1.
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Turkey)
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey is the government minister who heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is a member of the Cabinet of Turkey. The office was established in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence, the incumbent officeholder is Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who took office on 24 November 2015 after Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu formed his third government. Before the establishment of the Turkish Republic, foreign affairs were handled by the Reis-ül Küttap of the Ottoman Empire until the 19th century,1154 in 1927 laying down the legal functions of the Foreign Ministry. The Turkish diplomatic service was expanded after the Second World War despite ASALA terrorist attacks against Turkish diplomats occurring in the 1970s. Since the office was established in 1920, there have been 43 Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister of Turkey as part of his or her cabinet, after which the President of Turkey validates the appointment of the minister. The minister is usually a Member of Parliament, though Prime Ministers reserve the right to appoint ministers from outside parliament if they see fit, a notable example was the appointment of Ahmet Davutoğlu as foreign minister in 2009 despite not being an MP. Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign policy of the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan government Neo-Ottomanism Biography of the Minister
2.
Minister of European Union Affairs (Turkey)
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The position was formed on 29 June 2011 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won a third term in the 2011 general election. So far, there have been three ministers of European Union Affairs, the Minister concurrently serves as the chief negotiator during accession talks with the EU. The ministry was established after the governing Justice and Development Party won a term in the general election of 2011. Previously, European Union negotiations were handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, since 29 June 2011, five Ministers have been responsible for this department. Minister of Foreign Affairs Biography of the Minister
3.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
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The Assembly held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, making it one of the oldest international assemblies in Europe. In general the Assembly meets four times per year in Strasbourg at the Palace of Europe for week-long plenary sessions, the nine permanent committees of the Assembly meet all year long to prepare reports and draft resolutions in their respective fields of expertise. The Assembly sets its own agenda, but its debates and reports are primarily focused on defending human rights, promoting democracy, protecting minorities and upholding the rule of law. Judges of the European Court of Human Rights are elected by PACE from a list of three candidates nominated by member state which has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. As a result, around one third of the current bench of 47 judges are women, the Assembly has a total of 636 members –318 principal members and 318 substitutes – who are appointed or elected by the parliaments of each member state. Delegations must reflect the balance in the parliament, so contain members of both ruling parties and oppositions. The population of each country determines its number of representatives and number of votes and this is in contrast to the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europes executive body, where each country has one vote. The special guest status of the National Assembly of Belarus was suspended on 13 January 1997, parliaments with Partner for Democracy status pledge to work towards certain basic values of the Council of Europe, and agree to occasional assessments of their progress. In return, they are able to send delegations to take part in the work of the Assembly and its committees, the Assembly has five political groups. The official languages of the Council of Europe are English and French, in 2015 he was re-elected for a second five-year term, which began in February 2016. However, the Russian delegation remained members of the Assembly, the sanction applied throughout the remainder of the 2014 session and was renewed for a full year in January 2015, lapsing in January 2016. It did so again in January 2017, leaving empty seats in the Assembly for a further year, the sanctions applied only to Russian parliamentarians in PACE, the Council of Europes parliamentary body. Russia continues to be a member of the Council of Europe, and retains full rights in the organisations other bodies, including its statutory executive body. According to the report, said member states also hire lobbyists to fend off criticism of their human rights records, German news magazine Der Spiegel had earlier revealed details about the strategies of Azerbaijan’s government to influence the voting behaviour of selected members of the Parliamentary Assembly. Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Le Conseil de lEurope, Jean-Louis Burban, publisher PUF, collection « Que sais-je. », n°885
4.
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
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The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence. The parliament was fundamental in the efforts of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey has had a history of parliamentary government before the establishment of the current national parliament. There were two parliamentary governments during the Ottoman period in what is now Turkey, the First Constitutional Era lasted for only two years, elections being held only twice. The Second Constitutional Era is considered to have begun on 23 July 1908, freedom to hold meetings and establish political parties was recognized, and the government was held responsible to the assembly, not to the sultan. During the two eras of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman parliament was called the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire and was bicameral. The upper house was the Senate of the Ottoman Empire, the members of which were selected by the sultan, the lower chamber of the General Assembly was the Chamber of Deputies of the Ottoman Empire, the members of which were elected by the general public. After World War I, the victorious Allied Powers sought the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire through the Treaty of Sèvres, the political existence of the Turkish nation was to be completely eliminated under these plans, except for a small region. Nationalist Turkish sentiment rose in the Anatolian peninsula, engendering the establishment of the Turkish national movement, the political developments during this period have made a lasting impact which continues to affect the character of the Turkish nation. The Sultanate was abolished by the newly founded parliament in 1922 and he also stated that the members of the dispersed Ottoman Chamber of Deputies could also participate in the assembly in Ankara, to increase the representative power of the parliament. These elections were held as planned, in the style of the elections of the preceding Chamber of Deputies and this Grand National Assembly, established on national sovereignty, held its inaugural session on 23 April 1920. From this date until the end of the Turkish War of Independence in 1923, the Liberal Party was dissolved on 17 November 1930 and no further attempt at a multiparty democracy was made until 1945. The multi-party period in Turkey was resumed by the founding of the National Development Party, by Nuri Demirağ, under the constitution of 1961, the Grand National Assembly was a bicameral parliament with over 600 members, the newly established upper house being the Senate of the Republic. Following the 1980 military coup, the Senate was dissolved and the Turkish parliament again became unicameral under the current constitution approved in a referendum in 1982. To avoid a hung parliament and its political fragmentation, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote to qualify for representation in the parliament. As a result of this threshold, only two won seats in the legislature after the 2002 elections and three in 2007. The 2002 elections saw every party represented in the previous parliament ejected from the chamber and this rather high threshold has been internationally criticised, but a complaint with the European Court for Human Rights was turned down
5.
