiff in a bid to regain the castle, leading to the Battle of St Fagans just outside the city. Cardiff Castle escaped potential destruction by Parliament after the war and was instead garrisoned, in the mid-18th century, Cardiff Castle passed into the hands of the Marquesses of Bute. During the first half of the 19th century the family became wealthy as a result of the growth of the coal industry in Glamorgan. The third Marquess, John Crichton-Stuart, used this wealth to back an extensive programme of renovations under William Burges, Burges remodelled the castle in a Gothic revival style, lavishing money and attention on the main range. The resulting interior designs are considered to be amongst the most magnificent that the gothic revival ever achieved, the grounds were re-landscaped and, following the discovery of the old Roman remains, reconstructed walls and a gatehouse in a Roman style were incorporated into the castle design. Extensive landscaped parks were built around the outside of the castle, in the early 20th century the fourth Marquess inherited the castle and construction work continued into the 1920s. The Bute lands and commercial interests around Cardiff were sold off or nationalised until, by the time of the Second World War, during the war, extensive air raid shelters were built in the castle walls, they could hold up to 1,800 people. When the Marquess died in 1947, the castle was given to the city of Cardiff, today the castle is run as a tourist attraction, with the grounds housing the Firing Line regimental museum and interpretation centre. The castle has served as a venue for events, including musical performances. The future site of Cardiff Castle was first used by the Romans as a location for many years. The first fort was built about AD55 and occupied until AD80. It was a structure much larger than the current site
29.
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
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The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing, and short takeoff and landing capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a helicopter with the long-range. In response, the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental aircraft program started in 1981, a partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell Boeing team jointly produce the aircraft, the V-22 first flew in 1989, and began flight testing and design alterations, the complexity and difficulties of being the first tiltrotor for military service led to many years of development. The United States Marine Corps began crew training for the Osprey in 2000, the Ospreys other operator, the U. S. Air Force, fielded their version of the tiltrotor in 2009. Since entering service with the U. S. Marine Corps and Air Force, the U. S. Department of Defense began the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental aircraft program in 1981, under U. S. Army leadership. The defining mission of the Marine Corps has been to perform an amphibious landing, the OSD and Navy administration were against the tiltrotor project, but congressional pressure eventually proved persuasive. The U. S. Navy and Marine Corps were given the lead in 1983, the JVX combined requirements from the U. S. Marine Corps, Air Force, Army and Navy. A request for proposals was issued in December 1982 for preliminary design work, interest was expressed by Aérospatiale, Bell Helicopter, Boeing Vertol, Grumman, Lockheed, and Westland. Contractors were encouraged to form teams, Bell partnered with Boeing Vertol to submit a proposal for an enlarged version of the Bell XV-15 prototype on 17 February 1983. Being the only proposal received, a design contract was awarded on 26 April 1983. The JVX aircraft was designated V-22 Osprey on 15 January 1985, by that March, the first six prototypes were being produced, work has been split evenly between Bell and Boeing. Bell Helicopter manufactures and integrates the wing, nacelles, rotors, drive system, tail surfaces, Boeing Helicopters manufactures and integrates the fuselage, cockpit, avionics, and flight controls. Full-scale development of the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft began in 1986, on 3 May 1986, the Bell Boeing partnership was awarded a $1.714 billion contract for V-22 aircraft by the U. S. Navy. At this point, all four U. S. military services had plans for V-22 versions. The first V-22 was rolled out with significant media attention in May 1988 and that year, the U. S. Army left the program, citing a need to focus its budget on more immediate aviation programs. In 1989, the project survived two separate votes in the Senate that could have resulted in cancellation, despite the Senates decision, the Department of Defense instructed the U. S. Navy not to spend more money on the V-22. When the V-22s projected development budget greatly increased in 1988, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney tried to remove funding from 1989 to 1992 in an effort to cancel it and he was eventually overruled by Congress, which provided unrequested funding for the program
30.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
31.
