targets
sequence | level
stringclasses 2
values | question
stringlengths 32
133
| idx
stringlengths 16
91
| context
stringlengths 899
129k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
[
"International Master"
] | easy | Which title was conferred to Ana Matnadze in 2006? | /wiki/Ana_Matnadze#P2962#0 | Ana Matnadze Ana Matnadze ( ; born 20 February 1983 ) is a Georgian-Spanish chess player . FIDE awarded her the titles Woman Grandmaster ( WGM ) , in 2002 , and International Master ( IM ) , in 2006 . Matnadze was European and world girls champion in her age category . Chess career . Matnadze was introduced to chess at the age of four by her mother . She was trained by Grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili , amongst others . She won the Georgian girls championship in her age group four times ( in 1992 , 1993 , 1994 and 1998 ) . She won the European Youth Chess Championships in her age girls group five times , in Băile Herculane 1994 , Verdun 1995 , Tallinn 1997 , Mureck 1998 , and Litochoro 1999 . Matnadze also won the World Youth Chess Championships twice , in the Girls U10 category in 1993 and in the Girls U14 in 1997 . Matnadze finished second , behind Regina Pokorná , in the European Junior Girls Championship in Patras 1999 , and third , behind Jovanka Houska and Viktorija Cmilyte , in Avilés 2000 . She jointly won the Black Sea Countries Womens Championship in Batumi 2000 . Together with Maia Lomineishvili , Matnadze jointly won the Georgian Womens Championship in April 2002 . In the same year , she won the European Womens Blitz Chess Championship in Antalya . She played for Georgian teams NTN Tbilisi and Energy-Investi Sakartvelo in the European Club Cup for Women five times from 2002 to 2006 . During that time she won two team gold medals and two individual silver ( in İzmir 2004 and Saint-Vincent 2005 ) , two team silver ( in Rethymno 2003 and Fügen 2006 ) , and the team bronze in Antalya 2002 . In June 2004 , she and Lela Javakhishvili published a letter to FIDE , in which they criticized various aspects of the Womens World Chess Championship 2004 , leading to a hostile dispute with FIDE Vice-President Zurab Azmaiparashvili . After initially cancelling her participation , Matnadze was later convinced to play in the event , but was eliminated by Olga Alexandrova in round one . Matnadze moved to Barcelona and won the Catalan Womens Championship in Balaguer in 2006 . She has been the womens champion of the Catalan Chess Circuit in 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . She won international tournaments in Mondariz-Balneario 2007 , Las Palmas 2009 , Tancat Sabadell ( Women ) 2010 , and Benidorm ( Women ) 2011 . In March 2012 , Matnadze transferred national federations to represent Spain . Since then she has played on the Spanish team in the Womens Chess Olympiad and in the Womens European Team Chess Championship . In 2018 , she won an individual bronze medal playing board three in the Womens Olympiad in Batumi . Matnadze also won individual medals at the Womens European Team Championship in 2013 ( silver on board three ) and 2017 ( bronze on board three ) . She is a trainer at the chess club Associació dEscacs Rubinenca in Barcelona , and in the InterAjedrez Academia . She plays in the teams Peona i Peó in Spain , Annemasse in France , Volksbank Halle in the German Bundesliga , and Ankara Demirspor Kulübü in Turkey . She is also involved in other chess activities in Catalonia ( Spain ) . Personal life . In 2003 , Matnadze graduated from the Tbilisi Ivane Javakhishvili State University , Foreign Language and Literature Department , with a Degree in Philology ( German Language and Literature ) . She knows seven languages , Georgian , Spanish , German , English , Russian , Portuguese , and Catalan . She received the Grantee of the Foundation of the President of Georgia award in 1998 and 2003 , and she was a holder of the scholarship stipend established by the President of Georgia in 2001 . Matnadze is dedicated to the support of international charities . she participated in events such as the chess tournament in Tbilisi to help flood victims in Western Georgia ( 2005 ) , the charity tournament Chess Against Drugs in Tbilisi ( 2006 ) , the exchange program Chess and Friendship in Georgia and Spain ( 2006 ) , the exchange program Chess for peace and understanding in Georgia and Spain ( 2007 ) , and the chess project We Play For Peace in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ( 2009 ) . Since 2005 , she has been the President of the International Charity Movement Chess – A Peace Ambassador , a non-profit organisation which has already conducted many international chess and charity events . Matnadze has a fascination with Vampires and is the main character in a book by Miguel Alvarez Morales , AnnA La Vampiresa ( Spanish Edition ) ( 2012 , ) . She currently lives in Barcelona , Spain . External links . - Ana Matnadze chess games at 365Chess.com - Ana Matnadze team chess record at Olimpbase.org - Interview with WGM Ana Matnadze by Renier Castellanos |
[
"Woman Grandmaster"
] | easy | Which title was conferred to Ana Matnadze in 2002? | /wiki/Ana_Matnadze#P2962#1 | Ana Matnadze Ana Matnadze ( ; born 20 February 1983 ) is a Georgian-Spanish chess player . FIDE awarded her the titles Woman Grandmaster ( WGM ) , in 2002 , and International Master ( IM ) , in 2006 . Matnadze was European and world girls champion in her age category . Chess career . Matnadze was introduced to chess at the age of four by her mother . She was trained by Grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili , amongst others . She won the Georgian girls championship in her age group four times ( in 1992 , 1993 , 1994 and 1998 ) . She won the European Youth Chess Championships in her age girls group five times , in Băile Herculane 1994 , Verdun 1995 , Tallinn 1997 , Mureck 1998 , and Litochoro 1999 . Matnadze also won the World Youth Chess Championships twice , in the Girls U10 category in 1993 and in the Girls U14 in 1997 . Matnadze finished second , behind Regina Pokorná , in the European Junior Girls Championship in Patras 1999 , and third , behind Jovanka Houska and Viktorija Cmilyte , in Avilés 2000 . She jointly won the Black Sea Countries Womens Championship in Batumi 2000 . Together with Maia Lomineishvili , Matnadze jointly won the Georgian Womens Championship in April 2002 . In the same year , she won the European Womens Blitz Chess Championship in Antalya . She played for Georgian teams NTN Tbilisi and Energy-Investi Sakartvelo in the European Club Cup for Women five times from 2002 to 2006 . During that time she won two team gold medals and two individual silver ( in İzmir 2004 and Saint-Vincent 2005 ) , two team silver ( in Rethymno 2003 and Fügen 2006 ) , and the team bronze in Antalya 2002 . In June 2004 , she and Lela Javakhishvili published a letter to FIDE , in which they criticized various aspects of the Womens World Chess Championship 2004 , leading to a hostile dispute with FIDE Vice-President Zurab Azmaiparashvili . After initially cancelling her participation , Matnadze was later convinced to play in the event , but was eliminated by Olga Alexandrova in round one . Matnadze moved to Barcelona and won the Catalan Womens Championship in Balaguer in 2006 . She has been the womens champion of the Catalan Chess Circuit in 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . She won international tournaments in Mondariz-Balneario 2007 , Las Palmas 2009 , Tancat Sabadell ( Women ) 2010 , and Benidorm ( Women ) 2011 . In March 2012 , Matnadze transferred national federations to represent Spain . Since then she has played on the Spanish team in the Womens Chess Olympiad and in the Womens European Team Chess Championship . In 2018 , she won an individual bronze medal playing board three in the Womens Olympiad in Batumi . Matnadze also won individual medals at the Womens European Team Championship in 2013 ( silver on board three ) and 2017 ( bronze on board three ) . She is a trainer at the chess club Associació dEscacs Rubinenca in Barcelona , and in the InterAjedrez Academia . She plays in the teams Peona i Peó in Spain , Annemasse in France , Volksbank Halle in the German Bundesliga , and Ankara Demirspor Kulübü in Turkey . She is also involved in other chess activities in Catalonia ( Spain ) . Personal life . In 2003 , Matnadze graduated from the Tbilisi Ivane Javakhishvili State University , Foreign Language and Literature Department , with a Degree in Philology ( German Language and Literature ) . She knows seven languages , Georgian , Spanish , German , English , Russian , Portuguese , and Catalan . She received the Grantee of the Foundation of the President of Georgia award in 1998 and 2003 , and she was a holder of the scholarship stipend established by the President of Georgia in 2001 . Matnadze is dedicated to the support of international charities . she participated in events such as the chess tournament in Tbilisi to help flood victims in Western Georgia ( 2005 ) , the charity tournament Chess Against Drugs in Tbilisi ( 2006 ) , the exchange program Chess and Friendship in Georgia and Spain ( 2006 ) , the exchange program Chess for peace and understanding in Georgia and Spain ( 2007 ) , and the chess project We Play For Peace in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ( 2009 ) . Since 2005 , she has been the President of the International Charity Movement Chess – A Peace Ambassador , a non-profit organisation which has already conducted many international chess and charity events . Matnadze has a fascination with Vampires and is the main character in a book by Miguel Alvarez Morales , AnnA La Vampiresa ( Spanish Edition ) ( 2012 , ) . She currently lives in Barcelona , Spain . External links . - Ana Matnadze chess games at 365Chess.com - Ana Matnadze team chess record at Olimpbase.org - Interview with WGM Ana Matnadze by Renier Castellanos |
[
""
] | easy | Which title was conferred to Ana Matnadze in 1999? | /wiki/Ana_Matnadze#P2962#2 | Ana Matnadze Ana Matnadze ( ; born 20 February 1983 ) is a Georgian-Spanish chess player . FIDE awarded her the titles Woman Grandmaster ( WGM ) , in 2002 , and International Master ( IM ) , in 2006 . Matnadze was European and world girls champion in her age category . Chess career . Matnadze was introduced to chess at the age of four by her mother . She was trained by Grandmaster Nona Gaprindashvili , amongst others . She won the Georgian girls championship in her age group four times ( in 1992 , 1993 , 1994 and 1998 ) . She won the European Youth Chess Championships in her age girls group five times , in Băile Herculane 1994 , Verdun 1995 , Tallinn 1997 , Mureck 1998 , and Litochoro 1999 . Matnadze also won the World Youth Chess Championships twice , in the Girls U10 category in 1993 and in the Girls U14 in 1997 . Matnadze finished second , behind Regina Pokorná , in the European Junior Girls Championship in Patras 1999 , and third , behind Jovanka Houska and Viktorija Cmilyte , in Avilés 2000 . She jointly won the Black Sea Countries Womens Championship in Batumi 2000 . Together with Maia Lomineishvili , Matnadze jointly won the Georgian Womens Championship in April 2002 . In the same year , she won the European Womens Blitz Chess Championship in Antalya . She played for Georgian teams NTN Tbilisi and Energy-Investi Sakartvelo in the European Club Cup for Women five times from 2002 to 2006 . During that time she won two team gold medals and two individual silver ( in İzmir 2004 and Saint-Vincent 2005 ) , two team silver ( in Rethymno 2003 and Fügen 2006 ) , and the team bronze in Antalya 2002 . In June 2004 , she and Lela Javakhishvili published a letter to FIDE , in which they criticized various aspects of the Womens World Chess Championship 2004 , leading to a hostile dispute with FIDE Vice-President Zurab Azmaiparashvili . After initially cancelling her participation , Matnadze was later convinced to play in the event , but was eliminated by Olga Alexandrova in round one . Matnadze moved to Barcelona and won the Catalan Womens Championship in Balaguer in 2006 . She has been the womens champion of the Catalan Chess Circuit in 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . She won international tournaments in Mondariz-Balneario 2007 , Las Palmas 2009 , Tancat Sabadell ( Women ) 2010 , and Benidorm ( Women ) 2011 . In March 2012 , Matnadze transferred national federations to represent Spain . Since then she has played on the Spanish team in the Womens Chess Olympiad and in the Womens European Team Chess Championship . In 2018 , she won an individual bronze medal playing board three in the Womens Olympiad in Batumi . Matnadze also won individual medals at the Womens European Team Championship in 2013 ( silver on board three ) and 2017 ( bronze on board three ) . She is a trainer at the chess club Associació dEscacs Rubinenca in Barcelona , and in the InterAjedrez Academia . She plays in the teams Peona i Peó in Spain , Annemasse in France , Volksbank Halle in the German Bundesliga , and Ankara Demirspor Kulübü in Turkey . She is also involved in other chess activities in Catalonia ( Spain ) . Personal life . In 2003 , Matnadze graduated from the Tbilisi Ivane Javakhishvili State University , Foreign Language and Literature Department , with a Degree in Philology ( German Language and Literature ) . She knows seven languages , Georgian , Spanish , German , English , Russian , Portuguese , and Catalan . She received the Grantee of the Foundation of the President of Georgia award in 1998 and 2003 , and she was a holder of the scholarship stipend established by the President of Georgia in 2001 . Matnadze is dedicated to the support of international charities . she participated in events such as the chess tournament in Tbilisi to help flood victims in Western Georgia ( 2005 ) , the charity tournament Chess Against Drugs in Tbilisi ( 2006 ) , the exchange program Chess and Friendship in Georgia and Spain ( 2006 ) , the exchange program Chess for peace and understanding in Georgia and Spain ( 2007 ) , and the chess project We Play For Peace in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ( 2009 ) . Since 2005 , she has been the President of the International Charity Movement Chess – A Peace Ambassador , a non-profit organisation which has already conducted many international chess and charity events . Matnadze has a fascination with Vampires and is the main character in a book by Miguel Alvarez Morales , AnnA La Vampiresa ( Spanish Edition ) ( 2012 , ) . She currently lives in Barcelona , Spain . External links . - Ana Matnadze chess games at 365Chess.com - Ana Matnadze team chess record at Olimpbase.org - Interview with WGM Ana Matnadze by Renier Castellanos |
[
""
] | easy | Which site was the heritage designation of Okavango Delta from Sep 1996 to 2014? | /wiki/Okavango_Delta#P1435#0 | Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta ( or Okavango Grassland ) ( formerly spelled Okovango or Okovanggo ) in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari . All the water reaching the delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired and does not flow into any sea or ocean . Each year , about of water spread over the area . Some flood waters drain into Lake Ngami . The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi , an ancient lake that had mostly dried up by the early Holocene . The Moremi Game Reserve , a National Park , is on the eastern side of the delta . The delta was named as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa , which were officially declared on 11 February 2013 in Arusha , Tanzania . On 22 June 2014 , the Okavango Delta became the 1000th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List . Geography . Floods . The Okavango is produced by seasonal flooding . The Okavango River drains the summer ( January–February ) rainfall from the Angola highlands and the surge flows in around one month . The waters then spread over the area of the delta over the next four months ( March–June ) . The high temperature of the delta causes rapid transpiration and evaporation , resulting in 3 cycles of rising and falling water level that was not fully understood until the early 20th century . The flood peaks between June and August , during Botswanas dry winter months , when the delta swells to three times its permanent size , attracting animals from kilometres around and creating one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife . The delta is very flat , with less than variation in height across its , while the water drops about 60 m from Mohembo to Maun . Water flow . Every year , about of water flow into the delta . Roughly 60% is consumed through transpiration by plants , 36% by evaporation , 2% percolates into the aquifer system ; and 2% flows into Lake Ngami . This turgid outflow means that the delta is unable to flush out the minerals carried by the river and is liable to become increasingly salty and uninhabitable . Water salinity is reduced by salt collecting around plant roots as most of the incoming water is transpired by plants . Peat fires might contribute to deposit salt into layers below the surface . The low salinity of the water also means that the floods do not greatly enrich the floodplain with nutrients . Lagoons . When the water levels gradually recede , water remains in major canals and river beds , in waterholes and in a number of larger lagoons , which then attract increasing numbers of animals . Photo-safari camps and lodges are found near some of these lagoons . Among the larger lagoons are : - Dombo Hippo Pool ( ) - Gcodikwe Lagoon ( ) - Guma Lagoon ( ) - Jerejere Lagoon/Hippo Pool ( ) - Moanachira Lagoon/Sausage Island ( ) - Moanachira Lagoon ( ) - Shinde Lagoon ( ) - Xakanaxa Lagoon ( ) - Xhamu Lagoon ( ) - Xhobega Lagoon ( ) - Xugana Lagoon ( ) - Zibadiania Lagoon ( ) Salt islands . The agglomeration of salt around plant roots leads to barren white patches in the centre of many of the thousands of islands , which have become too salty to support plants , aside from the odd salt-resistant palm tree . Trees and grasses grow in the sand around the edges of the islands that have not become too salty yet . About 70% of the islands began as termite mounds ( often Macrotermes spp. ) , where a tree then takes root on the mound of soil . Chiefs Island . Chiefs Island , the largest island in the delta , was formed by a fault line which uplifted an area over and . Historically , it was reserved as an exclusive hunting area for the chief , but is now a protected area for wildlife . It now provides the core area for much of the resident wildlife when the waters rise . Climate . The Deltas profuse greenery is not the result of a wet climate ; rather , it is an oasis in an arid country . The average annual rainfall is ( approximately one-third that of its Angolan catchment area ) and most of it falls between December and March in the form of heavy afternoon thunderstorms . December to February are hot wet months with daytime temperatures as high as , warm nights , and humidity levels fluctuating between 50 and 80% . From March to May , the temperature becomes far more comfortable , with a maximum of during the day and mild to cool nights . The rains quickly dry up leading into the dry , cold winter months of June to August . Daytime temperatures at this time of year are mild to warm , but the temperature begins to fall after sunset . Nights can be surprisingly cold in the delta , with temperatures barely above freezing . The September to November span has the heat and atmospheric pressure build up once more , as the dry season slides into the rainy season . October is the most challenging month for visitors : daytime temperatures often push past and the dryness is only occasionally broken by a sudden cloudburst . Fauna of the delta . The Okavango Delta is both a permanent and seasonal home to a wide variety of wildlife which is now a popular tourist attraction . All of the big five game animals—the lion , leopard , African buffalo , African bush elephant and rhinoceros ( both black rhinoceros and white rhinoceros ) —are present . Other species include giraffe , blue wildebeest , plains zebra , hippopotamus , impala , common eland , greater kudu , sable antelope , roan antelope , lechwe , waterbuck , sitatunga , tsessebe , cheetah , African wild dog , spotted hyena , black-backed jackal , caracal , serval , aardvark , aardwolf , African savanna hare , honey badger , crested porcupine , common warthog , chacma baboon , vervet monkey and Nile crocodile . The delta also hosts over 400 bird species , including the helmeted guineafowl , African fish eagle , Pels fishing owl , Egyptian goose , South African shelduck , African jacana , African skimmer , marabou stork , crested crane , African spoonbill , African darter , southern ground hornbill , wattled crane , lilac-breasted roller , secretary bird , and common ostrich . Prime bird-watching areas are those with a mix of habitats such as the Panhandle , the seasonal Delta and the parts of the Moremi Game Reserve that are close to the water . Since 2005 , the protected area has been considered a Lion Conservation Unit together with Hwange National Park . The most populous large mammal is the lechwe , with estimates suggesting approximately 88,000 individuals . The lechwe a bit larger than an impala , with elongated hooves and a water-repellent substance on its legs that enable rapid movement through knee-deep water . Lechwe graze on aquatic plants and , like the waterbuck , take to water when threatened by predators . Only the males have horns . Fish . The Okavango Delta is home to 71 fish species , including the tigerfish , species of tilapia , and various species of catfish . Fish sizes range from African sharptooth catfish to sickle barb . The same species are found in the Zambezi River , indicating an historic link between the two river systems . Flora of the delta . The Okavango delta is a home for 1068 plants which belong to 134 families and 530 genera . There are five important plant communities in the perennial swamp : Papyrus Cyperus in the deeper waters , Miscanthus in the shallow-flooded sites , the reed Phragmites australis , Typha capensis and Pycreus grow in between . The swamp-dominant species , which are usually found in the perennial swamp also extend far into the seasonally inundated area . Papyrus Cyperus reeds beds grow best in slow flowing waters of medium depth and are prominent at the channel sides . On the islands and mainlands edges above the flooded grasslands different communities of flora are found . These species are located according to their water preference , for instance Philenoptera violacea requires little water , is found at the highest elevations in the perennial swamps , and is common on drier seasonal swamp islands , Trees restricted to islands within the perennial swamp are a mixture of the palm Hyphaene petersiana and Acasia . The mainland in the delta is characterized by mosaic of grassland and woodland communities composed of trees , shrubs and understory herbs , basically the vegetation is notably drier than the swamp . Acacia , Bosica , combretum and Terminalia are some of the principal genera which make up the majority of plants within the Okavango delta . The natural phenomenon of the annual flood in the dry season and the distinct rainy season in time of low rain is the result of the exceptionally high plant diversity within the delta . The plants of the delta play an important role in providing cohesion for the sand . The banks or levees of a river normally have a high mud content , and this combines with the sand in the river’s load to continuously build up the river banks . In the delta , because the clean waters of the Okavango contain almost no mud , the river’s load consists almost entirely of sand . The plants capture the sand , acting as the glue and making up for the lack of mud and in the process creating further islands on which more plants can take root . This process is not important in the formation of linear islands . They are long and thin and often curved like a gently meandering river because they are actually the natural banks of old river channels which over time have become blocked up by plant growth and sand deposition , resulting in the river changing course and the old river levees becoming islands . Due to the flatness of the delta and the large tonnage of sand flowing into it from the Okavango River , the floor of the delta is slowly but constantly rising . Where channels are today , islands will be tomorrow and then new channels may wash away these existing islands . People . The Okavango Delta peoples consist of five ethnic groups , each with its own ethnic identity and language . They are Hambukushu ( also known as Mbukushu , Bukushu , Bukusu , Mabukuschu , Ghuva , Haghuva ) , Dceriku ( Dxeriku , Diriku , Gciriku , Gceriku , Giriku , Niriku ) , Wayeyi ( Bayei , Bayeyi , Yei ) , Bugakhwe ( Kxoe , Khwe , Kwengo , Barakwena , ) and ( Gxanekwe , , River Bushmen , Swamp Bushmen , , , Xanekwe ) . The Hambukushu , Dceriku , and Wayeyi have traditionally engaged in mixed economies of millet/sorghum agriculture , fishing , hunting , the collection of wild plant foods , and pastoralism . The Bugakhwe and are Bushmen , who have traditionally practised fishing , hunting , and the collection of wild plant foods ; Bugakhwe used both forest and riverine resources , while the mostly focused on riverine resources . The Hambukushu , Dceriku , and Bugakhwe are present along the Okavango River in Angola and in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia , and small numbers of Hambukushu and Bugakhwe are in Zambia , as well . Within the Okavango Delta , over the past 150 years or so , Hambukushu , Dceriku , and Bugakhwe have inhabited the panhandle and the Magwegqana in the northeastern Delta . have inhabited the panhandle and the area along the Boro River through the Delta , as well as the area along the Boteti River . The Wayeyi have inhabited the area around Seronga as well as the southern delta around Maun , and a few Wayeyi live in their putative ancestral home in the Caprivi Strip . Within the past 20 years many people from all over the Okavango have migrated to Maun , the late 1960s and early 1970s over 4,000 Hambukushu refugees from Angola were settled in the area around Etsha in the western Panhandle . The Okavango Delta has been under the political control of the Batawana ( a Tswana nation ) since the late 18th century . Led by the house of Mathiba I , the leader of a Bangwato offshoot , the Batawana established complete control over the delta in the 1850s as the regional ivory trade exploded . Most Batawana , however , have traditionally lived on the edges of the delta , due to the threat that the tsetse fly poses to their cattle . During a hiatus of some 40 years , the tsetse fly retreated and most Batawana lived in the swamps from 1896 through the late 1930s . Since then , the edge of the delta has become increasingly crowded with its growing human and livestock populations . Molapos . After the flooding season , the waters in the lower parts of the delta , near the base , recede , leaving moisture behind in the soil . This residual moisture is used for planting fodder and other crops that can thrive on it . This land is locally known as molapo . During 1974 to 1978 , the floods were more intensive than normal and flood recession cropping was not possible , so severe food and fodder shortages occurred . In response , the Molapo Development Project was initiated . It protected the molapo areas with bunds to control the flooding and prevent severe flooding . The bunds are provided with sluice gates so the stored water can be released and flood recession cropping can start . Possible threats . One possible threat is oil exploration by Canadian company ReconAfrica . Initial exploration 15/04/2021 revealed oil deposits in sedimentary rock . Environmentalists are concerned that the project will have a negative ecological impact and that some of the main bodies of water could be threatened . Another concern is Botswana’s UNESCO World Heritage Site , the Okavango Delta , with its unique biodiversity and populations of elephants , hippos , rhinos and birds . ReconAfrica and the Government of Botswana have amended the license to exclude the Tsodilo Hills UNESCO site and ReconAfrica has stated that There will be no damage to the ecosystem from the planned activities . Tourism , an important source of income , as well as the fate of the indigenous San and local people could be at risk as well , but cooperative dialog between the company and the local people is already underway . The company and the governments of both Namibia and Botswana have stated that fracking ( also referred to as unconventional methods ) will not occur to extract the oil . The Namibian government has presented plans to build a hydropower station in the Zambezi Region , which would regulate the Okavangos flow to some extent . While proponents argue that the effect would be minimal , environmentalists argue that this project could destroy most of the rich animal and plant life in the Delta . Other threats include local human encroachment and regional extraction of water in both Angola and Namibia . South African filmmaker and conservationist Rick Lomba warned in the 1980s of the threat of cattle invasion to the area . His documentary The End of Eden portrayed his lobbying on behalf of the delta . The Okavango catchment is projected to experience decreasing annual rainfall as well as increasing temperatures as a result of global warming . The effects of global warming are likely to result in reductions in the extent of floodplains in the Okavango Delta , which will have significant impacts on water availability as well as livestock rearing and agricultural activities in the region . |
[
"World Heritage List"
] | easy | Which site was the heritage designation of Okavango Delta from 2014 to Mar 2017? | /wiki/Okavango_Delta#P1435#1 | Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta ( or Okavango Grassland ) ( formerly spelled Okovango or Okovanggo ) in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari . All the water reaching the delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired and does not flow into any sea or ocean . Each year , about of water spread over the area . Some flood waters drain into Lake Ngami . The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi , an ancient lake that had mostly dried up by the early Holocene . The Moremi Game Reserve , a National Park , is on the eastern side of the delta . The delta was named as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa , which were officially declared on 11 February 2013 in Arusha , Tanzania . On 22 June 2014 , the Okavango Delta became the 1000th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List . Geography . Floods . The Okavango is produced by seasonal flooding . The Okavango River drains the summer ( January–February ) rainfall from the Angola highlands and the surge flows in around one month . The waters then spread over the area of the delta over the next four months ( March–June ) . The high temperature of the delta causes rapid transpiration and evaporation , resulting in 3 cycles of rising and falling water level that was not fully understood until the early 20th century . The flood peaks between June and August , during Botswanas dry winter months , when the delta swells to three times its permanent size , attracting animals from kilometres around and creating one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife . The delta is very flat , with less than variation in height across its , while the water drops about 60 m from Mohembo to Maun . Water flow . Every year , about of water flow into the delta . Roughly 60% is consumed through transpiration by plants , 36% by evaporation , 2% percolates into the aquifer system ; and 2% flows into Lake Ngami . This turgid outflow means that the delta is unable to flush out the minerals carried by the river and is liable to become increasingly salty and uninhabitable . Water salinity is reduced by salt collecting around plant roots as most of the incoming water is transpired by plants . Peat fires might contribute to deposit salt into layers below the surface . The low salinity of the water also means that the floods do not greatly enrich the floodplain with nutrients . Lagoons . When the water levels gradually recede , water remains in major canals and river beds , in waterholes and in a number of larger lagoons , which then attract increasing numbers of animals . Photo-safari camps and lodges are found near some of these lagoons . Among the larger lagoons are : - Dombo Hippo Pool ( ) - Gcodikwe Lagoon ( ) - Guma Lagoon ( ) - Jerejere Lagoon/Hippo Pool ( ) - Moanachira Lagoon/Sausage Island ( ) - Moanachira Lagoon ( ) - Shinde Lagoon ( ) - Xakanaxa Lagoon ( ) - Xhamu Lagoon ( ) - Xhobega Lagoon ( ) - Xugana Lagoon ( ) - Zibadiania Lagoon ( ) Salt islands . The agglomeration of salt around plant roots leads to barren white patches in the centre of many of the thousands of islands , which have become too salty to support plants , aside from the odd salt-resistant palm tree . Trees and grasses grow in the sand around the edges of the islands that have not become too salty yet . About 70% of the islands began as termite mounds ( often Macrotermes spp. ) , where a tree then takes root on the mound of soil . Chiefs Island . Chiefs Island , the largest island in the delta , was formed by a fault line which uplifted an area over and . Historically , it was reserved as an exclusive hunting area for the chief , but is now a protected area for wildlife . It now provides the core area for much of the resident wildlife when the waters rise . Climate . The Deltas profuse greenery is not the result of a wet climate ; rather , it is an oasis in an arid country . The average annual rainfall is ( approximately one-third that of its Angolan catchment area ) and most of it falls between December and March in the form of heavy afternoon thunderstorms . December to February are hot wet months with daytime temperatures as high as , warm nights , and humidity levels fluctuating between 50 and 80% . From March to May , the temperature becomes far more comfortable , with a maximum of during the day and mild to cool nights . The rains quickly dry up leading into the dry , cold winter months of June to August . Daytime temperatures at this time of year are mild to warm , but the temperature begins to fall after sunset . Nights can be surprisingly cold in the delta , with temperatures barely above freezing . The September to November span has the heat and atmospheric pressure build up once more , as the dry season slides into the rainy season . October is the most challenging month for visitors : daytime temperatures often push past and the dryness is only occasionally broken by a sudden cloudburst . Fauna of the delta . The Okavango Delta is both a permanent and seasonal home to a wide variety of wildlife which is now a popular tourist attraction . All of the big five game animals—the lion , leopard , African buffalo , African bush elephant and rhinoceros ( both black rhinoceros and white rhinoceros ) —are present . Other species include giraffe , blue wildebeest , plains zebra , hippopotamus , impala , common eland , greater kudu , sable antelope , roan antelope , lechwe , waterbuck , sitatunga , tsessebe , cheetah , African wild dog , spotted hyena , black-backed jackal , caracal , serval , aardvark , aardwolf , African savanna hare , honey badger , crested porcupine , common warthog , chacma baboon , vervet monkey and Nile crocodile . The delta also hosts over 400 bird species , including the helmeted guineafowl , African fish eagle , Pels fishing owl , Egyptian goose , South African shelduck , African jacana , African skimmer , marabou stork , crested crane , African spoonbill , African darter , southern ground hornbill , wattled crane , lilac-breasted roller , secretary bird , and common ostrich . Prime bird-watching areas are those with a mix of habitats such as the Panhandle , the seasonal Delta and the parts of the Moremi Game Reserve that are close to the water . Since 2005 , the protected area has been considered a Lion Conservation Unit together with Hwange National Park . The most populous large mammal is the lechwe , with estimates suggesting approximately 88,000 individuals . The lechwe a bit larger than an impala , with elongated hooves and a water-repellent substance on its legs that enable rapid movement through knee-deep water . Lechwe graze on aquatic plants and , like the waterbuck , take to water when threatened by predators . Only the males have horns . Fish . The Okavango Delta is home to 71 fish species , including the tigerfish , species of tilapia , and various species of catfish . Fish sizes range from African sharptooth catfish to sickle barb . The same species are found in the Zambezi River , indicating an historic link between the two river systems . Flora of the delta . The Okavango delta is a home for 1068 plants which belong to 134 families and 530 genera . There are five important plant communities in the perennial swamp : Papyrus Cyperus in the deeper waters , Miscanthus in the shallow-flooded sites , the reed Phragmites australis , Typha capensis and Pycreus grow in between . The swamp-dominant species , which are usually found in the perennial swamp also extend far into the seasonally inundated area . Papyrus Cyperus reeds beds grow best in slow flowing waters of medium depth and are prominent at the channel sides . On the islands and mainlands edges above the flooded grasslands different communities of flora are found . These species are located according to their water preference , for instance Philenoptera violacea requires little water , is found at the highest elevations in the perennial swamps , and is common on drier seasonal swamp islands , Trees restricted to islands within the perennial swamp are a mixture of the palm Hyphaene petersiana and Acasia . The mainland in the delta is characterized by mosaic of grassland and woodland communities composed of trees , shrubs and understory herbs , basically the vegetation is notably drier than the swamp . Acacia , Bosica , combretum and Terminalia are some of the principal genera which make up the majority of plants within the Okavango delta . The natural phenomenon of the annual flood in the dry season and the distinct rainy season in time of low rain is the result of the exceptionally high plant diversity within the delta . The plants of the delta play an important role in providing cohesion for the sand . The banks or levees of a river normally have a high mud content , and this combines with the sand in the river’s load to continuously build up the river banks . In the delta , because the clean waters of the Okavango contain almost no mud , the river’s load consists almost entirely of sand . The plants capture the sand , acting as the glue and making up for the lack of mud and in the process creating further islands on which more plants can take root . This process is not important in the formation of linear islands . They are long and thin and often curved like a gently meandering river because they are actually the natural banks of old river channels which over time have become blocked up by plant growth and sand deposition , resulting in the river changing course and the old river levees becoming islands . Due to the flatness of the delta and the large tonnage of sand flowing into it from the Okavango River , the floor of the delta is slowly but constantly rising . Where channels are today , islands will be tomorrow and then new channels may wash away these existing islands . People . The Okavango Delta peoples consist of five ethnic groups , each with its own ethnic identity and language . They are Hambukushu ( also known as Mbukushu , Bukushu , Bukusu , Mabukuschu , Ghuva , Haghuva ) , Dceriku ( Dxeriku , Diriku , Gciriku , Gceriku , Giriku , Niriku ) , Wayeyi ( Bayei , Bayeyi , Yei ) , Bugakhwe ( Kxoe , Khwe , Kwengo , Barakwena , ) and ( Gxanekwe , , River Bushmen , Swamp Bushmen , , , Xanekwe ) . The Hambukushu , Dceriku , and Wayeyi have traditionally engaged in mixed economies of millet/sorghum agriculture , fishing , hunting , the collection of wild plant foods , and pastoralism . The Bugakhwe and are Bushmen , who have traditionally practised fishing , hunting , and the collection of wild plant foods ; Bugakhwe used both forest and riverine resources , while the mostly focused on riverine resources . The Hambukushu , Dceriku , and Bugakhwe are present along the Okavango River in Angola and in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia , and small numbers of Hambukushu and Bugakhwe are in Zambia , as well . Within the Okavango Delta , over the past 150 years or so , Hambukushu , Dceriku , and Bugakhwe have inhabited the panhandle and the Magwegqana in the northeastern Delta . have inhabited the panhandle and the area along the Boro River through the Delta , as well as the area along the Boteti River . The Wayeyi have inhabited the area around Seronga as well as the southern delta around Maun , and a few Wayeyi live in their putative ancestral home in the Caprivi Strip . Within the past 20 years many people from all over the Okavango have migrated to Maun , the late 1960s and early 1970s over 4,000 Hambukushu refugees from Angola were settled in the area around Etsha in the western Panhandle . The Okavango Delta has been under the political control of the Batawana ( a Tswana nation ) since the late 18th century . Led by the house of Mathiba I , the leader of a Bangwato offshoot , the Batawana established complete control over the delta in the 1850s as the regional ivory trade exploded . Most Batawana , however , have traditionally lived on the edges of the delta , due to the threat that the tsetse fly poses to their cattle . During a hiatus of some 40 years , the tsetse fly retreated and most Batawana lived in the swamps from 1896 through the late 1930s . Since then , the edge of the delta has become increasingly crowded with its growing human and livestock populations . Molapos . After the flooding season , the waters in the lower parts of the delta , near the base , recede , leaving moisture behind in the soil . This residual moisture is used for planting fodder and other crops that can thrive on it . This land is locally known as molapo . During 1974 to 1978 , the floods were more intensive than normal and flood recession cropping was not possible , so severe food and fodder shortages occurred . In response , the Molapo Development Project was initiated . It protected the molapo areas with bunds to control the flooding and prevent severe flooding . The bunds are provided with sluice gates so the stored water can be released and flood recession cropping can start . Possible threats . One possible threat is oil exploration by Canadian company ReconAfrica . Initial exploration 15/04/2021 revealed oil deposits in sedimentary rock . Environmentalists are concerned that the project will have a negative ecological impact and that some of the main bodies of water could be threatened . Another concern is Botswana’s UNESCO World Heritage Site , the Okavango Delta , with its unique biodiversity and populations of elephants , hippos , rhinos and birds . ReconAfrica and the Government of Botswana have amended the license to exclude the Tsodilo Hills UNESCO site and ReconAfrica has stated that There will be no damage to the ecosystem from the planned activities . Tourism , an important source of income , as well as the fate of the indigenous San and local people could be at risk as well , but cooperative dialog between the company and the local people is already underway . The company and the governments of both Namibia and Botswana have stated that fracking ( also referred to as unconventional methods ) will not occur to extract the oil . The Namibian government has presented plans to build a hydropower station in the Zambezi Region , which would regulate the Okavangos flow to some extent . While proponents argue that the effect would be minimal , environmentalists argue that this project could destroy most of the rich animal and plant life in the Delta . Other threats include local human encroachment and regional extraction of water in both Angola and Namibia . South African filmmaker and conservationist Rick Lomba warned in the 1980s of the threat of cattle invasion to the area . His documentary The End of Eden portrayed his lobbying on behalf of the delta . The Okavango catchment is projected to experience decreasing annual rainfall as well as increasing temperatures as a result of global warming . The effects of global warming are likely to result in reductions in the extent of floodplains in the Okavango Delta , which will have significant impacts on water availability as well as livestock rearing and agricultural activities in the region . |
[
"Rodez"
] | easy | Which team did Ronny Rodelin play for from 2007 to 2008? | /wiki/Ronny_Rodelin#P54#0 | Ronny Rodelin Sylvio Ronny Rodelin ( born 18 November 1989 ) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for En Avant de Guingamp . Career . Early career . Rodelin began his youth and senior career at Rodez . During the 2007–08 season , he scored 1 goal in 23 Championnat National matches . In July 2008 he signed for Ligue 1 club Nantes . On 28 January 2010 , Championnat National club Troyes signed him on loan from Nantes until the end of the 2009–10 season . He played the 2010–11 season in Ligue 2 with Nantes , making 19 appearances ( 15 of them in Ligue 2 ) and scoring 5 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 2 ) in all competitions . Lille . On 13 June 2011 , he signed a four-year contract to join Ligue 1 club Lille . On 6 August 2011 , he made his competitive debut for Lille , coming on as a substitute for Florent Balmont in the 87th minute in the Ligue 1 away match against AS Nancy which ended in a 1–1 draw . Mouscron-Péruwelz ( loan ) . On 2 February 2015 , Rodelin was loaned to Belgian Pro League club Mouscron-Péruwelz . Caen ( loan ) . On 31 August 2015 , Rodelin joined Ligue 1 club Stade Malherbe Caen on a year-long loan , with Caen given an option to buy him . On 12 September 2015 , he made his competitive debut for Caen , starting in the Ligue 1 away match against Troyes AC which Caen won 3–1 . He played in all of Caens remaining 33 ( starting in 32 of them ) Ligue 1 matches of the 2015–16 season . He was Caens second-highest scorer ( behind Andy Delort ) during the 2015–16 season with 10 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 1 ) and 2 assists in all competitions . Caen . On 26 July 2016 , Caen activated the clause to permanently sign Rodelin ; he signed a three-year contract with Caen . On 20 May 2017 , the last matchday of the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season , Rodelin scored the goal ( his 9th and final Ligue 1 goal of the 2016–17 season ) that ensured Caen remained in Ligue 1 for the 2017–18 season . With Caen needing a win against 2016–17 Ligue 1 runners-up Paris Saint-Germain to be sure of avoiding relegation , Rodelin had a penalty saved in the second half when Caen was down 1–0 before eventually finding the equalizer a minute into added time ; the final score was 1–1 . Guingamp . In August 2018 , Rodelin joined league rivals En Avant de Guingamp . International career . Born in Réunion , Rodelin is of Malagasy descent and was approached to join the Madagascar national football team in March 2018 . External links . - Footmercato |
[
"Nantes"
] | easy | Which team did Ronny Rodelin play for from 2008 to 2011? | /wiki/Ronny_Rodelin#P54#1 | Ronny Rodelin Sylvio Ronny Rodelin ( born 18 November 1989 ) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for En Avant de Guingamp . Career . Early career . Rodelin began his youth and senior career at Rodez . During the 2007–08 season , he scored 1 goal in 23 Championnat National matches . In July 2008 he signed for Ligue 1 club Nantes . On 28 January 2010 , Championnat National club Troyes signed him on loan from Nantes until the end of the 2009–10 season . He played the 2010–11 season in Ligue 2 with Nantes , making 19 appearances ( 15 of them in Ligue 2 ) and scoring 5 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 2 ) in all competitions . Lille . On 13 June 2011 , he signed a four-year contract to join Ligue 1 club Lille . On 6 August 2011 , he made his competitive debut for Lille , coming on as a substitute for Florent Balmont in the 87th minute in the Ligue 1 away match against AS Nancy which ended in a 1–1 draw . Mouscron-Péruwelz ( loan ) . On 2 February 2015 , Rodelin was loaned to Belgian Pro League club Mouscron-Péruwelz . Caen ( loan ) . On 31 August 2015 , Rodelin joined Ligue 1 club Stade Malherbe Caen on a year-long loan , with Caen given an option to buy him . On 12 September 2015 , he made his competitive debut for Caen , starting in the Ligue 1 away match against Troyes AC which Caen won 3–1 . He played in all of Caens remaining 33 ( starting in 32 of them ) Ligue 1 matches of the 2015–16 season . He was Caens second-highest scorer ( behind Andy Delort ) during the 2015–16 season with 10 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 1 ) and 2 assists in all competitions . Caen . On 26 July 2016 , Caen activated the clause to permanently sign Rodelin ; he signed a three-year contract with Caen . On 20 May 2017 , the last matchday of the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season , Rodelin scored the goal ( his 9th and final Ligue 1 goal of the 2016–17 season ) that ensured Caen remained in Ligue 1 for the 2017–18 season . With Caen needing a win against 2016–17 Ligue 1 runners-up Paris Saint-Germain to be sure of avoiding relegation , Rodelin had a penalty saved in the second half when Caen was down 1–0 before eventually finding the equalizer a minute into added time ; the final score was 1–1 . Guingamp . In August 2018 , Rodelin joined league rivals En Avant de Guingamp . International career . Born in Réunion , Rodelin is of Malagasy descent and was approached to join the Madagascar national football team in March 2018 . External links . - Footmercato |
[
"Lille"
] | easy | Ronny Rodelin played for which team from 2011 to 2015? | /wiki/Ronny_Rodelin#P54#2 | Ronny Rodelin Sylvio Ronny Rodelin ( born 18 November 1989 ) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for En Avant de Guingamp . Career . Early career . Rodelin began his youth and senior career at Rodez . During the 2007–08 season , he scored 1 goal in 23 Championnat National matches . In July 2008 he signed for Ligue 1 club Nantes . On 28 January 2010 , Championnat National club Troyes signed him on loan from Nantes until the end of the 2009–10 season . He played the 2010–11 season in Ligue 2 with Nantes , making 19 appearances ( 15 of them in Ligue 2 ) and scoring 5 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 2 ) in all competitions . Lille . On 13 June 2011 , he signed a four-year contract to join Ligue 1 club Lille . On 6 August 2011 , he made his competitive debut for Lille , coming on as a substitute for Florent Balmont in the 87th minute in the Ligue 1 away match against AS Nancy which ended in a 1–1 draw . Mouscron-Péruwelz ( loan ) . On 2 February 2015 , Rodelin was loaned to Belgian Pro League club Mouscron-Péruwelz . Caen ( loan ) . On 31 August 2015 , Rodelin joined Ligue 1 club Stade Malherbe Caen on a year-long loan , with Caen given an option to buy him . On 12 September 2015 , he made his competitive debut for Caen , starting in the Ligue 1 away match against Troyes AC which Caen won 3–1 . He played in all of Caens remaining 33 ( starting in 32 of them ) Ligue 1 matches of the 2015–16 season . He was Caens second-highest scorer ( behind Andy Delort ) during the 2015–16 season with 10 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 1 ) and 2 assists in all competitions . Caen . On 26 July 2016 , Caen activated the clause to permanently sign Rodelin ; he signed a three-year contract with Caen . On 20 May 2017 , the last matchday of the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season , Rodelin scored the goal ( his 9th and final Ligue 1 goal of the 2016–17 season ) that ensured Caen remained in Ligue 1 for the 2017–18 season . With Caen needing a win against 2016–17 Ligue 1 runners-up Paris Saint-Germain to be sure of avoiding relegation , Rodelin had a penalty saved in the second half when Caen was down 1–0 before eventually finding the equalizer a minute into added time ; the final score was 1–1 . Guingamp . In August 2018 , Rodelin joined league rivals En Avant de Guingamp . International career . Born in Réunion , Rodelin is of Malagasy descent and was approached to join the Madagascar national football team in March 2018 . External links . - Footmercato |
[
"En Avant de Guingamp"
] | easy | Ronny Rodelin played for which team from 2018 to 2019? | /wiki/Ronny_Rodelin#P54#3 | Ronny Rodelin Sylvio Ronny Rodelin ( born 18 November 1989 ) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for En Avant de Guingamp . Career . Early career . Rodelin began his youth and senior career at Rodez . During the 2007–08 season , he scored 1 goal in 23 Championnat National matches . In July 2008 he signed for Ligue 1 club Nantes . On 28 January 2010 , Championnat National club Troyes signed him on loan from Nantes until the end of the 2009–10 season . He played the 2010–11 season in Ligue 2 with Nantes , making 19 appearances ( 15 of them in Ligue 2 ) and scoring 5 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 2 ) in all competitions . Lille . On 13 June 2011 , he signed a four-year contract to join Ligue 1 club Lille . On 6 August 2011 , he made his competitive debut for Lille , coming on as a substitute for Florent Balmont in the 87th minute in the Ligue 1 away match against AS Nancy which ended in a 1–1 draw . Mouscron-Péruwelz ( loan ) . On 2 February 2015 , Rodelin was loaned to Belgian Pro League club Mouscron-Péruwelz . Caen ( loan ) . On 31 August 2015 , Rodelin joined Ligue 1 club Stade Malherbe Caen on a year-long loan , with Caen given an option to buy him . On 12 September 2015 , he made his competitive debut for Caen , starting in the Ligue 1 away match against Troyes AC which Caen won 3–1 . He played in all of Caens remaining 33 ( starting in 32 of them ) Ligue 1 matches of the 2015–16 season . He was Caens second-highest scorer ( behind Andy Delort ) during the 2015–16 season with 10 goals ( all of them scored in Ligue 1 ) and 2 assists in all competitions . Caen . On 26 July 2016 , Caen activated the clause to permanently sign Rodelin ; he signed a three-year contract with Caen . On 20 May 2017 , the last matchday of the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season , Rodelin scored the goal ( his 9th and final Ligue 1 goal of the 2016–17 season ) that ensured Caen remained in Ligue 1 for the 2017–18 season . With Caen needing a win against 2016–17 Ligue 1 runners-up Paris Saint-Germain to be sure of avoiding relegation , Rodelin had a penalty saved in the second half when Caen was down 1–0 before eventually finding the equalizer a minute into added time ; the final score was 1–1 . Guingamp . In August 2018 , Rodelin joined league rivals En Avant de Guingamp . International career . Born in Réunion , Rodelin is of Malagasy descent and was approached to join the Madagascar national football team in March 2018 . External links . - Footmercato |
[
"FC Versailles 78"
] | easy | Which team did Alexandre Mendy play for from 2001 to 2003? | /wiki/Alexandre_Mendy#P54#0 | Alexandre Mendy He played formerly for FK Mladá Boleslav and helped them win the Czech Cup in 2011 . He is known for his skill and pace . Early career . Born in Paris , Mendy started his career at French club FC Versailles 78 . Before trying his career in the Czech 1st Division in 2003 when he moved to FK Marila Příbram . The first club he played for in the Gambrinus Liga was FK Marila Příbram where he scored 6 league goals in 57 appearances before moving to FK Siad Most . Mladá Boleslav . In 2007 , he joined FK Mladá Boleslav on loan . Mendy made his European debut for Boleslaw against Palermo . In 2007 , Mendy scored for Boleslav in the group stages of the UEFA Cup against Villarreal CF and IF Elfsborg , However they failed to qualify past the group stage after losing to AEK Athens and Fiorentina . Despite only scoring one goal in 24 league appearances , his move to FK Mladá Boleslav was made permanent in 2008 . During the 2010–11 season , Mendy played all 30 league games for FK Mladá Boleslav scoring six goals as he helped them finish in fifth place in the Gambrinus Liga and also win the Czech Cup for the first time in Boleslavs history after beating SK Sigma Olomouc on penalties , Mendy scored one of the penalties for Mladá Boleslav in the final . The Cup win also saw Boleslav qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the following season . After his contract with FK Mladá Boleslav expired in June 2011 , Mendy sought pastures new and became a free agent . He has found the back of the net 24 times in 207 appearances in the Gambrinus Liga . Leeds United trial . On 19 July 2011 , he played as an unnamed trialist on the right wing for Leeds United during a friendly match against Rochdale along with fellow trialists Jlloyd Samuel and Isiah Osbourne . He played for Leeds in the friendly against Sheffield Wednesday where he was officially confirmed as the unnamed trialist by his real name . With Mendy impressing in his first two pre season games with Leeds his trial was extended even further for the match against Norwegian club Sandefjord Fotball . With Mendy again impressing , starting his third pre-season match in a row for Leeds . Mendy again played for Leeds in their 3–2 win against Newcastle United at Elland Road , coming on as a second-half substitute where he impressed on the right wing . After the match manager Simon Grayson said he would make a decision whether to sign Mendy and fellow trialist Boldi Bodor in the next two days after saying he felt both trialists had done ok in their spells . On 4 August 2011 , Grayson confirmed on Yorkshire Radio the club were looking into signing Mendy permanently , however the deal was taking time as there were complications . Grayson confirmed that he was looking to sign the player and send him out on loan to help him learn the English game . With Leeds entering contract talks with Mendy , the move was called off on 11 August , after Leeds decided that they had to prioritise the transfer budget to sign players in other positions . Chesterfield . On 17 August 2011 , Mendy signed for Chesterfield on a 1-year deal until 30 June 2012 . Mendy scored his first goal for Chesterfield in the League Two 3–0 victory over Bournemouth on 10 September 2011 . Mendy was part of the side that won the Football League Trophy in March 2012 at Wembley Stadium , it was his cross that set up the first goal for Chesterfield . He was released by the club at the end of the 2011–12 season . Hansa Rostock . Mendy signed a two-year contract with German Club Hansa Rostock on 10 June 2012 . 1.FC Saarbrücken . In 2014 , he signed a contract with 1.FC Saarbrücken till 2016 . He played with shirtnumber 4 . Personal life . Alexandre is the older brother of Vincent Mendy who plays as a defensive midfielder . Honours . FK Mladá Boleslav - 2011 Czech Cup Winner Chesterfield - 2012 Football League Trophy Winner External links . - Chesterfield profile |
[
"FK Marila Příbram"
] | easy | Alexandre Mendy played for which team from 2003 to 2008? | /wiki/Alexandre_Mendy#P54#1 | Alexandre Mendy He played formerly for FK Mladá Boleslav and helped them win the Czech Cup in 2011 . He is known for his skill and pace . Early career . Born in Paris , Mendy started his career at French club FC Versailles 78 . Before trying his career in the Czech 1st Division in 2003 when he moved to FK Marila Příbram . The first club he played for in the Gambrinus Liga was FK Marila Příbram where he scored 6 league goals in 57 appearances before moving to FK Siad Most . Mladá Boleslav . In 2007 , he joined FK Mladá Boleslav on loan . Mendy made his European debut for Boleslaw against Palermo . In 2007 , Mendy scored for Boleslav in the group stages of the UEFA Cup against Villarreal CF and IF Elfsborg , However they failed to qualify past the group stage after losing to AEK Athens and Fiorentina . Despite only scoring one goal in 24 league appearances , his move to FK Mladá Boleslav was made permanent in 2008 . During the 2010–11 season , Mendy played all 30 league games for FK Mladá Boleslav scoring six goals as he helped them finish in fifth place in the Gambrinus Liga and also win the Czech Cup for the first time in Boleslavs history after beating SK Sigma Olomouc on penalties , Mendy scored one of the penalties for Mladá Boleslav in the final . The Cup win also saw Boleslav qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the following season . After his contract with FK Mladá Boleslav expired in June 2011 , Mendy sought pastures new and became a free agent . He has found the back of the net 24 times in 207 appearances in the Gambrinus Liga . Leeds United trial . On 19 July 2011 , he played as an unnamed trialist on the right wing for Leeds United during a friendly match against Rochdale along with fellow trialists Jlloyd Samuel and Isiah Osbourne . He played for Leeds in the friendly against Sheffield Wednesday where he was officially confirmed as the unnamed trialist by his real name . With Mendy impressing in his first two pre season games with Leeds his trial was extended even further for the match against Norwegian club Sandefjord Fotball . With Mendy again impressing , starting his third pre-season match in a row for Leeds . Mendy again played for Leeds in their 3–2 win against Newcastle United at Elland Road , coming on as a second-half substitute where he impressed on the right wing . After the match manager Simon Grayson said he would make a decision whether to sign Mendy and fellow trialist Boldi Bodor in the next two days after saying he felt both trialists had done ok in their spells . On 4 August 2011 , Grayson confirmed on Yorkshire Radio the club were looking into signing Mendy permanently , however the deal was taking time as there were complications . Grayson confirmed that he was looking to sign the player and send him out on loan to help him learn the English game . With Leeds entering contract talks with Mendy , the move was called off on 11 August , after Leeds decided that they had to prioritise the transfer budget to sign players in other positions . Chesterfield . On 17 August 2011 , Mendy signed for Chesterfield on a 1-year deal until 30 June 2012 . Mendy scored his first goal for Chesterfield in the League Two 3–0 victory over Bournemouth on 10 September 2011 . Mendy was part of the side that won the Football League Trophy in March 2012 at Wembley Stadium , it was his cross that set up the first goal for Chesterfield . He was released by the club at the end of the 2011–12 season . Hansa Rostock . Mendy signed a two-year contract with German Club Hansa Rostock on 10 June 2012 . 1.FC Saarbrücken . In 2014 , he signed a contract with 1.FC Saarbrücken till 2016 . He played with shirtnumber 4 . Personal life . Alexandre is the older brother of Vincent Mendy who plays as a defensive midfielder . Honours . FK Mladá Boleslav - 2011 Czech Cup Winner Chesterfield - 2012 Football League Trophy Winner External links . - Chesterfield profile |
[
"FK Mladá Boleslav"
] | easy | Which team did the player Alexandre Mendy belong to from 2008 to 2011? | /wiki/Alexandre_Mendy#P54#2 | Alexandre Mendy He played formerly for FK Mladá Boleslav and helped them win the Czech Cup in 2011 . He is known for his skill and pace . Early career . Born in Paris , Mendy started his career at French club FC Versailles 78 . Before trying his career in the Czech 1st Division in 2003 when he moved to FK Marila Příbram . The first club he played for in the Gambrinus Liga was FK Marila Příbram where he scored 6 league goals in 57 appearances before moving to FK Siad Most . Mladá Boleslav . In 2007 , he joined FK Mladá Boleslav on loan . Mendy made his European debut for Boleslaw against Palermo . In 2007 , Mendy scored for Boleslav in the group stages of the UEFA Cup against Villarreal CF and IF Elfsborg , However they failed to qualify past the group stage after losing to AEK Athens and Fiorentina . Despite only scoring one goal in 24 league appearances , his move to FK Mladá Boleslav was made permanent in 2008 . During the 2010–11 season , Mendy played all 30 league games for FK Mladá Boleslav scoring six goals as he helped them finish in fifth place in the Gambrinus Liga and also win the Czech Cup for the first time in Boleslavs history after beating SK Sigma Olomouc on penalties , Mendy scored one of the penalties for Mladá Boleslav in the final . The Cup win also saw Boleslav qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the following season . After his contract with FK Mladá Boleslav expired in June 2011 , Mendy sought pastures new and became a free agent . He has found the back of the net 24 times in 207 appearances in the Gambrinus Liga . Leeds United trial . On 19 July 2011 , he played as an unnamed trialist on the right wing for Leeds United during a friendly match against Rochdale along with fellow trialists Jlloyd Samuel and Isiah Osbourne . He played for Leeds in the friendly against Sheffield Wednesday where he was officially confirmed as the unnamed trialist by his real name . With Mendy impressing in his first two pre season games with Leeds his trial was extended even further for the match against Norwegian club Sandefjord Fotball . With Mendy again impressing , starting his third pre-season match in a row for Leeds . Mendy again played for Leeds in their 3–2 win against Newcastle United at Elland Road , coming on as a second-half substitute where he impressed on the right wing . After the match manager Simon Grayson said he would make a decision whether to sign Mendy and fellow trialist Boldi Bodor in the next two days after saying he felt both trialists had done ok in their spells . On 4 August 2011 , Grayson confirmed on Yorkshire Radio the club were looking into signing Mendy permanently , however the deal was taking time as there were complications . Grayson confirmed that he was looking to sign the player and send him out on loan to help him learn the English game . With Leeds entering contract talks with Mendy , the move was called off on 11 August , after Leeds decided that they had to prioritise the transfer budget to sign players in other positions . Chesterfield . On 17 August 2011 , Mendy signed for Chesterfield on a 1-year deal until 30 June 2012 . Mendy scored his first goal for Chesterfield in the League Two 3–0 victory over Bournemouth on 10 September 2011 . Mendy was part of the side that won the Football League Trophy in March 2012 at Wembley Stadium , it was his cross that set up the first goal for Chesterfield . He was released by the club at the end of the 2011–12 season . Hansa Rostock . Mendy signed a two-year contract with German Club Hansa Rostock on 10 June 2012 . 1.FC Saarbrücken . In 2014 , he signed a contract with 1.FC Saarbrücken till 2016 . He played with shirtnumber 4 . Personal life . Alexandre is the older brother of Vincent Mendy who plays as a defensive midfielder . Honours . FK Mladá Boleslav - 2011 Czech Cup Winner Chesterfield - 2012 Football League Trophy Winner External links . - Chesterfield profile |
[
"free agent"
] | easy | Alexandre Mendy played for which team from 2011 to 2014? | /wiki/Alexandre_Mendy#P54#3 | Alexandre Mendy He played formerly for FK Mladá Boleslav and helped them win the Czech Cup in 2011 . He is known for his skill and pace . Early career . Born in Paris , Mendy started his career at French club FC Versailles 78 . Before trying his career in the Czech 1st Division in 2003 when he moved to FK Marila Příbram . The first club he played for in the Gambrinus Liga was FK Marila Příbram where he scored 6 league goals in 57 appearances before moving to FK Siad Most . Mladá Boleslav . In 2007 , he joined FK Mladá Boleslav on loan . Mendy made his European debut for Boleslaw against Palermo . In 2007 , Mendy scored for Boleslav in the group stages of the UEFA Cup against Villarreal CF and IF Elfsborg , However they failed to qualify past the group stage after losing to AEK Athens and Fiorentina . Despite only scoring one goal in 24 league appearances , his move to FK Mladá Boleslav was made permanent in 2008 . During the 2010–11 season , Mendy played all 30 league games for FK Mladá Boleslav scoring six goals as he helped them finish in fifth place in the Gambrinus Liga and also win the Czech Cup for the first time in Boleslavs history after beating SK Sigma Olomouc on penalties , Mendy scored one of the penalties for Mladá Boleslav in the final . The Cup win also saw Boleslav qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the following season . After his contract with FK Mladá Boleslav expired in June 2011 , Mendy sought pastures new and became a free agent . He has found the back of the net 24 times in 207 appearances in the Gambrinus Liga . Leeds United trial . On 19 July 2011 , he played as an unnamed trialist on the right wing for Leeds United during a friendly match against Rochdale along with fellow trialists Jlloyd Samuel and Isiah Osbourne . He played for Leeds in the friendly against Sheffield Wednesday where he was officially confirmed as the unnamed trialist by his real name . With Mendy impressing in his first two pre season games with Leeds his trial was extended even further for the match against Norwegian club Sandefjord Fotball . With Mendy again impressing , starting his third pre-season match in a row for Leeds . Mendy again played for Leeds in their 3–2 win against Newcastle United at Elland Road , coming on as a second-half substitute where he impressed on the right wing . After the match manager Simon Grayson said he would make a decision whether to sign Mendy and fellow trialist Boldi Bodor in the next two days after saying he felt both trialists had done ok in their spells . On 4 August 2011 , Grayson confirmed on Yorkshire Radio the club were looking into signing Mendy permanently , however the deal was taking time as there were complications . Grayson confirmed that he was looking to sign the player and send him out on loan to help him learn the English game . With Leeds entering contract talks with Mendy , the move was called off on 11 August , after Leeds decided that they had to prioritise the transfer budget to sign players in other positions . Chesterfield . On 17 August 2011 , Mendy signed for Chesterfield on a 1-year deal until 30 June 2012 . Mendy scored his first goal for Chesterfield in the League Two 3–0 victory over Bournemouth on 10 September 2011 . Mendy was part of the side that won the Football League Trophy in March 2012 at Wembley Stadium , it was his cross that set up the first goal for Chesterfield . He was released by the club at the end of the 2011–12 season . Hansa Rostock . Mendy signed a two-year contract with German Club Hansa Rostock on 10 June 2012 . 1.FC Saarbrücken . In 2014 , he signed a contract with 1.FC Saarbrücken till 2016 . He played with shirtnumber 4 . Personal life . Alexandre is the older brother of Vincent Mendy who plays as a defensive midfielder . Honours . FK Mladá Boleslav - 2011 Czech Cup Winner Chesterfield - 2012 Football League Trophy Winner External links . - Chesterfield profile |
[
"FC Saarbrücken"
] | easy | Which team did Alexandre Mendy play for from 2014 to 2015? | /wiki/Alexandre_Mendy#P54#4 | Alexandre Mendy He played formerly for FK Mladá Boleslav and helped them win the Czech Cup in 2011 . He is known for his skill and pace . Early career . Born in Paris , Mendy started his career at French club FC Versailles 78 . Before trying his career in the Czech 1st Division in 2003 when he moved to FK Marila Příbram . The first club he played for in the Gambrinus Liga was FK Marila Příbram where he scored 6 league goals in 57 appearances before moving to FK Siad Most . Mladá Boleslav . In 2007 , he joined FK Mladá Boleslav on loan . Mendy made his European debut for Boleslaw against Palermo . In 2007 , Mendy scored for Boleslav in the group stages of the UEFA Cup against Villarreal CF and IF Elfsborg , However they failed to qualify past the group stage after losing to AEK Athens and Fiorentina . Despite only scoring one goal in 24 league appearances , his move to FK Mladá Boleslav was made permanent in 2008 . During the 2010–11 season , Mendy played all 30 league games for FK Mladá Boleslav scoring six goals as he helped them finish in fifth place in the Gambrinus Liga and also win the Czech Cup for the first time in Boleslavs history after beating SK Sigma Olomouc on penalties , Mendy scored one of the penalties for Mladá Boleslav in the final . The Cup win also saw Boleslav qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the following season . After his contract with FK Mladá Boleslav expired in June 2011 , Mendy sought pastures new and became a free agent . He has found the back of the net 24 times in 207 appearances in the Gambrinus Liga . Leeds United trial . On 19 July 2011 , he played as an unnamed trialist on the right wing for Leeds United during a friendly match against Rochdale along with fellow trialists Jlloyd Samuel and Isiah Osbourne . He played for Leeds in the friendly against Sheffield Wednesday where he was officially confirmed as the unnamed trialist by his real name . With Mendy impressing in his first two pre season games with Leeds his trial was extended even further for the match against Norwegian club Sandefjord Fotball . With Mendy again impressing , starting his third pre-season match in a row for Leeds . Mendy again played for Leeds in their 3–2 win against Newcastle United at Elland Road , coming on as a second-half substitute where he impressed on the right wing . After the match manager Simon Grayson said he would make a decision whether to sign Mendy and fellow trialist Boldi Bodor in the next two days after saying he felt both trialists had done ok in their spells . On 4 August 2011 , Grayson confirmed on Yorkshire Radio the club were looking into signing Mendy permanently , however the deal was taking time as there were complications . Grayson confirmed that he was looking to sign the player and send him out on loan to help him learn the English game . With Leeds entering contract talks with Mendy , the move was called off on 11 August , after Leeds decided that they had to prioritise the transfer budget to sign players in other positions . Chesterfield . On 17 August 2011 , Mendy signed for Chesterfield on a 1-year deal until 30 June 2012 . Mendy scored his first goal for Chesterfield in the League Two 3–0 victory over Bournemouth on 10 September 2011 . Mendy was part of the side that won the Football League Trophy in March 2012 at Wembley Stadium , it was his cross that set up the first goal for Chesterfield . He was released by the club at the end of the 2011–12 season . Hansa Rostock . Mendy signed a two-year contract with German Club Hansa Rostock on 10 June 2012 . 1.FC Saarbrücken . In 2014 , he signed a contract with 1.FC Saarbrücken till 2016 . He played with shirtnumber 4 . Personal life . Alexandre is the older brother of Vincent Mendy who plays as a defensive midfielder . Honours . FK Mladá Boleslav - 2011 Czech Cup Winner Chesterfield - 2012 Football League Trophy Winner External links . - Chesterfield profile |
[
"colonel"
] | easy | What military rank did Ferdinand Schörner have from Feb 1940 to Aug 1940? | /wiki/Ferdinand_Schörner#P410#0 | Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner ( 12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973 ) was a German general and later field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II . He commanded several army groups and was the last Commander-in-chief of the German Army . Schörner is commonly represented in historical literature as a simple disciplinarian and a slavish devotee of Hitlers defensive orders , after Germany lost the initiative in the second half of World War II in 1942/43 . More recent research by American historian Howard Davis Grier and German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser depicts Schörner as a talented commander with astonishing organizational ability in managing an army group of 500,000 men during the fighting in late 1944 on the Eastern Front . He was harsh against superiors as well as subordinates and carried out operations on his own authority against Hitlers orders when he considered it necessary , such as the evacuation of the Sõrve Peninsula . Schörner was a dedicated Nazi and became well known for his ruthlessness . By the end of World War II he was Hitlers favorite commander . Following the war he was convicted of war crimes by courts in the Soviet Union , and West Germany , and was imprisoned in the Soviet Union , East Germany and West Germany . At his death in 1973 he was the last living German field marshal . He is also considered by historians to be one of the main reasons why the German military did away with the rank of field marshal altogether . Early life . Schörner was born on 12 June 1892 in Munich , Kingdom of Bavaria , German Empire . He entered the Bavarian Army in October 1911 as a one-year volunteer with the Bavarian Leib Regiment , and by November 1914 he was a Leutnant der Reserve . Serving in World War I , he was awarded the Pour le Mérite military order as a lieutenant when he took part in the Battle of Caporetto , which shattered the Italian lines in autumn 1917 . Continuing in the Reichsheer , between the two wars , Schörner served as a staff officer and instructor . In 1923 he was adjutant to General Otto von Lossow , the commander of Wehrkreis VII ( military district ) in Munich and participated in the defeat of the Beer Hall Putsch . World War II . Schörner commanded the 98th Mountain Regiment in the invasion of Poland in 1939 . During the 1941 Balkans campaign , he commanded the German 6th Mountain Division and earned the Knights Cross for his role in breaching the Metaxas Line . With this division , Schörner took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 . The 6th Gebirgs Division was assigned to the Arctic sectors in the Eastern Front . In 1942 as a General der Gebirgstruppe he took command of the XIX Mountain Corps , part of the German Army in Finland . With this command he participated in the failed attack on Murmansk and the stalemate war that followed . Schörners task was to keep the Pechenga Nickel Works in German hands . When the Soviets opened an offensive against the Arctic sector , the division took part in the fighting . In February 1942 , Schörner was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant , commanding the Mountain Corps Norway . He later commanded the XXXX Panzer Corps on the Eastern Front from November 1943 to January 1944 . In March 1944 he was made commander of Army Group A , and in May commander of Army Group South Ukraine . After stating that the Crimean port of Sevastopol could be held for a long time even if Crimea fell , he changed his mind and against Hitlers wishes , evacuated the Black Sea port . This retreat occurred too late and the German–Romanian 17th Army that was holding Crimea suffered severe losses , with many men killed or captured while waiting on the piers to be evacuated . During the late spring of 1944 , Schörner oversaw the retreat from the Dniester River in Romania . Schörner was promoted to the rank of Generaloberst in May 1944 . In July he became commander of Army Group North , which was later renamed Army Group Courland , where he stayed until January 1945 when he was made commander of Army Group Centre , defending Czechoslovakia and the upper reaches of the River Oder . He became a favorite of high-level Nazi leaders such as Joseph Goebbels , whose diary entries from March and April 1945 have many words of praise for Schörner and his methods . On 5 April 1945 , Schörner was promoted to field marshal and was named as the new Commander-in-Chief of the German Army High Command ( OKH ) in Hitlers last testament . He nominally served in this post until the surrender of the Third Reich on 8 May 1945 but continued to command his army group , since no staff was available to him . He did not have any discernible influence in the final days of the Reich . On 7 May , the day General Alfred Jodl , Chief-of-Staff of the OKW was negotiating the surrender of all German forces at SHAEF , the last the OKW had heard from Schörner was on 2 May . He had reported he intended to fight his way west and surrender his army group to the Americans . On 8 May , OKW colonel Wilhelm Meyer-Detring was escorted through the American lines to contact Schörner . The colonel reported that Schörner had ordered his operational command to observe the surrender but he could not guarantee that he would be obeyed everywhere . Schörner ordered a continuation of fighting against Red Army and the Czech insurgents of the Prague uprising . Later that day , Schörner deserted and flew to Austria , where he was arrested by the Americans on 18 May . Elements of Army Group Centre continued to resist the overwhelming force of the Red Army invading Czechoslovakia during the final Prague Offensive . Units of Army Group Centre , the last big German units to surrender , capitulated on 11 May 1945 . Post-war trials and convictions . With the war over , on 18 May 1945 Schörner handed himself in to the Americans , who a few weeks later passed him over to the Soviet authorities as a prisoner of war . In August 1951 he was charged with war crimes , and in February 1952 the Military Board of the Soviet Supreme Court sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment . A decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in April 1952 reduced this sentence to 12 and a half years . A decree of December 1954 allowed him to be handed over to authorities of East Germany , and he was released in 1955 . Returning to West Germany , he was arrested and charged with executions of German Army soldiers accused of desertion , found guilty and sentenced to four and a half years jail . Schörner was released on August 4 , 1960 and lived in obscurity in Munich until his death in 1973 . In the late 1960s he gave a lengthy interview to Italian historian Mario Silvestri on his role and actions during the Austro-German victory at the Battle of Caporetto in World War I , but rarely spoke about his World War II service . Assessment . German veterans particularly criticized Schörner for a 1945 order that all soldiers found behind the front lines , who did not possess written orders to be there , were to be court-martialled on the spot and hanged if found guilty of desertion . This is mentioned in the writings of Siegfried Knappe , Hans von Luck and Joseph Goebbels . Deserters get no mercy from him Goebbels wrote of Schörner on 11 March 1945 . They are hanged from the nearest tree with a placard round their necks saying I am a deserter . I have declined to defend German women and children and therefore I have been hanged . ( Ich bin ein Deserteur . Ich habe mich geweigert , deutsche Frauen und Kinder zu beschützen und bin deshalb aufgehängt worden. ) Goebbels continued with , Naturally such methods are effective . Every man in Schörners area knows that he may die at the front but will inevitably die in the rear . Gottlob Bidermann , a German infantry officer who served in Schörners command in 1944–45 , reported in his memoirs that the General was despised by officers and men alike . Schörner was said to be devoted to Hitler , a view that is seen as confirmed by Hitlers appointment of Schörner as his replacement as Commander-in-Chief of the German Army on his suicide in the Last will and testament of Adolf Hitler . Schörner did not hesitate to second Hitlers fantasy in the last weeks of the war , agreeing that the Red Armys main objective would be Prague instead of Berlin ( in itself a colossal strategic blunder ) and so leading him to weaken the critically thin defense lines in front of Berlin . Historian Ian Kershaw described him in 2011 ( BBC History Magazine ) as extraordinarily brutal . In ( 2012 ) Kershaw describes Schörner as a fanatical ( Nazi ) loyalist , an indication of this being that he had served for a brief spell in March 1944 as Chief of the NS Leadership Staff of the Army . The latter was responsible for coordinating relations between the military and the Nazi Party . Awards and decorations . - Iron Cross ( 1914 ) 2nd Class ( 22 December 1914 ) & 1st Class ( 27 January 1917 ) - Pour le Mérite ( 5 December 1917 ) - Military Merit Cross , 3rd class with War Decoration ( Austria-Hungary , 20 April 1916 ) - Military Merit Order , 4th class with Swords and Crown ( Bavaria , 24 October 1917 ) - Clasp to the Iron Cross ( 1939 ) 2nd Class ( 12 September 1939 ) & 1st Class ( 20 September 1939 ) - Eastern Front Medal ( 20 August 1942 ) - Golden Party Badge of the NSDAP ( 30 January 1943 ) - Order of the Cross of Liberty 1st Class ( Finland , 1 July 1942 ) - Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds - Knights Cross on 20 April 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of 6 . Gebirgs-Division - 398th Oak Leaves on 17 February 1944 as General der Gebirgstruppe and commander of XXXX . Panzerkorps - 93rd Swords on 28 August 1944 as Generaloberst and commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe Nord - 23rd Diamonds on 1 January 1945 as Generaloberst and commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe Nord |
[
""
] | easy | What military rank did Ferdinand Schörner have from Aug 1940 to Apr 1946? | /wiki/Ferdinand_Schörner#P410#1 | Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner ( 12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973 ) was a German general and later field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II . He commanded several army groups and was the last Commander-in-chief of the German Army . Schörner is commonly represented in historical literature as a simple disciplinarian and a slavish devotee of Hitlers defensive orders , after Germany lost the initiative in the second half of World War II in 1942/43 . More recent research by American historian Howard Davis Grier and German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser depicts Schörner as a talented commander with astonishing organizational ability in managing an army group of 500,000 men during the fighting in late 1944 on the Eastern Front . He was harsh against superiors as well as subordinates and carried out operations on his own authority against Hitlers orders when he considered it necessary , such as the evacuation of the Sõrve Peninsula . Schörner was a dedicated Nazi and became well known for his ruthlessness . By the end of World War II he was Hitlers favorite commander . Following the war he was convicted of war crimes by courts in the Soviet Union , and West Germany , and was imprisoned in the Soviet Union , East Germany and West Germany . At his death in 1973 he was the last living German field marshal . He is also considered by historians to be one of the main reasons why the German military did away with the rank of field marshal altogether . Early life . Schörner was born on 12 June 1892 in Munich , Kingdom of Bavaria , German Empire . He entered the Bavarian Army in October 1911 as a one-year volunteer with the Bavarian Leib Regiment , and by November 1914 he was a Leutnant der Reserve . Serving in World War I , he was awarded the Pour le Mérite military order as a lieutenant when he took part in the Battle of Caporetto , which shattered the Italian lines in autumn 1917 . Continuing in the Reichsheer , between the two wars , Schörner served as a staff officer and instructor . In 1923 he was adjutant to General Otto von Lossow , the commander of Wehrkreis VII ( military district ) in Munich and participated in the defeat of the Beer Hall Putsch . World War II . Schörner commanded the 98th Mountain Regiment in the invasion of Poland in 1939 . During the 1941 Balkans campaign , he commanded the German 6th Mountain Division and earned the Knights Cross for his role in breaching the Metaxas Line . With this division , Schörner took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 . The 6th Gebirgs Division was assigned to the Arctic sectors in the Eastern Front . In 1942 as a General der Gebirgstruppe he took command of the XIX Mountain Corps , part of the German Army in Finland . With this command he participated in the failed attack on Murmansk and the stalemate war that followed . Schörners task was to keep the Pechenga Nickel Works in German hands . When the Soviets opened an offensive against the Arctic sector , the division took part in the fighting . In February 1942 , Schörner was promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant , commanding the Mountain Corps Norway . He later commanded the XXXX Panzer Corps on the Eastern Front from November 1943 to January 1944 . In March 1944 he was made commander of Army Group A , and in May commander of Army Group South Ukraine . After stating that the Crimean port of Sevastopol could be held for a long time even if Crimea fell , he changed his mind and against Hitlers wishes , evacuated the Black Sea port . This retreat occurred too late and the German–Romanian 17th Army that was holding Crimea suffered severe losses , with many men killed or captured while waiting on the piers to be evacuated . During the late spring of 1944 , Schörner oversaw the retreat from the Dniester River in Romania . Schörner was promoted to the rank of Generaloberst in May 1944 . In July he became commander of Army Group North , which was later renamed Army Group Courland , where he stayed until January 1945 when he was made commander of Army Group Centre , defending Czechoslovakia and the upper reaches of the River Oder . He became a favorite of high-level Nazi leaders such as Joseph Goebbels , whose diary entries from March and April 1945 have many words of praise for Schörner and his methods . On 5 April 1945 , Schörner was promoted to field marshal and was named as the new Commander-in-Chief of the German Army High Command ( OKH ) in Hitlers last testament . He nominally served in this post until the surrender of the Third Reich on 8 May 1945 but continued to command his army group , since no staff was available to him . He did not have any discernible influence in the final days of the Reich . On 7 May , the day General Alfred Jodl , Chief-of-Staff of the OKW was negotiating the surrender of all German forces at SHAEF , the last the OKW had heard from Schörner was on 2 May . He had reported he intended to fight his way west and surrender his army group to the Americans . On 8 May , OKW colonel Wilhelm Meyer-Detring was escorted through the American lines to contact Schörner . The colonel reported that Schörner had ordered his operational command to observe the surrender but he could not guarantee that he would be obeyed everywhere . Schörner ordered a continuation of fighting against Red Army and the Czech insurgents of the Prague uprising . Later that day , Schörner deserted and flew to Austria , where he was arrested by the Americans on 18 May . Elements of Army Group Centre continued to resist the overwhelming force of the Red Army invading Czechoslovakia during the final Prague Offensive . Units of Army Group Centre , the last big German units to surrender , capitulated on 11 May 1945 . Post-war trials and convictions . With the war over , on 18 May 1945 Schörner handed himself in to the Americans , who a few weeks later passed him over to the Soviet authorities as a prisoner of war . In August 1951 he was charged with war crimes , and in February 1952 the Military Board of the Soviet Supreme Court sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment . A decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in April 1952 reduced this sentence to 12 and a half years . A decree of December 1954 allowed him to be handed over to authorities of East Germany , and he was released in 1955 . Returning to West Germany , he was arrested and charged with executions of German Army soldiers accused of desertion , found guilty and sentenced to four and a half years jail . Schörner was released on August 4 , 1960 and lived in obscurity in Munich until his death in 1973 . In the late 1960s he gave a lengthy interview to Italian historian Mario Silvestri on his role and actions during the Austro-German victory at the Battle of Caporetto in World War I , but rarely spoke about his World War II service . Assessment . German veterans particularly criticized Schörner for a 1945 order that all soldiers found behind the front lines , who did not possess written orders to be there , were to be court-martialled on the spot and hanged if found guilty of desertion . This is mentioned in the writings of Siegfried Knappe , Hans von Luck and Joseph Goebbels . Deserters get no mercy from him Goebbels wrote of Schörner on 11 March 1945 . They are hanged from the nearest tree with a placard round their necks saying I am a deserter . I have declined to defend German women and children and therefore I have been hanged . ( Ich bin ein Deserteur . Ich habe mich geweigert , deutsche Frauen und Kinder zu beschützen und bin deshalb aufgehängt worden. ) Goebbels continued with , Naturally such methods are effective . Every man in Schörners area knows that he may die at the front but will inevitably die in the rear . Gottlob Bidermann , a German infantry officer who served in Schörners command in 1944–45 , reported in his memoirs that the General was despised by officers and men alike . Schörner was said to be devoted to Hitler , a view that is seen as confirmed by Hitlers appointment of Schörner as his replacement as Commander-in-Chief of the German Army on his suicide in the Last will and testament of Adolf Hitler . Schörner did not hesitate to second Hitlers fantasy in the last weeks of the war , agreeing that the Red Armys main objective would be Prague instead of Berlin ( in itself a colossal strategic blunder ) and so leading him to weaken the critically thin defense lines in front of Berlin . Historian Ian Kershaw described him in 2011 ( BBC History Magazine ) as extraordinarily brutal . In ( 2012 ) Kershaw describes Schörner as a fanatical ( Nazi ) loyalist , an indication of this being that he had served for a brief spell in March 1944 as Chief of the NS Leadership Staff of the Army . The latter was responsible for coordinating relations between the military and the Nazi Party . Awards and decorations . - Iron Cross ( 1914 ) 2nd Class ( 22 December 1914 ) & 1st Class ( 27 January 1917 ) - Pour le Mérite ( 5 December 1917 ) - Military Merit Cross , 3rd class with War Decoration ( Austria-Hungary , 20 April 1916 ) - Military Merit Order , 4th class with Swords and Crown ( Bavaria , 24 October 1917 ) - Clasp to the Iron Cross ( 1939 ) 2nd Class ( 12 September 1939 ) & 1st Class ( 20 September 1939 ) - Eastern Front Medal ( 20 August 1942 ) - Golden Party Badge of the NSDAP ( 30 January 1943 ) - Order of the Cross of Liberty 1st Class ( Finland , 1 July 1942 ) - Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds - Knights Cross on 20 April 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of 6 . Gebirgs-Division - 398th Oak Leaves on 17 February 1944 as General der Gebirgstruppe and commander of XXXX . Panzerkorps - 93rd Swords on 28 August 1944 as Generaloberst and commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe Nord - 23rd Diamonds on 1 January 1945 as Generaloberst and commander-in-chief of Heeresgruppe Nord |
[
"National Historic Sites of Canada"
] | easy | Which site was the heritage designation of Point Clark Lighthouse from May 1966 to Jul 1994? | /wiki/Point_Clark_Lighthouse#P1435#0 | Point Clark Lighthouse Point Clark Lighthouse is located on in a beach community , Point Clark , Ontario , near a point that protrudes into Lake Huron . Built between 1855 and 1859 under the instructions of the Board of Works , Canada West , it is one of the few on the Great Lakes to be made primarily from stone . It is one of the Imperial Towers , a group of six nearly identical towers built by contractor John Brown for the Province of Canada ( Canadian government ) on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay , all completed by 1859 . The location for the Point Clark lighthouse was selected to warn sailors of the shoals ( sandbars ) off the Lake Huron coast . It is still functioning as an automated light . A restoration that eventually exceeded $2.3 million started in 2011 and the facility reopened for tourism in June 2015 . The origin of the designation Imperial is not certain , but some historians speculate that because the towers were public construction built under the colonial administration while Canada was a self-governing colony of Britain , the name would assure at least some funding from the British Empires Board of Trade . Since the lighthouse is on the mainland ( not on an island ) it can easily reached by bicycle or a vehicle . The original wooden storage building and keepers house are a Township of Huron-Kinloss museum . The lightkeepers home and the lighthouse can be toured from mid June to Labour Day for a fee . The Point Clark tower was formally registered as one of the National Historic Sites of Canada , the only lighthouse on the Great Lakes or Georgian Bay to receive this highest-level designation . It has also been designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act . The keepers cottage is a designated place of historic interest , and has been listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places since 2008 . History . Before the lighthouse was built , a lantern had been hung on a branch of a pine tree near the beach ; this led to the settlement being called Pine Point . Like the nearby Chantry Island Lightstation Tower this one was built at a time when commercial shipping traffic was increasing on the Great Lakes between Canada and the U.S . because of new trade agreements and the opening of the Sault Ste . Marie Canal locks in 1855 . Other towers were also built on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay between 1855 and 1859 to act as navigational aids for the ships . Intended to warn ships about the point and about dangerous shoals in the area , construction started in 1857 . The second order Fresnel lens was manufactured in Paris and installed by workmen from France . Much of the tower , and the keepers house , was made of Dolomite limestone , much of it from a quarry about 60 kilometers from Point Clark . The walls are five feet thick at the base but only two feet near the top of the tower . The light was first illuminated on 1 April 1859 . In the early years , it was fueled with spermaceti oil as fuel but in 1860 , that changed to colza oil ; the latter was less expensive and allowed for the light to burn even on the coldest winter nights . The keeper was required to carry the fuel up the stairs in buckets . Electricity was used since 1863 . The first attempt in automating the light started in 1924 . The new system was not considered adequately effective or reliable , so in 1926 , it was removed and the original Fresnel lens was again used . The early revolving light mechanism was replaced with an electric motor in 1953 . A light keeper was no longer required after 1963 when the light was fully automated . Its light characteristic is a single white flash every ten seconds , emitted at a focal plane height of . The tower is owned by Parks Canada but the site is operated as a tourist attraction by the Township of Huron-Kinloss . The light operates under the control of the Canadian Coast Guard . Like the other Imperial Towers on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay , it is among the few on the Great Lakes made of cut limestone and granite ( not brick , wood , metal or concrete ) , with a functional design that is simple but elegant and pleasing to the eye . After a $3.7 million reconstruction that lasted four years , the lighthouse and museum reopened for tours in June 2015 . An announcement at the reopening ceremony indicated that the Point Clark lighthouse had been designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act because of its significant heritage value . Lighthouse design . The tower is tall , made primarily of cut limestone brought from Inverhuron by barge , but a section near the top is made of granite for extra rigidity . There are 114 steps from the bottom to the lantern room . The 12 sided cast iron lantern was first lit on April 1 , 1859 and is from the base of the tower . The light keepers house , resembling a British stone cottage , is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building , a place of historic interest . The 14 July 1994 summary praises its symmetry , excellent build quality , pleasing appearance and practical design . The Lightkeepers . The job of light keeper was an attractive one and positions were often filled on the basis of affiliation with the current political party in power . After WWI and WWII however , preference was given to war veterans . The keeper was required to maintain the property , clean and whitewash the tower as required , and maintain the light . In the years before electricity and automation , he was also required to carry the fuel up the stairs in buckets , and , twice a day , to wind up the clockwork-like mechanism—with weights and pulleys—that enabled the weights to rotate the lens . The following individuals were responsible for the lighthouse and its property over the years : - John Young 1859–1882 - David Small 1883 - John Rae 1883–1896 - Murdock McDonald 1897–1914 - George H . Ray 1914–1924 - John E . Ruttle 1926–1938 - John A . Campbell 1938–1946 - John C . Campbell ( 1947–1962 ) In 1875 , John Youngs salary would have been approximately $400 per annum , based on published data for the salary at the Chantry Island Lightstation that year . ( Another report indicates $435 per annum but does not state the year ; that amount may have been paid in a later year. ) After the light was automated , Elmer MacKenzie was retained as a part-time caretaker for the property ( 1963-1964 ) at a salary of $75 per year . Some sources discuss subsequent caretakers Elden Lowry ( 1964-1967 ) and Joe Burke . Currently , the light produces a white flash every 10 seconds . |
[
"Recognized Federal Heritage Building"
] | easy | Which site was the heritage designation of Point Clark Lighthouse from Jul 1994 to May 2013? | /wiki/Point_Clark_Lighthouse#P1435#1 | Point Clark Lighthouse Point Clark Lighthouse is located on in a beach community , Point Clark , Ontario , near a point that protrudes into Lake Huron . Built between 1855 and 1859 under the instructions of the Board of Works , Canada West , it is one of the few on the Great Lakes to be made primarily from stone . It is one of the Imperial Towers , a group of six nearly identical towers built by contractor John Brown for the Province of Canada ( Canadian government ) on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay , all completed by 1859 . The location for the Point Clark lighthouse was selected to warn sailors of the shoals ( sandbars ) off the Lake Huron coast . It is still functioning as an automated light . A restoration that eventually exceeded $2.3 million started in 2011 and the facility reopened for tourism in June 2015 . The origin of the designation Imperial is not certain , but some historians speculate that because the towers were public construction built under the colonial administration while Canada was a self-governing colony of Britain , the name would assure at least some funding from the British Empires Board of Trade . Since the lighthouse is on the mainland ( not on an island ) it can easily reached by bicycle or a vehicle . The original wooden storage building and keepers house are a Township of Huron-Kinloss museum . The lightkeepers home and the lighthouse can be toured from mid June to Labour Day for a fee . The Point Clark tower was formally registered as one of the National Historic Sites of Canada , the only lighthouse on the Great Lakes or Georgian Bay to receive this highest-level designation . It has also been designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act . The keepers cottage is a designated place of historic interest , and has been listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places since 2008 . History . Before the lighthouse was built , a lantern had been hung on a branch of a pine tree near the beach ; this led to the settlement being called Pine Point . Like the nearby Chantry Island Lightstation Tower this one was built at a time when commercial shipping traffic was increasing on the Great Lakes between Canada and the U.S . because of new trade agreements and the opening of the Sault Ste . Marie Canal locks in 1855 . Other towers were also built on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay between 1855 and 1859 to act as navigational aids for the ships . Intended to warn ships about the point and about dangerous shoals in the area , construction started in 1857 . The second order Fresnel lens was manufactured in Paris and installed by workmen from France . Much of the tower , and the keepers house , was made of Dolomite limestone , much of it from a quarry about 60 kilometers from Point Clark . The walls are five feet thick at the base but only two feet near the top of the tower . The light was first illuminated on 1 April 1859 . In the early years , it was fueled with spermaceti oil as fuel but in 1860 , that changed to colza oil ; the latter was less expensive and allowed for the light to burn even on the coldest winter nights . The keeper was required to carry the fuel up the stairs in buckets . Electricity was used since 1863 . The first attempt in automating the light started in 1924 . The new system was not considered adequately effective or reliable , so in 1926 , it was removed and the original Fresnel lens was again used . The early revolving light mechanism was replaced with an electric motor in 1953 . A light keeper was no longer required after 1963 when the light was fully automated . Its light characteristic is a single white flash every ten seconds , emitted at a focal plane height of . The tower is owned by Parks Canada but the site is operated as a tourist attraction by the Township of Huron-Kinloss . The light operates under the control of the Canadian Coast Guard . Like the other Imperial Towers on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay , it is among the few on the Great Lakes made of cut limestone and granite ( not brick , wood , metal or concrete ) , with a functional design that is simple but elegant and pleasing to the eye . After a $3.7 million reconstruction that lasted four years , the lighthouse and museum reopened for tours in June 2015 . An announcement at the reopening ceremony indicated that the Point Clark lighthouse had been designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act because of its significant heritage value . Lighthouse design . The tower is tall , made primarily of cut limestone brought from Inverhuron by barge , but a section near the top is made of granite for extra rigidity . There are 114 steps from the bottom to the lantern room . The 12 sided cast iron lantern was first lit on April 1 , 1859 and is from the base of the tower . The light keepers house , resembling a British stone cottage , is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building , a place of historic interest . The 14 July 1994 summary praises its symmetry , excellent build quality , pleasing appearance and practical design . The Lightkeepers . The job of light keeper was an attractive one and positions were often filled on the basis of affiliation with the current political party in power . After WWI and WWII however , preference was given to war veterans . The keeper was required to maintain the property , clean and whitewash the tower as required , and maintain the light . In the years before electricity and automation , he was also required to carry the fuel up the stairs in buckets , and , twice a day , to wind up the clockwork-like mechanism—with weights and pulleys—that enabled the weights to rotate the lens . The following individuals were responsible for the lighthouse and its property over the years : - John Young 1859–1882 - David Small 1883 - John Rae 1883–1896 - Murdock McDonald 1897–1914 - George H . Ray 1914–1924 - John E . Ruttle 1926–1938 - John A . Campbell 1938–1946 - John C . Campbell ( 1947–1962 ) In 1875 , John Youngs salary would have been approximately $400 per annum , based on published data for the salary at the Chantry Island Lightstation that year . ( Another report indicates $435 per annum but does not state the year ; that amount may have been paid in a later year. ) After the light was automated , Elmer MacKenzie was retained as a part-time caretaker for the property ( 1963-1964 ) at a salary of $75 per year . Some sources discuss subsequent caretakers Elden Lowry ( 1964-1967 ) and Joe Burke . Currently , the light produces a white flash every 10 seconds . |
[
"Heritage Lighthouse"
] | easy | Which site was the heritage designation of Point Clark Lighthouse from May 2013 to May 2014? | /wiki/Point_Clark_Lighthouse#P1435#2 | Point Clark Lighthouse Point Clark Lighthouse is located on in a beach community , Point Clark , Ontario , near a point that protrudes into Lake Huron . Built between 1855 and 1859 under the instructions of the Board of Works , Canada West , it is one of the few on the Great Lakes to be made primarily from stone . It is one of the Imperial Towers , a group of six nearly identical towers built by contractor John Brown for the Province of Canada ( Canadian government ) on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay , all completed by 1859 . The location for the Point Clark lighthouse was selected to warn sailors of the shoals ( sandbars ) off the Lake Huron coast . It is still functioning as an automated light . A restoration that eventually exceeded $2.3 million started in 2011 and the facility reopened for tourism in June 2015 . The origin of the designation Imperial is not certain , but some historians speculate that because the towers were public construction built under the colonial administration while Canada was a self-governing colony of Britain , the name would assure at least some funding from the British Empires Board of Trade . Since the lighthouse is on the mainland ( not on an island ) it can easily reached by bicycle or a vehicle . The original wooden storage building and keepers house are a Township of Huron-Kinloss museum . The lightkeepers home and the lighthouse can be toured from mid June to Labour Day for a fee . The Point Clark tower was formally registered as one of the National Historic Sites of Canada , the only lighthouse on the Great Lakes or Georgian Bay to receive this highest-level designation . It has also been designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act . The keepers cottage is a designated place of historic interest , and has been listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places since 2008 . History . Before the lighthouse was built , a lantern had been hung on a branch of a pine tree near the beach ; this led to the settlement being called Pine Point . Like the nearby Chantry Island Lightstation Tower this one was built at a time when commercial shipping traffic was increasing on the Great Lakes between Canada and the U.S . because of new trade agreements and the opening of the Sault Ste . Marie Canal locks in 1855 . Other towers were also built on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay between 1855 and 1859 to act as navigational aids for the ships . Intended to warn ships about the point and about dangerous shoals in the area , construction started in 1857 . The second order Fresnel lens was manufactured in Paris and installed by workmen from France . Much of the tower , and the keepers house , was made of Dolomite limestone , much of it from a quarry about 60 kilometers from Point Clark . The walls are five feet thick at the base but only two feet near the top of the tower . The light was first illuminated on 1 April 1859 . In the early years , it was fueled with spermaceti oil as fuel but in 1860 , that changed to colza oil ; the latter was less expensive and allowed for the light to burn even on the coldest winter nights . The keeper was required to carry the fuel up the stairs in buckets . Electricity was used since 1863 . The first attempt in automating the light started in 1924 . The new system was not considered adequately effective or reliable , so in 1926 , it was removed and the original Fresnel lens was again used . The early revolving light mechanism was replaced with an electric motor in 1953 . A light keeper was no longer required after 1963 when the light was fully automated . Its light characteristic is a single white flash every ten seconds , emitted at a focal plane height of . The tower is owned by Parks Canada but the site is operated as a tourist attraction by the Township of Huron-Kinloss . The light operates under the control of the Canadian Coast Guard . Like the other Imperial Towers on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay , it is among the few on the Great Lakes made of cut limestone and granite ( not brick , wood , metal or concrete ) , with a functional design that is simple but elegant and pleasing to the eye . After a $3.7 million reconstruction that lasted four years , the lighthouse and museum reopened for tours in June 2015 . An announcement at the reopening ceremony indicated that the Point Clark lighthouse had been designated under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act because of its significant heritage value . Lighthouse design . The tower is tall , made primarily of cut limestone brought from Inverhuron by barge , but a section near the top is made of granite for extra rigidity . There are 114 steps from the bottom to the lantern room . The 12 sided cast iron lantern was first lit on April 1 , 1859 and is from the base of the tower . The light keepers house , resembling a British stone cottage , is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building , a place of historic interest . The 14 July 1994 summary praises its symmetry , excellent build quality , pleasing appearance and practical design . The Lightkeepers . The job of light keeper was an attractive one and positions were often filled on the basis of affiliation with the current political party in power . After WWI and WWII however , preference was given to war veterans . The keeper was required to maintain the property , clean and whitewash the tower as required , and maintain the light . In the years before electricity and automation , he was also required to carry the fuel up the stairs in buckets , and , twice a day , to wind up the clockwork-like mechanism—with weights and pulleys—that enabled the weights to rotate the lens . The following individuals were responsible for the lighthouse and its property over the years : - John Young 1859–1882 - David Small 1883 - John Rae 1883–1896 - Murdock McDonald 1897–1914 - George H . Ray 1914–1924 - John E . Ruttle 1926–1938 - John A . Campbell 1938–1946 - John C . Campbell ( 1947–1962 ) In 1875 , John Youngs salary would have been approximately $400 per annum , based on published data for the salary at the Chantry Island Lightstation that year . ( Another report indicates $435 per annum but does not state the year ; that amount may have been paid in a later year. ) After the light was automated , Elmer MacKenzie was retained as a part-time caretaker for the property ( 1963-1964 ) at a salary of $75 per year . Some sources discuss subsequent caretakers Elden Lowry ( 1964-1967 ) and Joe Burke . Currently , the light produces a white flash every 10 seconds . |
[
""Jef Denyn""
] | easy | Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" was managed or directed by whom from 1922 to 1944? | /wiki/Royal_Carillon_School_"Jef_Denyn"#P1037#0 | Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" ; The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn ( Dutch : Koninklijke Beiaardschool Jef Denyn ) in Mechelen , Belgium , is the first and largest carillon school in the world . The Belgian government defines it as an International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola . The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and houses a rich archive and library . History . The Royal Carillon School was founded in 1922 by renowned city carillonneur of Mechelen Jef Denyn , in whose honor it was later named , with the support of Americans Herbert Hoover , John D . Rockefeller , and William Gorham Rice . The first institution of its kind , the school soon gained international acclaim and has trained carillonneurs from numerous countries , including Australia , Canada , China , the Czech Republic , France , Germany , Ghana , Japan , New Zealand , Poland , Portugal , Russia , Switzerland , Taiwan , the Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and the United States . The institution has developed under the successive leadership of Jef Denyn ( 1862–1941 ) , Staf Nees ( 1901–1965 ) , Piet Van den Broek ( 1916–2008 ) , Jo Haazen ( b . 1944 ) , and its present director Koen Cosaert ( b . 1963 ) . The school has made a significant impact on carillon performance worldwide and is the originating place of the Flemish romantic style of carillon composition and performance . In 1984 , the Royal Carillon School established a branch at the Catholic University of Leuven , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola conferred her high protection upon the school . Later that year , the school introduced the carillon tradition to Japan . In 1986 , the school was elected to membership in the Russian Cultural Committee , and the first Russian students arrived in 1992 . Another branch opened in Halle in 1991 , and additional branches now exist in Roeselare and Peer . Though the school has always had close ties to Mechelen—each of its first four directors also acted as Mechelen city carillonneur—it operated as an independent Flemish educational institute under its own board of directors until 2008 . Since then the city of Mechelen has been legally responsible for the schools administration . The Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition was established by the school in 1987 . Every five years , carillonneurs from the world over converge in Mechelen to compete in the most prestigious carillon competition in history . The school also organizes carillon composition contests and publishes works for carillon , campanological literature , and carillon method books . Prominent visitors to the school include cellist Mstislav Rostropovich , the Vienna Boys Choir , former Hungarian president Árpád Göncz , Russias first lady Lyudmila Putina , Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov , Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania , American Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Tom C . Korologos , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium . Malinovi Zvon ( lit . bells of Mechelen ) is the Russian term for carillon , illustrating the central role of the Royal Carillon School in the dissemination of Belgian culture and the carillon art worldwide . Since 1995 , the Flemish government has repeatedly conferred the honor upon the school of being Cultural Ambassador of Flanders . Facilities . For many years the Royal Carillon School was housed in the historic building t Schipke , adjoining the Court of Busleyden , which contained the schools carillon and museum . Due to construction in the Court of Busleyden , t Schipke was temporarily closed in autumn 2011 , so the school and many of the museum holdings moved to their current location on the Bruul , Mechelens main shopping street . While the carillon at the Court of Busleyden remains available to the school , it is now ( 2020 ) rarely used : its role in lessons , rehearsals , and school concerts has mostly been taken over by a new mobile carillon acquired by the school in 2016 and housed in its own pavilion in the Sinte-Mettetuin . In addition to the carillons and museum , school facilities include seven practice keyboards , pianos , a set of English handbells , a library of sheet music , and an important historical archive . Rehearsal and lesson time on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds Tower is also available to advanced students . The museum and library holdings include an international collection of bells , historic carillon keyboards , rare books , manuscripts , and art objects . Academics . The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn is a state-subsidized educational institute , and its several courses of study fall under the aegis of part-time arts education ( Dutch : deeltijds kunstonderwijs ) in Flanders and Mechelen . The full curriculum covers nine or ten years depending on age at entry , but carillonneurs with prior training may graduate as quickly as within one year . Carillon performance , carillon history and campanology , improvisation , theory , harmony , composition , arranging , part-singing , handbell choir , and keyboard instruction comprise the curriculum . To graduate , each student must pass a written campanology/history exam ; write and present a thesis on some aspect of carillon culture , e.g . history , campanology , technology , composition , playing technique ; and perform an exam recital on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds tower that includes baroque , romantic , and contemporary repertoire as well as works of their own ( improvisation , arrangement , transcription , and/or composition ) . The school also organizes occasional lectures , symposia , and masterclasses , often in conjunction with the Flemish Carillon Society and/or the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Toren en Beiaard . There is an annual school field trip to visit different carillons in Belgium , the Netherlands , or northern France . Additional student carillon trips in Belgium and the Netherlands and to international carillon congresses are organized by the student association Campana , which publishes a newsletter , t Schipke . The school maintains connections with higher institutes of art in Belgium , the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , and Missouri State University in the United States . The school also maintains an exchange program with the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs and relations with the State Conservatory of Saratov in Russia . Tuition fees amount to about 350 € per year . Degrees and diplomas . Diplomas are offered at two levels of secondary education , and advanced students may continue their studies to earn a Final Diploma ( Dutch : einddiploma ) or the two-year Diploma of Excellence , an honor awarded to only a few students in the schools history with exceptional talent in composition . In association with the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , the school began offering bachelors degrees in 2006 . A joint masters degree in carillon with tracks in performance and pedagogy is offered jointly with Missouri State University . Notable alumni . - Arie Abbenes - Former city carillonneur of Utrecht , Asten and Eindhoven - Émilien Allard - Composer and former carillonneur of Saint Josephs Oratory in Montreal - Arthur Bigelow - Influential American campanologist and former university carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven ( 1834–1968 ) #Catholic University of Leuven and Princeton University - Gideon Bodden - Noted campanologist and city carillonneur of Amsterdam , Oudewater , and Hilvarenbeek , and winner of the 1993 Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition - Adèle Colson - First woman to enroll in and graduate from the Royal Carillon School - Koen Cosaert - Current director of the Royal Carillon School and only full-time campanology teacher in the world - Geert Dhollander - Noted composer and city carillonneur of Antwerp , Ghent , Lier , and Sint-Niklaas , carillonneur of Bok Tower Gardens , former University Carillonist of the University of California , Berkeley , and winner of the first Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition in 1987 - Jo Haazen - Former director of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , former city carillonneur of Mechelen and former city carillonneur of Antwerp - Léon Henry - Former carillonneur of Nivelles - Timothy Hurd - Carillonist of Wellington , New Zealand - John R . Knox - Carillon composer and carillonneur of London - Kamiel Lefévere - Former carillonneur of the Riverside Church in New York , which boasts the heaviest carillon in the world - André Lehr - Major campanologist of the twentieth century and former director of the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry - Jos Lerinckx - Major Flemish carillon composer and former carillonneur of Halle - Eddy Mariën - Faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , city carillonneur of Mechelen , Halle , and Leuven and carillonneur of Meise - Staf Nees - Major Flemish carillon composer , former city carillonneur of Mechelen , former teacher at the Royal Carillon School - Percival Price - First non-European graduate and first Dominion Carillonneur of Canada ; campanologist and former university carillonneur at the University of Michigan - Luc Rombouts - University carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven , city carillonneur of Tienen - Jef Rottiers - Former faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , major carillon composer , former carillonneur of Meise - Leen t Hart - Former carillonneur of Delft , founder of the Netherlands Carillon School , and prolific arranger and composer for carillon - Koen Van Assche - Joint city carillonneur of Leuven , city carillonneur of Turnhout and Herentals - Sally Slade Warner - Carillonneur of the Cohasset Carillon , arranger of carillon music , organist Educational institutions . A number of other educational institutions in Europe and the United States now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in carillon performance : - Carillon Instituut Nederland , Dordrecht , the Netherlands - University of Denver , United States - Ecole Française de Carillon , Douai , France - Lemmens Institute , Leuven , Belgium - Missouri State University - Netherlands Carillon School , Amersfoort , the Netherlands - Roosevelt Academy and Roosevelt Graduate School of Music ( forthcoming ) , Middelburg , the Netherlands - Scandinavian Carillon School , Løgumkloster , Denmark - University of Kansas , United States - University of Michigan , United States |
[
"Staf Nees"
] | easy | Who directed or managed Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" from 1944 to 1965? | /wiki/Royal_Carillon_School_"Jef_Denyn"#P1037#1 | Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" ; The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn ( Dutch : Koninklijke Beiaardschool Jef Denyn ) in Mechelen , Belgium , is the first and largest carillon school in the world . The Belgian government defines it as an International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola . The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and houses a rich archive and library . History . The Royal Carillon School was founded in 1922 by renowned city carillonneur of Mechelen Jef Denyn , in whose honor it was later named , with the support of Americans Herbert Hoover , John D . Rockefeller , and William Gorham Rice . The first institution of its kind , the school soon gained international acclaim and has trained carillonneurs from numerous countries , including Australia , Canada , China , the Czech Republic , France , Germany , Ghana , Japan , New Zealand , Poland , Portugal , Russia , Switzerland , Taiwan , the Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and the United States . The institution has developed under the successive leadership of Jef Denyn ( 1862–1941 ) , Staf Nees ( 1901–1965 ) , Piet Van den Broek ( 1916–2008 ) , Jo Haazen ( b . 1944 ) , and its present director Koen Cosaert ( b . 1963 ) . The school has made a significant impact on carillon performance worldwide and is the originating place of the Flemish romantic style of carillon composition and performance . In 1984 , the Royal Carillon School established a branch at the Catholic University of Leuven , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola conferred her high protection upon the school . Later that year , the school introduced the carillon tradition to Japan . In 1986 , the school was elected to membership in the Russian Cultural Committee , and the first Russian students arrived in 1992 . Another branch opened in Halle in 1991 , and additional branches now exist in Roeselare and Peer . Though the school has always had close ties to Mechelen—each of its first four directors also acted as Mechelen city carillonneur—it operated as an independent Flemish educational institute under its own board of directors until 2008 . Since then the city of Mechelen has been legally responsible for the schools administration . The Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition was established by the school in 1987 . Every five years , carillonneurs from the world over converge in Mechelen to compete in the most prestigious carillon competition in history . The school also organizes carillon composition contests and publishes works for carillon , campanological literature , and carillon method books . Prominent visitors to the school include cellist Mstislav Rostropovich , the Vienna Boys Choir , former Hungarian president Árpád Göncz , Russias first lady Lyudmila Putina , Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov , Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania , American Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Tom C . Korologos , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium . Malinovi Zvon ( lit . bells of Mechelen ) is the Russian term for carillon , illustrating the central role of the Royal Carillon School in the dissemination of Belgian culture and the carillon art worldwide . Since 1995 , the Flemish government has repeatedly conferred the honor upon the school of being Cultural Ambassador of Flanders . Facilities . For many years the Royal Carillon School was housed in the historic building t Schipke , adjoining the Court of Busleyden , which contained the schools carillon and museum . Due to construction in the Court of Busleyden , t Schipke was temporarily closed in autumn 2011 , so the school and many of the museum holdings moved to their current location on the Bruul , Mechelens main shopping street . While the carillon at the Court of Busleyden remains available to the school , it is now ( 2020 ) rarely used : its role in lessons , rehearsals , and school concerts has mostly been taken over by a new mobile carillon acquired by the school in 2016 and housed in its own pavilion in the Sinte-Mettetuin . In addition to the carillons and museum , school facilities include seven practice keyboards , pianos , a set of English handbells , a library of sheet music , and an important historical archive . Rehearsal and lesson time on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds Tower is also available to advanced students . The museum and library holdings include an international collection of bells , historic carillon keyboards , rare books , manuscripts , and art objects . Academics . The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn is a state-subsidized educational institute , and its several courses of study fall under the aegis of part-time arts education ( Dutch : deeltijds kunstonderwijs ) in Flanders and Mechelen . The full curriculum covers nine or ten years depending on age at entry , but carillonneurs with prior training may graduate as quickly as within one year . Carillon performance , carillon history and campanology , improvisation , theory , harmony , composition , arranging , part-singing , handbell choir , and keyboard instruction comprise the curriculum . To graduate , each student must pass a written campanology/history exam ; write and present a thesis on some aspect of carillon culture , e.g . history , campanology , technology , composition , playing technique ; and perform an exam recital on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds tower that includes baroque , romantic , and contemporary repertoire as well as works of their own ( improvisation , arrangement , transcription , and/or composition ) . The school also organizes occasional lectures , symposia , and masterclasses , often in conjunction with the Flemish Carillon Society and/or the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Toren en Beiaard . There is an annual school field trip to visit different carillons in Belgium , the Netherlands , or northern France . Additional student carillon trips in Belgium and the Netherlands and to international carillon congresses are organized by the student association Campana , which publishes a newsletter , t Schipke . The school maintains connections with higher institutes of art in Belgium , the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , and Missouri State University in the United States . The school also maintains an exchange program with the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs and relations with the State Conservatory of Saratov in Russia . Tuition fees amount to about 350 € per year . Degrees and diplomas . Diplomas are offered at two levels of secondary education , and advanced students may continue their studies to earn a Final Diploma ( Dutch : einddiploma ) or the two-year Diploma of Excellence , an honor awarded to only a few students in the schools history with exceptional talent in composition . In association with the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , the school began offering bachelors degrees in 2006 . A joint masters degree in carillon with tracks in performance and pedagogy is offered jointly with Missouri State University . Notable alumni . - Arie Abbenes - Former city carillonneur of Utrecht , Asten and Eindhoven - Émilien Allard - Composer and former carillonneur of Saint Josephs Oratory in Montreal - Arthur Bigelow - Influential American campanologist and former university carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven ( 1834–1968 ) #Catholic University of Leuven and Princeton University - Gideon Bodden - Noted campanologist and city carillonneur of Amsterdam , Oudewater , and Hilvarenbeek , and winner of the 1993 Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition - Adèle Colson - First woman to enroll in and graduate from the Royal Carillon School - Koen Cosaert - Current director of the Royal Carillon School and only full-time campanology teacher in the world - Geert Dhollander - Noted composer and city carillonneur of Antwerp , Ghent , Lier , and Sint-Niklaas , carillonneur of Bok Tower Gardens , former University Carillonist of the University of California , Berkeley , and winner of the first Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition in 1987 - Jo Haazen - Former director of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , former city carillonneur of Mechelen and former city carillonneur of Antwerp - Léon Henry - Former carillonneur of Nivelles - Timothy Hurd - Carillonist of Wellington , New Zealand - John R . Knox - Carillon composer and carillonneur of London - Kamiel Lefévere - Former carillonneur of the Riverside Church in New York , which boasts the heaviest carillon in the world - André Lehr - Major campanologist of the twentieth century and former director of the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry - Jos Lerinckx - Major Flemish carillon composer and former carillonneur of Halle - Eddy Mariën - Faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , city carillonneur of Mechelen , Halle , and Leuven and carillonneur of Meise - Staf Nees - Major Flemish carillon composer , former city carillonneur of Mechelen , former teacher at the Royal Carillon School - Percival Price - First non-European graduate and first Dominion Carillonneur of Canada ; campanologist and former university carillonneur at the University of Michigan - Luc Rombouts - University carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven , city carillonneur of Tienen - Jef Rottiers - Former faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , major carillon composer , former carillonneur of Meise - Leen t Hart - Former carillonneur of Delft , founder of the Netherlands Carillon School , and prolific arranger and composer for carillon - Koen Van Assche - Joint city carillonneur of Leuven , city carillonneur of Turnhout and Herentals - Sally Slade Warner - Carillonneur of the Cohasset Carillon , arranger of carillon music , organist Educational institutions . A number of other educational institutions in Europe and the United States now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in carillon performance : - Carillon Instituut Nederland , Dordrecht , the Netherlands - University of Denver , United States - Ecole Française de Carillon , Douai , France - Lemmens Institute , Leuven , Belgium - Missouri State University - Netherlands Carillon School , Amersfoort , the Netherlands - Roosevelt Academy and Roosevelt Graduate School of Music ( forthcoming ) , Middelburg , the Netherlands - Scandinavian Carillon School , Løgumkloster , Denmark - University of Kansas , United States - University of Michigan , United States |
[
"Piet Van den Broek"
] | easy | Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" was managed or directed by whom from 1965 to 1981? | /wiki/Royal_Carillon_School_"Jef_Denyn"#P1037#2 | Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" ; The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn ( Dutch : Koninklijke Beiaardschool Jef Denyn ) in Mechelen , Belgium , is the first and largest carillon school in the world . The Belgian government defines it as an International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola . The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and houses a rich archive and library . History . The Royal Carillon School was founded in 1922 by renowned city carillonneur of Mechelen Jef Denyn , in whose honor it was later named , with the support of Americans Herbert Hoover , John D . Rockefeller , and William Gorham Rice . The first institution of its kind , the school soon gained international acclaim and has trained carillonneurs from numerous countries , including Australia , Canada , China , the Czech Republic , France , Germany , Ghana , Japan , New Zealand , Poland , Portugal , Russia , Switzerland , Taiwan , the Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and the United States . The institution has developed under the successive leadership of Jef Denyn ( 1862–1941 ) , Staf Nees ( 1901–1965 ) , Piet Van den Broek ( 1916–2008 ) , Jo Haazen ( b . 1944 ) , and its present director Koen Cosaert ( b . 1963 ) . The school has made a significant impact on carillon performance worldwide and is the originating place of the Flemish romantic style of carillon composition and performance . In 1984 , the Royal Carillon School established a branch at the Catholic University of Leuven , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola conferred her high protection upon the school . Later that year , the school introduced the carillon tradition to Japan . In 1986 , the school was elected to membership in the Russian Cultural Committee , and the first Russian students arrived in 1992 . Another branch opened in Halle in 1991 , and additional branches now exist in Roeselare and Peer . Though the school has always had close ties to Mechelen—each of its first four directors also acted as Mechelen city carillonneur—it operated as an independent Flemish educational institute under its own board of directors until 2008 . Since then the city of Mechelen has been legally responsible for the schools administration . The Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition was established by the school in 1987 . Every five years , carillonneurs from the world over converge in Mechelen to compete in the most prestigious carillon competition in history . The school also organizes carillon composition contests and publishes works for carillon , campanological literature , and carillon method books . Prominent visitors to the school include cellist Mstislav Rostropovich , the Vienna Boys Choir , former Hungarian president Árpád Göncz , Russias first lady Lyudmila Putina , Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov , Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania , American Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Tom C . Korologos , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium . Malinovi Zvon ( lit . bells of Mechelen ) is the Russian term for carillon , illustrating the central role of the Royal Carillon School in the dissemination of Belgian culture and the carillon art worldwide . Since 1995 , the Flemish government has repeatedly conferred the honor upon the school of being Cultural Ambassador of Flanders . Facilities . For many years the Royal Carillon School was housed in the historic building t Schipke , adjoining the Court of Busleyden , which contained the schools carillon and museum . Due to construction in the Court of Busleyden , t Schipke was temporarily closed in autumn 2011 , so the school and many of the museum holdings moved to their current location on the Bruul , Mechelens main shopping street . While the carillon at the Court of Busleyden remains available to the school , it is now ( 2020 ) rarely used : its role in lessons , rehearsals , and school concerts has mostly been taken over by a new mobile carillon acquired by the school in 2016 and housed in its own pavilion in the Sinte-Mettetuin . In addition to the carillons and museum , school facilities include seven practice keyboards , pianos , a set of English handbells , a library of sheet music , and an important historical archive . Rehearsal and lesson time on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds Tower is also available to advanced students . The museum and library holdings include an international collection of bells , historic carillon keyboards , rare books , manuscripts , and art objects . Academics . The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn is a state-subsidized educational institute , and its several courses of study fall under the aegis of part-time arts education ( Dutch : deeltijds kunstonderwijs ) in Flanders and Mechelen . The full curriculum covers nine or ten years depending on age at entry , but carillonneurs with prior training may graduate as quickly as within one year . Carillon performance , carillon history and campanology , improvisation , theory , harmony , composition , arranging , part-singing , handbell choir , and keyboard instruction comprise the curriculum . To graduate , each student must pass a written campanology/history exam ; write and present a thesis on some aspect of carillon culture , e.g . history , campanology , technology , composition , playing technique ; and perform an exam recital on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds tower that includes baroque , romantic , and contemporary repertoire as well as works of their own ( improvisation , arrangement , transcription , and/or composition ) . The school also organizes occasional lectures , symposia , and masterclasses , often in conjunction with the Flemish Carillon Society and/or the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Toren en Beiaard . There is an annual school field trip to visit different carillons in Belgium , the Netherlands , or northern France . Additional student carillon trips in Belgium and the Netherlands and to international carillon congresses are organized by the student association Campana , which publishes a newsletter , t Schipke . The school maintains connections with higher institutes of art in Belgium , the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , and Missouri State University in the United States . The school also maintains an exchange program with the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs and relations with the State Conservatory of Saratov in Russia . Tuition fees amount to about 350 € per year . Degrees and diplomas . Diplomas are offered at two levels of secondary education , and advanced students may continue their studies to earn a Final Diploma ( Dutch : einddiploma ) or the two-year Diploma of Excellence , an honor awarded to only a few students in the schools history with exceptional talent in composition . In association with the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , the school began offering bachelors degrees in 2006 . A joint masters degree in carillon with tracks in performance and pedagogy is offered jointly with Missouri State University . Notable alumni . - Arie Abbenes - Former city carillonneur of Utrecht , Asten and Eindhoven - Émilien Allard - Composer and former carillonneur of Saint Josephs Oratory in Montreal - Arthur Bigelow - Influential American campanologist and former university carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven ( 1834–1968 ) #Catholic University of Leuven and Princeton University - Gideon Bodden - Noted campanologist and city carillonneur of Amsterdam , Oudewater , and Hilvarenbeek , and winner of the 1993 Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition - Adèle Colson - First woman to enroll in and graduate from the Royal Carillon School - Koen Cosaert - Current director of the Royal Carillon School and only full-time campanology teacher in the world - Geert Dhollander - Noted composer and city carillonneur of Antwerp , Ghent , Lier , and Sint-Niklaas , carillonneur of Bok Tower Gardens , former University Carillonist of the University of California , Berkeley , and winner of the first Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition in 1987 - Jo Haazen - Former director of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , former city carillonneur of Mechelen and former city carillonneur of Antwerp - Léon Henry - Former carillonneur of Nivelles - Timothy Hurd - Carillonist of Wellington , New Zealand - John R . Knox - Carillon composer and carillonneur of London - Kamiel Lefévere - Former carillonneur of the Riverside Church in New York , which boasts the heaviest carillon in the world - André Lehr - Major campanologist of the twentieth century and former director of the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry - Jos Lerinckx - Major Flemish carillon composer and former carillonneur of Halle - Eddy Mariën - Faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , city carillonneur of Mechelen , Halle , and Leuven and carillonneur of Meise - Staf Nees - Major Flemish carillon composer , former city carillonneur of Mechelen , former teacher at the Royal Carillon School - Percival Price - First non-European graduate and first Dominion Carillonneur of Canada ; campanologist and former university carillonneur at the University of Michigan - Luc Rombouts - University carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven , city carillonneur of Tienen - Jef Rottiers - Former faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , major carillon composer , former carillonneur of Meise - Leen t Hart - Former carillonneur of Delft , founder of the Netherlands Carillon School , and prolific arranger and composer for carillon - Koen Van Assche - Joint city carillonneur of Leuven , city carillonneur of Turnhout and Herentals - Sally Slade Warner - Carillonneur of the Cohasset Carillon , arranger of carillon music , organist Educational institutions . A number of other educational institutions in Europe and the United States now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in carillon performance : - Carillon Instituut Nederland , Dordrecht , the Netherlands - University of Denver , United States - Ecole Française de Carillon , Douai , France - Lemmens Institute , Leuven , Belgium - Missouri State University - Netherlands Carillon School , Amersfoort , the Netherlands - Roosevelt Academy and Roosevelt Graduate School of Music ( forthcoming ) , Middelburg , the Netherlands - Scandinavian Carillon School , Løgumkloster , Denmark - University of Kansas , United States - University of Michigan , United States |
[
"Jo Haazen"
] | easy | Who was the director or manager of Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" from 1981 to 2010? | /wiki/Royal_Carillon_School_"Jef_Denyn"#P1037#3 | Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" ; The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn ( Dutch : Koninklijke Beiaardschool Jef Denyn ) in Mechelen , Belgium , is the first and largest carillon school in the world . The Belgian government defines it as an International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola . The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and houses a rich archive and library . History . The Royal Carillon School was founded in 1922 by renowned city carillonneur of Mechelen Jef Denyn , in whose honor it was later named , with the support of Americans Herbert Hoover , John D . Rockefeller , and William Gorham Rice . The first institution of its kind , the school soon gained international acclaim and has trained carillonneurs from numerous countries , including Australia , Canada , China , the Czech Republic , France , Germany , Ghana , Japan , New Zealand , Poland , Portugal , Russia , Switzerland , Taiwan , the Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and the United States . The institution has developed under the successive leadership of Jef Denyn ( 1862–1941 ) , Staf Nees ( 1901–1965 ) , Piet Van den Broek ( 1916–2008 ) , Jo Haazen ( b . 1944 ) , and its present director Koen Cosaert ( b . 1963 ) . The school has made a significant impact on carillon performance worldwide and is the originating place of the Flemish romantic style of carillon composition and performance . In 1984 , the Royal Carillon School established a branch at the Catholic University of Leuven , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola conferred her high protection upon the school . Later that year , the school introduced the carillon tradition to Japan . In 1986 , the school was elected to membership in the Russian Cultural Committee , and the first Russian students arrived in 1992 . Another branch opened in Halle in 1991 , and additional branches now exist in Roeselare and Peer . Though the school has always had close ties to Mechelen—each of its first four directors also acted as Mechelen city carillonneur—it operated as an independent Flemish educational institute under its own board of directors until 2008 . Since then the city of Mechelen has been legally responsible for the schools administration . The Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition was established by the school in 1987 . Every five years , carillonneurs from the world over converge in Mechelen to compete in the most prestigious carillon competition in history . The school also organizes carillon composition contests and publishes works for carillon , campanological literature , and carillon method books . Prominent visitors to the school include cellist Mstislav Rostropovich , the Vienna Boys Choir , former Hungarian president Árpád Göncz , Russias first lady Lyudmila Putina , Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov , Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania , American Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Tom C . Korologos , and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium . Malinovi Zvon ( lit . bells of Mechelen ) is the Russian term for carillon , illustrating the central role of the Royal Carillon School in the dissemination of Belgian culture and the carillon art worldwide . Since 1995 , the Flemish government has repeatedly conferred the honor upon the school of being Cultural Ambassador of Flanders . Facilities . For many years the Royal Carillon School was housed in the historic building t Schipke , adjoining the Court of Busleyden , which contained the schools carillon and museum . Due to construction in the Court of Busleyden , t Schipke was temporarily closed in autumn 2011 , so the school and many of the museum holdings moved to their current location on the Bruul , Mechelens main shopping street . While the carillon at the Court of Busleyden remains available to the school , it is now ( 2020 ) rarely used : its role in lessons , rehearsals , and school concerts has mostly been taken over by a new mobile carillon acquired by the school in 2016 and housed in its own pavilion in the Sinte-Mettetuin . In addition to the carillons and museum , school facilities include seven practice keyboards , pianos , a set of English handbells , a library of sheet music , and an important historical archive . Rehearsal and lesson time on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds Tower is also available to advanced students . The museum and library holdings include an international collection of bells , historic carillon keyboards , rare books , manuscripts , and art objects . Academics . The Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn is a state-subsidized educational institute , and its several courses of study fall under the aegis of part-time arts education ( Dutch : deeltijds kunstonderwijs ) in Flanders and Mechelen . The full curriculum covers nine or ten years depending on age at entry , but carillonneurs with prior training may graduate as quickly as within one year . Carillon performance , carillon history and campanology , improvisation , theory , harmony , composition , arranging , part-singing , handbell choir , and keyboard instruction comprise the curriculum . To graduate , each student must pass a written campanology/history exam ; write and present a thesis on some aspect of carillon culture , e.g . history , campanology , technology , composition , playing technique ; and perform an exam recital on the Mechelen city carillon in St . Rumbolds tower that includes baroque , romantic , and contemporary repertoire as well as works of their own ( improvisation , arrangement , transcription , and/or composition ) . The school also organizes occasional lectures , symposia , and masterclasses , often in conjunction with the Flemish Carillon Society and/or the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Toren en Beiaard . There is an annual school field trip to visit different carillons in Belgium , the Netherlands , or northern France . Additional student carillon trips in Belgium and the Netherlands and to international carillon congresses are organized by the student association Campana , which publishes a newsletter , t Schipke . The school maintains connections with higher institutes of art in Belgium , the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , and Missouri State University in the United States . The school also maintains an exchange program with the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs and relations with the State Conservatory of Saratov in Russia . Tuition fees amount to about 350 € per year . Degrees and diplomas . Diplomas are offered at two levels of secondary education , and advanced students may continue their studies to earn a Final Diploma ( Dutch : einddiploma ) or the two-year Diploma of Excellence , an honor awarded to only a few students in the schools history with exceptional talent in composition . In association with the Carillon Instituut Nederland and Bourdon Hogeschool voor Muziek in the Netherlands , the school began offering bachelors degrees in 2006 . A joint masters degree in carillon with tracks in performance and pedagogy is offered jointly with Missouri State University . Notable alumni . - Arie Abbenes - Former city carillonneur of Utrecht , Asten and Eindhoven - Émilien Allard - Composer and former carillonneur of Saint Josephs Oratory in Montreal - Arthur Bigelow - Influential American campanologist and former university carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven ( 1834–1968 ) #Catholic University of Leuven and Princeton University - Gideon Bodden - Noted campanologist and city carillonneur of Amsterdam , Oudewater , and Hilvarenbeek , and winner of the 1993 Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition - Adèle Colson - First woman to enroll in and graduate from the Royal Carillon School - Koen Cosaert - Current director of the Royal Carillon School and only full-time campanology teacher in the world - Geert Dhollander - Noted composer and city carillonneur of Antwerp , Ghent , Lier , and Sint-Niklaas , carillonneur of Bok Tower Gardens , former University Carillonist of the University of California , Berkeley , and winner of the first Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition in 1987 - Jo Haazen - Former director of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , former city carillonneur of Mechelen and former city carillonneur of Antwerp - Léon Henry - Former carillonneur of Nivelles - Timothy Hurd - Carillonist of Wellington , New Zealand - John R . Knox - Carillon composer and carillonneur of London - Kamiel Lefévere - Former carillonneur of the Riverside Church in New York , which boasts the heaviest carillon in the world - André Lehr - Major campanologist of the twentieth century and former director of the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry - Jos Lerinckx - Major Flemish carillon composer and former carillonneur of Halle - Eddy Mariën - Faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , city carillonneur of Mechelen , Halle , and Leuven and carillonneur of Meise - Staf Nees - Major Flemish carillon composer , former city carillonneur of Mechelen , former teacher at the Royal Carillon School - Percival Price - First non-European graduate and first Dominion Carillonneur of Canada ; campanologist and former university carillonneur at the University of Michigan - Luc Rombouts - University carillonneur of the Catholic University of Leuven , city carillonneur of Tienen - Jef Rottiers - Former faculty member of the Royal Carillon School Jef Denyn , major carillon composer , former carillonneur of Meise - Leen t Hart - Former carillonneur of Delft , founder of the Netherlands Carillon School , and prolific arranger and composer for carillon - Koen Van Assche - Joint city carillonneur of Leuven , city carillonneur of Turnhout and Herentals - Sally Slade Warner - Carillonneur of the Cohasset Carillon , arranger of carillon music , organist Educational institutions . A number of other educational institutions in Europe and the United States now offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in carillon performance : - Carillon Instituut Nederland , Dordrecht , the Netherlands - University of Denver , United States - Ecole Française de Carillon , Douai , France - Lemmens Institute , Leuven , Belgium - Missouri State University - Netherlands Carillon School , Amersfoort , the Netherlands - Roosevelt Academy and Roosevelt Graduate School of Music ( forthcoming ) , Middelburg , the Netherlands - Scandinavian Carillon School , Løgumkloster , Denmark - University of Kansas , United States - University of Michigan , United States |