Turkish general election, November 2015
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The Turkish general election of November 2015 was held on 1 November 2015 throughout the 85 electoral districts of Turkey to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. It was the 25th general election in the History of the Republic of Turkey, the election resulted in the Justice and Development Party regaining a Parliamentary majority following a shock victory, having lost it five months earlier in the June 2015 general election. The snap election was called by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 24 August 2015 after the June election resulted in a hung parliament and coalition negotiations broke down. The election rendered the 25th Parliament of Turkey, elected in June, the election was preceded by the deadliest terrorist attack in Turkeys modern history, after two suicide bombers killed 102 people attending a peace rally in central Ankara. Numerous political parties, notably the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, Fehmi Demir, the leader of the Rights and Freedoms Party, was killed in a traffic accident six days before the election. With 49. 5% of the vote and 317 seats, the party won a majority of 84. The results were seen as a shock win for the AKP and was hailed as a massive personal victory for President Erdoğan. The MHP and the HDP both saw decreases in support, with both hovering dangerously close to the 10% election threshold needed to win seats, Turkish politics is largely dominated by four main parties. The main opposition Republican Peoples Party has remained as the second largest party since 2002, observing a centre-left social democratic, the Nationalist Movement Party observes a Turkish nationalist ideology and has maintained third party status in Parliament since the 2007 general election. The Peoples Democratic Party was founded in 2012 and originates from the left-wing Peoples Democratic Congress and it is largely seen as a pro-Kurdish party and maintains an ideology of minority rights and anti-capitalism. All four parties surpassed the 10% election threshold in the June 2015 general election and won representation in Parliament, Elections were held on 7 June 2015 in order to elect the 25th Parliament of Turkey, following the expiry of the 24th Parliaments four-year term. Suffering a 9% decrease in their share, the governing AKP won 258 out of the 550 seats,18 seats short of a majority. The CHP also suffered a decrease in their vote and seat share. The MHP and the HDP both won 80 seats, with the HDP managing to surpass the 10% election threshold despite concerns that it could fall below the boundary, the election resulted in the first hung parliament since the 1999 general election. The election result immediately raised speculation over a general election. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan invited AKP leader Ahmet Davutoğlu to form a government on 9 July 2015, if a government was not formed within 45 days, then Erdoğan reserved the right to either extend the 45-day period or call an early election. After being asked to form a government by virtue of leading the largest party in Parliament, the CHP had previously made it a condition that any coalition deal should last for four years, the entire duration of the parliamentary term. Stating that early elections were the most likely possibility, Davutoğlu requested a meeting with MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli in a attempt to form an AKP-MHP coalition
6.
Turkish general election, 2002
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The 15th Turkish general election was held on 3 November 2002 following the collapse of the DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition led by Bülent Ecevit. It was the 15th general election to be held in Turkey, all 550 members of the Grand National Assembly were up for election. The Justice and Development Party, which had only formed in 2001 by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The protest vote was such that every sitting party previously represented in parliament was ejected, the only other party which passed the 10% threshold to gain representation was the Republican Peoples Party, which came second with 19. 38% of the vote and 178 seats. The election produced Turkeys first single party government since 1987 and the countrys first two-party parliament since 1960, the moderate Islamism advocated by the AKP was at odds with the secular establishment of the Republic of Turkey. While serving as the Mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan was sentenced to a 10 month prison term in 1998 for reciting a poem in Siirt which incited racial intolerance. This barred him from seeking a seat in parliament, meaning that the AKPs co-founder Abdullah Gül became Prime Minister following their election victory. With the help of the CHP, the government overturned Erdoğans political ban in 2003, Erdoğan became Prime Minister in March 2003, with Abdullah Gül concurrently assuming the role of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Voting ended in the countrys 32 eastern provinces at 3pm, having begun an hour earlier in morning, although the AKPs victory was indisputable, Erdoğans appointment as prime minister was delayed owing to his previous criminal conviction, which prevented him from standing for parliament. The result prompted the resignations of several prominent figures in Turkish politics, Mesut Yılmaz. He was succeeded by Ali Talip Özdemir Tansu Çiller, former minister and leader of the True Path Party. Çiller was succeeded by her former interior minister, Mehmet Ağar, devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party and senior coalition partner in the outgoing government. His resignation was not accepted by his partys central committee, outgoing prime minister Bülent Ecevit was widely expected to resign as leader of his Democratic Left party, but did not end up leaving until a party conference in 2004
7.