Type 45 destroyer
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The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or Daring class, is an advanced class of six guided missile destroyers built for the United Kingdoms Royal Navy. The class is designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and is built around the PAAMS air-defence system utilizing the SAMPSON AESA. The first ship in the Daring class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006, the Type 45 destroyers were built to replace the Type 42 destroyers that had served during the Falklands War, with the last Type 42 being decommissioned in 2013. The National Audit Office reported that, during an intensive attack, the reduction in the number to be procured from twelve, then to eight and eventually down to six was controversial. As a solution, a future multi million-pound refit for the class adding additional power capacity is planned. On 23 November 1999 Marconi Electronic Systems was confirmed as prime contractor for the Type 45 project, seven days later MES and British Aerospace merged to form BAE Systems, making the latter the prime contractor. The Type 45 project has been criticised for rising costs and delays, with the six ships costing £6.46 billion, the first ship entered service in 2010, rather than 2007 as initially planned. In 2007, the Defence Select Committee expressed its disappointment that the Ministry of Defence, the Type 45 destroyers take advantage of some Horizon development work and use the Sea Viper air-defence system and the SAMPSON radar. The ships are built by BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships, originally created as BVT Surface Fleet by the merger of the surface shipbuilding arms of BAE Systems and these two companies previously built the ships in collaboration. BAEs two Glasgow shipyards and single Portsmouth shipyard are responsible for different blocks, BAEs Govan yard is responsible for Block A. The Scotstoun yard builds Blocks B/C and Block D. BAEs Portsmouth shipyard is responsible for Blocks E/F, for ships 2 to 6 blocks A-D were assembled in the Ships Block and Outfit Hall of the Govan shipyard, and taken fully outfitted to the Scotstoun berth. The masts and funnels were also fitted before launch, for the first-of-class, Block A was assembled at Govan and moved to Scotstoun, where it was mated to Block B/C, which was already fitted with the WR-21 turbines and machinery. Block D, also assembled at Scotstoun, was fitted to three blocks. The bow sections were mated at Portsmouth and taken by barge to Scotstoun and these were the final blocks to be attached. At this point the hull was launched into the Clyde and towed to the Scotstoun Dry Dock where the masts, once this is complete, the remaining equipment is fitted, radar arrays, bow-mounted sonar, propellers, missile equipment and 4. 5-inch gun. This modular construction arrangement was agreed in February 2002, however, when the original contract for three ships was signed in July 2000, BAE Systems Marine was to build the first and third ships, and Vosper Thornycroft was to build the second. By the end of 2010, all six Type 45 destroyers had been launched, by 2012, all destroyers were structurally complete and the production lines had been closed. Duncan, the last of the Type 45 destroyers, was commissioned at Portsmouth Naval Base on 26 September 2013, the Daring class are the largest escorts ever built for the Royal Navy in terms of displacement
32.
HMS Duncan (D37)
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HMS Duncan is the sixth and last of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. Duncan is named after Adam Duncan, Viscount Duncan of Camperdown, duncans construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships yards at Govan and Scotstoun on the River Clyde in 2006. She was launched from Govan on 11 October 2010, on the 213th anniversary of the Battle of Camperdown, Duncan sailed from Scotstoun shipyard, Glasgow on 31 August 2012 to commence sea trials. Duncan, the sixth and last type 45 destroyer, was commissioned on 26 September 2013 and she entered service on 30 December 2013,4 months ahead of schedule, after a period of trials and training. On 2 March 2015, Duncan left HMNB Portsmouth on her deployment to the Mediterranean. On 7 July 2015, Duncan joined up with the U. S. Navy Carrier Strike Group Twelve to strike the Islamic State of Iraq, in April 2016, HMS Duncan was one of several Royal Navy ships exercising with the French Navy in Exercise Griffin Strike. In November, while sailing off the coast of England, Duncan suffered a total failure and was towed back to Plymouth. In 2014, the Royal Navy website stated that Duncan would be the first Type 45 destroyer to be armed with the Harpoon anti-ship missile system, on 2 March 2015, Duncan left Portsmouth armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles
33.
Albania
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Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a population of 3.03 million as of 2016, Tirana is the nations capital and largest city, followed by Durrës and Vlorë. The country has a coastline on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west. Albania is less than 72 km from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. In antiquity, the area of Albania was home to several Illyrian, Thracian. After the Illyrian Wars, it part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. In 1190, the first Albanian state, the Principality of Arbanon was established by archon Progon in the region of Krujë, the territory of Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, of which it remained part of for the next five centuries. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, following the Balkan Wars, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist Peoples Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Albania experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established, Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the economy, followed by the industrial. After the fall of communism in Albania, Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy, Albania has a high HDI and provides universal health care system and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and it is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Albania is one of the members of the Energy Community, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is home to the largest lake in Southern Europe and one of the oldest lakes in Europe, Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country. The name may have a continuation in the name of a settlement called Albanon and Arbanon. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni, Albanians today call their country Shqipëri. As early as the 17th century the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria, the two terms are popularly interpreted as Land of the Eagles and Children of the Eagles
34.