[
"Seattle SuperSonics"
] | easy | Which team did Eric Snow play for from 1995 to 1998? | /wiki/Eric_Snow#P54#0 | Eric Snow Eric Snow ( born April 5 , 1973 ) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League . He played the point guard position in the National Basketball Association from 1995 to 2008 and appeared in three NBA Finals . Known for his defense , Snow was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2003 . Following his playing career , Snow served as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic for two years ( 2014-2016 ) after having worked two seasons at SMU ( 2012–14 ) as the director of player development under Larry Brown , his former coach . High school career . Snow began his basketball career at Canton McKinley High School in Canton , Ohio . He was McKinley High Schools MVP for three straight seasons . College career . Snow attended college at Michigan State University . He played varsity basketball at Michigan State under head coach Jud Heathcote . In his senior season , the Spartans earned a #3 seed to the 1995 NCAA Tournament , but they were upset in the first round by Weber State University . NBA career . Seattle SuperSonics . After college , Snow was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 43rd overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft . He was immediately traded to the Seattle SuperSonics , where he played sparingly for the next two-and-one-half seasons . Philadelphia 76ers . On January 18 , 1998 , Snow was acquired from Seattle by the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a second-round draft pick . At the time of the trade , Snow was averaging just 4.4 minutes per game ; Sixers head coach Larry Brown gave him a bigger role in Philadelphia . In his first full season in Philadelphia , he started every game he played in and averaged 35.8 minutes per game . As a pass-first , defensive-minded point guard , Snow became a stalwart of the Brown-era 76ers teams . Snows ability to guard opposing teams shooting guards made him an ideal complement to Allen Iverson , a high-scoring but unusually small shooting guard . Despite missing thirty-two games early in the 2000–01 season due to injury , Snow played a crucial role in helping the 76ers earn the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and ultimately reach the 2001 NBA Finals , where they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers . During the following season , Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant stated that nobody in the league defended him better than Snow . In 2002–03 , Snow posted career highs in points per game ( 12.9 ) , rebounds per game ( 3.7 ) , minutes per game ( 37.9 ) , field goal percentage ( 45.2% ) , and free throw percentage ( 85.8% ) . Snows excellent free throw percentage was particularly noteworthy , as he had been a very poor foul shooter in college and early in his NBA career , averaging 52.1% from the stripe during his four seasons at Michigan State and 59.2% as a rookie . He also averaged 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 2002–03 . Cleveland Cavaliers . On July 20 , 2004 , Snow was traded to the Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown . He was suspended without pay for a December 18 , 2004 game against the Boston Celtics after a confrontation with Paul Silas , the coach of the Cavaliers . It was the only game that Snow missed in his first three years with the Cavaliers . He had a season-high 16 points on January 22 , 2005 against the Golden State Warriors and a season-high 13 assists on April 19 , 2005 against the Boston Celtics ( which is also his high assist total as a Cavalier ) . Snow ranked fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio ( 3.56 ) ; he donated $20 for every one of his steals and assists during the 2004–05 season . Snow played in and started all 82 games for the Cavaliers in the 2005-06 season , helping the Cavaliers return to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 . He started all 13 playoff games for the Cavaliers . He scored 18 points in a Game 5 victory over the Washington Wizards during the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Detroit Pistons in 7 games in the semifinals . The following season , for the fifth and final time in his career , Snow played in all 82 games . He had a season high 18 points on January 13 , 2007 against the Los Angeles Clippers and a season-high 11 assists on January 20 , 2007 against the Golden State Warriors . However , he gradually lost playing time through the course of the season to Daniel Gibson , until he came off the bench on January 30 , 2007 , bringing an end to Snows streak of starts that lasted for 127 games . The Cavaliers made the NBA Finals and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in a sweep that year . In his 13th NBA season , Snow was named team co-captain , along with LeBron James . Snow only played in 22 games that season . On March 11 , 2008 , it was announced that Snow would miss four to six weeks due to arthritic-related symptoms in his left knee , ending his season . After the injury , Snow conceded that he likely would not play in the NBA again . Unable to play , but still listed as an active player on the Cavaliers roster , Snow served on Head Coach Mike Browns staff as an unofficial assistant coach for the 2008-09 season . On April 4 , 2009 , Snow was given a medically necessary release and began working as an analyst for NBA TV . Achievements . During his playing career , Snow reached the NBA Finals three times ( and once with each of the teams on which he played ) : the SuperSonics in 1996 , the 76ers in 2001 , and the Cavaliers in 2007 . All three appearances were losses . In Philadelphia and Cleveland , Snow served as team co-captain along Allen Iverson and LeBron James , respectively . Coaching career . Snow was hired as assistant coach for the Texas Legends in 2017 through NBAs Assistant Coaches Program ( ACP ) after his two-year spell as assistant coach for the Florida Atlantic University . Prior to that , Snow had been the director of player development for the Southern Methodist University through 2012–2014 . Personal life . Snow is the younger brother of former linebacker Percy Snow , who also played at Michigan State University and played for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears of the NFL . He married his college girlfriend , Deshawn in 1998 , the two divorced in 2010 , so Katie Holt Snow ( woj ) could step in . His son Darius signed to play football with Michigan State for the class of 2020 . External links . - Eric Snow – Official Site - Shoot for the Moon Foundation |
[
"Philadelphia 76ers"
] | easy | Which team did Eric Snow play for from 1998 to 2004? | /wiki/Eric_Snow#P54#1 | Eric Snow Eric Snow ( born April 5 , 1973 ) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League . He played the point guard position in the National Basketball Association from 1995 to 2008 and appeared in three NBA Finals . Known for his defense , Snow was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2003 . Following his playing career , Snow served as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic for two years ( 2014-2016 ) after having worked two seasons at SMU ( 2012–14 ) as the director of player development under Larry Brown , his former coach . High school career . Snow began his basketball career at Canton McKinley High School in Canton , Ohio . He was McKinley High Schools MVP for three straight seasons . College career . Snow attended college at Michigan State University . He played varsity basketball at Michigan State under head coach Jud Heathcote . In his senior season , the Spartans earned a #3 seed to the 1995 NCAA Tournament , but they were upset in the first round by Weber State University . NBA career . Seattle SuperSonics . After college , Snow was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 43rd overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft . He was immediately traded to the Seattle SuperSonics , where he played sparingly for the next two-and-one-half seasons . Philadelphia 76ers . On January 18 , 1998 , Snow was acquired from Seattle by the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a second-round draft pick . At the time of the trade , Snow was averaging just 4.4 minutes per game ; Sixers head coach Larry Brown gave him a bigger role in Philadelphia . In his first full season in Philadelphia , he started every game he played in and averaged 35.8 minutes per game . As a pass-first , defensive-minded point guard , Snow became a stalwart of the Brown-era 76ers teams . Snows ability to guard opposing teams shooting guards made him an ideal complement to Allen Iverson , a high-scoring but unusually small shooting guard . Despite missing thirty-two games early in the 2000–01 season due to injury , Snow played a crucial role in helping the 76ers earn the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and ultimately reach the 2001 NBA Finals , where they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers . During the following season , Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant stated that nobody in the league defended him better than Snow . In 2002–03 , Snow posted career highs in points per game ( 12.9 ) , rebounds per game ( 3.7 ) , minutes per game ( 37.9 ) , field goal percentage ( 45.2% ) , and free throw percentage ( 85.8% ) . Snows excellent free throw percentage was particularly noteworthy , as he had been a very poor foul shooter in college and early in his NBA career , averaging 52.1% from the stripe during his four seasons at Michigan State and 59.2% as a rookie . He also averaged 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 2002–03 . Cleveland Cavaliers . On July 20 , 2004 , Snow was traded to the Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown . He was suspended without pay for a December 18 , 2004 game against the Boston Celtics after a confrontation with Paul Silas , the coach of the Cavaliers . It was the only game that Snow missed in his first three years with the Cavaliers . He had a season-high 16 points on January 22 , 2005 against the Golden State Warriors and a season-high 13 assists on April 19 , 2005 against the Boston Celtics ( which is also his high assist total as a Cavalier ) . Snow ranked fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio ( 3.56 ) ; he donated $20 for every one of his steals and assists during the 2004–05 season . Snow played in and started all 82 games for the Cavaliers in the 2005-06 season , helping the Cavaliers return to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 . He started all 13 playoff games for the Cavaliers . He scored 18 points in a Game 5 victory over the Washington Wizards during the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Detroit Pistons in 7 games in the semifinals . The following season , for the fifth and final time in his career , Snow played in all 82 games . He had a season high 18 points on January 13 , 2007 against the Los Angeles Clippers and a season-high 11 assists on January 20 , 2007 against the Golden State Warriors . However , he gradually lost playing time through the course of the season to Daniel Gibson , until he came off the bench on January 30 , 2007 , bringing an end to Snows streak of starts that lasted for 127 games . The Cavaliers made the NBA Finals and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in a sweep that year . In his 13th NBA season , Snow was named team co-captain , along with LeBron James . Snow only played in 22 games that season . On March 11 , 2008 , it was announced that Snow would miss four to six weeks due to arthritic-related symptoms in his left knee , ending his season . After the injury , Snow conceded that he likely would not play in the NBA again . Unable to play , but still listed as an active player on the Cavaliers roster , Snow served on Head Coach Mike Browns staff as an unofficial assistant coach for the 2008-09 season . On April 4 , 2009 , Snow was given a medically necessary release and began working as an analyst for NBA TV . Achievements . During his playing career , Snow reached the NBA Finals three times ( and once with each of the teams on which he played ) : the SuperSonics in 1996 , the 76ers in 2001 , and the Cavaliers in 2007 . All three appearances were losses . In Philadelphia and Cleveland , Snow served as team co-captain along Allen Iverson and LeBron James , respectively . Coaching career . Snow was hired as assistant coach for the Texas Legends in 2017 through NBAs Assistant Coaches Program ( ACP ) after his two-year spell as assistant coach for the Florida Atlantic University . Prior to that , Snow had been the director of player development for the Southern Methodist University through 2012–2014 . Personal life . Snow is the younger brother of former linebacker Percy Snow , who also played at Michigan State University and played for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears of the NFL . He married his college girlfriend , Deshawn in 1998 , the two divorced in 2010 , so Katie Holt Snow ( woj ) could step in . His son Darius signed to play football with Michigan State for the class of 2020 . External links . - Eric Snow – Official Site - Shoot for the Moon Foundation |
[
"Cleveland Cavaliers"
] | easy | Which team did Eric Snow play for from 2004 to 2008? | /wiki/Eric_Snow#P54#2 | Eric Snow Eric Snow ( born April 5 , 1973 ) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Texas Legends of the NBA G League . He played the point guard position in the National Basketball Association from 1995 to 2008 and appeared in three NBA Finals . Known for his defense , Snow was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2003 . Following his playing career , Snow served as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic for two years ( 2014-2016 ) after having worked two seasons at SMU ( 2012–14 ) as the director of player development under Larry Brown , his former coach . High school career . Snow began his basketball career at Canton McKinley High School in Canton , Ohio . He was McKinley High Schools MVP for three straight seasons . College career . Snow attended college at Michigan State University . He played varsity basketball at Michigan State under head coach Jud Heathcote . In his senior season , the Spartans earned a #3 seed to the 1995 NCAA Tournament , but they were upset in the first round by Weber State University . NBA career . Seattle SuperSonics . After college , Snow was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 43rd overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft . He was immediately traded to the Seattle SuperSonics , where he played sparingly for the next two-and-one-half seasons . Philadelphia 76ers . On January 18 , 1998 , Snow was acquired from Seattle by the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a second-round draft pick . At the time of the trade , Snow was averaging just 4.4 minutes per game ; Sixers head coach Larry Brown gave him a bigger role in Philadelphia . In his first full season in Philadelphia , he started every game he played in and averaged 35.8 minutes per game . As a pass-first , defensive-minded point guard , Snow became a stalwart of the Brown-era 76ers teams . Snows ability to guard opposing teams shooting guards made him an ideal complement to Allen Iverson , a high-scoring but unusually small shooting guard . Despite missing thirty-two games early in the 2000–01 season due to injury , Snow played a crucial role in helping the 76ers earn the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and ultimately reach the 2001 NBA Finals , where they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers . During the following season , Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant stated that nobody in the league defended him better than Snow . In 2002–03 , Snow posted career highs in points per game ( 12.9 ) , rebounds per game ( 3.7 ) , minutes per game ( 37.9 ) , field goal percentage ( 45.2% ) , and free throw percentage ( 85.8% ) . Snows excellent free throw percentage was particularly noteworthy , as he had been a very poor foul shooter in college and early in his NBA career , averaging 52.1% from the stripe during his four seasons at Michigan State and 59.2% as a rookie . He also averaged 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 2002–03 . Cleveland Cavaliers . On July 20 , 2004 , Snow was traded to the Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown . He was suspended without pay for a December 18 , 2004 game against the Boston Celtics after a confrontation with Paul Silas , the coach of the Cavaliers . It was the only game that Snow missed in his first three years with the Cavaliers . He had a season-high 16 points on January 22 , 2005 against the Golden State Warriors and a season-high 13 assists on April 19 , 2005 against the Boston Celtics ( which is also his high assist total as a Cavalier ) . Snow ranked fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio ( 3.56 ) ; he donated $20 for every one of his steals and assists during the 2004–05 season . Snow played in and started all 82 games for the Cavaliers in the 2005-06 season , helping the Cavaliers return to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 . He started all 13 playoff games for the Cavaliers . He scored 18 points in a Game 5 victory over the Washington Wizards during the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Detroit Pistons in 7 games in the semifinals . The following season , for the fifth and final time in his career , Snow played in all 82 games . He had a season high 18 points on January 13 , 2007 against the Los Angeles Clippers and a season-high 11 assists on January 20 , 2007 against the Golden State Warriors . However , he gradually lost playing time through the course of the season to Daniel Gibson , until he came off the bench on January 30 , 2007 , bringing an end to Snows streak of starts that lasted for 127 games . The Cavaliers made the NBA Finals and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in a sweep that year . In his 13th NBA season , Snow was named team co-captain , along with LeBron James . Snow only played in 22 games that season . On March 11 , 2008 , it was announced that Snow would miss four to six weeks due to arthritic-related symptoms in his left knee , ending his season . After the injury , Snow conceded that he likely would not play in the NBA again . Unable to play , but still listed as an active player on the Cavaliers roster , Snow served on Head Coach Mike Browns staff as an unofficial assistant coach for the 2008-09 season . On April 4 , 2009 , Snow was given a medically necessary release and began working as an analyst for NBA TV . Achievements . During his playing career , Snow reached the NBA Finals three times ( and once with each of the teams on which he played ) : the SuperSonics in 1996 , the 76ers in 2001 , and the Cavaliers in 2007 . All three appearances were losses . In Philadelphia and Cleveland , Snow served as team co-captain along Allen Iverson and LeBron James , respectively . Coaching career . Snow was hired as assistant coach for the Texas Legends in 2017 through NBAs Assistant Coaches Program ( ACP ) after his two-year spell as assistant coach for the Florida Atlantic University . Prior to that , Snow had been the director of player development for the Southern Methodist University through 2012–2014 . Personal life . Snow is the younger brother of former linebacker Percy Snow , who also played at Michigan State University and played for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears of the NFL . He married his college girlfriend , Deshawn in 1998 , the two divorced in 2010 , so Katie Holt Snow ( woj ) could step in . His son Darius signed to play football with Michigan State for the class of 2020 . External links . - Eric Snow – Official Site - Shoot for the Moon Foundation |
[
"Kalinin Pedagogical Institute"
] | easy | Pavel Korovkin was an employee for whom from 1939 to 1941? | /wiki/Pavel_Korovkin#P108#0 | Pavel Korovkin Pavel Petrovich Korovkin ( ) ( the family name is also transliterated as Korowkin in German sources ) , ( 9 July 1913 – 11 August 1985 ) was a Soviet mathematician whose main fields of research were orthogonal polynomials , approximation theory and potential theory . In 1947 he proved a generalization of Egorovs theorem : from the early 1950s on , his research interests turned to functional analysis and he examined the stability of the exterior Dirichlet problem and the convergence and approximation properties of linear positive operators on spaces of continuous functions . The set of terms and Korovkin approximation are named after him . Life and career . Korovkin was born to a poor peasant family . He lost his father early and grew from 1914 to 1920 at an orphanage . In 1930 he graduated high school in Leningrad . As the winner of a mathematics contest he had a right to enter the Leningrad State University without entrance exams . After a year of working at a factory he entered the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics . His scientific advisor was V.I . Smirnov . Korovkin earned his doctorate in 1939 with a dissertation on orthogonal polynomials . He then was appointed to Kalinin Pedagogical Institute . At the beginning of Great Patriotic War Korovkin voluntarily enlisted to the Red Army . He started as a cannon platoon chief and till the end of war promoted to artillery regiment chief . He was awarded with Order of the Red Star . In December 1945 , he continued his work at the Kalinin Pedagogical Institute , in 1947 with a thesis on convergence of polynomial sequences , and was appointed professor in 1948 . At the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute from 1958 to 1970 he headed the department of higher mathematics , then he became head of the Department of Mathematical Analysis at the Kaluga State Pedagogical Institute . Selected publications . - , translated in English as . References . Biographical and general references . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the first volume , titled Survey articles and consists exactly of such kind of articles authored by Soviet experts and reviewing briefly the contributions of Soviet mathematicians to a chosen field , during the years from 1917 to 1957 . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the second volume , titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) , containing a complete bibliography of works published by Soviet mathematicians during that period , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname and including , when possible , brief but complete biographies of the authors . - . The Mathematics in the USSR 1958–1967 is a two–volume continuation of the opus Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 and describes the developments of Soviet mathematics during the period 1958–1967 . Precisely it is meant as a continuation of the second volume of that work and , as such , is titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) . It includes new biographies ( when possible , brief and complete ) and bibliographies of works published by new Soviet mathematicians during that period , and updates on the work and biographies of scientist included in the former volume , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname . - , also translated in English as . - , translated in English as . |
[
"Kalinin Pedagogical Institute"
] | easy | Who did Pavel Korovkin work for from 1945 to 1952? | /wiki/Pavel_Korovkin#P108#1 | Pavel Korovkin Pavel Petrovich Korovkin ( ) ( the family name is also transliterated as Korowkin in German sources ) , ( 9 July 1913 – 11 August 1985 ) was a Soviet mathematician whose main fields of research were orthogonal polynomials , approximation theory and potential theory . In 1947 he proved a generalization of Egorovs theorem : from the early 1950s on , his research interests turned to functional analysis and he examined the stability of the exterior Dirichlet problem and the convergence and approximation properties of linear positive operators on spaces of continuous functions . The set of terms and Korovkin approximation are named after him . Life and career . Korovkin was born to a poor peasant family . He lost his father early and grew from 1914 to 1920 at an orphanage . In 1930 he graduated high school in Leningrad . As the winner of a mathematics contest he had a right to enter the Leningrad State University without entrance exams . After a year of working at a factory he entered the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics . His scientific advisor was V.I . Smirnov . Korovkin earned his doctorate in 1939 with a dissertation on orthogonal polynomials . He then was appointed to Kalinin Pedagogical Institute . At the beginning of Great Patriotic War Korovkin voluntarily enlisted to the Red Army . He started as a cannon platoon chief and till the end of war promoted to artillery regiment chief . He was awarded with Order of the Red Star . In December 1945 , he continued his work at the Kalinin Pedagogical Institute , in 1947 with a thesis on convergence of polynomial sequences , and was appointed professor in 1948 . At the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute from 1958 to 1970 he headed the department of higher mathematics , then he became head of the Department of Mathematical Analysis at the Kaluga State Pedagogical Institute . Selected publications . - , translated in English as . References . Biographical and general references . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the first volume , titled Survey articles and consists exactly of such kind of articles authored by Soviet experts and reviewing briefly the contributions of Soviet mathematicians to a chosen field , during the years from 1917 to 1957 . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the second volume , titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) , containing a complete bibliography of works published by Soviet mathematicians during that period , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname and including , when possible , brief but complete biographies of the authors . - . The Mathematics in the USSR 1958–1967 is a two–volume continuation of the opus Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 and describes the developments of Soviet mathematics during the period 1958–1967 . Precisely it is meant as a continuation of the second volume of that work and , as such , is titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) . It includes new biographies ( when possible , brief and complete ) and bibliographies of works published by new Soviet mathematicians during that period , and updates on the work and biographies of scientist included in the former volume , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname . - , also translated in English as . - , translated in English as . |
[
"Moscow Automobile and Road Institute"
] | easy | Pavel Korovkin was an employee for whom from 1958 to 1970? | /wiki/Pavel_Korovkin#P108#2 | Pavel Korovkin Pavel Petrovich Korovkin ( ) ( the family name is also transliterated as Korowkin in German sources ) , ( 9 July 1913 – 11 August 1985 ) was a Soviet mathematician whose main fields of research were orthogonal polynomials , approximation theory and potential theory . In 1947 he proved a generalization of Egorovs theorem : from the early 1950s on , his research interests turned to functional analysis and he examined the stability of the exterior Dirichlet problem and the convergence and approximation properties of linear positive operators on spaces of continuous functions . The set of terms and Korovkin approximation are named after him . Life and career . Korovkin was born to a poor peasant family . He lost his father early and grew from 1914 to 1920 at an orphanage . In 1930 he graduated high school in Leningrad . As the winner of a mathematics contest he had a right to enter the Leningrad State University without entrance exams . After a year of working at a factory he entered the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics . His scientific advisor was V.I . Smirnov . Korovkin earned his doctorate in 1939 with a dissertation on orthogonal polynomials . He then was appointed to Kalinin Pedagogical Institute . At the beginning of Great Patriotic War Korovkin voluntarily enlisted to the Red Army . He started as a cannon platoon chief and till the end of war promoted to artillery regiment chief . He was awarded with Order of the Red Star . In December 1945 , he continued his work at the Kalinin Pedagogical Institute , in 1947 with a thesis on convergence of polynomial sequences , and was appointed professor in 1948 . At the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute from 1958 to 1970 he headed the department of higher mathematics , then he became head of the Department of Mathematical Analysis at the Kaluga State Pedagogical Institute . Selected publications . - , translated in English as . References . Biographical and general references . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the first volume , titled Survey articles and consists exactly of such kind of articles authored by Soviet experts and reviewing briefly the contributions of Soviet mathematicians to a chosen field , during the years from 1917 to 1957 . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the second volume , titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) , containing a complete bibliography of works published by Soviet mathematicians during that period , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname and including , when possible , brief but complete biographies of the authors . - . The Mathematics in the USSR 1958–1967 is a two–volume continuation of the opus Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 and describes the developments of Soviet mathematics during the period 1958–1967 . Precisely it is meant as a continuation of the second volume of that work and , as such , is titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) . It includes new biographies ( when possible , brief and complete ) and bibliographies of works published by new Soviet mathematicians during that period , and updates on the work and biographies of scientist included in the former volume , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname . - , also translated in English as . - , translated in English as . |
[
"Kaluga State Pedagogical Institute"
] | easy | Who did Pavel Korovkin work for from 1970 to 1985? | /wiki/Pavel_Korovkin#P108#3 | Pavel Korovkin Pavel Petrovich Korovkin ( ) ( the family name is also transliterated as Korowkin in German sources ) , ( 9 July 1913 – 11 August 1985 ) was a Soviet mathematician whose main fields of research were orthogonal polynomials , approximation theory and potential theory . In 1947 he proved a generalization of Egorovs theorem : from the early 1950s on , his research interests turned to functional analysis and he examined the stability of the exterior Dirichlet problem and the convergence and approximation properties of linear positive operators on spaces of continuous functions . The set of terms and Korovkin approximation are named after him . Life and career . Korovkin was born to a poor peasant family . He lost his father early and grew from 1914 to 1920 at an orphanage . In 1930 he graduated high school in Leningrad . As the winner of a mathematics contest he had a right to enter the Leningrad State University without entrance exams . After a year of working at a factory he entered the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics . His scientific advisor was V.I . Smirnov . Korovkin earned his doctorate in 1939 with a dissertation on orthogonal polynomials . He then was appointed to Kalinin Pedagogical Institute . At the beginning of Great Patriotic War Korovkin voluntarily enlisted to the Red Army . He started as a cannon platoon chief and till the end of war promoted to artillery regiment chief . He was awarded with Order of the Red Star . In December 1945 , he continued his work at the Kalinin Pedagogical Institute , in 1947 with a thesis on convergence of polynomial sequences , and was appointed professor in 1948 . At the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute from 1958 to 1970 he headed the department of higher mathematics , then he became head of the Department of Mathematical Analysis at the Kaluga State Pedagogical Institute . Selected publications . - , translated in English as . References . Biographical and general references . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the first volume , titled Survey articles and consists exactly of such kind of articles authored by Soviet experts and reviewing briefly the contributions of Soviet mathematicians to a chosen field , during the years from 1917 to 1957 . - . The Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 is an opus in two volumes describing the developments of Soviet mathematics during the first forty years of its existence . This is the second volume , titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) , containing a complete bibliography of works published by Soviet mathematicians during that period , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname and including , when possible , brief but complete biographies of the authors . - . The Mathematics in the USSR 1958–1967 is a two–volume continuation of the opus Mathematics in the USSR during its first forty years 1917–1957 and describes the developments of Soviet mathematics during the period 1958–1967 . Precisely it is meant as a continuation of the second volume of that work and , as such , is titled Biobibliography ( evidently an acronym of biography and bibliography ) . It includes new biographies ( when possible , brief and complete ) and bibliographies of works published by new Soviet mathematicians during that period , and updates on the work and biographies of scientist included in the former volume , alphabetically ordered with respect to authors surname . - , also translated in English as . - , translated in English as . |
[
"Italian"
] | easy | What citizenship did Licia Albanese hold from Jul 1909 to 1945? | /wiki/Licia_Albanese#P27#0 | Licia Albanese Licia Albanese ( July 22 , 1909 – August 15 , 2014 ) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano . Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini , Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 to 1966 . She also made many recordings and was chairwoman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , which is dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . Life and career . Felicia Albanese was born in July 1909 in Torre Pelosa , ( a subdivision of Noicattaro , Italy ) , later become Torre a Mare , a quarter of Bari ( the chief town of the Apulia region ) . She made her unofficial debut in Milan in 1934 , when she replaced another soprano in Puccinis Madama Butterfly , the role for which she would be celebrated . Over 40 years , she sang more than 300 performances of Cio-Cio-San . Although she has been praised for many of her roles , including Mimì , Violetta , Liù and Manon Lescaut , it is her portrayal of the geisha which has remained her best known . Her connection with that work began early with her teacher , Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi , a contemporary of the composer , and an important exponent of the title role in the previous generation . There is some controversy regarding when she made her formal debut . It was either in that same year ( 1934 ) at the Teatro Municipale in Bari , singing in La bohème , or in Parma , or in Milan in 1935 in Madama Butterfly . By the end of that year , she had debuted at La Scala as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi . She soon realized great success all over the world , especially for her performances in Carmen , Lamico Fritz and Madama Butterfly in Italy , France and England . Albanese made her Metropolitan Opera debut on February 9 , 1940 , in the first of 72 performances as Madama Butterfly at the old Metropolitan Opera House in spite of the fact that after the December 7 , 1941 Pearl Harbor attack , performances of that opera were banned in the U.S . until the end of World War II . Her success was instantaneous , and Albanese remained at the Met for 26 seasons , performing a total of 427 performances of 17 roles in 16 operas . She left the company in 1966 in a dispute with General Manager Sir Rudolf Bing , without a grand farewell . After performing in four productions during 1965/66 , she was scheduled for only one performance the next season . She returned her contract unsigned . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to join his broadcast concert performances of La bohème and La traviata with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in NBCs Studio 8H in 1946 . Both performances were later issued on LP and CD by RCA Victor . In 1959 , Albanese sang for thousands of radio listeners in collaboration with Alfredo Antonini , Richard Tucker and members of the New York Philharmonic during the popular Italian Night broadcasts from Lewisohn Stadium in New York City . She and her colleagues were showcased in selections from operas by Giacomo Puccini including : Tosca , La bohème , Turandot , Manon Lescaut and Madama Butterfly . She was also a mainstay at the San Francisco Opera where she sang between 1941 and 1961 , performing 22 roles in 120 performances over 20 seasons , remaining in part because of her admiration for its director , Gaetano Merola . Throughout her career , she continued to perform widely in recital , concert , and opera , she was heard throughout the country ; she participated in benefits , entertained the troops , had her own weekly radio show , was a guest on other broadcasts and telecasts , and recorded frequently . Albanese went to San Francisco in the summer of 1972 for the special gala concert at Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove celebrating the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco Opera . Joining numerous colleagues who had sung with the company , Albanese sang the duet from Madama Butterfly with tenor Frederick Jagel , accompanied by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by longtime director Kurt Herbert Adler . Even after a career spanning seven decades , Albanese continued to perform occasionally . After hearing her sing the national anthem during a Met opening , Stephen Sondheim and Thomas Z . Shepard cast her as operetta diva Heidi Schiller in Sondheims Follies in concert with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in 1985 . During the 1987 spring season of the Theatre Under the Stars in Houston , Texas , Albanese starred in a stage revival of Follies , which was a great success . Albanese died on August 15 , 2014 , at the age of 105 in her home in Manhattan . Her popularity in La traviata was such that she sang more performances of that opera at the Met and the San Francisco Opera than any other singer in either companys history . Schuyler Chapin describes her as a splendid former prima donna of the Italian repertoire , remembered by old-timers as the frailest Mimì , the tenderest Butterfly , and perhaps the most haunting of modern Violettas . Her voice had a distinctive character which the Italians call a lirico spinto , marked by its quick vibrato , incisive diction , intensity of attack and unwavering emotional impact . During her career she performed with many of the contemporary greats of opera—Beniamino Gigli , Claudia Muzio , Jussi Björling , and Franco Corelli . She worked with some of the best conductors of her time , but it is her work with Toscanini that has endured . Despite her talent and numerous performances , she was not the best known of her contemporaries , overshadowed in her day by Zinka Milanov , Maria Callas , Victoria de los Ángeles and Renata Tebaldi . Alfredo Vecchio , a frequent member of the audience at her performances , gave the following tribute to the career of Albanese at the Columbus Club , Park Avenue , New York City , in 1986 : Like all great artists , Licias specific ingenuity as a singer , the originality of her art , lay in the fact that technique for this artist at least was always a means to an end and never an end in itself : for the salient features of all great art is the ability to connect technique to the emotions . Any other approach would have been for Albanese contrary to the musical sense with which she was born , contrary to musical training she acquired , and , if such exists , contrary to her musical morality . It was this , Licias uniqueness and musical mastery which drew me , which drew us , into the world of Mimi , Cio-Cio-San , Manon , Liu and Violetta week after week , year after year , inviting me to a place and places I had never been before . It is for all these reasons that Virgil Thomson was able to write of Licias first Violetta : She did not sing the role , she recreated it for our times . As we all know , Albaneses art is capable of the widest range of effects from the tragic to the comedic , from dramatic repertoire to the lyrical and even soubrette : and for anyone fortunate enough to have heard her rendition of operetta pieces , she leaves no doubt in the mind that she was born to the operetta form as well as to the rest . To all of her work , Albanese brought passion and commitment , with her rich soprano voice , equalized throughout its range , thrilling in its climaxes . However , despite her repeated performances , she never fell into routine . As she explained in a 2004 interview with Allan Ulrich of the San Francisco Chronicle , I always changed every performance . I was never boring , and I am against copying . What I learned from the great singers was not to copy , but that the drama is in the music . Recordings and legacy . Albanese appeared in the very first live telecast from the Metropolitan Opera , Verdis Otello , opposite Ramón Vinay and Leonard Warren , conducted by Fritz Busch . One of the first generation of opera singers to appear widely in recordings and on the radio , her performances , now reappearing on both compact disc and video , have provided a lasting testament to her ability . From these recordings , future generations will be able to form some impression of what she was like as a singer and to understand what made her unique as an artist . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to sing Mimì in the 1946 NBC Symphony Orchestra performance of La bohème . The broadcast marked the 50th anniversary of the operas premiere which he had conducted in 1896 . The following season Toscanini cast her again , this time as Violetta in a now-classic performance of La traviata , broadcast nationally on NBC Radio on December 1 and 8 , 1946 . Both performances were subsequently released on records by RCA Victor and have since continuously remained in print . Albanese was noted for the grace with which she performed La traviata under the maestros famously intense direction . Maria Callas once asked me how I ever got through it , but Toscanini wanted it that way , Albanese later recalled . It should be like champagne , he said . I complained to him , and he said , You can do it . Before I sang the part , I went to a hospital to study the behavior of people with tuberculosis and I learned that sometimes they can be hysterical . She recorded mainly for RCA Victor . Among her recordings are Bizets Carmen under the direction of Fritz Reiner , with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce ( 1951 ) and Puccinis Manon Lescaut with Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill , conducted by Jonel Perlea ( 1954 ) . For a 1951 recording conducted by Leopold Stokowski of Tatianas Letter Scene from Tchaikovskys Eugene Onegin , a part she had never sung before , she learnt Russian especially for the occasion . Soprano Teresa Stratas was quoted as crediting a Metropolitan Opera performance of La traviata starring Albanese at Torontos Maple Leaf Gardens , with motivating her toward a singing career . Albanese was chairman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , founded in 1974 and dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . She also served as a trustee of the Bagby Foundation . She worked with the Juilliard School of Music , the Manhattan School of Music , and Marymount Manhattan College , and conducted master classes throughout the world . National and international honors . Albanese became a United States citizen in 1945 . On October 5 , 1995 , President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of Honor for the Arts . She received awards and honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College , Montclair State Teachers College , Saint Peters College , New Jersey , Seton Hall University , University of South Florida , Fairfield University , Siena College , Caldwell College , and Fairleigh Dickinson University . She was awarded the prestigious Handel Medallion , the highest official honor given by the City of New York and presented to individuals for their contributions to the citys cultural life , from Rudolph Giuliani in 2000 . At the ceremony , Mayor Giuliani commemorated the career of a woman who is without question [ one ] of the most loved and respected performers in the world . External links . - The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation website - Recording of Libiamo ne lieti calici from La traviata , Albanese and Jan Peerce , Toscanini conducting . Retrieved August 19 , 2006 . - Interview with Licia Albanese by Bruce Duffie , February 26 , 1988 |
[
"United States"
] | easy | What was the nationality of Licia Albanese from 1945 to Jun 1946? | /wiki/Licia_Albanese#P27#1 | Licia Albanese Licia Albanese ( July 22 , 1909 – August 15 , 2014 ) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano . Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini , Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 to 1966 . She also made many recordings and was chairwoman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , which is dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . Life and career . Felicia Albanese was born in July 1909 in Torre Pelosa , ( a subdivision of Noicattaro , Italy ) , later become Torre a Mare , a quarter of Bari ( the chief town of the Apulia region ) . She made her unofficial debut in Milan in 1934 , when she replaced another soprano in Puccinis Madama Butterfly , the role for which she would be celebrated . Over 40 years , she sang more than 300 performances of Cio-Cio-San . Although she has been praised for many of her roles , including Mimì , Violetta , Liù and Manon Lescaut , it is her portrayal of the geisha which has remained her best known . Her connection with that work began early with her teacher , Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi , a contemporary of the composer , and an important exponent of the title role in the previous generation . There is some controversy regarding when she made her formal debut . It was either in that same year ( 1934 ) at the Teatro Municipale in Bari , singing in La bohème , or in Parma , or in Milan in 1935 in Madama Butterfly . By the end of that year , she had debuted at La Scala as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi . She soon realized great success all over the world , especially for her performances in Carmen , Lamico Fritz and Madama Butterfly in Italy , France and England . Albanese made her Metropolitan Opera debut on February 9 , 1940 , in the first of 72 performances as Madama Butterfly at the old Metropolitan Opera House in spite of the fact that after the December 7 , 1941 Pearl Harbor attack , performances of that opera were banned in the U.S . until the end of World War II . Her success was instantaneous , and Albanese remained at the Met for 26 seasons , performing a total of 427 performances of 17 roles in 16 operas . She left the company in 1966 in a dispute with General Manager Sir Rudolf Bing , without a grand farewell . After performing in four productions during 1965/66 , she was scheduled for only one performance the next season . She returned her contract unsigned . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to join his broadcast concert performances of La bohème and La traviata with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in NBCs Studio 8H in 1946 . Both performances were later issued on LP and CD by RCA Victor . In 1959 , Albanese sang for thousands of radio listeners in collaboration with Alfredo Antonini , Richard Tucker and members of the New York Philharmonic during the popular Italian Night broadcasts from Lewisohn Stadium in New York City . She and her colleagues were showcased in selections from operas by Giacomo Puccini including : Tosca , La bohème , Turandot , Manon Lescaut and Madama Butterfly . She was also a mainstay at the San Francisco Opera where she sang between 1941 and 1961 , performing 22 roles in 120 performances over 20 seasons , remaining in part because of her admiration for its director , Gaetano Merola . Throughout her career , she continued to perform widely in recital , concert , and opera , she was heard throughout the country ; she participated in benefits , entertained the troops , had her own weekly radio show , was a guest on other broadcasts and telecasts , and recorded frequently . Albanese went to San Francisco in the summer of 1972 for the special gala concert at Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove celebrating the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco Opera . Joining numerous colleagues who had sung with the company , Albanese sang the duet from Madama Butterfly with tenor Frederick Jagel , accompanied by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by longtime director Kurt Herbert Adler . Even after a career spanning seven decades , Albanese continued to perform occasionally . After hearing her sing the national anthem during a Met opening , Stephen Sondheim and Thomas Z . Shepard cast her as operetta diva Heidi Schiller in Sondheims Follies in concert with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in 1985 . During the 1987 spring season of the Theatre Under the Stars in Houston , Texas , Albanese starred in a stage revival of Follies , which was a great success . Albanese died on August 15 , 2014 , at the age of 105 in her home in Manhattan . Her popularity in La traviata was such that she sang more performances of that opera at the Met and the San Francisco Opera than any other singer in either companys history . Schuyler Chapin describes her as a splendid former prima donna of the Italian repertoire , remembered by old-timers as the frailest Mimì , the tenderest Butterfly , and perhaps the most haunting of modern Violettas . Her voice had a distinctive character which the Italians call a lirico spinto , marked by its quick vibrato , incisive diction , intensity of attack and unwavering emotional impact . During her career she performed with many of the contemporary greats of opera—Beniamino Gigli , Claudia Muzio , Jussi Björling , and Franco Corelli . She worked with some of the best conductors of her time , but it is her work with Toscanini that has endured . Despite her talent and numerous performances , she was not the best known of her contemporaries , overshadowed in her day by Zinka Milanov , Maria Callas , Victoria de los Ángeles and Renata Tebaldi . Alfredo Vecchio , a frequent member of the audience at her performances , gave the following tribute to the career of Albanese at the Columbus Club , Park Avenue , New York City , in 1986 : Like all great artists , Licias specific ingenuity as a singer , the originality of her art , lay in the fact that technique for this artist at least was always a means to an end and never an end in itself : for the salient features of all great art is the ability to connect technique to the emotions . Any other approach would have been for Albanese contrary to the musical sense with which she was born , contrary to musical training she acquired , and , if such exists , contrary to her musical morality . It was this , Licias uniqueness and musical mastery which drew me , which drew us , into the world of Mimi , Cio-Cio-San , Manon , Liu and Violetta week after week , year after year , inviting me to a place and places I had never been before . It is for all these reasons that Virgil Thomson was able to write of Licias first Violetta : She did not sing the role , she recreated it for our times . As we all know , Albaneses art is capable of the widest range of effects from the tragic to the comedic , from dramatic repertoire to the lyrical and even soubrette : and for anyone fortunate enough to have heard her rendition of operetta pieces , she leaves no doubt in the mind that she was born to the operetta form as well as to the rest . To all of her work , Albanese brought passion and commitment , with her rich soprano voice , equalized throughout its range , thrilling in its climaxes . However , despite her repeated performances , she never fell into routine . As she explained in a 2004 interview with Allan Ulrich of the San Francisco Chronicle , I always changed every performance . I was never boring , and I am against copying . What I learned from the great singers was not to copy , but that the drama is in the music . Recordings and legacy . Albanese appeared in the very first live telecast from the Metropolitan Opera , Verdis Otello , opposite Ramón Vinay and Leonard Warren , conducted by Fritz Busch . One of the first generation of opera singers to appear widely in recordings and on the radio , her performances , now reappearing on both compact disc and video , have provided a lasting testament to her ability . From these recordings , future generations will be able to form some impression of what she was like as a singer and to understand what made her unique as an artist . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to sing Mimì in the 1946 NBC Symphony Orchestra performance of La bohème . The broadcast marked the 50th anniversary of the operas premiere which he had conducted in 1896 . The following season Toscanini cast her again , this time as Violetta in a now-classic performance of La traviata , broadcast nationally on NBC Radio on December 1 and 8 , 1946 . Both performances were subsequently released on records by RCA Victor and have since continuously remained in print . Albanese was noted for the grace with which she performed La traviata under the maestros famously intense direction . Maria Callas once asked me how I ever got through it , but Toscanini wanted it that way , Albanese later recalled . It should be like champagne , he said . I complained to him , and he said , You can do it . Before I sang the part , I went to a hospital to study the behavior of people with tuberculosis and I learned that sometimes they can be hysterical . She recorded mainly for RCA Victor . Among her recordings are Bizets Carmen under the direction of Fritz Reiner , with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce ( 1951 ) and Puccinis Manon Lescaut with Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill , conducted by Jonel Perlea ( 1954 ) . For a 1951 recording conducted by Leopold Stokowski of Tatianas Letter Scene from Tchaikovskys Eugene Onegin , a part she had never sung before , she learnt Russian especially for the occasion . Soprano Teresa Stratas was quoted as crediting a Metropolitan Opera performance of La traviata starring Albanese at Torontos Maple Leaf Gardens , with motivating her toward a singing career . Albanese was chairman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , founded in 1974 and dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . She also served as a trustee of the Bagby Foundation . She worked with the Juilliard School of Music , the Manhattan School of Music , and Marymount Manhattan College , and conducted master classes throughout the world . National and international honors . Albanese became a United States citizen in 1945 . On October 5 , 1995 , President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of Honor for the Arts . She received awards and honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College , Montclair State Teachers College , Saint Peters College , New Jersey , Seton Hall University , University of South Florida , Fairfield University , Siena College , Caldwell College , and Fairleigh Dickinson University . She was awarded the prestigious Handel Medallion , the highest official honor given by the City of New York and presented to individuals for their contributions to the citys cultural life , from Rudolph Giuliani in 2000 . At the ceremony , Mayor Giuliani commemorated the career of a woman who is without question [ one ] of the most loved and respected performers in the world . External links . - The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation website - Recording of Libiamo ne lieti calici from La traviata , Albanese and Jan Peerce , Toscanini conducting . Retrieved August 19 , 2006 . - Interview with Licia Albanese by Bruce Duffie , February 26 , 1988 |
[
"Italy",
"United States"
] | easy | What was the nationality of Licia Albanese from Jun 1946 to Aug 2014? | /wiki/Licia_Albanese#P27#2 | Licia Albanese Licia Albanese ( July 22 , 1909 – August 15 , 2014 ) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano . Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini , Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 to 1966 . She also made many recordings and was chairwoman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , which is dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . Life and career . Felicia Albanese was born in July 1909 in Torre Pelosa , ( a subdivision of Noicattaro , Italy ) , later become Torre a Mare , a quarter of Bari ( the chief town of the Apulia region ) . She made her unofficial debut in Milan in 1934 , when she replaced another soprano in Puccinis Madama Butterfly , the role for which she would be celebrated . Over 40 years , she sang more than 300 performances of Cio-Cio-San . Although she has been praised for many of her roles , including Mimì , Violetta , Liù and Manon Lescaut , it is her portrayal of the geisha which has remained her best known . Her connection with that work began early with her teacher , Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi , a contemporary of the composer , and an important exponent of the title role in the previous generation . There is some controversy regarding when she made her formal debut . It was either in that same year ( 1934 ) at the Teatro Municipale in Bari , singing in La bohème , or in Parma , or in Milan in 1935 in Madama Butterfly . By the end of that year , she had debuted at La Scala as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi . She soon realized great success all over the world , especially for her performances in Carmen , Lamico Fritz and Madama Butterfly in Italy , France and England . Albanese made her Metropolitan Opera debut on February 9 , 1940 , in the first of 72 performances as Madama Butterfly at the old Metropolitan Opera House in spite of the fact that after the December 7 , 1941 Pearl Harbor attack , performances of that opera were banned in the U.S . until the end of World War II . Her success was instantaneous , and Albanese remained at the Met for 26 seasons , performing a total of 427 performances of 17 roles in 16 operas . She left the company in 1966 in a dispute with General Manager Sir Rudolf Bing , without a grand farewell . After performing in four productions during 1965/66 , she was scheduled for only one performance the next season . She returned her contract unsigned . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to join his broadcast concert performances of La bohème and La traviata with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in NBCs Studio 8H in 1946 . Both performances were later issued on LP and CD by RCA Victor . In 1959 , Albanese sang for thousands of radio listeners in collaboration with Alfredo Antonini , Richard Tucker and members of the New York Philharmonic during the popular Italian Night broadcasts from Lewisohn Stadium in New York City . She and her colleagues were showcased in selections from operas by Giacomo Puccini including : Tosca , La bohème , Turandot , Manon Lescaut and Madama Butterfly . She was also a mainstay at the San Francisco Opera where she sang between 1941 and 1961 , performing 22 roles in 120 performances over 20 seasons , remaining in part because of her admiration for its director , Gaetano Merola . Throughout her career , she continued to perform widely in recital , concert , and opera , she was heard throughout the country ; she participated in benefits , entertained the troops , had her own weekly radio show , was a guest on other broadcasts and telecasts , and recorded frequently . Albanese went to San Francisco in the summer of 1972 for the special gala concert at Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove celebrating the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco Opera . Joining numerous colleagues who had sung with the company , Albanese sang the duet from Madama Butterfly with tenor Frederick Jagel , accompanied by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by longtime director Kurt Herbert Adler . Even after a career spanning seven decades , Albanese continued to perform occasionally . After hearing her sing the national anthem during a Met opening , Stephen Sondheim and Thomas Z . Shepard cast her as operetta diva Heidi Schiller in Sondheims Follies in concert with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in 1985 . During the 1987 spring season of the Theatre Under the Stars in Houston , Texas , Albanese starred in a stage revival of Follies , which was a great success . Albanese died on August 15 , 2014 , at the age of 105 in her home in Manhattan . Her popularity in La traviata was such that she sang more performances of that opera at the Met and the San Francisco Opera than any other singer in either companys history . Schuyler Chapin describes her as a splendid former prima donna of the Italian repertoire , remembered by old-timers as the frailest Mimì , the tenderest Butterfly , and perhaps the most haunting of modern Violettas . Her voice had a distinctive character which the Italians call a lirico spinto , marked by its quick vibrato , incisive diction , intensity of attack and unwavering emotional impact . During her career she performed with many of the contemporary greats of opera—Beniamino Gigli , Claudia Muzio , Jussi Björling , and Franco Corelli . She worked with some of the best conductors of her time , but it is her work with Toscanini that has endured . Despite her talent and numerous performances , she was not the best known of her contemporaries , overshadowed in her day by Zinka Milanov , Maria Callas , Victoria de los Ángeles and Renata Tebaldi . Alfredo Vecchio , a frequent member of the audience at her performances , gave the following tribute to the career of Albanese at the Columbus Club , Park Avenue , New York City , in 1986 : Like all great artists , Licias specific ingenuity as a singer , the originality of her art , lay in the fact that technique for this artist at least was always a means to an end and never an end in itself : for the salient features of all great art is the ability to connect technique to the emotions . Any other approach would have been for Albanese contrary to the musical sense with which she was born , contrary to musical training she acquired , and , if such exists , contrary to her musical morality . It was this , Licias uniqueness and musical mastery which drew me , which drew us , into the world of Mimi , Cio-Cio-San , Manon , Liu and Violetta week after week , year after year , inviting me to a place and places I had never been before . It is for all these reasons that Virgil Thomson was able to write of Licias first Violetta : She did not sing the role , she recreated it for our times . As we all know , Albaneses art is capable of the widest range of effects from the tragic to the comedic , from dramatic repertoire to the lyrical and even soubrette : and for anyone fortunate enough to have heard her rendition of operetta pieces , she leaves no doubt in the mind that she was born to the operetta form as well as to the rest . To all of her work , Albanese brought passion and commitment , with her rich soprano voice , equalized throughout its range , thrilling in its climaxes . However , despite her repeated performances , she never fell into routine . As she explained in a 2004 interview with Allan Ulrich of the San Francisco Chronicle , I always changed every performance . I was never boring , and I am against copying . What I learned from the great singers was not to copy , but that the drama is in the music . Recordings and legacy . Albanese appeared in the very first live telecast from the Metropolitan Opera , Verdis Otello , opposite Ramón Vinay and Leonard Warren , conducted by Fritz Busch . One of the first generation of opera singers to appear widely in recordings and on the radio , her performances , now reappearing on both compact disc and video , have provided a lasting testament to her ability . From these recordings , future generations will be able to form some impression of what she was like as a singer and to understand what made her unique as an artist . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to sing Mimì in the 1946 NBC Symphony Orchestra performance of La bohème . The broadcast marked the 50th anniversary of the operas premiere which he had conducted in 1896 . The following season Toscanini cast her again , this time as Violetta in a now-classic performance of La traviata , broadcast nationally on NBC Radio on December 1 and 8 , 1946 . Both performances were subsequently released on records by RCA Victor and have since continuously remained in print . Albanese was noted for the grace with which she performed La traviata under the maestros famously intense direction . Maria Callas once asked me how I ever got through it , but Toscanini wanted it that way , Albanese later recalled . It should be like champagne , he said . I complained to him , and he said , You can do it . Before I sang the part , I went to a hospital to study the behavior of people with tuberculosis and I learned that sometimes they can be hysterical . She recorded mainly for RCA Victor . Among her recordings are Bizets Carmen under the direction of Fritz Reiner , with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce ( 1951 ) and Puccinis Manon Lescaut with Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill , conducted by Jonel Perlea ( 1954 ) . For a 1951 recording conducted by Leopold Stokowski of Tatianas Letter Scene from Tchaikovskys Eugene Onegin , a part she had never sung before , she learnt Russian especially for the occasion . Soprano Teresa Stratas was quoted as crediting a Metropolitan Opera performance of La traviata starring Albanese at Torontos Maple Leaf Gardens , with motivating her toward a singing career . Albanese was chairman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , founded in 1974 and dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . She also served as a trustee of the Bagby Foundation . She worked with the Juilliard School of Music , the Manhattan School of Music , and Marymount Manhattan College , and conducted master classes throughout the world . National and international honors . Albanese became a United States citizen in 1945 . On October 5 , 1995 , President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of Honor for the Arts . She received awards and honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College , Montclair State Teachers College , Saint Peters College , New Jersey , Seton Hall University , University of South Florida , Fairfield University , Siena College , Caldwell College , and Fairleigh Dickinson University . She was awarded the prestigious Handel Medallion , the highest official honor given by the City of New York and presented to individuals for their contributions to the citys cultural life , from Rudolph Giuliani in 2000 . At the ceremony , Mayor Giuliani commemorated the career of a woman who is without question [ one ] of the most loved and respected performers in the world . External links . - The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation website - Recording of Libiamo ne lieti calici from La traviata , Albanese and Jan Peerce , Toscanini conducting . Retrieved August 19 , 2006 . - Interview with Licia Albanese by Bruce Duffie , February 26 , 1988 |
[
""
] | easy | What citizenship did Licia Albanese hold from Aug 2014 to Aug 2015? | /wiki/Licia_Albanese#P27#3 | Licia Albanese Licia Albanese ( July 22 , 1909 – August 15 , 2014 ) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano . Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini , Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 to 1966 . She also made many recordings and was chairwoman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , which is dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . Life and career . Felicia Albanese was born in July 1909 in Torre Pelosa , ( a subdivision of Noicattaro , Italy ) , later become Torre a Mare , a quarter of Bari ( the chief town of the Apulia region ) . She made her unofficial debut in Milan in 1934 , when she replaced another soprano in Puccinis Madama Butterfly , the role for which she would be celebrated . Over 40 years , she sang more than 300 performances of Cio-Cio-San . Although she has been praised for many of her roles , including Mimì , Violetta , Liù and Manon Lescaut , it is her portrayal of the geisha which has remained her best known . Her connection with that work began early with her teacher , Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi , a contemporary of the composer , and an important exponent of the title role in the previous generation . There is some controversy regarding when she made her formal debut . It was either in that same year ( 1934 ) at the Teatro Municipale in Bari , singing in La bohème , or in Parma , or in Milan in 1935 in Madama Butterfly . By the end of that year , she had debuted at La Scala as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi . She soon realized great success all over the world , especially for her performances in Carmen , Lamico Fritz and Madama Butterfly in Italy , France and England . Albanese made her Metropolitan Opera debut on February 9 , 1940 , in the first of 72 performances as Madama Butterfly at the old Metropolitan Opera House in spite of the fact that after the December 7 , 1941 Pearl Harbor attack , performances of that opera were banned in the U.S . until the end of World War II . Her success was instantaneous , and Albanese remained at the Met for 26 seasons , performing a total of 427 performances of 17 roles in 16 operas . She left the company in 1966 in a dispute with General Manager Sir Rudolf Bing , without a grand farewell . After performing in four productions during 1965/66 , she was scheduled for only one performance the next season . She returned her contract unsigned . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to join his broadcast concert performances of La bohème and La traviata with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in NBCs Studio 8H in 1946 . Both performances were later issued on LP and CD by RCA Victor . In 1959 , Albanese sang for thousands of radio listeners in collaboration with Alfredo Antonini , Richard Tucker and members of the New York Philharmonic during the popular Italian Night broadcasts from Lewisohn Stadium in New York City . She and her colleagues were showcased in selections from operas by Giacomo Puccini including : Tosca , La bohème , Turandot , Manon Lescaut and Madama Butterfly . She was also a mainstay at the San Francisco Opera where she sang between 1941 and 1961 , performing 22 roles in 120 performances over 20 seasons , remaining in part because of her admiration for its director , Gaetano Merola . Throughout her career , she continued to perform widely in recital , concert , and opera , she was heard throughout the country ; she participated in benefits , entertained the troops , had her own weekly radio show , was a guest on other broadcasts and telecasts , and recorded frequently . Albanese went to San Francisco in the summer of 1972 for the special gala concert at Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove celebrating the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco Opera . Joining numerous colleagues who had sung with the company , Albanese sang the duet from Madama Butterfly with tenor Frederick Jagel , accompanied by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by longtime director Kurt Herbert Adler . Even after a career spanning seven decades , Albanese continued to perform occasionally . After hearing her sing the national anthem during a Met opening , Stephen Sondheim and Thomas Z . Shepard cast her as operetta diva Heidi Schiller in Sondheims Follies in concert with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in 1985 . During the 1987 spring season of the Theatre Under the Stars in Houston , Texas , Albanese starred in a stage revival of Follies , which was a great success . Albanese died on August 15 , 2014 , at the age of 105 in her home in Manhattan . Her popularity in La traviata was such that she sang more performances of that opera at the Met and the San Francisco Opera than any other singer in either companys history . Schuyler Chapin describes her as a splendid former prima donna of the Italian repertoire , remembered by old-timers as the frailest Mimì , the tenderest Butterfly , and perhaps the most haunting of modern Violettas . Her voice had a distinctive character which the Italians call a lirico spinto , marked by its quick vibrato , incisive diction , intensity of attack and unwavering emotional impact . During her career she performed with many of the contemporary greats of opera—Beniamino Gigli , Claudia Muzio , Jussi Björling , and Franco Corelli . She worked with some of the best conductors of her time , but it is her work with Toscanini that has endured . Despite her talent and numerous performances , she was not the best known of her contemporaries , overshadowed in her day by Zinka Milanov , Maria Callas , Victoria de los Ángeles and Renata Tebaldi . Alfredo Vecchio , a frequent member of the audience at her performances , gave the following tribute to the career of Albanese at the Columbus Club , Park Avenue , New York City , in 1986 : Like all great artists , Licias specific ingenuity as a singer , the originality of her art , lay in the fact that technique for this artist at least was always a means to an end and never an end in itself : for the salient features of all great art is the ability to connect technique to the emotions . Any other approach would have been for Albanese contrary to the musical sense with which she was born , contrary to musical training she acquired , and , if such exists , contrary to her musical morality . It was this , Licias uniqueness and musical mastery which drew me , which drew us , into the world of Mimi , Cio-Cio-San , Manon , Liu and Violetta week after week , year after year , inviting me to a place and places I had never been before . It is for all these reasons that Virgil Thomson was able to write of Licias first Violetta : She did not sing the role , she recreated it for our times . As we all know , Albaneses art is capable of the widest range of effects from the tragic to the comedic , from dramatic repertoire to the lyrical and even soubrette : and for anyone fortunate enough to have heard her rendition of operetta pieces , she leaves no doubt in the mind that she was born to the operetta form as well as to the rest . To all of her work , Albanese brought passion and commitment , with her rich soprano voice , equalized throughout its range , thrilling in its climaxes . However , despite her repeated performances , she never fell into routine . As she explained in a 2004 interview with Allan Ulrich of the San Francisco Chronicle , I always changed every performance . I was never boring , and I am against copying . What I learned from the great singers was not to copy , but that the drama is in the music . Recordings and legacy . Albanese appeared in the very first live telecast from the Metropolitan Opera , Verdis Otello , opposite Ramón Vinay and Leonard Warren , conducted by Fritz Busch . One of the first generation of opera singers to appear widely in recordings and on the radio , her performances , now reappearing on both compact disc and video , have provided a lasting testament to her ability . From these recordings , future generations will be able to form some impression of what she was like as a singer and to understand what made her unique as an artist . Arturo Toscanini invited Albanese to sing Mimì in the 1946 NBC Symphony Orchestra performance of La bohème . The broadcast marked the 50th anniversary of the operas premiere which he had conducted in 1896 . The following season Toscanini cast her again , this time as Violetta in a now-classic performance of La traviata , broadcast nationally on NBC Radio on December 1 and 8 , 1946 . Both performances were subsequently released on records by RCA Victor and have since continuously remained in print . Albanese was noted for the grace with which she performed La traviata under the maestros famously intense direction . Maria Callas once asked me how I ever got through it , but Toscanini wanted it that way , Albanese later recalled . It should be like champagne , he said . I complained to him , and he said , You can do it . Before I sang the part , I went to a hospital to study the behavior of people with tuberculosis and I learned that sometimes they can be hysterical . She recorded mainly for RCA Victor . Among her recordings are Bizets Carmen under the direction of Fritz Reiner , with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce ( 1951 ) and Puccinis Manon Lescaut with Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill , conducted by Jonel Perlea ( 1954 ) . For a 1951 recording conducted by Leopold Stokowski of Tatianas Letter Scene from Tchaikovskys Eugene Onegin , a part she had never sung before , she learnt Russian especially for the occasion . Soprano Teresa Stratas was quoted as crediting a Metropolitan Opera performance of La traviata starring Albanese at Torontos Maple Leaf Gardens , with motivating her toward a singing career . Albanese was chairman of The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation , founded in 1974 and dedicated to assisting young artists and singers . She also served as a trustee of the Bagby Foundation . She worked with the Juilliard School of Music , the Manhattan School of Music , and Marymount Manhattan College , and conducted master classes throughout the world . National and international honors . Albanese became a United States citizen in 1945 . On October 5 , 1995 , President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of Honor for the Arts . She received awards and honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College , Montclair State Teachers College , Saint Peters College , New Jersey , Seton Hall University , University of South Florida , Fairfield University , Siena College , Caldwell College , and Fairleigh Dickinson University . She was awarded the prestigious Handel Medallion , the highest official honor given by the City of New York and presented to individuals for their contributions to the citys cultural life , from Rudolph Giuliani in 2000 . At the ceremony , Mayor Giuliani commemorated the career of a woman who is without question [ one ] of the most loved and respected performers in the world . External links . - The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation website - Recording of Libiamo ne lieti calici from La traviata , Albanese and Jan Peerce , Toscanini conducting . Retrieved August 19 , 2006 . - Interview with Licia Albanese by Bruce Duffie , February 26 , 1988 |
[
"Member of Parliament"
] | easy | Which position did Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet hold from 1874 to Jun 1886? | /wiki/Sir_Charles_Palmer,_1st_Baronet#P39#0 | Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet Sir Charles Mark Palmer , 1st Baronet ( 3 November 1822 – 4 June 1907 ) was an English shipbuilder born in South Shields , County Durham , England . He was also a Liberal Party politician and Member of Parliament . His father , originally the captain of a whaler , moved in 1828 to Newcastle upon Tyne , where he owned a ship owning and ship-broking business . Early life . At the age of 15 Charles Palmer entered a shipping business in the city . After six months , he travelled to Marseilles , France , where his father had procured him a post in a large commercial house , at the same time entrusting him with the local agency of his own business . After two years experience in Marseilles he entered his fathers business in Newcastle , and in 1842 he became a partner . His business capacity attracted the attention of a leading local colliery owner , and he was appointed manager of the Marley Hill colliery south of Gateshead , in which he became a partner in 1846 . Subsequently , he was made one of the managers of the associated collieries north and south of the Tyne owned by Lord Ravensworth , Lord Wharncliffe , the Marquess of Bute and Lord Strathmore . Emergence as an entrepreneur . Using the profits of the Marley Hill colliery , he gradually purchased the properties of his erstwhile employer , while simultaneously he greatly developed the recently established coke trade , obtaining the coke contracts for several of the large English and continental railways . Establishment of Palmers shipyard . About 1850 the question of coal-transport to the London market became a serious question for north country colliery proprietors . Palmer therefore built , largely according to his own plans , the John Bowes , the first iron screw collier , and several other steam-colliers , in a yard established by him at Jarrow , then a small Tyneside village . He then purchased iron mines in Yorkshire and erected large shipbuilding yards along the Tyne at Jarrow , including blast-furnaces , steel-works , rolling-mills and engine works , all on a massive scale . The firm produced warships as well as merchant vessels , and its system of rolling armour plates , introduced in 1856 , was generally adopted by other builders . In 1865 he turned the business into Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited . Military career . In 1868 Palmer raised a new unit in the Volunteer Force , the 1st Durham Engineer Volunteers at Jarrow , and he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant . Later , the 1st Durham EV merged with the smaller 1st Newcastle EV as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV , with Palmer as commanding officer . Palmer retired from the Volunteers in 1888 with the rank of Colonel . The same year , the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units : the 1st Durham Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) , at Jarrow , and the Tyne Division RE ( V ) , Submarine Miners at North Shields , with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both units , together with a new 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE ( V ) . Palmers younger brother , Alfred Septimus Palmer ( 1834–1910 ) , a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle and Durham , became commanding officer of the third unit . Political career . At the 1874 general election , Palmer was elected as Liberal Party Member of Parliament ( MP ) for North Durham , and held the seat until its abolition for the 1885 general election . He was then elected for the new Jarrow constituency , and sat for the constituency until his death in London in 1907 . He was twice Mayor of Jarrow , in 1875 and again in 1902–03 . Palmer was in 1902 President of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce ( he probably held this position for several years ) . Baronetcy . In 1886 , Palmers services in connection with the settlement of the costly dispute between British ship-owners and the Suez Canal Company ( of which he was then a director ) were rewarded with a baronetcy , as Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park , County York . He was lord of the manor of Hinderwell which was inherited by his widow Gertrude . Family . Palmer married , firstly , on 29 July 1846 , Jane , daughter of Ebenezer Robson of Newcastle . They had two sons : - George Robson Palmer , later 2nd Baronet ( 1849–1910 ) - Alfred Molyneux Palmer , later 3rd Baronet ( 1853–1935 ) Jane Palmer died on 6 April 1865 . Palmer married , secondly , on 4 July 1867 , Augusta Mary , daughter of Alfred Lambert , of Paris and Massa di Carraca , Italy . They had two further sons : - Lt-Col Claude Bowes Palmer , CBE , Royal Army Medical Corps ( Volunteers ) ( 1868–1949 ) - Capt Lionel Hugo Palmer , 3rd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment and Royal North West Mounted Police , Canada ( 1870–1914 ) Augusta Palmer died 2 December 1875 . Palmer married , thirdly , on 17 February 1877 , Gertrude , daughter of James Montgomrey of Brentford , Middlesex . They had two children : - Major Godfrey Mark Palmer , MP for Jarrow ( 1878–1933 ) - Hilda Gertrude Montgomerie Palmer ( 1884–1946 ) Sir Charles Palmer died on 4 June 1907 , when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son . Gertrude , Lady Palmer , died on 21 January 1918 . References . - Burkes Peerage and Baronetage ( various edns ) . - Maj O.M . Short , Maj H . Sherlock , Capt L.E.C.M . Perowne and Lt M.A . Fraser , The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers , Royal Engineers , 1884–1933 , 1933/Uckfield : Naval & Military , nd , . - R.A . Westlake , Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) 1859–1908 , Wembley : R.A . Westlake , 1983 , . External links . - Land Forces of Britain , the Empire and Commonwealth ( Regiments.org ) |
[
"Member of Parliament"
] | easy | Which position did Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet hold from Jul 1886 to Jun 1892? | /wiki/Sir_Charles_Palmer,_1st_Baronet#P39#1 | Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet Sir Charles Mark Palmer , 1st Baronet ( 3 November 1822 – 4 June 1907 ) was an English shipbuilder born in South Shields , County Durham , England . He was also a Liberal Party politician and Member of Parliament . His father , originally the captain of a whaler , moved in 1828 to Newcastle upon Tyne , where he owned a ship owning and ship-broking business . Early life . At the age of 15 Charles Palmer entered a shipping business in the city . After six months , he travelled to Marseilles , France , where his father had procured him a post in a large commercial house , at the same time entrusting him with the local agency of his own business . After two years experience in Marseilles he entered his fathers business in Newcastle , and in 1842 he became a partner . His business capacity attracted the attention of a leading local colliery owner , and he was appointed manager of the Marley Hill colliery south of Gateshead , in which he became a partner in 1846 . Subsequently , he was made one of the managers of the associated collieries north and south of the Tyne owned by Lord Ravensworth , Lord Wharncliffe , the Marquess of Bute and Lord Strathmore . Emergence as an entrepreneur . Using the profits of the Marley Hill colliery , he gradually purchased the properties of his erstwhile employer , while simultaneously he greatly developed the recently established coke trade , obtaining the coke contracts for several of the large English and continental railways . Establishment of Palmers shipyard . About 1850 the question of coal-transport to the London market became a serious question for north country colliery proprietors . Palmer therefore built , largely according to his own plans , the John Bowes , the first iron screw collier , and several other steam-colliers , in a yard established by him at Jarrow , then a small Tyneside village . He then purchased iron mines in Yorkshire and erected large shipbuilding yards along the Tyne at Jarrow , including blast-furnaces , steel-works , rolling-mills and engine works , all on a massive scale . The firm produced warships as well as merchant vessels , and its system of rolling armour plates , introduced in 1856 , was generally adopted by other builders . In 1865 he turned the business into Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited . Military career . In 1868 Palmer raised a new unit in the Volunteer Force , the 1st Durham Engineer Volunteers at Jarrow , and he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant . Later , the 1st Durham EV merged with the smaller 1st Newcastle EV as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV , with Palmer as commanding officer . Palmer retired from the Volunteers in 1888 with the rank of Colonel . The same year , the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units : the 1st Durham Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) , at Jarrow , and the Tyne Division RE ( V ) , Submarine Miners at North Shields , with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both units , together with a new 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE ( V ) . Palmers younger brother , Alfred Septimus Palmer ( 1834–1910 ) , a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle and Durham , became commanding officer of the third unit . Political career . At the 1874 general election , Palmer was elected as Liberal Party Member of Parliament ( MP ) for North Durham , and held the seat until its abolition for the 1885 general election . He was then elected for the new Jarrow constituency , and sat for the constituency until his death in London in 1907 . He was twice Mayor of Jarrow , in 1875 and again in 1902–03 . Palmer was in 1902 President of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce ( he probably held this position for several years ) . Baronetcy . In 1886 , Palmers services in connection with the settlement of the costly dispute between British ship-owners and the Suez Canal Company ( of which he was then a director ) were rewarded with a baronetcy , as Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park , County York . He was lord of the manor of Hinderwell which was inherited by his widow Gertrude . Family . Palmer married , firstly , on 29 July 1846 , Jane , daughter of Ebenezer Robson of Newcastle . They had two sons : - George Robson Palmer , later 2nd Baronet ( 1849–1910 ) - Alfred Molyneux Palmer , later 3rd Baronet ( 1853–1935 ) Jane Palmer died on 6 April 1865 . Palmer married , secondly , on 4 July 1867 , Augusta Mary , daughter of Alfred Lambert , of Paris and Massa di Carraca , Italy . They had two further sons : - Lt-Col Claude Bowes Palmer , CBE , Royal Army Medical Corps ( Volunteers ) ( 1868–1949 ) - Capt Lionel Hugo Palmer , 3rd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment and Royal North West Mounted Police , Canada ( 1870–1914 ) Augusta Palmer died 2 December 1875 . Palmer married , thirdly , on 17 February 1877 , Gertrude , daughter of James Montgomrey of Brentford , Middlesex . They had two children : - Major Godfrey Mark Palmer , MP for Jarrow ( 1878–1933 ) - Hilda Gertrude Montgomerie Palmer ( 1884–1946 ) Sir Charles Palmer died on 4 June 1907 , when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son . Gertrude , Lady Palmer , died on 21 January 1918 . References . - Burkes Peerage and Baronetage ( various edns ) . - Maj O.M . Short , Maj H . Sherlock , Capt L.E.C.M . Perowne and Lt M.A . Fraser , The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers , Royal Engineers , 1884–1933 , 1933/Uckfield : Naval & Military , nd , . - R.A . Westlake , Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) 1859–1908 , Wembley : R.A . Westlake , 1983 , . External links . - Land Forces of Britain , the Empire and Commonwealth ( Regiments.org ) |
[
"Member of Parliament"
] | easy | Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet took which position from Jul 1892 to Sep 1900? | /wiki/Sir_Charles_Palmer,_1st_Baronet#P39#2 | Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet Sir Charles Mark Palmer , 1st Baronet ( 3 November 1822 – 4 June 1907 ) was an English shipbuilder born in South Shields , County Durham , England . He was also a Liberal Party politician and Member of Parliament . His father , originally the captain of a whaler , moved in 1828 to Newcastle upon Tyne , where he owned a ship owning and ship-broking business . Early life . At the age of 15 Charles Palmer entered a shipping business in the city . After six months , he travelled to Marseilles , France , where his father had procured him a post in a large commercial house , at the same time entrusting him with the local agency of his own business . After two years experience in Marseilles he entered his fathers business in Newcastle , and in 1842 he became a partner . His business capacity attracted the attention of a leading local colliery owner , and he was appointed manager of the Marley Hill colliery south of Gateshead , in which he became a partner in 1846 . Subsequently , he was made one of the managers of the associated collieries north and south of the Tyne owned by Lord Ravensworth , Lord Wharncliffe , the Marquess of Bute and Lord Strathmore . Emergence as an entrepreneur . Using the profits of the Marley Hill colliery , he gradually purchased the properties of his erstwhile employer , while simultaneously he greatly developed the recently established coke trade , obtaining the coke contracts for several of the large English and continental railways . Establishment of Palmers shipyard . About 1850 the question of coal-transport to the London market became a serious question for north country colliery proprietors . Palmer therefore built , largely according to his own plans , the John Bowes , the first iron screw collier , and several other steam-colliers , in a yard established by him at Jarrow , then a small Tyneside village . He then purchased iron mines in Yorkshire and erected large shipbuilding yards along the Tyne at Jarrow , including blast-furnaces , steel-works , rolling-mills and engine works , all on a massive scale . The firm produced warships as well as merchant vessels , and its system of rolling armour plates , introduced in 1856 , was generally adopted by other builders . In 1865 he turned the business into Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited . Military career . In 1868 Palmer raised a new unit in the Volunteer Force , the 1st Durham Engineer Volunteers at Jarrow , and he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant . Later , the 1st Durham EV merged with the smaller 1st Newcastle EV as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV , with Palmer as commanding officer . Palmer retired from the Volunteers in 1888 with the rank of Colonel . The same year , the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units : the 1st Durham Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) , at Jarrow , and the Tyne Division RE ( V ) , Submarine Miners at North Shields , with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both units , together with a new 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE ( V ) . Palmers younger brother , Alfred Septimus Palmer ( 1834–1910 ) , a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle and Durham , became commanding officer of the third unit . Political career . At the 1874 general election , Palmer was elected as Liberal Party Member of Parliament ( MP ) for North Durham , and held the seat until its abolition for the 1885 general election . He was then elected for the new Jarrow constituency , and sat for the constituency until his death in London in 1907 . He was twice Mayor of Jarrow , in 1875 and again in 1902–03 . Palmer was in 1902 President of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce ( he probably held this position for several years ) . Baronetcy . In 1886 , Palmers services in connection with the settlement of the costly dispute between British ship-owners and the Suez Canal Company ( of which he was then a director ) were rewarded with a baronetcy , as Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park , County York . He was lord of the manor of Hinderwell which was inherited by his widow Gertrude . Family . Palmer married , firstly , on 29 July 1846 , Jane , daughter of Ebenezer Robson of Newcastle . They had two sons : - George Robson Palmer , later 2nd Baronet ( 1849–1910 ) - Alfred Molyneux Palmer , later 3rd Baronet ( 1853–1935 ) Jane Palmer died on 6 April 1865 . Palmer married , secondly , on 4 July 1867 , Augusta Mary , daughter of Alfred Lambert , of Paris and Massa di Carraca , Italy . They had two further sons : - Lt-Col Claude Bowes Palmer , CBE , Royal Army Medical Corps ( Volunteers ) ( 1868–1949 ) - Capt Lionel Hugo Palmer , 3rd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment and Royal North West Mounted Police , Canada ( 1870–1914 ) Augusta Palmer died 2 December 1875 . Palmer married , thirdly , on 17 February 1877 , Gertrude , daughter of James Montgomrey of Brentford , Middlesex . They had two children : - Major Godfrey Mark Palmer , MP for Jarrow ( 1878–1933 ) - Hilda Gertrude Montgomerie Palmer ( 1884–1946 ) Sir Charles Palmer died on 4 June 1907 , when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son . Gertrude , Lady Palmer , died on 21 January 1918 . References . - Burkes Peerage and Baronetage ( various edns ) . - Maj O.M . Short , Maj H . Sherlock , Capt L.E.C.M . Perowne and Lt M.A . Fraser , The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers , Royal Engineers , 1884–1933 , 1933/Uckfield : Naval & Military , nd , . - R.A . Westlake , Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) 1859–1908 , Wembley : R.A . Westlake , 1983 , . External links . - Land Forces of Britain , the Empire and Commonwealth ( Regiments.org ) |
[
"Member of Parliament"
] | easy | What was the position of Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet from Oct 1900 to 1906? | /wiki/Sir_Charles_Palmer,_1st_Baronet#P39#3 | Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet Sir Charles Mark Palmer , 1st Baronet ( 3 November 1822 – 4 June 1907 ) was an English shipbuilder born in South Shields , County Durham , England . He was also a Liberal Party politician and Member of Parliament . His father , originally the captain of a whaler , moved in 1828 to Newcastle upon Tyne , where he owned a ship owning and ship-broking business . Early life . At the age of 15 Charles Palmer entered a shipping business in the city . After six months , he travelled to Marseilles , France , where his father had procured him a post in a large commercial house , at the same time entrusting him with the local agency of his own business . After two years experience in Marseilles he entered his fathers business in Newcastle , and in 1842 he became a partner . His business capacity attracted the attention of a leading local colliery owner , and he was appointed manager of the Marley Hill colliery south of Gateshead , in which he became a partner in 1846 . Subsequently , he was made one of the managers of the associated collieries north and south of the Tyne owned by Lord Ravensworth , Lord Wharncliffe , the Marquess of Bute and Lord Strathmore . Emergence as an entrepreneur . Using the profits of the Marley Hill colliery , he gradually purchased the properties of his erstwhile employer , while simultaneously he greatly developed the recently established coke trade , obtaining the coke contracts for several of the large English and continental railways . Establishment of Palmers shipyard . About 1850 the question of coal-transport to the London market became a serious question for north country colliery proprietors . Palmer therefore built , largely according to his own plans , the John Bowes , the first iron screw collier , and several other steam-colliers , in a yard established by him at Jarrow , then a small Tyneside village . He then purchased iron mines in Yorkshire and erected large shipbuilding yards along the Tyne at Jarrow , including blast-furnaces , steel-works , rolling-mills and engine works , all on a massive scale . The firm produced warships as well as merchant vessels , and its system of rolling armour plates , introduced in 1856 , was generally adopted by other builders . In 1865 he turned the business into Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited . Military career . In 1868 Palmer raised a new unit in the Volunteer Force , the 1st Durham Engineer Volunteers at Jarrow , and he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant . Later , the 1st Durham EV merged with the smaller 1st Newcastle EV as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV , with Palmer as commanding officer . Palmer retired from the Volunteers in 1888 with the rank of Colonel . The same year , the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units : the 1st Durham Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) , at Jarrow , and the Tyne Division RE ( V ) , Submarine Miners at North Shields , with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both units , together with a new 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE ( V ) . Palmers younger brother , Alfred Septimus Palmer ( 1834–1910 ) , a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle and Durham , became commanding officer of the third unit . Political career . At the 1874 general election , Palmer was elected as Liberal Party Member of Parliament ( MP ) for North Durham , and held the seat until its abolition for the 1885 general election . He was then elected for the new Jarrow constituency , and sat for the constituency until his death in London in 1907 . He was twice Mayor of Jarrow , in 1875 and again in 1902–03 . Palmer was in 1902 President of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce ( he probably held this position for several years ) . Baronetcy . In 1886 , Palmers services in connection with the settlement of the costly dispute between British ship-owners and the Suez Canal Company ( of which he was then a director ) were rewarded with a baronetcy , as Sir Charles Palmer , 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park , County York . He was lord of the manor of Hinderwell which was inherited by his widow Gertrude . Family . Palmer married , firstly , on 29 July 1846 , Jane , daughter of Ebenezer Robson of Newcastle . They had two sons : - George Robson Palmer , later 2nd Baronet ( 1849–1910 ) - Alfred Molyneux Palmer , later 3rd Baronet ( 1853–1935 ) Jane Palmer died on 6 April 1865 . Palmer married , secondly , on 4 July 1867 , Augusta Mary , daughter of Alfred Lambert , of Paris and Massa di Carraca , Italy . They had two further sons : - Lt-Col Claude Bowes Palmer , CBE , Royal Army Medical Corps ( Volunteers ) ( 1868–1949 ) - Capt Lionel Hugo Palmer , 3rd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment and Royal North West Mounted Police , Canada ( 1870–1914 ) Augusta Palmer died 2 December 1875 . Palmer married , thirdly , on 17 February 1877 , Gertrude , daughter of James Montgomrey of Brentford , Middlesex . They had two children : - Major Godfrey Mark Palmer , MP for Jarrow ( 1878–1933 ) - Hilda Gertrude Montgomerie Palmer ( 1884–1946 ) Sir Charles Palmer died on 4 June 1907 , when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son . Gertrude , Lady Palmer , died on 21 January 1918 . References . - Burkes Peerage and Baronetage ( various edns ) . - Maj O.M . Short , Maj H . Sherlock , Capt L.E.C.M . Perowne and Lt M.A . Fraser , The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers , Royal Engineers , 1884–1933 , 1933/Uckfield : Naval & Military , nd , . - R.A . Westlake , Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) 1859–1908 , Wembley : R.A . Westlake , 1983 , . External links . - Land Forces of Britain , the Empire and Commonwealth ( Regiments.org ) |
[
"Partido Ortodoxo"
] | easy | Which political party did Fidel Castro belong to from 1950 to 1951? | /wiki/Fidel_Castro#P102#0 | Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( ; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016 ) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008 . Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist , he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011 . Under his administration , Cuba became a one-party communist state ; industry and business were nationalized , and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society . Born in Birán , Oriente , the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer , Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana . After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia , he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista , launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953 . After a years imprisonment , Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group , the 26th of July Movement , with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara . Returning to Cuba , Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batistas forces from the Sierra Maestra . After Batistas overthrow in 1959 , Castro assumed military and political power as Cubas Prime Minister . The United States came to oppose Castros government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination , economic blockade , and counter-revolution , including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 . Countering these threats , Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba , resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962 . Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development , Castro converted Cuba into a one-party , socialist state under Communist Party rule , the first in the Western Hemisphere . Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent . Abroad , Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups , backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile , Nicaragua , and Grenada , as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur , Ogaden , and Angolan Civil War . These actions , coupled with Castros leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cubas medical internationalism , increased Cubas profile on the world stage . Following the Soviet Unions dissolution in 1991 , Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the Special Period , embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas . In the 2000s , Castro forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide – namely with Hugo Chávezs Venezuela – and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006 , Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro , who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008 . The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries , Castro polarized opinion throughout the world . His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cubas independence from U.S . hegemony . Critics call him a dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses , the exodus of many Cubans , and the impoverishment of the countrys economy . Castro was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced different individuals and groups across the world . Early life and career . Youth : 1926–1947 . Castro was born out of wedlock at his fathers farm on 13 August 1926 . His father , Ángel Castro y Argiz , a veteran of the Spanish–American War , was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia , in the northwest of Spain . He had become financially successful by growing sugar cane at Las Manacas farm in Birán , Oriente Province . After the collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant , Lina Ruz González – of Canarian origin – as his mistress and later second wife ; together they had seven children , among them Fidel . At age six , Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba , before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight . Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago , where he regularly misbehaved ; he was next sent to the privately funded , Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago . In 1945 , Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana . Although Castro took an interest in history , geography , and debate at Belén , he did not excel academically , instead devoting much of his time to playing sports . In 1945 , Castro began studying law at the University of Havana . Admitting he was politically illiterate , Castro became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university . After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing U.S . intervention in the Caribbean , he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of honesty , decency and justice . Castro became critical of the corruption and violence of President Ramón Graus government , delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that received coverage on the front page of several newspapers . In 1947 , Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People ( or Orthodox Party ; Partido Ortodoxo ) , founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás . A charismatic figure , Chibás advocated social justice , honest government , and political freedom , while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform . Though Chibás came third in the 1948 general election , Castro remained committed to working on his behalf . Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers , and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university . However , he refused to do so and began to carry a gun and surround himself with armed friends . In later years , anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time , but these accusations remain unproven . The American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote that Castro ...began his career as a revolutionary with no ideology at all : he was a student politician turned street fighter turned guerrilla , a voracious reader , an interminable speaker , and a pretty good baseball player . The only ideas that appear to have driven him were a lust for power , a willingness to use violent means to get it , and an unwillingness to share it once he had it . If he had followed any example , it was that of Napoleon , not Marx . Rebellion and Marxism : 1947–1950 . In June 1947 , Castro learned of a planned expedition to overthrow the right-wing government of Rafael Trujillo , a U.S . ally , in the Dominican Republic . Being President of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic , Castro joined the expedition . The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops , mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans , and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947 . Graus government stopped the invasion under U.S . pressure , although Castro and many of his comrades evaded arrest . Returning to Havana , Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards . The protests , accompanied by a crackdown on those considered communists , led to violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948 , in which Castro was badly beaten . At this point , his public speeches took on a distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba . In contrast , his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and U.S . imperialism . In April 1948 , Castro traveled to Bogotá , Colombia , leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Peróns Argentine government . There , the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting and clashes between the governing Conservatives – backed by the army – and leftist Liberals . Castro joined the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station , but subsequent police investigations concluded that he had not been involved in any killings . In April 1948 , the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogotá , leading to protests , which Castro joined . Returning to Cuba , Castro became a prominent figure in protests against government attempts to raise bus fares . That year , he married Mirta Díaz Balart , a student from a wealthy family , through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite . The relationship was a love match , disapproved of by both families , but Díaz Balarts father gave them tens of thousands of dollars , along with Batista , to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon . That same year , Grau decided not to stand for re-election , which was instead won by his Partido Auténticos new candidate , Carlos Prío Socarrás . Prío faced widespread protests when members of the MSR , now allied to the police force , assassinated Justo Fuentes , a socialist friend of Castros . In response , Prío agreed to quell the gangs , but found them too powerful to control . Castro had moved further to the left , influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin . He came to interpret Cubas problems as an integral part of capitalist society , or the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie , rather than the failings of corrupt politicians , and adopted the Marxist view that meaningful political change could only be brought about by proletariat revolution . Visiting Havanas poorest neighborhoods , he became active in the student anti-racist campaign . In September 1949 , Mirta gave birth to a son , Fidelito , so the couple moved to a larger Havana flat . Castro continued to put himself at risk , staying active in the citys politics and joining the 30 September Movement , which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo . The groups purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university ; despite his promises , Prío had failed to control the situation , instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries . Castro volunteered to deliver a speech for the Movement on 13 November , exposing the governments secret deals with the gangs and identifying key members . Attracting the attention of the national press , the speech angered the gangs and Castro fled into hiding , first in the countryside and then in the U.S . Returning to Havana several weeks later , Castro laid low and focused on his university studies , graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950 . Career in law and politics : 1950–1952 . Castro co-founded a legal partnership that primarily catered to poor Cubans , although it proved a financial failure . Caring little for money or material goods , Castro failed to pay his bills ; his furniture was repossessed and electricity cut off , distressing his wife . He took part in a high school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950 , fighting with police to protest the Education Ministrys ban on student associations ; he was arrested and charged for violent conduct , but the magistrate dismissed the charges . His hopes for Cuba still centered on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo , and he was present at Chibás politically motivated suicide in 1951 . Seeing himself as Chibás heir , Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections , though senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him . He was instead nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives by party members in Havanas poorest districts , and began campaigning . The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election . During his campaign , Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista , the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party . Batista offered him a place in his administration if he was successful ; although both opposed Príos administration , their meeting never got beyond polite generalities . On 10 March 1952 , Batista seized power in a military coup , with Prío fleeing to Mexico . Declaring himself president , Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections , describing his new system as disciplined democracy ; Castro was deprived of being elected in his run for office by Batistas move , and like many others , considered it a one-man dictatorship . Batista moved to the right , solidifying ties with both the wealthy elite and the United States , severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union , suppressing trade unions and persecuting Cuban socialist groups . Intent on opposing Batista , Castro brought several legal cases against the government , but these came to nothing , and Castro began thinking of alternate ways to oust the regime . Cuban Revolution . The Movement and the Moncada Barracks attack : 1952–1953 . Castro formed a group called The Movement which operated along a clandestine cell system , publishing underground newspaper El Acusador ( The Accuser ) , while arming and training anti-Batista recruits . From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive , gaining around 1,200 members in a year , the majority from Havanas poorer districts . Although a revolutionary socialist , Castro avoided an alliance with the communist Popular Socialist Party ( PSP ) , fearing it would frighten away political moderates , but kept in contact with PSP members like his brother Raúl . Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks , a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba , Oriente . Castros militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July , seizing control and raiding the armory before reinforcements arrived . Supplied with new weaponry , Castro intended to spark a revolution among Orientes impoverished cane cutters and promote further uprisings . Castros plan emulated those of the 19th-century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks ; Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader José Martí . Castro gathered 165 revolutionaries for the mission , ordering his troops not to cause bloodshed unless they met armed resistance . The attack took place on 26 July 1953 , but ran into trouble ; 3 of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there . Reaching the barracks , the alarm was raised , with most of the rebels pinned down by machine gun fire . Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat . The rebels suffered 6 fatalities and 15 other casualties , whilst the army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded . Meanwhile , some rebels took over a civilian hospital ; subsequently stormed by government soldiers , the rebels were rounded up , tortured and 22 were executed without trial . Accompanied by 19 comrades , Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north , where they could establish a guerrilla base . Responding to the attack , Batistas government proclaimed martial law , ordering a violent crackdown on dissent , and imposing strict media censorship . The government broadcast misinformation about the event , claiming that the rebels were communists who had killed hospital patients , although news and photographs of the armys use of torture and summary executions in Oriente soon spread , causing widespread public and some governmental disapproval . Over the following days , the rebels were rounded up ; some were executed and others – including Castro – transported to a prison north of Santiago . Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone , the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement , putting 122 defendants on trial on 21 September at the Palace of Justice , Santiago . Acting as his own defense counsel , Castro cited Martí as the intellectual author of the attack and convinced the three judges to overrule the armys decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court , proceeding to argue that the charge with which they were accused – of organizing an uprising of armed persons against the Constitutional Powers of the State – was incorrect , for they had risen up against Batista , who had seized power in an unconstitutional manner . The trial embarrassed the army by revealing that they had tortured suspects , after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further , claiming he was too ill . The trial ended on 5 October , with the acquittal of most defendants ; 55 were sentenced to prison terms of between 7 months and 13 years . Castro was sentenced on 16 October , during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under the title of History Will Absolve Me . Castro was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison ( Presidio Modelo ) , a relatively comfortable and modern institution on the Isla de Pinos . Imprisonment and 26 July Movement : 1953–1955 . Imprisoned with 25 comrades , Castro renamed his group the 26th of July Movement ( MR-26-7 ) in memory of the Moncada attacks date , and formed a school for prisoners . He read widely , enjoying the works of Marx , Lenin , and Martí but also reading books by Freud , Kant , Shakespeare , Munthe , Maugham , and Dostoyevsky , analyzing them within a Marxist framework . Corresponding with supporters , he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me . Initially permitted a relative amount of freedom within the prison , he was locked up in solitary confinement after inmates sang anti-Batista songs on a visit by the President in February 1954 . Meanwhile , Castros wife Mirta gained employment in the Ministry of the Interior , something he discovered through a radio announcement . Appalled , he raged that he would rather die a thousand times than suffer impotently from such an insult . Both Fidel and Mirta initiated divorce proceedings , with Mirta taking custody of their son Fidelito ; this angered Castro , who did not want his son growing up in a bourgeois environment . In 1954 , Batistas government held presidential elections , but no politician stood against him ; the election was widely considered fraudulent . It had allowed some political opposition to be voiced , and Castros supporters had agitated for an amnesty for the Moncada incidents perpetrators . Some politicians suggested an amnesty would be good publicity , and the Congress and Batista agreed . Backed by the U.S . and major corporations , Batista believed Castro to be no threat , and on 15 May 1955 , the prisoners were released . Returning to Havana , Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences ; the government closely monitored him , curtailing his activities . Now divorced , Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters , Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde , each conceiving him a child . Setting about strengthening the MR-26-7 , he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control , with some dissenters labeling him a caudillo ( dictator ) ; he argued that a successful revolution could not be run by committee and required a strong leader . In 1955 , bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent , with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest . Castro sent a letter to the press , declaring that he was leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me .. . As a follower of Martí , I believe the hour has come to take our rights and not beg for them , to fight instead of pleading for them . The Castros and several comrades traveled to Mexico , where Raúl befriended an Argentine doctor and Marxist–Leninist named Ernesto Che Guevara , who was working as a journalist and photographer for Agencia Latina de Noticias . Fidel liked him , later describing him as a more advanced revolutionary than I was . Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo , who agreed to teach Castros rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare . Requiring funding , Castro toured the U.S . in search of wealthy sympathizers , there being monitored by Batistas agents , who allegedly orchestrated a failed assassination attempt against him . Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba , where they had gained a large support base in Oriente . Other militant anti-Batista groups had sprung up , primarily from the student movement ; most notable was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil ( DRE ) , founded by José Antonio Echeverría . Antonio met with Castro in Mexico City , but Castro opposed the students support for indiscriminate assassination . After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma , on 25 November 1956 , Castro set sail from Tuxpan , Veracruz , with 81 armed revolutionaries . The crossing to Cuba was harsh , with food running low and many suffering seasickness . At some points , they had to bail water caused by a leak , and at another , a man fell overboard , delaying their journey . The plan had been for the crossing to take five days , and on the Granmas scheduled day of arrival , 30 November , MR-26-7 members under Frank País led an armed uprising in Santiago and Manzanillo . However , the Granmas journey ultimately lasted seven days , and with Castro and his men unable to provide reinforcements , País and his militants dispersed after two days of intermittent attacks . Guerrilla war : 1956–1959 . The Granma ran aground in a mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas , close to Los Cayuelos , on 2 December 1956 . Fleeing inland , its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Orientes Sierra Maestra , being repeatedly attacked by Batistas troops . Upon arrival , Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination , the rest having been killed or captured . Setting up an encampment , the survivors included the Castros , Che Guevara , and Camilo Cienfuegos . They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry , and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata , treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio , the local mayoral ( land company overseer ) , who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castros rebels . Osorios execution aided the rebels in gaining the trust of locals , although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries . As trust grew , some locals joined the rebels , although most new recruits came from urban areas . With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200 , in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns , commanded by himself , his brother , and Guevara . The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation , sending supplies to Castro , and on 16 February 1957 , he met with other senior members to discuss tactics ; here he met Celia Sánchez , who would become a close friend . Across Cuba , anti-Batista groups carried out bombings and sabotage ; police responded with mass arrests , torture , and extrajudicial executions . In March 1957 , the DRE launched a failed attack on the presidential palace , during which Antonio was shot dead . Batistas government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cubas cities under control . In the Sierra Maestra mountains , Castro was joined by Frank Sturgis who offered to train Castros troops in guerrilla warfare . Castro accepted the offer , but he also had an immediate need for guns and ammunition , so Sturgis became a gunrunner . Sturgis purchased boatloads of weapons and ammunition from Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) weapons expert Samuel Cummings International Armament Corporation in Alexandria , Virginia . Sturgis opened a training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains , where he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare . Frank País was also killed , leaving Castro the MR-26-7s unchallenged leader . Although Guevara and Raúl were well known for their Marxist–Leninist views , Castro hid his , hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries . In 1957 he met with leading members of the Partido Ortodoxo , Raúl Chibás and Felipe Pazos , authoring the Sierra Maestra Manifesto , in which they demanded that a provisional civilian government be set up to implement moderate agrarian reform , industrialization , and a literacy campaign before holding multiparty elections . As Cubas press was censored , Castro contacted foreign media to spread his message ; he became a celebrity after being interviewed by Herbert Matthews , a journalist from The New York Times . Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed . Castros guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts , forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region , and by spring 1958 , the rebels controlled a hospital , schools , a printing press , slaughterhouse , land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory . By 1958 , Batista was under increasing pressure , a result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administrations press censorship , torture , and extrajudicial executions . Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens , the U.S . government ceased supplying him with weaponry . The opposition called a general strike , accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7 . Beginning on 9 April , it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba , but little elsewhere . Batista responded with an all-out-attack , Operation Verano , in which the army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants , while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra , driving north to the rebel encampments . Despite their numerical and technological superiority , the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare , and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes . Many of Batistas soldiers defected to Castros rebels , who also benefited from local popular support . In the summer , the MR-26-7 went on the offensive , pushing the army out of the mountains , with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago . By November , Castros forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas , and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines , severely disadvantaging Batista . Fearing Castro was a socialist , the U.S . instructed Cantillo to oust Batista . By this time the great majority of Cuban people had turned against the Batista regime . Ambassador to Cuba , E . T . Smith , who felt the whole CIA mission had become too close to the MR-26-7 movement , personally went to Batista and informed him that the U.S . would no longer support him and felt he no longer could control the situation in Cuba . General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro , promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal ; however , Batista was warned , and fled into exile with over US$300,000,000 on 31 December 1958 . Cantillo entered Havanas Presidential Palace , proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president , and began appointing the new government . Furious , Castro ended the ceasefire , and ordered Cantillos arrest by sympathetic figures in the army . Accompanying celebrations at news of Batistas downfall on 1 January 1959 , Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism . Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January , while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence . Heading toward Havana , he greeted cheering crowds at every town , giving press conferences and interviews . Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959 . Provisional government : 1959 . At Castros command , the politically moderate lawyer Manuel Urrutia Lleó was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced ( falsely ) that Urrutia had been selected by popular election . Most of Urrutias cabinet were MR-26-7 members . Entering Havana , Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency , setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel . Castro exercised a great deal of influence over Urrutias regime , which was now ruling by decree . He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office . He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties ; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections . Although repeatedly denying that he was a communist to the press , he began clandestinely meeting members of the PSP to discuss the creation of a socialist state . In suppressing the revolution , Batistas government had killed thousands of Cubans ; Castro and influential sectors of the press put the death toll at 20,000 , but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants . More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000 . In response to popular uproar , which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice , Castro helped to set up many trials , resulting in hundreds of executions . Although popular domestically , critics—in particular the U.S . press , argued that many were not fair trials . Castro responded that revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts , but on moral conviction . Acclaimed by many across Latin America , he traveled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect Rómulo Betancourt , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil . Returning home , an argument between Castro and senior government figures broke out . He was infuriated that the government had left thousands unemployed by closing down casinos and brothels . As a result , Prime Minister José Miró Cardona resigned , going into exile in the U.S . and joining the anti-Castro movement . Premiership . Consolidating leadership : 1959–1960 . On 16 February 1959 , Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba . In April , he visited the U.S . on a charm offensive where President Dwight D . Eisenhower would not meet with him , but instead sent Vice President Richard Nixon , whom Castro instantly disliked . After meeting Castro , Nixon described him to Eisenhower as : The one fact we can be sure of is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men . Whatever we may think of him he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally . He seems to be sincere . He is either incredibly naive about Communism or under Communist discipline-my guess is the former...His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure I have met in fifty countries . But because he has the power to lead...we have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction . Proceeding to Canada , Trinidad , Brazil , Uruguay and Argentina , Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires , unsuccessfully proposing a $30 billion U.S.-funded Marshall Plan for Latin America . In May 1959 , Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform , setting a cap for landholdings to per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership . Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up ; popular among the working class , it alienated the richer landowners , including Castros own mother , whose farmlands were taken . Within a year , Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 percent of the nations wealth , declaring that the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters . Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry , introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit , advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of racial discrimination . Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised , and in March 1959 , Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $100 a month halved . The Cuban government also began to expropriate the casinos and properties from mafia leaders and taking millions in cash . Before he died Meyer Lansky said Cuba ruined him . In the summer of 1959 , Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners . He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled . He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement , over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities . Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being a communist , Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions . Most significantly , Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries . President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism . Angered , Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 July—blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his fevered anti-Communism . Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded the Presidential Palace demanding Urrutias resignation , which he submitted . On 23 July , Castro resumed his Premiership and appointed Marxist Osvaldo Dorticós as president . Castros government emphasised social projects to improve Cubas standard of living , often to the detriment of economic development . Major emphasis was placed on education , and during the first 30 months of Castros government , more classrooms were opened than in the previous 30 years . The Cuban primary education system offered a work-study program , with half of the time spent in the classroom , and the other half in a productive activity . Health care was nationalized and expanded , with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid . Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented , and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically . A third part of this social program was the improvement of infrastructure . Within the first six months of Castros government , of roads were built across the island , while $300 million was spent on water and sanitation projects . Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness , while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for the disabled and elderly . Castro used radio and television to develop a dialogue with the people , posing questions and making provocative statements . His regime remained popular with workers , peasants , and students , who constituted the majority of the countrys population , while opposition came primarily from the middle class ; thousands of doctors , engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in the U.S. , causing an economic brain drain . Productivity decreased and the countrys financial reserves were drained within two years . After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government , the pro-Castro printers trade union disrupted editorial staff , and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a clarification written by the printers union at the end of articles critical of the government . Castros government arrested hundreds of counter-revolutionaries , many of whom were subjected to solitary confinement , rough treatment , and threatening behavior . Militant anti-Castro groups , funded by exiles , the CIA , and the Dominican government , undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cubas mountains , leading to the six-year Escambray Rebellion . At the time , 1960 , the Cold War raged between two superpowers : the United States , a capitalist liberal democracy , and the Soviet Union ( USSR ) , a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the Communist Party . Expressing contempt for the U.S. , Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR , establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states . Meeting with Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan , Castro agreed to provide the USSR with sugar , fruit , fibers , and hides in return for crude oil , fertilizers , industrial goods , and a $100 million loan . Cubas government ordered the countrys refineries – then controlled by the U.S . corporations Shell and Esso – to process Soviet oil , but under U.S . pressure they refused . Castro responded by expropriating and nationalizing the refineries . Retaliating , the U.S . cancelled its import of Cuban sugar , provoking Castro to nationalize most U.S.-owned assets on the island , including banks and sugar mills . Relations between Cuba and the U.S . were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel , the La Coubre , in Havana harbor in March 1960 . The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium , and the cause of the explosion was never determined , but Castro publicly insinuated that the U.S . government was guilty of sabotage . He ended this speech with ¡Patria o Muerte ! ( Fatherland or Death ) , a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years . Inspired by their earlier success with the 1954 Guatemalan coup détat , in March 1960 , U.S . President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castros government . He provided them with a budget of $13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia , who were aggrieved that Castros government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba . On 13 October 1960 , the U.S . prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba , initiating an economic embargo . In retaliation , the National Institute for Agrarian Reform INRA took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October , and on 25 October a further 166 U.S . companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized . On 16 December , the U.S . ended its import quota of Cuban sugar , the countrys primary export . United Nations . In September 1960 , Castro flew to New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations . Staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like Malcolm X . Castro had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor African-American population living there , thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him . He also met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev , with the two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem . Relations between Castro and Khrushchev were warm ; they led the applause to one anothers speeches at the General Assembly . The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly rancorous one with Khrushchev famously banging his shoe against his desk to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong , which set the general tone for the debates and speeches . Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly , speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America . Subsequently , visited by Polish First Secretary Władysław Gomułka , Bulgarian First Secretary Todor Zhivkov , Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru , Castro also received an evenings reception from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee . Back in Cuba , Castro feared a U.S.-backed coup ; in 1959 his regime spent $120 million on Soviet , French , and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cubas armed forces . Fearing counter-revolutionary elements in the army , the government created a Peoples Militia to arm citizens favorable to the revolution , training at least 50,000 civilians in combat techniques . In September 1960 , they created the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution ( CDR ) , a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighborhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns , becoming a conduit for public complaints . By 1970 , a third of the population would be involved in the CDR , and this would eventually rise to 80% . Despite the fear of a coup , Castro garnered support in New York City . On 18 February 1961 , 400 people – mainly Cubans , Puerto Ricans , and college students – picketed in the rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castros anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States power over Cuba . The protesters held up signs that read , Mr . Kennedy , Cuba is Not For Sale. , Viva Fidel Castro ! and Down With Yankee Imperialism! . Around 200 policemen were on the scene , but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castros socialist movement . Some Americans disagreed with President John F . Kennedys decision to ban trade with Cuba , and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics . Castro proclaimed the new administration a direct democracy , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will . As a result , he rejected the need for elections , claiming that representative democratic systems served the interests of socio-economic elites . U.S . Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule , with a one-party state , government control of trade unions , suppression of civil liberties , and the absence of freedom of speech and press . Bay of Pigs Invasion and Socialist Cuba : 1961–1962 . In January 1961 , Castro ordered Havanas U.S . Embassy to reduce its 300-member staff , suspecting that many of them were spies . The U.S . responded by ending diplomatic relations , and it increased CIA funding for exiled dissidents ; these militants began attacking ships that traded with Cuba , and bombed factories , shops , and sugar mills . Both President Eisenhower and his successor President Kennedy supported a CIA plan to aid a dissident militia , the Democratic Revolutionary Front , to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro ; the plan resulted in the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 . On 15 April , CIA-supplied B-26s bombed three Cuban military airfields ; the U.S . announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots , but Castro exposed these claims as false flag misinformation . Fearing invasion , he ordered the arrest of between 20,000 and 100,000 suspected counter-revolutionaries , publicly proclaiming , What the imperialists cannot forgive us , is that we have made a Socialist revolution under their noses , his first announcement that the government was socialist . The CIA and the Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army , Brigade 2506 , in Nicaragua . On the night of 16 to 17 April , Brigade 2506 landed along Cubas Bay of Pigs and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia . Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive , before taking personal control of it . After bombing the invaders ships and bringing in reinforcements , Castro forced the Brigade to surrender on 20 April . He ordered the 1189 captured rebels to be interrogated by a panel of journalists on live television , personally taking over the questioning on 25 April . Fourteen were put on trial for crimes allegedly committed before the revolution , while the others were returned to the U.S . in exchange for medicine and food valued at U.S . $25 million . Castros victory reverberated across the world , especially in Latin America , but it also increased internal opposition primarily among the middle-class Cubans who had been detained in the run-up to the invasion . Although most were freed within a few days , many fled to the U.S. , establishing themselves in Florida . Consolidating Socialist Cuba , Castro united the MR-26-7 , PSP and Revolutionary Directorate into a governing party based on the Leninist principle of democratic centralism : the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations ( Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas – ORI ) , renamed the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution ( PURSC ) in 1962 . Although the USSR was hesitant regarding Castros embrace of socialism , relations with the Soviets deepened . Castro sent Fidelito for a Moscow schooling , Soviet technicians arrived on the island , and Castro was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize . In December 1961 , Castro admitted that he had been a Marxist–Leninist for years , and in his Second Declaration of Havana he called on Latin America to rise up in revolution . In response , the U.S . successfully pushed the Organization of American States to expel Cuba ; the Soviets privately reprimanded Castro for recklessness , although he received praise from China . Despite their ideological affinity with China , in the Sino-Soviet split , Cuba allied with the wealthier Soviets , who offered economic and military aid . The ORI began shaping Cuba using the Soviet model , persecuting political opponents and perceived social deviants such as prostitutes and homosexuals ; Castro considered same-sex sexual activity a bourgeois trait . Gay men were forced into the Military Units to Aid Production ( Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción – UMAP ) ; after many revolutionary intellectuals decried this move , the UMAP camps were closed in 1967 , although gay men continued to be imprisoned . By 1962 , Cubas economy was in steep decline , a result of poor economic management and low productivity coupled with the U.S . trade embargo . Food shortages led to rationing , resulting in protests in Cárdenas . Security reports indicated that many Cubans associated austerity with the Old Communists of the PSP , while Castro considered a number of them – namely Aníbal Escalante and Blas Roca – unduly loyal to Moscow . In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent Old Communists from office , labelling them sectarian . On a personal level , Castro was increasingly lonely , and his relations with Guevara became strained as the latter became increasingly anti-Soviet and pro-Chinese . Cuban Missile Crisis and furthering socialism : 1962–1968 . Militarily weaker than NATO , Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12 MRBM nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance . Although conflicted , Castro agreed , believing it would guarantee Cubas safety and enhance the cause of socialism . Undertaken in secrecy , only the Castro brothers , Guevara , Dorticós and security chief Ramiro Valdés knew the full plan . Upon discovering it through aerial reconnaissance , in October the U.S . implemented an island-wide quarantine to search vessels headed to Cuba , sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis . The U.S . saw the missiles as offensive ; Castro insisted they were for defense only . Castro urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the U.S . if Cuba were invaded , but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war . Castro was left out of the negotiations , in which Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S . commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that the U.S . would remove their MRBMs from Turkey and Italy . Feeling betrayed by Khrushchev , Castro was furious and soon fell ill . Proposing a five-point plan , Castro demanded that the U.S . end its embargo , withdraw from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , cease supporting dissidents , and stop violating Cuban air space and territorial waters . He presented these demands to U Thant , visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations , but the U.S . ignored them . In turn Castro refused to allow the U.N.s inspection team into Cuba . In May 1963 , Castro visited the USSR at Khrushchevs personal invitation , touring 14 cities , addressing a Red Square rally , and being awarded both the Order of Lenin and an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University . Castro returned to Cuba with new ideas ; inspired by Soviet newspaper Pravda , he amalgamated Hoy and Revolución into a new daily , Granma , and oversaw large investment into Cuban sport that resulted in an increased international sporting reputation . Seeking to further consolidate control , in 1963 the government cracked down on Protestant sects in Cuba , with Castro labeling them counter-revolutionary instruments of imperialism ; many preachers were found guilty of illegal U.S.