Turkish general election, 2007
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The Turkish general election of 2007 was held on July 22,2007 to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. The election was the 22nd general election to be held in the history of the Turkish Republic, originally scheduled for November, the elections were pulled forward after Parliament failed to elect a new president to replace Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The result was a victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party. The partys leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was consequently re-elected as Prime Minister of Turkey, the opposition Republican Peoples Party came second with 20. 9% of the vote and took 112 seats. Originally due to be held in November, the election was called early after the 2007 presidential election resulted in parliamentary deadlock, the controversy was largely caused due to the Turkish Presidencys symbolic role in safeguarding secularism. As required by the constitution, an early general election was called for 22 July 2007. Over 42 million people were eligible to vote in the election, According to a recent change in election law, the minimum age for candidates for parliament was reduced from 30 to 25. But due to the fact that laws do not take effect for one year after passage, Turkey, NATO, UN, United States and EU recognizes the Kurdistan Workers Party as a terrorist organization. With the exception of DTP all candidates in Van and Hakkari from CHP, MHP, DYP and AKP must annul themselves and our people must demonstrate their kurdishness in the elections. If any different approach develops, our approach will also be different, whoever continues the activities we mentioned here will be punished. Who ever damages our movement or our party will not be forgiven in any way and they should know that they are facing death According to Turkish election laws, a party must gain at least 10% of national vote to be represented in the Grand Assembly. Ostensibly, this law is aimed at preventing a highly fragmented parliament, many parties that failed to cross this threshold in the last election will seek a return to Parliament. As the 10% threshold requirement only holds for political parties, to bypass this requirement, on 13 May DTP announced that if they wanted to, they could lock up the elections by putting in five to ten thousand independent candidates. The next day in a statement, the Supreme Election Committee responded to DTPs threat by stating there is no issue. In a statement regarding some of the candidates in prison, DTP leader Türk said that hundreds of people support them, even though some are associated with murder cases. DTP leader Türk said, DTP took the decision to show people as candidates because Kurdish people see Ankara. Erdoğan, it is said, wants to divert the attention of the voters from local issues to theoretical and ideological ones by making the election a platform for the Presidential election, the capacity of Turkish higher educational institutions falls short compared to the number of high school graduates. The Higher Education Council is responsible from the planning, implementation and accreditation of higher education in Turkey, the Higher Education Council limits the number of the available educational institutions based on the available educators in the public sector
8.
Turkish general election, 2011
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Turkeys 17th general election was held on 12 June 2011 to elect 550 new members of Grand National Assembly. In accordance to the result of the referendum held in 2007. This represented an increase of 3. 2% since the 2007 general election, the Republican Peoples Party also saw an increase in its popular vote share, receiving 26. 0% and 135 MPs. The Nationalist Movement Party won 13. 0% and 53 MPs, the election was the first to be contested by the CHPs new leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who replaced Deniz Baykal as leader in 2010. The election was marred by violence originating mainly from the Kurdistan Workers Party, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union, emboldened by the 2010 constitutional referendum, AKP leaders said they would create a new constitution after the 2011 elections. On March 3,2011, Parliament approved a ruling party proposal to set June 12 as the date for the general elections, the proposal was submitted by the ruling Justice and Development Party on February 21 and was approved unanimously in the Parliaments General Assembly. In its proposal, the AKP pointed to the appropriateness of June 12 as the election date considering the June dates for the placement test for high schools, seeking high voter turnout, the heat during the summer was also considered during the choice of date. In accordance with a law approved by Parliament last year that changes to Turkeys election laws, Turkish voters encountered some new rules. The changes sought to bring Turkish election campaign regulations up to European standards, the age for parliamentary eligibility was reduced from 30 to 25. Wooden ballot boxes were replaced by new ballot boxes made out of plastic that were transparent, shatterproof. Voting booths were upgraded to a stronger, safer, and more portable model, voting envelopes were made larger and had different colors for each matter that was being voted upon. Campaigning was now allowed until two hours after sunset, under the previous law, campaigning after sundown was forbidden. Citizens were able to vote without official identification as long as they could provide their identity number, anyone who prevented someone from casting their vote would receive three to five years in prison. Turkish voters living abroad will have to wait for election to be able to cast their votes in the countries in which they are residing due to the inability to institute electronic voting. Turkish voters abroad thus needed to cast their votes at customs gates, the number of MPs by province was redistributed according to the most recent population data. The number of deputies in Parliament for Istanbul was increased by 15, ankaras two regions yielded 15 and 16 deputies. Istanbul, made up of three regions, elected 30,27 and 28 deputies, İzmir, with two regions, elected 13 deputies each from both regions. Some of them decided to participate in the elections as independent, on April 19,2011, the Supreme Election Board announced that ÖDP and YP could not join the June 12 general elections as they could not hand out their necessary documents on time
9.
Alanya
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As of Turkeys 2010 Census, the city had a population of 98,627, while the district that includes the city and its built-up region had an area of 1,598.51 km2 and 248,286 inhabitants. Alanyas greatest political importance came in the Middle Ages, with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm under the rule of Alaeddin Kayqubad I and his building campaign resulted in many of the citys landmarks, such as the Kızıl Kule, Tersane, and Alanya Castle. Tourism has risen since 1958 to become the dominant industry in the city, warm-weather sporting events and cultural festivals take place annually in Alanya. In 2014 Mayor Adem Murat Yücel, of the Nationalist Movement Party unseated Hasan Sipahioğlu, of the Justice and Development Party, the city has changed hands many times over the centuries, and its name has reflected this. Alanya was known in Latin as Coracesium or in Greek as Korakesion from the Luwian Korakassa meaning point/protruding city, the Roman Catholic Church still recognizes the Latin name as a titular see in its hierarchy. Under the Byzantine Empire it become known as Kalonoros or Kalon Oros, the Seljuks renamed the city Alaiye, a derivative of the Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad Is name. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Italian traders called the city Candelore or Cardelloro, in his 1935 visit, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk finalized the name in the new alphabet as Alanya, changing the i and e in Alaiye, reportedly because of a misspelled telegram in 1933. A Phoenician language tablet found in the dates to 625 BC, and the city is specifically mentioned in the 4th-century BC Greek geography manuscript. The castle rock was likely inhabited under the Hittites and the Achaemenid Empire, Alexanders successors left the area to one of the competing Macedonian generals, Ptolemy I Soter, after Alexanders death in 323 BC. His dynasty maintained control over the mainly Isaurian population. The city resisted Antiochus III the Great of the neighboring Seleucid kingdom in 199 BC and his rival Antiochus VII Sidetes completed work in 137 BC on a new castle and port, begun under Diodotus. The period of piracy in Alanya finally ended after the incorporation into the Pamphylia province by Pompey in 67 BC. Isaurian banditry remained an issue under the Romans, and the tribes revolted in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, with the spread of Christianity Coracesium, as it was called, became a bishopric. Coracesium was a suffragan of the see of Side, the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia Prima. It continued to be mentioned in the Notitiae Episcopatuum as late as the 12th or 13th century, no longer a residential bishopric, Coracesium is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. Islam arrived in the 7th century with Arab raids, which led to the construction of new fortifications, the area fell from Byzantine control after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 to tribes of Seljuk Turks, only to be returned in 1120 by John II Komnenos. Seljuk rule saw the age of the city, and it can be considered the winter capital of their empire. Alaeddin Kayqubad I also constructed numerous gardens and pavilions outside the walls and these were likely financed by his own treasury and by the local emirs, and constructed by the contractor Abu Ali al-Kattani al-Halabi
10.
Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
11.
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
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The Justice and Development Party, abbreviated AKP in Turkish, is a conservative political party in Turkey. Developed from the tradition of moderate Islamism, the party is the largest in Turkey, the party held a majority of seats for 13 years, but lost it in June 2015, only to regain it in the snap election of November 2015. Its electoral success has been mirrored in the three elections held since the partys establishment, coming first in 2004,2009 and 2014 respectively. The current party leader Binali Yıldırım is the Prime Minister of Turkey, the party has for a long time been supported by the Cemaat Movement of exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, whose influence in the judiciary has helped to weaken the opposition against the AKP. Having been an observer in the center-right European Peoples Party since 2005, it left to join the eurosceptic Alliance of Conservatives. Since then, the party has brought about tighter regulations on use, abortion and alcohol consumption, having temporarily blocked access to Twitter. Especially after the government corruption scandal involving several AKP ministers in 2013, the AKP favours a strong centralized leadership, having long advocated a presidential system of government and significantly reduced the number of elected local government positions in 2013. The AK Party was established by a range of politicians of various political parties. The core of the party was formed from the reformist faction of the Islamist Virtue Party, including such as Abdullah Gül. A second founding group consisted of members of the social conservative Motherland Party who had close to Turgut Özal, such as Cemil Çiçek. Some members of the True Path Party, such as Hüseyin Çelik and Köksal Toptan, some members, such as Kürşad Tüzmen had nationalist or Ertuğrul Günay, had center-left backgrounds while representatives of the nascent Muslim left current were largely excluded. In addition a number of people joined a political party for the first time, such as Ali Babacan, Selma Aliye Kavaf, Egemen Bağış. All of these people joined Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to found the new party, although the party is described as an Islamist party in some media, party officials reject those claims. These characterizations do not reflect the truth, and they sadden us, Çelik added, The AK Party is a conservative democratic party. The AK Partys conservatism is limited to moral and social issues, also in a separate speech made in 2005, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated, We are not an Islamic party, and we also refuse labels such as Muslim-democrat. Erdoğan went on to say that the AK Partys agenda is limited to conservative democracy, however, the partys leadership has also rejected this label. In 2005, the party was granted membership in the European Peoples Party. In November 2013, the party left the EPP to join the Alliance of European Conservatives
12.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
13.
Ankara University
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Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education founded in the Turkish Republic. The university has 40 vocational programs,120 undergraduate programs and 110 graduate programs, Ankara University was founded by Atatürk. The Schools of Medicine and of Science were established in the 1940s, the Çankırı Faculty of Forestry and the Health Education Faculty were opened to education in 1996. Faculty of Fine Arts in 2015, Faculty of Applied Sciences in 2015. The Turkish and Foreign Languages Research and Application Center, TÖMER, was established in 1984, by 2014, TÖMER has reached 11 branches all over Turkey and the central office in Ankara. This list of languages constantly changes, construction of the observatory started in 1959. In 1963 it was opened at the International Astronomy Conference. Along with scientific activities the observatory holds educational events for children, school children, when important astronomical events are taking place the observatory gives access to the observations to the public. In order to support and develop the research Women research master programme was opened in 1996, Ankara University Small Entrepreneurship Research and Application Center runs research on problems connected to starting and maintaining small entrepreneurship activities. Ankara University Distance Education Center provides the opportunity of getting college or higher education as well as taking part in courses distantly, main attention is paid to research of MgB2, BSCCO and YBCO materials. It was founded in 1987, the year in which Turkey applied to the European Community for membership, the Ankara University Center of Earthquakes Research objective is to hold independent research of seismic activity in Ankara and its surroundings as well as in Turkey as a whole. Ankara University Psychiatric Crisis Research and Application Center was established on October 27,1987, the center organizes research in the sphere of psychiatric crises and their prevention, suicide and its prevention. PKUAM is an agent of World Health Organization. Ankara University Brain Research Center was founded on May 21,2009 and it organizes research and scientific events connected to the studies of human brain. Scientists from such fields as linguistics, psychiatry, neurology, physiology, Ankara University Latin American Research and Application Center was opened in 2009 and is engaged in research on economic, political, social and cultural issues taken place in Latin America. Researchers of the Center scrutinize Latin Americas development and analyze the possibility of implication of Latin American countries positive experience in Turkey, Ankara University Center of Research of Childs Culture was founded in 1994 by Prof. Dr. The center unites specialists from the spheres of psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, communication, health, Ankara University Center of Research of South Eastern Europe was founded in 2009
14.
