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Sucre

(Encyclopedia)Sucre, city (1992 pop. 131,769), S central Bolivia, constitutional capital of Bolivia and capital of Chuquisaca dept. Since 1898, La Paz has been the administrative capital of Bolivia and the seat of ...

Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Federation of

(Encyclopedia)Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Federation of, SE Africa, 1953–63, composed of the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The ca...

referendum

(Encyclopedia)referendum, referral of proposed laws or constitutional amendments to the electorate for final approval. This direct form of legislation, along with the initiative, was known in Greece and other early...

Prayuth Chan-ocha

(Encyclopedia)Prayuth Chan-ocha präyo͞otˈ chän-ōchäˈ [key], 1954–, Thai army officer and political leader. After training at the Royal Military Academy, he joined the Thai army in 1972, rising to become ch...

ephors

(Encyclopedia)ephors ĕfˈərz [key] [Gr.,=overseers], in ancient Greece, magistrates in several Dorian states. In Sparta they comprised an executive, legislative, and judicial board of five Spartan citizens. This ...

Couthon, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Couthon, Georges zhōrzh ko͞otôNˈ [key], 1755?–1794, French revolutionary. An able lawyer, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly (1791) and to the Convention (1792). He became (1793) an impo...

Family Compact, in Canadian history

(Encyclopedia)Family Compact, name popularly applied to a small, powerful group of men who dominated the government of Upper Canada (Ontario) from the closing years of the 18th cent. to the beginnings of responsibl...

Cambon, Pierre Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Cambon, Pierre Joseph pyĕr zhôzĕfˈ [key], b. 1754 or 1756, d. 1820, French financier and revolutionary. A merchant of Montpellier, he became a member of the Legislative Assembly and the Convention...

Cannon, Joseph Gurney

(Encyclopedia)Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836–1926, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1903–11), b. Guilford co., N.C. A lawyer in Illinois, Cannon served as a Republican in Congress from 1873 to 1923, e...

Iliescu, Ion

(Encyclopedia)Iliescu, Ion, 1930–, Romanian political leader, president of Romania (1990–96, 2000–2004). A member of the Communist party from 1953, he held a series of party posts before he was elected a memb...
 

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