-links and imprisoned . Measures were implemented to force perceived idle and delinquent youths to work , primarily through the introduction of mandatory military service . In September , the government temporarily permitted emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26 , thereby ridding the government of thousands of critics , most of whom were from upper and middle-class backgrounds . In 1963 , Castros mother died . This was the last time his private life was reported in Cubas press . In January 1964 , Castro returned to Moscow , officially to sign a new five-year sugar trade agreement , but also to discuss the ramifications of the assassination of John F . Kennedy . Castro was deeply concerned by the assassination , believing that a far-right conspiracy was behind it but that the Cubans would be blamed . In October 1965 , the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the Cuban Communist Party and published the membership of its Central Committee . Despite Soviet misgivings , Castro continued to call for global revolution , funding militant leftists and those engaged in national liberation struggles . Cubas foreign policy was strongly anti-imperialist , believing that every nation should control its own natural resources . He supported Che Guevaras Andean project , an unsuccessful plan to set up a guerrilla movement in the highlands of Bolivia , Peru and Argentina . He allowed revolutionary groups from across the world , from the Viet Cong to the Black Panthers , to train in Cuba . He considered Western-dominated Africa to be ripe for revolution , and sent troops and medics to aid Ahmed Ben Bellas socialist regime in Algeria during the Sand War . He also allied with Alphonse Massamba-Débats socialist government in Congo-Brazzaville . In 1965 , Castro authorized Che Guevara to travel to Congo-Kinshasa to train revolutionaries against the Western-backed government . Castro was personally devastated when Guevara was killed by CIA-backed troops in Bolivia in October 1967 and publicly attributed it to Guevaras disregard for his own safety . In 1966 , Castro staged a Tri-Continental Conference of Africa , Asia and Latin America in Havana , further establishing himself as a significant player on the world stage . From this conference , Castro created the Latin American Solidarity Organization ( OLAS ) , which adopted the slogan of The duty of a revolution is to make revolution , signifying Havanas leadership of Latin Americas revolutionary movement . Castros increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the USSR , now under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev . Asserting Cubas independence , Castro refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , declaring it a Soviet-U.S . attempt to dominate the Third World . Diverting from Soviet Marxist doctrine , he suggested that Cuban society could evolve straight to pure communism rather than gradually progress through various stages of socialism . In turn , the Soviet-loyalist Aníbal Escalante began organizing a government network of opposition to Castro , though in January 1968 , he and his supporters were arrested for allegedly passing state secrets to Moscow . Recognising Cubas economic dependence on the Soviets , Castro relented to Brezhnevs pressure to be obedient , and in August 1968 he denounced the leaders of the Prague Spring and praised the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . Influenced by Chinas Great Leap Forward , in 1968 Castro proclaimed a Great Revolutionary Offensive , closing all remaining privately owned shops and businesses and denouncing their owners as capitalist counter-revolutionaries . The severe lack of consumer goods for purchase led productivity to decline , as large sectors of the population felt little incentive to work hard . This was exacerbated by the perception that a revolutionary elite had emerged , consisting of those connected to the administration ; they had access to better housing , private transportation , servants , and the ability to purchase luxury goods abroad . Economic stagnation and Third World politics : 1969–1974 . Castro publicly celebrated his administrations 10th anniversary in January 1969 ; in his celebratory speech he warned of sugar rations , reflecting the nations economic problems . The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane , and to meet its export quota , the government drafted in the army , implemented a seven-day working week , and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest . When that years production quota was not met , Castro offered to resign during a public speech , but assembled crowds insisted he remain . Despite the economic issues , many of Castros social reforms were popular , with the population largely supportive of the Achievements of the Revolution in education , medical care , housing , and road construction , as well as the policies of direct democratic public consultation . Seeking Soviet help , from 1970 to 1972 Soviet economists re-organized Cubas economy , founding the Cuban-Soviet Commission of Economic , Scientific and Technical Collaboration , while Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin visited in October 1971 . In July 1972 , Cuba joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( Comecon ) , an economic organization of socialist states , although this further limited Cubas economy to agricultural production . In May 1970 , the crews of two Cuban fishing boats were kidnapped by Florida-based dissident group Alpha 66 , who demanded that Cuba release imprisoned militants . Under U.S . pressure , the hostages were released , and Castro welcomed them back as heroes . In April 1971 , Castro was internationally condemned for ordering the arrest of dissident poet Heberto Padilla who had been arrested 20 March ; Padilla was freed , but the government established the National Cultural Council to ensure that intellectuals and artists supported the administration . In November 1971 , Castro visited Chile , where Marxist President Salvador Allende had been elected as the head of a left-wing coalition . Castro supported Allendes socialist reforms , but warned him of right-wing elements in Chiles military . In 1973 , the military led a coup détat and established a military junta led by Augusto Pinochet . Castro proceeded to Guinea to meet socialist President Sékou Touré , praising him as Africas greatest leader , and there received the Order of Fidelity to the People . He then went on a seven-week tour visiting leftist allies : Algeria , Bulgaria , Hungary , Poland , East Germany , Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union , where he was given further awards . On each trip , he was eager to visit factory and farm workers , publicly praising their governments ; privately , he urged the regimes to aid revolutionary movements elsewhere , particularly those fighting the Vietnam War . In September 1973 , he returned to Algiers to attend the Fourth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) . Various NAM members were critical of Castros attendance , claiming that Cuba was aligned to the Warsaw Pact and therefore should not be at the conference . At the conference he publicly broke off relations with Israel , citing its governments close relationship with the U.S . and its treatment of Palestinians during the Israel–Palestine conflict . This earned Castro respect throughout the Arab world , in particular from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi , who became a friend and ally . As the Yom Kippur War broke out in October 1973 between Israel and an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria , Cuba sent 4,000 troops to aid Syria . Leaving Algiers , Castro visited Iraq and North Vietnam . Cubas economy grew in 1974 as a result of high international sugar prices and new credits with Argentina , Canada , and parts of Western Europe . A number of Latin American states called for Cubas re-admittance into the Organization of American States ( OAS ) , with the U.S . finally conceding in 1975 on Henry Kissingers advice . Cubas government underwent a restructuring along Soviet lines , claiming that this would further democratization and decentralize power away from Castro . Officially announcing Cubas identity as a socialist state , the first National Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held , and a new constitution drafted that abolished the position of President and Prime Minister . Castro remained the dominant figure in governance , taking the presidency of the newly created Council of State and Council of Ministers , making him both head of state and head of government . Presidency . Foreign wars and NAM Presidency : 1975–1979 . Castro considered Africa to be the weakest link in the imperialist chain , and at the request of Angolan President Agostinho Neto he ordered 230 military advisers into Angola in November 1975 to aid Netos Marxist MPLA in the Angolan Civil War . When the U.S . and South Africa stepped up their support of the opposition FLNA and UNITA , Castro ordered a further 18,000 troops to Angola , which played a major role in forcing a South African and UNITA retreat . The decision to intervene in Angola has been a controversial one , all the more so as Castros critics have charged that it was not his decision at all , contending that the Soviets ordered him to do so . Castro always maintained that he took the decision to launch Operation Carlota himself in response to an appeal from Neto and that the Soviets were in fact opposed to Cuban intervention in Angola , which took place over their opposition . Traveling to Angola , Castro celebrated with Neto , Sékou Touré and Guinea-Bissaun President Luís Cabral , where they agreed to support Mozambiques Marxist–Leninist government against RENAMO in the Mozambican Civil War . In February , Castro visited Algeria and then Libya , where he spent ten days with Gaddafi and oversaw the establishment of the Jamahariya system of governance , before attending talks with the Marxist government of South Yemen . From there he proceeded to Somalia , Tanzania , Mozambique and Angola where he was greeted by crowds as a hero for Cubas role in opposing apartheid South Africa . Throughout much of Africa he was hailed as a friend to national liberation from foreign dominance . This was followed with visits to East Berlin and Moscow . In 1977 the Ogaden War broke out over the disputed Ogaden region as Somalia invaded Ethiopia ; although a former ally of Somali President Siad Barre , Castro had warned him against such action , and Cuba sided with Mengistu Haile Mariams Marxist government of Ethiopia . In an desperate attempt to stop the war , Castro had a summit with Barre where he proposed a federation of Ethiopia , Somalia , and South Yemen as an alternative to war . Barre who saw seizing the Ogaden as the first step towards creating a greater Somalia that would unite all of the Somalis into one state rejected the federation offer , and decided upon war . Castro sent troops under the command of General Arnaldo Ochoa to aid the overwhelmed Ethiopian army . Mengistus regime was barely hanging on by 1977 , having lost one-third of its army in Eritrea at the time of the Somali invasion . The intervention of 17 , 000 Cuban troops into the Ogaden was by all accounts decisive in altering a war that Ethiopia was on the brink of losing into a victory . After forcing back the Somalis , Mengistu then ordered the Ethiopians to suppress the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front , a measure Castro refused to support . Castro extended support to Latin American revolutionary movements , namely the Sandinista National Liberation Front in its overthrow of the Nicaraguan rightist government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 . Castros critics accused the government of wasting Cuban lives in these military endeavors ; the anti-Castro Center for a Free Cuba has claimed that an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in foreign Cuban military actions . When American critics claimed that Castro had no right to interfere in these nations , he countered that Cuba had been invited into them , pointing out the U.S . own involvement in various foreign nations . Between 1979 and 1991 about 370 , 000 Cuban troops together with 50 , 000 Cuban civilians ( mostly teachers and doctors ) served in Angola , representing about 5% of Cubas population . The Cuban intervention in Angola was envisioned as a short-term commitment , but the Angolan government used the profits from the oil industry to subsidize Cubas economy , making Cuba as economically dependent upon Angola as Angola was militarily dependent upon Cuba . In the late 1970s , Cubas relations with North American states improved during the period with Mexican President Luis Echeverría , Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , and U.S . President Jimmy Carter in power . Carter continued criticizing Cubas human rights abuses , but adopted a respectful approach which gained Castros attention . Considering Carter well-meaning and sincere , Castro freed certain political prisoners and allowed some Cuban exiles to visit relatives on the island , hoping that in turn Carter would abolish the economic embargo and stop CIA support for militant dissidents . Conversely , his relationship with China declined , as he accused Deng Xiaopings Chinese government of betraying their revolutionary principles by initiating trade links with the U.S . and attacking Vietnam . In 1979 , the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) was held in Havana , where Castro was selected as NAM president , a position he held until 1982 . In his capacity as both President of the NAM and of Cuba he appeared at the United Nations General Assembly in October 1979 and gave a speech on the disparity between the worlds rich and poor . His speech was greeted with much applause from other world leaders , though his standing in NAM was damaged by Cubas refusal to condemn the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan . Reagan and Gorbachev : 1980–1991 . By the 1980s , Cubas economy was again in trouble , following a decline in the market price of sugar and 1979s decimated harvest . For the first time , unemployment became a serious problem in Castros Cuba , with the government sending unemployed youth to other countries , primarily East Germany , to work there . Desperate for money , Cubas government secretly sold off paintings from national collections and illicitly traded for U.S . electronic goods through Panama . Increasing numbers of Cubans fled to Florida , but were labelled scum and lumpen by Castro and his CDR supporters . In one incident , 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian Embassy requesting asylum , and so the U.S . agreed that it would accept 3,500 refugees . Castro conceded that those who wanted to leave could do so from Mariel port . Hundreds of boats arrived from the U.S. , leading to a mass exodus of 120,000 ; Castros government took advantage of the situation by loading criminals , the mentally ill , and suspected homosexuals onto the boats destined for Florida . The event destabilized Carters administration , and later , in 1980 , Ronald Reagan was elected U.S . president . Reagans administration adopted a hard-line approach against Castro , making its desire to overthrow his regime clear . In late 1981 , Castro publicly accused the U.S . of biological warfare against Cuba by orchestrating a dengue fever epidemic . Cubas economy became even more dependent on Soviet aid , with Soviet subsidies ( mainly in the form of supplies of low-cost oil and voluntarily buying Cuban sugar at inflated prices ) averaging $4–5 billion a year by the late 1980s . This accounted for 30–38% of the countrys entire GDP . Soviet economic assistance had not helped Cubas long-term growth prospects by promoting diversification or sustainability . Although described as a relatively highly developed Latin American export economy in 1959 and the early 1960s , Cubas basic economic structure changed very little between then and the 1980s . Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cubas leading exports , and even these are produced by a pre-industrial process . The Cuban economy remained highly inefficient and over-specialized in a few highly subsidized commodities provided by the Soviet bloc countries . Although despising Argentinas right wing military junta , Castro supported them in the 1982 Falklands War against Britain and offered military aid to the Argentinians . Castro supported the leftist New Jewel Movement that seized power in Grenada in 1979 , befriending Grenadine President Maurice Bishop and sending doctors , teachers , and technicians to aid the countrys development . When Bishop was executed in a Soviet-backed coup by hard-line Marxist Bernard Coard in October 1983 , Castro condemned the killing but cautiously retained support for Grenadas government . However , the U.S . used the coup as a basis for invading the island . Cuban soldiers died in the conflict , with Castro denouncing the invasion and comparing the U.S . to Nazi Germany . In a July 1983 speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution , Castro condemned Reagans administration as a reactionary , extremist clique who were waging an openly warmongering and fascist foreign policy . Castro feared a U.S . invasion of Nicaragua and sent Ochoa to train the governing Sandinistas in guerrilla warfare , but received little support from the USSR . In 1985 , Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party . A reformer , he implemented measures to increase freedom of the press ( glasnost ) and economic decentralization ( perestroika ) in an attempt to strengthen socialism . Like many orthodox Marxist critics , Castro feared that the reforms would weaken the socialist state and allow capitalist elements to regain control . Gorbachev conceded to U.S . demands to reduce support for Cuba , with Soviet-Cuban relations deteriorating . On medical advice given him in October 1985 , Castro gave up regularly smoking Cuban cigars , helping to set an example for the rest of the populace . Castro became passionate in his denunciation of the Third World debt problem , arguing that the Third World would never escape the debt that First World banks and governments imposed upon it . In 1985 , Havana hosted five international conferences on the world debt problem . By November 1987 , Castro began spending more time on the Angolan Civil War , in which the Marxists had fallen into retreat . Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos successfully appealed for more Cuban troops , with Castro later admitting that he devoted more time to Angola than to the domestic situation , believing that a victory would lead to the collapse of apartheid . In response to the siege of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987–1988 by South African-UNITA forces , Castro sent an additional 12 , 000 Cuban Army troops to Angola in late 1987 . From afar in Havana , Castro was closely involved in the decision-making about the defense of Cuito Cuanavle and came into conflict with Ochoa , whom he criticized for almost losing Cuito Cuanavle to a South African assault on 13 January 1988 despite warning for almost two months prior that such an attack was coming . On 30 January 1988 , Ochoa was summoned to a meeting with Castro in Havana where he was told that Cuito Cuanavale must not fall and to execute Castros plans for a pull-back to more defensible positions over the objections of the Angolans . The Cuban troops played a decisive role in the relief of Cuito Cuanavale , breaking the siege in March 1988 , which led to the withdrawal of most of the South African troops from Angola . Cuban propaganda turned the siege of Cuito Cuanavle into a decisive victory that changed the course of African history and Castro awarded 82 soldiers medals of the newly created Medal of Merit for the Defense of Cuito Cuanavle on 1 April 1988 . Tensions were increased with the Cubans advancing close to the border of Namibia , which led to warnings from the South African government that they considered this an extremely unfriendly act , causing South Africa to mobilize and call up its reserves . In the spring of 1988 , the intensity of South African-Cuban fighting drastically increased with both sides taking heavy losses . The prospect of an all-out Cuban-South African war served to concentrate minds in both Moscow and Washington and led to an increased push for a diplomatic solution to the Angolan war . The cost of Cubas wars in Africa were paid for with Soviet subsidies at a time when the Soviet economy was badly hurt by low oil prices while the white supremacist government of South Africa had by the 1980s became a very awkward American ally as much of the American population , especially black Americans , objected to apartheid . From the viewpoint of both Moscow and Washington , having both Cuba and South Africa disengage in Angola was the best possible outcome . The low oil prices of the 1980s had also changed the Angolan attitude about subsidizing the Cuban economy as dos Santos found the promises made in the 1970s when oil prices were high to be a serious drain upon Angolas economy in the 1980s . South African whites were vastly outnumbered by South African blacks , and accordingly the South African Army could not take heavy losses with its white troops as that would fatally weaken the ability of the South African state to uphold apartheid . The Cubans had also taken heavy losses while the increasing difficult relations with dos Santos who become less generous in subsidizing the Cuban economy suggested that such losses were not worth the cost . Gorbachev called for a negotiated end to the conflict and in 1988 organized a quadripartite talks between the USSR , U.S. , Cuba and South Africa ; they agreed that all foreign troops would pull out of Angola while South Africa agreed to grant independence to Namibia . Castro was angered by Gorbachevs approach , believing that he was abandoning the plight of the worlds poor in favor of détente . When Gorbachev visited Cuba in April 1989 , he informed Castro that perestroika meant an end to subsidies for Cuba . Ignoring calls for liberalization in accordance with the Soviet example , Castro continued to clamp down on internal dissidents and in particular kept tabs on the military , the primary threat to the government . A number of senior military officers , including Ochoa and Tony de la Guardia , were investigated for corruption and complicity in cocaine smuggling , tried , and executed in 1989 , despite calls for leniency . In Eastern Europe , socialist governments fell to capitalist reformers between 1989 and 1991 and many Western observers expected the same in Cuba . Increasingly isolated , Cuba improved relations with Manuel Noriegas right-wing government in Panama – despite Castros personal hatred of Noriega – but it was overthrown in a U.S . invasion in December 1989 . In February 1990 , Castros allies in Nicaragua , President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas , were defeated by the U.S.-funded National Opposition Union in an election . With the collapse of the Soviet bloc , the U.S . secured a majority vote for a resolution condemning Cubas human rights violations at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva , Switzerland . Cuba asserted that this was a manifestation of U.S . hegemony , and refused to allow an investigative delegation to enter the country . Special Period : 1992–2000 . With favourable trade from the Soviet bloc ended , Castro publicly declared that Cuba was entering a Special Period in Time of Peace . Petrol rations were dramatically reduced , Chinese bicycles were imported to replace cars , and factories performing non-essential tasks were shut down . Oxen began to replace tractors , firewood began being used for cooking and electricity cuts were introduced that lasted 16 hours a day . Castro admitted that Cuba faced the worst situation short of open war , and that the country might have to resort to subsistence farming . By 1992 , Cubas economy had declined by over 40% in under two years , with major food shortages , widespread malnutrition and a lack of basic goods . Castro hoped for a restoration of Marxism–Leninism in the USSR , but refrained from backing the 1991 coup in that country . When Gorbachev regained control , Cuba-Soviet relations deteriorated further and Soviet troops were withdrawn in September 1991 . In December , the Soviet Union was officially dissolved as Boris Yeltsin abolished the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and introducing a capitalist multiparty democracy . Yeltsin despised Castro and developed links with the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation . Castro tried improving relations with the capitalist nations . He welcomed Western politicians and investors to Cuba , befriended Manuel Fraga and took a particular interest in Margaret Thatchers policies in the UK , believing that Cuban socialism could learn from her emphasis on low taxation and personal initiative . He ceased support for foreign militants , refrained from praising FARC on a 1994 visit to Colombia and called for a negotiated settlement between the Zapatistas and Mexican government in 1995 . Publicly , he presented himself as a moderate on the world stage . In 1991 , Havana hosted the Pan American Games , which involved construction of a stadium and accommodation for the athletes ; Castro admitted that it was an expensive error , but it was a success for Cubas government . Crowds regularly shouted Fidel ! Fidel ! in front of foreign journalists , while Cuba became the first Latin American nation to beat the U.S . to the top of the gold-medal table . Support for Castro remained strong , and although there were small anti-government demonstrations , the Cuban opposition rejected the exile communitys calls for an armed uprising . In August 1994 , Havana witnessed the largest anti-Castro demonstration in Cuban history , as 200 to 300 young men threw stones at police , demanding that they be allowed to emigrate to Miami . A larger pro-Castro crowd confronted them , who were joined by Castro ; he informed media that the men were anti-socials misled by the U.S . The protests dispersed with no recorded injuries . Fearing that dissident groups would invade , the government organised the War of All the People defense strategy , planning a widespread guerrilla warfare campaign , and the unemployed were given jobs building a network of bunkers and tunnels across the country . Castro believed in the need for reform if Cuban socialism was to survive in a world now dominated by capitalist free markets . In October 1991 , the Fourth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held in Santiago , at which a number of important changes to the government were announced . Castro would step down as head of government , to be replaced by the much younger Carlos Lage , although Castro would remain the head of the Communist Party and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces . Many older members of government were to be retired and replaced by their younger counterparts . A number of economic changes were proposed , and subsequently put to a national referendum . Free farmers markets and small-scale private enterprises would be legalized in an attempt to stimulate economic growth , while U.S . dollars were also made legal tender . Certain restrictions on emigration were eased , allowing more discontented Cuban citizens to move to the United States . Further democratization was to be brought in by having the National Assemblys members elected directly by the people , rather than through municipal and provincial assemblies . Castro welcomed debate between proponents and opponents of the economics reforms—although over time he began to increasingly sympathise with the opponents positions , arguing that such reforms must be delayed . Castros government diversified its economy into biotechnology and tourism , the latter outstripping Cubas sugar industry as its primary source of revenue in 1995 . The arrival of thousands of Mexican and Spanish tourists led to increasing numbers of Cubans turning to prostitution ; officially illegal , Castro refrained from cracking down on prostitution in Cuba , fearing a political backlash . Economic hardship led many Cubans toward religion , both in the form of Roman Catholicism and Santería . Although long thinking religious belief to be backward , Castro softened his approach to religious institutions and religious people were permitted for the first time to join the Communist Party . Although he viewed the Roman Catholic Church as a reactionary , pro-capitalist institution , Castro organized a visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II for January 1998 ; it strengthened the position of both the Cuban Church and Castros government . In the early 1990s Castro embraced environmentalism , campaigning against global warming and the waste of natural resources , and accusing the U.S . of being the worlds primary polluter . In 1994 a ministry dedicated to the environment was established , and new laws established in 1997 that promoted awareness of environmental issues throughout Cuba and stressed the sustainable use of natural resources . By 2006 , Cuba was the worlds only nation which met the United Nations Development Programmes definition of sustainable development , with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 . Castro also became a proponent of the anti-globalization movement , criticizing U.S . global hegemony and the control exerted by multinationals . Castro maintained his devout anti-apartheid beliefs , and at the 26 July celebrations in 1991 , he was joined onstage by the South African political activist Nelson Mandela , recently released from prison . Mandela praised Cubas involvement in battling South Africa in Angola and thanked Castro personally . He later attended Mandelas inauguration as President of South Africa in 1994 . In 2001 he attended the Conference Against Racism in South Africa at which he lectured on the global spread of racial stereotypes through U.S . film . Pink tide : 2000–2006 . Mired in economic problems , Cuba was aided by the election of socialist and anti-imperialist Hugo Chávez to the Venezuelan Presidency in 1999 . Castro and Chávez developed a close friendship , with the former acting as a mentor and father-figure to the latter , and together they built an alliance that had repercussions throughout Latin America . In 2000 , they signed an agreement through which Cuba would send 20,000 medics to Venezuela , in return receiving 53,000 barrels of oil per day at preferential rates ; in 2004 , this trade was stepped up , with Cuba sending 40,000 medics and Venezuela providing 90,000 barrels a day . That same year , Castro initiated Misión Milagro , a joint medical project which aimed to provide free eye operations on 300,000 individuals from each nation . The alliance boosted the Cuban economy , and in May 2005 Castro doubled the minimum wage for 1.6 million workers , raised pensions , and delivered new kitchen appliances to Cubas poorest residents . Some economic problems remained ; in 2004 , Castro shut down 118 factories , including steel plants , sugar mills and paper processors to compensate for a critical shortage of fuel . Cuba and Venezuela were the founding members of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas ( ALBA ) . ALBA sought to redistribute wealth evenly throughout member countries , to protect the regions agriculture , and to oppose economic liberalization and privatization . ALBAs origins lay in a December 2004 agreement signed between the two countries , and was formalized through a Peoples Trade Agreement also signed by Evo Morales Bolivia in April 2006 . Castro had also been calling for greater Caribbean integration since the late 1990s , saying that only strengthened cooperation between Caribbean countries would prevent their domination by rich nations in a global economy . Cuba has opened four additional embassies in the Caribbean Community including : Antigua and Barbuda , Dominica , Suriname , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . This development makes Cuba the only country to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community . In contrast to the improved relations between Cuba and a number of leftist Latin American states , in 2004 it broke off diplomatic ties with Panama after centrist President Mireya Moscoso pardoned four Cuban exiles accused of attempting to assassinate Castro in 2000 . Diplomatic ties were reinstalled in 2005 following the election of leftist President Martín Torrijos . Castros improving relations across Latin America were accompanied by continuing animosity towards the U.S . However , after massive damage caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2001 , Castro successfully proposed a one-time cash purchase of food from the U.S . while declining its governments offer of humanitarian aid . Castro expressed solidarity with the U.S . following the 2001 September 11 attacks , condemning Al-Qaeda and offering Cuban airports for the emergency diversion of any U.S . planes . He recognized that the attacks would make U.S . foreign policy more aggressive , which he believed was counter-productive . Castro criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq , saying that the U.S.-led war had imposed an international law of the jungle . Meanwhile , in 1998 , Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived in Cuba to meet Castro and highlight their close ties . He was the first Canadian government leader to visit the island since Pierre Trudeau was in Havana in 1976 . In 2002 , former U.S . President Jimmy Carter visited Cuba , where he highlighted the lack of civil liberties in the country and urged the government to pay attention to the Varela Project of Oswaldo Payá . Final years . Stepping down : 2006–2008 . Castro underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding , and on 31 July 2006 , delegated his presidential duties to Raúl Castro . In February 2007 , Raúl announced that Fidels health was improving and that he was taking part in important issues of government . Later that month , Fidel called into Hugo Chávezs radio show Aló Presidente . On 21 April , Castro met Wu Guanzheng of the Chinese Communist Partys Politburo Standing member , with Chávez visiting in August , and Morales in September . That month , the Non-Aligned Movement held its 14th Summit in Havana , there agreeing to appoint Castro as the organisations president for a years term . Commenting on Castros recovery , U.S . President George W . Bush said : One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away . Hearing about this , the atheist Castro replied : Now I understand why I survived Bushs plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination : the good Lord protected me . The quote was picked up on by the worlds media . In a February 2008 letter , Castro announced that he would not accept the positions of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief at that months National Assembly meetings , remarking , It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion , that I am not in a physical condition to offer . On 24 February 2008 , the National Assembly of Peoples Power unanimously voted Raúl as president . Describing his brother as not substitutable , Raúl proposed that Fidel continue to be consulted on matters of great importance , a motion unanimously approved by the 597 National Assembly members . Retirement and final years : 2008–2016 . Following his retirement , Castros health deteriorated ; international press speculated that he had diverticulitis , but Cubas government refused to corroborate this . He continued to interact with the Cuban people , published an opinion column titled Reflections in Granma , used a Twitter account , and gave occasional public lectures . In January 2009 Castro asked Cubans not to worry about his lack of recent news columns and failing health , and not to be disturbed by his future death . He continued meeting foreign leaders and dignitaries , and that month photographs were released of Castros meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernández . In July 2010 , he made his first public appearance since falling ill , greeting science center workers and giving a television interview to Mesa Redonda in which he discussed U.S . tensions with Iran and North Korea . On 7 August 2010 , Castro gave his first speech to the National Assembly in four years , urging the U.S . not to take military actions against those nations and warning of a nuclear holocaust . When asked whether Castro may be re-entering government , culture minister Abel Prieto told the BBC , I think that he has always been in Cubas political life but he is not in the government .. . He has been very careful about that . His big battle is international affairs . On 19 April 2011 , Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee , thus stepping down as First Secretary . Raúl was selected as his successor . Now without any official role in the countrys government , he took on the role of an elder statesman . In March 2011 , Castro condemned the NATO-led military intervention in Libya . In March 2012 , Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba for three days , during which time he briefly met with Castro despite the Popes vocal opposition to Cubas government . Later that year it was revealed that along with Hugo Chávez , Castro had played a significant behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating peace talks between the Colombian government and the far left FARC guerrilla movement to end the conflict which had raged since 1964 . During the North Korea crisis of 2013 , he urged both the North Korean and U.S . governments to show restraint . Calling the situation incredible and absurd , he maintained that war would not benefit either side , and that it represented one of the gravest risks of nuclear war since the Cuban missile crisis . In December 2014 , Castro was awarded the Chinese Confucius Peace Prize for seeking peaceful solutions to his nations conflict with the U.S . and for his post-retirement efforts to prevent nuclear war . In January 2015 , he publicly commented on the Cuban Thaw , an increased normalization between Cuba-U.S . relations , by stating that while it was a positive move for establishing peace in the region , he mistrusted the U.S . government . He did not meet with U.S . President Barack Obama on the latters visit to Cuba in March 2016 , although sent him a letter stating that Cuba has no need of gifts from the empire . That April , he gave his most extensive public appearance in many years when addressing the Communist Party . Highlighting that he was soon to turn 90 years old , he noted that he would die in the near future but urged those assembled to retain their communist ideals . In September 2016 , Castro was visited at his Havana home by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , and later that month was visited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe . In late October 2016 , Castro met with the Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa , who became one of the last foreign leaders to meet him . Death . Castro died on the night of 25 November 2016 . The cause of death was not disclosed . His brother , President Raúl Castro , confirmed the news in a brief speech : The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 [ EST ] this evening . His death came 9 months after his older brother Ramón died at the age of 91 in February . Fidel Castro was cremated on 26 November 2016 . A funeral procession travelled along the islands central highway from Havana to Santiago de Cuba , tracing in reverse , the route of the Freedom Caravan of January 1959 , and after nine days of public mourning , his ashes were entombed in the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba . Ideology . Castro proclaimed himself to be a Socialist , a Marxist , and a Leninist , and publicly identified as a Marxist–Leninist from December 1961 onward . As a Marxist , Castro sought to transform Cuba from a capitalist state which was dominated by foreign imperialism to a socialist society and ultimately to a communist society . Influenced by Guevara , he suggested that Cuba could evade most stages of socialism and progress straight to communism . The Cuban Revolution nevertheless did not meet the Marxist assumption that socialism would be achieved through proletariat revolution , for most of the forces involved in Batistas overthrow were led by members of the Cuban middle-class . According to Castro , a country could be regarded as socialist if its means of production were controlled by the state . In this way , his understanding of socialism was less about who controlled power in a country and more about the method of distribution . Castros government was also nationalistic , with Castro declaring , We are not only Marxist-Leninists , but also nationalists and patriots . In this it drew upon a longstanding tradition of Cuban nationalism . Castro biographer Sebastian Balfour noted that the vein of moral regeneration and voluntarism that runs through Castros thought owes far more to Hispanic nationalism than European socialism or Marxism–Leninism . Historian Richard Gott remarked that one of the keys to Castros success was his ability to use the twin themes of socialism and nationalism and keep them endlessly in play . Castro described Karl Marx and Cuban nationalist José Martí as his main political influences , although Gott believed that Martí ultimately remained more important than Marx in Castros politics . Castro described Martís political ideas as a philosophy of independence and an exceptional humanistic philosophy , and his supporters and apologists repeatedly claimed that there were great similarities between the two figures . Biographer Volka Skierka described Castros government as a highly individual , socialist-nationalist fidelista system , with Theodore Draper terming his approach Castroism , viewing it as a blend of European socialism with the Latin American revolutionary tradition . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol has described Castros approach to politics as totalitarian utopianism , with a style of leadership that drew upon the wider Latin American phenomenon of the caudillo . He drew inspiration from the wider Latin American anti-imperialist movements of the 1930s and 1940s , including Argentinas Perón and Guatemalas Jacobo Árbenz . Castro took a relatively socially conservative stance on many issues , opposing drug use , gambling , and prostitution , which he viewed as moral evils . Instead , he advocated hard work , family values , integrity , and self-discipline . Although his government repressed homosexual activity for decades , later in his life he took responsibility for this persecution , regretting it as a great injustice , as he himself put it . Personal and public life . Personality . Juan Reynaldo Sánchez , Castros former bodyguard , detailed much of his personal and private life in his book The Double Life of Fidel Castro . He described Castro as Nothing ordinary about him at all , he is unique , special , and different . He profiled him as an egocentric who loved being the center of attention , and with his almost electric charisma , grabbing the attention of the people around him . He was also extremely manipulative ; with his formidable intelligence , he was capable of manipulating a person or a group of people without much difficulty . In addition , he was repetitive and obsessive . In discussions with his colleagues or foreigners , he would repeat the same things over again on a continuous loop until they were convinced he was right . It was absolutely impossible to contradict him on any subject whatsoever . Anyone who attempted to convince him that he was wrong or even making a suggestion that it could be improved slightly was making a fatal error . Fidel would then make a mental mark of the individual as an idiot , and would wait for the right time to retaliate against them . Nobody , not even Raúl was exempt from this ; despite being the Minister of the Armed Forces , he would bring seemingly minor military decisions to Castro for his final approval in order to avoid inadvertently contradicting him . Sánchez believed that General Arnaldo Ochoas downfall was significantly related to his willingness to contradict Fidels orders in Angola . Biographer Leycester Coltman described Castro as fiercely hard-working , dedicated , loyal .. . generous and magnanimous but noted that he could be vindictive and unforgiving . He asserted that Castro always had a keen sense of humor and could laugh at himself but could equally be a bad loser who would act with ferocious rage if he thought that he was being humiliated . Publicly he was known for throwing tantrums , and could make snap judgements which he refused to back down from . In private though , Castro was actually skilled at keeping his anger in check and not allowing it to affect his judgement , simply becoming cold and withdrawn ; Sánchez stated that in 17 years he had only seen Castro explode in anger twice , one upon being informed of his daughter Alinas defection in 1993 . Castro was known for working long hours and he primarily woke up late – rarely before ten or eleven a.m . – and started his working day around noon and would work until late at night , often only going to bed at 3 or 4 am . He preferred to meet foreign diplomats in these early hours , believing that they would be tired and he could gain the upper hand in negotiations . Castro liked to meet with ordinary citizens , both in Cuba and abroad , but took a particularly paternal attitude toward Cubans , treating them as if they were a part of his own giant family . British historian Alex von Tunzelmann commented that though ruthless , [ Castro ] was a patriot , a man with a profound sense that it was his mission to save the Cuban people . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol characterized Castro as quintessentially totalitarian in his charismatic appeal , utopian functional role and public , transformative utilisation of power . Balfour described Castro as having a voracity for knowledge and elephantine memory that allowed him to speak for hours on a variety of different subjects . His hero was Alexander the Great , whose Spanish equivalent Alejandro he adopted as his nom de guerre . Castro was a voracious reader ; amongst his favorite authors were Ernest Hemingway , Franz Kafka , William Shakespeare , and Maxim Gorky , and he named For Whom the Bell Tolls as his favorite book , committing several portions of the novel to memory and even utilizing some of its lessons as a guerilla fighter . He enjoyed art and photography and was known as a patron of both within Cuba but was uninterested in music and disliked dancing . He was also an avid fan of cinema , particularly Soviet films . His favorite film was the five hour long 1967 adaption of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace . Castro had a lifelong passion , almost obsession , with cows and , starting in 1966 , with bovine genetics and breeding . State media frequently published details of his attempts to breed cows with increased milk yields . This interest reached its peak in 1982 when a cow that Fidel had bred , Ubre Blanca , broke the Guinness World Record for producing 29 gallons of milk live on national television . She was promoted into a national celebrity and propaganda tool , and when the cow died in 1985 , Granma published an official obituary for her on the front page , and the postal service issued stamps in her honor as well . Fidel Castros religious beliefs have been a matter of some debate ; he was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic . He criticized use of the Bible to justify the oppression of women and Africans , but commented that Christianity exhibited a group of very humane precepts which gave the world ethical values and a sense of social justice , relating , If people call me Christian , not from the standpoint of religion but from the standpoint of social vision , I declare that I am a Christian . He promoted the idea that Jesus Christ was a communist , citing the feeding of the 5,000 and the story of Jesus and the rich young man as evidence . Public image . Within Cuba , Castro was primarily referred to by his official military title Comandante El Jefe ; he was usually addressed as Comandante ( The Commander ) in general discourse as well as in person but could also be addressed as El Jefe ( the Chief ) in the third person , particularly within the party and military command . Castro was often nicknamed El Caballo ( The Horse ) , a label attributed to Cuban entertainer Benny Moré which alludes to Castros well known philandering during the 1950s and early 1960s . With his logorrheic oratorical abilities and profound charisma , Castro was extremely skilled at the art of manipulation and deception , easily whipping up his audience and even entire segments of the population into support for him . Large throngs of supporters gathered to cheer at Castros fiery speeches , which typically lasted for hours ( even outdoors in inclement weather ) and without the use of written notes . During speeches , Castro regularly cited reports and books he had read on a wide variety of subjects , including military matters , plant cultivation , filmmaking , and chess strategies . Officially , the Cuban government did maintain a cult of personality , but unlike other Soviet-era leaders and his allies , it was less widespread and took on a more subtle and discreet form . There were no statues or large portraits of him but rather signs with thoughts of the Comandante . Although his popularity among segments of the Cuban populace nevertheless led to one developing without the governments involvement and would be used to judge each individuals devotion to his revolutionary cause ( judged by their contribution to the revolution ) . Indeed , by 2006 Castros image could frequently be found in Cuban stores , classrooms , taxicabs , and on national television . In private , however , Castro hated such idolization campaigns and believed that he had intellectual ascendancy over leaders who engaged in such behavior , such as his friend Kim Il-sung of North Korea whose cult of personality he considered excessive , outlandish , and unreasonable . He gave no importance to his appearance or clothing ; for 37 years , he wore only his trademark olive-green military fatigues or the standard dress uniform for formal events and special occasions , emphasizing his role as the perpetual revolutionary , but in the mid-1990s began wearing dark civilian suits and guayabera in public . At over tall with a few inches added from his combat boots , Castro usually towered over most foreign leaders he met with , giving him a dominating presence in any room or photo that was taken , which he used to his advantage ( for comparison , Abraham Lincoln and Charles De Gaulle , both well known for their tall heights , stood at 64 and 65 respectively ) . Until his uprising against Batista , Castro typically kept a pencil-thin moustache along with combed back hair , typical of Upper-class Cuban men in the 1950s but grew out both during his years as a guerilla fighter and retaining them afterwards . Castro also disliked worrying about his appearance and hated shaving , making the beard and uniform all the more convenient for him . His uniform was also kept simple , he never wore any medals or decorations and his only marker of rank was the Comandante El Jefe insignia stitched on the shoulder straps . Until the 1990s , he wore combat boots , but due to orthopedic issues , abandoned them for sneakers and tennis shoes instead . Around his waist , he often carried a 9mm Browning pistol in a brown leather holster with an additional three clips . His personal weapon of choice was a 7.62 Kalashnikov AKM which Castro occasionally carried with him during the 1960s but was later kept stored in a suitcase carried by one of the members of his escort or kept placed between his feet while driving along with five cartridges ; he frequently used it during shooting exercises and practice . Castro had a lifelong love of guns and was considered an expert sharpshooter , impressing foreign visitors and even holding up against members of his own elite bodyguards who engaged in frequent competition with him . Castros most iconic public feature eventually became the Cuban cigar that he smoked on a daily basis . Introduced to it by his father at the age of 15 , Castro continued the habit for almost 44 years with the exception of a brief period during the 1950s while a guerilla fighter and boycotting against Batista linked tobacco firms . Castro claimed that he quit around 1985 during an anti-smoking campaign promoted by the Communist Party . Sánchez disputes this , saying that his doctor had Castro reduce his cigar usage starting in 1980 and quit entirely in 1983 after a cancerous ulcer was found in his intestine . Prior to the Revolution , Castro smoked various brands including Romeo y Julieta Churchill , H . Upmann , Bauza , and Partagás . In the early 1960s , Castro saw one of his bodyguards smoking a noticeably aromatic but unbranded cigar . Castro and the bodyguard located the cigar maker , Eduardo Ribera , who agreed to establish the El Laguito Factory and branded the cigars as Cohiba which became Castros signature brand and elevating its profile internationally . Initially restricted for his own private use and other members of the Politburo , it was later presented as diplomatic gifts for allied countries and friends of Castro , most notably seen smoked by Che Guevara , Josip Broz Tito , Houari Boumédiène , Sukarno , and Saddam Hussein . Lifestyle . Castros primary residence was at Punto Cero , a large and vegetative estate approximately 6 km from the Palacio de la Revolution in the Siboney neighborhood . The main house is a L-Shaped two story family mansion with a 600-square-yard footprint , 50-foot-long swimming pool , six greenhouses providing fruit and vegetables for Fidel and Raúls families as well as their bodyguard units , and a large lawn with free-range chickens and cows . Close by is a second two-story building used to house the bodyguards and the domestic staff . The house itself was decorated in a classical Caribbean style , with local wicker and wood furniture , porcelain plates , watercolor paintings , and art books . Sánchez described the estate as naturally beautiful and tastefully decorated , and while considered luxurious for the average Cuban , was not lavish or over-the-top compared to the residences of the Somoza clan or the Kim dynasty of North Korea . Raúl and Vilmas house La Rinconada is located close by on 222nd street . Raúl usually hosted large family barbecues on Sundays where Fidel would sometimes come , giving his extended family , sisters , and his elder brother Ramón a rare opportunity to see him . Next to Punto Cero is Unit 160 which was the base of Fidels bodyguard units . The base was over five acres large and surrounded by high walls , essentially a city within a city consisting of support personnel for transportation , communications , electronics , food , and an extensive armory of Kalashnikovs , Makarovs , and Brownings . Members of that unit also assisted in Fidels passion for Bovine breeding and a stable was kept for some of Fidels most prized cows . In addition to Punto Cero , Castro had 5 other residences in Havana : Casa Cojimar , his initial home after 1959 but disused by the 1970s ; a house on 160th Street near the Playa district ; Casa Carbonell , maintained by Cuban Intelligence for his covert meetings with representatives of foreign groups or intelligence assets ; A beach house in Santa Maria del Mar ( next to the Tropico Hotel ) ; and two houses retrofitted with air-raid shelters and connected to the MINFAR command bunkers for use in war : Casa Punta Brava ( Dalias old house before meeting Fidel ) and Casa Gallego , near the bodyguards base at Unit 160 . In the west of Cuba , he had three residences : Casa Americana ( confiscated from an American businessman connected to Batista ) ; Rancho la Tranquilidad in the locality of Mil Cumbres ; and La Deseada , a hunting lodge utilized in the winter for duck hunting and fishing trips . He also had two homes in Matanzas , one in Ciego de Avila , a horse ranch Hacienda San Cayetano in Camaguey along with another house in a vacation compound for the Politburo nearby , Casa Guardalavaca in Holguin , and two residences in Santiago de Cuba ( One of which is shared with Ramiro Valdes ) . Castros main vacation destination was Cayo de Piedra , a small key island formerly the site of a lighthouse , approximately a mile long and divided into two by a cyclone in the 1960s . He came upon the island by accident while reviewing the region in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion . Instantly falling in love with the island , he ordered it closed off and had the lighthouse demolished . Osmany Cienfuegos designed the a private bungalow , guesthouse , bridge , marina , and a building for the use of the bodyguards and support staff . He arrived here from his inaccessible private marina located near the Bay of Pigs , La Caleta del Rosario , which also housed another residence and guesthouse . Castro utilized two yachts , Aquarama I , confiscated from a Batista Government official and later in the 1970s , the 90-foot white hull Aquarama II . Aquarama II , which was decorated with wood donated from Angola , had two double cabins , one for Fidels personal use , a main sitting room , two bathrooms , a bar , a secure communications suite , and was equipped with four Osa-class missile boat engines gifted from Brezhnev allowing for top speeds of over 42 Knots . Aquarama II had two companion speedboats utilized by his escort , Pioniera I and Pioniera II ; one was equipped with a large cache of weapons and another was equipped with medical equipment . Castro was also had a keen interest in gastronomy and was known to wander into his kitchen to discuss cookery with his chefs . His diet was quintessentially Cuban , based on traditional pescatarian cuisine but also the additional influence from his native Galicia . All of his food was sourced from Punto Cero or fished from his private island of Cayo Piedra , with the exception of cases of Algerian Red Wine gifted initially from Houari Boumediene and continued by successive Algerian governments and Iraqi figs and fruit jams from Saddam Hussein . Castro , who typically woke up in the late morning , usually had tea or fish bouillon for breakfast accompanied by milk provided from one of the cows that grazed on Punto Cero ; they were all bred to provide milk which suited Castros demanding taste . His lunches were also frugal and consisted of fish or seafood soup with fresh produce . Dinner was his primary meal , consisting of grilled fish , chicken , mutton , or even pata negra ham on special occasions along with a large serving of green vegetables , but was prevented from eating beef or coffee by his dietician . Until 1979 , Castros primary vehicle was a black ZiL limousine , first a armored convertible ZIL-111 from Khrushchev , a ZIL-114 and briefly a ZIL-4104 gifted to him by Leonid Brezhnev , while his escort would accompany him in several Alfa Romeo 1750s and 2000s . In 1979 , during the Non-Aligned movement summit at Havana , Saddam Hussein gave Castro his Armored Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL which he had brought from Baghdad and became his sole transport for the rest of his life . Subsequently , Fidel ordered two mechanics from his bodyguard unit to West Germany to purchase several secondhand Mercedes-Benz 500s to replace the obsolete Alfa Romeros . Castro always traveled with at least fourteen guards and four of his aides , spread out over four vehicles ; three Mercedes-Benzs and one Soviet Lada which trailed the main convoy ( to keep the military presence at a minimal ) . Whenever he would leave Havana , a fifth Mercedes would join the procession carrying his doctor , nurse , and photographer . Relationships . In his personal life , Castro was known for being distant , withdrawn , and confided in very few people . His closest and most trusted friend was Raúl Castro , his younger brother by five years and longtime Minister of the Armed Forces . Although Raúl has a vastly contrasting , almost polar opposite personality to Castro , Sánchez describes Raúl as complementing Castros personality in all the ways that he is not . Whereas Fidel was charismatic , energetic , visionary but extremely impulsive and totally disorganized , Raúl was described as a natural , methodical , and uncompromising organizer . Castro spoke nearly every day with Raúl , met several times a week , and was a frequent visitor at Raúl and Vilmas house ; Vilma was also considered close to Castro and often appeared in public with him at national events . Besides Raúl , Castro was not close to any of his other siblings , although he did have friendly relations with his elder brother Ramón and sister Angelita . His sister Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the early 1960s , and is a public opponent of the Cuban regime . Outside of his immediate family , Castros closest friend was fellow revolutionary Celia Sánchez , who accompanied him almost everywhere during the 1960s , and controlled almost all access to the leader . Reynaldo Sánchez confirmed that Celia was indeed Castros mistress and regarded her as the true love of his life . Castro provided a large apartment for Celia on 11th Street near Vedado , El Once whom Fidel visited every day before returning home . Over the years , Castro added an elevator , fitness room , and a bowling alley for his and Celias personal use . He even provided bodyguards from his own escort to Celia for her own protection . Castros closest male friends were the members of his immediate bodyguard unit , Escolta or the Escort . His security was provided by Department 1 of the Personal Security Directorate of MININT ( Ministry of the Interior ) . Department 1 was for Fidels security , Department 2 was Raúl and Vilmas , and Department 3 was for the members of the Politburo and so on . Unlike the other MININT Departments , both his and Raúls units bypassed the normal chain of command and reported to them directly . Castros security consisted of three concentric anillos or rings . The third ring consisted of thousands of soldiers both in MININT and MINFAR who provided support for Logistics , Air-Defense , Intelligence , etc. ; The second ring consisted of eighty to one hundred soldiers who provided the outer perimeter security ; And the first ring , the Elite Escolta or The Escort , which provided his immediate security and consisted of two teams of 15 elite soldiers who worked 24 hour shifts , along with around 10 support staff . A soldier at heart , Castro had more affinity with his escort than his civilian family . He spent most of his time under their protection and were usually his companions in his personal interests . A sports fan , he also spent much of his time trying to keep fit , undertaking regular exercise such as hunting , fly fishing , underwater fishing , scuba diving , and playing basketball . They were also his companions on special events , such as his birthday or during national holidays , which they would regularly exchange gifts and engage in one-sided discussions with Castro where he would recall his life stories . The members of the Escort Castro was closest to was the former Mayor of Havana Jose Pepín Naranjo who became his official aide until his death in 1995 and his own personal physician , Eugenio Selman . Outside of his escort , Castro was also close to Manuel Barbarroja Pineiro , the head of the American Department of the DGI , Antonio Núñez Jiménez , and the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez . Marital history . The Cuban government has never published an official marital history of Castro , with most information coming from defectors and scarce details published in state media and pieced together over the years . In his earlier years in power , he showcased some of his family life , in particular his eldest son Fidelito in order to portray himself as a normal family man to the apprehensive American audience , but eventually abandoned that as he became more concerned about his personal safety . Throughout his rule , Castro never named an official First Lady and when the need for such a public female companion was necessary , Celia Sánchez or Raúls wife , Vilma Espín , would play such a role of la primera dama . Overall , Sánchez described Castro as a compulsive lover or womanizer ; he has been officially married twice but has carried on numerous affairs , including many one-night stands . Popular with women and often recognized as a sex symbol in Cuba , Castro never had difficulty in finding love and seduction , and Sánchez denies that Castro ever engaged in any unusual or un-consensual behavior . Castro was also described as a poor father ; often absent from their lives , he had little interest in the activities of his children and was more interested in his work . Raúl , who had much more stronger paternal feelings towards his family , was often the one who played the role of surrogate father to Castros children , in particular Fidelito and Alina . - Castros first wife was Mirta Díaz-Balart , whom he married in October 1948 . She is the only spouse of Castro acknowledged by the Cuban government . Diaz-Balart , the daughter of a powerful Cuban politician and brother of Batistas Minister of Interior , was a student at the University of Havana where she met and married Castro . She divorced him later in 1955 while he was in prison due to the attacks on the Moncada Barracks . They had one son : - Fidel Ángel Fidelito Castro Díaz-Balart , born in September 1949 . Fidelito grew up at various times between Havana and Miami ; he later went to the Soviet Union to study Nuclear Physics . For a time , he ran Cubas atomic-energy commission before being removed from the post by his father . He took his own life in February 2018 , over a year after his fathers death . - During his first marriage , Castro had a brief encounter with Maria Laborde , an admirer from Camaguey whom very little is known and has long been deceased . They had one son : - Jorge Ángel Castro , born on 23 March 1949 . It was long believed that his birth was in 1956 , but Sánchez and another defector uncovered that he was in fact born earlier than Fidelito . - While Castro was married to Mirta , he had an affair with Natalia Naty Revuelta Clews . Widely regarded in Havana for her beauty , Natalia herself was married to Dr . Orlando Fernandez but sympathized with the aims of the Revolutionary movement . She initially joined the movement as a friend of Castro but later became his mistress and visited him while he was imprisoned on Isla de Pinos . She would give birth to his daughter : - Alina Fernández Revuelta , born in 1956 , is Castros only daughter . She did not know her true parentage until she was 10 . Castro showed little interest in her but sent her to a boarding school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France . One of the few people willing to stand up to Castro , several defectors have described her personality as the most similar to her father . Alina became a public relations director for a State-owned fashion company and a model for Havana Club . Her father inadvertently found out about the latter job while reading Cuba magazine , coming across an advertisement showing Alina posing in a bikini on a boat with two other models ; he nearly exploded with rage . Alina left Cuba in 1993 , disguised as a Spanish tourist , and sought asylum in the U.S. , from where she has criticized her fathers policies . - Castros second and longest wife was with Dalia Soto Del Valle , another admirer who met Castro during a speech in Villa Clara in 1961 . She was a teacher who was part of the governments literacy campaign who moved to Havana on Castros initiative and later moved in with him at Punto Cero as his permanent family . Her relationship with Castro was kept secret until 2006 , when she was photographed with an increasingly frail Castro during the Party Congress , although no other information has been released by the Cuban Government . Castro and Dalia would have five sons , each of them starting with the letter A and three of them a variation of Alexander ( in homage to Alexander the Great , his pseudonym while a guerilla fighter ) : - Alexis Castro Del Valle , born in 1962 . Described as a loner with few friends , he eventually got a degree in computer science but has since become a mechanic . - Alex Castro Del Valle , born in 1963 . Much more affable and outgoing , he was initially trained as an engineer as well but instead became a photographer and cameraman for Granma and Cubavisión respectively . He later became the official photographer of his father and published several books and hosted the exhibitions Fidel Castro:Photografia Intimidade . - Alejandro Castro Del Valle , born in 1969 . Considered a computer geek , like his brothers , he also studied computer science and engineering but was passionate about the subject . Around 1990 , he wrote software that allowed Russian programs to be run on Japanese ones ; the product was purchased by NEC of Japan , which raised his national profile in the engineering community of Cuba and even public praise from his father . - Antonio Castro Del Valle , born in 1971 . A national youth baseball champion , he studied sports medicine in the University of Havana and became an Orthopedic surgeon . He is currently the head of the Surgery unit at the Elite Frank Pais Orthopedic Hospital , Doctor to the National Baseball team and President of the Cuban Baseball Federation . - Angelito Castro Del Valle , born in 1974 . Considered spoiled by his parents from a young age , he was long considered the trouble child of the family . He was passionate about cars and frequently earned the ire of his fathers escort unit for disrupting the work of the mechanics . Angelito never obtained any higher education , but later became the senior executive of the Mercedes-Benz concession of Cuba . - After the 1970s , Castro began a long relationship with Juanita Vera , a Colonel in the foreign intelligence service who joined his escort unit as his English interpreter . She often appeared in public with Castro , in particular in Oliver Stones Comandante as his translator and interpreter . Her and Castro had one son , Abel Castro Vera , born in 1983 . Castro had another daughter , Francisca Pupo ( born 1953 ) , the result of a one-night affair . Pupo and her husband now live in Miami . Another son known as Ciro was also born in the early 1960s , the result of another brief fling , his existence confirmed by Celia Sánchez . Reception and legacy . One of the most controversial political leaders of his era , Castro both inspired and dismayed people across the world during his lifetime . The London Observer stated that he proved to be as divisive in death as he was in life , and that the only thing that his enemies and admirers agreed upon was that he was a towering figure who transformed a small Caribbean island into a major force in world affairs . The Daily Telegraph noted that across the world he was either praised as a brave champion of the people , or derided as a power-mad dictator . Under Castros leadership , Cuba became one of the best-educated and healthiest societies in the Third World as well as one of the most militarised states in Latin America . Despite its small size and limited economic weight , Castros Cuba gained a large role in world affairs . On the island , the Castro governments legitimacy rested on the improvements that it brought to social justice , healthcare , and education . The administration also relied heavily on its appeals to nationalistic sentiment , in particular the widespread hostility to the U.S . government . According to Balfour , Castros domestic popularity stemmed from the fact that he symbolised a long-cherished hope of national liberation and social justice for much of the population . Balfour also noted that throughout Latin America , Castro served as a symbol of defiance against the continued economic and cultural imperialism of the United States . Similarly , Wayne S . Smith – the former Chief of the United States Interests Section in Havana – noted that Castros opposition to U.S . dominance and transformation of Cuba into a significant world player resulted in him receiving warm applause throughout the Western Hemisphere . Various Western governments and human rights organizations nevertheless heavily criticized Castro and he was widely reviled in the U.S . Following Castros death , U.S . President-elect Donald Trump called him a brutal dictator , while the Cuban-American politician Marco Rubio called him an evil , murderous dictator who turned Cuba into an impoverished island prison . Castro publicly rejected the dictator label , stating that he constitutionally held less power than most heads of state and insisting that his regime allowed for greater democratic involvement in policy making than Western liberal democracies . Nevertheless , critics claim that Castro wielded significant unofficial influence aside from his official duties . Quirk stated that Castro wielded absolute power in Cuba , albeit not in a legal or constitutional manner , while Bourne claimed that power in Cuba was completely invested in Castro , adding that it was very rare for a country and a people to have been so completely dominated by the personality of one man . Balfour stated that Castros moral and political hegemony within Cuba diminished the opportunities for democratic debate and decision making . Describing Castro as a totalitarian dictator , Sondrol suggested that in leading a political system largely [ of ] his own creation and bearing his indelible stamp , Castros leadership style warranted comparisons with totalitarian leaders like Mao Zedong , Hideki Tojo , Joseph Stalin , Adolf Hitler , and Benito Mussolini . Noting that there were few more polarising political figures than Castro , Amnesty International described him as a progressive but deeply flawed leader . In their view , he should be applauded for his regimes substantial improvements to healthcare and education , but criticised for its ruthless suppression of freedom of expression . Human Rights Watch stated that his government constructed a repressive machinery which deprived Cubans of their basic rights . Castro defended his governments record on human rights , stating that the state was forced to limit the freedoms of individuals and imprison those involved in counter-revolutionary activities in order to protect the rights of the collective populace , such as the right to employment , education , and health care . Historian and journalist Richard Gott considered Castro to be one of the most extraordinary political figures of the twentieth century , commenting that he had become a world hero in the mould of Giuseppe Garibaldi to people throughout the developing world for his anti-imperialist efforts . Balfour stated that Castros story had few parallels in contemporary history , for there existed no other Third World leader in the second half of the twentieth century who held such a prominent and restless part on the international stage or remained head of state for such a long period . Bourne described Castro as an influential world leader who commanded great respect from individuals of all political ideologies across the developing world . Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Castro as a remarkable leader and a larger than life leader who served his people . The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Castro was a hero for many . Russian President Vladimir Putin described Castro as both a sincere and reliable friend of Russia and a symbol of an era , while Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping similarly referred to him as a close comrade and a sincere friend to China . Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed him one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and a great friend , while South African President Jacob Zuma praised Castro for aiding black South Africans in our struggle against apartheid . He was awarded a wide variety of awards and honors from foreign governments and was cited as an inspiration for foreign leaders like Ahmed Ben Bella and Nelson Mandela , who subsequently awarded him South Africas highest civilian award for foreigners , the Order of Good Hope . The biographer Volka Skierka stated that he will go down in history as one of the few revolutionaries who remained true to his principles . In Cuba . Following Castros death , Cubas government announced that it would be passing a law prohibiting the naming of institutions , streets , parks or other public sites , or erecting busts , statues or other forms of tribute in honor of the late Cuban leader in keeping with his wishes to prevent an extensive cult of personality from developing around him . External links . - Fidel Castros speeches - Fidel Castro History Archive at Marxists Internet Archive - Fidel Castro ( Character ) on IMDb - Fidel Castro Records at FBI Records : The Vault - Fidel Castro : A Life in Pictures – slideshow by BBC News - Fidel Castro : From Rebel to El Presidente – timeline by NPR - Fidel Castro – extended biography by Barcelona Centre for International Affairs - Say Brother ; 914 ; Invitation From Cuba Date N/A , National Records and Archives Administration , American Archive of Public Broadcasting |
[
"26th of July Movement"
] | easy | Which political party did Fidel Castro belong to from 1955 to Mar 1962? | /wiki/Fidel_Castro#P102#1 | Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( ; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016 ) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008 . Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist , he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011 . Under his administration , Cuba became a one-party communist state ; industry and business were nationalized , and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society . Born in Birán , Oriente , the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer , Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana . After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia , he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista , launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953 . After a years imprisonment , Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group , the 26th of July Movement , with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara . Returning to Cuba , Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batistas forces from the Sierra Maestra . After Batistas overthrow in 1959 , Castro assumed military and political power as Cubas Prime Minister . The United States came to oppose Castros government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination , economic blockade , and counter-revolution , including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 . Countering these threats , Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba , resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962 . Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development , Castro converted Cuba into a one-party , socialist state under Communist Party rule , the first in the Western Hemisphere . Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent . Abroad , Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups , backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile , Nicaragua , and Grenada , as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur , Ogaden , and Angolan Civil War . These actions , coupled with Castros leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cubas medical internationalism , increased Cubas profile on the world stage . Following the Soviet Unions dissolution in 1991 , Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the Special Period , embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas . In the 2000s , Castro forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide – namely with Hugo Chávezs Venezuela – and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006 , Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro , who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008 . The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries , Castro polarized opinion throughout the world . His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cubas independence from U.S . hegemony . Critics call him a dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses , the exodus of many Cubans , and the impoverishment of the countrys economy . Castro was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced different individuals and groups across the world . Early life and career . Youth : 1926–1947 . Castro was born out of wedlock at his fathers farm on 13 August 1926 . His father , Ángel Castro y Argiz , a veteran of the Spanish–American War , was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia , in the northwest of Spain . He had become financially successful by growing sugar cane at Las Manacas farm in Birán , Oriente Province . After the collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant , Lina Ruz González – of Canarian origin – as his mistress and later second wife ; together they had seven children , among them Fidel . At age six , Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba , before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight . Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago , where he regularly misbehaved ; he was next sent to the privately funded , Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago . In 1945 , Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana . Although Castro took an interest in history , geography , and debate at Belén , he did not excel academically , instead devoting much of his time to playing sports . In 1945 , Castro began studying law at the University of Havana . Admitting he was politically illiterate , Castro became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university . After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing U.S . intervention in the Caribbean , he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of honesty , decency and justice . Castro became critical of the corruption and violence of President Ramón Graus government , delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that received coverage on the front page of several newspapers . In 1947 , Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People ( or Orthodox Party ; Partido Ortodoxo ) , founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás . A charismatic figure , Chibás advocated social justice , honest government , and political freedom , while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform . Though Chibás came third in the 1948 general election , Castro remained committed to working on his behalf . Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers , and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university . However , he refused to do so and began to carry a gun and surround himself with armed friends . In later years , anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time , but these accusations remain unproven . The American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote that Castro ...began his career as a revolutionary with no ideology at all : he was a student politician turned street fighter turned guerrilla , a voracious reader , an interminable speaker , and a pretty good baseball player . The only ideas that appear to have driven him were a lust for power , a willingness to use violent means to get it , and an unwillingness to share it once he had it . If he had followed any example , it was that of Napoleon , not Marx . Rebellion and Marxism : 1947–1950 . In June 1947 , Castro learned of a planned expedition to overthrow the right-wing government of Rafael Trujillo , a U.S . ally , in the Dominican Republic . Being President of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic , Castro joined the expedition . The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops , mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans , and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947 . Graus government stopped the invasion under U.S . pressure , although Castro and many of his comrades evaded arrest . Returning to Havana , Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards . The protests , accompanied by a crackdown on those considered communists , led to violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948 , in which Castro was badly beaten . At this point , his public speeches took on a distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba . In contrast , his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and U.S . imperialism . In April 1948 , Castro traveled to Bogotá , Colombia , leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Peróns Argentine government . There , the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting and clashes between the governing Conservatives – backed by the army – and leftist Liberals . Castro joined the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station , but subsequent police investigations concluded that he had not been involved in any killings . In April 1948 , the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogotá , leading to protests , which Castro joined . Returning to Cuba , Castro became a prominent figure in protests against government attempts to raise bus fares . That year , he married Mirta Díaz Balart , a student from a wealthy family , through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite . The relationship was a love match , disapproved of by both families , but Díaz Balarts father gave them tens of thousands of dollars , along with Batista , to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon . That same year , Grau decided not to stand for re-election , which was instead won by his Partido Auténticos new candidate , Carlos Prío Socarrás . Prío faced widespread protests when members of the MSR , now allied to the police force , assassinated Justo Fuentes , a socialist friend of Castros . In response , Prío agreed to quell the gangs , but found them too powerful to control . Castro had moved further to the left , influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin . He came to interpret Cubas problems as an integral part of capitalist society , or the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie , rather than the failings of corrupt politicians , and adopted the Marxist view that meaningful political change could only be brought about by proletariat revolution . Visiting Havanas poorest neighborhoods , he became active in the student anti-racist campaign . In September 1949 , Mirta gave birth to a son , Fidelito , so the couple moved to a larger Havana flat . Castro continued to put himself at risk , staying active in the citys politics and joining the 30 September Movement , which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo . The groups purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university ; despite his promises , Prío had failed to control the situation , instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries . Castro volunteered to deliver a speech for the Movement on 13 November , exposing the governments secret deals with the gangs and identifying key members . Attracting the attention of the national press , the speech angered the gangs and Castro fled into hiding , first in the countryside and then in the U.S . Returning to Havana several weeks later , Castro laid low and focused on his university studies , graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950 . Career in law and politics : 1950–1952 . Castro co-founded a legal partnership that primarily catered to poor Cubans , although it proved a financial failure . Caring little for money or material goods , Castro failed to pay his bills ; his furniture was repossessed and electricity cut off , distressing his wife . He took part in a high school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950 , fighting with police to protest the Education Ministrys ban on student associations ; he was arrested and charged for violent conduct , but the magistrate dismissed the charges . His hopes for Cuba still centered on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo , and he was present at Chibás politically motivated suicide in 1951 . Seeing himself as Chibás heir , Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections , though senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him . He was instead nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives by party members in Havanas poorest districts , and began campaigning . The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election . During his campaign , Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista , the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party . Batista offered him a place in his administration if he was successful ; although both opposed Príos administration , their meeting never got beyond polite generalities . On 10 March 1952 , Batista seized power in a military coup , with Prío fleeing to Mexico . Declaring himself president , Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections , describing his new system as disciplined democracy ; Castro was deprived of being elected in his run for office by Batistas move , and like many others , considered it a one-man dictatorship . Batista moved to the right , solidifying ties with both the wealthy elite and the United States , severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union , suppressing trade unions and persecuting Cuban socialist groups . Intent on opposing Batista , Castro brought several legal cases against the government , but these came to nothing , and Castro began thinking of alternate ways to oust the regime . Cuban Revolution . The Movement and the Moncada Barracks attack : 1952–1953 . Castro formed a group called The Movement which operated along a clandestine cell system , publishing underground newspaper El Acusador ( The Accuser ) , while arming and training anti-Batista recruits . From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive , gaining around 1,200 members in a year , the majority from Havanas poorer districts . Although a revolutionary socialist , Castro avoided an alliance with the communist Popular Socialist Party ( PSP ) , fearing it would frighten away political moderates , but kept in contact with PSP members like his brother Raúl . Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks , a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba , Oriente . Castros militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July , seizing control and raiding the armory before reinforcements arrived . Supplied with new weaponry , Castro intended to spark a revolution among Orientes impoverished cane cutters and promote further uprisings . Castros plan emulated those of the 19th-century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks ; Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader José Martí . Castro gathered 165 revolutionaries for the mission , ordering his troops not to cause bloodshed unless they met armed resistance . The attack took place on 26 July 1953 , but ran into trouble ; 3 of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there . Reaching the barracks , the alarm was raised , with most of the rebels pinned down by machine gun fire . Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat . The rebels suffered 6 fatalities and 15 other casualties , whilst the army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded . Meanwhile , some rebels took over a civilian hospital ; subsequently stormed by government soldiers , the rebels were rounded up , tortured and 22 were executed without trial . Accompanied by 19 comrades , Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north , where they could establish a guerrilla base . Responding to the attack , Batistas government proclaimed martial law , ordering a violent crackdown on dissent , and imposing strict media censorship . The government broadcast misinformation about the event , claiming that the rebels were communists who had killed hospital patients , although news and photographs of the armys use of torture and summary executions in Oriente soon spread , causing widespread public and some governmental disapproval . Over the following days , the rebels were rounded up ; some were executed and others – including Castro – transported to a prison north of Santiago . Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone , the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement , putting 122 defendants on trial on 21 September at the Palace of Justice , Santiago . Acting as his own defense counsel , Castro cited Martí as the intellectual author of the attack and convinced the three judges to overrule the armys decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court , proceeding to argue that the charge with which they were accused – of organizing an uprising of armed persons against the Constitutional Powers of the State – was incorrect , for they had risen up against Batista , who had seized power in an unconstitutional manner . The trial embarrassed the army by revealing that they had tortured suspects , after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further , claiming he was too ill . The trial ended on 5 October , with the acquittal of most defendants ; 55 were sentenced to prison terms of between 7 months and 13 years . Castro was sentenced on 16 October , during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under the title of History Will Absolve Me . Castro was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison ( Presidio Modelo ) , a relatively comfortable and modern institution on the Isla de Pinos . Imprisonment and 26 July Movement : 1953–1955 . Imprisoned with 25 comrades , Castro renamed his group the 26th of July Movement ( MR-26-7 ) in memory of the Moncada attacks date , and formed a school for prisoners . He read widely , enjoying the works of Marx , Lenin , and Martí but also reading books by Freud , Kant , Shakespeare , Munthe , Maugham , and Dostoyevsky , analyzing them within a Marxist framework . Corresponding with supporters , he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me . Initially permitted a relative amount of freedom within the prison , he was locked up in solitary confinement after inmates sang anti-Batista songs on a visit by the President in February 1954 . Meanwhile , Castros wife Mirta gained employment in the Ministry of the Interior , something he discovered through a radio announcement . Appalled , he raged that he would rather die a thousand times than suffer impotently from such an insult . Both Fidel and Mirta initiated divorce proceedings , with Mirta taking custody of their son Fidelito ; this angered Castro , who did not want his son growing up in a bourgeois environment . In 1954 , Batistas government held presidential elections , but no politician stood against him ; the election was widely considered fraudulent . It had allowed some political opposition to be voiced , and Castros supporters had agitated for an amnesty for the Moncada incidents perpetrators . Some politicians suggested an amnesty would be good publicity , and the Congress and Batista agreed . Backed by the U.S . and major corporations , Batista believed Castro to be no threat , and on 15 May 1955 , the prisoners were released . Returning to Havana , Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences ; the government closely monitored him , curtailing his activities . Now divorced , Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters , Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde , each conceiving him a child . Setting about strengthening the MR-26-7 , he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control , with some dissenters labeling him a caudillo ( dictator ) ; he argued that a successful revolution could not be run by committee and required a strong leader . In 1955 , bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent , with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest . Castro sent a letter to the press , declaring that he was leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me .. . As a follower of Martí , I believe the hour has come to take our rights and not beg for them , to fight instead of pleading for them . The Castros and several comrades traveled to Mexico , where Raúl befriended an Argentine doctor and Marxist–Leninist named Ernesto Che Guevara , who was working as a journalist and photographer for Agencia Latina de Noticias . Fidel liked him , later describing him as a more advanced revolutionary than I was . Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo , who agreed to teach Castros rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare . Requiring funding , Castro toured the U.S . in search of wealthy sympathizers , there being monitored by Batistas agents , who allegedly orchestrated a failed assassination attempt against him . Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba , where they had gained a large support base in Oriente . Other militant anti-Batista groups had sprung up , primarily from the student movement ; most notable was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil ( DRE ) , founded by José Antonio Echeverría . Antonio met with Castro in Mexico City , but Castro opposed the students support for indiscriminate assassination . After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma , on 25 November 1956 , Castro set sail from Tuxpan , Veracruz , with 81 armed revolutionaries . The crossing to Cuba was harsh , with food running low and many suffering seasickness . At some points , they had to bail water caused by a leak , and at another , a man fell overboard , delaying their journey . The plan had been for the crossing to take five days , and on the Granmas scheduled day of arrival , 30 November , MR-26-7 members under Frank País led an armed uprising in Santiago and Manzanillo . However , the Granmas journey ultimately lasted seven days , and with Castro and his men unable to provide reinforcements , País and his militants dispersed after two days of intermittent attacks . Guerrilla war : 1956–1959 . The Granma ran aground in a mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas , close to Los Cayuelos , on 2 December 1956 . Fleeing inland , its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Orientes Sierra Maestra , being repeatedly attacked by Batistas troops . Upon arrival , Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination , the rest having been killed or captured . Setting up an encampment , the survivors included the Castros , Che Guevara , and Camilo Cienfuegos . They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry , and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata , treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio , the local mayoral ( land company overseer ) , who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castros rebels . Osorios execution aided the rebels in gaining the trust of locals , although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries . As trust grew , some locals joined the rebels , although most new recruits came from urban areas . With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200 , in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns , commanded by himself , his brother , and Guevara . The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation , sending supplies to Castro , and on 16 February 1957 , he met with other senior members to discuss tactics ; here he met Celia Sánchez , who would become a close friend . Across Cuba , anti-Batista groups carried out bombings and sabotage ; police responded with mass arrests , torture , and extrajudicial executions . In March 1957 , the DRE launched a failed attack on the presidential palace , during which Antonio was shot dead . Batistas government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cubas cities under control . In the Sierra Maestra mountains , Castro was joined by Frank Sturgis who offered to train Castros troops in guerrilla warfare . Castro accepted the offer , but he also had an immediate need for guns and ammunition , so Sturgis became a gunrunner . Sturgis purchased boatloads of weapons and ammunition from Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) weapons expert Samuel Cummings International Armament Corporation in Alexandria , Virginia . Sturgis opened a training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains , where he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare . Frank País was also killed , leaving Castro the MR-26-7s unchallenged leader . Although Guevara and Raúl were well known for their Marxist–Leninist views , Castro hid his , hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries . In 1957 he met with leading members of the Partido Ortodoxo , Raúl Chibás and Felipe Pazos , authoring the Sierra Maestra Manifesto , in which they demanded that a provisional civilian government be set up to implement moderate agrarian reform , industrialization , and a literacy campaign before holding multiparty elections . As Cubas press was censored , Castro contacted foreign media to spread his message ; he became a celebrity after being interviewed by Herbert Matthews , a journalist from The New York Times . Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed . Castros guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts , forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region , and by spring 1958 , the rebels controlled a hospital , schools , a printing press , slaughterhouse , land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory . By 1958 , Batista was under increasing pressure , a result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administrations press censorship , torture , and extrajudicial executions . Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens , the U.S . government ceased supplying him with weaponry . The opposition called a general strike , accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7 . Beginning on 9 April , it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba , but little elsewhere . Batista responded with an all-out-attack , Operation Verano , in which the army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants , while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra , driving north to the rebel encampments . Despite their numerical and technological superiority , the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare , and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes . Many of Batistas soldiers defected to Castros rebels , who also benefited from local popular support . In the summer , the MR-26-7 went on the offensive , pushing the army out of the mountains , with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago . By November , Castros forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas , and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines , severely disadvantaging Batista . Fearing Castro was a socialist , the U.S . instructed Cantillo to oust Batista . By this time the great majority of Cuban people had turned against the Batista regime . Ambassador to Cuba , E . T . Smith , who felt the whole CIA mission had become too close to the MR-26-7 movement , personally went to Batista and informed him that the U.S . would no longer support him and felt he no longer could control the situation in Cuba . General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro , promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal ; however , Batista was warned , and fled into exile with over US$300,000,000 on 31 December 1958 . Cantillo entered Havanas Presidential Palace , proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president , and began appointing the new government . Furious , Castro ended the ceasefire , and ordered Cantillos arrest by sympathetic figures in the army . Accompanying celebrations at news of Batistas downfall on 1 January 1959 , Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism . Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January , while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence . Heading toward Havana , he greeted cheering crowds at every town , giving press conferences and interviews . Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959 . Provisional government : 1959 . At Castros command , the politically moderate lawyer Manuel Urrutia Lleó was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced ( falsely ) that Urrutia had been selected by popular election . Most of Urrutias cabinet were MR-26-7 members . Entering Havana , Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency , setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel . Castro exercised a great deal of influence over Urrutias regime , which was now ruling by decree . He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office . He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties ; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections . Although repeatedly denying that he was a communist to the press , he began clandestinely meeting members of the PSP to discuss the creation of a socialist state . In suppressing the revolution , Batistas government had killed thousands of Cubans ; Castro and influential sectors of the press put the death toll at 20,000 , but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants . More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000 . In response to popular uproar , which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice , Castro helped to set up many trials , resulting in hundreds of executions . Although popular domestically , critics—in particular the U.S . press , argued that many were not fair trials . Castro responded that revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts , but on moral conviction . Acclaimed by many across Latin America , he traveled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect Rómulo Betancourt , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil . Returning home , an argument between Castro and senior government figures broke out . He was infuriated that the government had left thousands unemployed by closing down casinos and brothels . As a result , Prime Minister José Miró Cardona resigned , going into exile in the U.S . and joining the anti-Castro movement . Premiership . Consolidating leadership : 1959–1960 . On 16 February 1959 , Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba . In April , he visited the U.S . on a charm offensive where President Dwight D . Eisenhower would not meet with him , but instead sent Vice President Richard Nixon , whom Castro instantly disliked . After meeting Castro , Nixon described him to Eisenhower as : The one fact we can be sure of is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men . Whatever we may think of him he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally . He seems to be sincere . He is either incredibly naive about Communism or under Communist discipline-my guess is the former...His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure I have met in fifty countries . But because he has the power to lead...we have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction . Proceeding to Canada , Trinidad , Brazil , Uruguay and Argentina , Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires , unsuccessfully proposing a $30 billion U.S.-funded Marshall Plan for Latin America . In May 1959 , Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform , setting a cap for landholdings to per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership . Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up ; popular among the working class , it alienated the richer landowners , including Castros own mother , whose farmlands were taken . Within a year , Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 percent of the nations wealth , declaring that the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters . Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry , introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit , advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of racial discrimination . Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised , and in March 1959 , Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $100 a month halved . The Cuban government also began to expropriate the casinos and properties from mafia leaders and taking millions in cash . Before he died Meyer Lansky said Cuba ruined him . In the summer of 1959 , Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners . He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled . He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement , over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities . Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being a communist , Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions . Most significantly , Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries . President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism . Angered , Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 July—blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his fevered anti-Communism . Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded the Presidential Palace demanding Urrutias resignation , which he submitted . On 23 July , Castro resumed his Premiership and appointed Marxist Osvaldo Dorticós as president . Castros government emphasised social projects to improve Cubas standard of living , often to the detriment of economic development . Major emphasis was placed on education , and during the first 30 months of Castros government , more classrooms were opened than in the previous 30 years . The Cuban primary education system offered a work-study program , with half of the time spent in the classroom , and the other half in a productive activity . Health care was nationalized and expanded , with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid . Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented , and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically . A third part of this social program was the improvement of infrastructure . Within the first six months of Castros government , of roads were built across the island , while $300 million was spent on water and sanitation projects . Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness , while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for the disabled and elderly . Castro used radio and television to develop a dialogue with the people , posing questions and making provocative statements . His regime remained popular with workers , peasants , and students , who constituted the majority of the countrys population , while opposition came primarily from the middle class ; thousands of doctors , engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in the U.S. , causing an economic brain drain . Productivity decreased and the countrys financial reserves were drained within two years . After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government , the pro-Castro printers trade union disrupted editorial staff , and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a clarification written by the printers union at the end of articles critical of the government . Castros government arrested hundreds of counter-revolutionaries , many of whom were subjected to solitary confinement , rough treatment , and threatening behavior . Militant anti-Castro groups , funded by exiles , the CIA , and the Dominican government , undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cubas mountains , leading to the six-year Escambray Rebellion . At the time , 1960 , the Cold War raged between two superpowers : the United States , a capitalist liberal democracy , and the Soviet Union ( USSR ) , a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the Communist Party . Expressing contempt for the U.S. , Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR , establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states . Meeting with Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan , Castro agreed to provide the USSR with sugar , fruit , fibers , and hides in return for crude oil , fertilizers , industrial goods , and a $100 million loan . Cubas government ordered the countrys refineries – then controlled by the U.S . corporations Shell and Esso – to process Soviet oil , but under U.S . pressure they refused . Castro responded by expropriating and nationalizing the refineries . Retaliating , the U.S . cancelled its import of Cuban sugar , provoking Castro to nationalize most U.S.-owned assets on the island , including banks and sugar mills . Relations between Cuba and the U.S . were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel , the La Coubre , in Havana harbor in March 1960 . The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium , and the cause of the explosion was never determined , but Castro publicly insinuated that the U.S . government was guilty of sabotage . He ended this speech with ¡Patria o Muerte ! ( Fatherland or Death ) , a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years . Inspired by their earlier success with the 1954 Guatemalan coup détat , in March 1960 , U.S . President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castros government . He provided them with a budget of $13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia , who were aggrieved that Castros government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba . On 13 October 1960 , the U.S . prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba , initiating an economic embargo . In retaliation , the National Institute for Agrarian Reform INRA took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October , and on 25 October a further 166 U.S . companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized . On 16 December , the U.S . ended its import quota of Cuban sugar , the countrys primary export . United Nations . In September 1960 , Castro flew to New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations . Staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like Malcolm X . Castro had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor African-American population living there , thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him . He also met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev , with the two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem . Relations between Castro and Khrushchev were warm ; they led the applause to one anothers speeches at the General Assembly . The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly rancorous one with Khrushchev famously banging his shoe against his desk to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong , which set the general tone for the debates and speeches . Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly , speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America . Subsequently , visited by Polish First Secretary Władysław Gomułka , Bulgarian First Secretary Todor Zhivkov , Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru , Castro also received an evenings reception from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee . Back in Cuba , Castro feared a U.S.-backed coup ; in 1959 his regime spent $120 million on Soviet , French , and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cubas armed forces . Fearing counter-revolutionary elements in the army , the government created a Peoples Militia to arm citizens favorable to the revolution , training at least 50,000 civilians in combat techniques . In September 1960 , they created the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution ( CDR ) , a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighborhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns , becoming a conduit for public complaints . By 1970 , a third of the population would be involved in the CDR , and this would eventually rise to 80% . Despite the fear of a coup , Castro garnered support in New York City . On 18 February 1961 , 400 people – mainly Cubans , Puerto Ricans , and college students – picketed in the rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castros anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States power over Cuba . The protesters held up signs that read , Mr . Kennedy , Cuba is Not For Sale. , Viva Fidel Castro ! and Down With Yankee Imperialism! . Around 200 policemen were on the scene , but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castros socialist movement . Some Americans disagreed with President John F . Kennedys decision to ban trade with Cuba , and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics . Castro proclaimed the new administration a direct democracy , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will . As a result , he rejected the need for elections , claiming that representative democratic systems served the interests of socio-economic elites . U.S . Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule , with a one-party state , government control of trade unions , suppression of civil liberties , and the absence of freedom of speech and press . Bay of Pigs Invasion and Socialist Cuba : 1961–1962 . In January 1961 , Castro ordered Havanas U.S . Embassy to reduce its 300-member staff , suspecting that many of them were spies . The U.S . responded by ending diplomatic relations , and it increased CIA funding for exiled dissidents ; these militants began attacking ships that traded with Cuba , and bombed factories , shops , and sugar mills . Both President Eisenhower and his successor President Kennedy supported a CIA plan to aid a dissident militia , the Democratic Revolutionary Front , to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro ; the plan resulted in the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 . On 15 April , CIA-supplied B-26s bombed three Cuban military airfields ; the U.S . announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots , but Castro exposed these claims as false flag misinformation . Fearing invasion , he ordered the arrest of between 20,000 and 100,000 suspected counter-revolutionaries , publicly proclaiming , What the imperialists cannot forgive us , is that we have made a Socialist revolution under their noses , his first announcement that the government was socialist . The CIA and the Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army , Brigade 2506 , in Nicaragua . On the night of 16 to 17 April , Brigade 2506 landed along Cubas Bay of Pigs and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia . Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive , before taking personal control of it . After bombing the invaders ships and bringing in reinforcements , Castro forced the Brigade to surrender on 20 April . He ordered the 1189 captured rebels to be interrogated by a panel of journalists on live television , personally taking over the questioning on 25 April . Fourteen were put on trial for crimes allegedly committed before the revolution , while the others were returned to the U.S . in exchange for medicine and food valued at U.S . $25 million . Castros victory reverberated across the world , especially in Latin America , but it also increased internal opposition primarily among the middle-class Cubans who had been detained in the run-up to the invasion . Although most were freed within a few days , many fled to the U.S. , establishing themselves in Florida . Consolidating Socialist Cuba , Castro united the MR-26-7 , PSP and Revolutionary Directorate into a governing party based on the Leninist principle of democratic centralism : the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations ( Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas – ORI ) , renamed the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution ( PURSC ) in 1962 . Although the USSR was hesitant regarding Castros embrace of socialism , relations with the Soviets deepened . Castro sent Fidelito for a Moscow schooling , Soviet technicians arrived on the island , and Castro was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize . In December 1961 , Castro admitted that he had been a Marxist–Leninist for years , and in his Second Declaration of Havana he called on Latin America to rise up in revolution . In response , the U.S . successfully pushed the Organization of American States to expel Cuba ; the Soviets privately reprimanded Castro for recklessness , although he received praise from China . Despite their ideological affinity with China , in the Sino-Soviet split , Cuba allied with the wealthier Soviets , who offered economic and military aid . The ORI began shaping Cuba using the Soviet model , persecuting political opponents and perceived social deviants such as prostitutes and homosexuals ; Castro considered same-sex sexual activity a bourgeois trait . Gay men were forced into the Military Units to Aid Production ( Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción – UMAP ) ; after many revolutionary intellectuals decried this move , the UMAP camps were closed in 1967 , although gay men continued to be imprisoned . By 1962 , Cubas economy was in steep decline , a result of poor economic management and low productivity coupled with the U.S . trade embargo . Food shortages led to rationing , resulting in protests in Cárdenas . Security reports indicated that many Cubans associated austerity with the Old Communists of the PSP , while Castro considered a number of them – namely Aníbal Escalante and Blas Roca – unduly loyal to Moscow . In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent Old Communists from office , labelling them sectarian . On a personal level , Castro was increasingly lonely , and his relations with Guevara became strained as the latter became increasingly anti-Soviet and pro-Chinese . Cuban Missile Crisis and furthering socialism : 1962–1968 . Militarily weaker than NATO , Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12 MRBM nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance . Although conflicted , Castro agreed , believing it would guarantee Cubas safety and enhance the cause of socialism . Undertaken in secrecy , only the Castro brothers , Guevara , Dorticós and security chief Ramiro Valdés knew the full plan . Upon discovering it through aerial reconnaissance , in October the U.S . implemented an island-wide quarantine to search vessels headed to Cuba , sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis . The U.S . saw the missiles as offensive ; Castro insisted they were for defense only . Castro urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the U.S . if Cuba were invaded , but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war . Castro was left out of the negotiations , in which Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S . commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that the U.S . would remove their MRBMs from Turkey and Italy . Feeling betrayed by Khrushchev , Castro was furious and soon fell ill . Proposing a five-point plan , Castro demanded that the U.S . end its embargo , withdraw from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , cease supporting dissidents , and stop violating Cuban air space and territorial waters . He presented these demands to U Thant , visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations , but the U.S . ignored them . In turn Castro refused to allow the U.N.s inspection team into Cuba . In May 1963 , Castro visited the USSR at Khrushchevs personal invitation , touring 14 cities , addressing a Red Square rally , and being awarded both the Order of Lenin and an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University . Castro returned to Cuba with new ideas ; inspired by Soviet newspaper Pravda , he amalgamated Hoy and Revolución into a new daily , Granma , and oversaw large investment into Cuban sport that resulted in an increased international sporting reputation . Seeking to further consolidate control , in 1963 the government cracked down on Protestant sects in Cuba , with Castro labeling them counter-revolutionary instruments of imperialism ; many preachers were found guilty of illegal U.S.-links and imprisoned . Measures were implemented to force perceived idle and delinquent youths to work , primarily through the introduction of mandatory military service . In September , the government temporarily permitted emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26 , thereby ridding the government of thousands of critics , most of whom were from upper and middle-class backgrounds . In 1963 , Castros mother died . This was the last time his private life was reported in Cubas press . In January 1964 , Castro returned to Moscow , officially to sign a new five-year sugar trade agreement , but also to discuss the ramifications of the assassination of John F . Kennedy . Castro was deeply concerned by the assassination , believing that a far-right conspiracy was behind it but that the Cubans would be blamed . In October 1965 , the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the Cuban Communist Party and published the membership of its Central Committee . Despite Soviet misgivings , Castro continued to call for global revolution , funding militant leftists and those engaged in national liberation struggles . Cubas foreign policy was strongly anti-imperialist , believing that every nation should control its own natural resources . He supported Che Guevaras Andean project , an unsuccessful plan to set up a guerrilla movement in the highlands of Bolivia , Peru and Argentina . He allowed revolutionary groups from across the world , from the Viet Cong to the Black Panthers , to train in Cuba . He considered Western-dominated Africa to be ripe for revolution , and sent troops and medics to aid Ahmed Ben Bellas socialist regime in Algeria during the Sand War . He also allied with Alphonse Massamba-Débats socialist government in Congo-Brazzaville . In 1965 , Castro authorized Che Guevara to travel to Congo-Kinshasa to train revolutionaries against the Western-backed government . Castro was personally devastated when Guevara was killed by CIA-backed troops in Bolivia in October 1967 and publicly attributed it to Guevaras disregard for his own safety . In 1966 , Castro staged a Tri-Continental Conference of Africa , Asia and Latin America in Havana , further establishing himself as a significant player on the world stage . From this conference , Castro created the Latin American Solidarity Organization ( OLAS ) , which adopted the slogan of The duty of a revolution is to make revolution , signifying Havanas leadership of Latin Americas revolutionary movement . Castros increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the USSR , now under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev . Asserting Cubas independence , Castro refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , declaring it a Soviet-U.S . attempt to dominate the Third World . Diverting from Soviet Marxist doctrine , he suggested that Cuban society could evolve straight to pure communism rather than gradually progress through various stages of socialism . In turn , the Soviet-loyalist Aníbal Escalante began organizing a government network of opposition to Castro , though in January 1968 , he and his supporters were arrested for allegedly passing state secrets to Moscow . Recognising Cubas economic dependence on the Soviets , Castro relented to Brezhnevs pressure to be obedient , and in August 1968 he denounced the leaders of the Prague Spring and praised the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . Influenced by Chinas Great Leap Forward , in 1968 Castro proclaimed a Great Revolutionary Offensive , closing all remaining privately owned shops and businesses and denouncing their owners as capitalist counter-revolutionaries . The severe lack of consumer goods for purchase led productivity to decline , as large sectors of the population felt little incentive to work hard . This was exacerbated by the perception that a revolutionary elite had emerged , consisting of those connected to the administration ; they had access to better housing , private transportation , servants , and the ability to purchase luxury goods abroad . Economic stagnation and Third World politics : 1969–1974 . Castro publicly celebrated his administrations 10th anniversary in January 1969 ; in his celebratory speech he warned of sugar rations , reflecting the nations economic problems . The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane , and to meet its export quota , the government drafted in the army , implemented a seven-day working week , and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest . When that years production quota was not met , Castro offered to resign during a public speech , but assembled crowds insisted he remain . Despite the economic issues , many of Castros social reforms were popular , with the population largely supportive of the Achievements of the Revolution in education , medical care , housing , and road construction , as well as the policies of direct democratic public consultation . Seeking Soviet help , from 1970 to 1972 Soviet economists re-organized Cubas economy , founding the Cuban-Soviet Commission of Economic , Scientific and Technical Collaboration , while Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin visited in October 1971 . In July 1972 , Cuba joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( Comecon ) , an economic organization of socialist states , although this further limited Cubas economy to agricultural production . In May 1970 , the crews of two Cuban fishing boats were kidnapped by Florida-based dissident group Alpha 66 , who demanded that Cuba release imprisoned militants . Under U.S . pressure , the hostages were released , and Castro welcomed them back as heroes . In April 1971 , Castro was internationally condemned for ordering the arrest of dissident poet Heberto Padilla who had been arrested 20 March ; Padilla was freed , but the government established the National Cultural Council to ensure that intellectuals and artists supported the administration . In November 1971 , Castro visited Chile , where Marxist President Salvador Allende had been elected as the head of a left-wing coalition . Castro supported Allendes socialist reforms , but warned him of right-wing elements in Chiles military . In 1973 , the military led a coup détat and established a military junta led by Augusto Pinochet . Castro proceeded to Guinea to meet socialist President Sékou Touré , praising him as Africas greatest leader , and there received the Order of Fidelity to the People . He then went on a seven-week tour visiting leftist allies : Algeria , Bulgaria , Hungary , Poland , East Germany , Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union , where he was given further awards . On each trip , he was eager to visit factory and farm workers , publicly praising their governments ; privately , he urged the regimes to aid revolutionary movements elsewhere , particularly those fighting the Vietnam War . In September 1973 , he returned to Algiers to attend the Fourth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) . Various NAM members were critical of Castros attendance , claiming that Cuba was aligned to the Warsaw Pact and therefore should not be at the conference . At the conference he publicly broke off relations with Israel , citing its governments close relationship with the U.S . and its treatment of Palestinians during the Israel–Palestine conflict . This earned Castro respect throughout the Arab world , in particular from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi , who became a friend and ally . As the Yom Kippur War broke out in October 1973 between Israel and an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria , Cuba sent 4,000 troops to aid Syria . Leaving Algiers , Castro visited Iraq and North Vietnam . Cubas economy grew in 1974 as a result of high international sugar prices and new credits with Argentina , Canada , and parts of Western Europe . A number of Latin American states called for Cubas re-admittance into the Organization of American States ( OAS ) , with the U.S . finally conceding in 1975 on Henry Kissingers advice . Cubas government underwent a restructuring along Soviet lines , claiming that this would further democratization and decentralize power away from Castro . Officially announcing Cubas identity as a socialist state , the first National Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held , and a new constitution drafted that abolished the position of President and Prime Minister . Castro remained the dominant figure in governance , taking the presidency of the newly created Council of State and Council of Ministers , making him both head of state and head of government . Presidency . Foreign wars and NAM Presidency : 1975–1979 . Castro considered Africa to be the weakest link in the imperialist chain , and at the request of Angolan President Agostinho Neto he ordered 230 military advisers into Angola in November 1975 to aid Netos Marxist MPLA in the Angolan Civil War . When the U.S . and South Africa stepped up their support of the opposition FLNA and UNITA , Castro ordered a further 18,000 troops to Angola , which played a major role in forcing a South African and UNITA retreat . The decision to intervene in Angola has been a controversial one , all the more so as Castros critics have charged that it was not his decision at all , contending that the Soviets ordered him to do so . Castro always maintained that he took the decision to launch Operation Carlota himself in response to an appeal from Neto and that the Soviets were in fact opposed to Cuban intervention in Angola , which took place over their opposition . Traveling to Angola , Castro celebrated with Neto , Sékou Touré and Guinea-Bissaun President Luís Cabral , where they agreed to support Mozambiques Marxist–Leninist government against RENAMO in the Mozambican Civil War . In February , Castro visited Algeria and then Libya , where he spent ten days with Gaddafi and oversaw the establishment of the Jamahariya system of governance , before attending talks with the Marxist government of South Yemen . From there he proceeded to Somalia , Tanzania , Mozambique and Angola where he was greeted by crowds as a hero for Cubas role in opposing apartheid South Africa . Throughout much of Africa he was hailed as a friend to national liberation from foreign dominance . This was followed with visits to East Berlin and Moscow . In 1977 the Ogaden War broke out over the disputed Ogaden region as Somalia invaded Ethiopia ; although a former ally of Somali President Siad Barre , Castro had warned him against such action , and Cuba sided with Mengistu Haile Mariams Marxist government of Ethiopia . In an desperate attempt to stop the war , Castro had a summit with Barre where he proposed a federation of Ethiopia , Somalia , and South Yemen as an alternative to war . Barre who saw seizing the Ogaden as the first step towards creating a greater Somalia that would unite all of the Somalis into one state rejected the federation offer , and decided upon war . Castro sent troops under the command of General Arnaldo Ochoa to aid the overwhelmed Ethiopian army . Mengistus regime was barely hanging on by 1977 , having lost one-third of its army in Eritrea at the time of the Somali invasion . The intervention of 17 , 000 Cuban troops into the Ogaden was by all accounts decisive in altering a war that Ethiopia was on the brink of losing into a victory . After forcing back the Somalis , Mengistu then ordered the Ethiopians to suppress the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front , a measure Castro refused to support . Castro extended support to Latin American revolutionary movements , namely the Sandinista National Liberation Front in its overthrow of the Nicaraguan rightist government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 . Castros critics accused the government of wasting Cuban lives in these military endeavors ; the anti-Castro Center for a Free Cuba has claimed that an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in foreign Cuban military actions . When American critics claimed that Castro had no right to interfere in these nations , he countered that Cuba had been invited into them , pointing out the U.S . own involvement in various foreign nations . Between 1979 and 1991 about 370 , 000 Cuban troops together with 50 , 000 Cuban civilians ( mostly teachers and doctors ) served in Angola , representing about 5% of Cubas population . The Cuban intervention in Angola was envisioned as a short-term commitment , but the Angolan government used the profits from the oil industry to subsidize Cubas economy , making Cuba as economically dependent upon Angola as Angola was militarily dependent upon Cuba . In the late 1970s , Cubas relations with North American states improved during the period with Mexican President Luis Echeverría , Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , and U.S . President Jimmy Carter in power . Carter continued criticizing Cubas human rights abuses , but adopted a respectful approach which gained Castros attention . Considering Carter well-meaning and sincere , Castro freed certain political prisoners and allowed some Cuban exiles to visit relatives on the island , hoping that in turn Carter would abolish the economic embargo and stop CIA support for militant dissidents . Conversely , his relationship with China declined , as he accused Deng Xiaopings Chinese government of betraying their revolutionary principles by initiating trade links with the U.S . and attacking Vietnam . In 1979 , the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) was held in Havana , where Castro was selected as NAM president , a position he held until 1982 . In his capacity as both President of the NAM and of Cuba he appeared at the United Nations General Assembly in October 1979 and gave a speech on the disparity between the worlds rich and poor . His speech was greeted with much applause from other world leaders , though his standing in NAM was damaged by Cubas refusal to condemn the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan . Reagan and Gorbachev : 1980–1991 . By the 1980s , Cubas economy was again in trouble , following a decline in the market price of sugar and 1979s decimated harvest . For the first time , unemployment became a serious problem in Castros Cuba , with the government sending unemployed youth to other countries , primarily East Germany , to work there . Desperate for money , Cubas government secretly sold off paintings from national collections and illicitly traded for U.S . electronic goods through Panama . Increasing numbers of Cubans fled to Florida , but were labelled scum and lumpen by Castro and his CDR supporters . In one incident , 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian Embassy requesting asylum , and so the U.S . agreed that it would accept 3,500 refugees . Castro conceded that those who wanted to leave could do so from Mariel port . Hundreds of boats arrived from the U.S. , leading to a mass exodus of 120,000 ; Castros government took advantage of the situation by loading criminals , the mentally ill , and suspected homosexuals onto the boats destined for Florida . The event destabilized Carters administration , and later , in 1980 , Ronald Reagan was elected U.S . president . Reagans administration adopted a hard-line approach against Castro , making its desire to overthrow his regime clear . In late 1981 , Castro publicly accused the U.S . of biological warfare against Cuba by orchestrating a dengue fever epidemic . Cubas economy became even more dependent on Soviet aid , with Soviet subsidies ( mainly in the form of supplies of low-cost oil and voluntarily buying Cuban sugar at inflated prices ) averaging $4–5 billion a year by the late 1980s . This accounted for 30–38% of the countrys entire GDP . Soviet economic assistance had not helped Cubas long-term growth prospects by promoting diversification or sustainability . Although described as a relatively highly developed Latin American export economy in 1959 and the early 1960s , Cubas basic economic structure changed very little between then and the 1980s . Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cubas leading exports , and even these are produced by a pre-industrial process . The Cuban economy remained highly inefficient and over-specialized in a few highly subsidized commodities provided by the Soviet bloc countries . Although despising Argentinas right wing military junta , Castro supported them in the 1982 Falklands War against Britain and offered military aid to the Argentinians . Castro supported the leftist New Jewel Movement that seized power in Grenada in 1979 , befriending Grenadine President Maurice Bishop and sending doctors , teachers , and technicians to aid the countrys development . When Bishop was executed in a Soviet-backed coup by hard-line Marxist Bernard Coard in October 1983 , Castro condemned the killing but cautiously retained support for Grenadas government . However , the U.S . used the coup as a basis for invading the island . Cuban soldiers died in the conflict , with Castro denouncing the invasion and comparing the U.S . to Nazi Germany . In a July 1983 speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution , Castro condemned Reagans administration as a reactionary , extremist clique who were waging an openly warmongering and fascist foreign policy . Castro feared a U.S . invasion of Nicaragua and sent Ochoa to train the governing Sandinistas in guerrilla warfare , but received little support from the USSR . In 1985 , Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party . A reformer , he implemented measures to increase freedom of the press ( glasnost ) and economic decentralization ( perestroika ) in an attempt to strengthen socialism . Like many orthodox Marxist critics , Castro feared that the reforms would weaken the socialist state and allow capitalist elements to regain control . Gorbachev conceded to U.S . demands to reduce support for Cuba , with Soviet-Cuban relations deteriorating . On medical advice given him in October 1985 , Castro gave up regularly smoking Cuban cigars , helping to set an example for the rest of the populace . Castro became passionate in his denunciation of the Third World debt problem , arguing that the Third World would never escape the debt that First World banks and governments imposed upon it . In 1985 , Havana hosted five international conferences on the world debt problem . By November 1987 , Castro began spending more time on the Angolan Civil War , in which the Marxists had fallen into retreat . Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos successfully appealed for more Cuban troops , with Castro later admitting that he devoted more time to Angola than to the domestic situation , believing that a victory would lead to the collapse of apartheid . In response to the siege of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987–1988 by South African-UNITA forces , Castro sent an additional 12 , 000 Cuban Army troops to Angola in late 1987 . From afar in Havana , Castro was closely involved in the decision-making about the defense of Cuito Cuanavle and came into conflict with Ochoa , whom he criticized for almost losing Cuito Cuanavle to a South African assault on 13 January 1988 despite warning for almost two months prior that such an attack was coming . On 30 January 1988 , Ochoa was summoned to a meeting with Castro in Havana where he was told that Cuito Cuanavale must not fall and to execute Castros plans for a pull-back to more defensible positions over the objections of the Angolans . The Cuban troops played a decisive role in the relief of Cuito Cuanavale , breaking the siege in March 1988 , which led to the withdrawal of most of the South African troops from Angola . Cuban propaganda turned the siege of Cuito Cuanavle into a decisive victory that changed the course of African history and Castro awarded 82 soldiers medals of the newly created Medal of Merit for the Defense of Cuito Cuanavle on 1 April 1988 . Tensions were increased with the Cubans advancing close to the border of Namibia , which led to warnings from the South African government that they considered this an extremely unfriendly act , causing South Africa to mobilize and call up its reserves . In the spring of 1988 , the intensity of South African-Cuban fighting drastically increased with both sides taking heavy losses . The prospect of an all-out Cuban-South African war served to concentrate minds in both Moscow and Washington and led to an increased push for a diplomatic solution to the Angolan war . The cost of Cubas wars in Africa were paid for with Soviet subsidies at a time when the Soviet economy was badly hurt by low oil prices while the white supremacist government of South Africa had by the 1980s became a very awkward American ally as much of the American population , especially black Americans , objected to apartheid . From the viewpoint of both Moscow and Washington , having both Cuba and South Africa disengage in Angola was the best possible outcome . The low oil prices of the 1980s had also changed the Angolan attitude about subsidizing the Cuban economy as dos Santos found the promises made in the 1970s when oil prices were high to be a serious drain upon Angolas economy in the 1980s . South African whites were vastly outnumbered by South African blacks , and accordingly the South African Army could not take heavy losses with its white troops as that would fatally weaken the ability of the South African state to uphold apartheid . The Cubans had also taken heavy losses while the increasing difficult relations with dos Santos who become less generous in subsidizing the Cuban economy suggested that such losses were not worth the cost . Gorbachev called for a negotiated end to the conflict and in 1988 organized a quadripartite talks between the USSR , U.S. , Cuba and South Africa ; they agreed that all foreign troops would pull out of Angola while South Africa agreed to grant independence to Namibia . Castro was angered by Gorbachevs approach , believing that he was abandoning the plight of the worlds poor in favor of détente . When Gorbachev visited Cuba in April 1989 , he informed Castro that perestroika meant an end to subsidies for Cuba . Ignoring calls for liberalization in accordance with the Soviet example , Castro continued to clamp down on internal dissidents and in particular kept tabs on the military , the primary threat to the government . A number of senior military officers , including Ochoa and Tony de la Guardia , were investigated for corruption and complicity in cocaine smuggling , tried , and executed in 1989 , despite calls for leniency . In Eastern Europe , socialist governments fell to capitalist reformers between 1989 and 1991 and many Western observers expected the same in Cuba . Increasingly isolated , Cuba improved relations with Manuel Noriegas right-wing government in Panama – despite Castros personal hatred of Noriega – but it was overthrown in a U.S . invasion in December 1989 . In February 1990 , Castros allies in Nicaragua , President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas , were defeated by the U.S.