Edi Rama
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Edi Kristaq Rama is an Albanian politician, artist, writer, and the current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013. He has also been leader of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005, Rama served in the government as Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports from 1998 to 2000, and he was Mayor of Tirana from 2000 to 2011. He led a coalition of socialist and left-wing parties that won the June 2013 parliamentary election, Rama was born in Tirana to Kristaq Rama, a sculptor and native of Durrës, and Aneta Rama, a graduate in medicine from Vuno. Kristaq Rama was member of the Presidium. Edi Rama is a relative of late communist politician Spiro Koleka through his mother. ”As a teenager, Rama became involved in sports by becoming a player of Dinamo, a basketball team. Following the collapse of communism in Albania, he involved with the first democratic movements. He entered the student movement but soon left after a quarrel over ideological matters, meanwhile, while a professor at the Academy of Arts of Albania, Rama published a book with various notes together with publicist Ardian Klosi entitled Refleksione. He also became engaged – and later married – to actress Matilda Makoçi, with whom he had a son and he separated from Makoçi and in 1994 emigrated abroad. Upon arriving in France, he conducted the life of an artist by taking part in exhibitions with his close friend Anri Sala. In January 1997, during one of his trips back to Albania he was physically assaulted, in 1998, Rama was asked by Prime Minister Fatos Nano to become Minister of Culture. He accepted and immediately known for his extravagance in a variety of ways. In October 2000, he entered and won the race for the Tirana mayorship as a Socialist Party candidate against writer Besnik Mustafaj. After taking office, he undertook a campaign to return many portions of Tiranas center. In 2003, he appeared before the Albanian parliament in a commission on abuse of funds in the Municipality of Tirana. During the session, he was seen speaking using a loudspeaker, the commission was eventually closed and Rama acquitted. Also in 2003, he won a term by defeating lawyer Spartak Ngjela. During the later campaign, his rivals published some photos of Rama in intimate poses on a nudist beach in southern France, in October 2005, Rama became the leader of the Socialist Party following the resignation of Fatos Nano. As mayor he compiled the Tirana City Master Plan including the Skanderbeg Square project, in 2010, Rama married Lindita Basha, a civil society activist
35.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
36.
Elio Di Rupo
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Elio Di Rupo is a Belgian social-democratic politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 6 December 2011 to 11 October 2014, Di Rupo was the first francophone to hold the office since Paul Vanden Boeynants in 1979, as well as the countrys first socialist Prime Minister since Edmond Leburton left office in 1974. He was also Belgiums first Prime Minister of non-Belgian descent as well as the second openly gay head of government in modern times. Di Rupo is the son of two Italian immigrants and his father was born in San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore. Elio, who was born in the town of Morlanwelz, in Wallonia, was the only one of the children to be born in Belgium. When he was one old, his father died in a car crash. Due to the financial state of his family, three of his brothers were raised in a nearby orphanage. When he was 12, he attended boarding school, due to medical issues, Di Rupo had to re-do his first year of high school twice, but eventually excelled in science at the end of his high school years. This led him to pursue a degree in chemistry at the University of Mons, Di Rupo came in contact with the socialist movement for the first time during his studies in Mons, where he first obtained a masters degree and afterwards a PhD in chemistry. He went during the preparation of his doctorate to the University of Leeds and he started his political career as an attaché at the cabinet of Jean-Maurice Dehousse in 1980–81. His first political mandate came in 1982, when he was Councillor of Mons, in 1986, he was mayor of health, urban renewal and social affairs. He is a deputy for the Arrondissement of Mons in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and he once described François Mitterrand as being a character from a novel. In 2000, he became the mayor of Mons, which is the capital of the province of Hainaut, in 1987, he got his national political breakthrough. He was elected as member of the Chamber of Deputies and went two years later for a time to the European Parliament. In 1991, Di Rupo was chosen as a senator, but shortly afterwards, he took in the French-speaking community his first ministerial function in Education, following the elections in 1995, he remained the Vice-Prime Minister of Belgium and was appointed minister of Economics and Telecommunications. In 1995 he signed the merger of the Belgian airline Sabena with Swiss Air that eventually led to the bankruptcy of Sabena with thousands of unemployed employees as result. In 1996, at the time of the Dutroux affair, Olivier Trusgnach and this accusation could have meant the end of his political career. Di Rupo denied the accusations and an investigation showed that he was completely innocent
37.