Long Island University
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Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education with locations and programs spanning the New York metropolitan area, overseas, and online. LIU has NCAA Division I and II athletics and hosts the annual George Polk Awards in Journalism. LIU was chartered in 1926 in Brooklyn by the New York State Education Department to provide “effective and moderately priced education” to people from walks of life. ”LIU Brooklyn is located in Downtown Brooklyn, at the corner of Flatbush. LIU Brooklyn is home to the NCAA Division I Blackbirds, the George Polk Awards for excellence in journalism, located in the town of Brookville on Long Islands Gold Coast, the original home, Warburton Hall, had been built by William A. Prime and was renovated by Marjorie and her second husband Edward F. Hutton. Three years later, the campus was renamed C. W. Post, in 2012, the university renamed all campuses. C. W. LIU Post is home to the NCAA Division II LIU Post Pioneers and Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. The school introduced its first online degree plan in 2004 On March 7,2013, LIU named Kimberly R. Cline as its 10th president, becoming the first woman to lead the private, six-campus institution. Dr. Cline outsourced the work of two groups of unionized workers on campus, and oversaw the lockout of 400 faculty on the day before the 2016-17 school year. In the first week of the term, some students at LIU Brooklyn staged a walkout in support of the locked-out teaching staff. With the 236 full-time faculty members and 450 adjuncts locked out, classes were taught by university administrators and temporary staff, the locked ended on September 14 with an agreement to continue the expired contract until May 31,2017 and resume negotiations with a mediator. LIU is administered by a president and board of trustees who elect the president, LIU Riverhead LIU Riverhead is home to the Homeland Security Management Institute, which offers homeland security training. The institute has been designated a Homeland Security Center of Excellence by the United States Congress, programs are also available in education, special education, literacy, communication studies, new media, cyber security, applied behavior analysis, and TESOL. The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds compete in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics, the LIU Post Pioneers compete in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics. The LIU Public Radio Network broadcasts on 88.3 FM and 88.1 FM, the LIU television broadcasts on channels 95 and 96 on campus only LIU Brooklyns student newspaper is Seawanhaka, and LIU Posts student newspaper is The Pioneer. List of Long Island University people Official website LIU Brooklyn athletics LIU Post athletics Seawanhaka The Pioneer
15.
Bilkent University
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Bilkent University, or Bilkent, is the first private university of Turkey, located in Ankara, with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. The name Bilkent exemplifies this aim, since it is an acronym of bilim kenti, west of the center of Ankara, and covers an area of more than 5000 acres. University consists of three campuses all next to each other, east campus has English preparation schools, some dormitories, CTIS, THM departments and middle campus has lodgings and FMPA, and the rest is Main campus. The university library has a collection of books with annual acquisitions valued at over 3 million U. S. dollars. Today, Bilkent University Library is the largest university library of Turkey, in addition to books, the collection includes periodical subscriptions, microforms, CD-ROMS, access to numerous online databases and electronic journals, DVD videos and audio/video cassettes. Music scores and sound recordings are available in the music rooms, various open private collections and an exhibition hall also take place in the library. Bilkent University Library is opening its doors to the students and faculty of the other universities, the computer automation system made for the use of Bilkent University Library is now being used by many other Turkish university libraries, again by permission of Bilkent University. Students can participate in sports courses and be trained by university staff. The university presents many individuals and teams in different sports in varsity competitions, the two most famous sport teams of the university are Bilkent Goats and Bilkent Judges, the ultimate team and the football team, respectively. Bilkent University claims to be a leader in music and performing arts in Turkey, the university also sponsors frequent lectures, art exhibitions, and literary evenings throughout the academic year. The board, and the members of the Bilkent Student Union are annually chosen among the students by the entire registered students of that academic year. Student Union is the sponsor and the organizer of the Mayfest. The student clubs organize regular activities every day in the campus, all students are allowed to join, or participate in the events and activities of any club they wish to. The business school has been ranked by Eduniversal among the best business schools of the Eurasia region for international influence, according to the QS - Top Universities Rankings of 2012 and 2013 the university lies on 151-200th rank in terms of Economics & Econometrics
16.