-funded National Opposition Union in an election . With the collapse of the Soviet bloc , the U.S . secured a majority vote for a resolution condemning Cubas human rights violations at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva , Switzerland . Cuba asserted that this was a manifestation of U.S . hegemony , and refused to allow an investigative delegation to enter the country . Special Period : 1992–2000 . With favourable trade from the Soviet bloc ended , Castro publicly declared that Cuba was entering a Special Period in Time of Peace . Petrol rations were dramatically reduced , Chinese bicycles were imported to replace cars , and factories performing non-essential tasks were shut down . Oxen began to replace tractors , firewood began being used for cooking and electricity cuts were introduced that lasted 16 hours a day . Castro admitted that Cuba faced the worst situation short of open war , and that the country might have to resort to subsistence farming . By 1992 , Cubas economy had declined by over 40% in under two years , with major food shortages , widespread malnutrition and a lack of basic goods . Castro hoped for a restoration of Marxism–Leninism in the USSR , but refrained from backing the 1991 coup in that country . When Gorbachev regained control , Cuba-Soviet relations deteriorated further and Soviet troops were withdrawn in September 1991 . In December , the Soviet Union was officially dissolved as Boris Yeltsin abolished the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and introducing a capitalist multiparty democracy . Yeltsin despised Castro and developed links with the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation . Castro tried improving relations with the capitalist nations . He welcomed Western politicians and investors to Cuba , befriended Manuel Fraga and took a particular interest in Margaret Thatchers policies in the UK , believing that Cuban socialism could learn from her emphasis on low taxation and personal initiative . He ceased support for foreign militants , refrained from praising FARC on a 1994 visit to Colombia and called for a negotiated settlement between the Zapatistas and Mexican government in 1995 . Publicly , he presented himself as a moderate on the world stage . In 1991 , Havana hosted the Pan American Games , which involved construction of a stadium and accommodation for the athletes ; Castro admitted that it was an expensive error , but it was a success for Cubas government . Crowds regularly shouted Fidel ! Fidel ! in front of foreign journalists , while Cuba became the first Latin American nation to beat the U.S . to the top of the gold-medal table . Support for Castro remained strong , and although there were small anti-government demonstrations , the Cuban opposition rejected the exile communitys calls for an armed uprising . In August 1994 , Havana witnessed the largest anti-Castro demonstration in Cuban history , as 200 to 300 young men threw stones at police , demanding that they be allowed to emigrate to Miami . A larger pro-Castro crowd confronted them , who were joined by Castro ; he informed media that the men were anti-socials misled by the U.S . The protests dispersed with no recorded injuries . Fearing that dissident groups would invade , the government organised the War of All the People defense strategy , planning a widespread guerrilla warfare campaign , and the unemployed were given jobs building a network of bunkers and tunnels across the country . Castro believed in the need for reform if Cuban socialism was to survive in a world now dominated by capitalist free markets . In October 1991 , the Fourth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held in Santiago , at which a number of important changes to the government were announced . Castro would step down as head of government , to be replaced by the much younger Carlos Lage , although Castro would remain the head of the Communist Party and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces . Many older members of government were to be retired and replaced by their younger counterparts . A number of economic changes were proposed , and subsequently put to a national referendum . Free farmers markets and small-scale private enterprises would be legalized in an attempt to stimulate economic growth , while U.S . dollars were also made legal tender . Certain restrictions on emigration were eased , allowing more discontented Cuban citizens to move to the United States . Further democratization was to be brought in by having the National Assemblys members elected directly by the people , rather than through municipal and provincial assemblies . Castro welcomed debate between proponents and opponents of the economics reforms—although over time he began to increasingly sympathise with the opponents positions , arguing that such reforms must be delayed . Castros government diversified its economy into biotechnology and tourism , the latter outstripping Cubas sugar industry as its primary source of revenue in 1995 . The arrival of thousands of Mexican and Spanish tourists led to increasing numbers of Cubans turning to prostitution ; officially illegal , Castro refrained from cracking down on prostitution in Cuba , fearing a political backlash . Economic hardship led many Cubans toward religion , both in the form of Roman Catholicism and Santería . Although long thinking religious belief to be backward , Castro softened his approach to religious institutions and religious people were permitted for the first time to join the Communist Party . Although he viewed the Roman Catholic Church as a reactionary , pro-capitalist institution , Castro organized a visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II for January 1998 ; it strengthened the position of both the Cuban Church and Castros government . In the early 1990s Castro embraced environmentalism , campaigning against global warming and the waste of natural resources , and accusing the U.S . of being the worlds primary polluter . In 1994 a ministry dedicated to the environment was established , and new laws established in 1997 that promoted awareness of environmental issues throughout Cuba and stressed the sustainable use of natural resources . By 2006 , Cuba was the worlds only nation which met the United Nations Development Programmes definition of sustainable development , with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 . Castro also became a proponent of the anti-globalization movement , criticizing U.S . global hegemony and the control exerted by multinationals . Castro maintained his devout anti-apartheid beliefs , and at the 26 July celebrations in 1991 , he was joined onstage by the South African political activist Nelson Mandela , recently released from prison . Mandela praised Cubas involvement in battling South Africa in Angola and thanked Castro personally . He later attended Mandelas inauguration as President of South Africa in 1994 . In 2001 he attended the Conference Against Racism in South Africa at which he lectured on the global spread of racial stereotypes through U.S . film . Pink tide : 2000–2006 . Mired in economic problems , Cuba was aided by the election of socialist and anti-imperialist Hugo Chávez to the Venezuelan Presidency in 1999 . Castro and Chávez developed a close friendship , with the former acting as a mentor and father-figure to the latter , and together they built an alliance that had repercussions throughout Latin America . In 2000 , they signed an agreement through which Cuba would send 20,000 medics to Venezuela , in return receiving 53,000 barrels of oil per day at preferential rates ; in 2004 , this trade was stepped up , with Cuba sending 40,000 medics and Venezuela providing 90,000 barrels a day . That same year , Castro initiated Misión Milagro , a joint medical project which aimed to provide free eye operations on 300,000 individuals from each nation . The alliance boosted the Cuban economy , and in May 2005 Castro doubled the minimum wage for 1.6 million workers , raised pensions , and delivered new kitchen appliances to Cubas poorest residents . Some economic problems remained ; in 2004 , Castro shut down 118 factories , including steel plants , sugar mills and paper processors to compensate for a critical shortage of fuel . Cuba and Venezuela were the founding members of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas ( ALBA ) . ALBA sought to redistribute wealth evenly throughout member countries , to protect the regions agriculture , and to oppose economic liberalization and privatization . ALBAs origins lay in a December 2004 agreement signed between the two countries , and was formalized through a Peoples Trade Agreement also signed by Evo Morales Bolivia in April 2006 . Castro had also been calling for greater Caribbean integration since the late 1990s , saying that only strengthened cooperation between Caribbean countries would prevent their domination by rich nations in a global economy . Cuba has opened four additional embassies in the Caribbean Community including : Antigua and Barbuda , Dominica , Suriname , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . This development makes Cuba the only country to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community . In contrast to the improved relations between Cuba and a number of leftist Latin American states , in 2004 it broke off diplomatic ties with Panama after centrist President Mireya Moscoso pardoned four Cuban exiles accused of attempting to assassinate Castro in 2000 . Diplomatic ties were reinstalled in 2005 following the election of leftist President Martín Torrijos . Castros improving relations across Latin America were accompanied by continuing animosity towards the U.S . However , after massive damage caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2001 , Castro successfully proposed a one-time cash purchase of food from the U.S . while declining its governments offer of humanitarian aid . Castro expressed solidarity with the U.S . following the 2001 September 11 attacks , condemning Al-Qaeda and offering Cuban airports for the emergency diversion of any U.S . planes . He recognized that the attacks would make U.S . foreign policy more aggressive , which he believed was counter-productive . Castro criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq , saying that the U.S.-led war had imposed an international law of the jungle . Meanwhile , in 1998 , Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived in Cuba to meet Castro and highlight their close ties . He was the first Canadian government leader to visit the island since Pierre Trudeau was in Havana in 1976 . In 2002 , former U.S . President Jimmy Carter visited Cuba , where he highlighted the lack of civil liberties in the country and urged the government to pay attention to the Varela Project of Oswaldo Payá . Final years . Stepping down : 2006–2008 . Castro underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding , and on 31 July 2006 , delegated his presidential duties to Raúl Castro . In February 2007 , Raúl announced that Fidels health was improving and that he was taking part in important issues of government . Later that month , Fidel called into Hugo Chávezs radio show Aló Presidente . On 21 April , Castro met Wu Guanzheng of the Chinese Communist Partys Politburo Standing member , with Chávez visiting in August , and Morales in September . That month , the Non-Aligned Movement held its 14th Summit in Havana , there agreeing to appoint Castro as the organisations president for a years term . Commenting on Castros recovery , U.S . President George W . Bush said : One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away . Hearing about this , the atheist Castro replied : Now I understand why I survived Bushs plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination : the good Lord protected me . The quote was picked up on by the worlds media . In a February 2008 letter , Castro announced that he would not accept the positions of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief at that months National Assembly meetings , remarking , It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion , that I am not in a physical condition to offer . On 24 February 2008 , the National Assembly of Peoples Power unanimously voted Raúl as president . Describing his brother as not substitutable , Raúl proposed that Fidel continue to be consulted on matters of great importance , a motion unanimously approved by the 597 National Assembly members . Retirement and final years : 2008–2016 . Following his retirement , Castros health deteriorated ; international press speculated that he had diverticulitis , but Cubas government refused to corroborate this . He continued to interact with the Cuban people , published an opinion column titled Reflections in Granma , used a Twitter account , and gave occasional public lectures . In January 2009 Castro asked Cubans not to worry about his lack of recent news columns and failing health , and not to be disturbed by his future death . He continued meeting foreign leaders and dignitaries , and that month photographs were released of Castros meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernández . In July 2010 , he made his first public appearance since falling ill , greeting science center workers and giving a television interview to Mesa Redonda in which he discussed U.S . tensions with Iran and North Korea . On 7 August 2010 , Castro gave his first speech to the National Assembly in four years , urging the U.S . not to take military actions against those nations and warning of a nuclear holocaust . When asked whether Castro may be re-entering government , culture minister Abel Prieto told the BBC , I think that he has always been in Cubas political life but he is not in the government .. . He has been very careful about that . His big battle is international affairs . On 19 April 2011 , Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee , thus stepping down as First Secretary . Raúl was selected as his successor . Now without any official role in the countrys government , he took on the role of an elder statesman . In March 2011 , Castro condemned the NATO-led military intervention in Libya . In March 2012 , Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba for three days , during which time he briefly met with Castro despite the Popes vocal opposition to Cubas government . Later that year it was revealed that along with Hugo Chávez , Castro had played a significant behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating peace talks between the Colombian government and the far left FARC guerrilla movement to end the conflict which had raged since 1964 . During the North Korea crisis of 2013 , he urged both the North Korean and U.S . governments to show restraint . Calling the situation incredible and absurd , he maintained that war would not benefit either side , and that it represented one of the gravest risks of nuclear war since the Cuban missile crisis . In December 2014 , Castro was awarded the Chinese Confucius Peace Prize for seeking peaceful solutions to his nations conflict with the U.S . and for his post-retirement efforts to prevent nuclear war . In January 2015 , he publicly commented on the Cuban Thaw , an increased normalization between Cuba-U.S . relations , by stating that while it was a positive move for establishing peace in the region , he mistrusted the U.S . government . He did not meet with U.S . President Barack Obama on the latters visit to Cuba in March 2016 , although sent him a letter stating that Cuba has no need of gifts from the empire . That April , he gave his most extensive public appearance in many years when addressing the Communist Party . Highlighting that he was soon to turn 90 years old , he noted that he would die in the near future but urged those assembled to retain their communist ideals . In September 2016 , Castro was visited at his Havana home by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , and later that month was visited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe . In late October 2016 , Castro met with the Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa , who became one of the last foreign leaders to meet him . Death . Castro died on the night of 25 November 2016 . The cause of death was not disclosed . His brother , President Raúl Castro , confirmed the news in a brief speech : The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 [ EST ] this evening . His death came 9 months after his older brother Ramón died at the age of 91 in February . Fidel Castro was cremated on 26 November 2016 . A funeral procession travelled along the islands central highway from Havana to Santiago de Cuba , tracing in reverse , the route of the Freedom Caravan of January 1959 , and after nine days of public mourning , his ashes were entombed in the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba . Ideology . Castro proclaimed himself to be a Socialist , a Marxist , and a Leninist , and publicly identified as a Marxist–Leninist from December 1961 onward . As a Marxist , Castro sought to transform Cuba from a capitalist state which was dominated by foreign imperialism to a socialist society and ultimately to a communist society . Influenced by Guevara , he suggested that Cuba could evade most stages of socialism and progress straight to communism . The Cuban Revolution nevertheless did not meet the Marxist assumption that socialism would be achieved through proletariat revolution , for most of the forces involved in Batistas overthrow were led by members of the Cuban middle-class . According to Castro , a country could be regarded as socialist if its means of production were controlled by the state . In this way , his understanding of socialism was less about who controlled power in a country and more about the method of distribution . Castros government was also nationalistic , with Castro declaring , We are not only Marxist-Leninists , but also nationalists and patriots . In this it drew upon a longstanding tradition of Cuban nationalism . Castro biographer Sebastian Balfour noted that the vein of moral regeneration and voluntarism that runs through Castros thought owes far more to Hispanic nationalism than European socialism or Marxism–Leninism . Historian Richard Gott remarked that one of the keys to Castros success was his ability to use the twin themes of socialism and nationalism and keep them endlessly in play . Castro described Karl Marx and Cuban nationalist José Martí as his main political influences , although Gott believed that Martí ultimately remained more important than Marx in Castros politics . Castro described Martís political ideas as a philosophy of independence and an exceptional humanistic philosophy , and his supporters and apologists repeatedly claimed that there were great similarities between the two figures . Biographer Volka Skierka described Castros government as a highly individual , socialist-nationalist fidelista system , with Theodore Draper terming his approach Castroism , viewing it as a blend of European socialism with the Latin American revolutionary tradition . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol has described Castros approach to politics as totalitarian utopianism , with a style of leadership that drew upon the wider Latin American phenomenon of the caudillo . He drew inspiration from the wider Latin American anti-imperialist movements of the 1930s and 1940s , including Argentinas Perón and Guatemalas Jacobo Árbenz . Castro took a relatively socially conservative stance on many issues , opposing drug use , gambling , and prostitution , which he viewed as moral evils . Instead , he advocated hard work , family values , integrity , and self-discipline . Although his government repressed homosexual activity for decades , later in his life he took responsibility for this persecution , regretting it as a great injustice , as he himself put it . Personal and public life . Personality . Juan Reynaldo Sánchez , Castros former bodyguard , detailed much of his personal and private life in his book The Double Life of Fidel Castro . He described Castro as Nothing ordinary about him at all , he is unique , special , and different . He profiled him as an egocentric who loved being the center of attention , and with his almost electric charisma , grabbing the attention of the people around him . He was also extremely manipulative ; with his formidable intelligence , he was capable of manipulating a person or a group of people without much difficulty . In addition , he was repetitive and obsessive . In discussions with his colleagues or foreigners , he would repeat the same things over again on a continuous loop until they were convinced he was right . It was absolutely impossible to contradict him on any subject whatsoever . Anyone who attempted to convince him that he was wrong or even making a suggestion that it could be improved slightly was making a fatal error . Fidel would then make a mental mark of the individual as an idiot , and would wait for the right time to retaliate against them . Nobody , not even Raúl was exempt from this ; despite being the Minister of the Armed Forces , he would bring seemingly minor military decisions to Castro for his final approval in order to avoid inadvertently contradicting him . Sánchez believed that General Arnaldo Ochoas downfall was significantly related to his willingness to contradict Fidels orders in Angola . Biographer Leycester Coltman described Castro as fiercely hard-working , dedicated , loyal .. . generous and magnanimous but noted that he could be vindictive and unforgiving . He asserted that Castro always had a keen sense of humor and could laugh at himself but could equally be a bad loser who would act with ferocious rage if he thought that he was being humiliated . Publicly he was known for throwing tantrums , and could make snap judgements which he refused to back down from . In private though , Castro was actually skilled at keeping his anger in check and not allowing it to affect his judgement , simply becoming cold and withdrawn ; Sánchez stated that in 17 years he had only seen Castro explode in anger twice , one upon being informed of his daughter Alinas defection in 1993 . Castro was known for working long hours and he primarily woke up late – rarely before ten or eleven a.m . – and started his working day around noon and would work until late at night , often only going to bed at 3 or 4 am . He preferred to meet foreign diplomats in these early hours , believing that they would be tired and he could gain the upper hand in negotiations . Castro liked to meet with ordinary citizens , both in Cuba and abroad , but took a particularly paternal attitude toward Cubans , treating them as if they were a part of his own giant family . British historian Alex von Tunzelmann commented that though ruthless , [ Castro ] was a patriot , a man with a profound sense that it was his mission to save the Cuban people . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol characterized Castro as quintessentially totalitarian in his charismatic appeal , utopian functional role and public , transformative utilisation of power . Balfour described Castro as having a voracity for knowledge and elephantine memory that allowed him to speak for hours on a variety of different subjects . His hero was Alexander the Great , whose Spanish equivalent Alejandro he adopted as his nom de guerre . Castro was a voracious reader ; amongst his favorite authors were Ernest Hemingway , Franz Kafka , William Shakespeare , and Maxim Gorky , and he named For Whom the Bell Tolls as his favorite book , committing several portions of the novel to memory and even utilizing some of its lessons as a guerilla fighter . He enjoyed art and photography and was known as a patron of both within Cuba but was uninterested in music and disliked dancing . He was also an avid fan of cinema , particularly Soviet films . His favorite film was the five hour long 1967 adaption of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace . Castro had a lifelong passion , almost obsession , with cows and , starting in 1966 , with bovine genetics and breeding . State media frequently published details of his attempts to breed cows with increased milk yields . This interest reached its peak in 1982 when a cow that Fidel had bred , Ubre Blanca , broke the Guinness World Record for producing 29 gallons of milk live on national television . She was promoted into a national celebrity and propaganda tool , and when the cow died in 1985 , Granma published an official obituary for her on the front page , and the postal service issued stamps in her honor as well . Fidel Castros religious beliefs have been a matter of some debate ; he was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic . He criticized use of the Bible to justify the oppression of women and Africans , but commented that Christianity exhibited a group of very humane precepts which gave the world ethical values and a sense of social justice , relating , If people call me Christian , not from the standpoint of religion but from the standpoint of social vision , I declare that I am a Christian . He promoted the idea that Jesus Christ was a communist , citing the feeding of the 5,000 and the story of Jesus and the rich young man as evidence . Public image . Within Cuba , Castro was primarily referred to by his official military title Comandante El Jefe ; he was usually addressed as Comandante ( The Commander ) in general discourse as well as in person but could also be addressed as El Jefe ( the Chief ) in the third person , particularly within the party and military command . Castro was often nicknamed El Caballo ( The Horse ) , a label attributed to Cuban entertainer Benny Moré which alludes to Castros well known philandering during the 1950s and early 1960s . With his logorrheic oratorical abilities and profound charisma , Castro was extremely skilled at the art of manipulation and deception , easily whipping up his audience and even entire segments of the population into support for him . Large throngs of supporters gathered to cheer at Castros fiery speeches , which typically lasted for hours ( even outdoors in inclement weather ) and without the use of written notes . During speeches , Castro regularly cited reports and books he had read on a wide variety of subjects , including military matters , plant cultivation , filmmaking , and chess strategies . Officially , the Cuban government did maintain a cult of personality , but unlike other Soviet-era leaders and his allies , it was less widespread and took on a more subtle and discreet form . There were no statues or large portraits of him but rather signs with thoughts of the Comandante . Although his popularity among segments of the Cuban populace nevertheless led to one developing without the governments involvement and would be used to judge each individuals devotion to his revolutionary cause ( judged by their contribution to the revolution ) . Indeed , by 2006 Castros image could frequently be found in Cuban stores , classrooms , taxicabs , and on national television . In private , however , Castro hated such idolization campaigns and believed that he had intellectual ascendancy over leaders who engaged in such behavior , such as his friend Kim Il-sung of North Korea whose cult of personality he considered excessive , outlandish , and unreasonable . He gave no importance to his appearance or clothing ; for 37 years , he wore only his trademark olive-green military fatigues or the standard dress uniform for formal events and special occasions , emphasizing his role as the perpetual revolutionary , but in the mid-1990s began wearing dark civilian suits and guayabera in public . At over tall with a few inches added from his combat boots , Castro usually towered over most foreign leaders he met with , giving him a dominating presence in any room or photo that was taken , which he used to his advantage ( for comparison , Abraham Lincoln and Charles De Gaulle , both well known for their tall heights , stood at 64 and 65 respectively ) . Until his uprising against Batista , Castro typically kept a pencil-thin moustache along with combed back hair , typical of Upper-class Cuban men in the 1950s but grew out both during his years as a guerilla fighter and retaining them afterwards . Castro also disliked worrying about his appearance and hated shaving , making the beard and uniform all the more convenient for him . His uniform was also kept simple , he never wore any medals or decorations and his only marker of rank was the Comandante El Jefe insignia stitched on the shoulder straps . Until the 1990s , he wore combat boots , but due to orthopedic issues , abandoned them for sneakers and tennis shoes instead . Around his waist , he often carried a 9mm Browning pistol in a brown leather holster with an additional three clips . His personal weapon of choice was a 7.62 Kalashnikov AKM which Castro occasionally carried with him during the 1960s but was later kept stored in a suitcase carried by one of the members of his escort or kept placed between his feet while driving along with five cartridges ; he frequently used it during shooting exercises and practice . Castro had a lifelong love of guns and was considered an expert sharpshooter , impressing foreign visitors and even holding up against members of his own elite bodyguards who engaged in frequent competition with him . Castros most iconic public feature eventually became the Cuban cigar that he smoked on a daily basis . Introduced to it by his father at the age of 15 , Castro continued the habit for almost 44 years with the exception of a brief period during the 1950s while a guerilla fighter and boycotting against Batista linked tobacco firms . Castro claimed that he quit around 1985 during an anti-smoking campaign promoted by the Communist Party . Sánchez disputes this , saying that his doctor had Castro reduce his cigar usage starting in 1980 and quit entirely in 1983 after a cancerous ulcer was found in his intestine . Prior to the Revolution , Castro smoked various brands including Romeo y Julieta Churchill , H . Upmann , Bauza , and Partagás . In the early 1960s , Castro saw one of his bodyguards smoking a noticeably aromatic but unbranded cigar . Castro and the bodyguard located the cigar maker , Eduardo Ribera , who agreed to establish the El Laguito Factory and branded the cigars as Cohiba which became Castros signature brand and elevating its profile internationally . Initially restricted for his own private use and other members of the Politburo , it was later presented as diplomatic gifts for allied countries and friends of Castro , most notably seen smoked by Che Guevara , Josip Broz Tito , Houari Boumédiène , Sukarno , and Saddam Hussein . Lifestyle . Castros primary residence was at Punto Cero , a large and vegetative estate approximately 6 km from the Palacio de la Revolution in the Siboney neighborhood . The main house is a L-Shaped two story family mansion with a 600-square-yard footprint , 50-foot-long swimming pool , six greenhouses providing fruit and vegetables for Fidel and Raúls families as well as their bodyguard units , and a large lawn with free-range chickens and cows . Close by is a second two-story building used to house the bodyguards and the domestic staff . The house itself was decorated in a classical Caribbean style , with local wicker and wood furniture , porcelain plates , watercolor paintings , and art books . Sánchez described the estate as naturally beautiful and tastefully decorated , and while considered luxurious for the average Cuban , was not lavish or over-the-top compared to the residences of the Somoza clan or the Kim dynasty of North Korea . Raúl and Vilmas house La Rinconada is located close by on 222nd street . Raúl usually hosted large family barbecues on Sundays where Fidel would sometimes come , giving his extended family , sisters , and his elder brother Ramón a rare opportunity to see him . Next to Punto Cero is Unit 160 which was the base of Fidels bodyguard units . The base was over five acres large and surrounded by high walls , essentially a city within a city consisting of support personnel for transportation , communications , electronics , food , and an extensive armory of Kalashnikovs , Makarovs , and Brownings . Members of that unit also assisted in Fidels passion for Bovine breeding and a stable was kept for some of Fidels most prized cows . In addition to Punto Cero , Castro had 5 other residences in Havana : Casa Cojimar , his initial home after 1959 but disused by the 1970s ; a house on 160th Street near the Playa district ; Casa Carbonell , maintained by Cuban Intelligence for his covert meetings with representatives of foreign groups or intelligence assets ; A beach house in Santa Maria del Mar ( next to the Tropico Hotel ) ; and two houses retrofitted with air-raid shelters and connected to the MINFAR command bunkers for use in war : Casa Punta Brava ( Dalias old house before meeting Fidel ) and Casa Gallego , near the bodyguards base at Unit 160 . In the west of Cuba , he had three residences : Casa Americana ( confiscated from an American businessman connected to Batista ) ; Rancho la Tranquilidad in the locality of Mil Cumbres ; and La Deseada , a hunting lodge utilized in the winter for duck hunting and fishing trips . He also had two homes in Matanzas , one in Ciego de Avila , a horse ranch Hacienda San Cayetano in Camaguey along with another house in a vacation compound for the Politburo nearby , Casa Guardalavaca in Holguin , and two residences in Santiago de Cuba ( One of which is shared with Ramiro Valdes ) . Castros main vacation destination was Cayo de Piedra , a small key island formerly the site of a lighthouse , approximately a mile long and divided into two by a cyclone in the 1960s . He came upon the island by accident while reviewing the region in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion . Instantly falling in love with the island , he ordered it closed off and had the lighthouse demolished . Osmany Cienfuegos designed the a private bungalow , guesthouse , bridge , marina , and a building for the use of the bodyguards and support staff . He arrived here from his inaccessible private marina located near the Bay of Pigs , La Caleta del Rosario , which also housed another residence and guesthouse . Castro utilized two yachts , Aquarama I , confiscated from a Batista Government official and later in the 1970s , the 90-foot white hull Aquarama II . Aquarama II , which was decorated with wood donated from Angola , had two double cabins , one for Fidels personal use , a main sitting room , two bathrooms , a bar , a secure communications suite , and was equipped with four Osa-class missile boat engines gifted from Brezhnev allowing for top speeds of over 42 Knots . Aquarama II had two companion speedboats utilized by his escort , Pioniera I and Pioniera II ; one was equipped with a large cache of weapons and another was equipped with medical equipment . Castro was also had a keen interest in gastronomy and was known to wander into his kitchen to discuss cookery with his chefs . His diet was quintessentially Cuban , based on traditional pescatarian cuisine but also the additional influence from his native Galicia . All of his food was sourced from Punto Cero or fished from his private island of Cayo Piedra , with the exception of cases of Algerian Red Wine gifted initially from Houari Boumediene and continued by successive Algerian governments and Iraqi figs and fruit jams from Saddam Hussein . Castro , who typically woke up in the late morning , usually had tea or fish bouillon for breakfast accompanied by milk provided from one of the cows that grazed on Punto Cero ; they were all bred to provide milk which suited Castros demanding taste . His lunches were also frugal and consisted of fish or seafood soup with fresh produce . Dinner was his primary meal , consisting of grilled fish , chicken , mutton , or even pata negra ham on special occasions along with a large serving of green vegetables , but was prevented from eating beef or coffee by his dietician . Until 1979 , Castros primary vehicle was a black ZiL limousine , first a armored convertible ZIL-111 from Khrushchev , a ZIL-114 and briefly a ZIL-4104 gifted to him by Leonid Brezhnev , while his escort would accompany him in several Alfa Romeo 1750s and 2000s . In 1979 , during the Non-Aligned movement summit at Havana , Saddam Hussein gave Castro his Armored Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL which he had brought from Baghdad and became his sole transport for the rest of his life . Subsequently , Fidel ordered two mechanics from his bodyguard unit to West Germany to purchase several secondhand Mercedes-Benz 500s to replace the obsolete Alfa Romeros . Castro always traveled with at least fourteen guards and four of his aides , spread out over four vehicles ; three Mercedes-Benzs and one Soviet Lada which trailed the main convoy ( to keep the military presence at a minimal ) . Whenever he would leave Havana , a fifth Mercedes would join the procession carrying his doctor , nurse , and photographer . Relationships . In his personal life , Castro was known for being distant , withdrawn , and confided in very few people . His closest and most trusted friend was Raúl Castro , his younger brother by five years and longtime Minister of the Armed Forces . Although Raúl has a vastly contrasting , almost polar opposite personality to Castro , Sánchez describes Raúl as complementing Castros personality in all the ways that he is not . Whereas Fidel was charismatic , energetic , visionary but extremely impulsive and totally disorganized , Raúl was described as a natural , methodical , and uncompromising organizer . Castro spoke nearly every day with Raúl , met several times a week , and was a frequent visitor at Raúl and Vilmas house ; Vilma was also considered close to Castro and often appeared in public with him at national events . Besides Raúl , Castro was not close to any of his other siblings , although he did have friendly relations with his elder brother Ramón and sister Angelita . His sister Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the early 1960s , and is a public opponent of the Cuban regime . Outside of his immediate family , Castros closest friend was fellow revolutionary Celia Sánchez , who accompanied him almost everywhere during the 1960s , and controlled almost all access to the leader . Reynaldo Sánchez confirmed that Celia was indeed Castros mistress and regarded her as the true love of his life . Castro provided a large apartment for Celia on 11th Street near Vedado , El Once whom Fidel visited every day before returning home . Over the years , Castro added an elevator , fitness room , and a bowling alley for his and Celias personal use . He even provided bodyguards from his own escort to Celia for her own protection . Castros closest male friends were the members of his immediate bodyguard unit , Escolta or the Escort . His security was provided by Department 1 of the Personal Security Directorate of MININT ( Ministry of the Interior ) . Department 1 was for Fidels security , Department 2 was Raúl and Vilmas , and Department 3 was for the members of the Politburo and so on . Unlike the other MININT Departments , both his and Raúls units bypassed the normal chain of command and reported to them directly . Castros security consisted of three concentric anillos or rings . The third ring consisted of thousands of soldiers both in MININT and MINFAR who provided support for Logistics , Air-Defense , Intelligence , etc. ; The second ring consisted of eighty to one hundred soldiers who provided the outer perimeter security ; And the first ring , the Elite Escolta or The Escort , which provided his immediate security and consisted of two teams of 15 elite soldiers who worked 24 hour shifts , along with around 10 support staff . A soldier at heart , Castro had more affinity with his escort than his civilian family . He spent most of his time under their protection and were usually his companions in his personal interests . A sports fan , he also spent much of his time trying to keep fit , undertaking regular exercise such as hunting , fly fishing , underwater fishing , scuba diving , and playing basketball . They were also his companions on special events , such as his birthday or during national holidays , which they would regularly exchange gifts and engage in one-sided discussions with Castro where he would recall his life stories . The members of the Escort Castro was closest to was the former Mayor of Havana Jose Pepín Naranjo who became his official aide until his death in 1995 and his own personal physician , Eugenio Selman . Outside of his escort , Castro was also close to Manuel Barbarroja Pineiro , the head of the American Department of the DGI , Antonio Núñez Jiménez , and the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez . Marital history . The Cuban government has never published an official marital history of Castro , with most information coming from defectors and scarce details published in state media and pieced together over the years . In his earlier years in power , he showcased some of his family life , in particular his eldest son Fidelito in order to portray himself as a normal family man to the apprehensive American audience , but eventually abandoned that as he became more concerned about his personal safety . Throughout his rule , Castro never named an official First Lady and when the need for such a public female companion was necessary , Celia Sánchez or Raúls wife , Vilma Espín , would play such a role of la primera dama . Overall , Sánchez described Castro as a compulsive lover or womanizer ; he has been officially married twice but has carried on numerous affairs , including many one-night stands . Popular with women and often recognized as a sex symbol in Cuba , Castro never had difficulty in finding love and seduction , and Sánchez denies that Castro ever engaged in any unusual or un-consensual behavior . Castro was also described as a poor father ; often absent from their lives , he had little interest in the activities of his children and was more interested in his work . Raúl , who had much more stronger paternal feelings towards his family , was often the one who played the role of surrogate father to Castros children , in particular Fidelito and Alina . - Castros first wife was Mirta Díaz-Balart , whom he married in October 1948 . She is the only spouse of Castro acknowledged by the Cuban government . Diaz-Balart , the daughter of a powerful Cuban politician and brother of Batistas Minister of Interior , was a student at the University of Havana where she met and married Castro . She divorced him later in 1955 while he was in prison due to the attacks on the Moncada Barracks . They had one son : - Fidel Ángel Fidelito Castro Díaz-Balart , born in September 1949 . Fidelito grew up at various times between Havana and Miami ; he later went to the Soviet Union to study Nuclear Physics . For a time , he ran Cubas atomic-energy commission before being removed from the post by his father . He took his own life in February 2018 , over a year after his fathers death . - During his first marriage , Castro had a brief encounter with Maria Laborde , an admirer from Camaguey whom very little is known and has long been deceased . They had one son : - Jorge Ángel Castro , born on 23 March 1949 . It was long believed that his birth was in 1956 , but Sánchez and another defector uncovered that he was in fact born earlier than Fidelito . - While Castro was married to Mirta , he had an affair with Natalia Naty Revuelta Clews . Widely regarded in Havana for her beauty , Natalia herself was married to Dr . Orlando Fernandez but sympathized with the aims of the Revolutionary movement . She initially joined the movement as a friend of Castro but later became his mistress and visited him while he was imprisoned on Isla de Pinos . She would give birth to his daughter : - Alina Fernández Revuelta , born in 1956 , is Castros only daughter . She did not know her true parentage until she was 10 . Castro showed little interest in her but sent her to a boarding school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France . One of the few people willing to stand up to Castro , several defectors have described her personality as the most similar to her father . Alina became a public relations director for a State-owned fashion company and a model for Havana Club . Her father inadvertently found out about the latter job while reading Cuba magazine , coming across an advertisement showing Alina posing in a bikini on a boat with two other models ; he nearly exploded with rage . Alina left Cuba in 1993 , disguised as a Spanish tourist , and sought asylum in the U.S. , from where she has criticized her fathers policies . - Castros second and longest wife was with Dalia Soto Del Valle , another admirer who met Castro during a speech in Villa Clara in 1961 . She was a teacher who was part of the governments literacy campaign who moved to Havana on Castros initiative and later moved in with him at Punto Cero as his permanent family . Her relationship with Castro was kept secret until 2006 , when she was photographed with an increasingly frail Castro during the Party Congress , although no other information has been released by the Cuban Government . Castro and Dalia would have five sons , each of them starting with the letter A and three of them a variation of Alexander ( in homage to Alexander the Great , his pseudonym while a guerilla fighter ) : - Alexis Castro Del Valle , born in 1962 . Described as a loner with few friends , he eventually got a degree in computer science but has since become a mechanic . - Alex Castro Del Valle , born in 1963 . Much more affable and outgoing , he was initially trained as an engineer as well but instead became a photographer and cameraman for Granma and Cubavisión respectively . He later became the official photographer of his father and published several books and hosted the exhibitions Fidel Castro:Photografia Intimidade . - Alejandro Castro Del Valle , born in 1969 . Considered a computer geek , like his brothers , he also studied computer science and engineering but was passionate about the subject . Around 1990 , he wrote software that allowed Russian programs to be run on Japanese ones ; the product was purchased by NEC of Japan , which raised his national profile in the engineering community of Cuba and even public praise from his father . - Antonio Castro Del Valle , born in 1971 . A national youth baseball champion , he studied sports medicine in the University of Havana and became an Orthopedic surgeon . He is currently the head of the Surgery unit at the Elite Frank Pais Orthopedic Hospital , Doctor to the National Baseball team and President of the Cuban Baseball Federation . - Angelito Castro Del Valle , born in 1974 . Considered spoiled by his parents from a young age , he was long considered the trouble child of the family . He was passionate about cars and frequently earned the ire of his fathers escort unit for disrupting the work of the mechanics . Angelito never obtained any higher education , but later became the senior executive of the Mercedes-Benz concession of Cuba . - After the 1970s , Castro began a long relationship with Juanita Vera , a Colonel in the foreign intelligence service who joined his escort unit as his English interpreter . She often appeared in public with Castro , in particular in Oliver Stones Comandante as his translator and interpreter . Her and Castro had one son , Abel Castro Vera , born in 1983 . Castro had another daughter , Francisca Pupo ( born 1953 ) , the result of a one-night affair . Pupo and her husband now live in Miami . Another son known as Ciro was also born in the early 1960s , the result of another brief fling , his existence confirmed by Celia Sánchez . Reception and legacy . One of the most controversial political leaders of his era , Castro both inspired and dismayed people across the world during his lifetime . The London Observer stated that he proved to be as divisive in death as he was in life , and that the only thing that his enemies and admirers agreed upon was that he was a towering figure who transformed a small Caribbean island into a major force in world affairs . The Daily Telegraph noted that across the world he was either praised as a brave champion of the people , or derided as a power-mad dictator . Under Castros leadership , Cuba became one of the best-educated and healthiest societies in the Third World as well as one of the most militarised states in Latin America . Despite its small size and limited economic weight , Castros Cuba gained a large role in world affairs . On the island , the Castro governments legitimacy rested on the improvements that it brought to social justice , healthcare , and education . The administration also relied heavily on its appeals to nationalistic sentiment , in particular the widespread hostility to the U.S . government . According to Balfour , Castros domestic popularity stemmed from the fact that he symbolised a long-cherished hope of national liberation and social justice for much of the population . Balfour also noted that throughout Latin America , Castro served as a symbol of defiance against the continued economic and cultural imperialism of the United States . Similarly , Wayne S . Smith – the former Chief of the United States Interests Section in Havana – noted that Castros opposition to U.S . dominance and transformation of Cuba into a significant world player resulted in him receiving warm applause throughout the Western Hemisphere . Various Western governments and human rights organizations nevertheless heavily criticized Castro and he was widely reviled in the U.S . Following Castros death , U.S . President-elect Donald Trump called him a brutal dictator , while the Cuban-American politician Marco Rubio called him an evil , murderous dictator who turned Cuba into an impoverished island prison . Castro publicly rejected the dictator label , stating that he constitutionally held less power than most heads of state and insisting that his regime allowed for greater democratic involvement in policy making than Western liberal democracies . Nevertheless , critics claim that Castro wielded significant unofficial influence aside from his official duties . Quirk stated that Castro wielded absolute power in Cuba , albeit not in a legal or constitutional manner , while Bourne claimed that power in Cuba was completely invested in Castro , adding that it was very rare for a country and a people to have been so completely dominated by the personality of one man . Balfour stated that Castros moral and political hegemony within Cuba diminished the opportunities for democratic debate and decision making . Describing Castro as a totalitarian dictator , Sondrol suggested that in leading a political system largely [ of ] his own creation and bearing his indelible stamp , Castros leadership style warranted comparisons with totalitarian leaders like Mao Zedong , Hideki Tojo , Joseph Stalin , Adolf Hitler , and Benito Mussolini . Noting that there were few more polarising political figures than Castro , Amnesty International described him as a progressive but deeply flawed leader . In their view , he should be applauded for his regimes substantial improvements to healthcare and education , but criticised for its ruthless suppression of freedom of expression . Human Rights Watch stated that his government constructed a repressive machinery which deprived Cubans of their basic rights . Castro defended his governments record on human rights , stating that the state was forced to limit the freedoms of individuals and imprison those involved in counter-revolutionary activities in order to protect the rights of the collective populace , such as the right to employment , education , and health care . Historian and journalist Richard Gott considered Castro to be one of the most extraordinary political figures of the twentieth century , commenting that he had become a world hero in the mould of Giuseppe Garibaldi to people throughout the developing world for his anti-imperialist efforts . Balfour stated that Castros story had few parallels in contemporary history , for there existed no other Third World leader in the second half of the twentieth century who held such a prominent and restless part on the international stage or remained head of state for such a long period . Bourne described Castro as an influential world leader who commanded great respect from individuals of all political ideologies across the developing world . Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Castro as a remarkable leader and a larger than life leader who served his people . The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Castro was a hero for many . Russian President Vladimir Putin described Castro as both a sincere and reliable friend of Russia and a symbol of an era , while Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping similarly referred to him as a close comrade and a sincere friend to China . Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed him one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and a great friend , while South African President Jacob Zuma praised Castro for aiding black South Africans in our struggle against apartheid . He was awarded a wide variety of awards and honors from foreign governments and was cited as an inspiration for foreign leaders like Ahmed Ben Bella and Nelson Mandela , who subsequently awarded him South Africas highest civilian award for foreigners , the Order of Good Hope . The biographer Volka Skierka stated that he will go down in history as one of the few revolutionaries who remained true to his principles . In Cuba . Following Castros death , Cubas government announced that it would be passing a law prohibiting the naming of institutions , streets , parks or other public sites , or erecting busts , statues or other forms of tribute in honor of the late Cuban leader in keeping with his wishes to prevent an extensive cult of personality from developing around him . External links . - Fidel Castros speeches - Fidel Castro History Archive at Marxists Internet Archive - Fidel Castro ( Character ) on IMDb - Fidel Castro Records at FBI Records : The Vault - Fidel Castro : A Life in Pictures – slideshow by BBC News - Fidel Castro : From Rebel to El Presidente – timeline by NPR - Fidel Castro – extended biography by Barcelona Centre for International Affairs - Say Brother ; 914 ; Invitation From Cuba Date N/A , National Records and Archives Administration , American Archive of Public Broadcasting |
[
"United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution"
] | easy | Which political party did Fidel Castro belong to from Mar 1962 to Oct 1965? | /wiki/Fidel_Castro#P102#2 | Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( ; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016 ) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008 . Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist , he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011 . Under his administration , Cuba became a one-party communist state ; industry and business were nationalized , and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society . Born in Birán , Oriente , the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer , Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana . After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia , he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista , launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953 . After a years imprisonment , Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group , the 26th of July Movement , with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara . Returning to Cuba , Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batistas forces from the Sierra Maestra . After Batistas overthrow in 1959 , Castro assumed military and political power as Cubas Prime Minister . The United States came to oppose Castros government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination , economic blockade , and counter-revolution , including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 . Countering these threats , Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba , resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962 . Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development , Castro converted Cuba into a one-party , socialist state under Communist Party rule , the first in the Western Hemisphere . Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent . Abroad , Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups , backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile , Nicaragua , and Grenada , as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur , Ogaden , and Angolan Civil War . These actions , coupled with Castros leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cubas medical internationalism , increased Cubas profile on the world stage . Following the Soviet Unions dissolution in 1991 , Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the Special Period , embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas . In the 2000s , Castro forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide – namely with Hugo Chávezs Venezuela – and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006 , Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro , who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008 . The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries , Castro polarized opinion throughout the world . His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cubas independence from U.S . hegemony . Critics call him a dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses , the exodus of many Cubans , and the impoverishment of the countrys economy . Castro was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced different individuals and groups across the world . Early life and career . Youth : 1926–1947 . Castro was born out of wedlock at his fathers farm on 13 August 1926 . His father , Ángel Castro y Argiz , a veteran of the Spanish–American War , was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia , in the northwest of Spain . He had become financially successful by growing sugar cane at Las Manacas farm in Birán , Oriente Province . After the collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant , Lina Ruz González – of Canarian origin – as his mistress and later second wife ; together they had seven children , among them Fidel . At age six , Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba , before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight . Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago , where he regularly misbehaved ; he was next sent to the privately funded , Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago . In 1945 , Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana . Although Castro took an interest in history , geography , and debate at Belén , he did not excel academically , instead devoting much of his time to playing sports . In 1945 , Castro began studying law at the University of Havana . Admitting he was politically illiterate , Castro became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university . After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing U.S . intervention in the Caribbean , he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of honesty , decency and justice . Castro became critical of the corruption and violence of President Ramón Graus government , delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that received coverage on the front page of several newspapers . In 1947 , Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People ( or Orthodox Party ; Partido Ortodoxo ) , founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás . A charismatic figure , Chibás advocated social justice , honest government , and political freedom , while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform . Though Chibás came third in the 1948 general election , Castro remained committed to working on his behalf . Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers , and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university . However , he refused to do so and began to carry a gun and surround himself with armed friends . In later years , anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time , but these accusations remain unproven . The American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote that Castro ...began his career as a revolutionary with no ideology at all : he was a student politician turned street fighter turned guerrilla , a voracious reader , an interminable speaker , and a pretty good baseball player . The only ideas that appear to have driven him were a lust for power , a willingness to use violent means to get it , and an unwillingness to share it once he had it . If he had followed any example , it was that of Napoleon , not Marx . Rebellion and Marxism : 1947–1950 . In June 1947 , Castro learned of a planned expedition to overthrow the right-wing government of Rafael Trujillo , a U.S . ally , in the Dominican Republic . Being President of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic , Castro joined the expedition . The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops , mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans , and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947 . Graus government stopped the invasion under U.S . pressure , although Castro and many of his comrades evaded arrest . Returning to Havana , Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards . The protests , accompanied by a crackdown on those considered communists , led to violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948 , in which Castro was badly beaten . At this point , his public speeches took on a distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba . In contrast , his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and U.S . imperialism . In April 1948 , Castro traveled to Bogotá , Colombia , leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Peróns Argentine government . There , the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting and clashes between the governing Conservatives – backed by the army – and leftist Liberals . Castro joined the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station , but subsequent police investigations concluded that he had not been involved in any killings . In April 1948 , the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogotá , leading to protests , which Castro joined . Returning to Cuba , Castro became a prominent figure in protests against government attempts to raise bus fares . That year , he married Mirta Díaz Balart , a student from a wealthy family , through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite . The relationship was a love match , disapproved of by both families , but Díaz Balarts father gave them tens of thousands of dollars , along with Batista , to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon . That same year , Grau decided not to stand for re-election , which was instead won by his Partido Auténticos new candidate , Carlos Prío Socarrás . Prío faced widespread protests when members of the MSR , now allied to the police force , assassinated Justo Fuentes , a socialist friend of Castros . In response , Prío agreed to quell the gangs , but found them too powerful to control . Castro had moved further to the left , influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin . He came to interpret Cubas problems as an integral part of capitalist society , or the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie , rather than the failings of corrupt politicians , and adopted the Marxist view that meaningful political change could only be brought about by proletariat revolution . Visiting Havanas poorest neighborhoods , he became active in the student anti-racist campaign . In September 1949 , Mirta gave birth to a son , Fidelito , so the couple moved to a larger Havana flat . Castro continued to put himself at risk , staying active in the citys politics and joining the 30 September Movement , which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo . The groups purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university ; despite his promises , Prío had failed to control the situation , instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries . Castro volunteered to deliver a speech for the Movement on 13 November , exposing the governments secret deals with the gangs and identifying key members . Attracting the attention of the national press , the speech angered the gangs and Castro fled into hiding , first in the countryside and then in the U.S . Returning to Havana several weeks later , Castro laid low and focused on his university studies , graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950 . Career in law and politics : 1950–1952 . Castro co-founded a legal partnership that primarily catered to poor Cubans , although it proved a financial failure . Caring little for money or material goods , Castro failed to pay his bills ; his furniture was repossessed and electricity cut off , distressing his wife . He took part in a high school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950 , fighting with police to protest the Education Ministrys ban on student associations ; he was arrested and charged for violent conduct , but the magistrate dismissed the charges . His hopes for Cuba still centered on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo , and he was present at Chibás politically motivated suicide in 1951 . Seeing himself as Chibás heir , Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections , though senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him . He was instead nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives by party members in Havanas poorest districts , and began campaigning . The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election . During his campaign , Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista , the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party . Batista offered him a place in his administration if he was successful ; although both opposed Príos administration , their meeting never got beyond polite generalities . On 10 March 1952 , Batista seized power in a military coup , with Prío fleeing to Mexico . Declaring himself president , Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections , describing his new system as disciplined democracy ; Castro was deprived of being elected in his run for office by Batistas move , and like many others , considered it a one-man dictatorship . Batista moved to the right , solidifying ties with both the wealthy elite and the United States , severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union , suppressing trade unions and persecuting Cuban socialist groups . Intent on opposing Batista , Castro brought several legal cases against the government , but these came to nothing , and Castro began thinking of alternate ways to oust the regime . Cuban Revolution . The Movement and the Moncada Barracks attack : 1952–1953 . Castro formed a group called The Movement which operated along a clandestine cell system , publishing underground newspaper El Acusador ( The Accuser ) , while arming and training anti-Batista recruits . From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive , gaining around 1,200 members in a year , the majority from Havanas poorer districts . Although a revolutionary socialist , Castro avoided an alliance with the communist Popular Socialist Party ( PSP ) , fearing it would frighten away political moderates , but kept in contact with PSP members like his brother Raúl . Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks , a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba , Oriente . Castros militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July , seizing control and raiding the armory before reinforcements arrived . Supplied with new weaponry , Castro intended to spark a revolution among Orientes impoverished cane cutters and promote further uprisings . Castros plan emulated those of the 19th-century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks ; Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader José Martí . Castro gathered 165 revolutionaries for the mission , ordering his troops not to cause bloodshed unless they met armed resistance . The attack took place on 26 July 1953 , but ran into trouble ; 3 of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there . Reaching the barracks , the alarm was raised , with most of the rebels pinned down by machine gun fire . Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat . The rebels suffered 6 fatalities and 15 other casualties , whilst the army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded . Meanwhile , some rebels took over a civilian hospital ; subsequently stormed by government soldiers , the rebels were rounded up , tortured and 22 were executed without trial . Accompanied by 19 comrades , Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north , where they could establish a guerrilla base . Responding to the attack , Batistas government proclaimed martial law , ordering a violent crackdown on dissent , and imposing strict media censorship . The government broadcast misinformation about the event , claiming that the rebels were communists who had killed hospital patients , although news and photographs of the armys use of torture and summary executions in Oriente soon spread , causing widespread public and some governmental disapproval . Over the following days , the rebels were rounded up ; some were executed and others – including Castro – transported to a prison north of Santiago . Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone , the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement , putting 122 defendants on trial on 21 September at the Palace of Justice , Santiago . Acting as his own defense counsel , Castro cited Martí as the intellectual author of the attack and convinced the three judges to overrule the armys decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court , proceeding to argue that the charge with which they were accused – of organizing an uprising of armed persons against the Constitutional Powers of the State – was incorrect , for they had risen up against Batista , who had seized power in an unconstitutional manner . The trial embarrassed the army by revealing that they had tortured suspects , after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further , claiming he was too ill . The trial ended on 5 October , with the acquittal of most defendants ; 55 were sentenced to prison terms of between 7 months and 13 years . Castro was sentenced on 16 October , during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under the title of History Will Absolve Me . Castro was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison ( Presidio Modelo ) , a relatively comfortable and modern institution on the Isla de Pinos . Imprisonment and 26 July Movement : 1953–1955 . Imprisoned with 25 comrades , Castro renamed his group the 26th of July Movement ( MR-26-7 ) in memory of the Moncada attacks date , and formed a school for prisoners . He read widely , enjoying the works of Marx , Lenin , and Martí but also reading books by Freud , Kant , Shakespeare , Munthe , Maugham , and Dostoyevsky , analyzing them within a Marxist framework . Corresponding with supporters , he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me . Initially permitted a relative amount of freedom within the prison , he was locked up in solitary confinement after inmates sang anti-Batista songs on a visit by the President in February 1954 . Meanwhile , Castros wife Mirta gained employment in the Ministry of the Interior , something he discovered through a radio announcement . Appalled , he raged that he would rather die a thousand times than suffer impotently from such an insult . Both Fidel and Mirta initiated divorce proceedings , with Mirta taking custody of their son Fidelito ; this angered Castro , who did not want his son growing up in a bourgeois environment . In 1954 , Batistas government held presidential elections , but no politician stood against him ; the election was widely considered fraudulent . It had allowed some political opposition to be voiced , and Castros supporters had agitated for an amnesty for the Moncada incidents perpetrators . Some politicians suggested an amnesty would be good publicity , and the Congress and Batista agreed . Backed by the U.S . and major corporations , Batista believed Castro to be no threat , and on 15 May 1955 , the prisoners were released . Returning to Havana , Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences ; the government closely monitored him , curtailing his activities . Now divorced , Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters , Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde , each conceiving him a child . Setting about strengthening the MR-26-7 , he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control , with some dissenters labeling him a caudillo ( dictator ) ; he argued that a successful revolution could not be run by committee and required a strong leader . In 1955 , bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent , with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest . Castro sent a letter to the press , declaring that he was leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me .. . As a follower of Martí , I believe the hour has come to take our rights and not beg for them , to fight instead of pleading for them . The Castros and several comrades traveled to Mexico , where Raúl befriended an Argentine doctor and Marxist–Leninist named Ernesto Che Guevara , who was working as a journalist and photographer for Agencia Latina de Noticias . Fidel liked him , later describing him as a more advanced revolutionary than I was . Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo , who agreed to teach Castros rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare . Requiring funding , Castro toured the U.S . in search of wealthy sympathizers , there being monitored by Batistas agents , who allegedly orchestrated a failed assassination attempt against him . Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba , where they had gained a large support base in Oriente . Other militant anti-Batista groups had sprung up , primarily from the student movement ; most notable was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil ( DRE ) , founded by José Antonio Echeverría . Antonio met with Castro in Mexico City , but Castro opposed the students support for indiscriminate assassination . After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma , on 25 November 1956 , Castro set sail from Tuxpan , Veracruz , with 81 armed revolutionaries . The crossing to Cuba was harsh , with food running low and many suffering seasickness . At some points , they had to bail water caused by a leak , and at another , a man fell overboard , delaying their journey . The plan had been for the crossing to take five days , and on the Granmas scheduled day of arrival , 30 November , MR-26-7 members under Frank País led an armed uprising in Santiago and Manzanillo . However , the Granmas journey ultimately lasted seven days , and with Castro and his men unable to provide reinforcements , País and his militants dispersed after two days of intermittent attacks . Guerrilla war : 1956–1959 . The Granma ran aground in a mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas , close to Los Cayuelos , on 2 December 1956 . Fleeing inland , its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Orientes Sierra Maestra , being repeatedly attacked by Batistas troops . Upon arrival , Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination , the rest having been killed or captured . Setting up an encampment , the survivors included the Castros , Che Guevara , and Camilo Cienfuegos . They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry , and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata , treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio , the local mayoral ( land company overseer ) , who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castros rebels . Osorios execution aided the rebels in gaining the trust of locals , although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries . As trust grew , some locals joined the rebels , although most new recruits came from urban areas . With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200 , in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns , commanded by himself , his brother , and Guevara . The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation , sending supplies to Castro , and on 16 February 1957 , he met with other senior members to discuss tactics ; here he met Celia Sánchez , who would become a close friend . Across Cuba , anti-Batista groups carried out bombings and sabotage ; police responded with mass arrests , torture , and extrajudicial executions . In March 1957 , the DRE launched a failed attack on the presidential palace , during which Antonio was shot dead . Batistas government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cubas cities under control . In the Sierra Maestra mountains , Castro was joined by Frank Sturgis who offered to train Castros troops in guerrilla warfare . Castro accepted the offer , but he also had an immediate need for guns and ammunition , so Sturgis became a gunrunner . Sturgis purchased boatloads of weapons and ammunition from Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) weapons expert Samuel Cummings International Armament Corporation in Alexandria , Virginia . Sturgis opened a training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains , where he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare . Frank País was also killed , leaving Castro the MR-26-7s unchallenged leader . Although Guevara and Raúl were well known for their Marxist–Leninist views , Castro hid his , hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries . In 1957 he met with leading members of the Partido Ortodoxo , Raúl Chibás and Felipe Pazos , authoring the Sierra Maestra Manifesto , in which they demanded that a provisional civilian government be set up to implement moderate agrarian reform , industrialization , and a literacy campaign before holding multiparty elections . As Cubas press was censored , Castro contacted foreign media to spread his message ; he became a celebrity after being interviewed by Herbert Matthews , a journalist from The New York Times . Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed . Castros guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts , forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region , and by spring 1958 , the rebels controlled a hospital , schools , a printing press , slaughterhouse , land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory . By 1958 , Batista was under increasing pressure , a result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administrations press censorship , torture , and extrajudicial executions . Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens , the U.S . government ceased supplying him with weaponry . The opposition called a general strike , accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7 . Beginning on 9 April , it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba , but little elsewhere . Batista responded with an all-out-attack , Operation Verano , in which the army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants , while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra , driving north to the rebel encampments . Despite their numerical and technological superiority , the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare , and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes . Many of Batistas soldiers defected to Castros rebels , who also benefited from local popular support . In the summer , the MR-26-7 went on the offensive , pushing the army out of the mountains , with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago . By November , Castros forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas , and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines , severely disadvantaging Batista . Fearing Castro was a socialist , the U.S . instructed Cantillo to oust Batista . By this time the great majority of Cuban people had turned against the Batista regime . Ambassador to Cuba , E . T . Smith , who felt the whole CIA mission had become too close to the MR-26-7 movement , personally went to Batista and informed him that the U.S . would no longer support him and felt he no longer could control the situation in Cuba . General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro , promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal ; however , Batista was warned , and fled into exile with over US$300,000,000 on 31 December 1958 . Cantillo entered Havanas Presidential Palace , proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president , and began appointing the new government . Furious , Castro ended the ceasefire , and ordered Cantillos arrest by sympathetic figures in the army . Accompanying celebrations at news of Batistas downfall on 1 January 1959 , Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism . Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January , while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence . Heading toward Havana , he greeted cheering crowds at every town , giving press conferences and interviews . Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959 . Provisional government : 1959 . At Castros command , the politically moderate lawyer Manuel Urrutia Lleó was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced ( falsely ) that Urrutia had been selected by popular election . Most of Urrutias cabinet were MR-26-7 members . Entering Havana , Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency , setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel . Castro exercised a great deal of influence over Urrutias regime , which was now ruling by decree . He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office . He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties ; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections . Although repeatedly denying that he was a communist to the press , he began clandestinely meeting members of the PSP to discuss the creation of a socialist state . In suppressing the revolution , Batistas government had killed thousands of Cubans ; Castro and influential sectors of the press put the death toll at 20,000 , but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants . More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000 . In response to popular uproar , which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice , Castro helped to set up many trials , resulting in hundreds of executions . Although popular domestically , critics—in particular the U.S . press , argued that many were not fair trials . Castro responded that revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts , but on moral conviction . Acclaimed by many across Latin America , he traveled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect Rómulo Betancourt , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil . Returning home , an argument between Castro and senior government figures broke out . He was infuriated that the government had left thousands unemployed by closing down casinos and brothels . As a result , Prime Minister José Miró Cardona resigned , going into exile in the U.S . and joining the anti-Castro movement . Premiership . Consolidating leadership : 1959–1960 . On 16 February 1959 , Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba . In April , he visited the U.S . on a charm offensive where President Dwight D . Eisenhower would not meet with him , but instead sent Vice President Richard Nixon , whom Castro instantly disliked . After meeting Castro , Nixon described him to Eisenhower as : The one fact we can be sure of is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men . Whatever we may think of him he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally . He seems to be sincere . He is either incredibly naive about Communism or under Communist discipline-my guess is the former...His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure I have met in fifty countries . But because he has the power to lead...we have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction . Proceeding to Canada , Trinidad , Brazil , Uruguay and Argentina , Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires , unsuccessfully proposing a $30 billion U.S.-funded Marshall Plan for Latin America . In May 1959 , Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform , setting a cap for landholdings to per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership . Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up ; popular among the working class , it alienated the richer landowners , including Castros own mother , whose farmlands were taken . Within a year , Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 percent of the nations wealth , declaring that the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters . Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry , introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit , advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of racial discrimination . Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised , and in March 1959 , Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $100 a month halved . The Cuban government also began to expropriate the casinos and properties from mafia leaders and taking millions in cash . Before he died Meyer Lansky said Cuba ruined him . In the summer of 1959 , Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners . He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled . He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement , over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities . Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being a communist , Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions . Most significantly , Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries . President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism . Angered , Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 July—blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his fevered anti-Communism . Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded the Presidential Palace demanding Urrutias resignation , which he submitted . On 23 July , Castro resumed his Premiership and appointed Marxist Osvaldo Dorticós as president . Castros government emphasised social projects to improve Cubas standard of living , often to the detriment of economic development . Major emphasis was placed on education , and during the first 30 months of Castros government , more classrooms were opened than in the previous 30 years . The Cuban primary education system offered a work-study program , with half of the time spent in the classroom , and the other half in a productive activity . Health care was nationalized and expanded , with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid . Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented , and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically . A third part of this social program was the improvement of infrastructure . Within the first six months of Castros government , of roads were built across the island , while $300 million was spent on water and sanitation projects . Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness , while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for the disabled and elderly . Castro used radio and television to develop a dialogue with the people , posing questions and making provocative statements . His regime remained popular with workers , peasants , and students , who constituted the majority of the countrys population , while opposition came primarily from the middle class ; thousands of doctors , engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in the U.S. , causing an economic brain drain . Productivity decreased and the countrys financial reserves were drained within two years . After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government , the pro-Castro printers trade union disrupted editorial staff , and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a clarification written by the printers union at the end of articles critical of the government . Castros government arrested hundreds of counter-revolutionaries , many of whom were subjected to solitary confinement , rough treatment , and threatening behavior . Militant anti-Castro groups , funded by exiles , the CIA , and the Dominican government , undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cubas mountains , leading to the six-year Escambray Rebellion . At the time , 1960 , the Cold War raged between two superpowers : the United States , a capitalist liberal democracy , and the Soviet Union ( USSR ) , a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the Communist Party . Expressing contempt for the U.S. , Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR , establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states . Meeting with Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan , Castro agreed to provide the USSR with sugar , fruit , fibers , and hides in return for crude oil , fertilizers , industrial goods , and a $100 million loan . Cubas government ordered the countrys refineries – then controlled by the U.S . corporations Shell and Esso – to process Soviet oil , but under U.S . pressure they refused . Castro responded by expropriating and nationalizing the refineries . Retaliating , the U.S . cancelled its import of Cuban sugar , provoking Castro to nationalize most U.S.-owned assets on the island , including banks and sugar mills . Relations between Cuba and the U.S . were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel , the La Coubre , in Havana harbor in March 1960 . The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium , and the cause of the explosion was never determined , but Castro publicly insinuated that the U.S . government was guilty of sabotage . He ended this speech with ¡Patria o Muerte ! ( Fatherland or Death ) , a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years . Inspired by their earlier success with the 1954 Guatemalan coup détat , in March 1960 , U.S . President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castros government . He provided them with a budget of $13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia , who were aggrieved that Castros government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba . On 13 October 1960 , the U.S . prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba , initiating an economic embargo . In retaliation , the National Institute for Agrarian Reform INRA took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October , and on 25 October a further 166 U.S . companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized . On 16 December , the U.S . ended its import quota of Cuban sugar , the countrys primary export . United Nations . In September 1960 , Castro flew to New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations . Staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like Malcolm X . Castro had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor African-American population living there , thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him . He also met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev , with the two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem . Relations between Castro and Khrushchev were warm ; they led the applause to one anothers speeches at the General Assembly . The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly rancorous one with Khrushchev famously banging his shoe against his desk to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong , which set the general tone for the debates and speeches . Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly , speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America . Subsequently , visited by Polish First Secretary Władysław Gomułka , Bulgarian First Secretary Todor Zhivkov , Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru , Castro also received an evenings reception from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee . Back in Cuba , Castro feared a U.S.-backed coup ; in 1959 his regime spent $120 million on Soviet , French , and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cubas armed forces . Fearing counter-revolutionary elements in the army , the government created a Peoples Militia to arm citizens favorable to the revolution , training at least 50,000 civilians in combat techniques . In September 1960 , they created the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution ( CDR ) , a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighborhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns , becoming a conduit for public complaints . By 1970 , a third of the population would be involved in the CDR , and this would eventually rise to 80% . Despite the fear of a coup , Castro garnered support in New York City . On 18 February 1961 , 400 people – mainly Cubans , Puerto Ricans , and college students – picketed in the rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castros anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States power over Cuba . The protesters held up signs that read , Mr . Kennedy , Cuba is Not For Sale. , Viva Fidel Castro ! and Down With Yankee Imperialism! . Around 200 policemen were on the scene , but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castros socialist movement . Some Americans disagreed with President John F . Kennedys decision to ban trade with Cuba , and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics . Castro proclaimed the new administration a direct democracy , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will . As a result , he rejected the need for elections , claiming that representative democratic systems served the interests of socio-economic elites . U.S . Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule , with a one-party state , government control of trade unions , suppression of civil liberties , and the absence of freedom of speech and press . Bay of Pigs Invasion and Socialist Cuba : 1961–1962 . In January 1961 , Castro ordered Havanas U.S . Embassy to reduce its 300-member staff , suspecting that many of them were spies . The U.S . responded by ending diplomatic relations , and it increased CIA funding for exiled dissidents ; these militants began attacking ships that traded with Cuba , and bombed factories , shops , and sugar mills . Both President Eisenhower and his successor President Kennedy supported a CIA plan to aid a dissident militia , the Democratic Revolutionary Front , to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro ; the plan resulted in the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 . On 15 April , CIA-supplied B-26s bombed three Cuban military airfields ; the U.S . announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots , but Castro exposed these claims as false flag misinformation . Fearing invasion , he ordered the arrest of between 20,000 and 100,000 suspected counter-revolutionaries , publicly proclaiming , What the imperialists cannot forgive us , is that we have made a Socialist revolution under their noses , his first announcement that the government was socialist . The CIA and the Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army , Brigade 2506 , in Nicaragua . On the night of 16 to 17 April , Brigade 2506 landed along Cubas Bay of Pigs and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia . Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive , before taking personal control of it . After bombing the invaders ships and bringing in reinforcements , Castro forced the Brigade to surrender on 20 April . He ordered the 1189 captured rebels to be interrogated by a panel of journalists on live television , personally taking over the questioning on 25 April . Fourteen were put on trial for crimes allegedly committed before the revolution , while the others were returned to the U.S . in exchange for medicine and food valued at U.S . $25 million . Castros victory reverberated across the world , especially in Latin America , but it also increased internal opposition primarily among the middle-class Cubans who had been detained in the run-up to the invasion . Although most were freed within a few days , many fled to the U.S. , establishing themselves in Florida . Consolidating Socialist Cuba , Castro united the MR-26-7 , PSP and Revolutionary Directorate into a governing party based on the Leninist principle of democratic centralism : the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations ( Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas – ORI ) , renamed the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution ( PURSC ) in 1962 . Although the USSR was hesitant regarding Castros embrace of socialism , relations with the Soviets deepened . Castro sent Fidelito for a Moscow schooling , Soviet technicians arrived on the island , and Castro was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize . In December 1961 , Castro admitted that he had been a Marxist–Leninist for years , and in his Second Declaration of Havana he called on Latin America to rise up in revolution . In response , the U.S . successfully pushed the Organization of American States to expel Cuba ; the Soviets privately reprimanded Castro for recklessness , although he received praise from China . Despite their ideological affinity with China , in the Sino-Soviet split , Cuba allied with the wealthier Soviets , who offered economic and military aid . The ORI began shaping Cuba using the Soviet model , persecuting political opponents and perceived social deviants such as prostitutes and homosexuals ; Castro considered same-sex sexual activity a bourgeois trait . Gay men were forced into the Military Units to Aid Production ( Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción – UMAP ) ; after many revolutionary intellectuals decried this move , the UMAP camps were closed in 1967 , although gay men continued to be imprisoned . By 1962 , Cubas economy was in steep decline , a result of poor economic management and low productivity coupled with the U.S . trade embargo . Food shortages led to rationing , resulting in protests in Cárdenas . Security reports indicated that many Cubans associated austerity with the Old Communists of the PSP , while Castro considered a number of them – namely Aníbal Escalante and Blas Roca – unduly loyal to Moscow . In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent Old Communists from office , labelling them sectarian . On a personal level , Castro was increasingly lonely , and his relations with Guevara became strained as the latter became increasingly anti-Soviet and pro-Chinese . Cuban Missile Crisis and furthering socialism : 1962–1968 . Militarily weaker than NATO , Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12 MRBM nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance . Although conflicted , Castro agreed , believing it would guarantee Cubas safety and enhance the cause of socialism . Undertaken in secrecy , only the Castro brothers , Guevara , Dorticós and security chief Ramiro Valdés knew the full plan . Upon discovering it through aerial reconnaissance , in October the U.S . implemented an island-wide quarantine to search vessels headed to Cuba , sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis . The U.S . saw the missiles as offensive ; Castro insisted they were for defense only . Castro urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the U.S . if Cuba were invaded , but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war . Castro was left out of the negotiations , in which Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S . commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that the U.S . would remove their MRBMs from Turkey and Italy . Feeling betrayed by Khrushchev , Castro was furious and soon fell ill . Proposing a five-point plan , Castro demanded that the U.S . end its embargo , withdraw from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , cease supporting dissidents , and stop violating Cuban air space and territorial waters . He presented these demands to U Thant , visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations , but the U.S . ignored them . In turn Castro refused to allow the U.N.s inspection team into Cuba . In May 1963 , Castro visited the USSR at Khrushchevs personal invitation , touring 14 cities , addressing a Red Square rally , and being awarded both the Order of Lenin and an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University . Castro returned to Cuba with new ideas ; inspired by Soviet newspaper Pravda , he amalgamated Hoy and Revolución into a new daily , Granma , and oversaw large investment into Cuban sport that resulted in an increased international sporting reputation . Seeking to further consolidate control , in 1963 the government cracked down on Protestant sects in Cuba , with Castro labeling them counter-revolutionary instruments of imperialism ; many preachers were found guilty of illegal U.S.-links and imprisoned . Measures were implemented to force perceived idle and delinquent youths to work , primarily through the introduction of mandatory military service . In September , the government temporarily permitted emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26 , thereby ridding the government of thousands of critics , most of whom were from upper and middle-class backgrounds . In 1963 , Castros mother died . This was the last time his private life was reported in Cubas press . In January 1964 , Castro returned to Moscow , officially to sign a new five-year sugar trade agreement , but also to discuss the ramifications of the assassination of John F . Kennedy . Castro was deeply concerned by the assassination , believing that a far-right conspiracy was behind it but that the Cubans would be blamed . In October 1965 , the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the Cuban Communist Party and published the membership of its Central Committee . Despite Soviet misgivings , Castro continued to call for global revolution , funding militant leftists and those engaged in national liberation struggles . Cubas foreign policy was strongly anti-imperialist , believing that every nation should control its own natural resources . He supported Che Guevaras Andean project , an unsuccessful plan to set up a guerrilla movement in the highlands of Bolivia , Peru and Argentina . He allowed revolutionary groups from across the world , from the Viet Cong to the Black Panthers , to train in Cuba . He considered Western-dominated Africa to be ripe for revolution , and sent troops and medics to aid Ahmed Ben Bellas socialist regime in Algeria during the Sand War . He also allied with Alphonse Massamba-Débats socialist government in Congo-Brazzaville . In 1965 , Castro authorized Che Guevara to travel to Congo-Kinshasa to train revolutionaries against the Western-backed government . Castro was personally devastated when Guevara was killed by CIA-backed troops in Bolivia in October 1967 and publicly attributed it to Guevaras disregard for his own safety . In 1966 , Castro staged a Tri-Continental Conference of Africa , Asia and Latin America in Havana , further establishing himself as a significant player on the world stage . From this conference , Castro created the Latin American Solidarity Organization ( OLAS ) , which adopted the slogan of The duty of a revolution is to make revolution , signifying Havanas leadership of Latin Americas revolutionary movement . Castros increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the USSR , now under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev . Asserting Cubas independence , Castro refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , declaring it a Soviet-U.S . attempt to dominate the Third World . Diverting from Soviet Marxist doctrine , he suggested that Cuban society could evolve straight to pure communism rather than gradually progress through various stages of socialism . In turn , the Soviet-loyalist Aníbal Escalante began organizing a government network of opposition to Castro , though in January 1968 , he and his supporters were arrested for allegedly passing state secrets to Moscow . Recognising Cubas economic dependence on the Soviets , Castro relented to Brezhnevs pressure to be obedient , and in August 1968 he denounced the leaders of the Prague Spring and praised the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . Influenced by Chinas Great Leap Forward , in 1968 Castro proclaimed a Great Revolutionary Offensive , closing all remaining privately owned shops and businesses and denouncing their owners as capitalist counter-revolutionaries . The severe lack of consumer goods for purchase led productivity to decline , as large sectors of the population felt little incentive to work hard . This was exacerbated by the perception that a revolutionary elite had emerged , consisting of those connected to the administration ; they had access to better housing , private transportation , servants , and the ability to purchase luxury goods abroad . Economic stagnation and Third World politics : 1969–1974 . Castro publicly celebrated his administrations 10th anniversary in January 1969 ; in his celebratory speech he warned of sugar rations , reflecting the nations economic problems . The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane , and to meet its export quota , the government drafted in the army , implemented a seven-day working week , and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest . When that years production quota was not met , Castro offered to resign during a public speech , but assembled crowds insisted he remain . Despite the economic issues , many of Castros social reforms were popular , with the population largely supportive of the Achievements of the Revolution in education , medical care , housing , and road construction , as well as the policies of direct democratic public consultation . Seeking Soviet help , from 1970 to 1972 Soviet economists re-organized Cubas economy , founding the Cuban-Soviet Commission of Economic , Scientific and Technical Collaboration , while Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin visited in October 1971 . In July 1972 , Cuba joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( Comecon ) , an economic organization of socialist states , although this further limited Cubas economy to agricultural production . In May 1970 , the crews of two Cuban fishing boats were kidnapped by Florida-based dissident group Alpha 66 , who demanded that Cuba release imprisoned militants . Under U.S . pressure , the hostages were released , and Castro welcomed them back as heroes . In April 1971 , Castro was internationally condemned for ordering the arrest of dissident poet Heberto Padilla who had been arrested 20 March ; Padilla was freed , but the government established the National Cultural Council to ensure that intellectuals and artists supported the administration . In November 1971 , Castro visited Chile , where Marxist President Salvador Allende had been elected as the head of a left-wing coalition . Castro supported Allendes socialist reforms , but warned him of right-wing elements in Chiles military . In 1973 , the military led a coup détat and established a military junta led by Augusto Pinochet . Castro proceeded to Guinea to meet socialist President Sékou Touré , praising him as Africas greatest leader , and there received the Order of Fidelity to the People . He then went on a seven-week tour visiting leftist allies : Algeria , Bulgaria , Hungary , Poland , East Germany , Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union , where he was given further awards . On each trip , he was eager to visit factory and farm workers , publicly praising their governments ; privately , he urged the regimes to aid revolutionary movements elsewhere , particularly those fighting the Vietnam War . In September 1973 , he returned to Algiers to attend the Fourth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) . Various NAM members were critical of Castros attendance , claiming that Cuba was aligned to the Warsaw Pact and therefore should not be at the conference . At the conference he publicly broke off relations with Israel , citing its governments close relationship with the U.S . and its treatment of Palestinians during the Israel–Palestine conflict . This earned Castro respect throughout the Arab world , in particular from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi , who became a friend and ally . As the Yom Kippur War broke out in October 1973 between Israel and an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria , Cuba sent 4,000 troops to aid Syria . Leaving Algiers , Castro visited Iraq and North Vietnam . Cubas economy grew in 1974 as a result of high international sugar prices and new credits with Argentina , Canada , and parts of Western Europe . A number of Latin American states called for Cubas re-admittance into the Organization of American States ( OAS ) , with the U.S . finally conceding in 1975 on Henry Kissingers advice . Cubas government underwent a restructuring along Soviet lines , claiming that this would further democratization and decentralize power away from Castro . Officially announcing Cubas identity as a socialist state , the first National Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held , and a new constitution drafted that abolished the position of President and Prime Minister . Castro remained the dominant figure in governance , taking the presidency of the newly created Council of State and Council of Ministers , making him both head of state and head of government . Presidency . Foreign wars and NAM Presidency : 1975–1979 . Castro considered Africa to be the weakest link in the imperialist chain , and at the request of Angolan President Agostinho Neto he ordered 230 military advisers into Angola in November 1975 to aid Netos Marxist MPLA in the Angolan Civil War . When the U.S . and South Africa stepped up their support of the opposition FLNA and UNITA , Castro ordered a further 18,000 troops to Angola , which played a major role in forcing a South African and UNITA retreat . The decision to intervene in Angola has been a controversial one , all the more so as Castros critics have charged that it was not his decision at all , contending that the Soviets ordered him to do so . Castro always maintained that he took the decision to launch Operation Carlota himself in response to an appeal from Neto and that the Soviets were in fact opposed to Cuban intervention in Angola , which took place over their opposition . Traveling to Angola , Castro celebrated with Neto , Sékou Touré and Guinea-Bissaun President Luís Cabral , where they agreed to support Mozambiques Marxist–Leninist government against RENAMO in the Mozambican Civil War . In February , Castro visited Algeria and then Libya , where he spent ten days with Gaddafi and oversaw the establishment of the Jamahariya system of governance , before attending talks with the Marxist government of South Yemen . From there he proceeded to Somalia , Tanzania , Mozambique and Angola where he was greeted by crowds as a hero for Cubas role in opposing apartheid South Africa . Throughout much of Africa he was hailed as a friend to national liberation from foreign dominance . This was followed with visits to East Berlin and Moscow . In 1977 the Ogaden War broke out over the disputed Ogaden region as Somalia invaded Ethiopia ; although a former ally of Somali President Siad Barre , Castro had warned him against such action , and Cuba sided with Mengistu Haile Mariams Marxist government of Ethiopia . In an desperate attempt to stop the war , Castro had a summit with Barre where he proposed a federation of Ethiopia , Somalia , and South Yemen as an alternative to war . Barre who saw seizing the Ogaden as the first step towards creating a greater Somalia that would unite all of the Somalis into one state rejected the federation offer , and decided upon war . Castro sent troops under the command of General Arnaldo Ochoa to aid the overwhelmed Ethiopian army . Mengistus regime was barely hanging on by 1977 , having lost one-third of its army in Eritrea at the time of the Somali invasion . The intervention of 17 , 000 Cuban troops into the Ogaden was by all accounts decisive in altering a war that Ethiopia was on the brink of losing into a victory . After forcing back the Somalis , Mengistu then ordered the Ethiopians to suppress the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front , a measure Castro refused to support . Castro extended support to Latin American revolutionary movements , namely the Sandinista National Liberation Front in its overthrow of the Nicaraguan rightist government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 . Castros critics accused the government of wasting Cuban lives in these military endeavors ; the anti-Castro Center for a Free Cuba has claimed that an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in foreign Cuban military actions . When American critics claimed that Castro had no right to interfere in these nations , he countered that Cuba had been invited into them , pointing out the U.S . own involvement in various foreign nations . Between 1979 and 1991 about 370 , 000 Cuban troops together with 50 , 000 Cuban civilians ( mostly teachers and doctors ) served in Angola , representing about 5% of Cubas population . The Cuban intervention in Angola was envisioned as a short-term commitment , but the Angolan government used the profits from the oil industry to subsidize Cubas economy , making Cuba as economically dependent upon Angola as Angola was militarily dependent upon Cuba . In the late 1970s , Cubas relations with North American states improved during the period with Mexican President Luis Echeverría , Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , and U.S . President Jimmy Carter in power . Carter continued criticizing Cubas human rights abuses , but adopted a respectful approach which gained Castros attention . Considering Carter well-meaning and sincere , Castro freed certain political prisoners and allowed some Cuban exiles to visit relatives on the island , hoping that in turn Carter would abolish the economic embargo and stop CIA support for militant dissidents . Conversely , his relationship with China declined , as he accused Deng Xiaopings Chinese government of betraying their revolutionary principles by initiating trade links with the U.S . and attacking Vietnam . In 1979 , the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) was held in Havana , where Castro was selected as NAM president , a position he held until 1982 . In his capacity as both President of the NAM and of Cuba he appeared at the United Nations General Assembly in October 1979 and gave a speech on the disparity between the worlds rich and poor . His speech was greeted with much applause from other world leaders , though his standing in NAM was damaged by Cubas refusal to condemn the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan . Reagan and Gorbachev : 1980–1991 . By the 1980s , Cubas economy was again in trouble , following a decline in the market price of sugar and 1979s decimated harvest . For the first time , unemployment became a serious problem in Castros Cuba , with the government sending unemployed youth to other countries , primarily East Germany , to work there . Desperate for money , Cubas government secretly sold off paintings from national collections and illicitly traded for U.S . electronic goods through Panama . Increasing numbers of Cubans fled to Florida , but were labelled scum and lumpen by Castro and his CDR supporters . In one incident , 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian Embassy requesting asylum , and so the U.S . agreed that it would accept 3,500 refugees . Castro conceded that those who wanted to leave could do so from Mariel port . Hundreds of boats arrived from the U.S. , leading to a mass exodus of 120,000 ; Castros government took advantage of the situation by loading criminals , the mentally ill , and suspected homosexuals onto the boats destined for Florida . The event destabilized Carters administration , and later , in 1980 , Ronald Reagan was elected U.S . president . Reagans administration adopted a hard-line approach against Castro , making its desire to overthrow his regime clear . In late 1981 , Castro publicly accused the U.S . of biological warfare against Cuba by orchestrating a dengue fever epidemic . Cubas economy became even more dependent on Soviet aid , with Soviet subsidies ( mainly in the form of supplies of low-cost oil and voluntarily buying Cuban sugar at inflated prices ) averaging $4–5 billion a year by the late 1980s . This accounted for 30–38% of the countrys entire GDP . Soviet economic assistance had not helped Cubas long-term growth prospects by promoting diversification or sustainability . Although described as a relatively highly developed Latin American export economy in 1959 and the early 1960s , Cubas basic economic structure changed very little between then and the 1980s . Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cubas leading exports , and even these are produced by a pre-industrial process . The Cuban economy remained highly inefficient and over-specialized in a few highly subsidized commodities provided by the Soviet bloc countries . Although despising Argentinas right wing military junta , Castro supported them in the 1982 Falklands War against Britain and offered military aid to the Argentinians . Castro supported the leftist New Jewel Movement that seized power in Grenada in 1979 , befriending Grenadine President Maurice Bishop and sending doctors , teachers , and technicians to aid the countrys development . When Bishop was executed in a Soviet-backed coup by hard-line Marxist Bernard Coard in October 1983 , Castro condemned the killing but cautiously retained support for Grenadas government . However , the U.S . used the coup as a basis for invading the island . Cuban soldiers died in the conflict , with Castro denouncing the invasion and comparing the U.S . to Nazi Germany . In a July 1983 speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution , Castro condemned Reagans administration as a reactionary , extremist clique who were waging an openly warmongering and fascist foreign policy . Castro feared a U.S . invasion of Nicaragua and sent Ochoa to train the governing Sandinistas in guerrilla warfare , but received little support from the USSR . In 1985 , Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party . A reformer , he implemented measures to increase freedom of the press ( glasnost ) and economic decentralization ( perestroika ) in an attempt to strengthen socialism . Like many orthodox Marxist critics , Castro feared that the reforms would weaken the socialist state and allow capitalist elements to regain control . Gorbachev conceded to U.S . demands to reduce support for Cuba , with Soviet-Cuban relations deteriorating . On medical advice given him in October 1985 , Castro gave up regularly smoking Cuban cigars , helping to set an example for the rest of the populace . Castro became passionate in his denunciation of the Third World debt problem , arguing that the Third World would never escape the debt that First World banks and governments imposed upon it . In 1985 , Havana hosted five international conferences on the world debt problem . By November 1987 , Castro began spending more time on the Angolan Civil War , in which the Marxists had fallen into retreat . Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos successfully appealed for more Cuban troops , with Castro later admitting that he devoted more time to Angola than to the domestic situation , believing that a victory would lead to the collapse of apartheid . In response to the siege of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987–1988 by South African-UNITA forces , Castro sent an additional 12 , 000 Cuban Army troops to Angola in late 1987 . From afar in Havana , Castro was closely involved in the decision-making about the defense of Cuito Cuanavle and came into conflict with Ochoa , whom he criticized for almost losing Cuito Cuanavle to a South African assault on 13 January 1988 despite warning for almost two months prior that such an attack was coming . On 30 January 1988 , Ochoa was summoned to a meeting with Castro in Havana where he was told that Cuito Cuanavale must not fall and to execute Castros plans for a pull-back to more defensible positions over the objections of the Angolans . The Cuban troops played a decisive role in the relief of Cuito Cuanavale , breaking the siege in March 1988 , which led to the withdrawal of most of the South African troops from Angola . Cuban propaganda turned the siege of Cuito Cuanavle into a decisive victory that changed the course of African history and Castro awarded 82 soldiers medals of the newly created Medal of Merit for the Defense of Cuito Cuanavle on 1 April 1988 . Tensions were increased with the Cubans advancing close to the border of Namibia , which led to warnings from the South African government that they considered this an extremely unfriendly act , causing South Africa to mobilize and call up its reserves . In the spring of 1988 , the intensity of South African-Cuban fighting drastically increased with both sides taking heavy losses . The prospect of an all-out Cuban-South African war served to concentrate minds in both Moscow and Washington and led to an increased push for a diplomatic solution to the Angolan war . The cost of Cubas wars in Africa were paid for with Soviet subsidies at a time when the Soviet economy was badly hurt by low oil prices while the white supremacist government of South Africa had by the 1980s became a very awkward American ally as much of the American population , especially black Americans , objected to apartheid . From the viewpoint of both Moscow and Washington , having both Cuba and South Africa disengage in Angola was the best possible outcome . The low oil prices of the 1980s had also changed the Angolan attitude about subsidizing the Cuban economy as dos Santos found the promises made in the 1970s when oil prices were high to be a serious drain upon Angolas economy in the 1980s . South African whites were vastly outnumbered by South African blacks , and accordingly the South African Army could not take heavy losses with its white troops as that would fatally weaken the ability of the South African state to uphold apartheid . The Cubans had also taken heavy losses while the increasing difficult relations with dos Santos who become less generous in subsidizing the Cuban economy suggested that such losses were not worth the cost . Gorbachev called for a negotiated end to the conflict and in 1988 organized a quadripartite talks between the USSR , U.S. , Cuba and South Africa ; they agreed that all foreign troops would pull out of Angola while South Africa agreed to grant independence to Namibia . Castro was angered by Gorbachevs approach , believing that he was abandoning the plight of the worlds poor in favor of détente . When Gorbachev visited Cuba in April 1989 , he informed Castro that perestroika meant an end to subsidies for Cuba . Ignoring calls for liberalization in accordance with the Soviet example , Castro continued to clamp down on internal dissidents and in particular kept tabs on the military , the primary threat to the government . A number of senior military officers , including Ochoa and Tony de la Guardia , were investigated for corruption and complicity in cocaine smuggling , tried , and executed in 1989 , despite calls for leniency . In Eastern Europe , socialist governments fell to capitalist reformers between 1989 and 1991 and many Western observers expected the same in Cuba . Increasingly isolated , Cuba improved relations with Manuel Noriegas right-wing government in Panama – despite Castros personal hatred of Noriega – but it was overthrown in a U.S . invasion in December 1989 . In February 1990 , Castros allies in Nicaragua , President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas , were defeated by the U.S.-funded National Opposition Union in an election . With the collapse of the Soviet bloc , the U.S . secured a majority vote for a resolution condemning Cubas human rights violations at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva , Switzerland . Cuba asserted that this was a manifestation of U.S . hegemony , and refused to allow an investigative delegation to enter the country . Special Period : 1992–2000 . With favourable trade from the Soviet bloc ended , Castro publicly declared that Cuba was entering a Special Period in Time of Peace . Petrol rations were dramatically reduced , Chinese bicycles were imported to replace cars , and factories performing non-essential tasks were shut down . Oxen began to replace tractors , firewood began being used for cooking and electricity cuts were introduced that lasted 16 hours a day . Castro admitted that Cuba faced the worst situation short of open war , and that the country might have to resort to subsistence farming . By 1992 , Cubas economy had declined by over 40% in under two years , with major food shortages , widespread malnutrition and a lack of basic goods . Castro hoped for a restoration of Marxism–Leninism in the USSR , but refrained from backing the 1991 coup in that country . When Gorbachev regained control , Cuba-Soviet relations deteriorated further and Soviet troops were withdrawn in September 1991 . In December , the Soviet Union was officially dissolved as Boris Yeltsin abolished the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and introducing a capitalist multiparty democracy . Yeltsin despised Castro and developed links with the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation . Castro tried improving relations with the capitalist nations . He welcomed Western politicians and investors to Cuba , befriended Manuel Fraga and took a particular interest in Margaret Thatchers policies in the UK , believing that Cuban socialism could learn from her emphasis on low taxation and personal initiative . He ceased support for foreign militants , refrained from praising FARC on a 1994 visit to Colombia and called for a negotiated settlement between the Zapatistas and Mexican government in 1995 . Publicly , he presented himself as a moderate on the world stage . In 1991 , Havana hosted the Pan American Games , which involved construction of a stadium and accommodation for the athletes ; Castro admitted that it was an expensive error , but it was a success for Cubas government . Crowds regularly shouted Fidel ! Fidel ! in front of foreign journalists , while Cuba became the first Latin American nation to beat the U.S . to the top of the gold-medal table . Support for Castro remained strong , and although there were small anti-government demonstrations , the Cuban opposition rejected the exile communitys calls for an armed uprising . In August 1994 , Havana witnessed the largest anti-Castro demonstration in Cuban history , as 200 to 300 young men threw stones at police , demanding that they be allowed to emigrate to Miami . A larger pro-Castro crowd confronted them , who were joined by Castro ; he informed media that the men were anti-socials misled by the U.S . The protests dispersed with no recorded injuries . Fearing that dissident groups would invade , the government organised the War of All the People defense strategy , planning a widespread guerrilla warfare campaign , and the unemployed were given jobs building a network of bunkers and tunnels across the country . Castro believed in the need for reform if Cuban socialism was to survive in a world now dominated by capitalist free markets . In October 1991 , the Fourth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held in Santiago , at which a number of important changes to the government were announced . Castro would step down as head of government , to be replaced by the much younger Carlos Lage , although Castro would remain the head of the Communist Party and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces . Many older members of government were to be retired and replaced by their younger counterparts . A number of economic changes were proposed , and subsequently put to a national referendum . Free farmers markets and small-scale private enterprises would be legalized in an attempt to stimulate economic growth , while U.S . dollars were also made legal tender . Certain restrictions on emigration were eased , allowing more discontented Cuban citizens to move to the United States . Further democratization was to be brought in by having the National Assemblys members elected directly by the people , rather than through municipal and provincial assemblies . Castro welcomed debate between proponents and opponents of the economics reforms—although over time he began to increasingly sympathise with the opponents positions , arguing that such reforms must be delayed . Castros government diversified its economy into biotechnology and tourism , the latter outstripping Cubas sugar industry as its primary source of revenue in 1995 . The arrival of thousands of Mexican and Spanish tourists led to increasing numbers of Cubans turning to prostitution ; officially illegal , Castro refrained from cracking down on prostitution in Cuba , fearing a political backlash . Economic hardship led many Cubans toward religion , both in the form of Roman Catholicism and Santería . Although long thinking religious belief to be backward , Castro softened his approach to religious institutions and religious people were permitted for the first time to join the Communist Party . Although he viewed the Roman Catholic Church as a reactionary , pro-capitalist institution , Castro organized a visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II for January 1998 ; it strengthened the position of both the Cuban Church and Castros government . In the early 1990s Castro embraced environmentalism , campaigning against global warming and the waste of natural resources , and accusing the U.S . of being the worlds primary polluter . In 1994 a ministry dedicated to the environment was established , and new laws established in 1997 that promoted awareness of environmental issues throughout Cuba and stressed the sustainable use of natural resources . By 2006 , Cuba was the worlds only nation which met the United Nations Development Programmes definition of sustainable development , with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 . Castro also became a proponent of the anti-globalization movement , criticizing U.S . global hegemony and the control exerted by multinationals . Castro maintained his devout anti-apartheid beliefs , and at the 26 July celebrations in 1991 , he was joined onstage by the South African political activist Nelson Mandela , recently released from prison . Mandela praised Cubas involvement in battling South Africa in Angola and thanked Castro personally . He later attended Mandelas inauguration as President of South Africa in 1994 . In 2001 he attended the Conference Against Racism in South Africa at which he lectured on the global spread of racial stereotypes through U.S . film . Pink tide : 2000–2006 . Mired in economic problems , Cuba was aided by the election of socialist and anti-imperialist Hugo Chávez to the Venezuelan Presidency in 1999 . Castro and Chávez developed a close friendship , with the former acting as a mentor and father-figure to the latter , and together they built an alliance that had repercussions throughout Latin America . In 2000 , they signed an agreement through which Cuba would send 20,000 medics to Venezuela , in return receiving 53,000 barrels of oil per day at preferential rates ; in 2004 , this trade was stepped up , with Cuba sending 40,000 medics and Venezuela providing 90,000 barrels a day . That same year , Castro initiated Misión Milagro , a joint medical project which aimed to provide free eye operations on 300,000 individuals from each nation . The alliance boosted the Cuban economy , and in May 2005 Castro doubled the minimum wage for 1.6 million workers , raised pensions , and delivered new kitchen appliances to Cubas poorest residents . Some economic problems remained ; in 2004 , Castro shut down 118 factories , including steel plants , sugar mills and paper processors to compensate for a critical shortage of fuel . Cuba and Venezuela were the founding members of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas ( ALBA ) . ALBA sought to redistribute wealth evenly throughout member countries , to protect the regions agriculture , and to oppose economic liberalization and privatization . ALBAs origins lay in a December 2004 agreement signed between the two countries , and was formalized through a Peoples Trade Agreement also signed by Evo Morales Bolivia in April 2006 . Castro had also been calling for greater Caribbean integration since the late 1990s , saying that only strengthened cooperation between Caribbean countries would prevent their domination by rich nations in a global economy . Cuba has opened four additional embassies in the Caribbean Community including : Antigua and Barbuda , Dominica , Suriname , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . This development makes Cuba the only country to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community . In contrast to the improved relations between Cuba and a number of leftist Latin American states , in 2004 it broke off diplomatic ties with Panama after centrist President Mireya Moscoso pardoned four Cuban exiles accused of attempting to assassinate Castro in 2000 . Diplomatic ties were reinstalled in 2005 following the election of leftist President Martín Torrijos . Castros improving relations across Latin America were accompanied by continuing animosity towards the U.S . However , after massive damage caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2001 , Castro successfully proposed a one-time cash purchase of food from the U.S . while declining its governments offer of humanitarian aid . Castro expressed solidarity with the U.S . following the 2001 September 11 attacks , condemning Al-Qaeda and offering Cuban airports for the emergency diversion of any U.S . planes . He recognized that the attacks would make U.S . foreign policy more aggressive , which he believed was counter-productive . Castro criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq , saying that the U.S.-led war had imposed an international law of the jungle . Meanwhile , in 1998 , Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived in Cuba to meet Castro and highlight their close ties . He was the first Canadian government leader to visit the island since Pierre Trudeau was in Havana in 1976 . In 2002 , former U.S . President Jimmy Carter visited Cuba , where he highlighted the lack of civil liberties in the country and urged the government to pay attention to the Varela Project of Oswaldo Payá . Final years . Stepping down : 2006–2008 . Castro underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding , and on 31 July 2006 , delegated his presidential duties to Raúl Castro . In February 2007 , Raúl announced that Fidels health was improving and that he was taking part in important issues of government . Later that month , Fidel called into Hugo Chávezs radio show Aló Presidente . On 21 April , Castro met Wu Guanzheng of the Chinese Communist Partys Politburo Standing member , with Chávez visiting in August , and Morales in September . That month , the Non-Aligned Movement held its 14th Summit in Havana , there agreeing to appoint Castro as the organisations president for a years term . Commenting on Castros recovery , U.S . President George W . Bush said : One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away . Hearing about this , the atheist Castro replied : Now I understand why I survived Bushs plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination : the good Lord protected me . The quote was picked up on by the worlds media . In a February 2008 letter , Castro announced that he would not accept the positions of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief at that months National Assembly meetings , remarking , It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion , that I am not in a physical condition to offer . On 24 February 2008 , the National Assembly of Peoples Power unanimously voted Raúl as president . Describing his brother as not substitutable , Raúl proposed that Fidel continue to be consulted on matters of great importance , a motion unanimously approved by the 597 National Assembly members . Retirement and final years : 2008–2016 . Following his retirement , Castros health deteriorated ; international press speculated that he had diverticulitis , but Cubas government refused to corroborate this . He continued to interact with the Cuban people , published an opinion column titled Reflections in Granma , used a Twitter account , and gave occasional public lectures . In January 2009 Castro asked Cubans not to worry about his lack of recent news columns and failing health , and not to be disturbed by his future death . He continued meeting foreign leaders and dignitaries , and that month photographs were released of Castros meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernández . In July 2010 , he made his first public appearance since falling ill , greeting science center workers and giving a television interview to Mesa Redonda in which he discussed U.S . tensions with Iran and North Korea . On 7 August 2010 , Castro gave his first speech to the National Assembly in four years , urging the U.S . not to take military actions against those nations and warning of a nuclear holocaust . When asked whether Castro may be re-entering government , culture minister Abel Prieto told the BBC , I think that he has always been in Cubas political life but he is not in the government .. . He has been very careful about that . His big battle is international affairs . On 19 April 2011 , Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee , thus stepping down as First Secretary . Raúl was selected as his successor . Now without any official role in the countrys government , he took on the role of an elder statesman . In March 2011 , Castro condemned the NATO-led military intervention in Libya . In March 2012 , Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba for three days , during which time he briefly met with Castro despite the Popes vocal opposition to Cubas government . Later that year it was revealed that along with Hugo Chávez , Castro had played a significant behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating peace talks between the Colombian government and the far left FARC guerrilla movement to end the conflict which had raged since 1964 . During the North Korea crisis of 2013 , he urged both the North Korean and U.S . governments to show restraint . Calling the situation incredible and absurd , he maintained that war would not benefit either side , and that it represented one of the gravest risks of nuclear war since the Cuban missile crisis . In December 2014 , Castro was awarded the Chinese Confucius Peace Prize for seeking peaceful solutions to his nations conflict with the U.S . and for his post-retirement efforts to prevent nuclear war . In January 2015 , he publicly commented on the Cuban Thaw , an increased normalization between Cuba-U.S . relations , by stating that while it was a positive move for establishing peace in the region , he mistrusted the U.S . government . He did not meet with U.S . President Barack Obama on the latters visit to Cuba in March 2016 , although sent him a letter stating that Cuba has no need of gifts from the empire . That April , he gave his most extensive public appearance in many years when addressing the Communist Party . Highlighting that he was soon to turn 90 years old , he noted that he would die in the near future but urged those assembled to retain their communist ideals . In September 2016 , Castro was visited at his Havana home by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , and later that month was visited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe . In late October 2016 , Castro met with the Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa , who became one of the last foreign leaders to meet him . Death . Castro died on the night of 25 November 2016 . The cause of death was not disclosed . His brother , President Raúl Castro , confirmed the news in a brief speech : The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 [ EST ] this evening . His death came 9 months after his older brother Ramón died at the age of 91 in February . Fidel Castro was cremated on 26 November 2016 . A funeral procession travelled along the islands central highway from Havana to Santiago de Cuba , tracing in reverse , the route of the Freedom Caravan of January 1959 , and after nine days of public mourning , his ashes were entombed in the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba . Ideology . Castro proclaimed himself to be a Socialist , a Marxist , and a Leninist , and publicly identified as a Marxist–Leninist from December 1961 onward . As a Marxist , Castro sought to transform Cuba from a capitalist state which was dominated by foreign imperialism to a socialist society and ultimately to a communist society . Influenced by Guevara , he suggested that Cuba could evade most stages of socialism and progress straight to communism . The Cuban Revolution nevertheless did not meet the Marxist assumption that socialism would be achieved through proletariat revolution , for most of the forces involved in Batistas overthrow were led by members of the Cuban middle-class . According to Castro , a country could be regarded as socialist if its means of production were controlled by the state . In this way , his understanding of socialism was less about who controlled power in a country and more about the method of distribution . Castros government was also nationalistic , with Castro declaring , We are not only Marxist-Leninists , but also nationalists and patriots . In this it drew upon a longstanding tradition of Cuban nationalism . Castro biographer Sebastian Balfour noted that the vein of moral regeneration and voluntarism that runs through Castros thought owes far more to Hispanic nationalism than European socialism or Marxism–Leninism . Historian Richard Gott remarked that one of the keys to Castros success was his ability to use the twin themes of socialism and nationalism and keep them endlessly in play . Castro described Karl Marx and Cuban nationalist José Martí as his main political influences , although Gott believed that Martí ultimately remained more important than Marx in Castros politics . Castro described Martís political ideas as a philosophy of independence and an exceptional humanistic philosophy , and his supporters and apologists repeatedly claimed that there were great similarities between the two figures . Biographer Volka Skierka described Castros government as a highly individual , socialist-nationalist fidelista system , with Theodore Draper terming his approach Castroism , viewing it as a blend of European socialism with the Latin American revolutionary tradition . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol has described Castros approach to politics as totalitarian utopianism , with a style of leadership that drew upon the wider Latin American phenomenon of the caudillo . He drew inspiration from the wider Latin American anti-imperialist movements of the 1930s and 1940s , including Argentinas Perón and Guatemalas Jacobo Árbenz . Castro took a relatively socially conservative stance on many issues , opposing drug use , gambling , and prostitution , which he viewed as moral evils . Instead , he advocated hard work , family values , integrity , and self-discipline . Although his government repressed homosexual activity for decades , later in his life he took responsibility for this persecution , regretting it as a great injustice , as he himself put it . Personal and public life . Personality . Juan Reynaldo Sánchez , Castros former bodyguard , detailed much of his personal and private life in his book The Double Life of Fidel Castro . He described Castro as Nothing ordinary about him at all , he is unique , special , and different . He profiled him as an egocentric who loved being the center of attention , and with his almost electric charisma , grabbing the attention of the people around him . He was also extremely manipulative ; with his formidable intelligence , he was capable of manipulating a person or a group of people without much difficulty . In addition , he was repetitive and obsessive . In discussions with his colleagues or foreigners , he would repeat the same things over again on a continuous loop until they were convinced he was right . It was absolutely impossible to contradict him on any subject whatsoever . Anyone who attempted to convince him that he was wrong or even making a suggestion that it could be improved slightly was making a fatal error . Fidel would then make a mental mark of the individual as an idiot , and would wait for the right time to retaliate against them . Nobody , not even Raúl was exempt from this ; despite being the Minister of the Armed Forces , he would bring seemingly minor military decisions to Castro for his final approval in order to avoid inadvertently contradicting him . Sánchez believed that General Arnaldo Ochoas downfall was significantly related to his willingness to contradict Fidels orders in Angola . Biographer Leycester Coltman described Castro as fiercely hard-working , dedicated , loyal .. . generous and magnanimous but noted that he could be vindictive and unforgiving . He asserted that Castro always had a keen sense of humor and could laugh at himself but could equally be a bad loser who would act with ferocious rage if he thought that he was being humiliated . Publicly he was known for throwing tantrums , and could make snap judgements which he refused to back down from . In private though , Castro was actually skilled at keeping his anger in check and not allowing it to affect his judgement , simply becoming cold and withdrawn ; Sánchez stated that in 17 years he had only seen Castro explode in anger twice , one upon being informed of his daughter Alinas defection in 1993 . Castro was known for working long hours and he primarily woke up late – rarely before ten or eleven a.m . – and started his working day around noon and would work until late at night , often only going to bed at 3 or 4 am . He preferred to meet foreign diplomats in these early hours , believing that they would be tired and he could gain the upper hand in negotiations . Castro liked to meet with ordinary citizens , both in Cuba and abroad , but took a particularly paternal attitude toward Cubans , treating them as if they were a part of his own giant family . British historian Alex von Tunzelmann commented that though ruthless , [ Castro ] was a patriot , a man with a profound sense that it was his mission to save the Cuban people . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol characterized Castro as quintessentially totalitarian in his charismatic appeal , utopian functional role and public , transformative utilisation of power . Balfour described Castro as having a voracity for knowledge and elephantine memory that allowed him to speak for hours on a variety of different subjects . His hero was Alexander the Great , whose Spanish equivalent Alejandro he adopted as his nom de guerre . Castro was a voracious reader ; amongst his favorite authors were Ernest Hemingway , Franz Kafka , William Shakespeare , and Maxim Gorky , and he named For Whom the Bell Tolls as his favorite book , committing several portions of the novel to memory and even utilizing some of its lessons as a guerilla fighter . He enjoyed art and photography and was known as a patron of both within Cuba but was uninterested in music and disliked dancing . He was also an avid fan of cinema , particularly Soviet films . His favorite film was the five hour long 1967 adaption of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace . Castro had a lifelong passion , almost obsession , with cows and , starting in 1966 , with bovine genetics and breeding . State media frequently published details of his attempts to breed cows with increased milk yields . This interest reached its peak in 1982 when a cow that Fidel had bred , Ubre Blanca , broke the Guinness World Record for producing 29 gallons of milk live on national television . She was promoted into a national celebrity and propaganda tool , and when the cow died in 1985 , Granma published an official obituary for her on the front page , and the postal service issued stamps in her honor as well . Fidel Castros religious beliefs have been a matter of some debate ; he was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic . He criticized use of the Bible to justify the oppression of women and Africans , but commented that Christianity exhibited a group of very humane precepts which gave the world ethical values and a sense of social justice , relating , If people call me Christian , not from the standpoint of religion but from the standpoint of social vision , I declare that I am a Christian . He promoted the idea that Jesus Christ was a communist , citing the feeding of the 5,000 and the story of Jesus and the rich young man as evidence . Public image . Within Cuba , Castro was primarily referred to by his official military title Comandante El Jefe ; he was usually addressed as Comandante ( The Commander ) in general discourse as well as in person but could also be addressed as El Jefe ( the Chief ) in the third person , particularly within the party and military command . Castro was often nicknamed El Caballo ( The Horse ) , a label attributed to Cuban entertainer Benny Moré which alludes to Castros well known philandering during the 1950s and early 1960s . With his logorrheic oratorical abilities and profound charisma , Castro was extremely skilled at the art of manipulation and deception , easily whipping up his audience and even entire segments of the population into support for him . Large throngs of supporters gathered to cheer at Castros fiery speeches , which typically lasted for hours ( even outdoors in inclement weather ) and without the use of written notes . During speeches , Castro regularly cited reports and books he had read on a wide variety of subjects , including military matters , plant cultivation , filmmaking , and chess strategies . Officially , the Cuban government did maintain a cult of personality , but unlike other Soviet-era leaders and his allies , it was less widespread and took on a more subtle and discreet form . There were no statues or large portraits of him but rather signs with thoughts of the Comandante . Although his popularity among segments of the Cuban populace nevertheless led to one developing without the governments involvement and would be used to judge each individuals devotion to his revolutionary cause ( judged by their contribution to the revolution ) . Indeed , by 2006 Castros image could frequently be found in Cuban stores , classrooms , taxicabs , and on national television . In private , however , Castro hated such idolization campaigns and believed that he had intellectual ascendancy over leaders who engaged in such behavior , such as his friend Kim Il-sung of North Korea whose cult of personality he considered excessive , outlandish , and unreasonable . He gave no importance to his appearance or clothing ; for 37 years , he wore only his trademark olive-green military fatigues or the standard dress uniform for formal events and special occasions , emphasizing his role as the perpetual revolutionary , but in the mid-1990s began wearing dark civilian suits and guayabera in public . At over tall with a few inches added from his combat boots , Castro usually towered over most foreign leaders he met with , giving him a dominating presence in any room or photo that was taken , which he used to his advantage ( for comparison , Abraham Lincoln and Charles De Gaulle , both well known for their tall heights , stood at 64 and 65 respectively ) . Until his uprising against Batista , Castro typically kept a pencil-thin moustache along with combed back hair , typical of Upper-class Cuban men in the 1950s but grew out both during his years as a guerilla fighter and retaining them afterwards . Castro also disliked worrying about his appearance and hated shaving , making the beard and uniform all the more convenient for him . His uniform was also kept simple , he never wore any medals or decorations and his only marker of rank was the Comandante El Jefe insignia stitched on the shoulder straps . Until the 1990s , he wore combat boots , but due to orthopedic issues , abandoned them for sneakers and tennis shoes instead . Around his waist , he often carried a 9mm Browning pistol in a brown leather holster with an additional three clips . His personal weapon of choice was a 7.62 Kalashnikov AKM which Castro occasionally carried with him during the 1960s but was later kept stored in a suitcase carried by one of the members of his escort or kept placed between his feet while driving along with five cartridges ; he frequently used it during shooting exercises and practice . Castro had a lifelong love of guns and was considered an expert sharpshooter , impressing foreign visitors and even holding up against members of his own elite bodyguards who engaged in frequent competition with him . Castros most iconic public feature eventually became the Cuban cigar that he smoked on a daily basis . Introduced to it by his father at the age of 15 , Castro continued the habit for almost 44 years with the exception of a brief period during the 1950s while a guerilla fighter and boycotting against Batista linked tobacco firms . Castro claimed that he quit around 1985 during an anti-smoking campaign promoted by the Communist Party . Sánchez disputes this , saying that his doctor had Castro reduce his cigar usage starting in 1980 and quit entirely in 1983 after a cancerous ulcer was found in his intestine . Prior to the Revolution , Castro smoked various brands including Romeo y Julieta Churchill , H . Upmann , Bauza , and Partagás . In the early 1960s , Castro saw one of his bodyguards smoking a noticeably aromatic but unbranded cigar . Castro and the bodyguard located the cigar maker , Eduardo Ribera , who agreed to establish the El Laguito Factory and branded the cigars as Cohiba which became Castros signature brand and elevating its profile internationally . Initially restricted for his own private use and other members of the Politburo , it was later presented as diplomatic gifts for allied countries and friends of Castro , most notably seen smoked by Che Guevara , Josip Broz Tito , Houari Boumédiène , Sukarno , and Saddam Hussein . Lifestyle . Castros primary residence was at Punto Cero , a large and vegetative estate approximately 6 km from the Palacio de la Revolution in the Siboney neighborhood . The main house is a L-Shaped two story family mansion with a 600-square-yard footprint , 50-foot-long swimming pool , six greenhouses providing fruit and vegetables for Fidel and Raúls families as well as their bodyguard units , and a large lawn with free-range chickens and cows . Close by is a second two-story building used to house the bodyguards and the domestic staff . The house itself was decorated in a classical Caribbean style , with local wicker and wood furniture , porcelain plates , watercolor paintings , and art books . Sánchez described the estate as naturally beautiful and tastefully decorated , and while considered luxurious for the average Cuban , was not lavish or over-the-top compared to the residences of the Somoza clan or the Kim dynasty of North Korea . Raúl and Vilmas house La Rinconada is located close by on 222nd street . Raúl usually hosted large family barbecues on Sundays where Fidel would sometimes come , giving his extended family , sisters , and his elder brother Ramón a rare opportunity to see him . Next to Punto Cero is Unit 160 which was the base of Fidels bodyguard units . The base was over five acres large and surrounded by high walls , essentially a city within a city consisting of support personnel for transportation , communications , electronics , food , and an extensive armory of Kalashnikovs , Makarovs , and Brownings . Members of that unit also assisted in Fidels passion for Bovine breeding and a stable was kept for some of Fidels most prized cows . In addition to Punto Cero , Castro had 5 other residences in Havana : Casa Cojimar , his initial home after 1959 but disused by the 1970s ; a house on 160th Street near the Playa district ; Casa Carbonell , maintained by Cuban Intelligence for his covert meetings with representatives of foreign groups or intelligence assets ; A beach house in Santa Maria del Mar ( next to the Tropico Hotel ) ; and two houses retrofitted with air-raid shelters and connected to the MINFAR command bunkers for use in war : Casa Punta Brava ( Dalias old house before meeting Fidel ) and Casa Gallego , near the bodyguards base at Unit 160 . In the west of Cuba , he had three residences : Casa Americana ( confiscated from an American businessman connected to Batista ) ; Rancho la Tranquilidad in the locality of Mil Cumbres ; and La Deseada , a hunting lodge utilized in the winter for duck hunting and fishing trips . He also had two homes in Matanzas , one in Ciego de Avila , a horse ranch Hacienda San Cayetano in Camaguey along with another house in a vacation compound for the Politburo nearby , Casa Guardalavaca in Holguin , and two residences in Santiago de Cuba ( One of which is shared with Ramiro Valdes ) . Castros main vacation destination was Cayo de Piedra , a small key island formerly the site of a lighthouse , approximately a mile long and divided into two by a cyclone in the 1960s . He came upon the island by accident while reviewing the region in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion . Instantly falling in love with the island , he ordered it closed off and had the lighthouse demolished . Osmany Cienfuegos designed the a private bungalow , guesthouse , bridge , marina , and a building for the use of the bodyguards and support staff . He arrived here from his inaccessible private marina located near the Bay of Pigs , La Caleta del Rosario , which also housed another residence and guesthouse . Castro utilized two yachts , Aquarama I , confiscated from a Batista Government official and later in the 1970s , the 90-foot white hull Aquarama II . Aquarama II , which was decorated with wood donated from Angola , had two double cabins , one for Fidels personal use , a main sitting room , two bathrooms , a bar , a secure communications suite , and was equipped with four Osa-class missile boat engines gifted from Brezhnev allowing for top speeds of over 42 Knots . Aquarama II had two companion speedboats utilized by his escort , Pioniera I and Pioniera II ; one was equipped with a large cache of weapons and another was equipped with medical equipment . Castro was also had a keen interest in gastronomy and was known to wander into his kitchen to discuss cookery with his chefs . His diet was quintessentially Cuban , based on traditional pescatarian cuisine but also the additional influence from his native Galicia . All of his food was sourced from Punto Cero or fished from his private island of Cayo Piedra , with the exception of cases of Algerian Red Wine gifted initially from Houari Boumediene and continued by successive Algerian governments and Iraqi figs and fruit jams from Saddam Hussein . Castro , who typically woke up in the late morning , usually had tea or fish bouillon for breakfast accompanied by milk provided from one of the cows that grazed on Punto Cero ; they were all bred to provide milk which suited Castros demanding taste . His lunches were also frugal and consisted of fish or seafood soup with fresh produce . Dinner was his primary meal , consisting of grilled fish , chicken , mutton , or even pata negra ham on special occasions along with a large serving of green vegetables , but was prevented from eating beef or coffee by his dietician . Until 1979 , Castros primary vehicle was a black ZiL limousine , first a armored convertible ZIL-111 from Khrushchev , a ZIL-114 and briefly a ZIL-4104 gifted to him by Leonid Brezhnev , while his escort would accompany him in several Alfa Romeo 1750s and 2000s . In 1979 , during the Non-Aligned movement summit at Havana , Saddam Hussein gave Castro his Armored Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL which he had brought from Baghdad and became his sole transport for the rest of his life . Subsequently , Fidel ordered two mechanics from his bodyguard unit to West Germany to purchase several secondhand Mercedes-Benz 500s to replace the obsolete Alfa Romeros . Castro always traveled with at least fourteen guards and four of his aides , spread out over four vehicles ; three Mercedes-Benzs and one Soviet Lada which trailed the main convoy ( to keep the military presence at a minimal ) . Whenever he would leave Havana , a fifth Mercedes would join the procession carrying his doctor , nurse , and photographer . Relationships . In his personal life , Castro was known for being distant , withdrawn , and confided in very few people . His closest and most trusted friend was Raúl Castro , his younger brother by five years and longtime Minister of the Armed Forces . Although Raúl has a vastly contrasting , almost polar opposite personality to Castro , Sánchez describes Raúl as complementing Castros personality in all the ways that he is not . Whereas Fidel was charismatic , energetic , visionary but extremely impulsive and totally disorganized , Raúl was described as a natural , methodical , and uncompromising organizer . Castro spoke nearly every day with Raúl , met several times a week , and was a frequent visitor at Raúl and Vilmas house ; Vilma was also considered close to Castro and often appeared in public with him at national events . Besides Raúl , Castro was not close to any of his other siblings , although he did have friendly relations with his elder brother Ramón and sister Angelita . His sister Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the early 1960s , and is a public opponent of the Cuban regime . Outside of his immediate family , Castros closest friend was fellow revolutionary Celia Sánchez , who accompanied him almost everywhere during the 1960s , and controlled almost all access to the leader . Reynaldo Sánchez confirmed that Celia was indeed Castros mistress and regarded her as the true love of his life . Castro provided a large apartment for Celia on 11th Street near Vedado , El Once whom Fidel visited every day before returning home . Over the years , Castro added an elevator , fitness room , and a bowling alley for his and Celias personal use . He even provided bodyguards from his own escort to Celia for her own protection . Castros closest male friends were the members of his immediate bodyguard unit , Escolta or the Escort . His security was provided by Department 1 of the Personal Security Directorate of MININT ( Ministry of the Interior ) . Department 1 was for Fidels security , Department 2 was Raúl and Vilmas , and Department 3 was for the members of the Politburo and so on . Unlike the other MININT Departments , both his and Raúls units bypassed the normal chain of command and reported to them directly . Castros security consisted of three concentric anillos or rings . The third ring consisted of thousands of soldiers both in MININT and MINFAR who provided support for Logistics , Air-Defense , Intelligence , etc. ; The second ring consisted of eighty to one hundred soldiers who provided the outer perimeter security ; And the first ring , the Elite Escolta or The Escort , which provided his immediate security and consisted of two teams of 15 elite soldiers who worked 24 hour shifts , along with around 10 support staff . A soldier at heart , Castro had more affinity with his escort than his civilian family . He spent most of his time under their protection and were usually his companions in his personal interests . A sports fan , he also spent much of his time trying to keep fit , undertaking regular exercise such as hunting , fly fishing , underwater fishing , scuba diving , and playing basketball . They were also his companions on special events , such as his birthday or during national holidays , which they would regularly exchange gifts and engage in one-sided discussions with Castro where he would recall his life stories . The members of the Escort Castro was closest to was the former Mayor of Havana Jose Pepín Naranjo who became his official aide until his death in 1995 and his own personal physician , Eugenio Selman . Outside of his escort , Castro was also close to Manuel Barbarroja Pineiro , the head of the American Department of the DGI , Antonio Núñez Jiménez , and the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez . Marital history . The Cuban government has never published an official marital history of Castro , with most information coming from defectors and scarce details published in state media and pieced together over the years . In his earlier years in power , he showcased some of his family life , in particular his eldest son Fidelito in order to portray himself as a normal family man to the apprehensive American audience , but eventually abandoned that as he became more concerned about his personal safety . Throughout his rule , Castro never named an official First Lady and when the need for such a public female companion was necessary , Celia Sánchez or Raúls wife , Vilma Espín , would play such a role of la primera dama . Overall , Sánchez described Castro as a compulsive lover or womanizer ; he has been officially married twice but has carried on numerous affairs , including many one-night stands . Popular with women and often recognized as a sex symbol in Cuba , Castro never had difficulty in finding love and seduction , and Sánchez denies that Castro ever engaged in any unusual or un-consensual behavior . Castro was also described as a poor father ; often absent from their lives , he had little interest in the activities of his children and was more interested in his work . Raúl , who had much more stronger paternal feelings towards his family , was often the one who played the role of surrogate father to Castros children , in particular Fidelito and Alina . - Castros first wife was Mirta Díaz-Balart , whom he married in October 1948 . She is the only spouse of Castro acknowledged by the Cuban government . Diaz-Balart , the daughter of a powerful Cuban politician and brother of Batistas Minister of Interior , was a student at the University of Havana where she met and married Castro . She divorced him later in 1955 while he was in prison due to the attacks on the Moncada Barracks . They had one son : - Fidel Ángel Fidelito Castro Díaz-Balart , born in September 1949 . Fidelito grew up at various times between Havana and Miami ; he later went to the Soviet Union to study Nuclear Physics . For a time , he ran Cubas atomic-energy commission before being removed from the post by his father . He took his own life in February 2018 , over a year after his fathers death . - During his first marriage , Castro had a brief encounter with Maria Laborde , an admirer from Camaguey whom very little is known and has long been deceased . They had one son : - Jorge Ángel Castro , born on 23 March 1949 . It was long believed that his birth was in 1956 , but Sánchez and another defector uncovered that he was in fact born earlier than Fidelito . - While Castro was married to Mirta , he had an affair with Natalia Naty Revuelta Clews . Widely regarded in Havana for her beauty , Natalia herself was married to Dr . Orlando Fernandez but sympathized with the aims of the Revolutionary movement . She initially joined the movement as a friend of Castro but later became his mistress and visited him while he was imprisoned on Isla de Pinos . She would give birth to his daughter : - Alina Fernández Revuelta , born in 1956 , is Castros only daughter . She did not know her true parentage until she was 10 . Castro showed little interest in her but sent her to a boarding school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France . One of the few people willing to stand up to Castro , several defectors have described her personality as the most similar to her father . Alina became a public relations director for a State-owned fashion company and a model for Havana Club . Her father inadvertently found out about the latter job while reading Cuba magazine , coming across an advertisement showing Alina posing in a bikini on a boat with two other models ; he nearly exploded with rage . Alina left Cuba in 1993 , disguised as a Spanish tourist , and sought asylum in the U.S. , from where she has criticized her fathers policies . - Castros second and longest wife was with Dalia Soto Del Valle , another admirer who met Castro during a speech in Villa Clara in 1961 . She was a teacher who was part of the governments literacy campaign who moved to Havana on Castros initiative and later moved in with him at Punto Cero as his permanent family . Her relationship with Castro was kept secret until 2006 , when she was photographed with an increasingly frail Castro during the Party Congress , although no other information has been released by the Cuban Government . Castro and Dalia would have five sons , each of them starting with the letter A and three of them a variation of Alexander ( in homage to Alexander the Great , his pseudonym while a guerilla fighter ) : - Alexis Castro Del Valle , born in 1962 . Described as a loner with few friends , he eventually got a degree in computer science but has since become a mechanic . - Alex Castro Del Valle , born in 1963 . Much more affable and outgoing , he was initially trained as an engineer as well but instead became a photographer and cameraman for Granma and Cubavisión respectively . He later became the official photographer of his father and published several books and hosted the exhibitions Fidel Castro:Photografia Intimidade . - Alejandro Castro Del Valle , born in 1969 . Considered a computer geek , like his brothers , he also studied computer science and engineering but was passionate about the subject . Around 1990 , he wrote software that allowed Russian programs to be run on Japanese ones ; the product was purchased by NEC of Japan , which raised his national profile in the engineering community of Cuba and even public praise from his father . - Antonio Castro Del Valle , born in 1971 . A national youth baseball champion , he studied sports medicine in the University of Havana and became an Orthopedic surgeon . He is currently the head of the Surgery unit at the Elite Frank Pais Orthopedic Hospital , Doctor to the National Baseball team and President of the Cuban Baseball Federation . - Angelito Castro Del Valle , born in 1974 . Considered spoiled by his parents from a young age , he was long considered the trouble child of the family . He was passionate about cars and frequently earned the ire of his fathers escort unit for disrupting the work of the mechanics . Angelito never obtained any higher education , but later became the senior executive of the Mercedes-Benz concession of Cuba . - After the 1970s , Castro began a long relationship with Juanita Vera , a Colonel in the foreign intelligence service who joined his escort unit as his English interpreter . She often appeared in public with Castro , in particular in Oliver Stones Comandante as his translator and interpreter . Her and Castro had one son , Abel Castro Vera , born in 1983 . Castro had another daughter , Francisca Pupo ( born 1953 ) , the result of a one-night affair . Pupo and her husband now live in Miami . Another son known as Ciro was also born in the early 1960s , the result of another brief fling , his existence confirmed by Celia Sánchez . Reception and legacy . One of the most controversial political leaders of his era , Castro both inspired and dismayed people across the world during his lifetime . The London Observer stated that he proved to be as divisive in death as he was in life , and that the only thing that his enemies and admirers agreed upon was that he was a towering figure who transformed a small Caribbean island into a major force in world affairs . The Daily Telegraph noted that across the world he was either praised as a brave champion of the people , or derided as a power-mad dictator . Under Castros leadership , Cuba became one of the best-educated and healthiest societies in the Third World as well as one of the most militarised states in Latin America . Despite its small size and limited economic weight , Castros Cuba gained a large role in world affairs . On the island , the Castro governments legitimacy rested on the improvements that it brought to social justice , healthcare , and education . The administration also relied heavily on its appeals to nationalistic sentiment , in particular the widespread hostility to the U.S . government . According to Balfour , Castros domestic popularity stemmed from the fact that he symbolised a long-cherished hope of national liberation and social justice for much of the population . Balfour also noted that throughout Latin America , Castro served as a symbol of defiance against the continued economic and cultural imperialism of the United States . Similarly , Wayne S . Smith – the former Chief of the United States Interests Section in Havana – noted that Castros opposition to U.S . dominance and transformation of Cuba into a significant world player resulted in him receiving warm applause throughout the Western Hemisphere . Various Western governments and human rights organizations nevertheless heavily criticized Castro and he was widely reviled in the U.S . Following Castros death , U.S . President-elect Donald Trump called him a brutal dictator , while the Cuban-American politician Marco Rubio called him an evil , murderous dictator who turned Cuba into an impoverished island prison . Castro publicly rejected the dictator label , stating that he constitutionally held less power than most heads of state and insisting that his regime allowed for greater democratic involvement in policy making than Western liberal democracies . Nevertheless , critics claim that Castro wielded significant unofficial influence aside from his official duties . Quirk stated that Castro wielded absolute power in Cuba , albeit not in a legal or constitutional manner , while Bourne claimed that power in Cuba was completely invested in Castro , adding that it was very rare for a country and a people to have been so completely dominated by the personality of one man . Balfour stated that Castros moral and political hegemony within Cuba diminished the opportunities for democratic debate and decision making . Describing Castro as a totalitarian dictator , Sondrol suggested that in leading a political system largely [ of ] his own creation and bearing his indelible stamp , Castros leadership style warranted comparisons with totalitarian leaders like Mao Zedong , Hideki Tojo , Joseph Stalin , Adolf Hitler , and Benito Mussolini . Noting that there were few more polarising political figures than Castro , Amnesty International described him as a progressive but deeply flawed leader . In their view , he should be applauded for his regimes substantial improvements to healthcare and education , but criticised for its ruthless suppression of freedom of expression . Human Rights Watch stated that his government constructed a repressive machinery which deprived Cubans of their basic rights . Castro defended his governments record on human rights , stating that the state was forced to limit the freedoms of individuals and imprison those involved in counter-revolutionary activities in order to protect the rights of the collective populace , such as the right to employment , education , and health care . Historian and journalist Richard Gott considered Castro to be one of the most extraordinary political figures of the twentieth century , commenting that he had become a world hero in the mould of Giuseppe Garibaldi to people throughout the developing world for his anti-imperialist efforts . Balfour stated that Castros story had few parallels in contemporary history , for there existed no other Third World leader in the second half of the twentieth century who held such a prominent and restless part on the international stage or remained head of state for such a long period . Bourne described Castro as an influential world leader who commanded great respect from individuals of all political ideologies across the developing world . Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Castro as a remarkable leader and a larger than life leader who served his people . The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Castro was a hero for many . Russian President Vladimir Putin described Castro as both a sincere and reliable friend of Russia and a symbol of an era , while Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping similarly referred to him as a close comrade and a sincere friend to China . Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed him one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and a great friend , while South African President Jacob Zuma praised Castro for aiding black South Africans in our struggle against apartheid . He was awarded a wide variety of awards and honors from foreign governments and was cited as an inspiration for foreign leaders like Ahmed Ben Bella and Nelson Mandela , who subsequently awarded him South Africas highest civilian award for foreigners , the Order of Good Hope . The biographer Volka Skierka stated that he will go down in history as one of the few revolutionaries who remained true to his principles . In Cuba . Following Castros death , Cubas government announced that it would be passing a law prohibiting the naming of institutions , streets , parks or other public sites , or erecting busts , statues or other forms of tribute in honor of the late Cuban leader in keeping with his wishes to prevent an extensive cult of personality from developing around him . External links . - Fidel Castros speeches - Fidel Castro History Archive at Marxists Internet Archive - Fidel Castro ( Character ) on IMDb - Fidel Castro Records at FBI Records : The Vault - Fidel Castro : A Life in Pictures – slideshow by BBC News - Fidel Castro : From Rebel to El Presidente – timeline by NPR - Fidel Castro – extended biography by Barcelona Centre for International Affairs - Say Brother ; 914 ; Invitation From Cuba Date N/A , National Records and Archives Administration , American Archive of Public Broadcasting |