Bulgaria
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Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, with a territory of 110,994 square kilometres, Bulgaria is Europes 16th-largest country. Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period and its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and Huns. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State, the following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc, in December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgarias transition into a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgarias population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised, most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are industry, power engineering. The countrys current political structure dates to the adoption of a constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative. Human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria can be traced back to the Paleolithic, animal bones incised with man-made markings from Kozarnika cave are assumed to be the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in humans. Organised prehistoric societies in Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture, Vinča culture, the latter is credited with inventing gold working and exploitation. Some of these first gold smelters produced the coins, weapons and jewellery of the Varna Necropolis treasure and this site also offers insights for understanding the social hierarchy of the earliest European societies. Thracians, one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians, began appearing in the region during the Iron Age. In the late 6th century BC, the Persians conquered most of present-day Bulgaria, and kept it until 479 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in the 5th century the area fell under Byzantine control, by this time, Christianity had already spread in the region. A small Gothic community in Nicopolis ad Istrum produced the first Germanic language book in the 4th century, the first Christian monastery in Europe was established around the same time by Saint Athanasius in central Bulgaria. From the 6th century the easternmost South Slavs gradually settled in the region, in 680 Bulgar tribes under the leadership of Asparukh moved south across the Danube and settled in the area between the lower Danube and the Balkan, establishing their capital at Pliska
38.
Rosen Plevneliev
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Rosen Asenov Plevneliev is a Bulgarian politician who was President of Bulgaria from January 2012 to January 2017. He was the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works from July 2009 to September 2011 as part of the cabinet of Boyko Borisov, in October 2011, Plevneliev was elected as President in a second round of voting, he was inaugurated on 18 January 2012. Rosen Plevneliev was born in Gotse Delchev and his mother, Slavka Plevnelieva, was a teacher, and his father, Asen Plevneliev, was an activist of the Communist Party. He relocated to Blagoevgrad alongside his parents when he turned 10 years old and his family descended from Bulgarian refugees from southern Macedonia who resettled from todays village of Petrousa in the municipality of Prosotsani in Drama regional unit, Greek Macedonia, in 1913. The Plevneliev family name refers to the Bulgarian name of the village Petroussa, Plevneliev studied at Blagoevgrad Mathematical and Natural Sciences High School, from which he graduated in 1982. In 1989 he graduated from the Higher Mechanical-Electrotechnical Institute, Sofia, while studying in the university, he was a Komsomol member of the Bulgarian Communist Party. After the political changes, in 1990, Plevneliev started a building company in Bulgaria. Among other projects, the built the Sofia Business Park. He is married to the journalist Yuliyana Plevnelieva and they have had three sons, Filip, Asen and Pavel, one of the sons, Filip, died in 2015 at the age of 14. His hobbies were underwater diving and football, in addition to his native Bulgarian, he speaks English and German. Plevneliev became Minister of Regional Development and Public Works under Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov on 27 July 2009 and he was announced as GERBs candidate for President of Bulgaria on 4 September 2011. He subsequently won the election in a second round held on 30 October 2011. He defeated Ivaylo Kalfin from the Bulgarian Socialist Party in the second round and he took the presidential oath on 19 January 2012 and officially took over from his predecessor Georgi Parvanov on 22 January 2012. As a result of the 2013 Bulgarian protests against monopoly and high electricity prices, Plevneliev advocates for closer relations between Bulgaria and the Peoples Republic of China. Plevneliev has frequently criticized the policy in the UK set by the former Prime Minister. By appointing the Bliznashki Government on 6 August 2014, Plevneliev has become the first President of Bulgaria to appoint more than one caretaker government, in January 2014 the tax authorities launched an investigation on President Rosen Plevneliev and his relatives. This action was perceived as politically motivated assault by the Oresharski Government, other reformist members of the Boyko Borisov government were also subject to such investigations
39.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
40.
