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Holyoake, Sir Keith Jacka

(Encyclopedia)Holyoake, Sir Keith Jacka hōˈlē-ōkˌ, hōlˈyōk [key], 1904–83, New Zealand statesman. A farmer, he was active in agricultural organizations in the 1930s and 40s. He entered Parliament in 1932....

Campbell, Kim

(Encyclopedia)Campbell, Kim (Avril Phaedra Campbell), 1947–, Canadian political leader, prime minister of Canada (1993), b. Port Alberni, British Columbia. A litigation lawyer and originally a member of the Socia...

Mečiar, Vladimír

(Encyclopedia)Mečiar, Vladimír, 1942–, Slovakian political leader. A member of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia, Mečiar was ousted in 1970 after having supported party reforms following the Warsaw Pact in...

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo

(Encyclopedia)Bandaranaike, Sirimavo sērēmäˈvō bändränīˈkē [key], 1916–2000, Sri Lankan political leader, b. Sirimavo Ratwatte. She and her husband, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, converted to Buddhism from ...

Fukuda, Yasuo

(Encyclopedia)Fukuda, Yasuo yäso͞oˈō fo͞oko͞oˈdä [key], 1936–, Japanese politician. Son of ex-prime minister (1976–78) Takeo Fukuda, he attended Waseda Univ. (grad. 1959) and worked for an oil company f...

Mahathir bin Mohamad

(Encyclopedia)Mahathir bin Mohamad mähäˈtĭr bĭn mōhämˈäd [key], 1925–, Malaysian political leader. A doctor by training, he first entered parliament in 1964 and rose in the United Malays National Organiz...

Medvedev, Dmitri Anatolyevich

(Encyclopedia)Medvedev, Dmitri Anatolyevich mĕdvyĕdˈyĕf [key], 1965–, Russian political leader, president of Russia (2008–12), b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). He earned a doctorate in law in 1990 and was...

Lee Kuan Yew

(Encyclopedia)Lee Kuan Yew lē kwän yo͞o, yü [key], 1923–2015, prime minister of Singapore (1959–90). Educated in England, he obtained a law degree from Cambridge Univ. in 1949 and in 1954 founded the modera...

Aso, Taro

(Encyclopedia)Aso, Taro täˈrō äˈsō [key], 1940–, Japanese politician, prime minister of Japan (2008–9). Grandson of Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida and son of a successful industrialist, he attended Gakush...

Samak Sundaravej

(Encyclopedia)Samak Sundaravej säˈmäk so͞ontärəwāˈ [key], 1935–2009, Thai political leader, prime minister of Thailand (2008), b. Bangkok. He earned a law degree from Thammasat Univ., Bangkok, then worked...