[
"Cuban Communist Party"
] | easy | Which political party did Fidel Castro belong to from Oct 1965 to Oct 1966? | /wiki/Fidel_Castro#P102#3 | Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz ( ; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016 ) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008 . Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist , he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011 . Under his administration , Cuba became a one-party communist state ; industry and business were nationalized , and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society . Born in Birán , Oriente , the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer , Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana . After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia , he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista , launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953 . After a years imprisonment , Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group , the 26th of July Movement , with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara . Returning to Cuba , Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batistas forces from the Sierra Maestra . After Batistas overthrow in 1959 , Castro assumed military and political power as Cubas Prime Minister . The United States came to oppose Castros government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination , economic blockade , and counter-revolution , including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 . Countering these threats , Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba , resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962 . Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development , Castro converted Cuba into a one-party , socialist state under Communist Party rule , the first in the Western Hemisphere . Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent . Abroad , Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups , backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile , Nicaragua , and Grenada , as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur , Ogaden , and Angolan Civil War . These actions , coupled with Castros leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cubas medical internationalism , increased Cubas profile on the world stage . Following the Soviet Unions dissolution in 1991 , Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the Special Period , embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas . In the 2000s , Castro forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide – namely with Hugo Chávezs Venezuela – and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas . In 2006 , Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro , who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008 . The longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries , Castro polarized opinion throughout the world . His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cubas independence from U.S . hegemony . Critics call him a dictator whose administration oversaw human rights abuses , the exodus of many Cubans , and the impoverishment of the countrys economy . Castro was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced different individuals and groups across the world . Early life and career . Youth : 1926–1947 . Castro was born out of wedlock at his fathers farm on 13 August 1926 . His father , Ángel Castro y Argiz , a veteran of the Spanish–American War , was a migrant to Cuba from Galicia , in the northwest of Spain . He had become financially successful by growing sugar cane at Las Manacas farm in Birán , Oriente Province . After the collapse of his first marriage he took his household servant , Lina Ruz González – of Canarian origin – as his mistress and later second wife ; together they had seven children , among them Fidel . At age six , Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba , before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight . Being baptized enabled Castro to attend the La Salle boarding school in Santiago , where he regularly misbehaved ; he was next sent to the privately funded , Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago . In 1945 , Castro transferred to the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana . Although Castro took an interest in history , geography , and debate at Belén , he did not excel academically , instead devoting much of his time to playing sports . In 1945 , Castro began studying law at the University of Havana . Admitting he was politically illiterate , Castro became embroiled in student activism and the violent gangsterismo culture within the university . After becoming passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing U.S . intervention in the Caribbean , he unsuccessfully campaigned for the presidency of the Federation of University Students on a platform of honesty , decency and justice . Castro became critical of the corruption and violence of President Ramón Graus government , delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that received coverage on the front page of several newspapers . In 1947 , Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People ( or Orthodox Party ; Partido Ortodoxo ) , founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás . A charismatic figure , Chibás advocated social justice , honest government , and political freedom , while his party exposed corruption and demanded reform . Though Chibás came third in the 1948 general election , Castro remained committed to working on his behalf . Student violence escalated after Grau employed gang leaders as police officers , and Castro soon received a death threat urging him to leave the university . However , he refused to do so and began to carry a gun and surround himself with armed friends . In later years , anti-Castro dissidents accused him of committing gang-related assassinations at the time , but these accusations remain unproven . The American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote that Castro ...began his career as a revolutionary with no ideology at all : he was a student politician turned street fighter turned guerrilla , a voracious reader , an interminable speaker , and a pretty good baseball player . The only ideas that appear to have driven him were a lust for power , a willingness to use violent means to get it , and an unwillingness to share it once he had it . If he had followed any example , it was that of Napoleon , not Marx . Rebellion and Marxism : 1947–1950 . In June 1947 , Castro learned of a planned expedition to overthrow the right-wing government of Rafael Trujillo , a U.S . ally , in the Dominican Republic . Being President of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic , Castro joined the expedition . The military force consisted of around 1,200 troops , mostly Cubans and exiled Dominicans , and they intended to sail from Cuba in July 1947 . Graus government stopped the invasion under U.S . pressure , although Castro and many of his comrades evaded arrest . Returning to Havana , Castro took a leading role in student protests against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards . The protests , accompanied by a crackdown on those considered communists , led to violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948 , in which Castro was badly beaten . At this point , his public speeches took on a distinctly leftist slant by condemning social and economic inequality in Cuba . In contrast , his former public criticisms had centered on condemning corruption and U.S . imperialism . In April 1948 , Castro traveled to Bogotá , Colombia , leading a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Peróns Argentine government . There , the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting and clashes between the governing Conservatives – backed by the army – and leftist Liberals . Castro joined the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station , but subsequent police investigations concluded that he had not been involved in any killings . In April 1948 , the Organization of American States was founded at a summit in Bogotá , leading to protests , which Castro joined . Returning to Cuba , Castro became a prominent figure in protests against government attempts to raise bus fares . That year , he married Mirta Díaz Balart , a student from a wealthy family , through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite . The relationship was a love match , disapproved of by both families , but Díaz Balarts father gave them tens of thousands of dollars , along with Batista , to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon . That same year , Grau decided not to stand for re-election , which was instead won by his Partido Auténticos new candidate , Carlos Prío Socarrás . Prío faced widespread protests when members of the MSR , now allied to the police force , assassinated Justo Fuentes , a socialist friend of Castros . In response , Prío agreed to quell the gangs , but found them too powerful to control . Castro had moved further to the left , influenced by the Marxist writings of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels , and Vladimir Lenin . He came to interpret Cubas problems as an integral part of capitalist society , or the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie , rather than the failings of corrupt politicians , and adopted the Marxist view that meaningful political change could only be brought about by proletariat revolution . Visiting Havanas poorest neighborhoods , he became active in the student anti-racist campaign . In September 1949 , Mirta gave birth to a son , Fidelito , so the couple moved to a larger Havana flat . Castro continued to put himself at risk , staying active in the citys politics and joining the 30 September Movement , which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo . The groups purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university ; despite his promises , Prío had failed to control the situation , instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries . Castro volunteered to deliver a speech for the Movement on 13 November , exposing the governments secret deals with the gangs and identifying key members . Attracting the attention of the national press , the speech angered the gangs and Castro fled into hiding , first in the countryside and then in the U.S . Returning to Havana several weeks later , Castro laid low and focused on his university studies , graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950 . Career in law and politics : 1950–1952 . Castro co-founded a legal partnership that primarily catered to poor Cubans , although it proved a financial failure . Caring little for money or material goods , Castro failed to pay his bills ; his furniture was repossessed and electricity cut off , distressing his wife . He took part in a high school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950 , fighting with police to protest the Education Ministrys ban on student associations ; he was arrested and charged for violent conduct , but the magistrate dismissed the charges . His hopes for Cuba still centered on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo , and he was present at Chibás politically motivated suicide in 1951 . Seeing himself as Chibás heir , Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections , though senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him . He was instead nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives by party members in Havanas poorest districts , and began campaigning . The Ortodoxo had considerable support and was predicted to do well in the election . During his campaign , Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista , the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party . Batista offered him a place in his administration if he was successful ; although both opposed Príos administration , their meeting never got beyond polite generalities . On 10 March 1952 , Batista seized power in a military coup , with Prío fleeing to Mexico . Declaring himself president , Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections , describing his new system as disciplined democracy ; Castro was deprived of being elected in his run for office by Batistas move , and like many others , considered it a one-man dictatorship . Batista moved to the right , solidifying ties with both the wealthy elite and the United States , severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union , suppressing trade unions and persecuting Cuban socialist groups . Intent on opposing Batista , Castro brought several legal cases against the government , but these came to nothing , and Castro began thinking of alternate ways to oust the regime . Cuban Revolution . The Movement and the Moncada Barracks attack : 1952–1953 . Castro formed a group called The Movement which operated along a clandestine cell system , publishing underground newspaper El Acusador ( The Accuser ) , while arming and training anti-Batista recruits . From July 1952 they went on a recruitment drive , gaining around 1,200 members in a year , the majority from Havanas poorer districts . Although a revolutionary socialist , Castro avoided an alliance with the communist Popular Socialist Party ( PSP ) , fearing it would frighten away political moderates , but kept in contact with PSP members like his brother Raúl . Castro stockpiled weapons for a planned attack on the Moncada Barracks , a military garrison outside Santiago de Cuba , Oriente . Castros militants intended to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base on 25 July , seizing control and raiding the armory before reinforcements arrived . Supplied with new weaponry , Castro intended to spark a revolution among Orientes impoverished cane cutters and promote further uprisings . Castros plan emulated those of the 19th-century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks ; Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader José Martí . Castro gathered 165 revolutionaries for the mission , ordering his troops not to cause bloodshed unless they met armed resistance . The attack took place on 26 July 1953 , but ran into trouble ; 3 of the 16 cars that had set out from Santiago failed to get there . Reaching the barracks , the alarm was raised , with most of the rebels pinned down by machine gun fire . Four were killed before Castro ordered a retreat . The rebels suffered 6 fatalities and 15 other casualties , whilst the army suffered 19 dead and 27 wounded . Meanwhile , some rebels took over a civilian hospital ; subsequently stormed by government soldiers , the rebels were rounded up , tortured and 22 were executed without trial . Accompanied by 19 comrades , Castro set out for Gran Piedra in the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains several kilometres to the north , where they could establish a guerrilla base . Responding to the attack , Batistas government proclaimed martial law , ordering a violent crackdown on dissent , and imposing strict media censorship . The government broadcast misinformation about the event , claiming that the rebels were communists who had killed hospital patients , although news and photographs of the armys use of torture and summary executions in Oriente soon spread , causing widespread public and some governmental disapproval . Over the following days , the rebels were rounded up ; some were executed and others – including Castro – transported to a prison north of Santiago . Believing Castro incapable of planning the attack alone , the government accused Ortodoxo and PSP politicians of involvement , putting 122 defendants on trial on 21 September at the Palace of Justice , Santiago . Acting as his own defense counsel , Castro cited Martí as the intellectual author of the attack and convinced the three judges to overrule the armys decision to keep all defendants handcuffed in court , proceeding to argue that the charge with which they were accused – of organizing an uprising of armed persons against the Constitutional Powers of the State – was incorrect , for they had risen up against Batista , who had seized power in an unconstitutional manner . The trial embarrassed the army by revealing that they had tortured suspects , after which they tried unsuccessfully to prevent Castro from testifying any further , claiming he was too ill . The trial ended on 5 October , with the acquittal of most defendants ; 55 were sentenced to prison terms of between 7 months and 13 years . Castro was sentenced on 16 October , during which he delivered a speech that would be printed under the title of History Will Absolve Me . Castro was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the hospital wing of the Model Prison ( Presidio Modelo ) , a relatively comfortable and modern institution on the Isla de Pinos . Imprisonment and 26 July Movement : 1953–1955 . Imprisoned with 25 comrades , Castro renamed his group the 26th of July Movement ( MR-26-7 ) in memory of the Moncada attacks date , and formed a school for prisoners . He read widely , enjoying the works of Marx , Lenin , and Martí but also reading books by Freud , Kant , Shakespeare , Munthe , Maugham , and Dostoyevsky , analyzing them within a Marxist framework . Corresponding with supporters , he maintained control over the Movement and organized the publication of History Will Absolve Me . Initially permitted a relative amount of freedom within the prison , he was locked up in solitary confinement after inmates sang anti-Batista songs on a visit by the President in February 1954 . Meanwhile , Castros wife Mirta gained employment in the Ministry of the Interior , something he discovered through a radio announcement . Appalled , he raged that he would rather die a thousand times than suffer impotently from such an insult . Both Fidel and Mirta initiated divorce proceedings , with Mirta taking custody of their son Fidelito ; this angered Castro , who did not want his son growing up in a bourgeois environment . In 1954 , Batistas government held presidential elections , but no politician stood against him ; the election was widely considered fraudulent . It had allowed some political opposition to be voiced , and Castros supporters had agitated for an amnesty for the Moncada incidents perpetrators . Some politicians suggested an amnesty would be good publicity , and the Congress and Batista agreed . Backed by the U.S . and major corporations , Batista believed Castro to be no threat , and on 15 May 1955 , the prisoners were released . Returning to Havana , Castro gave radio interviews and press conferences ; the government closely monitored him , curtailing his activities . Now divorced , Castro had sexual affairs with two female supporters , Naty Revuelta and Maria Laborde , each conceiving him a child . Setting about strengthening the MR-26-7 , he established an 11-person National Directorate but retained autocratic control , with some dissenters labeling him a caudillo ( dictator ) ; he argued that a successful revolution could not be run by committee and required a strong leader . In 1955 , bombings and violent demonstrations led to a crackdown on dissent , with Castro and Raúl fleeing the country to evade arrest . Castro sent a letter to the press , declaring that he was leaving Cuba because all doors of peaceful struggle have been closed to me .. . As a follower of Martí , I believe the hour has come to take our rights and not beg for them , to fight instead of pleading for them . The Castros and several comrades traveled to Mexico , where Raúl befriended an Argentine doctor and Marxist–Leninist named Ernesto Che Guevara , who was working as a journalist and photographer for Agencia Latina de Noticias . Fidel liked him , later describing him as a more advanced revolutionary than I was . Castro also associated with the Spaniard Alberto Bayo , who agreed to teach Castros rebels the necessary skills in guerrilla warfare . Requiring funding , Castro toured the U.S . in search of wealthy sympathizers , there being monitored by Batistas agents , who allegedly orchestrated a failed assassination attempt against him . Castro kept in contact with the MR-26-7 in Cuba , where they had gained a large support base in Oriente . Other militant anti-Batista groups had sprung up , primarily from the student movement ; most notable was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil ( DRE ) , founded by José Antonio Echeverría . Antonio met with Castro in Mexico City , but Castro opposed the students support for indiscriminate assassination . After purchasing the decrepit yacht Granma , on 25 November 1956 , Castro set sail from Tuxpan , Veracruz , with 81 armed revolutionaries . The crossing to Cuba was harsh , with food running low and many suffering seasickness . At some points , they had to bail water caused by a leak , and at another , a man fell overboard , delaying their journey . The plan had been for the crossing to take five days , and on the Granmas scheduled day of arrival , 30 November , MR-26-7 members under Frank País led an armed uprising in Santiago and Manzanillo . However , the Granmas journey ultimately lasted seven days , and with Castro and his men unable to provide reinforcements , País and his militants dispersed after two days of intermittent attacks . Guerrilla war : 1956–1959 . The Granma ran aground in a mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas , close to Los Cayuelos , on 2 December 1956 . Fleeing inland , its crew headed for the forested mountain range of Orientes Sierra Maestra , being repeatedly attacked by Batistas troops . Upon arrival , Castro discovered that only 19 rebels had made it to their destination , the rest having been killed or captured . Setting up an encampment , the survivors included the Castros , Che Guevara , and Camilo Cienfuegos . They began launching raids on small army posts to obtain weaponry , and in January 1957 they overran the outpost at La Plata , treating any soldiers that they wounded but executing Chicho Osorio , the local mayoral ( land company overseer ) , who was despised by the local peasants and who boasted of killing one of Castros rebels . Osorios execution aided the rebels in gaining the trust of locals , although they largely remained unenthusiastic and suspicious of the revolutionaries . As trust grew , some locals joined the rebels , although most new recruits came from urban areas . With volunteers boosting the rebel forces to over 200 , in July 1957 Castro divided his army into three columns , commanded by himself , his brother , and Guevara . The MR-26-7 members operating in urban areas continued agitation , sending supplies to Castro , and on 16 February 1957 , he met with other senior members to discuss tactics ; here he met Celia Sánchez , who would become a close friend . Across Cuba , anti-Batista groups carried out bombings and sabotage ; police responded with mass arrests , torture , and extrajudicial executions . In March 1957 , the DRE launched a failed attack on the presidential palace , during which Antonio was shot dead . Batistas government often resorted to brutal methods to keep Cubas cities under control . In the Sierra Maestra mountains , Castro was joined by Frank Sturgis who offered to train Castros troops in guerrilla warfare . Castro accepted the offer , but he also had an immediate need for guns and ammunition , so Sturgis became a gunrunner . Sturgis purchased boatloads of weapons and ammunition from Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) weapons expert Samuel Cummings International Armament Corporation in Alexandria , Virginia . Sturgis opened a training camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains , where he taught Che Guevara and other 26 July Movement rebel soldiers guerrilla warfare . Frank País was also killed , leaving Castro the MR-26-7s unchallenged leader . Although Guevara and Raúl were well known for their Marxist–Leninist views , Castro hid his , hoping to gain the support of less radical revolutionaries . In 1957 he met with leading members of the Partido Ortodoxo , Raúl Chibás and Felipe Pazos , authoring the Sierra Maestra Manifesto , in which they demanded that a provisional civilian government be set up to implement moderate agrarian reform , industrialization , and a literacy campaign before holding multiparty elections . As Cubas press was censored , Castro contacted foreign media to spread his message ; he became a celebrity after being interviewed by Herbert Matthews , a journalist from The New York Times . Reporters from CBS and Paris Match soon followed . Castros guerrillas increased their attacks on military outposts , forcing the government to withdraw from the Sierra Maestra region , and by spring 1958 , the rebels controlled a hospital , schools , a printing press , slaughterhouse , land-mine factory and a cigar-making factory . By 1958 , Batista was under increasing pressure , a result of his military failures coupled with increasing domestic and foreign criticism surrounding his administrations press censorship , torture , and extrajudicial executions . Influenced by anti-Batista sentiment among their citizens , the U.S . government ceased supplying him with weaponry . The opposition called a general strike , accompanied by armed attacks from the MR-26-7 . Beginning on 9 April , it received strong support in central and eastern Cuba , but little elsewhere . Batista responded with an all-out-attack , Operation Verano , in which the army aerially bombarded forested areas and villages suspected of aiding the militants , while 10,000 soldiers commanded by General Eulogio Cantillo surrounded the Sierra Maestra , driving north to the rebel encampments . Despite their numerical and technological superiority , the army had no experience with guerrilla warfare , and Castro halted their offensive using land mines and ambushes . Many of Batistas soldiers defected to Castros rebels , who also benefited from local popular support . In the summer , the MR-26-7 went on the offensive , pushing the army out of the mountains , with Castro using his columns in a pincer movement to surround the main army concentration in Santiago . By November , Castros forces controlled most of Oriente and Las Villas , and divided Cuba in two by closing major roads and rail lines , severely disadvantaging Batista . Fearing Castro was a socialist , the U.S . instructed Cantillo to oust Batista . By this time the great majority of Cuban people had turned against the Batista regime . Ambassador to Cuba , E . T . Smith , who felt the whole CIA mission had become too close to the MR-26-7 movement , personally went to Batista and informed him that the U.S . would no longer support him and felt he no longer could control the situation in Cuba . General Cantillo secretly agreed to a ceasefire with Castro , promising that Batista would be tried as a war criminal ; however , Batista was warned , and fled into exile with over US$300,000,000 on 31 December 1958 . Cantillo entered Havanas Presidential Palace , proclaimed the Supreme Court judge Carlos Piedra to be president , and began appointing the new government . Furious , Castro ended the ceasefire , and ordered Cantillos arrest by sympathetic figures in the army . Accompanying celebrations at news of Batistas downfall on 1 January 1959 , Castro ordered the MR-26-7 to prevent widespread looting and vandalism . Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January , while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence . Heading toward Havana , he greeted cheering crowds at every town , giving press conferences and interviews . Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959 . Provisional government : 1959 . At Castros command , the politically moderate lawyer Manuel Urrutia Lleó was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced ( falsely ) that Urrutia had been selected by popular election . Most of Urrutias cabinet were MR-26-7 members . Entering Havana , Castro proclaimed himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency , setting up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel . Castro exercised a great deal of influence over Urrutias regime , which was now ruling by decree . He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office . He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties ; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections . Although repeatedly denying that he was a communist to the press , he began clandestinely meeting members of the PSP to discuss the creation of a socialist state . In suppressing the revolution , Batistas government had killed thousands of Cubans ; Castro and influential sectors of the press put the death toll at 20,000 , but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants . More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000 . In response to popular uproar , which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice , Castro helped to set up many trials , resulting in hundreds of executions . Although popular domestically , critics—in particular the U.S . press , argued that many were not fair trials . Castro responded that revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts , but on moral conviction . Acclaimed by many across Latin America , he traveled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect Rómulo Betancourt , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil . Returning home , an argument between Castro and senior government figures broke out . He was infuriated that the government had left thousands unemployed by closing down casinos and brothels . As a result , Prime Minister José Miró Cardona resigned , going into exile in the U.S . and joining the anti-Castro movement . Premiership . Consolidating leadership : 1959–1960 . On 16 February 1959 , Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba . In April , he visited the U.S . on a charm offensive where President Dwight D . Eisenhower would not meet with him , but instead sent Vice President Richard Nixon , whom Castro instantly disliked . After meeting Castro , Nixon described him to Eisenhower as : The one fact we can be sure of is that Castro has those indefinable qualities which made him a leader of men . Whatever we may think of him he is going to be a great factor in the development of Cuba and very possibly in Latin American affairs generally . He seems to be sincere . He is either incredibly naive about Communism or under Communist discipline-my guess is the former...His ideas as to how to run a government or an economy are less developed than those of almost any world figure I have met in fifty countries . But because he has the power to lead...we have no choice but at least try to orient him in the right direction . Proceeding to Canada , Trinidad , Brazil , Uruguay and Argentina , Castro attended an economic conference in Buenos Aires , unsuccessfully proposing a $30 billion U.S.-funded Marshall Plan for Latin America . In May 1959 , Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform , setting a cap for landholdings to per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership . Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up ; popular among the working class , it alienated the richer landowners , including Castros own mother , whose farmlands were taken . Within a year , Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 percent of the nations wealth , declaring that the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters . Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry , introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage African-American tourists to visit , advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of racial discrimination . Judges and politicians had their pay reduced while low-level civil servants saw theirs raised , and in March 1959 , Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $100 a month halved . The Cuban government also began to expropriate the casinos and properties from mafia leaders and taking millions in cash . Before he died Meyer Lansky said Cuba ruined him . In the summer of 1959 , Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners . He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled . He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement , over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities . Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being a communist , Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions . Most significantly , Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries . President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism . Angered , Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister on 18 July—blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his fevered anti-Communism . Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded the Presidential Palace demanding Urrutias resignation , which he submitted . On 23 July , Castro resumed his Premiership and appointed Marxist Osvaldo Dorticós as president . Castros government emphasised social projects to improve Cubas standard of living , often to the detriment of economic development . Major emphasis was placed on education , and during the first 30 months of Castros government , more classrooms were opened than in the previous 30 years . The Cuban primary education system offered a work-study program , with half of the time spent in the classroom , and the other half in a productive activity . Health care was nationalized and expanded , with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid . Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented , and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically . A third part of this social program was the improvement of infrastructure . Within the first six months of Castros government , of roads were built across the island , while $300 million was spent on water and sanitation projects . Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness , while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for the disabled and elderly . Castro used radio and television to develop a dialogue with the people , posing questions and making provocative statements . His regime remained popular with workers , peasants , and students , who constituted the majority of the countrys population , while opposition came primarily from the middle class ; thousands of doctors , engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in the U.S. , causing an economic brain drain . Productivity decreased and the countrys financial reserves were drained within two years . After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government , the pro-Castro printers trade union disrupted editorial staff , and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a clarification written by the printers union at the end of articles critical of the government . Castros government arrested hundreds of counter-revolutionaries , many of whom were subjected to solitary confinement , rough treatment , and threatening behavior . Militant anti-Castro groups , funded by exiles , the CIA , and the Dominican government , undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cubas mountains , leading to the six-year Escambray Rebellion . At the time , 1960 , the Cold War raged between two superpowers : the United States , a capitalist liberal democracy , and the Soviet Union ( USSR ) , a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the Communist Party . Expressing contempt for the U.S. , Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR , establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states . Meeting with Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan , Castro agreed to provide the USSR with sugar , fruit , fibers , and hides in return for crude oil , fertilizers , industrial goods , and a $100 million loan . Cubas government ordered the countrys refineries – then controlled by the U.S . corporations Shell and Esso – to process Soviet oil , but under U.S . pressure they refused . Castro responded by expropriating and nationalizing the refineries . Retaliating , the U.S . cancelled its import of Cuban sugar , provoking Castro to nationalize most U.S.-owned assets on the island , including banks and sugar mills . Relations between Cuba and the U.S . were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel , the La Coubre , in Havana harbor in March 1960 . The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium , and the cause of the explosion was never determined , but Castro publicly insinuated that the U.S . government was guilty of sabotage . He ended this speech with ¡Patria o Muerte ! ( Fatherland or Death ) , a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years . Inspired by their earlier success with the 1954 Guatemalan coup détat , in March 1960 , U.S . President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castros government . He provided them with a budget of $13 million and permitted them to ally with the Mafia , who were aggrieved that Castros government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba . On 13 October 1960 , the U.S . prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba , initiating an economic embargo . In retaliation , the National Institute for Agrarian Reform INRA took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October , and on 25 October a further 166 U.S . companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized . On 16 December , the U.S . ended its import quota of Cuban sugar , the countrys primary export . United Nations . In September 1960 , Castro flew to New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations . Staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like Malcolm X . Castro had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor African-American population living there , thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him . He also met Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev , with the two publicly condemning the poverty and racism faced by Americans in areas like Harlem . Relations between Castro and Khrushchev were warm ; they led the applause to one anothers speeches at the General Assembly . The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly rancorous one with Khrushchev famously banging his shoe against his desk to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong , which set the general tone for the debates and speeches . Castro delivered the longest speech ever held before the United Nations General Assembly , speaking for four and a half hours in a speech mostly given over to denouncing American policies towards Latin America . Subsequently , visited by Polish First Secretary Władysław Gomułka , Bulgarian First Secretary Todor Zhivkov , Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru , Castro also received an evenings reception from the Fair Play for Cuba Committee . Back in Cuba , Castro feared a U.S.-backed coup ; in 1959 his regime spent $120 million on Soviet , French , and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cubas armed forces . Fearing counter-revolutionary elements in the army , the government created a Peoples Militia to arm citizens favorable to the revolution , training at least 50,000 civilians in combat techniques . In September 1960 , they created the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution ( CDR ) , a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighborhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns , becoming a conduit for public complaints . By 1970 , a third of the population would be involved in the CDR , and this would eventually rise to 80% . Despite the fear of a coup , Castro garnered support in New York City . On 18 February 1961 , 400 people – mainly Cubans , Puerto Ricans , and college students – picketed in the rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castros anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States power over Cuba . The protesters held up signs that read , Mr . Kennedy , Cuba is Not For Sale. , Viva Fidel Castro ! and Down With Yankee Imperialism! . Around 200 policemen were on the scene , but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castros socialist movement . Some Americans disagreed with President John F . Kennedys decision to ban trade with Cuba , and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics . Castro proclaimed the new administration a direct democracy , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will . As a result , he rejected the need for elections , claiming that representative democratic systems served the interests of socio-economic elites . U.S . Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule , with a one-party state , government control of trade unions , suppression of civil liberties , and the absence of freedom of speech and press . Bay of Pigs Invasion and Socialist Cuba : 1961–1962 . In January 1961 , Castro ordered Havanas U.S . Embassy to reduce its 300-member staff , suspecting that many of them were spies . The U.S . responded by ending diplomatic relations , and it increased CIA funding for exiled dissidents ; these militants began attacking ships that traded with Cuba , and bombed factories , shops , and sugar mills . Both President Eisenhower and his successor President Kennedy supported a CIA plan to aid a dissident militia , the Democratic Revolutionary Front , to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro ; the plan resulted in the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 . On 15 April , CIA-supplied B-26s bombed three Cuban military airfields ; the U.S . announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots , but Castro exposed these claims as false flag misinformation . Fearing invasion , he ordered the arrest of between 20,000 and 100,000 suspected counter-revolutionaries , publicly proclaiming , What the imperialists cannot forgive us , is that we have made a Socialist revolution under their noses , his first announcement that the government was socialist . The CIA and the Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army , Brigade 2506 , in Nicaragua . On the night of 16 to 17 April , Brigade 2506 landed along Cubas Bay of Pigs and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia . Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive , before taking personal control of it . After bombing the invaders ships and bringing in reinforcements , Castro forced the Brigade to surrender on 20 April . He ordered the 1189 captured rebels to be interrogated by a panel of journalists on live television , personally taking over the questioning on 25 April . Fourteen were put on trial for crimes allegedly committed before the revolution , while the others were returned to the U.S . in exchange for medicine and food valued at U.S . $25 million . Castros victory reverberated across the world , especially in Latin America , but it also increased internal opposition primarily among the middle-class Cubans who had been detained in the run-up to the invasion . Although most were freed within a few days , many fled to the U.S. , establishing themselves in Florida . Consolidating Socialist Cuba , Castro united the MR-26-7 , PSP and Revolutionary Directorate into a governing party based on the Leninist principle of democratic centralism : the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations ( Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas – ORI ) , renamed the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution ( PURSC ) in 1962 . Although the USSR was hesitant regarding Castros embrace of socialism , relations with the Soviets deepened . Castro sent Fidelito for a Moscow schooling , Soviet technicians arrived on the island , and Castro was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize . In December 1961 , Castro admitted that he had been a Marxist–Leninist for years , and in his Second Declaration of Havana he called on Latin America to rise up in revolution . In response , the U.S . successfully pushed the Organization of American States to expel Cuba ; the Soviets privately reprimanded Castro for recklessness , although he received praise from China . Despite their ideological affinity with China , in the Sino-Soviet split , Cuba allied with the wealthier Soviets , who offered economic and military aid . The ORI began shaping Cuba using the Soviet model , persecuting political opponents and perceived social deviants such as prostitutes and homosexuals ; Castro considered same-sex sexual activity a bourgeois trait . Gay men were forced into the Military Units to Aid Production ( Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción – UMAP ) ; after many revolutionary intellectuals decried this move , the UMAP camps were closed in 1967 , although gay men continued to be imprisoned . By 1962 , Cubas economy was in steep decline , a result of poor economic management and low productivity coupled with the U.S . trade embargo . Food shortages led to rationing , resulting in protests in Cárdenas . Security reports indicated that many Cubans associated austerity with the Old Communists of the PSP , while Castro considered a number of them – namely Aníbal Escalante and Blas Roca – unduly loyal to Moscow . In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent Old Communists from office , labelling them sectarian . On a personal level , Castro was increasingly lonely , and his relations with Guevara became strained as the latter became increasingly anti-Soviet and pro-Chinese . Cuban Missile Crisis and furthering socialism : 1962–1968 . Militarily weaker than NATO , Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12 MRBM nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance . Although conflicted , Castro agreed , believing it would guarantee Cubas safety and enhance the cause of socialism . Undertaken in secrecy , only the Castro brothers , Guevara , Dorticós and security chief Ramiro Valdés knew the full plan . Upon discovering it through aerial reconnaissance , in October the U.S . implemented an island-wide quarantine to search vessels headed to Cuba , sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis . The U.S . saw the missiles as offensive ; Castro insisted they were for defense only . Castro urged that Khrushchev should launch a nuclear strike on the U.S . if Cuba were invaded , but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid nuclear war . Castro was left out of the negotiations , in which Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S . commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that the U.S . would remove their MRBMs from Turkey and Italy . Feeling betrayed by Khrushchev , Castro was furious and soon fell ill . Proposing a five-point plan , Castro demanded that the U.S . end its embargo , withdraw from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , cease supporting dissidents , and stop violating Cuban air space and territorial waters . He presented these demands to U Thant , visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations , but the U.S . ignored them . In turn Castro refused to allow the U.N.s inspection team into Cuba . In May 1963 , Castro visited the USSR at Khrushchevs personal invitation , touring 14 cities , addressing a Red Square rally , and being awarded both the Order of Lenin and an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University . Castro returned to Cuba with new ideas ; inspired by Soviet newspaper Pravda , he amalgamated Hoy and Revolución into a new daily , Granma , and oversaw large investment into Cuban sport that resulted in an increased international sporting reputation . Seeking to further consolidate control , in 1963 the government cracked down on Protestant sects in Cuba , with Castro labeling them counter-revolutionary instruments of imperialism ; many preachers were found guilty of illegal U.S.-links and imprisoned . Measures were implemented to force perceived idle and delinquent youths to work , primarily through the introduction of mandatory military service . In September , the government temporarily permitted emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26 , thereby ridding the government of thousands of critics , most of whom were from upper and middle-class backgrounds . In 1963 , Castros mother died . This was the last time his private life was reported in Cubas press . In January 1964 , Castro returned to Moscow , officially to sign a new five-year sugar trade agreement , but also to discuss the ramifications of the assassination of John F . Kennedy . Castro was deeply concerned by the assassination , believing that a far-right conspiracy was behind it but that the Cubans would be blamed . In October 1965 , the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the Cuban Communist Party and published the membership of its Central Committee . Despite Soviet misgivings , Castro continued to call for global revolution , funding militant leftists and those engaged in national liberation struggles . Cubas foreign policy was strongly anti-imperialist , believing that every nation should control its own natural resources . He supported Che Guevaras Andean project , an unsuccessful plan to set up a guerrilla movement in the highlands of Bolivia , Peru and Argentina . He allowed revolutionary groups from across the world , from the Viet Cong to the Black Panthers , to train in Cuba . He considered Western-dominated Africa to be ripe for revolution , and sent troops and medics to aid Ahmed Ben Bellas socialist regime in Algeria during the Sand War . He also allied with Alphonse Massamba-Débats socialist government in Congo-Brazzaville . In 1965 , Castro authorized Che Guevara to travel to Congo-Kinshasa to train revolutionaries against the Western-backed government . Castro was personally devastated when Guevara was killed by CIA-backed troops in Bolivia in October 1967 and publicly attributed it to Guevaras disregard for his own safety . In 1966 , Castro staged a Tri-Continental Conference of Africa , Asia and Latin America in Havana , further establishing himself as a significant player on the world stage . From this conference , Castro created the Latin American Solidarity Organization ( OLAS ) , which adopted the slogan of The duty of a revolution is to make revolution , signifying Havanas leadership of Latin Americas revolutionary movement . Castros increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the USSR , now under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev . Asserting Cubas independence , Castro refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , declaring it a Soviet-U.S . attempt to dominate the Third World . Diverting from Soviet Marxist doctrine , he suggested that Cuban society could evolve straight to pure communism rather than gradually progress through various stages of socialism . In turn , the Soviet-loyalist Aníbal Escalante began organizing a government network of opposition to Castro , though in January 1968 , he and his supporters were arrested for allegedly passing state secrets to Moscow . Recognising Cubas economic dependence on the Soviets , Castro relented to Brezhnevs pressure to be obedient , and in August 1968 he denounced the leaders of the Prague Spring and praised the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . Influenced by Chinas Great Leap Forward , in 1968 Castro proclaimed a Great Revolutionary Offensive , closing all remaining privately owned shops and businesses and denouncing their owners as capitalist counter-revolutionaries . The severe lack of consumer goods for purchase led productivity to decline , as large sectors of the population felt little incentive to work hard . This was exacerbated by the perception that a revolutionary elite had emerged , consisting of those connected to the administration ; they had access to better housing , private transportation , servants , and the ability to purchase luxury goods abroad . Economic stagnation and Third World politics : 1969–1974 . Castro publicly celebrated his administrations 10th anniversary in January 1969 ; in his celebratory speech he warned of sugar rations , reflecting the nations economic problems . The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane , and to meet its export quota , the government drafted in the army , implemented a seven-day working week , and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest . When that years production quota was not met , Castro offered to resign during a public speech , but assembled crowds insisted he remain . Despite the economic issues , many of Castros social reforms were popular , with the population largely supportive of the Achievements of the Revolution in education , medical care , housing , and road construction , as well as the policies of direct democratic public consultation . Seeking Soviet help , from 1970 to 1972 Soviet economists re-organized Cubas economy , founding the Cuban-Soviet Commission of Economic , Scientific and Technical Collaboration , while Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin visited in October 1971 . In July 1972 , Cuba joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( Comecon ) , an economic organization of socialist states , although this further limited Cubas economy to agricultural production . In May 1970 , the crews of two Cuban fishing boats were kidnapped by Florida-based dissident group Alpha 66 , who demanded that Cuba release imprisoned militants . Under U.S . pressure , the hostages were released , and Castro welcomed them back as heroes . In April 1971 , Castro was internationally condemned for ordering the arrest of dissident poet Heberto Padilla who had been arrested 20 March ; Padilla was freed , but the government established the National Cultural Council to ensure that intellectuals and artists supported the administration . In November 1971 , Castro visited Chile , where Marxist President Salvador Allende had been elected as the head of a left-wing coalition . Castro supported Allendes socialist reforms , but warned him of right-wing elements in Chiles military . In 1973 , the military led a coup détat and established a military junta led by Augusto Pinochet . Castro proceeded to Guinea to meet socialist President Sékou Touré , praising him as Africas greatest leader , and there received the Order of Fidelity to the People . He then went on a seven-week tour visiting leftist allies : Algeria , Bulgaria , Hungary , Poland , East Germany , Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union , where he was given further awards . On each trip , he was eager to visit factory and farm workers , publicly praising their governments ; privately , he urged the regimes to aid revolutionary movements elsewhere , particularly those fighting the Vietnam War . In September 1973 , he returned to Algiers to attend the Fourth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) . Various NAM members were critical of Castros attendance , claiming that Cuba was aligned to the Warsaw Pact and therefore should not be at the conference . At the conference he publicly broke off relations with Israel , citing its governments close relationship with the U.S . and its treatment of Palestinians during the Israel–Palestine conflict . This earned Castro respect throughout the Arab world , in particular from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi , who became a friend and ally . As the Yom Kippur War broke out in October 1973 between Israel and an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria , Cuba sent 4,000 troops to aid Syria . Leaving Algiers , Castro visited Iraq and North Vietnam . Cubas economy grew in 1974 as a result of high international sugar prices and new credits with Argentina , Canada , and parts of Western Europe . A number of Latin American states called for Cubas re-admittance into the Organization of American States ( OAS ) , with the U.S . finally conceding in 1975 on Henry Kissingers advice . Cubas government underwent a restructuring along Soviet lines , claiming that this would further democratization and decentralize power away from Castro . Officially announcing Cubas identity as a socialist state , the first National Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held , and a new constitution drafted that abolished the position of President and Prime Minister . Castro remained the dominant figure in governance , taking the presidency of the newly created Council of State and Council of Ministers , making him both head of state and head of government . Presidency . Foreign wars and NAM Presidency : 1975–1979 . Castro considered Africa to be the weakest link in the imperialist chain , and at the request of Angolan President Agostinho Neto he ordered 230 military advisers into Angola in November 1975 to aid Netos Marxist MPLA in the Angolan Civil War . When the U.S . and South Africa stepped up their support of the opposition FLNA and UNITA , Castro ordered a further 18,000 troops to Angola , which played a major role in forcing a South African and UNITA retreat . The decision to intervene in Angola has been a controversial one , all the more so as Castros critics have charged that it was not his decision at all , contending that the Soviets ordered him to do so . Castro always maintained that he took the decision to launch Operation Carlota himself in response to an appeal from Neto and that the Soviets were in fact opposed to Cuban intervention in Angola , which took place over their opposition . Traveling to Angola , Castro celebrated with Neto , Sékou Touré and Guinea-Bissaun President Luís Cabral , where they agreed to support Mozambiques Marxist–Leninist government against RENAMO in the Mozambican Civil War . In February , Castro visited Algeria and then Libya , where he spent ten days with Gaddafi and oversaw the establishment of the Jamahariya system of governance , before attending talks with the Marxist government of South Yemen . From there he proceeded to Somalia , Tanzania , Mozambique and Angola where he was greeted by crowds as a hero for Cubas role in opposing apartheid South Africa . Throughout much of Africa he was hailed as a friend to national liberation from foreign dominance . This was followed with visits to East Berlin and Moscow . In 1977 the Ogaden War broke out over the disputed Ogaden region as Somalia invaded Ethiopia ; although a former ally of Somali President Siad Barre , Castro had warned him against such action , and Cuba sided with Mengistu Haile Mariams Marxist government of Ethiopia . In an desperate attempt to stop the war , Castro had a summit with Barre where he proposed a federation of Ethiopia , Somalia , and South Yemen as an alternative to war . Barre who saw seizing the Ogaden as the first step towards creating a greater Somalia that would unite all of the Somalis into one state rejected the federation offer , and decided upon war . Castro sent troops under the command of General Arnaldo Ochoa to aid the overwhelmed Ethiopian army . Mengistus regime was barely hanging on by 1977 , having lost one-third of its army in Eritrea at the time of the Somali invasion . The intervention of 17 , 000 Cuban troops into the Ogaden was by all accounts decisive in altering a war that Ethiopia was on the brink of losing into a victory . After forcing back the Somalis , Mengistu then ordered the Ethiopians to suppress the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front , a measure Castro refused to support . Castro extended support to Latin American revolutionary movements , namely the Sandinista National Liberation Front in its overthrow of the Nicaraguan rightist government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979 . Castros critics accused the government of wasting Cuban lives in these military endeavors ; the anti-Castro Center for a Free Cuba has claimed that an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in foreign Cuban military actions . When American critics claimed that Castro had no right to interfere in these nations , he countered that Cuba had been invited into them , pointing out the U.S . own involvement in various foreign nations . Between 1979 and 1991 about 370 , 000 Cuban troops together with 50 , 000 Cuban civilians ( mostly teachers and doctors ) served in Angola , representing about 5% of Cubas population . The Cuban intervention in Angola was envisioned as a short-term commitment , but the Angolan government used the profits from the oil industry to subsidize Cubas economy , making Cuba as economically dependent upon Angola as Angola was militarily dependent upon Cuba . In the late 1970s , Cubas relations with North American states improved during the period with Mexican President Luis Echeverría , Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau , and U.S . President Jimmy Carter in power . Carter continued criticizing Cubas human rights abuses , but adopted a respectful approach which gained Castros attention . Considering Carter well-meaning and sincere , Castro freed certain political prisoners and allowed some Cuban exiles to visit relatives on the island , hoping that in turn Carter would abolish the economic embargo and stop CIA support for militant dissidents . Conversely , his relationship with China declined , as he accused Deng Xiaopings Chinese government of betraying their revolutionary principles by initiating trade links with the U.S . and attacking Vietnam . In 1979 , the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) was held in Havana , where Castro was selected as NAM president , a position he held until 1982 . In his capacity as both President of the NAM and of Cuba he appeared at the United Nations General Assembly in October 1979 and gave a speech on the disparity between the worlds rich and poor . His speech was greeted with much applause from other world leaders , though his standing in NAM was damaged by Cubas refusal to condemn the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan . Reagan and Gorbachev : 1980–1991 . By the 1980s , Cubas economy was again in trouble , following a decline in the market price of sugar and 1979s decimated harvest . For the first time , unemployment became a serious problem in Castros Cuba , with the government sending unemployed youth to other countries , primarily East Germany , to work there . Desperate for money , Cubas government secretly sold off paintings from national collections and illicitly traded for U.S . electronic goods through Panama . Increasing numbers of Cubans fled to Florida , but were labelled scum and lumpen by Castro and his CDR supporters . In one incident , 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian Embassy requesting asylum , and so the U.S . agreed that it would accept 3,500 refugees . Castro conceded that those who wanted to leave could do so from Mariel port . Hundreds of boats arrived from the U.S. , leading to a mass exodus of 120,000 ; Castros government took advantage of the situation by loading criminals , the mentally ill , and suspected homosexuals onto the boats destined for Florida . The event destabilized Carters administration , and later , in 1980 , Ronald Reagan was elected U.S . president . Reagans administration adopted a hard-line approach against Castro , making its desire to overthrow his regime clear . In late 1981 , Castro publicly accused the U.S . of biological warfare against Cuba by orchestrating a dengue fever epidemic . Cubas economy became even more dependent on Soviet aid , with Soviet subsidies ( mainly in the form of supplies of low-cost oil and voluntarily buying Cuban sugar at inflated prices ) averaging $4–5 billion a year by the late 1980s . This accounted for 30–38% of the countrys entire GDP . Soviet economic assistance had not helped Cubas long-term growth prospects by promoting diversification or sustainability . Although described as a relatively highly developed Latin American export economy in 1959 and the early 1960s , Cubas basic economic structure changed very little between then and the 1980s . Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cubas leading exports , and even these are produced by a pre-industrial process . The Cuban economy remained highly inefficient and over-specialized in a few highly subsidized commodities provided by the Soviet bloc countries . Although despising Argentinas right wing military junta , Castro supported them in the 1982 Falklands War against Britain and offered military aid to the Argentinians . Castro supported the leftist New Jewel Movement that seized power in Grenada in 1979 , befriending Grenadine President Maurice Bishop and sending doctors , teachers , and technicians to aid the countrys development . When Bishop was executed in a Soviet-backed coup by hard-line Marxist Bernard Coard in October 1983 , Castro condemned the killing but cautiously retained support for Grenadas government . However , the U.S . used the coup as a basis for invading the island . Cuban soldiers died in the conflict , with Castro denouncing the invasion and comparing the U.S . to Nazi Germany . In a July 1983 speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution , Castro condemned Reagans administration as a reactionary , extremist clique who were waging an openly warmongering and fascist foreign policy . Castro feared a U.S . invasion of Nicaragua and sent Ochoa to train the governing Sandinistas in guerrilla warfare , but received little support from the USSR . In 1985 , Mikhail Gorbachev became Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party . A reformer , he implemented measures to increase freedom of the press ( glasnost ) and economic decentralization ( perestroika ) in an attempt to strengthen socialism . Like many orthodox Marxist critics , Castro feared that the reforms would weaken the socialist state and allow capitalist elements to regain control . Gorbachev conceded to U.S . demands to reduce support for Cuba , with Soviet-Cuban relations deteriorating . On medical advice given him in October 1985 , Castro gave up regularly smoking Cuban cigars , helping to set an example for the rest of the populace . Castro became passionate in his denunciation of the Third World debt problem , arguing that the Third World would never escape the debt that First World banks and governments imposed upon it . In 1985 , Havana hosted five international conferences on the world debt problem . By November 1987 , Castro began spending more time on the Angolan Civil War , in which the Marxists had fallen into retreat . Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos successfully appealed for more Cuban troops , with Castro later admitting that he devoted more time to Angola than to the domestic situation , believing that a victory would lead to the collapse of apartheid . In response to the siege of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987–1988 by South African-UNITA forces , Castro sent an additional 12 , 000 Cuban Army troops to Angola in late 1987 . From afar in Havana , Castro was closely involved in the decision-making about the defense of Cuito Cuanavle and came into conflict with Ochoa , whom he criticized for almost losing Cuito Cuanavle to a South African assault on 13 January 1988 despite warning for almost two months prior that such an attack was coming . On 30 January 1988 , Ochoa was summoned to a meeting with Castro in Havana where he was told that Cuito Cuanavale must not fall and to execute Castros plans for a pull-back to more defensible positions over the objections of the Angolans . The Cuban troops played a decisive role in the relief of Cuito Cuanavale , breaking the siege in March 1988 , which led to the withdrawal of most of the South African troops from Angola . Cuban propaganda turned the siege of Cuito Cuanavle into a decisive victory that changed the course of African history and Castro awarded 82 soldiers medals of the newly created Medal of Merit for the Defense of Cuito Cuanavle on 1 April 1988 . Tensions were increased with the Cubans advancing close to the border of Namibia , which led to warnings from the South African government that they considered this an extremely unfriendly act , causing South Africa to mobilize and call up its reserves . In the spring of 1988 , the intensity of South African-Cuban fighting drastically increased with both sides taking heavy losses . The prospect of an all-out Cuban-South African war served to concentrate minds in both Moscow and Washington and led to an increased push for a diplomatic solution to the Angolan war . The cost of Cubas wars in Africa were paid for with Soviet subsidies at a time when the Soviet economy was badly hurt by low oil prices while the white supremacist government of South Africa had by the 1980s became a very awkward American ally as much of the American population , especially black Americans , objected to apartheid . From the viewpoint of both Moscow and Washington , having both Cuba and South Africa disengage in Angola was the best possible outcome . The low oil prices of the 1980s had also changed the Angolan attitude about subsidizing the Cuban economy as dos Santos found the promises made in the 1970s when oil prices were high to be a serious drain upon Angolas economy in the 1980s . South African whites were vastly outnumbered by South African blacks , and accordingly the South African Army could not take heavy losses with its white troops as that would fatally weaken the ability of the South African state to uphold apartheid . The Cubans had also taken heavy losses while the increasing difficult relations with dos Santos who become less generous in subsidizing the Cuban economy suggested that such losses were not worth the cost . Gorbachev called for a negotiated end to the conflict and in 1988 organized a quadripartite talks between the USSR , U.S. , Cuba and South Africa ; they agreed that all foreign troops would pull out of Angola while South Africa agreed to grant independence to Namibia . Castro was angered by Gorbachevs approach , believing that he was abandoning the plight of the worlds poor in favor of détente . When Gorbachev visited Cuba in April 1989 , he informed Castro that perestroika meant an end to subsidies for Cuba . Ignoring calls for liberalization in accordance with the Soviet example , Castro continued to clamp down on internal dissidents and in particular kept tabs on the military , the primary threat to the government . A number of senior military officers , including Ochoa and Tony de la Guardia , were investigated for corruption and complicity in cocaine smuggling , tried , and executed in 1989 , despite calls for leniency . In Eastern Europe , socialist governments fell to capitalist reformers between 1989 and 1991 and many Western observers expected the same in Cuba . Increasingly isolated , Cuba improved relations with Manuel Noriegas right-wing government in Panama – despite Castros personal hatred of Noriega – but it was overthrown in a U.S . invasion in December 1989 . In February 1990 , Castros allies in Nicaragua , President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas , were defeated by the U.S.-funded National Opposition Union in an election . With the collapse of the Soviet bloc , the U.S . secured a majority vote for a resolution condemning Cubas human rights violations at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva , Switzerland . Cuba asserted that this was a manifestation of U.S . hegemony , and refused to allow an investigative delegation to enter the country . Special Period : 1992–2000 . With favourable trade from the Soviet bloc ended , Castro publicly declared that Cuba was entering a Special Period in Time of Peace . Petrol rations were dramatically reduced , Chinese bicycles were imported to replace cars , and factories performing non-essential tasks were shut down . Oxen began to replace tractors , firewood began being used for cooking and electricity cuts were introduced that lasted 16 hours a day . Castro admitted that Cuba faced the worst situation short of open war , and that the country might have to resort to subsistence farming . By 1992 , Cubas economy had declined by over 40% in under two years , with major food shortages , widespread malnutrition and a lack of basic goods . Castro hoped for a restoration of Marxism–Leninism in the USSR , but refrained from backing the 1991 coup in that country . When Gorbachev regained control , Cuba-Soviet relations deteriorated further and Soviet troops were withdrawn in September 1991 . In December , the Soviet Union was officially dissolved as Boris Yeltsin abolished the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and introducing a capitalist multiparty democracy . Yeltsin despised Castro and developed links with the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation . Castro tried improving relations with the capitalist nations . He welcomed Western politicians and investors to Cuba , befriended Manuel Fraga and took a particular interest in Margaret Thatchers policies in the UK , believing that Cuban socialism could learn from her emphasis on low taxation and personal initiative . He ceased support for foreign militants , refrained from praising FARC on a 1994 visit to Colombia and called for a negotiated settlement between the Zapatistas and Mexican government in 1995 . Publicly , he presented himself as a moderate on the world stage . In 1991 , Havana hosted the Pan American Games , which involved construction of a stadium and accommodation for the athletes ; Castro admitted that it was an expensive error , but it was a success for Cubas government . Crowds regularly shouted Fidel ! Fidel ! in front of foreign journalists , while Cuba became the first Latin American nation to beat the U.S . to the top of the gold-medal table . Support for Castro remained strong , and although there were small anti-government demonstrations , the Cuban opposition rejected the exile communitys calls for an armed uprising . In August 1994 , Havana witnessed the largest anti-Castro demonstration in Cuban history , as 200 to 300 young men threw stones at police , demanding that they be allowed to emigrate to Miami . A larger pro-Castro crowd confronted them , who were joined by Castro ; he informed media that the men were anti-socials misled by the U.S . The protests dispersed with no recorded injuries . Fearing that dissident groups would invade , the government organised the War of All the People defense strategy , planning a widespread guerrilla warfare campaign , and the unemployed were given jobs building a network of bunkers and tunnels across the country . Castro believed in the need for reform if Cuban socialism was to survive in a world now dominated by capitalist free markets . In October 1991 , the Fourth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was held in Santiago , at which a number of important changes to the government were announced . Castro would step down as head of government , to be replaced by the much younger Carlos Lage , although Castro would remain the head of the Communist Party and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces . Many older members of government were to be retired and replaced by their younger counterparts . A number of economic changes were proposed , and subsequently put to a national referendum . Free farmers markets and small-scale private enterprises would be legalized in an attempt to stimulate economic growth , while U.S . dollars were also made legal tender . Certain restrictions on emigration were eased , allowing more discontented Cuban citizens to move to the United States . Further democratization was to be brought in by having the National Assemblys members elected directly by the people , rather than through municipal and provincial assemblies . Castro welcomed debate between proponents and opponents of the economics reforms—although over time he began to increasingly sympathise with the opponents positions , arguing that such reforms must be delayed . Castros government diversified its economy into biotechnology and tourism , the latter outstripping Cubas sugar industry as its primary source of revenue in 1995 . The arrival of thousands of Mexican and Spanish tourists led to increasing numbers of Cubans turning to prostitution ; officially illegal , Castro refrained from cracking down on prostitution in Cuba , fearing a political backlash . Economic hardship led many Cubans toward religion , both in the form of Roman Catholicism and Santería . Although long thinking religious belief to be backward , Castro softened his approach to religious institutions and religious people were permitted for the first time to join the Communist Party . Although he viewed the Roman Catholic Church as a reactionary , pro-capitalist institution , Castro organized a visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II for January 1998 ; it strengthened the position of both the Cuban Church and Castros government . In the early 1990s Castro embraced environmentalism , campaigning against global warming and the waste of natural resources , and accusing the U.S . of being the worlds primary polluter . In 1994 a ministry dedicated to the environment was established , and new laws established in 1997 that promoted awareness of environmental issues throughout Cuba and stressed the sustainable use of natural resources . By 2006 , Cuba was the worlds only nation which met the United Nations Development Programmes definition of sustainable development , with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 . Castro also became a proponent of the anti-globalization movement , criticizing U.S . global hegemony and the control exerted by multinationals . Castro maintained his devout anti-apartheid beliefs , and at the 26 July celebrations in 1991 , he was joined onstage by the South African political activist Nelson Mandela , recently released from prison . Mandela praised Cubas involvement in battling South Africa in Angola and thanked Castro personally . He later attended Mandelas inauguration as President of South Africa in 1994 . In 2001 he attended the Conference Against Racism in South Africa at which he lectured on the global spread of racial stereotypes through U.S . film . Pink tide : 2000–2006 . Mired in economic problems , Cuba was aided by the election of socialist and anti-imperialist Hugo Chávez to the Venezuelan Presidency in 1999 . Castro and Chávez developed a close friendship , with the former acting as a mentor and father-figure to the latter , and together they built an alliance that had repercussions throughout Latin America . In 2000 , they signed an agreement through which Cuba would send 20,000 medics to Venezuela , in return receiving 53,000 barrels of oil per day at preferential rates ; in 2004 , this trade was stepped up , with Cuba sending 40,000 medics and Venezuela providing 90,000 barrels a day . That same year , Castro initiated Misión Milagro , a joint medical project which aimed to provide free eye operations on 300,000 individuals from each nation . The alliance boosted the Cuban economy , and in May 2005 Castro doubled the minimum wage for 1.6 million workers , raised pensions , and delivered new kitchen appliances to Cubas poorest residents . Some economic problems remained ; in 2004 , Castro shut down 118 factories , including steel plants , sugar mills and paper processors to compensate for a critical shortage of fuel . Cuba and Venezuela were the founding members of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas ( ALBA ) . ALBA sought to redistribute wealth evenly throughout member countries , to protect the regions agriculture , and to oppose economic liberalization and privatization . ALBAs origins lay in a December 2004 agreement signed between the two countries , and was formalized through a Peoples Trade Agreement also signed by Evo Morales Bolivia in April 2006 . Castro had also been calling for greater Caribbean integration since the late 1990s , saying that only strengthened cooperation between Caribbean countries would prevent their domination by rich nations in a global economy . Cuba has opened four additional embassies in the Caribbean Community including : Antigua and Barbuda , Dominica , Suriname , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . This development makes Cuba the only country to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community . In contrast to the improved relations between Cuba and a number of leftist Latin American states , in 2004 it broke off diplomatic ties with Panama after centrist President Mireya Moscoso pardoned four Cuban exiles accused of attempting to assassinate Castro in 2000 . Diplomatic ties were reinstalled in 2005 following the election of leftist President Martín Torrijos . Castros improving relations across Latin America were accompanied by continuing animosity towards the U.S . However , after massive damage caused by Hurricane Michelle in 2001 , Castro successfully proposed a one-time cash purchase of food from the U.S . while declining its governments offer of humanitarian aid . Castro expressed solidarity with the U.S . following the 2001 September 11 attacks , condemning Al-Qaeda and offering Cuban airports for the emergency diversion of any U.S . planes . He recognized that the attacks would make U.S . foreign policy more aggressive , which he believed was counter-productive . Castro criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq , saying that the U.S.-led war had imposed an international law of the jungle . Meanwhile , in 1998 , Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien arrived in Cuba to meet Castro and highlight their close ties . He was the first Canadian government leader to visit the island since Pierre Trudeau was in Havana in 1976 . In 2002 , former U.S . President Jimmy Carter visited Cuba , where he highlighted the lack of civil liberties in the country and urged the government to pay attention to the Varela Project of Oswaldo Payá . Final years . Stepping down : 2006–2008 . Castro underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding , and on 31 July 2006 , delegated his presidential duties to Raúl Castro . In February 2007 , Raúl announced that Fidels health was improving and that he was taking part in important issues of government . Later that month , Fidel called into Hugo Chávezs radio show Aló Presidente . On 21 April , Castro met Wu Guanzheng of the Chinese Communist Partys Politburo Standing member , with Chávez visiting in August , and Morales in September . That month , the Non-Aligned Movement held its 14th Summit in Havana , there agreeing to appoint Castro as the organisations president for a years term . Commenting on Castros recovery , U.S . President George W . Bush said : One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away . Hearing about this , the atheist Castro replied : Now I understand why I survived Bushs plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination : the good Lord protected me . The quote was picked up on by the worlds media . In a February 2008 letter , Castro announced that he would not accept the positions of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief at that months National Assembly meetings , remarking , It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion , that I am not in a physical condition to offer . On 24 February 2008 , the National Assembly of Peoples Power unanimously voted Raúl as president . Describing his brother as not substitutable , Raúl proposed that Fidel continue to be consulted on matters of great importance , a motion unanimously approved by the 597 National Assembly members . Retirement and final years : 2008–2016 . Following his retirement , Castros health deteriorated ; international press speculated that he had diverticulitis , but Cubas government refused to corroborate this . He continued to interact with the Cuban people , published an opinion column titled Reflections in Granma , used a Twitter account , and gave occasional public lectures . In January 2009 Castro asked Cubans not to worry about his lack of recent news columns and failing health , and not to be disturbed by his future death . He continued meeting foreign leaders and dignitaries , and that month photographs were released of Castros meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernández . In July 2010 , he made his first public appearance since falling ill , greeting science center workers and giving a television interview to Mesa Redonda in which he discussed U.S . tensions with Iran and North Korea . On 7 August 2010 , Castro gave his first speech to the National Assembly in four years , urging the U.S . not to take military actions against those nations and warning of a nuclear holocaust . When asked whether Castro may be re-entering government , culture minister Abel Prieto told the BBC , I think that he has always been in Cubas political life but he is not in the government .. . He has been very careful about that . His big battle is international affairs . On 19 April 2011 , Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee , thus stepping down as First Secretary . Raúl was selected as his successor . Now without any official role in the countrys government , he took on the role of an elder statesman . In March 2011 , Castro condemned the NATO-led military intervention in Libya . In March 2012 , Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba for three days , during which time he briefly met with Castro despite the Popes vocal opposition to Cubas government . Later that year it was revealed that along with Hugo Chávez , Castro had played a significant behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating peace talks between the Colombian government and the far left FARC guerrilla movement to end the conflict which had raged since 1964 . During the North Korea crisis of 2013 , he urged both the North Korean and U.S . governments to show restraint . Calling the situation incredible and absurd , he maintained that war would not benefit either side , and that it represented one of the gravest risks of nuclear war since the Cuban missile crisis . In December 2014 , Castro was awarded the Chinese Confucius Peace Prize for seeking peaceful solutions to his nations conflict with the U.S . and for his post-retirement efforts to prevent nuclear war . In January 2015 , he publicly commented on the Cuban Thaw , an increased normalization between Cuba-U.S . relations , by stating that while it was a positive move for establishing peace in the region , he mistrusted the U.S . government . He did not meet with U.S . President Barack Obama on the latters visit to Cuba in March 2016 , although sent him a letter stating that Cuba has no need of gifts from the empire . That April , he gave his most extensive public appearance in many years when addressing the Communist Party . Highlighting that he was soon to turn 90 years old , he noted that he would die in the near future but urged those assembled to retain their communist ideals . In September 2016 , Castro was visited at his Havana home by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , and later that month was visited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe . In late October 2016 , Castro met with the Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa , who became one of the last foreign leaders to meet him . Death . Castro died on the night of 25 November 2016 . The cause of death was not disclosed . His brother , President Raúl Castro , confirmed the news in a brief speech : The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died at 22:29 [ EST ] this evening . His death came 9 months after his older brother Ramón died at the age of 91 in February . Fidel Castro was cremated on 26 November 2016 . A funeral procession travelled along the islands central highway from Havana to Santiago de Cuba , tracing in reverse , the route of the Freedom Caravan of January 1959 , and after nine days of public mourning , his ashes were entombed in the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba . Ideology . Castro proclaimed himself to be a Socialist , a Marxist , and a Leninist , and publicly identified as a Marxist–Leninist from December 1961 onward . As a Marxist , Castro sought to transform Cuba from a capitalist state which was dominated by foreign imperialism to a socialist society and ultimately to a communist society . Influenced by Guevara , he suggested that Cuba could evade most stages of socialism and progress straight to communism . The Cuban Revolution nevertheless did not meet the Marxist assumption that socialism would be achieved through proletariat revolution , for most of the forces involved in Batistas overthrow were led by members of the Cuban middle-class . According to Castro , a country could be regarded as socialist if its means of production were controlled by the state . In this way , his understanding of socialism was less about who controlled power in a country and more about the method of distribution . Castros government was also nationalistic , with Castro declaring , We are not only Marxist-Leninists , but also nationalists and patriots . In this it drew upon a longstanding tradition of Cuban nationalism . Castro biographer Sebastian Balfour noted that the vein of moral regeneration and voluntarism that runs through Castros thought owes far more to Hispanic nationalism than European socialism or Marxism–Leninism . Historian Richard Gott remarked that one of the keys to Castros success was his ability to use the twin themes of socialism and nationalism and keep them endlessly in play . Castro described Karl Marx and Cuban nationalist José Martí as his main political influences , although Gott believed that Martí ultimately remained more important than Marx in Castros politics . Castro described Martís political ideas as a philosophy of independence and an exceptional humanistic philosophy , and his supporters and apologists repeatedly claimed that there were great similarities between the two figures . Biographer Volka Skierka described Castros government as a highly individual , socialist-nationalist fidelista system , with Theodore Draper terming his approach Castroism , viewing it as a blend of European socialism with the Latin American revolutionary tradition . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol has described Castros approach to politics as totalitarian utopianism , with a style of leadership that drew upon the wider Latin American phenomenon of the caudillo . He drew inspiration from the wider Latin American anti-imperialist movements of the 1930s and 1940s , including Argentinas Perón and Guatemalas Jacobo Árbenz . Castro took a relatively socially conservative stance on many issues , opposing drug use , gambling , and prostitution , which he viewed as moral evils . Instead , he advocated hard work , family values , integrity , and self-discipline . Although his government repressed homosexual activity for decades , later in his life he took responsibility for this persecution , regretting it as a great injustice , as he himself put it . Personal and public life . Personality . Juan Reynaldo Sánchez , Castros former bodyguard , detailed much of his personal and private life in his book The Double Life of Fidel Castro . He described Castro as Nothing ordinary about him at all , he is unique , special , and different . He profiled him as an egocentric who loved being the center of attention , and with his almost electric charisma , grabbing the attention of the people around him . He was also extremely manipulative ; with his formidable intelligence , he was capable of manipulating a person or a group of people without much difficulty . In addition , he was repetitive and obsessive . In discussions with his colleagues or foreigners , he would repeat the same things over again on a continuous loop until they were convinced he was right . It was absolutely impossible to contradict him on any subject whatsoever . Anyone who attempted to convince him that he was wrong or even making a suggestion that it could be improved slightly was making a fatal error . Fidel would then make a mental mark of the individual as an idiot , and would wait for the right time to retaliate against them . Nobody , not even Raúl was exempt from this ; despite being the Minister of the Armed Forces , he would bring seemingly minor military decisions to Castro for his final approval in order to avoid inadvertently contradicting him . Sánchez believed that General Arnaldo Ochoas downfall was significantly related to his willingness to contradict Fidels orders in Angola . Biographer Leycester Coltman described Castro as fiercely hard-working , dedicated , loyal .. . generous and magnanimous but noted that he could be vindictive and unforgiving . He asserted that Castro always had a keen sense of humor and could laugh at himself but could equally be a bad loser who would act with ferocious rage if he thought that he was being humiliated . Publicly he was known for throwing tantrums , and could make snap judgements which he refused to back down from . In private though , Castro was actually skilled at keeping his anger in check and not allowing it to affect his judgement , simply becoming cold and withdrawn ; Sánchez stated that in 17 years he had only seen Castro explode in anger twice , one upon being informed of his daughter Alinas defection in 1993 . Castro was known for working long hours and he primarily woke up late – rarely before ten or eleven a.m . – and started his working day around noon and would work until late at night , often only going to bed at 3 or 4 am . He preferred to meet foreign diplomats in these early hours , believing that they would be tired and he could gain the upper hand in negotiations . Castro liked to meet with ordinary citizens , both in Cuba and abroad , but took a particularly paternal attitude toward Cubans , treating them as if they were a part of his own giant family . British historian Alex von Tunzelmann commented that though ruthless , [ Castro ] was a patriot , a man with a profound sense that it was his mission to save the Cuban people . Political scientist Paul C . Sondrol characterized Castro as quintessentially totalitarian in his charismatic appeal , utopian functional role and public , transformative utilisation of power . Balfour described Castro as having a voracity for knowledge and elephantine memory that allowed him to speak for hours on a variety of different subjects . His hero was Alexander the Great , whose Spanish equivalent Alejandro he adopted as his nom de guerre . Castro was a voracious reader ; amongst his favorite authors were Ernest Hemingway , Franz Kafka , William Shakespeare , and Maxim Gorky , and he named For Whom the Bell Tolls as his favorite book , committing several portions of the novel to memory and even utilizing some of its lessons as a guerilla fighter . He enjoyed art and photography and was known as a patron of both within Cuba but was uninterested in music and disliked dancing . He was also an avid fan of cinema , particularly Soviet films . His favorite film was the five hour long 1967 adaption of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace . Castro had a lifelong passion , almost obsession , with cows and , starting in 1966 , with bovine genetics and breeding . State media frequently published details of his attempts to breed cows with increased milk yields . This interest reached its peak in 1982 when a cow that Fidel had bred , Ubre Blanca , broke the Guinness World Record for producing 29 gallons of milk live on national television . She was promoted into a national celebrity and propaganda tool , and when the cow died in 1985 , Granma published an official obituary for her on the front page , and the postal service issued stamps in her honor as well . Fidel Castros religious beliefs have been a matter of some debate ; he was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic . He criticized use of the Bible to justify the oppression of women and Africans , but commented that Christianity exhibited a group of very humane precepts which gave the world ethical values and a sense of social justice , relating , If people call me Christian , not from the standpoint of religion but from the standpoint of social vision , I declare that I am a Christian . He promoted the idea that Jesus Christ was a communist , citing the feeding of the 5,000 and the story of Jesus and the rich young man as evidence . Public image . Within Cuba , Castro was primarily referred to by his official military title Comandante El Jefe ; he was usually addressed as Comandante ( The Commander ) in general discourse as well as in person but could also be addressed as El Jefe ( the Chief ) in the third person , particularly within the party and military command . Castro was often nicknamed El Caballo ( The Horse ) , a label attributed to Cuban entertainer Benny Moré which alludes to Castros well known philandering during the 1950s and early 1960s . With his logorrheic oratorical abilities and profound charisma , Castro was extremely skilled at the art of manipulation and deception , easily whipping up his audience and even entire segments of the population into support for him . Large throngs of supporters gathered to cheer at Castros fiery speeches , which typically lasted for hours ( even outdoors in inclement weather ) and without the use of written notes . During speeches , Castro regularly cited reports and books he had read on a wide variety of subjects , including military matters , plant cultivation , filmmaking , and chess strategies . Officially , the Cuban government did maintain a cult of personality , but unlike other Soviet-era leaders and his allies , it was less widespread and took on a more subtle and discreet form . There were no statues or large portraits of him but rather signs with thoughts of the Comandante . Although his popularity among segments of the Cuban populace nevertheless led to one developing without the governments involvement and would be used to judge each individuals devotion to his revolutionary cause ( judged by their contribution to the revolution ) . Indeed , by 2006 Castros image could frequently be found in Cuban stores , classrooms , taxicabs , and on national television . In private , however , Castro hated such idolization campaigns and believed that he had intellectual ascendancy over leaders who engaged in such behavior , such as his friend Kim Il-sung of North Korea whose cult of personality he considered excessive , outlandish , and unreasonable . He gave no importance to his appearance or clothing ; for 37 years , he wore only his trademark olive-green military fatigues or the standard dress uniform for formal events and special occasions , emphasizing his role as the perpetual revolutionary , but in the mid-1990s began wearing dark civilian suits and guayabera in public . At over tall with a few inches added from his combat boots , Castro usually towered over most foreign leaders he met with , giving him a dominating presence in any room or photo that was taken , which he used to his advantage ( for comparison , Abraham Lincoln and Charles De Gaulle , both well known for their tall heights , stood at 64 and 65 respectively ) . Until his uprising against Batista , Castro typically kept a pencil-thin moustache along with combed back hair , typical of Upper-class Cuban men in the 1950s but grew out both during his years as a guerilla fighter and retaining them afterwards . Castro also disliked worrying about his appearance and hated shaving , making the beard and uniform all the more convenient for him . His uniform was also kept simple , he never wore any medals or decorations and his only marker of rank was the Comandante El Jefe insignia stitched on the shoulder straps . Until the 1990s , he wore combat boots , but due to orthopedic issues , abandoned them for sneakers and tennis shoes instead . Around his waist , he often carried a 9mm Browning pistol in a brown leather holster with an additional three clips . His personal weapon of choice was a 7.62 Kalashnikov AKM which Castro occasionally carried with him during the 1960s but was later kept stored in a suitcase carried by one of the members of his escort or kept placed between his feet while driving along with five cartridges ; he frequently used it during shooting exercises and practice . Castro had a lifelong love of guns and was considered an expert sharpshooter , impressing foreign visitors and even holding up against members of his own elite bodyguards who engaged in frequent competition with him . Castros most iconic public feature eventually became the Cuban cigar that he smoked on a daily basis . Introduced to it by his father at the age of 15 , Castro continued the habit for almost 44 years with the exception of a brief period during the 1950s while a guerilla fighter and boycotting against Batista linked tobacco firms . Castro claimed that he quit around 1985 during an anti-smoking campaign promoted by the Communist Party . Sánchez disputes this , saying that his doctor had Castro reduce his cigar usage starting in 1980 and quit entirely in 1983 after a cancerous ulcer was found in his intestine . Prior to the Revolution , Castro smoked various brands including Romeo y Julieta Churchill , H . Upmann , Bauza , and Partagás . In the early 1960s , Castro saw one of his bodyguards smoking a noticeably aromatic but unbranded cigar . Castro and the bodyguard located the cigar maker , Eduardo Ribera , who agreed to establish the El Laguito Factory and branded the cigars as Cohiba which became Castros signature brand and elevating its profile internationally . Initially restricted for his own private use and other members of the Politburo , it was later presented as diplomatic gifts for allied countries and friends of Castro , most notably seen smoked by Che Guevara , Josip Broz Tito , Houari Boumédiène , Sukarno , and Saddam Hussein . Lifestyle . Castros primary residence was at Punto Cero , a large and vegetative estate approximately 6 km from the Palacio de la Revolution in the Siboney neighborhood . The main house is a L-Shaped two story family mansion with a 600-square-yard footprint , 50-foot-long swimming pool , six greenhouses providing fruit and vegetables for Fidel and Raúls families as well as their bodyguard units , and a large lawn with free-range chickens and cows . Close by is a second two-story building used to house the bodyguards and the domestic staff . The house itself was decorated in a classical Caribbean style , with local wicker and wood furniture , porcelain plates , watercolor paintings , and art books . Sánchez described the estate as naturally beautiful and tastefully decorated , and while considered luxurious for the average Cuban , was not lavish or over-the-top compared to the residences of the Somoza clan or the Kim dynasty of North Korea . Raúl and Vilmas house La Rinconada is located close by on 222nd street . Raúl usually hosted large family barbecues on Sundays where Fidel would sometimes come , giving his extended family , sisters , and his elder brother Ramón a rare opportunity to see him . Next to Punto Cero is Unit 160 which was the base of Fidels bodyguard units . The base was over five acres large and surrounded by high walls , essentially a city within a city consisting of support personnel for transportation , communications , electronics , food , and an extensive armory of Kalashnikovs , Makarovs , and Brownings . Members of that unit also assisted in Fidels passion for Bovine breeding and a stable was kept for some of Fidels most prized cows . In addition to Punto Cero , Castro had 5 other residences in Havana : Casa Cojimar , his initial home after 1959 but disused by the 1970s ; a house on 160th Street near the Playa district ; Casa Carbonell , maintained by Cuban Intelligence for his covert meetings with representatives of foreign groups or intelligence assets ; A beach house in Santa Maria del Mar ( next to the Tropico Hotel ) ; and two houses retrofitted with air-raid shelters and connected to the MINFAR command bunkers for use in war : Casa Punta Brava ( Dalias old house before meeting Fidel ) and Casa Gallego , near the bodyguards base at Unit 160 . In the west of Cuba , he had three residences : Casa Americana ( confiscated from an American businessman connected to Batista ) ; Rancho la Tranquilidad in the locality of Mil Cumbres ; and La Deseada , a hunting lodge utilized in the winter for duck hunting and fishing trips . He also had two homes in Matanzas , one in Ciego de Avila , a horse ranch Hacienda San Cayetano in Camaguey along with another house in a vacation compound for the Politburo nearby , Casa Guardalavaca in Holguin , and two residences in Santiago de Cuba ( One of which is shared with Ramiro Valdes ) . Castros main vacation destination was Cayo de Piedra , a small key island formerly the site of a lighthouse , approximately a mile long and divided into two by a cyclone in the 1960s . He came upon the island by accident while reviewing the region in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion . Instantly falling in love with the island , he ordered it closed off and had the lighthouse demolished . Osmany Cienfuegos designed the a private bungalow , guesthouse , bridge , marina , and a building for the use of the bodyguards and support staff . He arrived here from his inaccessible private marina located near the Bay of Pigs , La Caleta del Rosario , which also housed another residence and guesthouse . Castro utilized two yachts , Aquarama I , confiscated from a Batista Government official and later in the 1970s , the 90-foot white hull Aquarama II . Aquarama II , which was decorated with wood donated from Angola , had two double cabins , one for Fidels personal use , a main sitting room , two bathrooms , a bar , a secure communications suite , and was equipped with four Osa-class missile boat engines gifted from Brezhnev allowing for top speeds of over 42 Knots . Aquarama II had two companion speedboats utilized by his escort , Pioniera I and Pioniera II ; one was equipped with a large cache of weapons and another was equipped with medical equipment . Castro was also had a keen interest in gastronomy and was known to wander into his kitchen to discuss cookery with his chefs . His diet was quintessentially Cuban , based on traditional pescatarian cuisine but also the additional influence from his native Galicia . All of his food was sourced from Punto Cero or fished from his private island of Cayo Piedra , with the exception of cases of Algerian Red Wine gifted initially from Houari Boumediene and continued by successive Algerian governments and Iraqi figs and fruit jams from Saddam Hussein . Castro , who typically woke up in the late morning , usually had tea or fish bouillon for breakfast accompanied by milk provided from one of the cows that grazed on Punto Cero ; they were all bred to provide milk which suited Castros demanding taste . His lunches were also frugal and consisted of fish or seafood soup with fresh produce . Dinner was his primary meal , consisting of grilled fish , chicken , mutton , or even pata negra ham on special occasions along with a large serving of green vegetables , but was prevented from eating beef or coffee by his dietician . Until 1979 , Castros primary vehicle was a black ZiL limousine , first a armored convertible ZIL-111 from Khrushchev , a ZIL-114 and briefly a ZIL-4104 gifted to him by Leonid Brezhnev , while his escort would accompany him in several Alfa Romeo 1750s and 2000s . In 1979 , during the Non-Aligned movement summit at Havana , Saddam Hussein gave Castro his Armored Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL which he had brought from Baghdad and became his sole transport for the rest of his life . Subsequently , Fidel ordered two mechanics from his bodyguard unit to West Germany to purchase several secondhand Mercedes-Benz 500s to replace the obsolete Alfa Romeros . Castro always traveled with at least fourteen guards and four of his aides , spread out over four vehicles ; three Mercedes-Benzs and one Soviet Lada which trailed the main convoy ( to keep the military presence at a minimal ) . Whenever he would leave Havana , a fifth Mercedes would join the procession carrying his doctor , nurse , and photographer . Relationships . In his personal life , Castro was known for being distant , withdrawn , and confided in very few people . His closest and most trusted friend was Raúl Castro , his younger brother by five years and longtime Minister of the Armed Forces . Although Raúl has a vastly contrasting , almost polar opposite personality to Castro , Sánchez describes Raúl as complementing Castros personality in all the ways that he is not . Whereas Fidel was charismatic , energetic , visionary but extremely impulsive and totally disorganized , Raúl was described as a natural , methodical , and uncompromising organizer . Castro spoke nearly every day with Raúl , met several times a week , and was a frequent visitor at Raúl and Vilmas house ; Vilma was also considered close to Castro and often appeared in public with him at national events . Besides Raúl , Castro was not close to any of his other siblings , although he did have friendly relations with his elder brother Ramón and sister Angelita . His sister Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the early 1960s , and is a public opponent of the Cuban regime . Outside of his immediate family , Castros closest friend was fellow revolutionary Celia Sánchez , who accompanied him almost everywhere during the 1960s , and controlled almost all access to the leader . Reynaldo Sánchez confirmed that Celia was indeed Castros mistress and regarded her as the true love of his life . Castro provided a large apartment for Celia on 11th Street near Vedado , El Once whom Fidel visited every day before returning home . Over the years , Castro added an elevator , fitness room , and a bowling alley for his and Celias personal use . He even provided bodyguards from his own escort to Celia for her own protection . Castros closest male friends were the members of his immediate bodyguard unit , Escolta or the Escort . His security was provided by Department 1 of the Personal Security Directorate of MININT ( Ministry of the Interior ) . Department 1 was for Fidels security , Department 2 was Raúl and Vilmas , and Department 3 was for the members of the Politburo and so on . Unlike the other MININT Departments , both his and Raúls units bypassed the normal chain of command and reported to them directly . Castros security consisted of three concentric anillos or rings . The third ring consisted of thousands of soldiers both in MININT and MINFAR who provided support for Logistics , Air-Defense , Intelligence , etc. ; The second ring consisted of eighty to one hundred soldiers who provided the outer perimeter security ; And the first ring , the Elite Escolta or The Escort , which provided his immediate security and consisted of two teams of 15 elite soldiers who worked 24 hour shifts , along with around 10 support staff . A soldier at heart , Castro had more affinity with his escort than his civilian family . He spent most of his time under their protection and were usually his companions in his personal interests . A sports fan , he also spent much of his time trying to keep fit , undertaking regular exercise such as hunting , fly fishing , underwater fishing , scuba diving , and playing basketball . They were also his companions on special events , such as his birthday or during national holidays , which they would regularly exchange gifts and engage in one-sided discussions with Castro where he would recall his life stories . The members of the Escort Castro was closest to was the former Mayor of Havana Jose Pepín Naranjo who became his official aide until his death in 1995 and his own personal physician , Eugenio Selman . Outside of his escort , Castro was also close to Manuel Barbarroja Pineiro , the head of the American Department of the DGI , Antonio Núñez Jiménez , and the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez . Marital history . The Cuban government has never published an official marital history of Castro , with most information coming from defectors and scarce details published in state media and pieced together over the years . In his earlier years in power , he showcased some of his family life , in particular his eldest son Fidelito in order to portray himself as a normal family man to the apprehensive American audience , but eventually abandoned that as he became more concerned about his personal safety . Throughout his rule , Castro never named an official First Lady and when the need for such a public female companion was necessary , Celia Sánchez or Raúls wife , Vilma Espín , would play such a role of la primera dama . Overall , Sánchez described Castro as a compulsive lover or womanizer ; he has been officially married twice but has carried on numerous affairs , including many one-night stands . Popular with women and often recognized as a sex symbol in Cuba , Castro never had difficulty in finding love and seduction , and Sánchez denies that Castro ever engaged in any unusual or un-consensual behavior . Castro was also described as a poor father ; often absent from their lives , he had little interest in the activities of his children and was more interested in his work . Raúl , who had much more stronger paternal feelings towards his family , was often the one who played the role of surrogate father to Castros children , in particular Fidelito and Alina . - Castros first wife was Mirta Díaz-Balart , whom he married in October 1948 . She is the only spouse of Castro acknowledged by the Cuban government . Diaz-Balart , the daughter of a powerful Cuban politician and brother of Batistas Minister of Interior , was a student at the University of Havana where she met and married Castro . She divorced him later in 1955 while he was in prison due to the attacks on the Moncada Barracks . They had one son : - Fidel Ángel Fidelito Castro Díaz-Balart , born in September 1949 . Fidelito grew up at various times between Havana and Miami ; he later went to the Soviet Union to study Nuclear Physics . For a time , he ran Cubas atomic-energy commission before being removed from the post by his father . He took his own life in February 2018 , over a year after his fathers death . - During his first marriage , Castro had a brief encounter with Maria Laborde , an admirer from Camaguey whom very little is known and has long been deceased . They had one son : - Jorge Ángel Castro , born on 23 March 1949 . It was long believed that his birth was in 1956 , but Sánchez and another defector uncovered that he was in fact born earlier than Fidelito . - While Castro was married to Mirta , he had an affair with Natalia Naty Revuelta Clews . Widely regarded in Havana for her beauty , Natalia herself was married to Dr . Orlando Fernandez but sympathized with the aims of the Revolutionary movement . She initially joined the movement as a friend of Castro but later became his mistress and visited him while he was imprisoned on Isla de Pinos . She would give birth to his daughter : - Alina Fernández Revuelta , born in 1956 , is Castros only daughter . She did not know her true parentage until she was 10 . Castro showed little interest in her but sent her to a boarding school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , France . One of the few people willing to stand up to Castro , several defectors have described her personality as the most similar to her father . Alina became a public relations director for a State-owned fashion company and a model for Havana Club . Her father inadvertently found out about the latter job while reading Cuba magazine , coming across an advertisement showing Alina posing in a bikini on a boat with two other models ; he nearly exploded with rage . Alina left Cuba in 1993 , disguised as a Spanish tourist , and sought asylum in the U.S. , from where she has criticized her fathers policies . - Castros second and longest wife was with Dalia Soto Del Valle , another admirer who met Castro during a speech in Villa Clara in 1961 . She was a teacher who was part of the governments literacy campaign who moved to Havana on Castros initiative and later moved in with him at Punto Cero as his permanent family . Her relationship with Castro was kept secret until 2006 , when she was photographed with an increasingly frail Castro during the Party Congress , although no other information has been released by the Cuban Government . Castro and Dalia would have five sons , each of them starting with the letter A and three of them a variation of Alexander ( in homage to Alexander the Great , his pseudonym while a guerilla fighter ) : - Alexis Castro Del Valle , born in 1962 . Described as a loner with few friends , he eventually got a degree in computer science but has since become a mechanic . - Alex Castro Del Valle , born in 1963 . Much more affable and outgoing , he was initially trained as an engineer as well but instead became a photographer and cameraman for Granma and Cubavisión respectively . He later became the official photographer of his father and published several books and hosted the exhibitions Fidel Castro:Photografia Intimidade . - Alejandro Castro Del Valle , born in 1969 . Considered a computer geek , like his brothers , he also studied computer science and engineering but was passionate about the subject . Around 1990 , he wrote software that allowed Russian programs to be run on Japanese ones ; the product was purchased by NEC of Japan , which raised his national profile in the engineering community of Cuba and even public praise from his father . - Antonio Castro Del Valle , born in 1971 . A national youth baseball champion , he studied sports medicine in the University of Havana and became an Orthopedic surgeon . He is currently the head of the Surgery unit at the Elite Frank Pais Orthopedic Hospital , Doctor to the National Baseball team and President of the Cuban Baseball Federation . - Angelito Castro Del Valle , born in 1974 . Considered spoiled by his parents from a young age , he was long considered the trouble child of the family . He was passionate about cars and frequently earned the ire of his fathers escort unit for disrupting the work of the mechanics . Angelito never obtained any higher education , but later became the senior executive of the Mercedes-Benz concession of Cuba . - After the 1970s , Castro began a long relationship with Juanita Vera , a Colonel in the foreign intelligence service who joined his escort unit as his English interpreter . She often appeared in public with Castro , in particular in Oliver Stones Comandante as his translator and interpreter . Her and Castro had one son , Abel Castro Vera , born in 1983 . Castro had another daughter , Francisca Pupo ( born 1953 ) , the result of a one-night affair . Pupo and her husband now live in Miami . Another son known as Ciro was also born in the early 1960s , the result of another brief fling , his existence confirmed by Celia Sánchez . Reception and legacy . One of the most controversial political leaders of his era , Castro both inspired and dismayed people across the world during his lifetime . The London Observer stated that he proved to be as divisive in death as he was in life , and that the only thing that his enemies and admirers agreed upon was that he was a towering figure who transformed a small Caribbean island into a major force in world affairs . The Daily Telegraph noted that across the world he was either praised as a brave champion of the people , or derided as a power-mad dictator . Under Castros leadership , Cuba became one of the best-educated and healthiest societies in the Third World as well as one of the most militarised states in Latin America . Despite its small size and limited economic weight , Castros Cuba gained a large role in world affairs . On the island , the Castro governments legitimacy rested on the improvements that it brought to social justice , healthcare , and education . The administration also relied heavily on its appeals to nationalistic sentiment , in particular the widespread hostility to the U.S . government . According to Balfour , Castros domestic popularity stemmed from the fact that he symbolised a long-cherished hope of national liberation and social justice for much of the population . Balfour also noted that throughout Latin America , Castro served as a symbol of defiance against the continued economic and cultural imperialism of the United States . Similarly , Wayne S . Smith – the former Chief of the United States Interests Section in Havana – noted that Castros opposition to U.S . dominance and transformation of Cuba into a significant world player resulted in him receiving warm applause throughout the Western Hemisphere . Various Western governments and human rights organizations nevertheless heavily criticized Castro and he was widely reviled in the U.S . Following Castros death , U.S . President-elect Donald Trump called him a brutal dictator , while the Cuban-American politician Marco Rubio called him an evil , murderous dictator who turned Cuba into an impoverished island prison . Castro publicly rejected the dictator label , stating that he constitutionally held less power than most heads of state and insisting that his regime allowed for greater democratic involvement in policy making than Western liberal democracies . Nevertheless , critics claim that Castro wielded significant unofficial influence aside from his official duties . Quirk stated that Castro wielded absolute power in Cuba , albeit not in a legal or constitutional manner , while Bourne claimed that power in Cuba was completely invested in Castro , adding that it was very rare for a country and a people to have been so completely dominated by the personality of one man . Balfour stated that Castros moral and political hegemony within Cuba diminished the opportunities for democratic debate and decision making . Describing Castro as a totalitarian dictator , Sondrol suggested that in leading a political system largely [ of ] his own creation and bearing his indelible stamp , Castros leadership style warranted comparisons with totalitarian leaders like Mao Zedong , Hideki Tojo , Joseph Stalin , Adolf Hitler , and Benito Mussolini . Noting that there were few more polarising political figures than Castro , Amnesty International described him as a progressive but deeply flawed leader . In their view , he should be applauded for his regimes substantial improvements to healthcare and education , but criticised for its ruthless suppression of freedom of expression . Human Rights Watch stated that his government constructed a repressive machinery which deprived Cubans of their basic rights . Castro defended his governments record on human rights , stating that the state was forced to limit the freedoms of individuals and imprison those involved in counter-revolutionary activities in order to protect the rights of the collective populace , such as the right to employment , education , and health care . Historian and journalist Richard Gott considered Castro to be one of the most extraordinary political figures of the twentieth century , commenting that he had become a world hero in the mould of Giuseppe Garibaldi to people throughout the developing world for his anti-imperialist efforts . Balfour stated that Castros story had few parallels in contemporary history , for there existed no other Third World leader in the second half of the twentieth century who held such a prominent and restless part on the international stage or remained head of state for such a long period . Bourne described Castro as an influential world leader who commanded great respect from individuals of all political ideologies across the developing world . Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Castro as a remarkable leader and a larger than life leader who served his people . The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Castro was a hero for many . Russian President Vladimir Putin described Castro as both a sincere and reliable friend of Russia and a symbol of an era , while Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping similarly referred to him as a close comrade and a sincere friend to China . Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed him one of the most iconic personalities of the 20th century and a great friend , while South African President Jacob Zuma praised Castro for aiding black South Africans in our struggle against apartheid . He was awarded a wide variety of awards and honors from foreign governments and was cited as an inspiration for foreign leaders like Ahmed Ben Bella and Nelson Mandela , who subsequently awarded him South Africas highest civilian award for foreigners , the Order of Good Hope . The biographer Volka Skierka stated that he will go down in history as one of the few revolutionaries who remained true to his principles . In Cuba . Following Castros death , Cubas government announced that it would be passing a law prohibiting the naming of institutions , streets , parks or other public sites , or erecting busts , statues or other forms of tribute in honor of the late Cuban leader in keeping with his wishes to prevent an extensive cult of personality from developing around him . External links . - Fidel Castros speeches - Fidel Castro History Archive at Marxists Internet Archive - Fidel Castro ( Character ) on IMDb - Fidel Castro Records at FBI Records : The Vault - Fidel Castro : A Life in Pictures – slideshow by BBC News - Fidel Castro : From Rebel to El Presidente – timeline by NPR - Fidel Castro – extended biography by Barcelona Centre for International Affairs - Say Brother ; 914 ; Invitation From Cuba Date N/A , National Records and Archives Administration , American Archive of Public Broadcasting |
[
"Alexander Hamilton",
"10th Duke of Hamilton"
] | easy | Who was the owner of The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries from 1812 to 1882? | /wiki/The_Emperor_Napoleon_in_His_Study_at_the_Tuileries#P127#0 | The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries is an 1812 painting by Jacques-Louis David . It shows French Emperor Napoleon I in uniform in his study at the Tuileries Palace . Despite the detail , it is unlikely that Napoleon posed for the portrait . It was a private commission from the Scottish nobleman and admirer of Napoleon , Alexander Hamilton , 10th Duke of Hamilton in 1811 and completed in 1812 . Originally shown at Hamilton Palace , it was sold to Archibald Primrose , 5th Earl of Rosebery in 1882 , from whom it was bought by the Samuel H . Kress Foundation in 1954 , which deposited it in Washington D.C.s National Gallery of Art , where it now hangs . Iconography . Vertical in format , it shows Napoleon standing , three-quarters life size , wearing the uniform of a colonel of the Imperial Guard Foot Grenadiers ( blue with white facings and red cuffs ) . He also wears his Légion dhonneur and Order of the Iron Crown decorations , along with gold epaulettes , white French-style culottes and white stockings . His face is turned towards the viewer and his right hand is in his jacket . Piled on the desk are a pen , several books , dossiers and rolled papers . More rolled papers and a map are on the green carpet to the left of the desk – on these papers is the painters signature LVD DAVID OPVS 1812 . All this , along with Napoleons unbuttoned cuffs , wrinkled stockings , disheveled hair , the flickering candles and the time on the clock ( 4:13am ) are all meant to imply he has been up all night , writing laws such as the Code Napoléon – the word Code is prominent on the rolled papers on the desk . This maintains his new civil rather than heroic ( as in Canovas Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker ) or military ( as in Davids own Napoleon Crossing the Alps ) image , though the sword on the chairs armrest still refers back to his military successes . The fleurs-de-lys and heraldic bees also imply the stability of the imperial dynasty . Development . An analysis of the original painting reveals that the artist reedited the composition and details several times to balance the image , add allusions , and capture a complete story . Brush strokes and texture indicate that an earlier version had Napoleons upper body flanked by two fluted columns about the width of the figures torso . These strong vertical elements would have created a distraction from the central figure . These columns were revised to a carved panel in shadow ( on the viewers left ) and a clock with a large face ( viewers right ) on level with and somewhat larger than the figures face . The clock was later repainted with a smaller face moved up and to the right , with the clock body still covering the underlying column brush strokes . These revisions greatly improved the compositional balance of the paintings upper section , reducing the impression of three vertical columns . They successfully moved the viewers focus to Napoleons face and expression and away from the presumably accurate stature and middle-heavy build . The change also allowed incorporating additional symbology , most notably the time ( 4:13 ) . Other revisions were added symbols on the table items and lower section , many painted over fleurs-de-lis which are conspicuously rare in the final image . Further reading . - Antoine Schnapper David , 1748-1825 , catalogue de lexposition Louvre-Versailles 1989 ed . Réunion des musées nationaux , Paris , 1989 - Sur le tableau No 206 et 207 pages 474 - 477 . External links . - National Gallery of Art - catalogue entry - Second version - image |
[
"Archibald Primrose",
"5th Earl of Rosebery"
] | easy | The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries was owned by whom from 1882 to 1954? | /wiki/The_Emperor_Napoleon_in_His_Study_at_the_Tuileries#P127#1 | The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries is an 1812 painting by Jacques-Louis David . It shows French Emperor Napoleon I in uniform in his study at the Tuileries Palace . Despite the detail , it is unlikely that Napoleon posed for the portrait . It was a private commission from the Scottish nobleman and admirer of Napoleon , Alexander Hamilton , 10th Duke of Hamilton in 1811 and completed in 1812 . Originally shown at Hamilton Palace , it was sold to Archibald Primrose , 5th Earl of Rosebery in 1882 , from whom it was bought by the Samuel H . Kress Foundation in 1954 , which deposited it in Washington D.C.s National Gallery of Art , where it now hangs . Iconography . Vertical in format , it shows Napoleon standing , three-quarters life size , wearing the uniform of a colonel of the Imperial Guard Foot Grenadiers ( blue with white facings and red cuffs ) . He also wears his Légion dhonneur and Order of the Iron Crown decorations , along with gold epaulettes , white French-style culottes and white stockings . His face is turned towards the viewer and his right hand is in his jacket . Piled on the desk are a pen , several books , dossiers and rolled papers . More rolled papers and a map are on the green carpet to the left of the desk – on these papers is the painters signature LVD DAVID OPVS 1812 . All this , along with Napoleons unbuttoned cuffs , wrinkled stockings , disheveled hair , the flickering candles and the time on the clock ( 4:13am ) are all meant to imply he has been up all night , writing laws such as the Code Napoléon – the word Code is prominent on the rolled papers on the desk . This maintains his new civil rather than heroic ( as in Canovas Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker ) or military ( as in Davids own Napoleon Crossing the Alps ) image , though the sword on the chairs armrest still refers back to his military successes . The fleurs-de-lys and heraldic bees also imply the stability of the imperial dynasty . Development . An analysis of the original painting reveals that the artist reedited the composition and details several times to balance the image , add allusions , and capture a complete story . Brush strokes and texture indicate that an earlier version had Napoleons upper body flanked by two fluted columns about the width of the figures torso . These strong vertical elements would have created a distraction from the central figure . These columns were revised to a carved panel in shadow ( on the viewers left ) and a clock with a large face ( viewers right ) on level with and somewhat larger than the figures face . The clock was later repainted with a smaller face moved up and to the right , with the clock body still covering the underlying column brush strokes . These revisions greatly improved the compositional balance of the paintings upper section , reducing the impression of three vertical columns . They successfully moved the viewers focus to Napoleons face and expression and away from the presumably accurate stature and middle-heavy build . The change also allowed incorporating additional symbology , most notably the time ( 4:13 ) . Other revisions were added symbols on the table items and lower section , many painted over fleurs-de-lis which are conspicuously rare in the final image . Further reading . - Antoine Schnapper David , 1748-1825 , catalogue de lexposition Louvre-Versailles 1989 ed . Réunion des musées nationaux , Paris , 1989 - Sur le tableau No 206 et 207 pages 474 - 477 . External links . - National Gallery of Art - catalogue entry - Second version - image |
[
"Samuel H . Kress Foundation"