Antalya Province
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Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea. Antalya Province is the centre of Turkeys tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey and it was the worlds third most visited city by number of international arrivals in 2011, displacing New York. Antalya is Turkeys biggest international sea resort, the province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of ancient Pamphylia to the east and Lycia to the west. It features a shoreline of 657 km with beaches, ports, the provincial capital is Antalya city with a population of 1,001,318. Antalya is the province in Turkey, with a 4. 17% yearly population growth rate between years 1990–2000, compared with the national rate of 1. 83%. This growth is due to a fast rate of urbanization, particularly driven by tourism, the city and thus the province are named after Attalos II, king of Pergamon, who founded the city in the 2nd century BC. Antalya has been settled since pre-historic times, evidence of human habitation dating back to the early Paleolithic age years has been discovered in the Karain cave,30 km of the north of Antalya city. Other finds dating back to the Mesolithic, Neolithic and more recent periods show that the area has been populated by various civilizations throughout the ages, like their descendants, the Lukkans or Lycians were known for their seamanship and demonstrated a fiery independent spirit. Neither the Hittites, nor the Kingdom of Arzawa on the west coast, legends of Ancient Greece tell us that these communities grew into independent cities, the area as a whole came to be called Pamphylia. A federation of cities was set up. There are also tales of the migration of the Akha clan to the area after the Trojan war and eventually Greek settlements were built along the coast and inland. In the Hellenistic period, the parts of Antalya province were in Lycia, the east was in Pamphylia. Before the Ancient Roman conquest Lycia was a polity with the first democratic constitution in the world, Antalya was part of the Lydian kingdom from the 7th century BC until Lydia was defeated by the Persians during the battle of Sardis in 546 BC. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, a battle erupted between his generals that lasted until 188 BC. The reign of the kingdom of Pergamon began with the defeat of the Seleucid army at Apamea, shortly after this the city of Antalya was founded. When Attalos III, the last king of Pergamom, died in 133 BC he left his kingdom to the Ancient Romans, at this time the area is dominated by pirates based in small cities along the coast. During the mid-Byzantine era the city of Antalya grew beyond the city walls, from the 7th century Muslim Arabs started to be dominant in the Levant region and Antalya later played a part in the Christian Crusades against Islam. The army of Louis VII sailed from Antalya for Syria in 1148, in the late 11th and early 12th Century much of the area of the modern province fell to the Turks especially the Danishmends
17.
London School of Economics
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The London School of Economics is a public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LSE is located in Westminster, central London, near the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn, the area is historically known as Clare Market. The LSE has more than 10,000 students and 3,300 staff and it had a total income of £340.7 million in 2015/16, of which £30.3 million was from research grants. 155 nationalities are represented amongst LSEs student body and the school has the highest percentage of students of all British universities. Despite its name, the school is organised into 25 academic departments and institutes which conduct teaching and research across a range of legal studies, in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the School had the highest proportion of world-leading research among research submitted of any British non-specialist university. The LSE is usually considered part of the triangle of highly research-intensive universities in southeast England. It is a member of organisations such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association. LSE has produced notable alumni in the fields of law, history, economics, philosophy, business, literature, media. Alumni and staff include 52 past or present heads of state or government and 20 members of the current British House of Commons. To 2016, 27% of all the Nobel Prizes in Economics have been awarded or jointly awarded to LSE alumni, current staff or former staff, LSE alumni and staff have also won 3 Nobel Peace Prizes, and 2 Nobel Prizes in Literature. Out of all European universities, LSE has educated the most billionaires according to a 2014 global census of U. S dollar billionaires, LSE graduates earn higher incomes on average than those of any other British university. The London School of Economics was founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Hutchinson, a lawyer and member of the Fabian Society, left the money in trust, to be put towards advancing its objects in any way they deem advisable. The five trustees were Sidney Webb, Edward Pease, Constance Hutchinson, William de Mattos, LSE records that the proposal to establish the school was conceived during a breakfast meeting on 4 August 1894, between the Webbs, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw. The proposal was accepted by the trustees in February 1895 and LSE held its first classes in October of that year, in rooms at 9 John Street, Adelphi, in the City of Westminster. The School joined the federal University of London in 1900, and was recognised as a Faculty of Economics of the university, the University of London degrees of BSc and DSc were established in 1901, the first university degrees dedicated to the social sciences. Expanding rapidly over the years, the school moved initially to the nearby 10 Adelphi Terrace, then to Clare Market. The foundation stone of the Old Building, on Houghton Street, was laid by King George V in 1920, the 1930s economic debate between LSE and Cambridge is well known in academic circles. The dispute also concerned the question of the role
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Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
19.
Sergey Lavrov
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Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is a Russian diplomat, and is currently the Foreign Minister of Russia, in office since 2004. From 1994 to 2004, Lavrov was a Russian diplomat, Lavrov speaks Russian, English, French, Sinhala, and Dhivehi. Lavrov was born on 21 March 1950 in Moscow, to an Armenian father and his mother worked in the Soviet Ministry for Foreign Trade. Lavrov graduated from school with a silver medal. During his education at the MGIMO, Lavrov studied international relations, soon he learned Sinhalese, then the only official language of Sri Lanka, as well as Dhivehi, the official language of the Maldives. Moreover, Lavrov learned English and French, but has stated that he is unable to speak the French language fluently, after he was admitted to the university, Lavrov, along with other students, was sent for a month to build the Ostankino Tower. During his summer vacations, Lavrov also worked in Khakassia, Tuva, each semester Lavrov with his fellow students conducted drama performances, which were later presented on the main stage of the university. During the third year of his studies, Lavrov married, as per the rules of that time, a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations had to work for the Foreign Ministry for a certain amount of time. Lavrov was employed in the Soviet embassy in Sri Lanka as an advisor, at the time, the Soviet Union and Sri Lanka had close market and economic cooperation and the Soviet Union launched the production of natural rubber in the country. The Soviet embassy in Sri Lanka also maintained relations with the Maldives, the embassy in Sri Lanka employed only 24 diplomats. Lavrov was given the task of analysing the situation in the country. In addition, he gained the rank of an attaché. In 1976 Lavrov returned to Moscow and he worked as a third and second secretary in the Section for the International Economic Relations of the USSR. There he was involved in analytics and his also worked with various international organizations including the United Nations. In 1981, he was sent as an adviser to the Soviet mission at the United Nations in New York City. In 1988 Lavrov returned to Moscow and was named Deputy Chief of the Section of the International Economic Relations of the USSR, between 1990 and 1992 he worked as Director of the International Organization of the Soviet Foreign Ministry. In October 1990, Andrey Kozyrev, who led the control of the international organizations at the time, was named Foreign Minister of the Russian SFSR. In that year, the powers of the Soviet Foreign Ministry, until then the Russian SFSR had only a ceremonial role
20.