Croatia
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Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a sovereign state between Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which one of the countrys primary subdivisions. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres and has diverse, mostly continental, Croatias Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The countrys population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, the Croats arrived in the area of present-day Croatia during the early part of the 7th century AD. They organised the state into two duchies by the 9th century, tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Petar Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the unrecognized State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which seceded from Austria-Hungary, a fascist Croatian puppet state backed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany existed during World War II. After the war, Croatia became a member and a federal constituent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991 Croatia declared independence, which came wholly into effect on 8 October of the same year, the Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration. A unitary state, Croatia is a republic governed under a parliamentary system, the International Monetary Fund classified Croatia as an emerging and developing economy, and the World Bank identified it as a high-income economy. Croatia is a member of the European Union, United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization, the service sector dominates Croatias economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue during the summer, with Croatia ranked the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world, the state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The European Union is Croatias most important trading partner, since 2000, the Croatian government constantly invests in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors. Internal sources produce a significant portion of energy in Croatia, the rest is imported, the origin of the name is uncertain, but is thought to be a Gothic or Indo-Aryan term assigned to a Slavic tribe. The oldest preserved record of the Croatian ethnonym *xъrvatъ is of variable stem, the first attestation of the Latin term is attributed to a charter of Duke Trpimir from the year 852. The original is lost, and just a 1568 copy is preserved—leading to doubts over the authenticity of the claim, the oldest preserved stone inscription is the 9th-century Branimir Inscription, where Duke Branimir is styled as Dux Cruatorvm. The inscription is not believed to be dated accurately, but is likely to be from during the period of 879–892, the area known as Croatia today was inhabited throughout the prehistoric period
41.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
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Helle Thorning-Schmidt
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Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a former Danish politician who was Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and the Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to hold either post, following defeat in 2015, she announced that she would step down as both Danish Prime Minister and Social Democratic party leader. Ending her political career in April 2016, she is the executive of the NGO Save the Children. Thorning-Schmidt served as a Member of the European Parliament for Denmark from 1999 to 2004 before being elected to the Danish Parliament in 2005, Thorning-Schmidt holds degrees in political science from the University of Copenhagen and a graduate degree from the College of Europe. Helle Thorning-Schmidt was born in Rødovre to Holger Thorning-Schmidt, a lecturer in mathematics and national economics at the University of Copenhagen and her father was politically conservative and she grew up in the Copenhagen suburb of Ishøj. She attended Ishøj Gymnasium from which she graduated in 1985 and her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. Thorning-Schmidt studied political science at University of Copenhagen, earning a cand. scient. pol and she also holds a masters degree in European studies specialising in policy and public administration from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, where she studied from 1992 to 1993. At the time, Denmark had a quota administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of one student at this prestigious institution, in addition to her native Danish, she speaks fluent English and French. She became a social democrat during her studies in Belgium and joined the Social Democratic Party in 1993, from 1994 to 1997, Thorning-Schmidt led the secretariat of the Danish delegation of Social Democrats in the European Parliament. After her time in Brussels she worked as a consultant with the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions until being elected MEP in 1999. Thorning-Schmidt was elected to the European Parliament as a member of the Party of European Socialists, during the five-year term, she was a member of the Employment and Social Committee and served as a substitute on the Constitutional Committee. She co-founded the Campaign for Parliament Reform, in the 2005 Danish parliamentary election Thorning-Schmidt was elected to the Folketing. In his speech of resignation on election night,8 February 2005, Thorning-Schmidt campaigned for the party leadership as a moderate candidate and was elected by the party members on 12 April 2005, ahead of the other candidate, Frank Jensen. She led the Social Democrats in the 2007 election, in which her party suffered modest losses and was forced into a term in opposition. The party was unable to regain its position as the largest party in the Folketing. She was against holding a referendum on the European Reform Treaty, during her 2007 campaign she promised to relax restrictions on asylum seekers and immigrants. She also opposed tax cuts announced by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, instead stating she would like to see more funding for welfare. The party also campaigned on a platform of combating increased inequalities in society, although her party again lost two seats in the 2007 election reducing the total to 45 seats, her leadership was not questioned by her party
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Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
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Albania – Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati
Belgium – Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders
Bulgaria – Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Mitov
France – Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius
Germany – Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Italy – Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini[26]
Norway – Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende
Spain – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José García-Margallo y Marfil
United Kingdom – Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary Philip Hammond
United States – Secretary of State John Kerry