] | easy | The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries was owned by whom from 1954 to 1955? | /wiki/The_Emperor_Napoleon_in_His_Study_at_the_Tuileries#P127#2 | The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries is an 1812 painting by Jacques-Louis David . It shows French Emperor Napoleon I in uniform in his study at the Tuileries Palace . Despite the detail , it is unlikely that Napoleon posed for the portrait . It was a private commission from the Scottish nobleman and admirer of Napoleon , Alexander Hamilton , 10th Duke of Hamilton in 1811 and completed in 1812 . Originally shown at Hamilton Palace , it was sold to Archibald Primrose , 5th Earl of Rosebery in 1882 , from whom it was bought by the Samuel H . Kress Foundation in 1954 , which deposited it in Washington D.C.s National Gallery of Art , where it now hangs . Iconography . Vertical in format , it shows Napoleon standing , three-quarters life size , wearing the uniform of a colonel of the Imperial Guard Foot Grenadiers ( blue with white facings and red cuffs ) . He also wears his Légion dhonneur and Order of the Iron Crown decorations , along with gold epaulettes , white French-style culottes and white stockings . His face is turned towards the viewer and his right hand is in his jacket . Piled on the desk are a pen , several books , dossiers and rolled papers . More rolled papers and a map are on the green carpet to the left of the desk – on these papers is the painters signature LVD DAVID OPVS 1812 . All this , along with Napoleons unbuttoned cuffs , wrinkled stockings , disheveled hair , the flickering candles and the time on the clock ( 4:13am ) are all meant to imply he has been up all night , writing laws such as the Code Napoléon – the word Code is prominent on the rolled papers on the desk . This maintains his new civil rather than heroic ( as in Canovas Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker ) or military ( as in Davids own Napoleon Crossing the Alps ) image , though the sword on the chairs armrest still refers back to his military successes . The fleurs-de-lys and heraldic bees also imply the stability of the imperial dynasty . Development . An analysis of the original painting reveals that the artist reedited the composition and details several times to balance the image , add allusions , and capture a complete story . Brush strokes and texture indicate that an earlier version had Napoleons upper body flanked by two fluted columns about the width of the figures torso . These strong vertical elements would have created a distraction from the central figure . These columns were revised to a carved panel in shadow ( on the viewers left ) and a clock with a large face ( viewers right ) on level with and somewhat larger than the figures face . The clock was later repainted with a smaller face moved up and to the right , with the clock body still covering the underlying column brush strokes . These revisions greatly improved the compositional balance of the paintings upper section , reducing the impression of three vertical columns . They successfully moved the viewers focus to Napoleons face and expression and away from the presumably accurate stature and middle-heavy build . The change also allowed incorporating additional symbology , most notably the time ( 4:13 ) . Other revisions were added symbols on the table items and lower section , many painted over fleurs-de-lis which are conspicuously rare in the final image . Further reading . - Antoine Schnapper David , 1748-1825 , catalogue de lexposition Louvre-Versailles 1989 ed . Réunion des musées nationaux , Paris , 1989 - Sur le tableau No 206 et 207 pages 474 - 477 . External links . - National Gallery of Art - catalogue entry - Second version - image |
[
""
] | easy | Which team did Josip Skoko play for from 1993 to 1994? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#0 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
"North Geelong Warriors"
] | easy | Which team did the player Josip Skoko belong to from 1994 to 1995? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#1 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
"Hajduk Split"
] | easy | Which team did the player Josip Skoko belong to from 1995 to 1999? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#2 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
""
] | easy | Which team did the player Josip Skoko belong to from 1999 to 2005? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#3 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
"Wigan Athletic"
] | easy | Josip Skoko played for which team from 2005 to 2008? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#4 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
"Hajduk Split"
] | easy | Josip Skoko played for which team from 2008 to 2010? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#5 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
"Melbourne Heart"
] | easy | Which team did the player Josip Skoko belong to from 2010 to 2011? | /wiki/Josip_Skoko#P54#6 | Josip Skoko Josip Skoko ( born 10 December 1975 ) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors , Hajduk Split , Genk , Gençlerbirliği , Wigan Athletic , Stoke City and Melbourne Heart . Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with superb on-ball ability , inch perfect passing , and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant . Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC . Club career . Early career . Skoko was born in Mount Gambier , he played for Mt Gambier Croatia until he was 9 years old when he and his family moved to Geelong . Skoko played for North Geelong Warriors before moving to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1995 . After four years at Stadion Poljud he signed for Belgium club Genk . At Genk he was made captain and helped the team win the title in 2001–02 . He joined Turkish club Gençlerbirliği in 2003 where he spent two years before moving to English football . Wigan Athletic . Skoko joined Premier League club Wigan Athletic for €1 million at the beginning of the 2005–06 season , although he initially failed to maintain a regular place in the first team . On 7 January 2006 Skoko signed for Football League Championship side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2005–06 season . He played nine times for Stoke and scored twice against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace . In the 2006–07 season , Paul Jewell showed renewed faith in Skoko giving him an extended run in the side . The transfers of Jimmy Bullard and Graham Kavanagh to Fulham and Sunderland , respectively , in the summer of 2006 left a gap in Wigans midfield and this led to him becoming a mainstay in the Wigan Athletic midfield , partnering Paul Scharner and Denny Landzaat . He signed a new contract deal keeping him at Wigan until 2008 . However , at the end of the season it became clear that Skoko had played his last game for the club . The two main reasons were because he did not play enough games for Wigan to trigger a clause in his contract and also the impossibility of receiving a visa for his stay in England due to his international retirement with Australia . It was decided in May 2008 that Skokos contract would not be renewed and he was subsequently released by Wigan . Hajduk Split . Due to various work permit issues when playing in Europe , it took a longer than expected time for Skoko to put pen to paper with a club of his choice . However , on 21 July , and after several weeks of speculation , Skoko had finally signed a two-year deal with former club Hajduk . The decision , he said , took only minutes for the club and himself to agree terms . Skoko is relishing the chance to return to the side he made more than 100 appearances for between 1995 and 1999 , with a club he describes as a second home . Melbourne Heart . Skokos return home to Australia to play for A-League newcomers Melbourne Heart was confirmed by the club on 19 May 2010 . The club signed the former Socceroo for one season as their inaugural Australian marquee player . He was also named as one of the initial members of the leadership group . In his second game for Melbourne Heart , he suffered a hamstring injury , which forced him out of the side for at least one month . In February 2012 , Skoko came out of retirement to take part in the 2012 Hawaiian Island Invitational before retiring for good . International career . Skoko was a member of the Australian National football team for ten years , from 1997 to 2007 . He made his debut for Australia against Macedonia in 1997 and was a mainstay of the Socceroos side from then on , participating in two World Cup qualifying campaigns . He also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000 . In November 2005 , Skoko came on as a substitute in Australias playoff victory over Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup . He also captained a weakened Australian side against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2006 . On 25 May 2006 , Skoko scored a cracking volley from 25m for Australia in a 1-0 friendly victory over Greece in front of 95,103 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , which he regards as the most legendary moment of all time . He was selected in the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany but did not play in any of Australias four games . After being named in the Australian side for a friendly match against Argentina on 11 September 2007 , Skoko stated that the game would be his home farewell from international football . Skoko ended his international career 51 minutes into the match in Melbourne when he was replaced by midfielder Carl Valeri . External links . - Melbourne Heart profile - OzFootball profile |
[
"97th Regiment of Rifles"
] | easy | What was the official name of The Algonquin Regiment from Jul 1900 to Jun 1903? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#0 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
"97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles"
] | easy | The Algonquin Regiment was officially named what from Jun 1903 to May 1920? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#1 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
"The Algonquin Rifles"
] | easy | The Algonquin Regiment was officially named what from May 1920 to Feb 1929? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#2 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
"The Algonquin Regiment"
] | easy | What was the official name of The Algonquin Regiment from Feb 1929 to Oct 1954? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#3 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
"The Algonquin Regiment"
] | easy | What was the official name of The Algonquin Regiment from Oct 1954 to May 1958? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#4 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
"The Algonquin Regiment"
] | easy | The Algonquin Regiment was officially named what from May 1958 to Mar 1965? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#5 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
"The Algonquin Regiment"
] | easy | The Algonquin Regiment was officially named what from Mar 1965 to Mar 1966? | /wiki/The_Algonquin_Regiment#P1448#6 | The Algonquin Regiment The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army comprising two companies . A Company is located in North Bay , Ontario , and B Company is located in Timmins , Ontario . The regiment falls under the command of the 4th Canadian Divisions 33 Canadian Brigade Group . Lineage . The Algonquin Regiment . - Originated 1 July 1900 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario as the 97th Regiment of Rifles . Sub-units were located in Thessalon , Sudbury and Sturgeon Falls . - Redesignated 1 June 1903 as the 97th Regiment Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Algonquin Rifles - Redesignated 15 February 1929 as The Algonquin Regiment - 15 December 1936 , B , C and D Companies amalgamated with The Northern Pioneers , retaining the same regimental designation - Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment - Redesignated 15 February 1946 as The Algonquin Regiment - 1 October 1954 converted to armour and redesignated as The Algonquin Regiment ( 26th Armoured Regiment ) - Redesignated 19 May 1958 as The Algonquin Regiment ( RCAC ) - 19 March 1965 , converted to infantry and redesignated The Algonquin Regiment The Northern Pioneers . - Originated 1 September 1903 in Parry Sound , Ontario as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Fusiliers - Redesignated 1 January 1904 as the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers - Redesignated 1 May 1920 as The Northern Pioneers - Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with The Algonquin Regiment Perpetuations . The Great War . - 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) ,CEF - 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF - 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF - 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF - 256th Battalion , CEF Operational history . The Great War . Details of the 23rd Regiment The Northern Pioneers were called out on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties . The 122nd Battalion ( Muskoka ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 2 June 1917 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Forestry Depot , CEF on 10 June 1917 to provide reinforcements . The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The 159th Battalion ( 1st Algonquins ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 8th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 20 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 27 July 1917 . The 162nd Battalion ( Parry Sound ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 . There , its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF and the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 4 January 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920 . The 228th Battalion ( Northern Fusiliers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 16 February 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 6th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 8 March 1917 . The battalion landed in France on 3 April 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 256th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 1 May 1917 as the 256th Overseas Railway Construction Battalion , CEF , and embarked for Great Britain on 28 March 1917 . There , it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 30 May 1917 . It disembarked in France 19 June 1917 , where it provided railway construction support on the British sector of the Western Front until the end of the war . The battalion disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The Second World War . The regiment mobilized as The Algonquin Regiment , CASF for active service on 24 May 1940 . It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion , The Algonquin Regiment , CASF on 7 November 1940 . The battalion initially served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade , 7th Canadian Division and in Newfoundland from 7 February 1942 to 6 February 1943 . It embarked for Great Britain on 11 June 1943 and landed in France on 25 July 1944 , as part of the 10th Infantry Brigade , 4th Canadian Armoured Division , and continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war . The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 February 1946 . Post-War : NATO and Korea . On 4 May 1951 , the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies , designated E and F Companies . E Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 3rd Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Germany with NATO . It disbanded on 29 July 1953 . F Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for E Company . On 15 May 1952 , it was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion ( later the 4th Battalion , The Canadian Guards ) for service in Korea with the United Nations . F Company disbanded on 29 July 1953 . War In Afghanistan . The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 . History . The Great War . The 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) recruited to its full active strength and supplied 12 officers and 251 other ranks to the 15th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Captain E.F . Armstrong began recruiting in Nipissing and Sudbury in late 1915 resulting in the formation of the 159th ( First Algonquins ) Battalion . The battalion was mobilized on 5 July 1916 , trained at Camp Borden in Angus , Ontario , during that summer and fall of 1916 , and embarked for England on 1 November 1916 , with a strength of 1,004 men . The battalion remained intact until 20 January 1917 , when it was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion and used to reinforce units already in France and Flanders . As a result of not having enough men at any particular battle , the unit received only the general Great War 1916–1917 battle honour . Following the end of the war the 159th ( First Algonquins ) , 228th ( Northern Fusiliers ) and 256th ( Toronto ) were perpetuated in the Algonquin Rifles . In 1929 , the unit was renamed The Algonquin Regiment . The regiment decided to keep the bull moose symbol of the 97th Regiment ( Algonquin Rifles ) on a redesigned cap badge . In 1936 , A Company in Sudbury was removed from the regiment and amalgamated with the Sault Ste . Marie Regiment to become the Sault Ste . Marie and Sudbury Regiment ( MG ) , and the Northern Pioneers were amalgamated into The Algonquin Regiment . Second World War . When war broke out the Algonquin Regiment was only 250 men strong . Recruitment and training soon became their primary concern . The regiment recruited from an area extending from Bracebridge and Parry Sound to the south and Timmins and Cochrane to the north . It was not until 22 July 1940 , that the regiment went into active service . On 4 September 1940 , the first battalion loaded up , the Algonquin Regiment ( Active Force ) , and arrived at Camp Borden three days later . There was not enough space , however , for training exercises and they were moved to Current River Camp in Port Arthur , Ontario and again to Camp Shilo in Manitoba on 4 June 1941 . The regiment was transferred to Niagara-on-the-Lake and assigned guard duty on the Niagara and Welland canals in November 1941 , before finally being asked for their first draft for overseas enforcements on 14 January 1942 . In February 1942 , the regiment was transferred to Newfoundland and assigned protection duties at Torbay airport and Cape Spear . In January 1943 , the regiment was chosen for operations overseas , was moved to Debert Camp in Nova Scotia and , for administration purposes , was assigned to the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Canadian Infantry Division . The regiment embarked on the RMS Empress of Scotland in Halifax on 10 June 1943 , and sailed the following day for England with a complement of 4,500 troops . Upon arriving in Liverpool the regiment proceeded to Heathfield and was made part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the Fourth Canadian ( Armoured ) Division . On 16 July 1944 , an advance party left for Normandy , France , with the regiment as a whole arriving a couple of days later . The morning of July 25 , 1944 , all four companies of the Algonquin Regiment landed on Juno Beach where , in the following days , learnt of their ensuing mission to support the 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in closing the Falaise Gap . August 9 , 1944 , the regiment , supporting BCR ( British Columbia Regiment ) , jointly forming Worthington Force were tasked with taking Hill 195 , taking an unfortunate wrong turn at 02:00 hours they ended up four miles east of Hill 195 , closer to Hill 140 , deep in German territory . The regiment suffered heavy losses with total casualties of 128 men and 47 tanks . The leader of the force , BCR commander Lt . Col Don Worthington , was killed and the Algonquins commander , Lt . Col . Art Hay , was seriously wounded . R.S.M . A . J . Primeau was killed by the same mortar bomb that seriously wounded Hay . Leading up to August 31 , 1944 , the Algonquin Regiment , moving within the Fourth CAD , were tasked with filling the gap to the south at Hill 240 , fighting alongside the Polish Armoured Division . The period from August 31 to September 8 was a period of rapid movement into Belgium , halted on the eighth at the Ghent - Brugge Canal . Fighting , all day and suffering multiple setbacks resulting in numerous casualties across all the regiments , ended September 10 with the Allies across the Ghent - Brugge Canal after holding back the German counterattacks . A few days later the attempt of the regiment to cross the Leopold Canal was successfully repelled at Moerkerke by the German 245 Infantry Division . The Canadians pulled back after a tremendous covering artillery barrage . The regiment continued with the Fourth Division north out of Belgium into the Netherlands in a progression of battles for the north shore of the Sheldt area eventually leading to the liberation of Welberg and Steenbergen . The operation to liberate Welberg was initiated on October 31 , 1944 , however with D Coy resting , all A , B and C coys fell short of their objectives facing massive German counterattacks . Fighting continued on until November 1 when the regiment retreated back to a few km outside of Welberg . On November 2 they launched their second attack , this time along the right side of the town , fighting continued throughout the night . By the end of November 3 all four coys had reached their target objectives and succeeded in the liberation of Welberg . From November 5 to 8 the Algonquin Regiment rested in the Steenbergen area , the period proceeding became known as the winter war ( November 1944-February 1945 ) . Leading into Operation Blockbuster , this dislodgment of the German hinge in Hochwald on February 27 , fighting to close the Hochwald gap began by midday of March 3 , 1945 , the allies had completed their objectives . Over the next couple of months , the Algonquin Regiment continued to fight , as they had been the entire war , under the Cnd Fourth Division crossing the Rhine with the last round-up ( April 16-May 4 ) and cease-fire called just past Rastede Germany . As of January 1946 , the Algonquin Regiments final death toll was 65 officers and 1235 other soldiers . On 23 June 2016 , the regiments name was changed to The Algonquin Regiment ( Northern Pioneers ) . Battle honours . In the list below , battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns , while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles . Those battle honours followed in bold type are emblazoned on the regimental colour . Alliances . - - The Rifles Recognition . The Freedom of the City was exercised by The Algonquin Regiment in Timmins , Ontario on Sept 22 , 2012 , and on Sept 22 , 1977 . Media . - I’ve Had Good Innings by Paul A Mayer , OBE , GM , CD . Renfrew,ON:General House Publishing ( autobiography of Paul Mayer who served in The Algonquin Regiment during World War Two ) . - Sons of the Pioneers : Memories of Veterans of the Algonquin Regiment by John Macfie . Parry Sound , ON : The Hay Press , 2001 - Warpath : The Story of the Algonquin Regiment 1939-1945 by G . L . Cassidy , Cobalt ON : Highway Book Shop ( 1990 ) Music . Molly by Honorary Chaplain Edward H . Capp , published in Ottawa by Orme & Son , circa 1906 was dedicated to the 97th Regiment , Canada ( Algonquin rifles ) . First line : Hear the tramp of soldiers marching Chorus : One kiss , Molly eer I go External links . - The Algonquin Regiment History |
[
""
] | easy | What was the position of Kypros Chrysostomides from Sep 1998 to Mar 2003? | /wiki/Kypros_Chrysostomides#P39#0 | Kypros Chrysostomides Doctor Kypros Chrysostomides ( Greek : Κύπρος Χρυσοστομίδης born July 5 , 1942 ) is a Cypriot politician and member of the Cyprus Parliament , born in the village of Kathikas in Paphos . Early life and education . He graduated from the Paphos Gymnasium . He studied Law at the University of Athens on a scholarship granted by the Greek government . He continued his studies at the Luxembourg Law School , again on a scholarship , where he studied Comparative Law . On a further scholarship granted by the German government , he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bonn where he obtained a Doctorate in Law ( Ph.D. ) . The area of his specialisation was Business Law . Thereafter , he worked as a scientific assistant to the Professor of Private International Law at the University of Bonn and he continued his studies in England . Career . For four years ( 1969-1973 ) Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and began practicing law in Nicosia , shortly before the Coup détat and the Turkish Invasion in 1974 . In 1973 , he was appointed as a Corresponding Collaborator at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT . In 1999 Cyprus became a full member of UNIDROIT . From 1981 until his appointment as government spokesman in 2003 , he practised law from his own law firm in Nicosia . From 2003 , when Tassos Papadopoulos became President of Cyprus , he was the government spokesman until 2006 . He left this post in 2006 in order to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2006 as a result of which he became a member of the House of Representatives ( Cyprus ) where he served until March 2008 , when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order . He resigned from this post in December 2008 in an act of dignity and assumption of political responsibility following the escape of a convict from the Cyprus Central Prison . At the time , his resignation , was widely acclaimed and praised . In 1998 he established the movement Epalxis Anasiggrotisis Kentrou ( ’Επαλξη Ανασυγκρότησης Κέντρου ) : Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre . In 2006 , he cooperated with AKEL Left-New Powers for the 2006 Cypriot legislative election . During those elections he was elected AKEL Left-New Powers member in the House of Representatives of Cyprus . He always maintained an avid interest in public affairs and became politically active in the progressive and democratic centre . He has also been involved in the scientific and social life in Cyprus . He is the president of the Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre , which was established in 1998 . He was a founding member of the Consumers’ Association , a member of the Association of Sciences , of the Greek Civilization Association and of the Historic Studies Association . He is the president of the Cyprus Institute of Political Research and European Affairs , which closely cooperates with various scientific institutions of Greece and elsewhere . He is also a member of the International Association of International Law , the Greek Institute of International Law , the International Law Association as well as other International Organizations . Dr . Kypros Chrysostomides was a member of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration ( ICC ) for two consecutive terms , until June 2018 . He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) , serving his second term . In 2020 , he was awarded the Cyprus Business Leader Award by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Personal life . He married lawyer Eleni G . Polyviou in 1974 . They have two daughters , Daphne and Georgia . Honours . In 1991 during the presidency of François Mitterrand , he was honoured by the French government with the medal of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite” ( Ordre National du Merite ) and then by the Government of Jacques Chirac in 2004 with the medal of “Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite . He was also honoured with the Grand Cross of the Order of Phoenix ( «Μεγαλόσταυρος του Τάγματος του Φοίνικα» ) by the then President of the Third Republic of Greece , Kostis Stephanopoulos . Publications . He participated in and was the rapporteur and speaker at numerous international conferences , and a number of his articles were published in the Greek and foreign press . He is keenly interested in matters of international and constitutional law , human rights , and local government for which he has gained international recognition . Professor Christopher Greenwoods introduction to “The Republic of Cyprus . A Study In International Law” , describes how Doctor Chrysostomides examines : Human Rights . During the period 1969-1973 Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . During his term at the European Commission , he participated in the Commission’s investigation of the accusations against the Greek Junta for violations of human rights . As a member of the legal secretariat of the European Commission which visited Athens and examined witnesses regarding the allegations against the Greek Junta , Dr . Chrysostomides participated in the team under one of the leaders of the investigation , Professor James Fawcett . Doctor Chrysostomides conducted interviews of witnesses including politicians under house arrest and other civilians who suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the Junta police . Various locations were visited by the team and police officers , who were suspected of carrying out acts of torture , were examined . Hearings took place at the Evgenideion Foundation Building . He was one of the first lawyers to defend cases of refugees and other victims of the Turkish invasion before the European Court of Human Rights . References . General references . - 1972 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights ( The Greek case , 1969 ) , European Commission of Human Rights . Martinus Nijhof , The Hague , 1972 . Publications . English . - Cyprus : Legal and Political Reflections , Nicosia 2021 , Alfa Dimiourgiki and CIPREA Publications . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law , Martinus Nijhof Publishers , Hague , Boston , London 2000 , Kluwer Law International . Foreword by Christopher Greenwood , QC . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law ( Developments in International Law ) by Chrysostomides , Kypros - Cyprus – The Way Forward , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . Greek . - Το Κράτος της Κύπρου στο Διεθνές Δίκαιο , Εκδόσεις Αντ . Ν . Σάκκουλα , Αθήνα . Εισαγωγή από τον Καθηγητή Εμμανουήλ Ρούκουνα . Foreword by Emmanouel Roukounas - Απόψεις , άρθρα , μελέτες 1990 . - Στο τέλος της αρχής ( Πολιτικές παρεμβάσεις στην τροχιά του Κυπριακού ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 1997 . - Υπεράσπιση της πολιτικής του αύριο ( Κυπριακές πολιτικές συνέχειες ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2001 . - Διεκδίκηση Ενωμένης Πατρίδας ( Κύπρος – πριν και μετά το Σχέδιο Ανάν ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , 2η έκδοση , Αθήνα 2006 . - Πολιτικές Διαδρομές , Εκδόσεις Έπαλξης , Λευκωσία 2008 . - Ανοικτά ζητήματα ( Κυπριακό – Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση – ΑΟΖ –Τουρκία ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2012 . - Ανάλεκτα , Λευκωσία 2020 , Εκδόσεις «Αλφα Δημιουργική» Turkish . - Κibris-Onumuzdeki Yol , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . |
[
"President of Cyprus"
] | easy | Which position did Kypros Chrysostomides hold from Mar 2003 to 2006? | /wiki/Kypros_Chrysostomides#P39#1 | Kypros Chrysostomides Doctor Kypros Chrysostomides ( Greek : Κύπρος Χρυσοστομίδης born July 5 , 1942 ) is a Cypriot politician and member of the Cyprus Parliament , born in the village of Kathikas in Paphos . Early life and education . He graduated from the Paphos Gymnasium . He studied Law at the University of Athens on a scholarship granted by the Greek government . He continued his studies at the Luxembourg Law School , again on a scholarship , where he studied Comparative Law . On a further scholarship granted by the German government , he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bonn where he obtained a Doctorate in Law ( Ph.D. ) . The area of his specialisation was Business Law . Thereafter , he worked as a scientific assistant to the Professor of Private International Law at the University of Bonn and he continued his studies in England . Career . For four years ( 1969-1973 ) Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and began practicing law in Nicosia , shortly before the Coup détat and the Turkish Invasion in 1974 . In 1973 , he was appointed as a Corresponding Collaborator at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT . In 1999 Cyprus became a full member of UNIDROIT . From 1981 until his appointment as government spokesman in 2003 , he practised law from his own law firm in Nicosia . From 2003 , when Tassos Papadopoulos became President of Cyprus , he was the government spokesman until 2006 . He left this post in 2006 in order to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2006 as a result of which he became a member of the House of Representatives ( Cyprus ) where he served until March 2008 , when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order . He resigned from this post in December 2008 in an act of dignity and assumption of political responsibility following the escape of a convict from the Cyprus Central Prison . At the time , his resignation , was widely acclaimed and praised . In 1998 he established the movement Epalxis Anasiggrotisis Kentrou ( ’Επαλξη Ανασυγκρότησης Κέντρου ) : Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre . In 2006 , he cooperated with AKEL Left-New Powers for the 2006 Cypriot legislative election . During those elections he was elected AKEL Left-New Powers member in the House of Representatives of Cyprus . He always maintained an avid interest in public affairs and became politically active in the progressive and democratic centre . He has also been involved in the scientific and social life in Cyprus . He is the president of the Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre , which was established in 1998 . He was a founding member of the Consumers’ Association , a member of the Association of Sciences , of the Greek Civilization Association and of the Historic Studies Association . He is the president of the Cyprus Institute of Political Research and European Affairs , which closely cooperates with various scientific institutions of Greece and elsewhere . He is also a member of the International Association of International Law , the Greek Institute of International Law , the International Law Association as well as other International Organizations . Dr . Kypros Chrysostomides was a member of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration ( ICC ) for two consecutive terms , until June 2018 . He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) , serving his second term . In 2020 , he was awarded the Cyprus Business Leader Award by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Personal life . He married lawyer Eleni G . Polyviou in 1974 . They have two daughters , Daphne and Georgia . Honours . In 1991 during the presidency of François Mitterrand , he was honoured by the French government with the medal of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite” ( Ordre National du Merite ) and then by the Government of Jacques Chirac in 2004 with the medal of “Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite . He was also honoured with the Grand Cross of the Order of Phoenix ( «Μεγαλόσταυρος του Τάγματος του Φοίνικα» ) by the then President of the Third Republic of Greece , Kostis Stephanopoulos . Publications . He participated in and was the rapporteur and speaker at numerous international conferences , and a number of his articles were published in the Greek and foreign press . He is keenly interested in matters of international and constitutional law , human rights , and local government for which he has gained international recognition . Professor Christopher Greenwoods introduction to “The Republic of Cyprus . A Study In International Law” , describes how Doctor Chrysostomides examines : Human Rights . During the period 1969-1973 Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . During his term at the European Commission , he participated in the Commission’s investigation of the accusations against the Greek Junta for violations of human rights . As a member of the legal secretariat of the European Commission which visited Athens and examined witnesses regarding the allegations against the Greek Junta , Dr . Chrysostomides participated in the team under one of the leaders of the investigation , Professor James Fawcett . Doctor Chrysostomides conducted interviews of witnesses including politicians under house arrest and other civilians who suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the Junta police . Various locations were visited by the team and police officers , who were suspected of carrying out acts of torture , were examined . Hearings took place at the Evgenideion Foundation Building . He was one of the first lawyers to defend cases of refugees and other victims of the Turkish invasion before the European Court of Human Rights . References . General references . - 1972 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights ( The Greek case , 1969 ) , European Commission of Human Rights . Martinus Nijhof , The Hague , 1972 . Publications . English . - Cyprus : Legal and Political Reflections , Nicosia 2021 , Alfa Dimiourgiki and CIPREA Publications . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law , Martinus Nijhof Publishers , Hague , Boston , London 2000 , Kluwer Law International . Foreword by Christopher Greenwood , QC . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law ( Developments in International Law ) by Chrysostomides , Kypros - Cyprus – The Way Forward , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . Greek . - Το Κράτος της Κύπρου στο Διεθνές Δίκαιο , Εκδόσεις Αντ . Ν . Σάκκουλα , Αθήνα . Εισαγωγή από τον Καθηγητή Εμμανουήλ Ρούκουνα . Foreword by Emmanouel Roukounas - Απόψεις , άρθρα , μελέτες 1990 . - Στο τέλος της αρχής ( Πολιτικές παρεμβάσεις στην τροχιά του Κυπριακού ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 1997 . - Υπεράσπιση της πολιτικής του αύριο ( Κυπριακές πολιτικές συνέχειες ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2001 . - Διεκδίκηση Ενωμένης Πατρίδας ( Κύπρος – πριν και μετά το Σχέδιο Ανάν ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , 2η έκδοση , Αθήνα 2006 . - Πολιτικές Διαδρομές , Εκδόσεις Έπαλξης , Λευκωσία 2008 . - Ανοικτά ζητήματα ( Κυπριακό – Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση – ΑΟΖ –Τουρκία ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2012 . - Ανάλεκτα , Λευκωσία 2020 , Εκδόσεις «Αλφα Δημιουργική» Turkish . - Κibris-Onumuzdeki Yol , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . |
[
""
] | easy | Kypros Chrysostomides took which position from 2006 to Jun 2006? | /wiki/Kypros_Chrysostomides#P39#2 | Kypros Chrysostomides Doctor Kypros Chrysostomides ( Greek : Κύπρος Χρυσοστομίδης born July 5 , 1942 ) is a Cypriot politician and member of the Cyprus Parliament , born in the village of Kathikas in Paphos . Early life and education . He graduated from the Paphos Gymnasium . He studied Law at the University of Athens on a scholarship granted by the Greek government . He continued his studies at the Luxembourg Law School , again on a scholarship , where he studied Comparative Law . On a further scholarship granted by the German government , he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bonn where he obtained a Doctorate in Law ( Ph.D. ) . The area of his specialisation was Business Law . Thereafter , he worked as a scientific assistant to the Professor of Private International Law at the University of Bonn and he continued his studies in England . Career . For four years ( 1969-1973 ) Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and began practicing law in Nicosia , shortly before the Coup détat and the Turkish Invasion in 1974 . In 1973 , he was appointed as a Corresponding Collaborator at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT . In 1999 Cyprus became a full member of UNIDROIT . From 1981 until his appointment as government spokesman in 2003 , he practised law from his own law firm in Nicosia . From 2003 , when Tassos Papadopoulos became President of Cyprus , he was the government spokesman until 2006 . He left this post in 2006 in order to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2006 as a result of which he became a member of the House of Representatives ( Cyprus ) where he served until March 2008 , when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order . He resigned from this post in December 2008 in an act of dignity and assumption of political responsibility following the escape of a convict from the Cyprus Central Prison . At the time , his resignation , was widely acclaimed and praised . In 1998 he established the movement Epalxis Anasiggrotisis Kentrou ( ’Επαλξη Ανασυγκρότησης Κέντρου ) : Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre . In 2006 , he cooperated with AKEL Left-New Powers for the 2006 Cypriot legislative election . During those elections he was elected AKEL Left-New Powers member in the House of Representatives of Cyprus . He always maintained an avid interest in public affairs and became politically active in the progressive and democratic centre . He has also been involved in the scientific and social life in Cyprus . He is the president of the Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre , which was established in 1998 . He was a founding member of the Consumers’ Association , a member of the Association of Sciences , of the Greek Civilization Association and of the Historic Studies Association . He is the president of the Cyprus Institute of Political Research and European Affairs , which closely cooperates with various scientific institutions of Greece and elsewhere . He is also a member of the International Association of International Law , the Greek Institute of International Law , the International Law Association as well as other International Organizations . Dr . Kypros Chrysostomides was a member of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration ( ICC ) for two consecutive terms , until June 2018 . He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) , serving his second term . In 2020 , he was awarded the Cyprus Business Leader Award by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Personal life . He married lawyer Eleni G . Polyviou in 1974 . They have two daughters , Daphne and Georgia . Honours . In 1991 during the presidency of François Mitterrand , he was honoured by the French government with the medal of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite” ( Ordre National du Merite ) and then by the Government of Jacques Chirac in 2004 with the medal of “Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite . He was also honoured with the Grand Cross of the Order of Phoenix ( «Μεγαλόσταυρος του Τάγματος του Φοίνικα» ) by the then President of the Third Republic of Greece , Kostis Stephanopoulos . Publications . He participated in and was the rapporteur and speaker at numerous international conferences , and a number of his articles were published in the Greek and foreign press . He is keenly interested in matters of international and constitutional law , human rights , and local government for which he has gained international recognition . Professor Christopher Greenwoods introduction to “The Republic of Cyprus . A Study In International Law” , describes how Doctor Chrysostomides examines : Human Rights . During the period 1969-1973 Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . During his term at the European Commission , he participated in the Commission’s investigation of the accusations against the Greek Junta for violations of human rights . As a member of the legal secretariat of the European Commission which visited Athens and examined witnesses regarding the allegations against the Greek Junta , Dr . Chrysostomides participated in the team under one of the leaders of the investigation , Professor James Fawcett . Doctor Chrysostomides conducted interviews of witnesses including politicians under house arrest and other civilians who suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the Junta police . Various locations were visited by the team and police officers , who were suspected of carrying out acts of torture , were examined . Hearings took place at the Evgenideion Foundation Building . He was one of the first lawyers to defend cases of refugees and other victims of the Turkish invasion before the European Court of Human Rights . References . General references . - 1972 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights ( The Greek case , 1969 ) , European Commission of Human Rights . Martinus Nijhof , The Hague , 1972 . Publications . English . - Cyprus : Legal and Political Reflections , Nicosia 2021 , Alfa Dimiourgiki and CIPREA Publications . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law , Martinus Nijhof Publishers , Hague , Boston , London 2000 , Kluwer Law International . Foreword by Christopher Greenwood , QC . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law ( Developments in International Law ) by Chrysostomides , Kypros - Cyprus – The Way Forward , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . Greek . - Το Κράτος της Κύπρου στο Διεθνές Δίκαιο , Εκδόσεις Αντ . Ν . Σάκκουλα , Αθήνα . Εισαγωγή από τον Καθηγητή Εμμανουήλ Ρούκουνα . Foreword by Emmanouel Roukounas - Απόψεις , άρθρα , μελέτες 1990 . - Στο τέλος της αρχής ( Πολιτικές παρεμβάσεις στην τροχιά του Κυπριακού ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 1997 . - Υπεράσπιση της πολιτικής του αύριο ( Κυπριακές πολιτικές συνέχειες ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2001 . - Διεκδίκηση Ενωμένης Πατρίδας ( Κύπρος – πριν και μετά το Σχέδιο Ανάν ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , 2η έκδοση , Αθήνα 2006 . - Πολιτικές Διαδρομές , Εκδόσεις Έπαλξης , Λευκωσία 2008 . - Ανοικτά ζητήματα ( Κυπριακό – Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση – ΑΟΖ –Τουρκία ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2012 . - Ανάλεκτα , Λευκωσία 2020 , Εκδόσεις «Αλφα Δημιουργική» Turkish . - Κibris-Onumuzdeki Yol , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . |
[
"member of the House of Representatives"
] | easy | Which position did Kypros Chrysostomides hold from Jun 2006 to Feb 2008? | /wiki/Kypros_Chrysostomides#P39#3 | Kypros Chrysostomides Doctor Kypros Chrysostomides ( Greek : Κύπρος Χρυσοστομίδης born July 5 , 1942 ) is a Cypriot politician and member of the Cyprus Parliament , born in the village of Kathikas in Paphos . Early life and education . He graduated from the Paphos Gymnasium . He studied Law at the University of Athens on a scholarship granted by the Greek government . He continued his studies at the Luxembourg Law School , again on a scholarship , where he studied Comparative Law . On a further scholarship granted by the German government , he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bonn where he obtained a Doctorate in Law ( Ph.D. ) . The area of his specialisation was Business Law . Thereafter , he worked as a scientific assistant to the Professor of Private International Law at the University of Bonn and he continued his studies in England . Career . For four years ( 1969-1973 ) Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and began practicing law in Nicosia , shortly before the Coup détat and the Turkish Invasion in 1974 . In 1973 , he was appointed as a Corresponding Collaborator at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT . In 1999 Cyprus became a full member of UNIDROIT . From 1981 until his appointment as government spokesman in 2003 , he practised law from his own law firm in Nicosia . From 2003 , when Tassos Papadopoulos became President of Cyprus , he was the government spokesman until 2006 . He left this post in 2006 in order to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2006 as a result of which he became a member of the House of Representatives ( Cyprus ) where he served until March 2008 , when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order . He resigned from this post in December 2008 in an act of dignity and assumption of political responsibility following the escape of a convict from the Cyprus Central Prison . At the time , his resignation , was widely acclaimed and praised . In 1998 he established the movement Epalxis Anasiggrotisis Kentrou ( ’Επαλξη Ανασυγκρότησης Κέντρου ) : Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre . In 2006 , he cooperated with AKEL Left-New Powers for the 2006 Cypriot legislative election . During those elections he was elected AKEL Left-New Powers member in the House of Representatives of Cyprus . He always maintained an avid interest in public affairs and became politically active in the progressive and democratic centre . He has also been involved in the scientific and social life in Cyprus . He is the president of the Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre , which was established in 1998 . He was a founding member of the Consumers’ Association , a member of the Association of Sciences , of the Greek Civilization Association and of the Historic Studies Association . He is the president of the Cyprus Institute of Political Research and European Affairs , which closely cooperates with various scientific institutions of Greece and elsewhere . He is also a member of the International Association of International Law , the Greek Institute of International Law , the International Law Association as well as other International Organizations . Dr . Kypros Chrysostomides was a member of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration ( ICC ) for two consecutive terms , until June 2018 . He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) , serving his second term . In 2020 , he was awarded the Cyprus Business Leader Award by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Personal life . He married lawyer Eleni G . Polyviou in 1974 . They have two daughters , Daphne and Georgia . Honours . In 1991 during the presidency of François Mitterrand , he was honoured by the French government with the medal of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite” ( Ordre National du Merite ) and then by the Government of Jacques Chirac in 2004 with the medal of “Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite . He was also honoured with the Grand Cross of the Order of Phoenix ( «Μεγαλόσταυρος του Τάγματος του Φοίνικα» ) by the then President of the Third Republic of Greece , Kostis Stephanopoulos . Publications . He participated in and was the rapporteur and speaker at numerous international conferences , and a number of his articles were published in the Greek and foreign press . He is keenly interested in matters of international and constitutional law , human rights , and local government for which he has gained international recognition . Professor Christopher Greenwoods introduction to “The Republic of Cyprus . A Study In International Law” , describes how Doctor Chrysostomides examines : Human Rights . During the period 1969-1973 Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . During his term at the European Commission , he participated in the Commission’s investigation of the accusations against the Greek Junta for violations of human rights . As a member of the legal secretariat of the European Commission which visited Athens and examined witnesses regarding the allegations against the Greek Junta , Dr . Chrysostomides participated in the team under one of the leaders of the investigation , Professor James Fawcett . Doctor Chrysostomides conducted interviews of witnesses including politicians under house arrest and other civilians who suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the Junta police . Various locations were visited by the team and police officers , who were suspected of carrying out acts of torture , were examined . Hearings took place at the Evgenideion Foundation Building . He was one of the first lawyers to defend cases of refugees and other victims of the Turkish invasion before the European Court of Human Rights . References . General references . - 1972 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights ( The Greek case , 1969 ) , European Commission of Human Rights . Martinus Nijhof , The Hague , 1972 . Publications . English . - Cyprus : Legal and Political Reflections , Nicosia 2021 , Alfa Dimiourgiki and CIPREA Publications . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law , Martinus Nijhof Publishers , Hague , Boston , London 2000 , Kluwer Law International . Foreword by Christopher Greenwood , QC . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law ( Developments in International Law ) by Chrysostomides , Kypros - Cyprus – The Way Forward , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . Greek . - Το Κράτος της Κύπρου στο Διεθνές Δίκαιο , Εκδόσεις Αντ . Ν . Σάκκουλα , Αθήνα . Εισαγωγή από τον Καθηγητή Εμμανουήλ Ρούκουνα . Foreword by Emmanouel Roukounas - Απόψεις , άρθρα , μελέτες 1990 . - Στο τέλος της αρχής ( Πολιτικές παρεμβάσεις στην τροχιά του Κυπριακού ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 1997 . - Υπεράσπιση της πολιτικής του αύριο ( Κυπριακές πολιτικές συνέχειες ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2001 . - Διεκδίκηση Ενωμένης Πατρίδας ( Κύπρος – πριν και μετά το Σχέδιο Ανάν ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , 2η έκδοση , Αθήνα 2006 . - Πολιτικές Διαδρομές , Εκδόσεις Έπαλξης , Λευκωσία 2008 . - Ανοικτά ζητήματα ( Κυπριακό – Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση – ΑΟΖ –Τουρκία ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2012 . - Ανάλεκτα , Λευκωσία 2020 , Εκδόσεις «Αλφα Δημιουργική» Turkish . - Κibris-Onumuzdeki Yol , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . |
[
"Minister of Justice and Public Order"
] | easy | What was the position of Kypros Chrysostomides from Feb 2008 to Dec 2008? | /wiki/Kypros_Chrysostomides#P39#4 | Kypros Chrysostomides Doctor Kypros Chrysostomides ( Greek : Κύπρος Χρυσοστομίδης born July 5 , 1942 ) is a Cypriot politician and member of the Cyprus Parliament , born in the village of Kathikas in Paphos . Early life and education . He graduated from the Paphos Gymnasium . He studied Law at the University of Athens on a scholarship granted by the Greek government . He continued his studies at the Luxembourg Law School , again on a scholarship , where he studied Comparative Law . On a further scholarship granted by the German government , he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bonn where he obtained a Doctorate in Law ( Ph.D. ) . The area of his specialisation was Business Law . Thereafter , he worked as a scientific assistant to the Professor of Private International Law at the University of Bonn and he continued his studies in England . Career . For four years ( 1969-1973 ) Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and began practicing law in Nicosia , shortly before the Coup détat and the Turkish Invasion in 1974 . In 1973 , he was appointed as a Corresponding Collaborator at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT . In 1999 Cyprus became a full member of UNIDROIT . From 1981 until his appointment as government spokesman in 2003 , he practised law from his own law firm in Nicosia . From 2003 , when Tassos Papadopoulos became President of Cyprus , he was the government spokesman until 2006 . He left this post in 2006 in order to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2006 as a result of which he became a member of the House of Representatives ( Cyprus ) where he served until March 2008 , when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order . He resigned from this post in December 2008 in an act of dignity and assumption of political responsibility following the escape of a convict from the Cyprus Central Prison . At the time , his resignation , was widely acclaimed and praised . In 1998 he established the movement Epalxis Anasiggrotisis Kentrou ( ’Επαλξη Ανασυγκρότησης Κέντρου ) : Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre . In 2006 , he cooperated with AKEL Left-New Powers for the 2006 Cypriot legislative election . During those elections he was elected AKEL Left-New Powers member in the House of Representatives of Cyprus . He always maintained an avid interest in public affairs and became politically active in the progressive and democratic centre . He has also been involved in the scientific and social life in Cyprus . He is the president of the Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre , which was established in 1998 . He was a founding member of the Consumers’ Association , a member of the Association of Sciences , of the Greek Civilization Association and of the Historic Studies Association . He is the president of the Cyprus Institute of Political Research and European Affairs , which closely cooperates with various scientific institutions of Greece and elsewhere . He is also a member of the International Association of International Law , the Greek Institute of International Law , the International Law Association as well as other International Organizations . Dr . Kypros Chrysostomides was a member of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration ( ICC ) for two consecutive terms , until June 2018 . He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) , serving his second term . In 2020 , he was awarded the Cyprus Business Leader Award by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Personal life . He married lawyer Eleni G . Polyviou in 1974 . They have two daughters , Daphne and Georgia . Honours . In 1991 during the presidency of François Mitterrand , he was honoured by the French government with the medal of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite” ( Ordre National du Merite ) and then by the Government of Jacques Chirac in 2004 with the medal of “Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite . He was also honoured with the Grand Cross of the Order of Phoenix ( «Μεγαλόσταυρος του Τάγματος του Φοίνικα» ) by the then President of the Third Republic of Greece , Kostis Stephanopoulos . Publications . He participated in and was the rapporteur and speaker at numerous international conferences , and a number of his articles were published in the Greek and foreign press . He is keenly interested in matters of international and constitutional law , human rights , and local government for which he has gained international recognition . Professor Christopher Greenwoods introduction to “The Republic of Cyprus . A Study In International Law” , describes how Doctor Chrysostomides examines : Human Rights . During the period 1969-1973 Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . During his term at the European Commission , he participated in the Commission’s investigation of the accusations against the Greek Junta for violations of human rights . As a member of the legal secretariat of the European Commission which visited Athens and examined witnesses regarding the allegations against the Greek Junta , Dr . Chrysostomides participated in the team under one of the leaders of the investigation , Professor James Fawcett . Doctor Chrysostomides conducted interviews of witnesses including politicians under house arrest and other civilians who suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the Junta police . Various locations were visited by the team and police officers , who were suspected of carrying out acts of torture , were examined . Hearings took place at the Evgenideion Foundation Building . He was one of the first lawyers to defend cases of refugees and other victims of the Turkish invasion before the European Court of Human Rights . References . General references . - 1972 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights ( The Greek case , 1969 ) , European Commission of Human Rights . Martinus Nijhof , The Hague , 1972 . Publications . English . - Cyprus : Legal and Political Reflections , Nicosia 2021 , Alfa Dimiourgiki and CIPREA Publications . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law , Martinus Nijhof Publishers , Hague , Boston , London 2000 , Kluwer Law International . Foreword by Christopher Greenwood , QC . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law ( Developments in International Law ) by Chrysostomides , Kypros - Cyprus – The Way Forward , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . Greek . - Το Κράτος της Κύπρου στο Διεθνές Δίκαιο , Εκδόσεις Αντ . Ν . Σάκκουλα , Αθήνα . Εισαγωγή από τον Καθηγητή Εμμανουήλ Ρούκουνα . Foreword by Emmanouel Roukounas - Απόψεις , άρθρα , μελέτες 1990 . - Στο τέλος της αρχής ( Πολιτικές παρεμβάσεις στην τροχιά του Κυπριακού ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 1997 . - Υπεράσπιση της πολιτικής του αύριο ( Κυπριακές πολιτικές συνέχειες ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2001 . - Διεκδίκηση Ενωμένης Πατρίδας ( Κύπρος – πριν και μετά το Σχέδιο Ανάν ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , 2η έκδοση , Αθήνα 2006 . - Πολιτικές Διαδρομές , Εκδόσεις Έπαλξης , Λευκωσία 2008 . - Ανοικτά ζητήματα ( Κυπριακό – Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση – ΑΟΖ –Τουρκία ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2012 . - Ανάλεκτα , Λευκωσία 2020 , Εκδόσεις «Αλφα Δημιουργική» Turkish . - Κibris-Onumuzdeki Yol , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . |
[
""
] | easy | What position did Kypros Chrysostomides take from Dec 2008 to Dec 2009? | /wiki/Kypros_Chrysostomides#P39#5 | Kypros Chrysostomides Doctor Kypros Chrysostomides ( Greek : Κύπρος Χρυσοστομίδης born July 5 , 1942 ) is a Cypriot politician and member of the Cyprus Parliament , born in the village of Kathikas in Paphos . Early life and education . He graduated from the Paphos Gymnasium . He studied Law at the University of Athens on a scholarship granted by the Greek government . He continued his studies at the Luxembourg Law School , again on a scholarship , where he studied Comparative Law . On a further scholarship granted by the German government , he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Bonn where he obtained a Doctorate in Law ( Ph.D. ) . The area of his specialisation was Business Law . Thereafter , he worked as a scientific assistant to the Professor of Private International Law at the University of Bonn and he continued his studies in England . Career . For four years ( 1969-1973 ) Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and began practicing law in Nicosia , shortly before the Coup détat and the Turkish Invasion in 1974 . In 1973 , he was appointed as a Corresponding Collaborator at the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law UNIDROIT . In 1999 Cyprus became a full member of UNIDROIT . From 1981 until his appointment as government spokesman in 2003 , he practised law from his own law firm in Nicosia . From 2003 , when Tassos Papadopoulos became President of Cyprus , he was the government spokesman until 2006 . He left this post in 2006 in order to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2006 as a result of which he became a member of the House of Representatives ( Cyprus ) where he served until March 2008 , when he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order . He resigned from this post in December 2008 in an act of dignity and assumption of political responsibility following the escape of a convict from the Cyprus Central Prison . At the time , his resignation , was widely acclaimed and praised . In 1998 he established the movement Epalxis Anasiggrotisis Kentrou ( ’Επαλξη Ανασυγκρότησης Κέντρου ) : Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre . In 2006 , he cooperated with AKEL Left-New Powers for the 2006 Cypriot legislative election . During those elections he was elected AKEL Left-New Powers member in the House of Representatives of Cyprus . He always maintained an avid interest in public affairs and became politically active in the progressive and democratic centre . He has also been involved in the scientific and social life in Cyprus . He is the president of the Political Grouping for the Restructure of the Centre , which was established in 1998 . He was a founding member of the Consumers’ Association , a member of the Association of Sciences , of the Greek Civilization Association and of the Historic Studies Association . He is the president of the Cyprus Institute of Political Research and European Affairs , which closely cooperates with various scientific institutions of Greece and elsewhere . He is also a member of the International Association of International Law , the Greek Institute of International Law , the International Law Association as well as other International Organizations . Dr . Kypros Chrysostomides was a member of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration ( ICC ) for two consecutive terms , until June 2018 . He is currently a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR ) , serving his second term . In 2020 , he was awarded the Cyprus Business Leader Award by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Personal life . He married lawyer Eleni G . Polyviou in 1974 . They have two daughters , Daphne and Georgia . Honours . In 1991 during the presidency of François Mitterrand , he was honoured by the French government with the medal of the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite” ( Ordre National du Merite ) and then by the Government of Jacques Chirac in 2004 with the medal of “Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite . He was also honoured with the Grand Cross of the Order of Phoenix ( «Μεγαλόσταυρος του Τάγματος του Φοίνικα» ) by the then President of the Third Republic of Greece , Kostis Stephanopoulos . Publications . He participated in and was the rapporteur and speaker at numerous international conferences , and a number of his articles were published in the Greek and foreign press . He is keenly interested in matters of international and constitutional law , human rights , and local government for which he has gained international recognition . Professor Christopher Greenwoods introduction to “The Republic of Cyprus . A Study In International Law” , describes how Doctor Chrysostomides examines : Human Rights . During the period 1969-1973 Kypros Chrysostomides worked with the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg , France . During his term at the European Commission , he participated in the Commission’s investigation of the accusations against the Greek Junta for violations of human rights . As a member of the legal secretariat of the European Commission which visited Athens and examined witnesses regarding the allegations against the Greek Junta , Dr . Chrysostomides participated in the team under one of the leaders of the investigation , Professor James Fawcett . Doctor Chrysostomides conducted interviews of witnesses including politicians under house arrest and other civilians who suffered torture and degrading treatment at the hands of the Junta police . Various locations were visited by the team and police officers , who were suspected of carrying out acts of torture , were examined . Hearings took place at the Evgenideion Foundation Building . He was one of the first lawyers to defend cases of refugees and other victims of the Turkish invasion before the European Court of Human Rights . References . General references . - 1972 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights ( The Greek case , 1969 ) , European Commission of Human Rights . Martinus Nijhof , The Hague , 1972 . Publications . English . - Cyprus : Legal and Political Reflections , Nicosia 2021 , Alfa Dimiourgiki and CIPREA Publications . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law , Martinus Nijhof Publishers , Hague , Boston , London 2000 , Kluwer Law International . Foreword by Christopher Greenwood , QC . - The Republic of Cyprus : A Study in International Law ( Developments in International Law ) by Chrysostomides , Kypros - Cyprus – The Way Forward , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . Greek . - Το Κράτος της Κύπρου στο Διεθνές Δίκαιο , Εκδόσεις Αντ . Ν . Σάκκουλα , Αθήνα . Εισαγωγή από τον Καθηγητή Εμμανουήλ Ρούκουνα . Foreword by Emmanouel Roukounas - Απόψεις , άρθρα , μελέτες 1990 . - Στο τέλος της αρχής ( Πολιτικές παρεμβάσεις στην τροχιά του Κυπριακού ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 1997 . - Υπεράσπιση της πολιτικής του αύριο ( Κυπριακές πολιτικές συνέχειες ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2001 . - Διεκδίκηση Ενωμένης Πατρίδας ( Κύπρος – πριν και μετά το Σχέδιο Ανάν ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , 2η έκδοση , Αθήνα 2006 . - Πολιτικές Διαδρομές , Εκδόσεις Έπαλξης , Λευκωσία 2008 . - Ανοικτά ζητήματα ( Κυπριακό – Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση – ΑΟΖ –Τουρκία ) , Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη , Αθήνα 2012 . - Ανάλεκτα , Λευκωσία 2020 , Εκδόσεις «Αλφα Δημιουργική» Turkish . - Κibris-Onumuzdeki Yol , CIPREA Publications , Nicosia 2006 . |
[
"Royal Society of New Zealand"
] | easy | William A. V. Clark became a member of what organization or association in 1997? | /wiki/William_A._V._Clark#P463#0 | William A . V . Clark William Arthur Valentine Clark ( born 21 March , 1938 , in Christchurch , New Zealand ) is Distinguished University Research Professor in the Geography Department at the University of California , Los Angeles . His research focuses on housing markets and residential mobility and migration , and the impacts of local residential change on neighborhood outcomes , including segregation and ethnic and racial patterns . After joining UCLA in the 1970s , Clark taught and conducted research there for the next four decades . In 2018 , he was awarded the Edward A . Dickson Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association and the Lifetime Achievement Honors of the Association of American Geographers . He is an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , an Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a member of the National Academy of Sciences . Education and career . Clark completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Canterbury , then a constituent college of the University of New Zealand . He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to attend the University of Illinois , Urbana and received his PhD in geography in 1964 . He returned to teach at the University of Canterbury , New Zealand for two years between 1964 and 1966 . Clark then returned to the US to take up an assistant professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . He received tenure in Geography and Planning but resigned in 1970 to move to the Geography Department at UCLA , where he taught and conducted research for four decades . In 2010 , he became a Distinguished Research Professor ( Emeritus ) at UCLA . He has been the editor of Geographical Analysis ( 1984–1987 ) , Environment and Planning A ( 1988–1998 ) and consulting editor of Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie , ( 1985–1988 ) . He is a member of the editorial boards of Geographical Analysis and Population , Space and Place . Contributions . Clarks research papers have formally tested the Schelling model of choice and showed that the theoretical tolerance distributions outlined by Schelling , could be generated from survey data . A second set of research papers showed how the life cycle generated residential moves and neighborhood outcomes . Throughout his career , Clark participated in many desegregation court cases studying the racial and ethnic separation patterns around the United States . These studies were stimulated by a question posed by Lewis F . Powell Jr . in the Detroit desegregation litigation ( Milliken v Bradley , 1974 ) – how can we understand the patterns of ethnic and racial segregation in US cities . The court hearings gave an opportunity to bring geographic and demographic findings about segregation and separation into the court room . Demographic research on the issues of residential segregation and selection was presented in these presentations : Armor v Nix ( 1979 ) , Dowell ( Oklahoma ) , Freeman v . Pitts ( Georgia ) , Riddick ( Norfolk Virginia ) , Jenkins ( Kansas City ) , and Capacchione vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg ( North Carolina ) . As the court reported in their review of Freeman v Pitts , “when residential segregation occurs as a result of private choices it is beyond the authority and also the ability of federal courts to address these private decisions and the impact of continuing and ongoing demographic changes.” Awards and honors . Clark was awarded a Fulbright fellowship in 1961 to study in the United States and later received the Honors Award of the Association of American Geographers in 1987 . He held the Belle Van Zuylen Professorship , University of Utrecht , The Netherlands in 1989 and was awarded the Doctorate Honoris Causis ( Honorary Doctorate ) , University of Utrecht , The Netherlands in 1992 , and a DSc ( Doctor of Science ) from the University of Auckland , New Zealand in 1994 . Clark was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1994 and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1997 . In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2005 to the National Academy of Sciences and in the same year received the Decade of Behavior Research Award . The College of Letters Arts and Sciences of The University of Illinois awarded him the Alumni Achievement Award in 2006 . Clarks recent honors include the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Population Specialty Group from the Association of American Geographers , a 2014 Benjamin Meaker Research Fellowship from Bristol University , the 2015 Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Medal by New Zealand Geographic Society and the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Honors of the Association of American Geographers . He received the 2018 Edward A . Dickson Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association . Selected publications . Books . - Modelling Housing Market Search ( 1982 ) - Households and Housing : Choice and Outcomes in the Housing market ( 1996 ) - The California Cauldron : Immigration and the Fortunes of Local Communities ( 1998 ) - Immigrants and the American Dream : Remaking the Middle Class ( 2003 ) - The Sage Handbook of Housing ( 2012 ) Articles . - Residential preferences and neighborhood racial segregation : a test of the Schelling segregation model . Demography 28 , 1-19 . ( 1991 ) - Residential Preferences and Residential Choices in a Multi Ethnic Context . Demography 30 , 451-466 . ( 1992 ) - Life cycle and housing adjustment as explanations of residential mobility , Urban Studies 20 , 47-57 . ( 1983 ) - Family migration and mobility sequences in the United States : spatial mobility in the context of the life course . Demographic Research ( Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research ) 17 , Number 20 , 591-622 . ( 2007 ) - Understanding the social context of the Schelling segregation model . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 105,4109-4114 . ( 2008 ) - Changing Residential Preferences across Income , Education , and Age : Findings from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality . Urban Affairs Review 44 : 334-355 . ( 2009 ) - Do women delay family formation in expensive housing markets ? Demographic Research 27 , 1-27 . ( 2012 ) - Life course events and residential change : unpacking age effects on the probability of moving Journal of Population Research 30 , 319-334 . ( 2013 ) - A Multi-scalar Analysis of Neighborhood Composition in Los Angeles 2000-2010 : A Location-Based Approach to Segregation and Diversity . Annals , Association of American Geographers 105 ( 6 ) 1260-1284 ( 2015 ) |
[
"American Academy of Arts and Sciences"
] | easy | William A. V. Clark became a member of what organization or association in 2003? | /wiki/William_A._V._Clark#P463#1 | William A . V . Clark William Arthur Valentine Clark ( born 21 March , 1938 , in Christchurch , New Zealand ) is Distinguished University Research Professor in the Geography Department at the University of California , Los Angeles . His research focuses on housing markets and residential mobility and migration , and the impacts of local residential change on neighborhood outcomes , including segregation and ethnic and racial patterns . After joining UCLA in the 1970s , Clark taught and conducted research there for the next four decades . In 2018 , he was awarded the Edward A . Dickson Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association and the Lifetime Achievement Honors of the Association of American Geographers . He is an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , an Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a member of the National Academy of Sciences . Education and career . Clark completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Canterbury , then a constituent college of the University of New Zealand . He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to attend the University of Illinois , Urbana and received his PhD in geography in 1964 . He returned to teach at the University of Canterbury , New Zealand for two years between 1964 and 1966 . Clark then returned to the US to take up an assistant professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . He received tenure in Geography and Planning but resigned in 1970 to move to the Geography Department at UCLA , where he taught and conducted research for four decades . In 2010 , he became a Distinguished Research Professor ( Emeritus ) at UCLA . He has been the editor of Geographical Analysis ( 1984–1987 ) , Environment and Planning A ( 1988–1998 ) and consulting editor of Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie , ( 1985–1988 ) . He is a member of the editorial boards of Geographical Analysis and Population , Space and Place . Contributions . Clarks research papers have formally tested the Schelling model of choice and showed that the theoretical tolerance distributions outlined by Schelling , could be generated from survey data . A second set of research papers showed how the life cycle generated residential moves and neighborhood outcomes . Throughout his career , Clark participated in many desegregation court cases studying the racial and ethnic separation patterns around the United States . These studies were stimulated by a question posed by Lewis F . Powell Jr . in the Detroit desegregation litigation ( Milliken v Bradley , 1974 ) – how can we understand the patterns of ethnic and racial segregation in US cities . The court hearings gave an opportunity to bring geographic and demographic findings about segregation and separation into the court room . Demographic research on the issues of residential segregation and selection was presented in these presentations : Armor v Nix ( 1979 ) , Dowell ( Oklahoma ) , Freeman v . Pitts ( Georgia ) , Riddick ( Norfolk Virginia ) , Jenkins ( Kansas City ) , and Capacchione vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg ( North Carolina ) . As the court reported in their review of Freeman v Pitts , “when residential segregation occurs as a result of private choices it is beyond the authority and also the ability of federal courts to address these private decisions and the impact of continuing and ongoing demographic changes.” Awards and honors . Clark was awarded a Fulbright fellowship in 1961 to study in the United States and later received the Honors Award of the Association of American Geographers in 1987 . He held the Belle Van Zuylen Professorship , University of Utrecht , The Netherlands in 1989 and was awarded the Doctorate Honoris Causis ( Honorary Doctorate ) , University of Utrecht , The Netherlands in 1992 , and a DSc ( Doctor of Science ) from the University of Auckland , New Zealand in 1994 . Clark was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1994 and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1997 . In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2005 to the National Academy of Sciences and in the same year received the Decade of Behavior Research Award . The College of Letters Arts and Sciences of The University of Illinois awarded him the Alumni Achievement Award in 2006 . Clarks recent honors include the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Population Specialty Group from the Association of American Geographers , a 2014 Benjamin Meaker Research Fellowship from Bristol University , the 2015 Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Medal by New Zealand Geographic Society and the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Honors of the Association of American Geographers . He received the 2018 Edward A . Dickson Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association . Selected publications . Books . - Modelling Housing Market Search ( 1982 ) - Households and Housing : Choice and Outcomes in the Housing market ( 1996 ) - The California Cauldron : Immigration and the Fortunes of Local Communities ( 1998 ) - Immigrants and the American Dream : Remaking the Middle Class ( 2003 ) - The Sage Handbook of Housing ( 2012 ) Articles . - Residential preferences and neighborhood racial segregation : a test of the Schelling segregation model . Demography 28 , 1-19 . ( 1991 ) - Residential Preferences and Residential Choices in a Multi Ethnic Context . Demography 30 , 451-466 . ( 1992 ) - Life cycle and housing adjustment as explanations of residential mobility , Urban Studies 20 , 47-57 . ( 1983 ) - Family migration and mobility sequences in the United States : spatial mobility in the context of the life course . Demographic Research ( Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research ) 17 , Number 20 , 591-622 . ( 2007 ) - Understanding the social context of the Schelling segregation model . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 105,4109-4114 . ( 2008 ) - Changing Residential Preferences across Income , Education , and Age : Findings from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality . Urban Affairs Review 44 : 334-355 . ( 2009 ) - Do women delay family formation in expensive housing markets ? Demographic Research 27 , 1-27 . ( 2012 ) - Life course events and residential change : unpacking age effects on the probability of moving Journal of Population Research 30 , 319-334 . ( 2013 ) - A Multi-scalar Analysis of Neighborhood Composition in Los Angeles 2000-2010 : A Location-Based Approach to Segregation and Diversity . Annals , Association of American Geographers 105 ( 6 ) 1260-1284 ( 2015 ) |
[
"National Academy of Sciences"
] | easy | What organization did William A. V. Clark join in 2005? | /wiki/William_A._V._Clark#P463#2 | William A . V . Clark William Arthur Valentine Clark ( born 21 March , 1938 , in Christchurch , New Zealand ) is Distinguished University Research Professor in the Geography Department at the University of California , Los Angeles . His research focuses on housing markets and residential mobility and migration , and the impacts of local residential change on neighborhood outcomes , including segregation and ethnic and racial patterns . After joining UCLA in the 1970s , Clark taught and conducted research there for the next four decades . In 2018 , he was awarded the Edward A . Dickson Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association and the Lifetime Achievement Honors of the Association of American Geographers . He is an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , an Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a member of the National Academy of Sciences . Education and career . Clark completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Canterbury , then a constituent college of the University of New Zealand . He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to attend the University of Illinois , Urbana and received his PhD in geography in 1964 . He returned to teach at the University of Canterbury , New Zealand for two years between 1964 and 1966 . Clark then returned to the US to take up an assistant professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . He received tenure in Geography and Planning but resigned in 1970 to move to the Geography Department at UCLA , where he taught and conducted research for four decades . In 2010 , he became a Distinguished Research Professor ( Emeritus ) at UCLA . He has been the editor of Geographical Analysis ( 1984–1987 ) , Environment and Planning A ( 1988–1998 ) and consulting editor of Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie , ( 1985–1988 ) . He is a member of the editorial boards of Geographical Analysis and Population , Space and Place . Contributions . Clarks research papers have formally tested the Schelling model of choice and showed that the theoretical tolerance distributions outlined by Schelling , could be generated from survey data . A second set of research papers showed how the life cycle generated residential moves and neighborhood outcomes . Throughout his career , Clark participated in many desegregation court cases studying the racial and ethnic separation patterns around the United States . These studies were stimulated by a question posed by Lewis F . Powell Jr . in the Detroit desegregation litigation ( Milliken v Bradley , 1974 ) – how can we understand the patterns of ethnic and racial segregation in US cities . The court hearings gave an opportunity to bring geographic and demographic findings about segregation and separation into the court room . Demographic research on the issues of residential segregation and selection was presented in these presentations : Armor v Nix ( 1979 ) , Dowell ( Oklahoma ) , Freeman v . Pitts ( Georgia ) , Riddick ( Norfolk Virginia ) , Jenkins ( Kansas City ) , and Capacchione vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg ( North Carolina ) . As the court reported in their review of Freeman v Pitts , “when residential segregation occurs as a result of private choices it is beyond the authority and also the ability of federal courts to address these private decisions and the impact of continuing and ongoing demographic changes.” Awards and honors . Clark was awarded a Fulbright fellowship in 1961 to study in the United States and later received the Honors Award of the Association of American Geographers in 1987 . He held the Belle Van Zuylen Professorship , University of Utrecht , The Netherlands in 1989 and was awarded the Doctorate Honoris Causis ( Honorary Doctorate ) , University of Utrecht , The Netherlands in 1992 , and a DSc ( Doctor of Science ) from the University of Auckland , New Zealand in 1994 . Clark was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1994 and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1997 . In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2005 to the National Academy of Sciences and in the same year received the Decade of Behavior Research Award . The College of Letters Arts and Sciences of The University of Illinois awarded him the Alumni Achievement Award in 2006 . Clarks recent honors include the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Population Specialty Group from the Association of American Geographers , a 2014 Benjamin Meaker Research Fellowship from Bristol University , the 2015 Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Medal by New Zealand Geographic Society and the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Honors of the Association of American Geographers . He received the 2018 Edward A . Dickson Award from the UCLA Emeriti Association . Selected publications . Books . - Modelling Housing Market Search ( 1982 ) - Households and Housing : Choice and Outcomes in the Housing market ( 1996 ) - The California Cauldron : Immigration and the Fortunes of Local Communities ( 1998 ) - Immigrants and the American Dream : Remaking the Middle Class ( 2003 ) - The Sage Handbook of Housing ( 2012 ) Articles . - Residential preferences and neighborhood racial segregation : a test of the Schelling segregation model . Demography 28 , 1-19 . ( 1991 ) - Residential Preferences and Residential Choices in a Multi Ethnic Context . Demography 30 , 451-466 . ( 1992 ) - Life cycle and housing adjustment as explanations of residential mobility , Urban Studies 20 , 47-57 . ( 1983 ) - Family migration and mobility sequences in the United States : spatial mobility in the context of the life course . Demographic Research ( Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research ) 17 , Number 20 , 591-622 . ( 2007 ) - Understanding the social context of the Schelling segregation model . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 105,4109-4114 . ( 2008 ) - Changing Residential Preferences across Income , Education , and Age : Findings from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality . Urban Affairs Review 44 : 334-355 . ( 2009 ) - Do women delay family formation in expensive housing markets ? Demographic Research 27 , 1-27 . ( 2012 ) - Life course events and residential change : unpacking age effects on the probability of moving Journal of Population Research 30 , 319-334 . ( 2013 ) - A Multi-scalar Analysis of Neighborhood Composition in Los Angeles 2000-2010 : A Location-Based Approach to Segregation and Diversity . Annals , Association of American Geographers 105 ( 6 ) 1260-1284 ( 2015 ) |
[
"member"
] | easy | What position did Tim Kaine take from 1994 to 1998? | /wiki/Tim_Kaine#P39#0 | Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26 , 1958 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 . Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clintons running mate . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , Kaine grew up in Overland Park , Kansas , graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri , and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law . He was first elected to public office in 1994 , when he won a seat on the Richmond City Council . He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010 . He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 . On July 22 , 2016 , Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27 . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8 , 2016 . Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018 , defeating Republican Corey Stewart . Early life and education . Kaine was born at Saint Josephs Hospital in St . Paul , Minnesota . He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen ( née Burns ) , a home economics teacher , and Albert Alexander Kaine , Jr. , a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop . He was raised Catholic . One of Kaines great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish . Kaines family moved to Overland Park , Kansas , when Kaine was two years old , and he grew up in the Kansas City area . In 1976 , he graduated from Rockhurst High School , a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City , Missouri . At Rockhurst , Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president . Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979 , completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude . He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978 . He entered Harvard Law School in 1979 , interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras for nine months from 1980 to 1981 , helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso . While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding , he also helped increase the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras . After returning from Honduras , Kaine met his future wife , first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton . He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D . degree in 1983 . Kaine and Holton moved to Holtons hometown of Richmond , Virginia , after graduation , and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984 . Legal career and Richmond City Council . After graduating from law school , Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R . Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit , in Macon , Georgia . He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little , Parsley & Cluverius , P.C . In 1987 , Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish , P.C . He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years , specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability . He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal , which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co . arising from the companys practices in Richmond . Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case ; the judgment was overturned on appeal , and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million settlement . Kaine did regular pro bono work . In 1988 , he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law . Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years ; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring . He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness . Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood , but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wifes family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings . In 1994 , he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond , defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A . Warthen by less than 100 votes . He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10 , 2001 , when he resigned and William J . Pantele was appointed to succeed him . He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A . Warthen by 97 votes . Kaine spent four terms on the city council , the latter two as mayor of Richmond . Mayor of Richmond ( 1998–2001 ) . On July 1 , 1998 , Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond , succeeding Larry Chavis . He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council , becoming the citys first white mayor in more than ten years , which was viewed as a surprise . Rudy McCollum , an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty , decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two , clearing the way for Kaine to win the election . Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial , with the city manager effectively operating the city ; Kaine treated it as a full-time job , taking a more hands-on role . As mayor , Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L . Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a magnet governors school , the Maggie L . Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies , which now serves the top students in Central Virginia . Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine . Along with Commonwealths attorney David Hicks , U.S . attorney James Comey , and police chief Jerry Oliver , Kaine was a supporter of Project Exile , an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court , where defendants faced harsher sentences . Though controversial , the effort was effective and achieved widespread support ; the citys homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaines mayoralty . Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor . On several occasions , Kaine voted against tax increases , and supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings , which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city . Forbes magazine named Richmond one of the 10 best cities in America to do business during Kaines term . According to John Moeser , a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmonds Center for Civic Engagement , Mayor Kaine was energetic , charismatic and , most important , spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond . The New York Times wrote that Kaine was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the citys racial divide . In the early part of his term , Kaine issued an apology for the citys role in slavery ; the apology was generally well received as a genuine , heartfelt expression . In the latter part of his term , a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E . Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls . Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls , while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain . Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty . His stance drew criticism from the NAACP ; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context , and that Much of our history is not pleasant ; you cant whitewash it . Kaines proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote . During his mayoralty , Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March , an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington , D.C. ; after a backlash , he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city . Lieutenant governor of Virginia ( 2002–2006 ) . Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement . In the Democratic primary election , Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A . Diamonstein of Newport News , and state delegate Jerrauld C . Jones of Norfolk . Kaine won the nomination , with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonsteins 31.4% and Joness 28.9% . In the general election , Kaine won with 925,974 votes ( 50.35% ) , edging out his Republican opponent , state delegate Jay Katzen , who received 883,886 ( 48.06% ) . Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes ( 1.57% ) . Kaine was inaugurated on January 12 , 2002 , and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton , a state judge . 2005 gubernatorial election . In 2005 , Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W . Kilgore , a former state attorney general . Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race , trailing in polls for most of the campaign . Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll . The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore . Kaine ultimately prevailed , winning 1,025,942 votes ( 51.7% ) to Kilgores 912,327 ( 46.0% ) . A third candidate , independent state Senator H . Russell Potts Jr. , ran as an independent Republican and received 43,953 votes ( 2.2% ) . Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message . He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues , an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs . He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor , Mark Warner , who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state . On the campaign trail , Kaine referred to the Warner-Kaine administration in speeches and received Warners strong backing . Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warners high popularity and President George W . Bushs sharply declining popularity ; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaigns final day . The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks , with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that Hitler doesnt qualify for the death penalty . The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate . The editorial boards of the Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a smear and dishonest . Kaine responded with an ad in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty . In later polls , voters said they believed Kaines response and were angered by Kilgores negative ads . In the election , Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginias inner suburbs ( such as Alexandria and Arlington ) , as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County . Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginias outer suburbs , including Prince William County and Loudoun County , where George W . Bush had beat John Kerry in the previous years presidential election , and performed surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake . Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs . Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley . Governor of Virginia ( 2006–2010 ) . Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg , on January 14 , 2006 , the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there . Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors Association from 2008 to 2009 . Democratic response to State of the Union address . On January 31 , 2006 , Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W . Bushs 2006 State of the Union address . In it , he criticized the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind Act for wreaking havoc on local school districts ; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs ; and condemned as reckless Bushs spending increases and tax cuts . Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia to make record investments in education and to improve veterans access to veterans benefits . He criticized the Bush administrations conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S . soldiers , saying that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq ; our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence ; and the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans benefits . Energy , the environment , and conservation . As governor , Kaine protected of Virginia land from development , fulfilling a promise he made in 2005 . His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements ( voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development ) ; a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements . From 2004 to 2009 , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ( a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state ) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years , a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close . As governor , Kaine established the Climate Change Commission , a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues . The panel was shuttered under Kaines Republican successor , Governor Robert F . McDonnell , but revived ( as the Governors Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission ) under McDonnells successor , Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe . In 2008 , Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County , clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project . In 2009 , Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration . Healthcare and public health . In October 2006 , Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1 , 2007 . He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars , with some exceptions , in March 2009 , making Virginia the first Southern state to do so . In 2007 , the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation , with overwhelming bipartisan support , to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine ( which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer ) before entering high school . Kaine expressed some qualms about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision , ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason . In 2007 , Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees , plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing masters programs . The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses . Virginia Tech shooting . After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting , in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people , Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel , chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W . Gerald Massengill , to probe the event . The commission members included specialists in psychology , law , forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge . The commission first met in May 2007 , and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007 . Among other recommendations , the panel proposed many mental health reforms . Based on the panels recommendations , Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms , included boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services , increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers . In April 2007 , Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers . Kaine , who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings , received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue . Budget and economy . Among Kaines greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis ; the Washington Post wrote that perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [ the crisis ] . Amid the Great Recession , unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average . During Kaines tenure as governor , the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4% , a smaller increase than the national rate , which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period . As governor , Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund spending cuts , and after his term in office , the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended , for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts . The Washington Post wrote , Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget , he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition . Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States . Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazines Best States For Business rankings . Infrastructure and transportation . In July 2007 , during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner , Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel , citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk . In 2006 , Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction , repairs to aging roads , mass transit , and other transportation projects . The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years . The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan , but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project , and the effort failed even after a special session of the legislature was called over the stalemate . In 2007 , Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill . Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements , as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored , the Republican bill called for transportation funding to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund ; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia ; increased fees and taxes on rental cars , commercial real estate , and hotels ; and increased traffic infraction fines and drivers licenses fees . Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation , calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care , law enforcement , and education . Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the states general fund . Education . Under Kaine , participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative , which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line . Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor . Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by Education Week and the Pew Center on the States . Cabinet and appointments . Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governors Cabinet : - Chief of Staff : William Leighty ( 2006–2007 ) , Wayne Turnage ( 2007–2010 ) - Secretary of Administration : Viola Baskerville ( 2006–2010 ) - Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry : Robert Bloxom ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Commerce and Trade : Patrick Gottschalk ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of the Commonwealth : Katherine Hanley ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Education : Thomas R . Morris ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Finance:Jody Wagner ( 2006–2008 ) , Ric Brown ( 2008–2010 ) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources : Marilyn Tavenner ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Natural Resources : Preston Bryant ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Public Safety : John W . Marshall ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Technology : Aneesh Chopra ( 2006–2009 ) , Leonard Pomata ( 2009–2010 ) - Secretary of Transportation : Pierce Homer ( 2006–2010 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Lawrence Roberts ( 2006–2009 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Mark Rubin ( 2009–2010 ) - Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness : Robert P . Crouch ( 2006–2010 ) - Senior Advisor for Workforce : Daniel G . LeBlanc ( 2006–2010 ) As governor , Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts . He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia , naming Chesapeake circuit judge S . Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007 and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F . Millette Jr . in 2008 . On September 27 , 2007 , just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration , Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bushs impeachment . He immediately requested and received Omeishs resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future . 2008 vice presidential speculation . Kaine announced his support for Barack Obamas presidential bid in February 2007 . It was maintained that Kaines endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of Illinois . Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state , there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president . Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor , saying , Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit . That kind of message can sell anywhere . On July 28 , 2008 , Politico reported that Kaine was very , very high on Obamas shortlist for vice president , a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas , Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana , and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware . Obama ultimately selected Biden . It was later reported that Obama told Kaine , in breaking the news to him , You are the pick of my heart , but Joe [ Biden ] is the pick of my head . Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden . He said , At the time , I was much closer to Tim , but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of two relatively young , inexperienced , and liberal civil rights attorneys and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength , and that Bidens age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president . Democratic National Committee chair ( 2009–2011 ) . In January 2009 , Kaine became chair of the Democratic National Committee . He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him , expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position , but took the job at Obamas request . He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia . Kaines main goals as DNC chair were protecting the partys seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the presidents campaign apparatus , Organizing for America , and its technological acumen into the party machinery . In the 2010 midterms , the DNC under Kaines leadership outraised the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) by $30 million , but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash . Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses . Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart , RNC chairman Michael Steele . He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents . In February 2011 , after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison , Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsins budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation . It made phone calls , sent emails , and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies . After completing his term as governor in January 2010 , Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond , teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law . He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution . United States Senate . 2012 election . After Senator Jim Webbs decision not to seek reelection , Kaine announced on April 5 , 2011 , that he would run for Webbs seat . He was initially reluctant to return to public office , but Webb , Senator Mark Warner , and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run . Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman . Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager . Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination . He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election . Tenure . Kaine was sworn in on January 3 , 2013 , reuniting him with Mark Warner , the senior senator . Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia . On June 11 , 2013 , Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill . The speech was entirely in Spanish , marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English . As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs , Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) . Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran , though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal . Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East , meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel . While in the Senate , Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond , receiving a salary of $16,000 per year . Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time . According to the Washington Post , Kaine has crafted a largely progressive record as a senator . He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators . During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign , Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump , saying that Trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death and had a bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders . In 2017 , after Trump took office , Kaine continued to criticize his authoritarian tendencies , citing his attacks on media , judges , and peaceful protesters . At an event at George Mason University , Kaine said that with Trump in office , Americans are in a living experiment to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power . In February 2017 , Kaine met with Pope Francis at a general audience at the Vatican . Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues . The same month , Kaine delivered an address , The Truman Doctrine at 70 , at Londons Chatham House . Committee assignments and caucuses . In the 113th Congress ( 2013–15 ) , Kaine was on the Committee on Armed Services , the Committee on the Budget , and the Committee on Foreign Relations . In the 114th Congress , Kaine was on those three committees and the Special Committee on Aging . In July 2013 , Kaine was named chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia and Counterterrorism . Within the Senate Armed Services Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities , the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support ( of which he is the ranking member ) , and the Subcommittee on Seapower . Within the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( of which he is the ranking member ) , the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation , the Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia , and Counterterrorism , and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Womens Issues . In January 2014 , Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus ( CTE Caucus ) , which focuses on vocational education and technical education . Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus . In 2014 , Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate ; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding , distributed by competitive grants , to high schools to further CTE programs . The legislation , introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D . Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 , would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives . Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation , the Educating Tomorrows Workforce Act , in 2017 . 2016 vice-presidential campaign . Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries . He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton , with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clintons list of people under consideration alongside figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro . The New York Times reported that Clintons husband , former president Bill Clinton , supported Kaine as his wifes vice-presidential selection , noting his domestic and national security résumé . On July 22 , 2016 , she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election . Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27 , 2016 . Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket , and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840 ; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler . In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S. , upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years . He also publicly released medical records ; his physician , Brian P . Monahan , the Attending Physician of the United States Congress , wrote that Kaine was in overall excellent health . In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton , Stronger Together . In Kaines preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016 , lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence . ( During Pences own debate preparations , Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine. ) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trumps comments , while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting . According to ABC News , Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate , while Pence interrupted 40 times . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8 , 2016 . This is the only election Kaine has ever lost . Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia , the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket , a victory attributed in part to Kaine . 2018 election . After the 2016 election , Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 . He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner , who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years . He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future . In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart , Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch , marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat . After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart , Kaine worked to support other Democrats who , in seven districts , were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats . Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points . Personality and leadership style . About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia . Politico conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a media-savvy and detail-oriented micro-manager who is also a policy wonk . According to The New York Times , Kaine is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith . On Meet the Press , Kaine called himself boring . Political positions . In terms of political ideology , FiveThirtyEight gives Kaine an average score of −37 ( −100 is the most liberal , and 100 is the most conservative ) . FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a mainstream Democrat and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden . Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union , the Club for Growth , and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016 , while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014 . The New York Times wrote that in hyperpartisan Washington , he is often seen as a centrist while also describing him as an old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals . Abortion , birth control , and sex education . Kaine , a Roman Catholic , personally opposes abortion , but is largely inclined to keep the law out of womens reproductive decisions . He has said , Im a strong supporter of Roe v . Wade and women being able to make these decisions . In government , we have enough things to worry about . We dont need to make peoples reproductive decisions for them . Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion , such as requiring parental consent for minors ( with a judicial bypass procedure ) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the womans life is not at risk . In 2009 , Kaine signed a bill to create a Choose Life license plate , among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered , the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International , a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers . Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaines decision . Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was in keeping with the commonwealths longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages . Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for not providing a broad enough religious employer exemption in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act , but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization . In 2005 , when running for governor , Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother ; Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education ; Ensuring womens access to health care ( including legal contraception ) and economic opportunity ; and Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies . In 2007 , as governor , Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs , citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective , while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective . Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught , and that education should be evidence-based . As a senator , Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL . He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee . Campaign finance . Kaine strongly disagrees with Citizens United v . FEC ( 2010 ) . In 2015 , Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics . They urged the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders to increase transparency in the U.S . political process . Capital punishment . Kaine personally opposes capital punishment , but presided over 11 executions while governor . He said , I really struggled with [ capital punishment ] as governor . I have a moral position against the death penalty . But I took an oath of office to uphold it . Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation . During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008 , that of Percy Levar Walton , to life imprisonment without parole on grounds of mental incompetence , writing that one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional . Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes , saying : I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs . Some of the vetoes were overridden . On July 31 , 2019 , after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years , Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty . Environment , energy , and climate change . Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change , and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers , as well as those who may not deny the climate science , but .. . deny that the U.S . can or should be a leader in taking any steps to address the issue . Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise ( a major consequence of climate change ) , and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia . In 2014 , he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S . Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the Hampton Roads area . Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner , saying that it is imperative to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today . He has criticized those who frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment , saying that protecting the environment is good for the economy . Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation ( ACCTION ) Act , legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies . He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline . Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ) to harvest natural gas from shale formations . He believes this will reduce carbon pollution . Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act . As a result , regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies ; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit . Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) to other countries . Like his fellow senator from Virginia , Mark Warner , Kaine applauded the U.S . Forest Services plan to close most , but not all , of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities . In 2013 , Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia , saying , I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling , based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago , should be reexamined . In April 2015 , Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling . In March 2016 , Kaine signaled that his position was softening , saying he was particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginias coast.. . I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before . By August 2016 , Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling , bringing his position in line with Hillary Clintons and the Obama administrations . Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines . Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate , the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018 , and a 94% lifetime score . ( At the time of his vice-presidential campaign , Kaine had an 88% score for 2015 , and a 91% lifetime score. ) In March 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019 , legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic , which Trump had dismantled in 2017 . The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage ( CCUS ) , arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trumps 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research . Financial regulation . Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . In July 2016 , he signed a bipartisan letter that urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to carefully tailor its rulemaking [ under Dodd-Frank ] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to unduly burden these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks . The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation . Democracy for America executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy . Kaine responded , its important you dont treat every financial institution the same . It wasnt credit unions that tanked the economy , it wasnt local community banks that tanked the economy , generally wasnt regional banks that did things that tanked the economy . He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened . Foreign and defense policy . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran . Kaine expressed support for Israels right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . In September 2016 , in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories , he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto one-sided resolutions against Israel . In 2015 , Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi , but in 2018 , he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that they found it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of the Trump administrations certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S . laws on arms sales , citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties . Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi . In July 2017 , Kaine voted for the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran , Russia , and North Korea . In 2019 , Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S . foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill . The letter said that Trump had consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S . foreign assistance , viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and collective security . The senators wrote that U.S . foreign assistance to Central American countries , by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region , reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S . In 2019 , Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act , a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt Chinas consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea . Grand strategy and democracy promotion . After the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy . According to Kaine , American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant Americas previous grand strategy , which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine . This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random , complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile . To remedy this , Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion . His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power , with one pole being democratic states including the U.S . and its allies , the second autocratic powers led by Russia and China , and the third nonstate actors ( multinational corporations , NGOs , gangs , etc. ) . First , Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries , as democracy globally has been declining for many years . To maintain democracy in democratic countries , Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization consisting of all the worlds democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion . He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy . Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic , as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate . In this way , Kaine says that the U.S . should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation , but rather the exemplary democracy . Second , Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states . Depending on the circumstances , democracies should either confront , compete , or cooperate with autocracies . For example , Kaine observes that the U.S . competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances , and confronts them by decrying their human rights records . Finally , Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests , such as combating climate change . In July 2017 , Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the Brookings Institution with international relations scholar Robert Kagan . Afghanistan . Kaines website states , The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can , consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region . Latin America . Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas , saying , We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas , in particular , and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there . War powers . Kaine is known for expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency and has said that war powers questions are a personal obsession of his . He has stressed that under the Constitution , Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress . Kaine called the 2018 U.S . missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval . Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 , which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973 , bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S . military forces . The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee , with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict . Kaine argued for the bill by citing his frustration over the sloppiness of process and communication over decisions of war , noting that presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions . We all have to do better . In February 2018 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with a preventative or preemptive U.S . military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority without congressional approval . In January 2020 , Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S . from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat . The next month , the measure passed the Senate 55–45 , securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats . Trump vetoed the measure , and the Senate failed to override the veto . Syria , Iraq , and ISIL . In 2014 , Kaine argued that the U.S . military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL . In November 2014 , at the Halifax International Security Forum , Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization , saying : You just cant have a war without Congress . You cant ask people to risk their lives , risk getting killed , seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isnt willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say , this is a national mission and worth it . After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria , ordered by Trump , Kaine said , There is no legal justification for this . He should not have done this without coming to Congress . On Meet the Press , Kaine said , Im a strong supporter that the U.S . should take action to protect humanitarian causes , like the ban on chemical weapons . Where I differ from this administration , and I took the same position with respect to President Obama , we are a nation thats not supposed to take military action , start war , without a plan thats presented to and approved by Congress . On December 11 , 2014 , after a five-month campaign by Kaine , the U.S . Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 ( along party lines ) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops . In October 2015 , Kaine criticized Obamas approach to the Syrian Civil War , saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria . In April 2018 , Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress , calling the strike an illegal military act . On February 26 , 2021 , Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving legal justification to members of Congress beforehand . Firearms . Kaine is a firearms owner . He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines . As governor , Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns . In the Senate , he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet . He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List . In November 2017 , Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act , a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms . In March 2018 , Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond ( HEAR ) Act , legislation that would ban suppressors being imported , sold , made , sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others . The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting , in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor . Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the NRA . Health care . Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 ( Obamacare ) , saying in 2012 , I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act . I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror . In 2013 , he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated , but criticized Republicans for wrapping them up with the threat of a federal government shutdown . In 2018 , Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of Medicare X—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options . The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanderss push for Medicare for All ( single-payer health care ) . In December 2018 , Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar , Seema Verma , and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions . The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and re-engage with stakeholders , states , and Congress . In January 2019 , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019 , a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis . It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care . In December 2016 , Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs . In February 2017 , he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio , the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation , and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year . In February 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company , Novo Nordisk , and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack access to the life-saving medications they need . In August 2019 , Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act . The senators wrote , Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets ; therefore , we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court . In September 2019 , amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as families in Virginia , West Virginia , Wyoming , Alabama , Colorado , North Dakota and New Mexico would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month . Immigration . Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability ( DAPA ) programs , which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States . Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress , he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the Supreme Court case United States v . Texas . Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform , which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S . to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes . In July 2019 , following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses , parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation , Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse , children , or parents will be deported while they are away and that the its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat . In July 2019 , Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act , a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at sensitive locations ( schools , hospitals , places of worship , and courthouses ) except in special circumstances . The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations . LGBT rights . In 2006 , Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage , and in March 2013 , he announced his support of same-sex marriage . In the Senate , Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act , which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . In 2005 , Kaine said , No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple . Thats the right policy . In 2011 , he shifted his position . In 2012 , he said , there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple . During the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend . He predicted that the Roman Catholic Church would someday adopt his view . In response , two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S . Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the churchs position cannot change and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage . In October 2018 , Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the State Departments policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries , writing that the Trump administrations refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S . was tantamount to upholding the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Departments decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month . The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant . The authors said that the State Departments moves had sent signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority . Taxes . Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000 . In 2012 , Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA ( Social Security ) payroll tax so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan , which would greatly extend the solvency of the ( Social Security ) program . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act , which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers . Trade . Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority ( TPA or fast track ) to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements . He said the goal should be to negotiate deals that protect workers rights , environmental standards and intellectual property , while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out . In July 2016 , Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) agreement was an improvement of the status quo and an upgrade of labor standards.. . environmental standards.. . intellectual property protections , but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement , citing significant concerns over TPPs dispute resolution mechanism . Later that July , Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form . Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA . Transportation , growth , and housing . Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies ( which he calls a balanced approach to growth ) to control sprawl and improve transportation . He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit , bicycles , and pedestrians . As governor , Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative . Under Kaine , Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded . He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009 . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S . Department of Housing and Urban Developments Section 4 Capacity Building program , a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations . The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development , opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trumps budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020 , and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020 . Workers rights and gender equality . Kaine is generally pro-union and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL-CIO , which praised his selection as Clintons running mate . But Kaine supports Virginias longstanding right-to-work law , which frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf . Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination . After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016 , Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women . Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage . Electoral history . - 2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election - 2005 gubernatorial election - 2012 U.S . Senate election - 2016 vice presidential election - 2018 U.S . Senate election Personal life . In November 1984 , Kaine married Anne Bright Holton , the daughter of A . Linwood Holton Jr. , a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974 . The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School . Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond . After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husbands term , she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginias secretary of education , and held that position until July 2016 , when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee . The couple has three children , one of whom is a United States Marine . As of 2016 , Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St . Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond , a mostly black congregation , for 30 years . Kaine plays the harmonica and often travels with several . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras . During the 2016 campaign , he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish . On May 28 , 2020 , Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies . Awards and honors . Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities , then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice ( 2000 ) , the Virginia Council of Churches Faith in Action Award ( 2009 ) , the University of Richmond School of Laws William Green Award for Professional Excellence ( 2012 ) , the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue ( 2014 ) , the Appalachian Trail Conservancys Congressional Award ( 2015 ) , and the Center for the National Interests Distinguished Service Award ( 2016 ) . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017 . Further reading . - Governor - Kaines Governor website ( Archived ) - Kaines Lieutenant governor website ( Archived ) - 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2007 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2009 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site , 2005–2006 part of Virginias Political Landscape , Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive , 2006–2010 - Kaine Email Project at the Library of Virginia External links . - U.S . Senate website - Campaign website |
[
"mayor of Richmond"