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
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The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe or commonly the Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europes decision-making body. It comprises the Foreign Affairs Ministers of all the member states, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Assembly, it is the guardian of the Councils fundamental values, and monitors member states compliance with their undertakings. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of each Council of Europe member state sits on the Committee of Ministers, in May 1951 the Committee of Ministers invited each member state to appoint a Permanent Representative who would be in constant touch with the organisation. All Permanent Representatives reside in Strasbourg and they are usually senior diplomats with ambassadorial rank, occasionally chargés daffaires. In 1952 the Committee of Ministers decided that each Minister could appoint a Deputy, the Ministers Deputies have the same decision-making powers as the Ministers. A Deputy is usually also the Permanent Representative of the member State, the second in rank in a delegation usually has the title Deputy Permanent Representative, not to be confused with Ministers Deputy. The Committee meets at ministerial level once a year, in May or in November, the meetings, known as sessions, are normally held in Strasbourg and usually last one full day or two half days. While the greater part of each session is devoted to political dialogue. Although the records of the sessions are confidential, a final communiqué is issued at the end of each meeting, the Ministers may also issue one or more declarations. Meetings of the Ministers Deputies are usually held in the Committee of Ministers meeting room once a week, the Deputies also meet several times a week in subsidiary groups. The Committee of Ministers has the authority to invite European States to become members of the Council of Europe and it may also suspend or terminate membership. The process of admission begins when the Committee of Ministers, having received an application for membership. The Assembly adopts an opinion which is published in the Assemblys texts adopted, if the Committee decides that a state can be admitted, it adopts a resolution inviting that state to become a member. The invitation specifies the number of seats that the state will have in the Assembly as well as its contribution to the budget, recently the invitations have included a number of conditions concerning the implementation of democratic reforms in the applicant state. Once invited, a state becomes a member by depositing, normally by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, once the European Union has attained full legal personality, it could also accede to the Council of Europe. So far, the European Community has only signed Council of Europe treaties, over 190 treaties have now been opened for signature. The text of any treaty is finalised when it is adopted by the Committee, under Article 20 of the Statute adoption of a treaty requires, a two-thirds majority of the representatives casting a vote, a majority of those entitled to vote. The same majorities are required to authorise the publication of any explanatory report, the Committee also fixes the date that the treaty will be opened for signature
21.
Congress of the Council of Europe
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The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-seven member states of the Council of Europe. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities assembly is constituted by 648 members which hold elective office representing over 200,000 authorities in different states. The present Congress of Local and Regional Authorities was established on 14 January 1994 with the Statutory Resolution 94 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. However, the history of the Congress reflects the already fifty-year history of the development of local and regional democracy in Europe, the Congress’ predecessor, the Conference of Local Authorities of Europe was first established at the Council of Europe in 1957. It held its first session on 12 January 1957 in Strasbourg presided by the prominent French statesman Jacques Chaban-Delmas, in 1979 it became the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. The Charter was opened for signature in October 1985 and has since been signed by all Council of Europe member states, the role of the Bureau as the executive body of the Congress was strengthened, and the adopted texts subject to a clearer and more concrete follow-up procedure. In the light of this reform, the Committee of Minister adopted a version of the Statutory Resolution. The Congress adopted its new Rules of Procedure in March 2012, in October 2012 it adopted its priorities 2013-2016. As political Assembly of local and regional elected representatives, the Congress is the voice of Europe’s 200,000 regions and it promotes the strengthening of local and regional democracy in all Council of Europe member States. The Congress carries out monitoring missions of the local and regional authorities in member states and prepares reports on the situation in the State concerned, the recommendations are then forwarded to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe which gives them the appropriate follow up whenever needed. It also observes local and regional elections, after an observation mission it drafts a report and a recommendation which are also submitted to the sessions for adoption. Furthermore, it prepares thematic reports which, together with a recommendation and/or a resolution, are debated during its sessions, as part of its monitoring of regional democracy in Europe, the Congress maintains a regular dialogue with member states of the Council of Europe. More information on dialogue with governments can be found here, the Chamber also handles social issues and supports the cooperation of European cities, such as intercultural dialogues, e-democracy, or multiculturalism. It promotes the principles of democracy outside Europe, inter alia through Euro-Arab dialogue between cities and Euro-Mediterranean co-operation. If necessary, the Chamber of Local Authorities can also require a member to write a report to a relevant question of his or her expertise, a list of the members of this Chamber can be found here. The Chamber of Regions consists of representatives of authorities that act between the local and central levels of government, the authority must have either self-governing or state-like powers. The Chamber of Regions meets twice a year during the sessions of the Congress, holds debates on issues such as the regionalisation in Europe. It deals with the role of regions within the states of the Congress, regional democracy, inter-regional cooperation and regional economy
22.