] | easy | Which position did Tim Kaine hold from Jul 1998 to Sep 2001? | /wiki/Tim_Kaine#P39#1 | Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26 , 1958 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 . Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clintons running mate . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , Kaine grew up in Overland Park , Kansas , graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri , and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law . He was first elected to public office in 1994 , when he won a seat on the Richmond City Council . He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010 . He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 . On July 22 , 2016 , Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27 . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8 , 2016 . Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018 , defeating Republican Corey Stewart . Early life and education . Kaine was born at Saint Josephs Hospital in St . Paul , Minnesota . He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen ( née Burns ) , a home economics teacher , and Albert Alexander Kaine , Jr. , a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop . He was raised Catholic . One of Kaines great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish . Kaines family moved to Overland Park , Kansas , when Kaine was two years old , and he grew up in the Kansas City area . In 1976 , he graduated from Rockhurst High School , a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City , Missouri . At Rockhurst , Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president . Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979 , completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude . He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978 . He entered Harvard Law School in 1979 , interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras for nine months from 1980 to 1981 , helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso . While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding , he also helped increase the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras . After returning from Honduras , Kaine met his future wife , first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton . He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D . degree in 1983 . Kaine and Holton moved to Holtons hometown of Richmond , Virginia , after graduation , and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984 . Legal career and Richmond City Council . After graduating from law school , Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R . Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit , in Macon , Georgia . He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little , Parsley & Cluverius , P.C . In 1987 , Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish , P.C . He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years , specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability . He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal , which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co . arising from the companys practices in Richmond . Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case ; the judgment was overturned on appeal , and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million settlement . Kaine did regular pro bono work . In 1988 , he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law . Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years ; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring . He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness . Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood , but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wifes family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings . In 1994 , he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond , defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A . Warthen by less than 100 votes . He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10 , 2001 , when he resigned and William J . Pantele was appointed to succeed him . He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A . Warthen by 97 votes . Kaine spent four terms on the city council , the latter two as mayor of Richmond . Mayor of Richmond ( 1998–2001 ) . On July 1 , 1998 , Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond , succeeding Larry Chavis . He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council , becoming the citys first white mayor in more than ten years , which was viewed as a surprise . Rudy McCollum , an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty , decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two , clearing the way for Kaine to win the election . Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial , with the city manager effectively operating the city ; Kaine treated it as a full-time job , taking a more hands-on role . As mayor , Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L . Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a magnet governors school , the Maggie L . Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies , which now serves the top students in Central Virginia . Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine . Along with Commonwealths attorney David Hicks , U.S . attorney James Comey , and police chief Jerry Oliver , Kaine was a supporter of Project Exile , an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court , where defendants faced harsher sentences . Though controversial , the effort was effective and achieved widespread support ; the citys homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaines mayoralty . Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor . On several occasions , Kaine voted against tax increases , and supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings , which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city . Forbes magazine named Richmond one of the 10 best cities in America to do business during Kaines term . According to John Moeser , a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmonds Center for Civic Engagement , Mayor Kaine was energetic , charismatic and , most important , spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond . The New York Times wrote that Kaine was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the citys racial divide . In the early part of his term , Kaine issued an apology for the citys role in slavery ; the apology was generally well received as a genuine , heartfelt expression . In the latter part of his term , a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E . Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls . Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls , while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain . Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty . His stance drew criticism from the NAACP ; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context , and that Much of our history is not pleasant ; you cant whitewash it . Kaines proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote . During his mayoralty , Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March , an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington , D.C. ; after a backlash , he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city . Lieutenant governor of Virginia ( 2002–2006 ) . Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement . In the Democratic primary election , Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A . Diamonstein of Newport News , and state delegate Jerrauld C . Jones of Norfolk . Kaine won the nomination , with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonsteins 31.4% and Joness 28.9% . In the general election , Kaine won with 925,974 votes ( 50.35% ) , edging out his Republican opponent , state delegate Jay Katzen , who received 883,886 ( 48.06% ) . Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes ( 1.57% ) . Kaine was inaugurated on January 12 , 2002 , and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton , a state judge . 2005 gubernatorial election . In 2005 , Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W . Kilgore , a former state attorney general . Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race , trailing in polls for most of the campaign . Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll . The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore . Kaine ultimately prevailed , winning 1,025,942 votes ( 51.7% ) to Kilgores 912,327 ( 46.0% ) . A third candidate , independent state Senator H . Russell Potts Jr. , ran as an independent Republican and received 43,953 votes ( 2.2% ) . Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message . He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues , an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs . He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor , Mark Warner , who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state . On the campaign trail , Kaine referred to the Warner-Kaine administration in speeches and received Warners strong backing . Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warners high popularity and President George W . Bushs sharply declining popularity ; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaigns final day . The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks , with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that Hitler doesnt qualify for the death penalty . The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate . The editorial boards of the Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a smear and dishonest . Kaine responded with an ad in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty . In later polls , voters said they believed Kaines response and were angered by Kilgores negative ads . In the election , Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginias inner suburbs ( such as Alexandria and Arlington ) , as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County . Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginias outer suburbs , including Prince William County and Loudoun County , where George W . Bush had beat John Kerry in the previous years presidential election , and performed surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake . Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs . Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley . Governor of Virginia ( 2006–2010 ) . Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg , on January 14 , 2006 , the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there . Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors Association from 2008 to 2009 . Democratic response to State of the Union address . On January 31 , 2006 , Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W . Bushs 2006 State of the Union address . In it , he criticized the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind Act for wreaking havoc on local school districts ; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs ; and condemned as reckless Bushs spending increases and tax cuts . Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia to make record investments in education and to improve veterans access to veterans benefits . He criticized the Bush administrations conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S . soldiers , saying that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq ; our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence ; and the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans benefits . Energy , the environment , and conservation . As governor , Kaine protected of Virginia land from development , fulfilling a promise he made in 2005 . His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements ( voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development ) ; a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements . From 2004 to 2009 , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ( a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state ) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years , a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close . As governor , Kaine established the Climate Change Commission , a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues . The panel was shuttered under Kaines Republican successor , Governor Robert F . McDonnell , but revived ( as the Governors Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission ) under McDonnells successor , Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe . In 2008 , Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County , clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project . In 2009 , Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration . Healthcare and public health . In October 2006 , Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1 , 2007 . He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars , with some exceptions , in March 2009 , making Virginia the first Southern state to do so . In 2007 , the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation , with overwhelming bipartisan support , to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine ( which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer ) before entering high school . Kaine expressed some qualms about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision , ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason . In 2007 , Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees , plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing masters programs . The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses . Virginia Tech shooting . After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting , in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people , Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel , chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W . Gerald Massengill , to probe the event . The commission members included specialists in psychology , law , forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge . The commission first met in May 2007 , and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007 . Among other recommendations , the panel proposed many mental health reforms . Based on the panels recommendations , Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms , included boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services , increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers . In April 2007 , Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers . Kaine , who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings , received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue . Budget and economy . Among Kaines greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis ; the Washington Post wrote that perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [ the crisis ] . Amid the Great Recession , unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average . During Kaines tenure as governor , the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4% , a smaller increase than the national rate , which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period . As governor , Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund spending cuts , and after his term in office , the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended , for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts . The Washington Post wrote , Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget , he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition . Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States . Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazines Best States For Business rankings . Infrastructure and transportation . In July 2007 , during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner , Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel , citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk . In 2006 , Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction , repairs to aging roads , mass transit , and other transportation projects . The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years . The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan , but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project , and the effort failed even after a special session of the legislature was called over the stalemate . In 2007 , Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill . Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements , as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored , the Republican bill called for transportation funding to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund ; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia ; increased fees and taxes on rental cars , commercial real estate , and hotels ; and increased traffic infraction fines and drivers licenses fees . Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation , calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care , law enforcement , and education . Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the states general fund . Education . Under Kaine , participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative , which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line . Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor . Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by Education Week and the Pew Center on the States . Cabinet and appointments . Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governors Cabinet : - Chief of Staff : William Leighty ( 2006–2007 ) , Wayne Turnage ( 2007–2010 ) - Secretary of Administration : Viola Baskerville ( 2006–2010 ) - Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry : Robert Bloxom ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Commerce and Trade : Patrick Gottschalk ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of the Commonwealth : Katherine Hanley ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Education : Thomas R . Morris ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Finance:Jody Wagner ( 2006–2008 ) , Ric Brown ( 2008–2010 ) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources : Marilyn Tavenner ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Natural Resources : Preston Bryant ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Public Safety : John W . Marshall ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Technology : Aneesh Chopra ( 2006–2009 ) , Leonard Pomata ( 2009–2010 ) - Secretary of Transportation : Pierce Homer ( 2006–2010 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Lawrence Roberts ( 2006–2009 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Mark Rubin ( 2009–2010 ) - Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness : Robert P . Crouch ( 2006–2010 ) - Senior Advisor for Workforce : Daniel G . LeBlanc ( 2006–2010 ) As governor , Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts . He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia , naming Chesapeake circuit judge S . Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007 and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F . Millette Jr . in 2008 . On September 27 , 2007 , just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration , Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bushs impeachment . He immediately requested and received Omeishs resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future . 2008 vice presidential speculation . Kaine announced his support for Barack Obamas presidential bid in February 2007 . It was maintained that Kaines endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of Illinois . Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state , there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president . Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor , saying , Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit . That kind of message can sell anywhere . On July 28 , 2008 , Politico reported that Kaine was very , very high on Obamas shortlist for vice president , a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas , Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana , and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware . Obama ultimately selected Biden . It was later reported that Obama told Kaine , in breaking the news to him , You are the pick of my heart , but Joe [ Biden ] is the pick of my head . Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden . He said , At the time , I was much closer to Tim , but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of two relatively young , inexperienced , and liberal civil rights attorneys and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength , and that Bidens age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president . Democratic National Committee chair ( 2009–2011 ) . In January 2009 , Kaine became chair of the Democratic National Committee . He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him , expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position , but took the job at Obamas request . He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia . Kaines main goals as DNC chair were protecting the partys seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the presidents campaign apparatus , Organizing for America , and its technological acumen into the party machinery . In the 2010 midterms , the DNC under Kaines leadership outraised the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) by $30 million , but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash . Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses . Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart , RNC chairman Michael Steele . He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents . In February 2011 , after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison , Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsins budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation . It made phone calls , sent emails , and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies . After completing his term as governor in January 2010 , Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond , teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law . He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution . United States Senate . 2012 election . After Senator Jim Webbs decision not to seek reelection , Kaine announced on April 5 , 2011 , that he would run for Webbs seat . He was initially reluctant to return to public office , but Webb , Senator Mark Warner , and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run . Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman . Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager . Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination . He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election . Tenure . Kaine was sworn in on January 3 , 2013 , reuniting him with Mark Warner , the senior senator . Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia . On June 11 , 2013 , Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill . The speech was entirely in Spanish , marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English . As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs , Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) . Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran , though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal . Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East , meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel . While in the Senate , Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond , receiving a salary of $16,000 per year . Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time . According to the Washington Post , Kaine has crafted a largely progressive record as a senator . He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators . During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign , Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump , saying that Trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death and had a bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders . In 2017 , after Trump took office , Kaine continued to criticize his authoritarian tendencies , citing his attacks on media , judges , and peaceful protesters . At an event at George Mason University , Kaine said that with Trump in office , Americans are in a living experiment to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power . In February 2017 , Kaine met with Pope Francis at a general audience at the Vatican . Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues . The same month , Kaine delivered an address , The Truman Doctrine at 70 , at Londons Chatham House . Committee assignments and caucuses . In the 113th Congress ( 2013–15 ) , Kaine was on the Committee on Armed Services , the Committee on the Budget , and the Committee on Foreign Relations . In the 114th Congress , Kaine was on those three committees and the Special Committee on Aging . In July 2013 , Kaine was named chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia and Counterterrorism . Within the Senate Armed Services Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities , the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support ( of which he is the ranking member ) , and the Subcommittee on Seapower . Within the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( of which he is the ranking member ) , the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation , the Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia , and Counterterrorism , and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Womens Issues . In January 2014 , Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus ( CTE Caucus ) , which focuses on vocational education and technical education . Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus . In 2014 , Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate ; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding , distributed by competitive grants , to high schools to further CTE programs . The legislation , introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D . Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 , would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives . Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation , the Educating Tomorrows Workforce Act , in 2017 . 2016 vice-presidential campaign . Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries . He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton , with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clintons list of people under consideration alongside figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro . The New York Times reported that Clintons husband , former president Bill Clinton , supported Kaine as his wifes vice-presidential selection , noting his domestic and national security résumé . On July 22 , 2016 , she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election . Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27 , 2016 . Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket , and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840 ; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler . In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S. , upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years . He also publicly released medical records ; his physician , Brian P . Monahan , the Attending Physician of the United States Congress , wrote that Kaine was in overall excellent health . In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton , Stronger Together . In Kaines preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016 , lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence . ( During Pences own debate preparations , Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine. ) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trumps comments , while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting . According to ABC News , Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate , while Pence interrupted 40 times . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8 , 2016 . This is the only election Kaine has ever lost . Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia , the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket , a victory attributed in part to Kaine . 2018 election . After the 2016 election , Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 . He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner , who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years . He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future . In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart , Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch , marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat . After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart , Kaine worked to support other Democrats who , in seven districts , were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats . Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points . Personality and leadership style . About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia . Politico conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a media-savvy and detail-oriented micro-manager who is also a policy wonk . According to The New York Times , Kaine is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith . On Meet the Press , Kaine called himself boring . Political positions . In terms of political ideology , FiveThirtyEight gives Kaine an average score of −37 ( −100 is the most liberal , and 100 is the most conservative ) . FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a mainstream Democrat and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden . Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union , the Club for Growth , and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016 , while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014 . The New York Times wrote that in hyperpartisan Washington , he is often seen as a centrist while also describing him as an old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals . Abortion , birth control , and sex education . Kaine , a Roman Catholic , personally opposes abortion , but is largely inclined to keep the law out of womens reproductive decisions . He has said , Im a strong supporter of Roe v . Wade and women being able to make these decisions . In government , we have enough things to worry about . We dont need to make peoples reproductive decisions for them . Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion , such as requiring parental consent for minors ( with a judicial bypass procedure ) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the womans life is not at risk . In 2009 , Kaine signed a bill to create a Choose Life license plate , among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered , the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International , a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers . Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaines decision . Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was in keeping with the commonwealths longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages . Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for not providing a broad enough religious employer exemption in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act , but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization . In 2005 , when running for governor , Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother ; Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education ; Ensuring womens access to health care ( including legal contraception ) and economic opportunity ; and Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies . In 2007 , as governor , Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs , citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective , while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective . Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught , and that education should be evidence-based . As a senator , Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL . He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee . Campaign finance . Kaine strongly disagrees with Citizens United v . FEC ( 2010 ) . In 2015 , Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics . They urged the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders to increase transparency in the U.S . political process . Capital punishment . Kaine personally opposes capital punishment , but presided over 11 executions while governor . He said , I really struggled with [ capital punishment ] as governor . I have a moral position against the death penalty . But I took an oath of office to uphold it . Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation . During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008 , that of Percy Levar Walton , to life imprisonment without parole on grounds of mental incompetence , writing that one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional . Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes , saying : I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs . Some of the vetoes were overridden . On July 31 , 2019 , after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years , Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty . Environment , energy , and climate change . Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change , and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers , as well as those who may not deny the climate science , but .. . deny that the U.S . can or should be a leader in taking any steps to address the issue . Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise ( a major consequence of climate change ) , and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia . In 2014 , he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S . Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the Hampton Roads area . Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner , saying that it is imperative to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today . He has criticized those who frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment , saying that protecting the environment is good for the economy . Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation ( ACCTION ) Act , legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies . He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline . Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ) to harvest natural gas from shale formations . He believes this will reduce carbon pollution . Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act . As a result , regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies ; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit . Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) to other countries . Like his fellow senator from Virginia , Mark Warner , Kaine applauded the U.S . Forest Services plan to close most , but not all , of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities . In 2013 , Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia , saying , I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling , based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago , should be reexamined . In April 2015 , Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling . In March 2016 , Kaine signaled that his position was softening , saying he was particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginias coast.. . I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before . By August 2016 , Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling , bringing his position in line with Hillary Clintons and the Obama administrations . Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines . Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate , the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018 , and a 94% lifetime score . ( At the time of his vice-presidential campaign , Kaine had an 88% score for 2015 , and a 91% lifetime score. ) In March 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019 , legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic , which Trump had dismantled in 2017 . The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage ( CCUS ) , arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trumps 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research . Financial regulation . Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . In July 2016 , he signed a bipartisan letter that urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to carefully tailor its rulemaking [ under Dodd-Frank ] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to unduly burden these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks . The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation . Democracy for America executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy . Kaine responded , its important you dont treat every financial institution the same . It wasnt credit unions that tanked the economy , it wasnt local community banks that tanked the economy , generally wasnt regional banks that did things that tanked the economy . He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened . Foreign and defense policy . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran . Kaine expressed support for Israels right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . In September 2016 , in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories , he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto one-sided resolutions against Israel . In 2015 , Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi , but in 2018 , he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that they found it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of the Trump administrations certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S . laws on arms sales , citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties . Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi . In July 2017 , Kaine voted for the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran , Russia , and North Korea . In 2019 , Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S . foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill . The letter said that Trump had consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S . foreign assistance , viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and collective security . The senators wrote that U.S . foreign assistance to Central American countries , by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region , reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S . In 2019 , Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act , a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt Chinas consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea . Grand strategy and democracy promotion . After the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy . According to Kaine , American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant Americas previous grand strategy , which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine . This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random , complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile . To remedy this , Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion . His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power , with one pole being democratic states including the U.S . and its allies , the second autocratic powers led by Russia and China , and the third nonstate actors ( multinational corporations , NGOs , gangs , etc. ) . First , Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries , as democracy globally has been declining for many years . To maintain democracy in democratic countries , Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization consisting of all the worlds democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion . He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy . Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic , as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate . In this way , Kaine says that the U.S . should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation , but rather the exemplary democracy . Second , Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states . Depending on the circumstances , democracies should either confront , compete , or cooperate with autocracies . For example , Kaine observes that the U.S . competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances , and confronts them by decrying their human rights records . Finally , Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests , such as combating climate change . In July 2017 , Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the Brookings Institution with international relations scholar Robert Kagan . Afghanistan . Kaines website states , The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can , consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region . Latin America . Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas , saying , We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas , in particular , and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there . War powers . Kaine is known for expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency and has said that war powers questions are a personal obsession of his . He has stressed that under the Constitution , Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress . Kaine called the 2018 U.S . missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval . Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 , which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973 , bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S . military forces . The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee , with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict . Kaine argued for the bill by citing his frustration over the sloppiness of process and communication over decisions of war , noting that presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions . We all have to do better . In February 2018 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with a preventative or preemptive U.S . military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority without congressional approval . In January 2020 , Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S . from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat . The next month , the measure passed the Senate 55–45 , securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats . Trump vetoed the measure , and the Senate failed to override the veto . Syria , Iraq , and ISIL . In 2014 , Kaine argued that the U.S . military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL . In November 2014 , at the Halifax International Security Forum , Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization , saying : You just cant have a war without Congress . You cant ask people to risk their lives , risk getting killed , seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isnt willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say , this is a national mission and worth it . After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria , ordered by Trump , Kaine said , There is no legal justification for this . He should not have done this without coming to Congress . On Meet the Press , Kaine said , Im a strong supporter that the U.S . should take action to protect humanitarian causes , like the ban on chemical weapons . Where I differ from this administration , and I took the same position with respect to President Obama , we are a nation thats not supposed to take military action , start war , without a plan thats presented to and approved by Congress . On December 11 , 2014 , after a five-month campaign by Kaine , the U.S . Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 ( along party lines ) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops . In October 2015 , Kaine criticized Obamas approach to the Syrian Civil War , saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria . In April 2018 , Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress , calling the strike an illegal military act . On February 26 , 2021 , Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving legal justification to members of Congress beforehand . Firearms . Kaine is a firearms owner . He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines . As governor , Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns . In the Senate , he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet . He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List . In November 2017 , Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act , a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms . In March 2018 , Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond ( HEAR ) Act , legislation that would ban suppressors being imported , sold , made , sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others . The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting , in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor . Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the NRA . Health care . Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 ( Obamacare ) , saying in 2012 , I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act . I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror . In 2013 , he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated , but criticized Republicans for wrapping them up with the threat of a federal government shutdown . In 2018 , Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of Medicare X—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options . The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanderss push for Medicare for All ( single-payer health care ) . In December 2018 , Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar , Seema Verma , and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions . The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and re-engage with stakeholders , states , and Congress . In January 2019 , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019 , a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis . It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care . In December 2016 , Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs . In February 2017 , he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio , the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation , and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year . In February 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company , Novo Nordisk , and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack access to the life-saving medications they need . In August 2019 , Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act . The senators wrote , Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets ; therefore , we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court . In September 2019 , amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as families in Virginia , West Virginia , Wyoming , Alabama , Colorado , North Dakota and New Mexico would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month . Immigration . Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability ( DAPA ) programs , which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States . Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress , he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the Supreme Court case United States v . Texas . Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform , which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S . to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes . In July 2019 , following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses , parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation , Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse , children , or parents will be deported while they are away and that the its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat . In July 2019 , Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act , a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at sensitive locations ( schools , hospitals , places of worship , and courthouses ) except in special circumstances . The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations . LGBT rights . In 2006 , Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage , and in March 2013 , he announced his support of same-sex marriage . In the Senate , Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act , which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . In 2005 , Kaine said , No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple . Thats the right policy . In 2011 , he shifted his position . In 2012 , he said , there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple . During the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend . He predicted that the Roman Catholic Church would someday adopt his view . In response , two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S . Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the churchs position cannot change and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage . In October 2018 , Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the State Departments policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries , writing that the Trump administrations refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S . was tantamount to upholding the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Departments decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month . The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant . The authors said that the State Departments moves had sent signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority . Taxes . Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000 . In 2012 , Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA ( Social Security ) payroll tax so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan , which would greatly extend the solvency of the ( Social Security ) program . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act , which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers . Trade . Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority ( TPA or fast track ) to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements . He said the goal should be to negotiate deals that protect workers rights , environmental standards and intellectual property , while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out . In July 2016 , Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) agreement was an improvement of the status quo and an upgrade of labor standards.. . environmental standards.. . intellectual property protections , but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement , citing significant concerns over TPPs dispute resolution mechanism . Later that July , Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form . Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA . Transportation , growth , and housing . Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies ( which he calls a balanced approach to growth ) to control sprawl and improve transportation . He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit , bicycles , and pedestrians . As governor , Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative . Under Kaine , Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded . He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009 . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S . Department of Housing and Urban Developments Section 4 Capacity Building program , a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations . The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development , opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trumps budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020 , and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020 . Workers rights and gender equality . Kaine is generally pro-union and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL-CIO , which praised his selection as Clintons running mate . But Kaine supports Virginias longstanding right-to-work law , which frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf . Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination . After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016 , Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women . Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage . Electoral history . - 2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election - 2005 gubernatorial election - 2012 U.S . Senate election - 2016 vice presidential election - 2018 U.S . Senate election Personal life . In November 1984 , Kaine married Anne Bright Holton , the daughter of A . Linwood Holton Jr. , a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974 . The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School . Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond . After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husbands term , she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginias secretary of education , and held that position until July 2016 , when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee . The couple has three children , one of whom is a United States Marine . As of 2016 , Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St . Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond , a mostly black congregation , for 30 years . Kaine plays the harmonica and often travels with several . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras . During the 2016 campaign , he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish . On May 28 , 2020 , Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies . Awards and honors . Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities , then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice ( 2000 ) , the Virginia Council of Churches Faith in Action Award ( 2009 ) , the University of Richmond School of Laws William Green Award for Professional Excellence ( 2012 ) , the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue ( 2014 ) , the Appalachian Trail Conservancys Congressional Award ( 2015 ) , and the Center for the National Interests Distinguished Service Award ( 2016 ) . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017 . Further reading . - Governor - Kaines Governor website ( Archived ) - Kaines Lieutenant governor website ( Archived ) - 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2007 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2009 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site , 2005–2006 part of Virginias Political Landscape , Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive , 2006–2010 - Kaine Email Project at the Library of Virginia External links . - U.S . Senate website - Campaign website |
[
"lieutenant governor of Virginia"
] | easy | What was the position of Tim Kaine from 2002 to 2006? | /wiki/Tim_Kaine#P39#2 | Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26 , 1958 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 . Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clintons running mate . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , Kaine grew up in Overland Park , Kansas , graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri , and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law . He was first elected to public office in 1994 , when he won a seat on the Richmond City Council . He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010 . He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 . On July 22 , 2016 , Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27 . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8 , 2016 . Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018 , defeating Republican Corey Stewart . Early life and education . Kaine was born at Saint Josephs Hospital in St . Paul , Minnesota . He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen ( née Burns ) , a home economics teacher , and Albert Alexander Kaine , Jr. , a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop . He was raised Catholic . One of Kaines great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish . Kaines family moved to Overland Park , Kansas , when Kaine was two years old , and he grew up in the Kansas City area . In 1976 , he graduated from Rockhurst High School , a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City , Missouri . At Rockhurst , Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president . Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979 , completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude . He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978 . He entered Harvard Law School in 1979 , interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras for nine months from 1980 to 1981 , helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso . While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding , he also helped increase the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras . After returning from Honduras , Kaine met his future wife , first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton . He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D . degree in 1983 . Kaine and Holton moved to Holtons hometown of Richmond , Virginia , after graduation , and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984 . Legal career and Richmond City Council . After graduating from law school , Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R . Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit , in Macon , Georgia . He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little , Parsley & Cluverius , P.C . In 1987 , Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish , P.C . He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years , specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability . He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal , which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co . arising from the companys practices in Richmond . Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case ; the judgment was overturned on appeal , and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million settlement . Kaine did regular pro bono work . In 1988 , he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law . Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years ; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring . He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness . Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood , but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wifes family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings . In 1994 , he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond , defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A . Warthen by less than 100 votes . He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10 , 2001 , when he resigned and William J . Pantele was appointed to succeed him . He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A . Warthen by 97 votes . Kaine spent four terms on the city council , the latter two as mayor of Richmond . Mayor of Richmond ( 1998–2001 ) . On July 1 , 1998 , Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond , succeeding Larry Chavis . He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council , becoming the citys first white mayor in more than ten years , which was viewed as a surprise . Rudy McCollum , an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty , decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two , clearing the way for Kaine to win the election . Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial , with the city manager effectively operating the city ; Kaine treated it as a full-time job , taking a more hands-on role . As mayor , Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L . Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a magnet governors school , the Maggie L . Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies , which now serves the top students in Central Virginia . Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine . Along with Commonwealths attorney David Hicks , U.S . attorney James Comey , and police chief Jerry Oliver , Kaine was a supporter of Project Exile , an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court , where defendants faced harsher sentences . Though controversial , the effort was effective and achieved widespread support ; the citys homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaines mayoralty . Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor . On several occasions , Kaine voted against tax increases , and supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings , which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city . Forbes magazine named Richmond one of the 10 best cities in America to do business during Kaines term . According to John Moeser , a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmonds Center for Civic Engagement , Mayor Kaine was energetic , charismatic and , most important , spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond . The New York Times wrote that Kaine was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the citys racial divide . In the early part of his term , Kaine issued an apology for the citys role in slavery ; the apology was generally well received as a genuine , heartfelt expression . In the latter part of his term , a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E . Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls . Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls , while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain . Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty . His stance drew criticism from the NAACP ; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context , and that Much of our history is not pleasant ; you cant whitewash it . Kaines proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote . During his mayoralty , Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March , an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington , D.C. ; after a backlash , he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city . Lieutenant governor of Virginia ( 2002–2006 ) . Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement . In the Democratic primary election , Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A . Diamonstein of Newport News , and state delegate Jerrauld C . Jones of Norfolk . Kaine won the nomination , with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonsteins 31.4% and Joness 28.9% . In the general election , Kaine won with 925,974 votes ( 50.35% ) , edging out his Republican opponent , state delegate Jay Katzen , who received 883,886 ( 48.06% ) . Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes ( 1.57% ) . Kaine was inaugurated on January 12 , 2002 , and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton , a state judge . 2005 gubernatorial election . In 2005 , Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W . Kilgore , a former state attorney general . Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race , trailing in polls for most of the campaign . Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll . The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore . Kaine ultimately prevailed , winning 1,025,942 votes ( 51.7% ) to Kilgores 912,327 ( 46.0% ) . A third candidate , independent state Senator H . Russell Potts Jr. , ran as an independent Republican and received 43,953 votes ( 2.2% ) . Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message . He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues , an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs . He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor , Mark Warner , who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state . On the campaign trail , Kaine referred to the Warner-Kaine administration in speeches and received Warners strong backing . Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warners high popularity and President George W . Bushs sharply declining popularity ; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaigns final day . The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks , with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that Hitler doesnt qualify for the death penalty . The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate . The editorial boards of the Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a smear and dishonest . Kaine responded with an ad in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty . In later polls , voters said they believed Kaines response and were angered by Kilgores negative ads . In the election , Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginias inner suburbs ( such as Alexandria and Arlington ) , as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County . Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginias outer suburbs , including Prince William County and Loudoun County , where George W . Bush had beat John Kerry in the previous years presidential election , and performed surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake . Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs . Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley . Governor of Virginia ( 2006–2010 ) . Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg , on January 14 , 2006 , the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there . Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors Association from 2008 to 2009 . Democratic response to State of the Union address . On January 31 , 2006 , Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W . Bushs 2006 State of the Union address . In it , he criticized the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind Act for wreaking havoc on local school districts ; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs ; and condemned as reckless Bushs spending increases and tax cuts . Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia to make record investments in education and to improve veterans access to veterans benefits . He criticized the Bush administrations conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S . soldiers , saying that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq ; our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence ; and the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans benefits . Energy , the environment , and conservation . As governor , Kaine protected of Virginia land from development , fulfilling a promise he made in 2005 . His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements ( voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development ) ; a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements . From 2004 to 2009 , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ( a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state ) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years , a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close . As governor , Kaine established the Climate Change Commission , a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues . The panel was shuttered under Kaines Republican successor , Governor Robert F . McDonnell , but revived ( as the Governors Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission ) under McDonnells successor , Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe . In 2008 , Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County , clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project . In 2009 , Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration . Healthcare and public health . In October 2006 , Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1 , 2007 . He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars , with some exceptions , in March 2009 , making Virginia the first Southern state to do so . In 2007 , the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation , with overwhelming bipartisan support , to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine ( which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer ) before entering high school . Kaine expressed some qualms about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision , ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason . In 2007 , Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees , plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing masters programs . The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses . Virginia Tech shooting . After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting , in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people , Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel , chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W . Gerald Massengill , to probe the event . The commission members included specialists in psychology , law , forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge . The commission first met in May 2007 , and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007 . Among other recommendations , the panel proposed many mental health reforms . Based on the panels recommendations , Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms , included boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services , increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers . In April 2007 , Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers . Kaine , who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings , received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue . Budget and economy . Among Kaines greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis ; the Washington Post wrote that perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [ the crisis ] . Amid the Great Recession , unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average . During Kaines tenure as governor , the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4% , a smaller increase than the national rate , which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period . As governor , Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund spending cuts , and after his term in office , the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended , for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts . The Washington Post wrote , Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget , he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition . Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States . Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazines Best States For Business rankings . Infrastructure and transportation . In July 2007 , during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner , Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel , citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk . In 2006 , Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction , repairs to aging roads , mass transit , and other transportation projects . The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years . The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan , but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project , and the effort failed even after a special session of the legislature was called over the stalemate . In 2007 , Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill . Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements , as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored , the Republican bill called for transportation funding to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund ; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia ; increased fees and taxes on rental cars , commercial real estate , and hotels ; and increased traffic infraction fines and drivers licenses fees . Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation , calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care , law enforcement , and education . Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the states general fund . Education . Under Kaine , participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative , which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line . Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor . Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by Education Week and the Pew Center on the States . Cabinet and appointments . Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governors Cabinet : - Chief of Staff : William Leighty ( 2006–2007 ) , Wayne Turnage ( 2007–2010 ) - Secretary of Administration : Viola Baskerville ( 2006–2010 ) - Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry : Robert Bloxom ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Commerce and Trade : Patrick Gottschalk ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of the Commonwealth : Katherine Hanley ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Education : Thomas R . Morris ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Finance:Jody Wagner ( 2006–2008 ) , Ric Brown ( 2008–2010 ) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources : Marilyn Tavenner ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Natural Resources : Preston Bryant ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Public Safety : John W . Marshall ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Technology : Aneesh Chopra ( 2006–2009 ) , Leonard Pomata ( 2009–2010 ) - Secretary of Transportation : Pierce Homer ( 2006–2010 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Lawrence Roberts ( 2006–2009 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Mark Rubin ( 2009–2010 ) - Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness : Robert P . Crouch ( 2006–2010 ) - Senior Advisor for Workforce : Daniel G . LeBlanc ( 2006–2010 ) As governor , Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts . He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia , naming Chesapeake circuit judge S . Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007 and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F . Millette Jr . in 2008 . On September 27 , 2007 , just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration , Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bushs impeachment . He immediately requested and received Omeishs resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future . 2008 vice presidential speculation . Kaine announced his support for Barack Obamas presidential bid in February 2007 . It was maintained that Kaines endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of Illinois . Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state , there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president . Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor , saying , Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit . That kind of message can sell anywhere . On July 28 , 2008 , Politico reported that Kaine was very , very high on Obamas shortlist for vice president , a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas , Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana , and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware . Obama ultimately selected Biden . It was later reported that Obama told Kaine , in breaking the news to him , You are the pick of my heart , but Joe [ Biden ] is the pick of my head . Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden . He said , At the time , I was much closer to Tim , but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of two relatively young , inexperienced , and liberal civil rights attorneys and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength , and that Bidens age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president . Democratic National Committee chair ( 2009–2011 ) . In January 2009 , Kaine became chair of the Democratic National Committee . He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him , expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position , but took the job at Obamas request . He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia . Kaines main goals as DNC chair were protecting the partys seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the presidents campaign apparatus , Organizing for America , and its technological acumen into the party machinery . In the 2010 midterms , the DNC under Kaines leadership outraised the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) by $30 million , but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash . Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses . Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart , RNC chairman Michael Steele . He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents . In February 2011 , after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison , Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsins budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation . It made phone calls , sent emails , and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies . After completing his term as governor in January 2010 , Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond , teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law . He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution . United States Senate . 2012 election . After Senator Jim Webbs decision not to seek reelection , Kaine announced on April 5 , 2011 , that he would run for Webbs seat . He was initially reluctant to return to public office , but Webb , Senator Mark Warner , and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run . Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman . Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager . Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination . He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election . Tenure . Kaine was sworn in on January 3 , 2013 , reuniting him with Mark Warner , the senior senator . Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia . On June 11 , 2013 , Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill . The speech was entirely in Spanish , marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English . As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs , Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) . Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran , though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal . Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East , meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel . While in the Senate , Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond , receiving a salary of $16,000 per year . Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time . According to the Washington Post , Kaine has crafted a largely progressive record as a senator . He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators . During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign , Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump , saying that Trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death and had a bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders . In 2017 , after Trump took office , Kaine continued to criticize his authoritarian tendencies , citing his attacks on media , judges , and peaceful protesters . At an event at George Mason University , Kaine said that with Trump in office , Americans are in a living experiment to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power . In February 2017 , Kaine met with Pope Francis at a general audience at the Vatican . Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues . The same month , Kaine delivered an address , The Truman Doctrine at 70 , at Londons Chatham House . Committee assignments and caucuses . In the 113th Congress ( 2013–15 ) , Kaine was on the Committee on Armed Services , the Committee on the Budget , and the Committee on Foreign Relations . In the 114th Congress , Kaine was on those three committees and the Special Committee on Aging . In July 2013 , Kaine was named chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia and Counterterrorism . Within the Senate Armed Services Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities , the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support ( of which he is the ranking member ) , and the Subcommittee on Seapower . Within the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( of which he is the ranking member ) , the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation , the Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia , and Counterterrorism , and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Womens Issues . In January 2014 , Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus ( CTE Caucus ) , which focuses on vocational education and technical education . Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus . In 2014 , Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate ; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding , distributed by competitive grants , to high schools to further CTE programs . The legislation , introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D . Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 , would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives . Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation , the Educating Tomorrows Workforce Act , in 2017 . 2016 vice-presidential campaign . Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries . He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton , with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clintons list of people under consideration alongside figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro . The New York Times reported that Clintons husband , former president Bill Clinton , supported Kaine as his wifes vice-presidential selection , noting his domestic and national security résumé . On July 22 , 2016 , she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election . Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27 , 2016 . Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket , and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840 ; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler . In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S. , upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years . He also publicly released medical records ; his physician , Brian P . Monahan , the Attending Physician of the United States Congress , wrote that Kaine was in overall excellent health . In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton , Stronger Together . In Kaines preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016 , lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence . ( During Pences own debate preparations , Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine. ) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trumps comments , while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting . According to ABC News , Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate , while Pence interrupted 40 times . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8 , 2016 . This is the only election Kaine has ever lost . Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia , the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket , a victory attributed in part to Kaine . 2018 election . After the 2016 election , Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 . He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner , who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years . He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future . In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart , Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch , marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat . After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart , Kaine worked to support other Democrats who , in seven districts , were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats . Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points . Personality and leadership style . About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia . Politico conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a media-savvy and detail-oriented micro-manager who is also a policy wonk . According to The New York Times , Kaine is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith . On Meet the Press , Kaine called himself boring . Political positions . In terms of political ideology , FiveThirtyEight gives Kaine an average score of −37 ( −100 is the most liberal , and 100 is the most conservative ) . FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a mainstream Democrat and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden . Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union , the Club for Growth , and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016 , while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014 . The New York Times wrote that in hyperpartisan Washington , he is often seen as a centrist while also describing him as an old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals . Abortion , birth control , and sex education . Kaine , a Roman Catholic , personally opposes abortion , but is largely inclined to keep the law out of womens reproductive decisions . He has said , Im a strong supporter of Roe v . Wade and women being able to make these decisions . In government , we have enough things to worry about . We dont need to make peoples reproductive decisions for them . Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion , such as requiring parental consent for minors ( with a judicial bypass procedure ) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the womans life is not at risk . In 2009 , Kaine signed a bill to create a Choose Life license plate , among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered , the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International , a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers . Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaines decision . Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was in keeping with the commonwealths longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages . Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for not providing a broad enough religious employer exemption in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act , but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization . In 2005 , when running for governor , Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother ; Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education ; Ensuring womens access to health care ( including legal contraception ) and economic opportunity ; and Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies . In 2007 , as governor , Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs , citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective , while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective . Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught , and that education should be evidence-based . As a senator , Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL . He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee . Campaign finance . Kaine strongly disagrees with Citizens United v . FEC ( 2010 ) . In 2015 , Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics . They urged the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders to increase transparency in the U.S . political process . Capital punishment . Kaine personally opposes capital punishment , but presided over 11 executions while governor . He said , I really struggled with [ capital punishment ] as governor . I have a moral position against the death penalty . But I took an oath of office to uphold it . Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation . During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008 , that of Percy Levar Walton , to life imprisonment without parole on grounds of mental incompetence , writing that one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional . Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes , saying : I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs . Some of the vetoes were overridden . On July 31 , 2019 , after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years , Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty . Environment , energy , and climate change . Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change , and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers , as well as those who may not deny the climate science , but .. . deny that the U.S . can or should be a leader in taking any steps to address the issue . Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise ( a major consequence of climate change ) , and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia . In 2014 , he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S . Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the Hampton Roads area . Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner , saying that it is imperative to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today . He has criticized those who frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment , saying that protecting the environment is good for the economy . Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation ( ACCTION ) Act , legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies . He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline . Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ) to harvest natural gas from shale formations . He believes this will reduce carbon pollution . Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act . As a result , regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies ; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit . Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) to other countries . Like his fellow senator from Virginia , Mark Warner , Kaine applauded the U.S . Forest Services plan to close most , but not all , of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities . In 2013 , Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia , saying , I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling , based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago , should be reexamined . In April 2015 , Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling . In March 2016 , Kaine signaled that his position was softening , saying he was particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginias coast.. . I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before . By August 2016 , Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling , bringing his position in line with Hillary Clintons and the Obama administrations . Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines . Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate , the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018 , and a 94% lifetime score . ( At the time of his vice-presidential campaign , Kaine had an 88% score for 2015 , and a 91% lifetime score. ) In March 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019 , legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic , which Trump had dismantled in 2017 . The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage ( CCUS ) , arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trumps 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research . Financial regulation . Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . In July 2016 , he signed a bipartisan letter that urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to carefully tailor its rulemaking [ under Dodd-Frank ] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to unduly burden these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks . The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation . Democracy for America executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy . Kaine responded , its important you dont treat every financial institution the same . It wasnt credit unions that tanked the economy , it wasnt local community banks that tanked the economy , generally wasnt regional banks that did things that tanked the economy . He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened . Foreign and defense policy . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran . Kaine expressed support for Israels right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . In September 2016 , in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories , he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto one-sided resolutions against Israel . In 2015 , Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi , but in 2018 , he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that they found it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of the Trump administrations certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S . laws on arms sales , citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties . Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi . In July 2017 , Kaine voted for the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran , Russia , and North Korea . In 2019 , Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S . foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill . The letter said that Trump had consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S . foreign assistance , viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and collective security . The senators wrote that U.S . foreign assistance to Central American countries , by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region , reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S . In 2019 , Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act , a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt Chinas consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea . Grand strategy and democracy promotion . After the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy . According to Kaine , American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant Americas previous grand strategy , which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine . This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random , complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile . To remedy this , Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion . His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power , with one pole being democratic states including the U.S . and its allies , the second autocratic powers led by Russia and China , and the third nonstate actors ( multinational corporations , NGOs , gangs , etc. ) . First , Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries , as democracy globally has been declining for many years . To maintain democracy in democratic countries , Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization consisting of all the worlds democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion . He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy . Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic , as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate . In this way , Kaine says that the U.S . should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation , but rather the exemplary democracy . Second , Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states . Depending on the circumstances , democracies should either confront , compete , or cooperate with autocracies . For example , Kaine observes that the U.S . competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances , and confronts them by decrying their human rights records . Finally , Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests , such as combating climate change . In July 2017 , Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the Brookings Institution with international relations scholar Robert Kagan . Afghanistan . Kaines website states , The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can , consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region . Latin America . Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas , saying , We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas , in particular , and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there . War powers . Kaine is known for expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency and has said that war powers questions are a personal obsession of his . He has stressed that under the Constitution , Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress . Kaine called the 2018 U.S . missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval . Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 , which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973 , bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S . military forces . The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee , with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict . Kaine argued for the bill by citing his frustration over the sloppiness of process and communication over decisions of war , noting that presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions . We all have to do better . In February 2018 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with a preventative or preemptive U.S . military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority without congressional approval . In January 2020 , Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S . from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat . The next month , the measure passed the Senate 55–45 , securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats . Trump vetoed the measure , and the Senate failed to override the veto . Syria , Iraq , and ISIL . In 2014 , Kaine argued that the U.S . military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL . In November 2014 , at the Halifax International Security Forum , Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization , saying : You just cant have a war without Congress . You cant ask people to risk their lives , risk getting killed , seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isnt willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say , this is a national mission and worth it . After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria , ordered by Trump , Kaine said , There is no legal justification for this . He should not have done this without coming to Congress . On Meet the Press , Kaine said , Im a strong supporter that the U.S . should take action to protect humanitarian causes , like the ban on chemical weapons . Where I differ from this administration , and I took the same position with respect to President Obama , we are a nation thats not supposed to take military action , start war , without a plan thats presented to and approved by Congress . On December 11 , 2014 , after a five-month campaign by Kaine , the U.S . Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 ( along party lines ) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops . In October 2015 , Kaine criticized Obamas approach to the Syrian Civil War , saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria . In April 2018 , Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress , calling the strike an illegal military act . On February 26 , 2021 , Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving legal justification to members of Congress beforehand . Firearms . Kaine is a firearms owner . He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines . As governor , Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns . In the Senate , he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet . He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List . In November 2017 , Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act , a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms . In March 2018 , Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond ( HEAR ) Act , legislation that would ban suppressors being imported , sold , made , sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others . The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting , in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor . Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the NRA . Health care . Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 ( Obamacare ) , saying in 2012 , I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act . I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror . In 2013 , he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated , but criticized Republicans for wrapping them up with the threat of a federal government shutdown . In 2018 , Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of Medicare X—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options . The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanderss push for Medicare for All ( single-payer health care ) . In December 2018 , Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar , Seema Verma , and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions . The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and re-engage with stakeholders , states , and Congress . In January 2019 , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019 , a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis . It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care . In December 2016 , Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs . In February 2017 , he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio , the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation , and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year . In February 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company , Novo Nordisk , and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack access to the life-saving medications they need . In August 2019 , Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act . The senators wrote , Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets ; therefore , we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court . In September 2019 , amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as families in Virginia , West Virginia , Wyoming , Alabama , Colorado , North Dakota and New Mexico would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month . Immigration . Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability ( DAPA ) programs , which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States . Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress , he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the Supreme Court case United States v . Texas . Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform , which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S . to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes . In July 2019 , following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses , parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation , Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse , children , or parents will be deported while they are away and that the its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat . In July 2019 , Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act , a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at sensitive locations ( schools , hospitals , places of worship , and courthouses ) except in special circumstances . The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations . LGBT rights . In 2006 , Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage , and in March 2013 , he announced his support of same-sex marriage . In the Senate , Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act , which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . In 2005 , Kaine said , No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple . Thats the right policy . In 2011 , he shifted his position . In 2012 , he said , there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple . During the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend . He predicted that the Roman Catholic Church would someday adopt his view . In response , two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S . Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the churchs position cannot change and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage . In October 2018 , Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the State Departments policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries , writing that the Trump administrations refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S . was tantamount to upholding the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Departments decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month . The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant . The authors said that the State Departments moves had sent signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority . Taxes . Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000 . In 2012 , Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA ( Social Security ) payroll tax so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan , which would greatly extend the solvency of the ( Social Security ) program . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act , which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers . Trade . Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority ( TPA or fast track ) to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements . He said the goal should be to negotiate deals that protect workers rights , environmental standards and intellectual property , while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out . In July 2016 , Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) agreement was an improvement of the status quo and an upgrade of labor standards.. . environmental standards.. . intellectual property protections , but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement , citing significant concerns over TPPs dispute resolution mechanism . Later that July , Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form . Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA . Transportation , growth , and housing . Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies ( which he calls a balanced approach to growth ) to control sprawl and improve transportation . He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit , bicycles , and pedestrians . As governor , Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative . Under Kaine , Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded . He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009 . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S . Department of Housing and Urban Developments Section 4 Capacity Building program , a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations . The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development , opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trumps budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020 , and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020 . Workers rights and gender equality . Kaine is generally pro-union and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL-CIO , which praised his selection as Clintons running mate . But Kaine supports Virginias longstanding right-to-work law , which frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf . Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination . After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016 , Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women . Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage . Electoral history . - 2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election - 2005 gubernatorial election - 2012 U.S . Senate election - 2016 vice presidential election - 2018 U.S . Senate election Personal life . In November 1984 , Kaine married Anne Bright Holton , the daughter of A . Linwood Holton Jr. , a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974 . The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School . Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond . After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husbands term , she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginias secretary of education , and held that position until July 2016 , when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee . The couple has three children , one of whom is a United States Marine . As of 2016 , Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St . Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond , a mostly black congregation , for 30 years . Kaine plays the harmonica and often travels with several . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras . During the 2016 campaign , he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish . On May 28 , 2020 , Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies . Awards and honors . Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities , then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice ( 2000 ) , the Virginia Council of Churches Faith in Action Award ( 2009 ) , the University of Richmond School of Laws William Green Award for Professional Excellence ( 2012 ) , the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue ( 2014 ) , the Appalachian Trail Conservancys Congressional Award ( 2015 ) , and the Center for the National Interests Distinguished Service Award ( 2016 ) . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017 . Further reading . - Governor - Kaines Governor website ( Archived ) - Kaines Lieutenant governor website ( Archived ) - 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2007 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2009 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site , 2005–2006 part of Virginias Political Landscape , Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive , 2006–2010 - Kaine Email Project at the Library of Virginia External links . - U.S . Senate website - Campaign website |
[
"Virginia Governors"
] | easy | Tim Kaine took which position from 2006 to 2009? | /wiki/Tim_Kaine#P39#3 | Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26 , 1958 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 . Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clintons running mate . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , Kaine grew up in Overland Park , Kansas , graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri , and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law . He was first elected to public office in 1994 , when he won a seat on the Richmond City Council . He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010 . He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 . On July 22 , 2016 , Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27 . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8 , 2016 . Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018 , defeating Republican Corey Stewart . Early life and education . Kaine was born at Saint Josephs Hospital in St . Paul , Minnesota . He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen ( née Burns ) , a home economics teacher , and Albert Alexander Kaine , Jr. , a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop . He was raised Catholic . One of Kaines great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish . Kaines family moved to Overland Park , Kansas , when Kaine was two years old , and he grew up in the Kansas City area . In 1976 , he graduated from Rockhurst High School , a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City , Missouri . At Rockhurst , Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president . Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979 , completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude . He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978 . He entered Harvard Law School in 1979 , interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras for nine months from 1980 to 1981 , helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso . While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding , he also helped increase the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras . After returning from Honduras , Kaine met his future wife , first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton . He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D . degree in 1983 . Kaine and Holton moved to Holtons hometown of Richmond , Virginia , after graduation , and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984 . Legal career and Richmond City Council . After graduating from law school , Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R . Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit , in Macon , Georgia . He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little , Parsley & Cluverius , P.C . In 1987 , Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish , P.C . He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years , specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability . He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal , which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co . arising from the companys practices in Richmond . Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case ; the judgment was overturned on appeal , and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million settlement . Kaine did regular pro bono work . In 1988 , he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law . Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years ; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring . He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness . Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood , but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wifes family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings . In 1994 , he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond , defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A . Warthen by less than 100 votes . He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10 , 2001 , when he resigned and William J . Pantele was appointed to succeed him . He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A . Warthen by 97 votes . Kaine spent four terms on the city council , the latter two as mayor of Richmond . Mayor of Richmond ( 1998–2001 ) . On July 1 , 1998 , Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond , succeeding Larry Chavis . He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council , becoming the citys first white mayor in more than ten years , which was viewed as a surprise . Rudy McCollum , an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty , decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two , clearing the way for Kaine to win the election . Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial , with the city manager effectively operating the city ; Kaine treated it as a full-time job , taking a more hands-on role . As mayor , Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L . Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a magnet governors school , the Maggie L . Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies , which now serves the top students in Central Virginia . Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine . Along with Commonwealths attorney David Hicks , U.S . attorney James Comey , and police chief Jerry Oliver , Kaine was a supporter of Project Exile , an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court , where defendants faced harsher sentences . Though controversial , the effort was effective and achieved widespread support ; the citys homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaines mayoralty . Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor . On several occasions , Kaine voted against tax increases , and supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings , which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city . Forbes magazine named Richmond one of the 10 best cities in America to do business during Kaines term . According to John Moeser , a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmonds Center for Civic Engagement , Mayor Kaine was energetic , charismatic and , most important , spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond . The New York Times wrote that Kaine was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the citys racial divide . In the early part of his term , Kaine issued an apology for the citys role in slavery ; the apology was generally well received as a genuine , heartfelt expression . In the latter part of his term , a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E . Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls . Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls , while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain . Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty . His stance drew criticism from the NAACP ; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context , and that Much of our history is not pleasant ; you cant whitewash it . Kaines proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote . During his mayoralty , Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March , an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington , D.C. ; after a backlash , he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city . Lieutenant governor of Virginia ( 2002–2006 ) . Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement . In the Democratic primary election , Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A . Diamonstein of Newport News , and state delegate Jerrauld C . Jones of Norfolk . Kaine won the nomination , with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonsteins 31.4% and Joness 28.9% . In the general election , Kaine won with 925,974 votes ( 50.35% ) , edging out his Republican opponent , state delegate Jay Katzen , who received 883,886 ( 48.06% ) . Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes ( 1.57% ) . Kaine was inaugurated on January 12 , 2002 , and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton , a state judge . 2005 gubernatorial election . In 2005 , Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W . Kilgore , a former state attorney general . Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race , trailing in polls for most of the campaign . Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll . The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore . Kaine ultimately prevailed , winning 1,025,942 votes ( 51.7% ) to Kilgores 912,327 ( 46.0% ) . A third candidate , independent state Senator H . Russell Potts Jr. , ran as an independent Republican and received 43,953 votes ( 2.2% ) . Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message . He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues , an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs . He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor , Mark Warner , who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state . On the campaign trail , Kaine referred to the Warner-Kaine administration in speeches and received Warners strong backing . Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warners high popularity and President George W . Bushs sharply declining popularity ; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaigns final day . The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks , with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that Hitler doesnt qualify for the death penalty . The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate . The editorial boards of the Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a smear and dishonest . Kaine responded with an ad in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty . In later polls , voters said they believed Kaines response and were angered by Kilgores negative ads . In the election , Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginias inner suburbs ( such as Alexandria and Arlington ) , as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County . Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginias outer suburbs , including Prince William County and Loudoun County , where George W . Bush had beat John Kerry in the previous years presidential election , and performed surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake . Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs . Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley . Governor of Virginia ( 2006–2010 ) . Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg , on January 14 , 2006 , the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there . Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors Association from 2008 to 2009 . Democratic response to State of the Union address . On January 31 , 2006 , Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W . Bushs 2006 State of the Union address . In it , he criticized the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind Act for wreaking havoc on local school districts ; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs ; and condemned as reckless Bushs spending increases and tax cuts . Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia to make record investments in education and to improve veterans access to veterans benefits . He criticized the Bush administrations conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S . soldiers , saying that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq ; our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence ; and the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans benefits . Energy , the environment , and conservation . As governor , Kaine protected of Virginia land from development , fulfilling a promise he made in 2005 . His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements ( voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development ) ; a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements . From 2004 to 2009 , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ( a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state ) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years , a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close . As governor , Kaine established the Climate Change Commission , a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues . The panel was shuttered under Kaines Republican successor , Governor Robert F . McDonnell , but revived ( as the Governors Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission ) under McDonnells successor , Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe . In 2008 , Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County , clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project . In 2009 , Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration . Healthcare and public health . In October 2006 , Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1 , 2007 . He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars , with some exceptions , in March 2009 , making Virginia the first Southern state to do so . In 2007 , the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation , with overwhelming bipartisan support , to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine ( which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer ) before entering high school . Kaine expressed some qualms about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision , ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason . In 2007 , Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees , plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing masters programs . The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses . Virginia Tech shooting . After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting , in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people , Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel , chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W . Gerald Massengill , to probe the event . The commission members included specialists in psychology , law , forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge . The commission first met in May 2007 , and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007 . Among other recommendations , the panel proposed many mental health reforms . Based on the panels recommendations , Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms , included boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services , increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers . In April 2007 , Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers . Kaine , who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings , received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue . Budget and economy . Among Kaines greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis ; the Washington Post wrote that perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [ the crisis ] . Amid the Great Recession , unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average . During Kaines tenure as governor , the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4% , a smaller increase than the national rate , which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period . As governor , Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund spending cuts , and after his term in office , the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended , for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts . The Washington Post wrote , Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget , he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition . Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States . Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazines Best States For Business rankings . Infrastructure and transportation . In July 2007 , during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner , Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel , citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk . In 2006 , Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction , repairs to aging roads , mass transit , and other transportation projects . The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years . The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan , but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project , and the effort failed even after a special session of the legislature was called over the stalemate . In 2007 , Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill . Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements , as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored , the Republican bill called for transportation funding to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund ; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia ; increased fees and taxes on rental cars , commercial real estate , and hotels ; and increased traffic infraction fines and drivers licenses fees . Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation , calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care , law enforcement , and education . Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the states general fund . Education . Under Kaine , participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative , which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line . Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor . Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by Education Week and the Pew Center on the States . Cabinet and appointments . Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governors Cabinet : - Chief of Staff : William Leighty ( 2006–2007 ) , Wayne Turnage ( 2007–2010 ) - Secretary of Administration : Viola Baskerville ( 2006–2010 ) - Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry : Robert Bloxom ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Commerce and Trade : Patrick Gottschalk ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of the Commonwealth : Katherine Hanley ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Education : Thomas R . Morris ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Finance:Jody Wagner ( 2006–2008 ) , Ric Brown ( 2008–2010 ) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources : Marilyn Tavenner ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Natural Resources : Preston Bryant ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Public Safety : John W . Marshall ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Technology : Aneesh Chopra ( 2006–2009 ) , Leonard Pomata ( 2009–2010 ) - Secretary of Transportation : Pierce Homer ( 2006–2010 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Lawrence Roberts ( 2006–2009 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Mark Rubin ( 2009–2010 ) - Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness : Robert P . Crouch ( 2006–2010 ) - Senior Advisor for Workforce : Daniel G . LeBlanc ( 2006–2010 ) As governor , Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts . He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia , naming Chesapeake circuit judge S . Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007 and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F . Millette Jr . in 2008 . On September 27 , 2007 , just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration , Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bushs impeachment . He immediately requested and received Omeishs resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future . 2008 vice presidential speculation . Kaine announced his support for Barack Obamas presidential bid in February 2007 . It was maintained that Kaines endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of Illinois . Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state , there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president . Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor , saying , Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit . That kind of message can sell anywhere . On July 28 , 2008 , Politico reported that Kaine was very , very high on Obamas shortlist for vice president , a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas , Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana , and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware . Obama ultimately selected Biden . It was later reported that Obama told Kaine , in breaking the news to him , You are the pick of my heart , but Joe [ Biden ] is the pick of my head . Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden . He said , At the time , I was much closer to Tim , but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of two relatively young , inexperienced , and liberal civil rights attorneys and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength , and that Bidens age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president . Democratic National Committee chair ( 2009–2011 ) . In January 2009 , Kaine became chair of the Democratic National Committee . He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him , expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position , but took the job at Obamas request . He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia . Kaines main goals as DNC chair were protecting the partys seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the presidents campaign apparatus , Organizing for America , and its technological acumen into the party machinery . In the 2010 midterms , the DNC under Kaines leadership outraised the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) by $30 million , but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash . Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses . Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart , RNC chairman Michael Steele . He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents . In February 2011 , after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison , Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsins budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation . It made phone calls , sent emails , and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies . After completing his term as governor in January 2010 , Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond , teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law . He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution . United States Senate . 2012 election . After Senator Jim Webbs decision not to seek reelection , Kaine announced on April 5 , 2011 , that he would run for Webbs seat . He was initially reluctant to return to public office , but Webb , Senator Mark Warner , and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run . Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman . Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager . Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination . He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election . Tenure . Kaine was sworn in on January 3 , 2013 , reuniting him with Mark Warner , the senior senator . Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia . On June 11 , 2013 , Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill . The speech was entirely in Spanish , marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English . As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs , Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) . Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran , though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal . Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East , meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel . While in the Senate , Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond , receiving a salary of $16,000 per year . Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time . According to the Washington Post , Kaine has crafted a largely progressive record as a senator . He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators . During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign , Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump , saying that Trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death and had a bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders . In 2017 , after Trump took office , Kaine continued to criticize his authoritarian tendencies , citing his attacks on media , judges , and peaceful protesters . At an event at George Mason University , Kaine said that with Trump in office , Americans are in a living experiment to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power . In February 2017 , Kaine met with Pope Francis at a general audience at the Vatican . Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues . The same month , Kaine delivered an address , The Truman Doctrine at 70 , at Londons Chatham House . Committee assignments and caucuses . In the 113th Congress ( 2013–15 ) , Kaine was on the Committee on Armed Services , the Committee on the Budget , and the Committee on Foreign Relations . In the 114th Congress , Kaine was on those three committees and the Special Committee on Aging . In July 2013 , Kaine was named chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia and Counterterrorism . Within the Senate Armed Services Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities , the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support ( of which he is the ranking member ) , and the Subcommittee on Seapower . Within the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( of which he is the ranking member ) , the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation , the Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia , and Counterterrorism , and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Womens Issues . In January 2014 , Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus ( CTE Caucus ) , which focuses on vocational education and technical education . Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus . In 2014 , Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate ; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding , distributed by competitive grants , to high schools to further CTE programs . The legislation , introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D . Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 , would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives . Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation , the Educating Tomorrows Workforce Act , in 2017 . 2016 vice-presidential campaign . Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries . He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton , with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clintons list of people under consideration alongside figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro . The New York Times reported that Clintons husband , former president Bill Clinton , supported Kaine as his wifes vice-presidential selection , noting his domestic and national security résumé . On July 22 , 2016 , she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election . Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27 , 2016 . Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket , and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840 ; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler . In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S. , upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years . He also publicly released medical records ; his physician , Brian P . Monahan , the Attending Physician of the United States Congress , wrote that Kaine was in overall excellent health . In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton , Stronger Together . In Kaines preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016 , lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence . ( During Pences own debate preparations , Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine. ) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trumps comments , while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting . According to ABC News , Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate , while Pence interrupted 40 times . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8 , 2016 . This is the only election Kaine has ever lost . Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia , the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket , a victory attributed in part to Kaine . 2018 election . After the 2016 election , Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 . He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner , who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years . He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future . In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart , Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch , marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat . After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart , Kaine worked to support other Democrats who , in seven districts , were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats . Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points . Personality and leadership style . About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia . Politico conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a media-savvy and detail-oriented micro-manager who is also a policy wonk . According to The New York Times , Kaine is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith . On Meet the Press , Kaine called himself boring . Political positions . In terms of political ideology , FiveThirtyEight gives Kaine an average score of −37 ( −100 is the most liberal , and 100 is the most conservative ) . FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a mainstream Democrat and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden . Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union , the Club for Growth , and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016 , while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014 . The New York Times wrote that in hyperpartisan Washington , he is often seen as a centrist while also describing him as an old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals . Abortion , birth control , and sex education . Kaine , a Roman Catholic , personally opposes abortion , but is largely inclined to keep the law out of womens reproductive decisions . He has said , Im a strong supporter of Roe v . Wade and women being able to make these decisions . In government , we have enough things to worry about . We dont need to make peoples reproductive decisions for them . Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion , such as requiring parental consent for minors ( with a judicial bypass procedure ) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the womans life is not at risk . In 2009 , Kaine signed a bill to create a Choose Life license plate , among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered , the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International , a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers . Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaines decision . Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was in keeping with the commonwealths longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages . Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for not providing a broad enough religious employer exemption in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act , but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization . In 2005 , when running for governor , Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother ; Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education ; Ensuring womens access to health care ( including legal contraception ) and economic opportunity ; and Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies . In 2007 , as governor , Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs , citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective , while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective . Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught , and that education should be evidence-based . As a senator , Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL . He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee . Campaign finance . Kaine strongly disagrees with Citizens United v . FEC ( 2010 ) . In 2015 , Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics . They urged the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders to increase transparency in the U.S . political process . Capital punishment . Kaine personally opposes capital punishment , but presided over 11 executions while governor . He said , I really struggled with [ capital punishment ] as governor . I have a moral position against the death penalty . But I took an oath of office to uphold it . Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation . During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008 , that of Percy Levar Walton , to life imprisonment without parole on grounds of mental incompetence , writing that one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional . Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes , saying : I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs . Some of the vetoes were overridden . On July 31 , 2019 , after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years , Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty . Environment , energy , and climate change . Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change , and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers , as well as those who may not deny the climate science , but .. . deny that the U.S . can or should be a leader in taking any steps to address the issue . Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise ( a major consequence of climate change ) , and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia . In 2014 , he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S . Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the Hampton Roads area . Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner , saying that it is imperative to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today . He has criticized those who frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment , saying that protecting the environment is good for the economy . Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation ( ACCTION ) Act , legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies . He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline . Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ) to harvest natural gas from shale formations . He believes this will reduce carbon pollution . Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act . As a result , regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies ; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit . Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) to other countries . Like his fellow senator from Virginia , Mark Warner , Kaine applauded the U.S . Forest Services plan to close most , but not all , of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities . In 2013 , Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia , saying , I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling , based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago , should be reexamined . In April 2015 , Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling . In March 2016 , Kaine signaled that his position was softening , saying he was particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginias coast.. . I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before . By August 2016 , Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling , bringing his position in line with Hillary Clintons and the Obama administrations . Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines . Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate , the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018 , and a 94% lifetime score . ( At the time of his vice-presidential campaign , Kaine had an 88% score for 2015 , and a 91% lifetime score. ) In March 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019 , legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic , which Trump had dismantled in 2017 . The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage ( CCUS ) , arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trumps 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research . Financial regulation . Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . In July 2016 , he signed a bipartisan letter that urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to carefully tailor its rulemaking [ under Dodd-Frank ] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to unduly burden these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks . The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation . Democracy for America executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy . Kaine responded , its important you dont treat every financial institution the same . It wasnt credit unions that tanked the economy , it wasnt local community banks that tanked the economy , generally wasnt regional banks that did things that tanked the economy . He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened . Foreign and defense policy . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran . Kaine expressed support for Israels right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . In September 2016 , in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories , he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto one-sided resolutions against Israel . In 2015 , Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi , but in 2018 , he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that they found it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of the Trump administrations certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S . laws on arms sales , citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties . Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi . In July 2017 , Kaine voted for the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran , Russia , and North Korea . In 2019 , Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S . foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill . The letter said that Trump had consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S . foreign assistance , viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and collective security . The senators wrote that U.S . foreign assistance to Central American countries , by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region , reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S . In 2019 , Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act , a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt Chinas consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea . Grand strategy and democracy promotion . After the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy . According to Kaine , American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant Americas previous grand strategy , which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine . This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random , complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile . To remedy this , Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion . His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power , with one pole being democratic states including the U.S . and its allies , the second autocratic powers led by Russia and China , and the third nonstate actors ( multinational corporations , NGOs , gangs , etc. ) . First , Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries , as democracy globally has been declining for many years . To maintain democracy in democratic countries , Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization consisting of all the worlds democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion . He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy . Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic , as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate . In this way , Kaine says that the U.S . should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation , but rather the exemplary democracy . Second , Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states . Depending on the circumstances , democracies should either confront , compete , or cooperate with autocracies . For example , Kaine observes that the U.S . competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances , and confronts them by decrying their human rights records . Finally , Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests , such as combating climate change . In July 2017 , Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the Brookings Institution with international relations scholar Robert Kagan . Afghanistan . Kaines website states , The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can , consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region . Latin America . Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas , saying , We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas , in particular , and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there . War powers . Kaine is known for expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency and has said that war powers questions are a personal obsession of his . He has stressed that under the Constitution , Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress . Kaine called the 2018 U.S . missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval . Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 , which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973 , bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S . military forces . The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee , with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict . Kaine argued for the bill by citing his frustration over the sloppiness of process and communication over decisions of war , noting that presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions . We all have to do better . In February 2018 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with a preventative or preemptive U.S . military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority without congressional approval . In January 2020 , Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S . from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat . The next month , the measure passed the Senate 55–45 , securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats . Trump vetoed the measure , and the Senate failed to override the veto . Syria , Iraq , and ISIL . In 2014 , Kaine argued that the U.S . military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL . In November 2014 , at the Halifax International Security Forum , Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization , saying : You just cant have a war without Congress . You cant ask people to risk their lives , risk getting killed , seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isnt willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say , this is a national mission and worth it . After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria , ordered by Trump , Kaine said , There is no legal justification for this . He should not have done this without coming to Congress . On Meet the Press , Kaine said , Im a strong supporter that the U.S . should take action to protect humanitarian causes , like the ban on chemical weapons . Where I differ from this administration , and I took the same position with respect to President Obama , we are a nation thats not supposed to take military action , start war , without a plan thats presented to and approved by Congress . On December 11 , 2014 , after a five-month campaign by Kaine , the U.S . Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 ( along party lines ) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops . In October 2015 , Kaine criticized Obamas approach to the Syrian Civil War , saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria . In April 2018 , Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress , calling the strike an illegal military act . On February 26 , 2021 , Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving legal justification to members of Congress beforehand . Firearms . Kaine is a firearms owner . He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines . As governor , Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns . In the Senate , he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet . He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List . In November 2017 , Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act , a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms . In March 2018 , Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond ( HEAR ) Act , legislation that would ban suppressors being imported , sold , made , sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others . The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting , in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor . Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the NRA . Health care . Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 ( Obamacare ) , saying in 2012 , I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act . I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror . In 2013 , he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated , but criticized Republicans for wrapping them up with the threat of a federal government shutdown . In 2018 , Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of Medicare X—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options . The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanderss push for Medicare for All ( single-payer health care ) . In December 2018 , Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar , Seema Verma , and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions . The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and re-engage with stakeholders , states , and Congress . In January 2019 , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019 , a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis . It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care . In December 2016 , Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs . In February 2017 , he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio , the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation , and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year . In February 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company , Novo Nordisk , and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack access to the life-saving medications they need . In August 2019 , Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act . The senators wrote , Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets ; therefore , we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court . In September 2019 , amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as families in Virginia , West Virginia , Wyoming , Alabama , Colorado , North Dakota and New Mexico would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month . Immigration . Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability ( DAPA ) programs , which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States . Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress , he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the Supreme Court case United States v . Texas . Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform , which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S . to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes . In July 2019 , following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses , parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation , Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse , children , or parents will be deported while they are away and that the its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat . In July 2019 , Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act , a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at sensitive locations ( schools , hospitals , places of worship , and courthouses ) except in special circumstances . The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations . LGBT rights . In 2006 , Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage , and in March 2013 , he announced his support of same-sex marriage . In the Senate , Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act , which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . In 2005 , Kaine said , No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple . Thats the right policy . In 2011 , he shifted his position . In 2012 , he said , there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple . During the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend . He predicted that the Roman Catholic Church would someday adopt his view . In response , two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S . Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the churchs position cannot change and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage . In October 2018 , Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the State Departments policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries , writing that the Trump administrations refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S . was tantamount to upholding the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Departments decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month . The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant . The authors said that the State Departments moves had sent signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority . Taxes . Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000 . In 2012 , Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA ( Social Security ) payroll tax so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan , which would greatly extend the solvency of the ( Social Security ) program . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act , which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers . Trade . Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority ( TPA or fast track ) to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements . He said the goal should be to negotiate deals that protect workers rights , environmental standards and intellectual property , while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out . In July 2016 , Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) agreement was an improvement of the status quo and an upgrade of labor standards.. . environmental standards.. . intellectual property protections , but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement , citing significant concerns over TPPs dispute resolution mechanism . Later that July , Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form . Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA . Transportation , growth , and housing . Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies ( which he calls a balanced approach to growth ) to control sprawl and improve transportation . He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit , bicycles , and pedestrians . As governor , Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative . Under Kaine , Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded . He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009 . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S . Department of Housing and Urban Developments Section 4 Capacity Building program , a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations . The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development , opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trumps budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020 , and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020 . Workers rights and gender equality . Kaine is generally pro-union and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL-CIO , which praised his selection as Clintons running mate . But Kaine supports Virginias longstanding right-to-work law , which frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf . Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination . After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016 , Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women . Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage . Electoral history . - 2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election - 2005 gubernatorial election - 2012 U.S . Senate election - 2016 vice presidential election - 2018 U.S . Senate election Personal life . In November 1984 , Kaine married Anne Bright Holton , the daughter of A . Linwood Holton Jr. , a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974 . The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School . Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond . After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husbands term , she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginias secretary of education , and held that position until July 2016 , when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee . The couple has three children , one of whom is a United States Marine . As of 2016 , Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St . Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond , a mostly black congregation , for 30 years . Kaine plays the harmonica and often travels with several . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras . During the 2016 campaign , he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish . On May 28 , 2020 , Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies . Awards and honors . Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities , then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice ( 2000 ) , the Virginia Council of Churches Faith in Action Award ( 2009 ) , the University of Richmond School of Laws William Green Award for Professional Excellence ( 2012 ) , the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue ( 2014 ) , the Appalachian Trail Conservancys Congressional Award ( 2015 ) , and the Center for the National Interests Distinguished Service Award ( 2016 ) . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017 . Further reading . - Governor - Kaines Governor website ( Archived ) - Kaines Lieutenant governor website ( Archived ) - 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2007 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2009 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site , 2005–2006 part of Virginias Political Landscape , Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive , 2006–2010 - Kaine Email Project at the Library of Virginia External links . - U.S . Senate website - Campaign website |