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
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The Republican Peoples Party is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of the Republic of Turkey and is currently the opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican Peoples Party describes itself as a modern social-democratic party, also, the party is cited as the founding party of modern Turkey. The political party was established during the Congress of Sivas in 1919 as a union of resistance groups against the invasion of Anatolia, the union represented Turkish people as a unified front during the Turkish War of Independence. On 9 September 1923, the Peoples Party officially declared itself as an organization and on October 29,1923. On 10 November 1924, the Peoples Party renamed itself to Republican Peoples Party as Turkey moved into a one-party period, during the one-party period, the CHP became the major political organisation of a one-party state. Both of which, however, were banned within a few months of their establishment by the state for veering too closely to Islamism and this experience was followed by the founding of the National Development Party by Nuri Demirağ in 1945. The current structure of the party was established within the transition to the multi-party period, after World War II, the leader of the CHP İsmet İnönü introduced democratic elections to Turkish society. Due to widespread dissatisfaction with the CHP in the four years after its victory in the first multi-party general election, celâl Bayar then replaced İnönü as President. During the interim multi-party periods in between the military coups of 1960,1971, and 1980, CHP is regarded as being social-democratic, state nationalistic and secular/laicist. The partys logo consists of the Six Arrows, which represent the principles of Kemalism, republicanism, nationalism, statism, populism, laïcité. The CHP, along all other political parties of the time, was closed down for a brief period by the military coup of 1980. An inheritor party which still participates in Turkish democratic life was established in 1984 by the name of the Democratic Left Party, created by the leader of CHP. CHP was finally re-established with its name on 9 September 1992. Nevertheless, the relationship between CHP and some trade unions, business chambers and most non-governmental organisations alienated many voters. The distance between the party administration and many leftist grassroots, especially left oriented Kurdish voters, contributed to the shift away from the political left. CHP urged the Socialist International to accept Republican Turkish Party of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an observer member, at the 2007 general election CHP ran in alliance with Democratic Left Party. CHP suffered a defeat, getting 7,300,234 votes
23.
Rotterdam
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Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands, located in South Holland, within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt river delta at the North Sea. Its history goes back to 1270 when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river by people settled around it for safety, in 1340 Rotterdam was granted city rights by the Count of Holland and slowly grew into a major logistic and economic centre. Nowadays it is home to Europes largest port and has a population of 633,471, ranking second in the Netherlands, just behind Amsterdam. The Greater Rijnmond area is home to approximately 1.4 million people, Rotterdam is part of the yet larger Randstad conurbation with a total population of 7,100,000. The city of Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, riverside setting, lively cultural life, the near-complete destruction of Rotterdams city centre during World War II has resulted in a varied architectural landscape including sky-scrapers, which are an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities. Rotterdam is home to some world-famous architecture from renowned architects like Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom, Ben van Berkel and others. Recently Rotterdam was listed eighth in The Rough Guide Top 10 Cities to Visit, the port of Rotterdam is the largest cargo port in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Rotterdams logistic success is based on its location on the North Sea. The rivers Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, the extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nickname Gateway to Europe, and, conversely, Gateway to the World in Europe. The settlement at the end of the fen stream Rotte dates from at least 900 CE. A dam on the Rotte or Rotterdam was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat, on 7 July 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland granted city rights to Rotterdam, which then had approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six chambers of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbor started to expand on the bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Château-style, is evidence of Rotterdams rapid growth, when completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m. During World War I the city was the worlds largest spy centre because of Dutch neutrality, many spies who were arrested and executed in Britain were led by German secret agents operating from Rotterdam. MI6 had its main European office on de Boompjes, from there the British coordinated espionage in Germany and occupied Belgium. In WWI an average of 25,000 Belgian refugees lived in the city, as well as hundreds of German deserters, during World War II, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, the Dutch army was finally forced to capitulate on 15 May 1940, following Hitlers bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May and threatening to bomb other Dutch cities
24.
Mark Rutte
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Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, and the Leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy since 31 May 2006. At the 2006 general election, the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, already under Rutte, lost six seats, and he became the opposition leader. At the following election in 2010, the VVD won the highest number of votes cast. After a long period, Rutte became Prime Minister and formed a Cabinet. When Rutte was sworn in on 14 October 2010, he became the first liberal Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 92 years, on 5 November 2012, the Second Rutte cabinet was installed by Queen Beatrix. Izaäk Rutte worked for a company, first as an importer in the Dutch East Indies. Rutte attended a high school from 1979 until 1985, specialising in the arts. Although Ruttes original ambition was to attend a conservatory and become a concert pianist, he went to study history at Leiden University instead, where he obtained a MA degree in 1992. Rutte combined his studies with a position on the board of the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy, after his studies, Rutte entered the business world, working as a manager for Unilever and Calvé. Until 1997, Rutte was part of the human resource department of Unilever, between 1997 and 2000, Rutte was staff manager for Van den Bergh Nederland, a subsidiary of Unilevers. In 2000, Rutte became a member of the Corporate Human Resources Group, between 1993 and 1997, Rutte was a member of the national board of the VVD. Rutte also served as a member of the VVD candidate committee for the election of 2002. Rutte was elected as Member of Parliament in 2003, Rutte served as Undersecretary in the Social Affairs and Employment ministry from 22 July 2002 to 17 June 2004 in the first and second Balkenende cabinets. Rutte was responsible for fields including bijstand and arbeidsomstandigheden, after the 2003 elections Rutte was briefly also a member of the House of Representatives, from 30 January to 27 May 2003. In office, Rutte showed particular interest in making the Dutch higher education system more competitive internationally, Rutte would have been succeeded by former The Hague alderman Bruno Bruins. Before Bruins could be sworn into office, the second Balkenende cabinet fell, in the subsequently formed third Balkenende cabinet Bruins succeeded Rutte as Undersecretary. Rutte resigned as Undersecretary in June 2006 to return to the House of Representatives, Rutte became an important figure within the VVD leadership. Rutte was campaign manager for the 2006 municipal elections, on 31 May 2006, it was announced that Mark Rutte would be the next front-runner of the VVD