[
"chair of the Democratic National Committee"
] | easy | What was the position of Tim Kaine from 2009 to 2011? | /wiki/Tim_Kaine#P39#4 | Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26 , 1958 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 . Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clintons running mate . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , Kaine grew up in Overland Park , Kansas , graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri , and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law . He was first elected to public office in 1994 , when he won a seat on the Richmond City Council . He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010 . He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 . On July 22 , 2016 , Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27 . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8 , 2016 . Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018 , defeating Republican Corey Stewart . Early life and education . Kaine was born at Saint Josephs Hospital in St . Paul , Minnesota . He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen ( née Burns ) , a home economics teacher , and Albert Alexander Kaine , Jr. , a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop . He was raised Catholic . One of Kaines great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish . Kaines family moved to Overland Park , Kansas , when Kaine was two years old , and he grew up in the Kansas City area . In 1976 , he graduated from Rockhurst High School , a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City , Missouri . At Rockhurst , Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president . Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979 , completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude . He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978 . He entered Harvard Law School in 1979 , interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras for nine months from 1980 to 1981 , helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso . While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding , he also helped increase the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras . After returning from Honduras , Kaine met his future wife , first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton . He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D . degree in 1983 . Kaine and Holton moved to Holtons hometown of Richmond , Virginia , after graduation , and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984 . Legal career and Richmond City Council . After graduating from law school , Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R . Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit , in Macon , Georgia . He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little , Parsley & Cluverius , P.C . In 1987 , Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish , P.C . He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years , specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability . He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal , which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co . arising from the companys practices in Richmond . Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case ; the judgment was overturned on appeal , and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million settlement . Kaine did regular pro bono work . In 1988 , he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law . Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years ; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring . He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness . Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood , but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wifes family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings . In 1994 , he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond , defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A . Warthen by less than 100 votes . He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10 , 2001 , when he resigned and William J . Pantele was appointed to succeed him . He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A . Warthen by 97 votes . Kaine spent four terms on the city council , the latter two as mayor of Richmond . Mayor of Richmond ( 1998–2001 ) . On July 1 , 1998 , Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond , succeeding Larry Chavis . He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council , becoming the citys first white mayor in more than ten years , which was viewed as a surprise . Rudy McCollum , an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty , decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two , clearing the way for Kaine to win the election . Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial , with the city manager effectively operating the city ; Kaine treated it as a full-time job , taking a more hands-on role . As mayor , Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L . Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a magnet governors school , the Maggie L . Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies , which now serves the top students in Central Virginia . Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine . Along with Commonwealths attorney David Hicks , U.S . attorney James Comey , and police chief Jerry Oliver , Kaine was a supporter of Project Exile , an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court , where defendants faced harsher sentences . Though controversial , the effort was effective and achieved widespread support ; the citys homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaines mayoralty . Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor . On several occasions , Kaine voted against tax increases , and supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings , which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city . Forbes magazine named Richmond one of the 10 best cities in America to do business during Kaines term . According to John Moeser , a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmonds Center for Civic Engagement , Mayor Kaine was energetic , charismatic and , most important , spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond . The New York Times wrote that Kaine was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the citys racial divide . In the early part of his term , Kaine issued an apology for the citys role in slavery ; the apology was generally well received as a genuine , heartfelt expression . In the latter part of his term , a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E . Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls . Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls , while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain . Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty . His stance drew criticism from the NAACP ; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context , and that Much of our history is not pleasant ; you cant whitewash it . Kaines proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote . During his mayoralty , Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March , an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington , D.C. ; after a backlash , he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city . Lieutenant governor of Virginia ( 2002–2006 ) . Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement . In the Democratic primary election , Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A . Diamonstein of Newport News , and state delegate Jerrauld C . Jones of Norfolk . Kaine won the nomination , with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonsteins 31.4% and Joness 28.9% . In the general election , Kaine won with 925,974 votes ( 50.35% ) , edging out his Republican opponent , state delegate Jay Katzen , who received 883,886 ( 48.06% ) . Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes ( 1.57% ) . Kaine was inaugurated on January 12 , 2002 , and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton , a state judge . 2005 gubernatorial election . In 2005 , Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W . Kilgore , a former state attorney general . Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race , trailing in polls for most of the campaign . Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll . The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore . Kaine ultimately prevailed , winning 1,025,942 votes ( 51.7% ) to Kilgores 912,327 ( 46.0% ) . A third candidate , independent state Senator H . Russell Potts Jr. , ran as an independent Republican and received 43,953 votes ( 2.2% ) . Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message . He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues , an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs . He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor , Mark Warner , who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state . On the campaign trail , Kaine referred to the Warner-Kaine administration in speeches and received Warners strong backing . Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warners high popularity and President George W . Bushs sharply declining popularity ; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaigns final day . The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks , with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that Hitler doesnt qualify for the death penalty . The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate . The editorial boards of the Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a smear and dishonest . Kaine responded with an ad in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty . In later polls , voters said they believed Kaines response and were angered by Kilgores negative ads . In the election , Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginias inner suburbs ( such as Alexandria and Arlington ) , as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County . Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginias outer suburbs , including Prince William County and Loudoun County , where George W . Bush had beat John Kerry in the previous years presidential election , and performed surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake . Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs . Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley . Governor of Virginia ( 2006–2010 ) . Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg , on January 14 , 2006 , the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there . Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors Association from 2008 to 2009 . Democratic response to State of the Union address . On January 31 , 2006 , Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W . Bushs 2006 State of the Union address . In it , he criticized the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind Act for wreaking havoc on local school districts ; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs ; and condemned as reckless Bushs spending increases and tax cuts . Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia to make record investments in education and to improve veterans access to veterans benefits . He criticized the Bush administrations conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S . soldiers , saying that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq ; our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence ; and the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans benefits . Energy , the environment , and conservation . As governor , Kaine protected of Virginia land from development , fulfilling a promise he made in 2005 . His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements ( voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development ) ; a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements . From 2004 to 2009 , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ( a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state ) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years , a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close . As governor , Kaine established the Climate Change Commission , a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues . The panel was shuttered under Kaines Republican successor , Governor Robert F . McDonnell , but revived ( as the Governors Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission ) under McDonnells successor , Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe . In 2008 , Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County , clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project . In 2009 , Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration . Healthcare and public health . In October 2006 , Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1 , 2007 . He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars , with some exceptions , in March 2009 , making Virginia the first Southern state to do so . In 2007 , the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation , with overwhelming bipartisan support , to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine ( which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer ) before entering high school . Kaine expressed some qualms about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision , ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason . In 2007 , Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees , plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing masters programs . The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses . Virginia Tech shooting . After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting , in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people , Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel , chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W . Gerald Massengill , to probe the event . The commission members included specialists in psychology , law , forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge . The commission first met in May 2007 , and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007 . Among other recommendations , the panel proposed many mental health reforms . Based on the panels recommendations , Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms , included boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services , increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers . In April 2007 , Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers . Kaine , who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings , received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue . Budget and economy . Among Kaines greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis ; the Washington Post wrote that perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [ the crisis ] . Amid the Great Recession , unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average . During Kaines tenure as governor , the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4% , a smaller increase than the national rate , which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period . As governor , Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund spending cuts , and after his term in office , the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended , for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts . The Washington Post wrote , Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget , he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition . Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States . Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazines Best States For Business rankings . Infrastructure and transportation . In July 2007 , during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner , Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel , citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk . In 2006 , Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction , repairs to aging roads , mass transit , and other transportation projects . The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years . The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan , but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project , and the effort failed even after a special session of the legislature was called over the stalemate . In 2007 , Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill . Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements , as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored , the Republican bill called for transportation funding to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund ; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia ; increased fees and taxes on rental cars , commercial real estate , and hotels ; and increased traffic infraction fines and drivers licenses fees . Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation , calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care , law enforcement , and education . Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the states general fund . Education . Under Kaine , participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative , which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line . Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor . Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by Education Week and the Pew Center on the States . Cabinet and appointments . Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governors Cabinet : - Chief of Staff : William Leighty ( 2006–2007 ) , Wayne Turnage ( 2007–2010 ) - Secretary of Administration : Viola Baskerville ( 2006–2010 ) - Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry : Robert Bloxom ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Commerce and Trade : Patrick Gottschalk ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of the Commonwealth : Katherine Hanley ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Education : Thomas R . Morris ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Finance:Jody Wagner ( 2006–2008 ) , Ric Brown ( 2008–2010 ) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources : Marilyn Tavenner ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Natural Resources : Preston Bryant ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Public Safety : John W . Marshall ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Technology : Aneesh Chopra ( 2006–2009 ) , Leonard Pomata ( 2009–2010 ) - Secretary of Transportation : Pierce Homer ( 2006–2010 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Lawrence Roberts ( 2006–2009 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Mark Rubin ( 2009–2010 ) - Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness : Robert P . Crouch ( 2006–2010 ) - Senior Advisor for Workforce : Daniel G . LeBlanc ( 2006–2010 ) As governor , Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts . He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia , naming Chesapeake circuit judge S . Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007 and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F . Millette Jr . in 2008 . On September 27 , 2007 , just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration , Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bushs impeachment . He immediately requested and received Omeishs resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future . 2008 vice presidential speculation . Kaine announced his support for Barack Obamas presidential bid in February 2007 . It was maintained that Kaines endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of Illinois . Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state , there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president . Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor , saying , Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit . That kind of message can sell anywhere . On July 28 , 2008 , Politico reported that Kaine was very , very high on Obamas shortlist for vice president , a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas , Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana , and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware . Obama ultimately selected Biden . It was later reported that Obama told Kaine , in breaking the news to him , You are the pick of my heart , but Joe [ Biden ] is the pick of my head . Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden . He said , At the time , I was much closer to Tim , but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of two relatively young , inexperienced , and liberal civil rights attorneys and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength , and that Bidens age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president . Democratic National Committee chair ( 2009–2011 ) . In January 2009 , Kaine became chair of the Democratic National Committee . He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him , expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position , but took the job at Obamas request . He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia . Kaines main goals as DNC chair were protecting the partys seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the presidents campaign apparatus , Organizing for America , and its technological acumen into the party machinery . In the 2010 midterms , the DNC under Kaines leadership outraised the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) by $30 million , but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash . Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses . Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart , RNC chairman Michael Steele . He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents . In February 2011 , after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison , Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsins budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation . It made phone calls , sent emails , and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies . After completing his term as governor in January 2010 , Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond , teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law . He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution . United States Senate . 2012 election . After Senator Jim Webbs decision not to seek reelection , Kaine announced on April 5 , 2011 , that he would run for Webbs seat . He was initially reluctant to return to public office , but Webb , Senator Mark Warner , and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run . Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman . Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager . Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination . He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election . Tenure . Kaine was sworn in on January 3 , 2013 , reuniting him with Mark Warner , the senior senator . Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia . On June 11 , 2013 , Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill . The speech was entirely in Spanish , marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English . As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs , Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) . Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran , though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal . Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East , meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel . While in the Senate , Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond , receiving a salary of $16,000 per year . Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time . According to the Washington Post , Kaine has crafted a largely progressive record as a senator . He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators . During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign , Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump , saying that Trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death and had a bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders . In 2017 , after Trump took office , Kaine continued to criticize his authoritarian tendencies , citing his attacks on media , judges , and peaceful protesters . At an event at George Mason University , Kaine said that with Trump in office , Americans are in a living experiment to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power . In February 2017 , Kaine met with Pope Francis at a general audience at the Vatican . Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues . The same month , Kaine delivered an address , The Truman Doctrine at 70 , at Londons Chatham House . Committee assignments and caucuses . In the 113th Congress ( 2013–15 ) , Kaine was on the Committee on Armed Services , the Committee on the Budget , and the Committee on Foreign Relations . In the 114th Congress , Kaine was on those three committees and the Special Committee on Aging . In July 2013 , Kaine was named chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia and Counterterrorism . Within the Senate Armed Services Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities , the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support ( of which he is the ranking member ) , and the Subcommittee on Seapower . Within the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( of which he is the ranking member ) , the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation , the Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia , and Counterterrorism , and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Womens Issues . In January 2014 , Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus ( CTE Caucus ) , which focuses on vocational education and technical education . Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus . In 2014 , Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate ; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding , distributed by competitive grants , to high schools to further CTE programs . The legislation , introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D . Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 , would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives . Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation , the Educating Tomorrows Workforce Act , in 2017 . 2016 vice-presidential campaign . Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries . He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton , with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clintons list of people under consideration alongside figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro . The New York Times reported that Clintons husband , former president Bill Clinton , supported Kaine as his wifes vice-presidential selection , noting his domestic and national security résumé . On July 22 , 2016 , she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election . Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27 , 2016 . Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket , and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840 ; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler . In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S. , upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years . He also publicly released medical records ; his physician , Brian P . Monahan , the Attending Physician of the United States Congress , wrote that Kaine was in overall excellent health . In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton , Stronger Together . In Kaines preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016 , lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence . ( During Pences own debate preparations , Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine. ) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trumps comments , while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting . According to ABC News , Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate , while Pence interrupted 40 times . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8 , 2016 . This is the only election Kaine has ever lost . Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia , the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket , a victory attributed in part to Kaine . 2018 election . After the 2016 election , Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 . He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner , who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years . He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future . In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart , Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch , marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat . After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart , Kaine worked to support other Democrats who , in seven districts , were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats . Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points . Personality and leadership style . About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia . Politico conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a media-savvy and detail-oriented micro-manager who is also a policy wonk . According to The New York Times , Kaine is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith . On Meet the Press , Kaine called himself boring . Political positions . In terms of political ideology , FiveThirtyEight gives Kaine an average score of −37 ( −100 is the most liberal , and 100 is the most conservative ) . FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a mainstream Democrat and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden . Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union , the Club for Growth , and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016 , while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014 . The New York Times wrote that in hyperpartisan Washington , he is often seen as a centrist while also describing him as an old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals . Abortion , birth control , and sex education . Kaine , a Roman Catholic , personally opposes abortion , but is largely inclined to keep the law out of womens reproductive decisions . He has said , Im a strong supporter of Roe v . Wade and women being able to make these decisions . In government , we have enough things to worry about . We dont need to make peoples reproductive decisions for them . Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion , such as requiring parental consent for minors ( with a judicial bypass procedure ) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the womans life is not at risk . In 2009 , Kaine signed a bill to create a Choose Life license plate , among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered , the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International , a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers . Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaines decision . Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was in keeping with the commonwealths longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages . Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for not providing a broad enough religious employer exemption in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act , but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization . In 2005 , when running for governor , Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother ; Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education ; Ensuring womens access to health care ( including legal contraception ) and economic opportunity ; and Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies . In 2007 , as governor , Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs , citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective , while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective . Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught , and that education should be evidence-based . As a senator , Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL . He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee . Campaign finance . Kaine strongly disagrees with Citizens United v . FEC ( 2010 ) . In 2015 , Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics . They urged the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders to increase transparency in the U.S . political process . Capital punishment . Kaine personally opposes capital punishment , but presided over 11 executions while governor . He said , I really struggled with [ capital punishment ] as governor . I have a moral position against the death penalty . But I took an oath of office to uphold it . Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation . During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008 , that of Percy Levar Walton , to life imprisonment without parole on grounds of mental incompetence , writing that one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional . Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes , saying : I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs . Some of the vetoes were overridden . On July 31 , 2019 , after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years , Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty . Environment , energy , and climate change . Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change , and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers , as well as those who may not deny the climate science , but .. . deny that the U.S . can or should be a leader in taking any steps to address the issue . Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise ( a major consequence of climate change ) , and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia . In 2014 , he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S . Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the Hampton Roads area . Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner , saying that it is imperative to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today . He has criticized those who frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment , saying that protecting the environment is good for the economy . Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation ( ACCTION ) Act , legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies . He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline . Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ) to harvest natural gas from shale formations . He believes this will reduce carbon pollution . Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act . As a result , regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies ; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit . Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) to other countries . Like his fellow senator from Virginia , Mark Warner , Kaine applauded the U.S . Forest Services plan to close most , but not all , of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities . In 2013 , Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia , saying , I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling , based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago , should be reexamined . In April 2015 , Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling . In March 2016 , Kaine signaled that his position was softening , saying he was particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginias coast.. . I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before . By August 2016 , Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling , bringing his position in line with Hillary Clintons and the Obama administrations . Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines . Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate , the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018 , and a 94% lifetime score . ( At the time of his vice-presidential campaign , Kaine had an 88% score for 2015 , and a 91% lifetime score. ) In March 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019 , legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic , which Trump had dismantled in 2017 . The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage ( CCUS ) , arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trumps 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research . Financial regulation . Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . In July 2016 , he signed a bipartisan letter that urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to carefully tailor its rulemaking [ under Dodd-Frank ] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to unduly burden these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks . The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation . Democracy for America executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy . Kaine responded , its important you dont treat every financial institution the same . It wasnt credit unions that tanked the economy , it wasnt local community banks that tanked the economy , generally wasnt regional banks that did things that tanked the economy . He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened . Foreign and defense policy . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran . Kaine expressed support for Israels right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . In September 2016 , in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories , he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto one-sided resolutions against Israel . In 2015 , Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi , but in 2018 , he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that they found it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of the Trump administrations certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S . laws on arms sales , citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties . Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi . In July 2017 , Kaine voted for the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran , Russia , and North Korea . In 2019 , Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S . foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill . The letter said that Trump had consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S . foreign assistance , viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and collective security . The senators wrote that U.S . foreign assistance to Central American countries , by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region , reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S . In 2019 , Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act , a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt Chinas consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea . Grand strategy and democracy promotion . After the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy . According to Kaine , American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant Americas previous grand strategy , which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine . This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random , complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile . To remedy this , Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion . His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power , with one pole being democratic states including the U.S . and its allies , the second autocratic powers led by Russia and China , and the third nonstate actors ( multinational corporations , NGOs , gangs , etc. ) . First , Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries , as democracy globally has been declining for many years . To maintain democracy in democratic countries , Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization consisting of all the worlds democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion . He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy . Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic , as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate . In this way , Kaine says that the U.S . should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation , but rather the exemplary democracy . Second , Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states . Depending on the circumstances , democracies should either confront , compete , or cooperate with autocracies . For example , Kaine observes that the U.S . competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances , and confronts them by decrying their human rights records . Finally , Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests , such as combating climate change . In July 2017 , Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the Brookings Institution with international relations scholar Robert Kagan . Afghanistan . Kaines website states , The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can , consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region . Latin America . Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas , saying , We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas , in particular , and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there . War powers . Kaine is known for expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency and has said that war powers questions are a personal obsession of his . He has stressed that under the Constitution , Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress . Kaine called the 2018 U.S . missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval . Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 , which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973 , bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S . military forces . The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee , with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict . Kaine argued for the bill by citing his frustration over the sloppiness of process and communication over decisions of war , noting that presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions . We all have to do better . In February 2018 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with a preventative or preemptive U.S . military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority without congressional approval . In January 2020 , Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S . from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat . The next month , the measure passed the Senate 55–45 , securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats . Trump vetoed the measure , and the Senate failed to override the veto . Syria , Iraq , and ISIL . In 2014 , Kaine argued that the U.S . military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL . In November 2014 , at the Halifax International Security Forum , Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization , saying : You just cant have a war without Congress . You cant ask people to risk their lives , risk getting killed , seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isnt willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say , this is a national mission and worth it . After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria , ordered by Trump , Kaine said , There is no legal justification for this . He should not have done this without coming to Congress . On Meet the Press , Kaine said , Im a strong supporter that the U.S . should take action to protect humanitarian causes , like the ban on chemical weapons . Where I differ from this administration , and I took the same position with respect to President Obama , we are a nation thats not supposed to take military action , start war , without a plan thats presented to and approved by Congress . On December 11 , 2014 , after a five-month campaign by Kaine , the U.S . Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 ( along party lines ) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops . In October 2015 , Kaine criticized Obamas approach to the Syrian Civil War , saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria . In April 2018 , Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress , calling the strike an illegal military act . On February 26 , 2021 , Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving legal justification to members of Congress beforehand . Firearms . Kaine is a firearms owner . He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines . As governor , Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns . In the Senate , he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet . He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List . In November 2017 , Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act , a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms . In March 2018 , Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond ( HEAR ) Act , legislation that would ban suppressors being imported , sold , made , sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others . The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting , in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor . Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the NRA . Health care . Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 ( Obamacare ) , saying in 2012 , I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act . I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror . In 2013 , he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated , but criticized Republicans for wrapping them up with the threat of a federal government shutdown . In 2018 , Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of Medicare X—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options . The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanderss push for Medicare for All ( single-payer health care ) . In December 2018 , Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar , Seema Verma , and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions . The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and re-engage with stakeholders , states , and Congress . In January 2019 , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019 , a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis . It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care . In December 2016 , Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs . In February 2017 , he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio , the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation , and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year . In February 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company , Novo Nordisk , and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack access to the life-saving medications they need . In August 2019 , Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act . The senators wrote , Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets ; therefore , we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court . In September 2019 , amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as families in Virginia , West Virginia , Wyoming , Alabama , Colorado , North Dakota and New Mexico would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month . Immigration . Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability ( DAPA ) programs , which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States . Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress , he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the Supreme Court case United States v . Texas . Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform , which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S . to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes . In July 2019 , following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses , parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation , Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse , children , or parents will be deported while they are away and that the its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat . In July 2019 , Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act , a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at sensitive locations ( schools , hospitals , places of worship , and courthouses ) except in special circumstances . The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations . LGBT rights . In 2006 , Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage , and in March 2013 , he announced his support of same-sex marriage . In the Senate , Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act , which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . In 2005 , Kaine said , No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple . Thats the right policy . In 2011 , he shifted his position . In 2012 , he said , there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple . During the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend . He predicted that the Roman Catholic Church would someday adopt his view . In response , two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S . Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the churchs position cannot change and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage . In October 2018 , Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the State Departments policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries , writing that the Trump administrations refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S . was tantamount to upholding the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Departments decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month . The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant . The authors said that the State Departments moves had sent signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority . Taxes . Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000 . In 2012 , Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA ( Social Security ) payroll tax so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan , which would greatly extend the solvency of the ( Social Security ) program . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act , which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers . Trade . Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority ( TPA or fast track ) to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements . He said the goal should be to negotiate deals that protect workers rights , environmental standards and intellectual property , while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out . In July 2016 , Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) agreement was an improvement of the status quo and an upgrade of labor standards.. . environmental standards.. . intellectual property protections , but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement , citing significant concerns over TPPs dispute resolution mechanism . Later that July , Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form . Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA . Transportation , growth , and housing . Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies ( which he calls a balanced approach to growth ) to control sprawl and improve transportation . He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit , bicycles , and pedestrians . As governor , Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative . Under Kaine , Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded . He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009 . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S . Department of Housing and Urban Developments Section 4 Capacity Building program , a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations . The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development , opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trumps budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020 , and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020 . Workers rights and gender equality . Kaine is generally pro-union and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL-CIO , which praised his selection as Clintons running mate . But Kaine supports Virginias longstanding right-to-work law , which frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf . Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination . After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016 , Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women . Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage . Electoral history . - 2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election - 2005 gubernatorial election - 2012 U.S . Senate election - 2016 vice presidential election - 2018 U.S . Senate election Personal life . In November 1984 , Kaine married Anne Bright Holton , the daughter of A . Linwood Holton Jr. , a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974 . The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School . Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond . After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husbands term , she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginias secretary of education , and held that position until July 2016 , when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee . The couple has three children , one of whom is a United States Marine . As of 2016 , Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St . Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond , a mostly black congregation , for 30 years . Kaine plays the harmonica and often travels with several . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras . During the 2016 campaign , he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish . On May 28 , 2020 , Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies . Awards and honors . Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities , then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice ( 2000 ) , the Virginia Council of Churches Faith in Action Award ( 2009 ) , the University of Richmond School of Laws William Green Award for Professional Excellence ( 2012 ) , the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue ( 2014 ) , the Appalachian Trail Conservancys Congressional Award ( 2015 ) , and the Center for the National Interests Distinguished Service Award ( 2016 ) . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017 . Further reading . - Governor - Kaines Governor website ( Archived ) - Kaines Lieutenant governor website ( Archived ) - 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2007 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2009 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site , 2005–2006 part of Virginias Political Landscape , Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive , 2006–2010 - Kaine Email Project at the Library of Virginia External links . - U.S . Senate website - Campaign website |
[
"United States senator"
] | easy | Tim Kaine took which position from 2013 to 2014? | /wiki/Tim_Kaine#P39#5 | Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26 , 1958 ) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013 . A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 . Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clintons running mate . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , Kaine grew up in Overland Park , Kansas , graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri , and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law . He was first elected to public office in 1994 , when he won a seat on the Richmond City Council . He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010 . He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 . On July 22 , 2016 , Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27 . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8 , 2016 . Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018 , defeating Republican Corey Stewart . Early life and education . Kaine was born at Saint Josephs Hospital in St . Paul , Minnesota . He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen ( née Burns ) , a home economics teacher , and Albert Alexander Kaine , Jr. , a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop . He was raised Catholic . One of Kaines great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish . Kaines family moved to Overland Park , Kansas , when Kaine was two years old , and he grew up in the Kansas City area . In 1976 , he graduated from Rockhurst High School , a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City , Missouri . At Rockhurst , Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president . Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979 , completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude . He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978 . He entered Harvard Law School in 1979 , interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras for nine months from 1980 to 1981 , helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso . While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding , he also helped increase the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras . After returning from Honduras , Kaine met his future wife , first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton . He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D . degree in 1983 . Kaine and Holton moved to Holtons hometown of Richmond , Virginia , after graduation , and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984 . Legal career and Richmond City Council . After graduating from law school , Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R . Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit , in Macon , Georgia . He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little , Parsley & Cluverius , P.C . In 1987 , Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish , P.C . He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years , specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or disability . He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal , which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co . arising from the companys practices in Richmond . Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case ; the judgment was overturned on appeal , and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million settlement . Kaine did regular pro bono work . In 1988 , he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law . Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years ; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring . He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness . Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood , but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wifes family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings . In 1994 , he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond , defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A . Warthen by less than 100 votes . He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10 , 2001 , when he resigned and William J . Pantele was appointed to succeed him . He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A . Warthen by 97 votes . Kaine spent four terms on the city council , the latter two as mayor of Richmond . Mayor of Richmond ( 1998–2001 ) . On July 1 , 1998 , Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond , succeeding Larry Chavis . He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council , becoming the citys first white mayor in more than ten years , which was viewed as a surprise . Rudy McCollum , an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty , decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two , clearing the way for Kaine to win the election . Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial , with the city manager effectively operating the city ; Kaine treated it as a full-time job , taking a more hands-on role . As mayor , Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L . Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a magnet governors school , the Maggie L . Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies , which now serves the top students in Central Virginia . Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine . Along with Commonwealths attorney David Hicks , U.S . attorney James Comey , and police chief Jerry Oliver , Kaine was a supporter of Project Exile , an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court , where defendants faced harsher sentences . Though controversial , the effort was effective and achieved widespread support ; the citys homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaines mayoralty . Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor . On several occasions , Kaine voted against tax increases , and supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings , which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city . Forbes magazine named Richmond one of the 10 best cities in America to do business during Kaines term . According to John Moeser , a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmonds Center for Civic Engagement , Mayor Kaine was energetic , charismatic and , most important , spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond . The New York Times wrote that Kaine was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the citys racial divide . In the early part of his term , Kaine issued an apology for the citys role in slavery ; the apology was generally well received as a genuine , heartfelt expression . In the latter part of his term , a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E . Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls . Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls , while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain . Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty . His stance drew criticism from the NAACP ; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context , and that Much of our history is not pleasant ; you cant whitewash it . Kaines proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote . During his mayoralty , Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March , an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington , D.C. ; after a backlash , he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city . Lieutenant governor of Virginia ( 2002–2006 ) . Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001 . He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement . In the Democratic primary election , Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A . Diamonstein of Newport News , and state delegate Jerrauld C . Jones of Norfolk . Kaine won the nomination , with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonsteins 31.4% and Joness 28.9% . In the general election , Kaine won with 925,974 votes ( 50.35% ) , edging out his Republican opponent , state delegate Jay Katzen , who received 883,886 ( 48.06% ) . Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes ( 1.57% ) . Kaine was inaugurated on January 12 , 2002 , and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton , a state judge . 2005 gubernatorial election . In 2005 , Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W . Kilgore , a former state attorney general . Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race , trailing in polls for most of the campaign . Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a Washington Post poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/Roanoke Times poll . The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore . Kaine ultimately prevailed , winning 1,025,942 votes ( 51.7% ) to Kilgores 912,327 ( 46.0% ) . A third candidate , independent state Senator H . Russell Potts Jr. , ran as an independent Republican and received 43,953 votes ( 2.2% ) . Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message . He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues , an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs . He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor , Mark Warner , who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state . On the campaign trail , Kaine referred to the Warner-Kaine administration in speeches and received Warners strong backing . Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warners high popularity and President George W . Bushs sharply declining popularity ; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaigns final day . The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks , with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that Hitler doesnt qualify for the death penalty . The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate . The editorial boards of the Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a smear and dishonest . Kaine responded with an ad in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty . In later polls , voters said they believed Kaines response and were angered by Kilgores negative ads . In the election , Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginias inner suburbs ( such as Alexandria and Arlington ) , as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County . Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginias outer suburbs , including Prince William County and Loudoun County , where George W . Bush had beat John Kerry in the previous years presidential election , and performed surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake . Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs . Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley . Governor of Virginia ( 2006–2010 ) . Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg , on January 14 , 2006 , the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there . Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors Association from 2008 to 2009 . Democratic response to State of the Union address . On January 31 , 2006 , Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W . Bushs 2006 State of the Union address . In it , he criticized the Bush administrations No Child Left Behind Act for wreaking havoc on local school districts ; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs ; and condemned as reckless Bushs spending increases and tax cuts . Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia to make record investments in education and to improve veterans access to veterans benefits . He criticized the Bush administrations conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S . soldiers , saying that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq ; our troops in Iraq were not given the best body armor or the best intelligence ; and the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans benefits . Energy , the environment , and conservation . As governor , Kaine protected of Virginia land from development , fulfilling a promise he made in 2005 . His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements ( voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development ) ; a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements . From 2004 to 2009 , the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ( a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state ) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years , a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close . As governor , Kaine established the Climate Change Commission , a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues . The panel was shuttered under Kaines Republican successor , Governor Robert F . McDonnell , but revived ( as the Governors Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission ) under McDonnells successor , Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe . In 2008 , Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County , clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project . In 2009 , Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration . Healthcare and public health . In October 2006 , Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1 , 2007 . He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars , with some exceptions , in March 2009 , making Virginia the first Southern state to do so . In 2007 , the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation , with overwhelming bipartisan support , to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine ( which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer ) before entering high school . Kaine expressed some qualms about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision , ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason . In 2007 , Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees , plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing masters programs . The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses . Virginia Tech shooting . After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting , in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people , Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel , chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W . Gerald Massengill , to probe the event . The commission members included specialists in psychology , law , forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge . The commission first met in May 2007 , and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007 . Among other recommendations , the panel proposed many mental health reforms . Based on the panels recommendations , Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms , included boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services , increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers . In April 2007 , Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers . Kaine , who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings , received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue . Budget and economy . Among Kaines greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis ; the Washington Post wrote that perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [ the crisis ] . Amid the Great Recession , unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average . During Kaines tenure as governor , the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4% , a smaller increase than the national rate , which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period . As governor , Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund spending cuts , and after his term in office , the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended , for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts . The Washington Post wrote , Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget , he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition . Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States . Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazines Best States For Business rankings . Infrastructure and transportation . In July 2007 , during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner , Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel , citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk . In 2006 , Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction , repairs to aging roads , mass transit , and other transportation projects . The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years . The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan , but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project , and the effort failed even after a special session of the legislature was called over the stalemate . In 2007 , Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill . Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements , as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored , the Republican bill called for transportation funding to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund ; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia ; increased fees and taxes on rental cars , commercial real estate , and hotels ; and increased traffic infraction fines and drivers licenses fees . Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation , calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care , law enforcement , and education . Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the states general fund . Education . Under Kaine , participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative , which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line . Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor . Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by Education Week and the Pew Center on the States . Cabinet and appointments . Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governors Cabinet : - Chief of Staff : William Leighty ( 2006–2007 ) , Wayne Turnage ( 2007–2010 ) - Secretary of Administration : Viola Baskerville ( 2006–2010 ) - Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry : Robert Bloxom ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Commerce and Trade : Patrick Gottschalk ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of the Commonwealth : Katherine Hanley ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Education : Thomas R . Morris ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Finance:Jody Wagner ( 2006–2008 ) , Ric Brown ( 2008–2010 ) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources : Marilyn Tavenner ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Natural Resources : Preston Bryant ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Public Safety : John W . Marshall ( 2006–2010 ) - Secretary of Technology : Aneesh Chopra ( 2006–2009 ) , Leonard Pomata ( 2009–2010 ) - Secretary of Transportation : Pierce Homer ( 2006–2010 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Lawrence Roberts ( 2006–2009 ) - Counselor to the Governor : Mark Rubin ( 2009–2010 ) - Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness : Robert P . Crouch ( 2006–2010 ) - Senior Advisor for Workforce : Daniel G . LeBlanc ( 2006–2010 ) As governor , Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts . He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia , naming Chesapeake circuit judge S . Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007 and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F . Millette Jr . in 2008 . On September 27 , 2007 , just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration , Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bushs impeachment . He immediately requested and received Omeishs resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future . 2008 vice presidential speculation . Kaine announced his support for Barack Obamas presidential bid in February 2007 . It was maintained that Kaines endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of Illinois . Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state , there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president . Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor , saying , Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit . That kind of message can sell anywhere . On July 28 , 2008 , Politico reported that Kaine was very , very high on Obamas shortlist for vice president , a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas , Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana , and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware . Obama ultimately selected Biden . It was later reported that Obama told Kaine , in breaking the news to him , You are the pick of my heart , but Joe [ Biden ] is the pick of my head . Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden . He said , At the time , I was much closer to Tim , but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of two relatively young , inexperienced , and liberal civil rights attorneys and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength , and that Bidens age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president . Democratic National Committee chair ( 2009–2011 ) . In January 2009 , Kaine became chair of the Democratic National Committee . He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him , expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position , but took the job at Obamas request . He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia . Kaines main goals as DNC chair were protecting the partys seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the presidents campaign apparatus , Organizing for America , and its technological acumen into the party machinery . In the 2010 midterms , the DNC under Kaines leadership outraised the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) by $30 million , but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash . Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses . Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart , RNC chairman Michael Steele . He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents . In February 2011 , after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison , Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsins budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation . It made phone calls , sent emails , and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies . After completing his term as governor in January 2010 , Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond , teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law . He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution . United States Senate . 2012 election . After Senator Jim Webbs decision not to seek reelection , Kaine announced on April 5 , 2011 , that he would run for Webbs seat . He was initially reluctant to return to public office , but Webb , Senator Mark Warner , and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run . Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman . Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager . Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination . He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election . Tenure . Kaine was sworn in on January 3 , 2013 , reuniting him with Mark Warner , the senior senator . Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia . On June 11 , 2013 , Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill . The speech was entirely in Spanish , marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English . As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs , Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) . Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran , though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal . Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East , meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel . While in the Senate , Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond , receiving a salary of $16,000 per year . Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time . According to the Washington Post , Kaine has crafted a largely progressive record as a senator . He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators . During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign , Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump , saying that Trump as commander-in-chief scares me to death and had a bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders . In 2017 , after Trump took office , Kaine continued to criticize his authoritarian tendencies , citing his attacks on media , judges , and peaceful protesters . At an event at George Mason University , Kaine said that with Trump in office , Americans are in a living experiment to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power . In February 2017 , Kaine met with Pope Francis at a general audience at the Vatican . Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues . The same month , Kaine delivered an address , The Truman Doctrine at 70 , at Londons Chatham House . Committee assignments and caucuses . In the 113th Congress ( 2013–15 ) , Kaine was on the Committee on Armed Services , the Committee on the Budget , and the Committee on Foreign Relations . In the 114th Congress , Kaine was on those three committees and the Special Committee on Aging . In July 2013 , Kaine was named chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia and Counterterrorism . Within the Senate Armed Services Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities , the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support ( of which he is the ranking member ) , and the Subcommittee on Seapower . Within the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee , Kaine is a member of the Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management , International Operations , and Bilateral International Development ( of which he is the ranking member ) , the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation , the Subcommittee on Near East , South Asia , Central Asia , and Counterterrorism , and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Womens Issues . In January 2014 , Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus ( CTE Caucus ) , which focuses on vocational education and technical education . Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus . In 2014 , Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate ; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding , distributed by competitive grants , to high schools to further CTE programs . The legislation , introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D . Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 , would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives . Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation , the Educating Tomorrows Workforce Act , in 2017 . 2016 vice-presidential campaign . Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries . He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton , with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clintons list of people under consideration alongside figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro . The New York Times reported that Clintons husband , former president Bill Clinton , supported Kaine as his wifes vice-presidential selection , noting his domestic and national security résumé . On July 22 , 2016 , she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election . Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day . The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27 , 2016 . Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket , and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840 ; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler . In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S. , upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years . He also publicly released medical records ; his physician , Brian P . Monahan , the Attending Physician of the United States Congress , wrote that Kaine was in overall excellent health . In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton , Stronger Together . In Kaines preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016 , lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence . ( During Pences own debate preparations , Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine. ) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trumps comments , while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting . According to ABC News , Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate , while Pence interrupted 40 times . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College , and thus the election , to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8 , 2016 . This is the only election Kaine has ever lost . Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia , the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket , a victory attributed in part to Kaine . 2018 election . After the 2016 election , Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 . He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner , who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years . He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future . In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart , Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch , marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat . After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart , Kaine worked to support other Democrats who , in seven districts , were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats . Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points . Personality and leadership style . About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia . Politico conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a media-savvy and detail-oriented micro-manager who is also a policy wonk . According to The New York Times , Kaine is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith . On Meet the Press , Kaine called himself boring . Political positions . In terms of political ideology , FiveThirtyEight gives Kaine an average score of −37 ( −100 is the most liberal , and 100 is the most conservative ) . FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a mainstream Democrat and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden . Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union , the Club for Growth , and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016 , while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014 . The New York Times wrote that in hyperpartisan Washington , he is often seen as a centrist while also describing him as an old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals . Abortion , birth control , and sex education . Kaine , a Roman Catholic , personally opposes abortion , but is largely inclined to keep the law out of womens reproductive decisions . He has said , Im a strong supporter of Roe v . Wade and women being able to make these decisions . In government , we have enough things to worry about . We dont need to make peoples reproductive decisions for them . Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion , such as requiring parental consent for minors ( with a judicial bypass procedure ) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the womans life is not at risk . In 2009 , Kaine signed a bill to create a Choose Life license plate , among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered , the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International , a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers . Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaines decision . Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was in keeping with the commonwealths longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages . Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for not providing a broad enough religious employer exemption in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act , but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization . In 2005 , when running for governor , Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother ; Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education ; Ensuring womens access to health care ( including legal contraception ) and economic opportunity ; and Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies . In 2007 , as governor , Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs , citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective , while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective . Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught , and that education should be evidence-based . As a senator , Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL . He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee . Campaign finance . Kaine strongly disagrees with Citizens United v . FEC ( 2010 ) . In 2015 , Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics . They urged the SEC to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders to increase transparency in the U.S . political process . Capital punishment . Kaine personally opposes capital punishment , but presided over 11 executions while governor . He said , I really struggled with [ capital punishment ] as governor . I have a moral position against the death penalty . But I took an oath of office to uphold it . Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation . During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008 , that of Percy Levar Walton , to life imprisonment without parole on grounds of mental incompetence , writing that one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional . Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes , saying : I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs . Some of the vetoes were overridden . On July 31 , 2019 , after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years , Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty . Environment , energy , and climate change . Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change , and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers , as well as those who may not deny the climate science , but .. . deny that the U.S . can or should be a leader in taking any steps to address the issue . Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise ( a major consequence of climate change ) , and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia . In 2014 , he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S . Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the Hampton Roads area . Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner , saying that it is imperative to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today . He has criticized those who frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment , saying that protecting the environment is good for the economy . Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation ( ACCTION ) Act , legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies . He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline . Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ) to harvest natural gas from shale formations . He believes this will reduce carbon pollution . Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act . As a result , regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies ; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit . Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) to other countries . Like his fellow senator from Virginia , Mark Warner , Kaine applauded the U.S . Forest Services plan to close most , but not all , of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities . In 2013 , Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia , saying , I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling , based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago , should be reexamined . In April 2015 , Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling . In March 2016 , Kaine signaled that his position was softening , saying he was particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginias coast.. . I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before . By August 2016 , Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling , bringing his position in line with Hillary Clintons and the Obama administrations . Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines . Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate , the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018 , and a 94% lifetime score . ( At the time of his vice-presidential campaign , Kaine had an 88% score for 2015 , and a 91% lifetime score. ) In March 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019 , legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic , which Trump had dismantled in 2017 . The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage ( CCUS ) , arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trumps 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research . Financial regulation . Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . In July 2016 , he signed a bipartisan letter that urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to carefully tailor its rulemaking [ under Dodd-Frank ] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to unduly burden these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks . The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation . Democracy for America executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy . Kaine responded , its important you dont treat every financial institution the same . It wasnt credit unions that tanked the economy , it wasnt local community banks that tanked the economy , generally wasnt regional banks that did things that tanked the economy . He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened . Foreign and defense policy . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran . Kaine expressed support for Israels right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . In September 2016 , in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories , he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto one-sided resolutions against Israel . In 2015 , Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalitions airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi , but in 2018 , he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that they found it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of the Trump administrations certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S . laws on arms sales , citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties . Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi . In July 2017 , Kaine voted for the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran , Russia , and North Korea . In 2019 , Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S . foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of Central America in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill . The letter said that Trump had consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S . foreign assistance , viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and collective security . The senators wrote that U.S . foreign assistance to Central American countries , by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region , reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S . In 2019 , Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act , a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt Chinas consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea . Grand strategy and democracy promotion . After the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy . According to Kaine , American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant Americas previous grand strategy , which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine . This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random , complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile . To remedy this , Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion . His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power , with one pole being democratic states including the U.S . and its allies , the second autocratic powers led by Russia and China , and the third nonstate actors ( multinational corporations , NGOs , gangs , etc. ) . First , Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries , as democracy globally has been declining for many years . To maintain democracy in democratic countries , Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization consisting of all the worlds democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion . He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy . Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic , as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate . In this way , Kaine says that the U.S . should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation , but rather the exemplary democracy . Second , Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states . Depending on the circumstances , democracies should either confront , compete , or cooperate with autocracies . For example , Kaine observes that the U.S . competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances , and confronts them by decrying their human rights records . Finally , Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests , such as combating climate change . In July 2017 , Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the Brookings Institution with international relations scholar Robert Kagan . Afghanistan . Kaines website states , The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can , consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region . Latin America . Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas , saying , We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas , in particular , and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there . War powers . Kaine is known for expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency and has said that war powers questions are a personal obsession of his . He has stressed that under the Constitution , Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress . Kaine called the 2018 U.S . missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval . Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 , which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973 , bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S . military forces . The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee , with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict . Kaine argued for the bill by citing his frustration over the sloppiness of process and communication over decisions of war , noting that presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions . We all have to do better . In February 2018 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with a preventative or preemptive U.S . military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority without congressional approval . In January 2020 , Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S . from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat . The next month , the measure passed the Senate 55–45 , securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats . Trump vetoed the measure , and the Senate failed to override the veto . Syria , Iraq , and ISIL . In 2014 , Kaine argued that the U.S . military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL . In November 2014 , at the Halifax International Security Forum , Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization , saying : You just cant have a war without Congress . You cant ask people to risk their lives , risk getting killed , seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isnt willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say , this is a national mission and worth it . After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria , ordered by Trump , Kaine said , There is no legal justification for this . He should not have done this without coming to Congress . On Meet the Press , Kaine said , Im a strong supporter that the U.S . should take action to protect humanitarian causes , like the ban on chemical weapons . Where I differ from this administration , and I took the same position with respect to President Obama , we are a nation thats not supposed to take military action , start war , without a plan thats presented to and approved by Congress . On December 11 , 2014 , after a five-month campaign by Kaine , the U.S . Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 ( along party lines ) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops . In October 2015 , Kaine criticized Obamas approach to the Syrian Civil War , saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria . In April 2018 , Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress , calling the strike an illegal military act . On February 26 , 2021 , Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving legal justification to members of Congress beforehand . Firearms . Kaine is a firearms owner . He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines . As governor , Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns . In the Senate , he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet . He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List . In November 2017 , Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act , a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms . In March 2018 , Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health , Education , Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond ( HEAR ) Act , legislation that would ban suppressors being imported , sold , made , sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others . The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting , in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor . Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and an F rating from the NRA . Health care . Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 ( Obamacare ) , saying in 2012 , I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act . I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror . In 2013 , he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated , but criticized Republicans for wrapping them up with the threat of a federal government shutdown . In 2018 , Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of Medicare X—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options . The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanderss push for Medicare for All ( single-payer health care ) . In December 2018 , Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar , Seema Verma , and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions . The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and re-engage with stakeholders , states , and Congress . In January 2019 , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019 , a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis . It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care . In December 2016 , Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs . In February 2017 , he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio , the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation , and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year . In February 2019 , Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company , Novo Nordisk , and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack access to the life-saving medications they need . In August 2019 , Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act . The senators wrote , Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets ; therefore , we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court . In September 2019 , amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown , Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as families in Virginia , West Virginia , Wyoming , Alabama , Colorado , North Dakota and New Mexico would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month . Immigration . Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability ( DAPA ) programs , which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States . Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress , he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the Supreme Court case United States v . Texas . Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform , which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S . to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes . In July 2019 , following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses , parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation , Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse , children , or parents will be deported while they are away and that the its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat . In July 2019 , Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act , a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at sensitive locations ( schools , hospitals , places of worship , and courthouses ) except in special circumstances . The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations . LGBT rights . In 2006 , Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage , and in March 2013 , he announced his support of same-sex marriage . In the Senate , Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act , which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . In 2005 , Kaine said , No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple . Thats the right policy . In 2011 , he shifted his position . In 2012 , he said , there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple . During the 2016 presidential campaign , Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend . He predicted that the Roman Catholic Church would someday adopt his view . In response , two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S . Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the churchs position cannot change and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage . In October 2018 , Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to reverse the State Departments policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries , writing that the Trump administrations refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S . was tantamount to upholding the discriminatory policies of many countries around the world . In June 2019 , Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Departments decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating Pride Month or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month . The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant . The authors said that the State Departments moves had sent signals to the international community that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority . Taxes . Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000 . In 2012 , Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA ( Social Security ) payroll tax so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan , which would greatly extend the solvency of the ( Social Security ) program . In the Senate , Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act , which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers . Trade . Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority ( TPA or fast track ) to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements . He said the goal should be to negotiate deals that protect workers rights , environmental standards and intellectual property , while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out . In July 2016 , Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) agreement was an improvement of the status quo and an upgrade of labor standards.. . environmental standards.. . intellectual property protections , but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement , citing significant concerns over TPPs dispute resolution mechanism . Later that July , Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form . Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA . Transportation , growth , and housing . Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies ( which he calls a balanced approach to growth ) to control sprawl and improve transportation . He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit , bicycles , and pedestrians . As governor , Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative . Under Kaine , Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded . He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009 . In April 2019 , Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S . Department of Housing and Urban Developments Section 4 Capacity Building program , a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations . The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development , opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trumps budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020 , and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020 . Workers rights and gender equality . Kaine is generally pro-union and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL-CIO , which praised his selection as Clintons running mate . But Kaine supports Virginias longstanding right-to-work law , which frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf . Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination . After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016 , Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women . Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage . Electoral history . - 2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election - 2005 gubernatorial election - 2012 U.S . Senate election - 2016 vice presidential election - 2018 U.S . Senate election Personal life . In November 1984 , Kaine married Anne Bright Holton , the daughter of A . Linwood Holton Jr. , a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974 . The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School . Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond . After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husbands term , she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginias secretary of education , and held that position until July 2016 , when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee . The couple has three children , one of whom is a United States Marine . As of 2016 , Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St . Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond , a mostly black congregation , for 30 years . Kaine plays the harmonica and often travels with several . Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras . During the 2016 campaign , he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish . On May 28 , 2020 , Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies . Awards and honors . Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities , then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice ( 2000 ) , the Virginia Council of Churches Faith in Action Award ( 2009 ) , the University of Richmond School of Laws William Green Award for Professional Excellence ( 2012 ) , the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue ( 2014 ) , the Appalachian Trail Conservancys Congressional Award ( 2015 ) , and the Center for the National Interests Distinguished Service Award ( 2016 ) . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017 . Further reading . - Governor - Kaines Governor website ( Archived ) - Kaines Lieutenant governor website ( Archived ) - 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2007 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site , 2009 part of Virginias Political Landscape , 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site , 2005–2006 part of Virginias Political Landscape , Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory - Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive , 2006–2010 - Kaine Email Project at the Library of Virginia External links . - U.S . Senate website - Campaign website |
[
"Scripps Research"
] | easy | Who did David Goodsell work for from 1987 to 1992? | /wiki/David_Goodsell#P108#0 | David Goodsell David S . Goodsell , is an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute and research professor at Rutgers University , New Jersey ( joint appointment ) . He is especially known for his watercolor paintings of cell interiors . Education . David Goodsell studied a BSc in biology and chemistry at University of California Irvine . After this , he did a PhD in X-ray crystallography of DNA at the University of California Los Angeles , completed in 1987 . Research . Since completing his PhD he as worked as a structural biologist at the Scripps Research Institute ( with a 2-year period in University of California in 1992-94 ) . His research topics have included the use of structural biology and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate symmetry in protein oligomers , protein-protein interactions and for computer-aided drug design . In particular he is a developer of AutoDock , the most widely-used program used for molecular docking . His main research focus areas are HIV drug resistance and structure and function of bacterial cells . Illustration . Goodsell has developed a signature style of scientific drawing . He started painting early in his childhood but did not study art in college . In graduate school , Goodsell became interested in scientific illustration while writing molecular graphics programs to visualize protein and DNA structures . Goodsells signature style uses generally very flat shading , with strong and simple colour-schemes . As is typical in medical illustration , the images are simplified representations of the subject that still retain accuracy of the important features . His illustrations fall broadly into two categories : individual proteins , and cellular panoramas . His images of individual proteins are typically computer generated , cell-shaded space-filling representations of proteins , often with cut-aways to show internal binding sites and cofactors . Conversely , his illustration of cell interiors ( sometimes called molecular landscapes ) are hand-painted in watercolours . They are typically slices through a cell with highly simplified protein structures in a flat style in order to capture overall organisation without overwhelming detail . These cell interiors are often displayed at an effective 1,000,000x magnification for consistency . The paintings therefore share a consistent style , aiming to make interpretation easy and as intuitive as possible . His illustrations are published in the Molecule of the Month series by the Protein Data Bank , an archive of protein structures . His illustrations are used as teaching tools , in textbooks , in scientific publications , and as journal cover art . Process . For individual proteins , Goodsells illustrations are directly generated from solved protein structures deposited in the PDB using custom computer renderings that he wrote in Fortran ( now released as an online illustration tool ) . Representations of large macromolecular complexes or crowded cellular environments require interpretation and synthesis of multiple different types of scientific imaging . These include X-ray crystallography and NMR for protein components , cryo electron tomography for larger complexes , and super-res light microscopy and electron microscopy for the cellular environment . In these cases , the focus in on portraying the relative scales , orientations and interactions between the components . In order to portray an accurate degree of crowding background gaps are filled with approximate sized generic proteins so that artistic license used to increase the accuracy of the overall representation . Bibliography . In addition to scientific papers , Goodsell is the author of several scientific books with a focus on illustration : - Atomic Evidence : Seeing the Molecular Basis of Life ( Springer International , 2016 ) - Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature ( J . Wiley and Sons , 2004 ) - Our Molecular Nature : The Bodys Motors , Machines , and Messages ( Springer-Verlag , 1996 ) - The Machinery of Life ( Springer-Verlag , 1993 ) . External links . - Molecule of the Month - MotM Illustrator webtool |
[
"University of California"
] | easy | Who did David Goodsell work for from 1992 to 1994? | /wiki/David_Goodsell#P108#1 | David Goodsell David S . Goodsell , is an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute and research professor at Rutgers University , New Jersey ( joint appointment ) . He is especially known for his watercolor paintings of cell interiors . Education . David Goodsell studied a BSc in biology and chemistry at University of California Irvine . After this , he did a PhD in X-ray crystallography of DNA at the University of California Los Angeles , completed in 1987 . Research . Since completing his PhD he as worked as a structural biologist at the Scripps Research Institute ( with a 2-year period in University of California in 1992-94 ) . His research topics have included the use of structural biology and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate symmetry in protein oligomers , protein-protein interactions and for computer-aided drug design . In particular he is a developer of AutoDock , the most widely-used program used for molecular docking . His main research focus areas are HIV drug resistance and structure and function of bacterial cells . Illustration . Goodsell has developed a signature style of scientific drawing . He started painting early in his childhood but did not study art in college . In graduate school , Goodsell became interested in scientific illustration while writing molecular graphics programs to visualize protein and DNA structures . Goodsells signature style uses generally very flat shading , with strong and simple colour-schemes . As is typical in medical illustration , the images are simplified representations of the subject that still retain accuracy of the important features . His illustrations fall broadly into two categories : individual proteins , and cellular panoramas . His images of individual proteins are typically computer generated , cell-shaded space-filling representations of proteins , often with cut-aways to show internal binding sites and cofactors . Conversely , his illustration of cell interiors ( sometimes called molecular landscapes ) are hand-painted in watercolours . They are typically slices through a cell with highly simplified protein structures in a flat style in order to capture overall organisation without overwhelming detail . These cell interiors are often displayed at an effective 1,000,000x magnification for consistency . The paintings therefore share a consistent style , aiming to make interpretation easy and as intuitive as possible . His illustrations are published in the Molecule of the Month series by the Protein Data Bank , an archive of protein structures . His illustrations are used as teaching tools , in textbooks , in scientific publications , and as journal cover art . Process . For individual proteins , Goodsells illustrations are directly generated from solved protein structures deposited in the PDB using custom computer renderings that he wrote in Fortran ( now released as an online illustration tool ) . Representations of large macromolecular complexes or crowded cellular environments require interpretation and synthesis of multiple different types of scientific imaging . These include X-ray crystallography and NMR for protein components , cryo electron tomography for larger complexes , and super-res light microscopy and electron microscopy for the cellular environment . In these cases , the focus in on portraying the relative scales , orientations and interactions between the components . In order to portray an accurate degree of crowding background gaps are filled with approximate sized generic proteins so that artistic license used to increase the accuracy of the overall representation . Bibliography . In addition to scientific papers , Goodsell is the author of several scientific books with a focus on illustration : - Atomic Evidence : Seeing the Molecular Basis of Life ( Springer International , 2016 ) - Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature ( J . Wiley and Sons , 2004 ) - Our Molecular Nature : The Bodys Motors , Machines , and Messages ( Springer-Verlag , 1996 ) - The Machinery of Life ( Springer-Verlag , 1993 ) . External links . - Molecule of the Month - MotM Illustrator webtool |
[
"Scripps Research"
] | easy | David Goodsell was an employee for whom from 1994 to 2016? | /wiki/David_Goodsell#P108#2 | David Goodsell David S . Goodsell , is an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute and research professor at Rutgers University , New Jersey ( joint appointment ) . He is especially known for his watercolor paintings of cell interiors . Education . David Goodsell studied a BSc in biology and chemistry at University of California Irvine . After this , he did a PhD in X-ray crystallography of DNA at the University of California Los Angeles , completed in 1987 . Research . Since completing his PhD he as worked as a structural biologist at the Scripps Research Institute ( with a 2-year period in University of California in 1992-94 ) . His research topics have included the use of structural biology and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate symmetry in protein oligomers , protein-protein interactions and for computer-aided drug design . In particular he is a developer of AutoDock , the most widely-used program used for molecular docking . His main research focus areas are HIV drug resistance and structure and function of bacterial cells . Illustration . Goodsell has developed a signature style of scientific drawing . He started painting early in his childhood but did not study art in college . In graduate school , Goodsell became interested in scientific illustration while writing molecular graphics programs to visualize protein and DNA structures . Goodsells signature style uses generally very flat shading , with strong and simple colour-schemes . As is typical in medical illustration , the images are simplified representations of the subject that still retain accuracy of the important features . His illustrations fall broadly into two categories : individual proteins , and cellular panoramas . His images of individual proteins are typically computer generated , cell-shaded space-filling representations of proteins , often with cut-aways to show internal binding sites and cofactors . Conversely , his illustration of cell interiors ( sometimes called molecular landscapes ) are hand-painted in watercolours . They are typically slices through a cell with highly simplified protein structures in a flat style in order to capture overall organisation without overwhelming detail . These cell interiors are often displayed at an effective 1,000,000x magnification for consistency . The paintings therefore share a consistent style , aiming to make interpretation easy and as intuitive as possible . His illustrations are published in the Molecule of the Month series by the Protein Data Bank , an archive of protein structures . His illustrations are used as teaching tools , in textbooks , in scientific publications , and as journal cover art . Process . For individual proteins , Goodsells illustrations are directly generated from solved protein structures deposited in the PDB using custom computer renderings that he wrote in Fortran ( now released as an online illustration tool ) . Representations of large macromolecular complexes or crowded cellular environments require interpretation and synthesis of multiple different types of scientific imaging . These include X-ray crystallography and NMR for protein components , cryo electron tomography for larger complexes , and super-res light microscopy and electron microscopy for the cellular environment . In these cases , the focus in on portraying the relative scales , orientations and interactions between the components . In order to portray an accurate degree of crowding background gaps are filled with approximate sized generic proteins so that artistic license used to increase the accuracy of the overall representation . Bibliography . In addition to scientific papers , Goodsell is the author of several scientific books with a focus on illustration : - Atomic Evidence : Seeing the Molecular Basis of Life ( Springer International , 2016 ) - Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature ( J . Wiley and Sons , 2004 ) - Our Molecular Nature : The Bodys Motors , Machines , and Messages ( Springer-Verlag , 1996 ) - The Machinery of Life ( Springer-Verlag , 1993 ) . External links . - Molecule of the Month - MotM Illustrator webtool |
[
"Rutgers University"
] | easy | Who did David Goodsell work for from 2016 to 2017? | /wiki/David_Goodsell#P108#3 | David Goodsell David S . Goodsell , is an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute and research professor at Rutgers University , New Jersey ( joint appointment ) . He is especially known for his watercolor paintings of cell interiors . Education . David Goodsell studied a BSc in biology and chemistry at University of California Irvine . After this , he did a PhD in X-ray crystallography of DNA at the University of California Los Angeles , completed in 1987 . Research . Since completing his PhD he as worked as a structural biologist at the Scripps Research Institute ( with a 2-year period in University of California in 1992-94 ) . His research topics have included the use of structural biology and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate symmetry in protein oligomers , protein-protein interactions and for computer-aided drug design . In particular he is a developer of AutoDock , the most widely-used program used for molecular docking . His main research focus areas are HIV drug resistance and structure and function of bacterial cells . Illustration . Goodsell has developed a signature style of scientific drawing . He started painting early in his childhood but did not study art in college . In graduate school , Goodsell became interested in scientific illustration while writing molecular graphics programs to visualize protein and DNA structures . Goodsells signature style uses generally very flat shading , with strong and simple colour-schemes . As is typical in medical illustration , the images are simplified representations of the subject that still retain accuracy of the important features . His illustrations fall broadly into two categories : individual proteins , and cellular panoramas . His images of individual proteins are typically computer generated , cell-shaded space-filling representations of proteins , often with cut-aways to show internal binding sites and cofactors . Conversely , his illustration of cell interiors ( sometimes called molecular landscapes ) are hand-painted in watercolours . They are typically slices through a cell with highly simplified protein structures in a flat style in order to capture overall organisation without overwhelming detail . These cell interiors are often displayed at an effective 1,000,000x magnification for consistency . The paintings therefore share a consistent style , aiming to make interpretation easy and as intuitive as possible . His illustrations are published in the Molecule of the Month series by the Protein Data Bank , an archive of protein structures . His illustrations are used as teaching tools , in textbooks , in scientific publications , and as journal cover art . Process . For individual proteins , Goodsells illustrations are directly generated from solved protein structures deposited in the PDB using custom computer renderings that he wrote in Fortran ( now released as an online illustration tool ) . Representations of large macromolecular complexes or crowded cellular environments require interpretation and synthesis of multiple different types of scientific imaging . These include X-ray crystallography and NMR for protein components , cryo electron tomography for larger complexes , and super-res light microscopy and electron microscopy for the cellular environment . In these cases , the focus in on portraying the relative scales , orientations and interactions between the components . In order to portray an accurate degree of crowding background gaps are filled with approximate sized generic proteins so that artistic license used to increase the accuracy of the overall representation . Bibliography . In addition to scientific papers , Goodsell is the author of several scientific books with a focus on illustration : - Atomic Evidence : Seeing the Molecular Basis of Life ( Springer International , 2016 ) - Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature ( J . Wiley and Sons , 2004 ) - Our Molecular Nature : The Bodys Motors , Machines , and Messages ( Springer-Verlag , 1996 ) - The Machinery of Life ( Springer-Verlag , 1993 ) . External links . - Molecule of the Month - MotM Illustrator webtool |
[
"Parliament for Leeds West"
] | easy | What was the position of Rachel Reeves from May 2010 to Mar 2015? | /wiki/Rachel_Reeves#P39#0 | Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves ( born 13 February 1979 ) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021 . A member of the Labour Party , she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010 . Born in Lewisham , Reeves studied at New College , Oxford and the London School of Economics before working as an economist at the Bank of England , the British Embassy in Washington , D.C . and HBOS . Elected at the 2010 general election , she served in Ed Milibands Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2011 to 2013 and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2013 to 2015 . As Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary , Reeves announced Labour would be tougher than the Conservatives in reducing the benefits bill and would not seek to represent those out of work . Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyns election as Labour leader in 2015 , instead serving as chair of the Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2017 to 2020 . After Keir Starmer was elected as leader in 2020 , he appointed Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office , shadowing Michael Gove . In May 2021 , she replaced Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer . Early life and career . The daughter of Graham and Sally Reeves of Lewisham , south-east London , Reeves was educated at Cator Park School for Girls in Bromley . At school , she won a British Under-14 girls chess championship title in a tournament organised by the now-defunct British Womens Chess Association . After sitting A-Levels in Politics , Economics , Mathematics and Further Mathematics , she read Philosophy , Politics and Economics at New College , Oxford ( MA ) , followed by graduating as MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics . She worked as an economist at the Bank of England and British Embassy in Washington , D.C . between 2000 and 2006 . Reeves moved to Leeds in 2006 to work for HBOS . She was once interviewed for a job at Goldman Sachs , but turned it down , despite claiming that the job could have made her a lot richer . Reeves cites the influence of her father on her and her sister Ellie Reeves on her socially democratic politics . She recalls how , when she was eight years old , her father , Graham , pointed out the then-Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock on the television and told us that was who we voted for . Reeves says she and her sister have both known we were Labour since then . She joined the Labour Party at the age of sixteen . Political career . Reeves stood as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst at the 2005 general election , finishing second . She also contested the 2006 by-election in the same constituency , following the death of sitting Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) Eric Forth , and finished in fourth place . Labour support fell from 10,241 votes to 1,925 , in what was described as a humiliation for Labour . The result was the worst performance for a governing party since 1991 . Reeves later sought nomination for the Leeds West seat at the 2010 general election , seeking to replace John Battle , who had chosen to retire . She was selected to contest the seat from an all-women shortlist of Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidates . She was elected with a majority of 7,016 on 6 May 2010 – a 5,794 reduction in the majority enjoyed by Battle . In her maiden speech , delivered on 8 June 2010 , Reeves praised the work of Battle and pledged to fight for jobs , growth and prosperity for Leeds West . She also pledged to follow in Battles footsteps and fight for justice for the victims of the Armley asbestos disaster and their families . In a series of questions in Parliament , she enquired whether the government would honour promises by the previous government to compensate victims of asbestos diagnosed with pleural plaques , and bring legislation into force making it easier to pursue claims against insurers . Following the 2010 election , Reeves supported Ed Miliband for the Labour leadership because she felt he was the candidate most willing to listen to what the voters were saying about where the party went wrong . After becoming an MP , Reeves was appointed to the Department for Business , Innovation and Skills Select Committee then as Shadow Pensions Minister in October 2010 . In her role as Shadow Pensions Minister , she campaigned against the Governments proposed acceleration of equalising state pensions ages for men and women . She was promoted to the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011 . Reeves was named in 2011 by The Guardian newspaper as being one of several MPs who employ unpaid interns , a practice that some maintain may breach the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 . The same year , The Independent named Reeves as a member of a group of new Labour MPs known as the Nandos Five , the others being Luciana Berger , Jonathan Reynolds , Emma Reynolds and Chuka Umunna . Appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2013 , Reeves proposed that anyone unemployed for two years , or one year if under 25 years old , would be required to take a guaranteed job or lose access to benefits . She caused controversy within the Labour Party by stating Labour would be tougher than the Conservative Party in cutting the benefits bill . She caused further controversy in early 2015 by stating We [ Labour ] don’t want to be seen , and were not , the party to represent those who are out of work . Reeves parliamentary credit card was stopped at the start of 2015 , owing to a debt of £4,033.63 , which she subsequently repaid . In 2018 , she claimed £188,686 in expenses , of which £149,514 was in staffing costs and £22,089 in office costs , £30,422 more than the average parliamentary claim of £158,264 . Following Jeremy Corbyns election as leader in 2015 , Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet after her maternity leave and supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election . In September 2016 , Reeves described her constituency as being like a tinderbox that could explode if immigration was not curbed . In 2017 , conservative commentator Iain Dale placed Reeves at Number 94 on his list of the 100 most influential people on the Left , down ten places on the previous year . When Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 , Reeves was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , with responsibility for Labours response to Brexit and shadowing Michael Gove . She was promoted to the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in a shadow cabinet reshuffle on 9 May 2021 , replacing Anneliese Dodds . Political positions and views . Reeves has written a study on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 for the Fabian Review , Institute of Public Policy Research , Socialist Environment and Resources Association , and the European Journal of Political Economy . In an article for Renewal entitled The Politics of Deficit Reduction , Reeves offers her critique of the then-current financial situation and efforts to bring down the budget deficit . Reeves is a proponent of quantitative easing to alleviate the late-2000s recession , having studied the effects of the policy on Japan in the early 2000s . Reeves supports the High Speed 2 rail project , and raised the issue in the House of Commons , as well as campaigning for the proposed Kirkstall Forge railway station . She is also involved in the campaign to save the historic Bramley Baths and the campaign to save the childrens heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary . Reeves is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel , contributed a chapter to a book about Israeli politics and society , and supports the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation . Reeves has been a long-standing admirer of Nancy Astor and has frequently praised her actions as an MP . Writing . Echoing similar titles of publications by Roy Jenkins in 1959 and Tony Wright in 1997 , Reeves wrote the new edition of Why Vote Labour ? in the run-up to the 2010 general election , as part of a series giving the case for each of the main political parties . Reeves biography of the Labour politician Alice Bacon , Baroness Bacon ( 1909–1993 ) , titled Alice in Westminster : The Political Life of Alice Bacon , was published in 2017 . Bacon was the first and previously only woman to represent a Leeds constituency , having represented Leeds North East and then Leeds South East between 1945 and 1970 . She regularly contributes to The Guardian newspaper , as well as the websites LabourList and Progress . Personal life . Reeves is married to Nicholas Joicey , a civil servant and Gordon Browns former private secretary and speech writer . The couple have homes in Bramley in Leeds and London . Reeves announced her first pregnancy on 20 September 2012 , giving birth to a daughter . She subsequently gave birth to a son in 2015 . Reeves younger sister , Ellie Reeves , is the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge and is married to John Cryer , Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead . External links . - Fabian Society |
[
"Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions"
] | easy | Rachel Reeves took which position from May 2015 to May 2017? | /wiki/Rachel_Reeves#P39#1 | Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves ( born 13 February 1979 ) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021 . A member of the Labour Party , she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010 . Born in Lewisham , Reeves studied at New College , Oxford and the London School of Economics before working as an economist at the Bank of England , the British Embassy in Washington , D.C . and HBOS . Elected at the 2010 general election , she served in Ed Milibands Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2011 to 2013 and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2013 to 2015 . As Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary , Reeves announced Labour would be tougher than the Conservatives in reducing the benefits bill and would not seek to represent those out of work . Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyns election as Labour leader in 2015 , instead serving as chair of the Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2017 to 2020 . After Keir Starmer was elected as leader in 2020 , he appointed Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office , shadowing Michael Gove . In May 2021 , she replaced Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer . Early life and career . The daughter of Graham and Sally Reeves of Lewisham , south-east London , Reeves was educated at Cator Park School for Girls in Bromley . At school , she won a British Under-14 girls chess championship title in a tournament organised by the now-defunct British Womens Chess Association . After sitting A-Levels in Politics , Economics , Mathematics and Further Mathematics , she read Philosophy , Politics and Economics at New College , Oxford ( MA ) , followed by graduating as MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics . She worked as an economist at the Bank of England and British Embassy in Washington , D.C . between 2000 and 2006 . Reeves moved to Leeds in 2006 to work for HBOS . She was once interviewed for a job at Goldman Sachs , but turned it down , despite claiming that the job could have made her a lot richer . Reeves cites the influence of her father on her and her sister Ellie Reeves on her socially democratic politics . She recalls how , when she was eight years old , her father , Graham , pointed out the then-Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock on the television and told us that was who we voted for . Reeves says she and her sister have both known we were Labour since then . She joined the Labour Party at the age of sixteen . Political career . Reeves stood as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst at the 2005 general election , finishing second . She also contested the 2006 by-election in the same constituency , following the death of sitting Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) Eric Forth , and finished in fourth place . Labour support fell from 10,241 votes to 1,925 , in what was described as a humiliation for Labour . The result was the worst performance for a governing party since 1991 . Reeves later sought nomination for the Leeds West seat at the 2010 general election , seeking to replace John Battle , who had chosen to retire . She was selected to contest the seat from an all-women shortlist of Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidates . She was elected with a majority of 7,016 on 6 May 2010 – a 5,794 reduction in the majority enjoyed by Battle . In her maiden speech , delivered on 8 June 2010 , Reeves praised the work of Battle and pledged to fight for jobs , growth and prosperity for Leeds West . She also pledged to follow in Battles footsteps and fight for justice for the victims of the Armley asbestos disaster and their families . In a series of questions in Parliament , she enquired whether the government would honour promises by the previous government to compensate victims of asbestos diagnosed with pleural plaques , and bring legislation into force making it easier to pursue claims against insurers . Following the 2010 election , Reeves supported Ed Miliband for the Labour leadership because she felt he was the candidate most willing to listen to what the voters were saying about where the party went wrong . After becoming an MP , Reeves was appointed to the Department for Business , Innovation and Skills Select Committee then as Shadow Pensions Minister in October 2010 . In her role as Shadow Pensions Minister , she campaigned against the Governments proposed acceleration of equalising state pensions ages for men and women . She was promoted to the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011 . Reeves was named in 2011 by The Guardian newspaper as being one of several MPs who employ unpaid interns , a practice that some maintain may breach the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 . The same year , The Independent named Reeves as a member of a group of new Labour MPs known as the Nandos Five , the others being Luciana Berger , Jonathan Reynolds , Emma Reynolds and Chuka Umunna . Appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2013 , Reeves proposed that anyone unemployed for two years , or one year if under 25 years old , would be required to take a guaranteed job or lose access to benefits . She caused controversy within the Labour Party by stating Labour would be tougher than the Conservative Party in cutting the benefits bill . She caused further controversy in early 2015 by stating We [ Labour ] don’t want to be seen , and were not , the party to represent those who are out of work . Reeves parliamentary credit card was stopped at the start of 2015 , owing to a debt of £4,033.63 , which she subsequently repaid . In 2018 , she claimed £188,686 in expenses , of which £149,514 was in staffing costs and £22,089 in office costs , £30,422 more than the average parliamentary claim of £158,264 . Following Jeremy Corbyns election as leader in 2015 , Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet after her maternity leave and supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election . In September 2016 , Reeves described her constituency as being like a tinderbox that could explode if immigration was not curbed . In 2017 , conservative commentator Iain Dale placed Reeves at Number 94 on his list of the 100 most influential people on the Left , down ten places on the previous year . When Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 , Reeves was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , with responsibility for Labours response to Brexit and shadowing Michael Gove . She was promoted to the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in a shadow cabinet reshuffle on 9 May 2021 , replacing Anneliese Dodds . Political positions and views . Reeves has written a study on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 for the Fabian Review , Institute of Public Policy Research , Socialist Environment and Resources Association , and the European Journal of Political Economy . In an article for Renewal entitled The Politics of Deficit Reduction , Reeves offers her critique of the then-current financial situation and efforts to bring down the budget deficit . Reeves is a proponent of quantitative easing to alleviate the late-2000s recession , having studied the effects of the policy on Japan in the early 2000s . Reeves supports the High Speed 2 rail project , and raised the issue in the House of Commons , as well as campaigning for the proposed Kirkstall Forge railway station . She is also involved in the campaign to save the historic Bramley Baths and the campaign to save the childrens heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary . Reeves is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel , contributed a chapter to a book about Israeli politics and society , and supports the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation . Reeves has been a long-standing admirer of Nancy Astor and has frequently praised her actions as an MP . Writing . Echoing similar titles of publications by Roy Jenkins in 1959 and Tony Wright in 1997 , Reeves wrote the new edition of Why Vote Labour ? in the run-up to the 2010 general election , as part of a series giving the case for each of the main political parties . Reeves biography of the Labour politician Alice Bacon , Baroness Bacon ( 1909–1993 ) , titled Alice in Westminster : The Political Life of Alice Bacon , was published in 2017 . Bacon was the first and previously only woman to represent a Leeds constituency , having represented Leeds North East and then Leeds South East between 1945 and 1970 . She regularly contributes to The Guardian newspaper , as well as the websites LabourList and Progress . Personal life . Reeves is married to Nicholas Joicey , a civil servant and Gordon Browns former private secretary and speech writer . The couple have homes in Bramley in Leeds and London . Reeves announced her first pregnancy on 20 September 2012 , giving birth to a daughter . She subsequently gave birth to a son in 2015 . Reeves younger sister , Ellie Reeves , is the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge and is married to John Cryer , Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead . External links . - Fabian Society |
[
"chair of the Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee"
] | easy | What was the position of Rachel Reeves from Jun 2017 to Nov 2019? | /wiki/Rachel_Reeves#P39#2 | Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves ( born 13 February 1979 ) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021 . A member of the Labour Party , she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010 . Born in Lewisham , Reeves studied at New College , Oxford and the London School of Economics before working as an economist at the Bank of England , the British Embassy in Washington , D.C . and HBOS . Elected at the 2010 general election , she served in Ed Milibands Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2011 to 2013 and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2013 to 2015 . As Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary , Reeves announced Labour would be tougher than the Conservatives in reducing the benefits bill and would not seek to represent those out of work . Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyns election as Labour leader in 2015 , instead serving as chair of the Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2017 to 2020 . After Keir Starmer was elected as leader in 2020 , he appointed Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office , shadowing Michael Gove . In May 2021 , she replaced Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer . Early life and career . The daughter of Graham and Sally Reeves of Lewisham , south-east London , Reeves was educated at Cator Park School for Girls in Bromley . At school , she won a British Under-14 girls chess championship title in a tournament organised by the now-defunct British Womens Chess Association . After sitting A-Levels in Politics , Economics , Mathematics and Further Mathematics , she read Philosophy , Politics and Economics at New College , Oxford ( MA ) , followed by graduating as MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics . She worked as an economist at the Bank of England and British Embassy in Washington , D.C . between 2000 and 2006 . Reeves moved to Leeds in 2006 to work for HBOS . She was once interviewed for a job at Goldman Sachs , but turned it down , despite claiming that the job could have made her a lot richer . Reeves cites the influence of her father on her and her sister Ellie Reeves on her socially democratic politics . She recalls how , when she was eight years old , her father , Graham , pointed out the then-Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock on the television and told us that was who we voted for . Reeves says she and her sister have both known we were Labour since then . She joined the Labour Party at the age of sixteen . Political career . Reeves stood as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst at the 2005 general election , finishing second . She also contested the 2006 by-election in the same constituency , following the death of sitting Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) Eric Forth , and finished in fourth place . Labour support fell from 10,241 votes to 1,925 , in what was described as a humiliation for Labour . The result was the worst performance for a governing party since 1991 . Reeves later sought nomination for the Leeds West seat at the 2010 general election , seeking to replace John Battle , who had chosen to retire . She was selected to contest the seat from an all-women shortlist of Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidates . She was elected with a majority of 7,016 on 6 May 2010 – a 5,794 reduction in the majority enjoyed by Battle . In her maiden speech , delivered on 8 June 2010 , Reeves praised the work of Battle and pledged to fight for jobs , growth and prosperity for Leeds West . She also pledged to follow in Battles footsteps and fight for justice for the victims of the Armley asbestos disaster and their families . In a series of questions in Parliament , she enquired whether the government would honour promises by the previous government to compensate victims of asbestos diagnosed with pleural plaques , and bring legislation into force making it easier to pursue claims against insurers . Following the 2010 election , Reeves supported Ed Miliband for the Labour leadership because she felt he was the candidate most willing to listen to what the voters were saying about where the party went wrong . After becoming an MP , Reeves was appointed to the Department for Business , Innovation and Skills Select Committee then as Shadow Pensions Minister in October 2010 . In her role as Shadow Pensions Minister , she campaigned against the Governments proposed acceleration of equalising state pensions ages for men and women . She was promoted to the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011 . Reeves was named in 2011 by The Guardian newspaper as being one of several MPs who employ unpaid interns , a practice that some maintain may breach the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 . The same year , The Independent named Reeves as a member of a group of new Labour MPs known as the Nandos Five , the others being Luciana Berger , Jonathan Reynolds , Emma Reynolds and Chuka Umunna . Appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2013 , Reeves proposed that anyone unemployed for two years , or one year if under 25 years old , would be required to take a guaranteed job or lose access to benefits . She caused controversy within the Labour Party by stating Labour would be tougher than the Conservative Party in cutting the benefits bill . She caused further controversy in early 2015 by stating We [ Labour ] don’t want to be seen , and were not , the party to represent those who are out of work . Reeves parliamentary credit card was stopped at the start of 2015 , owing to a debt of £4,033.63 , which she subsequently repaid . In 2018 , she claimed £188,686 in expenses , of which £149,514 was in staffing costs and £22,089 in office costs , £30,422 more than the average parliamentary claim of £158,264 . Following Jeremy Corbyns election as leader in 2015 , Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet after her maternity leave and supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election . In September 2016 , Reeves described her constituency as being like a tinderbox that could explode if immigration was not curbed . In 2017 , conservative commentator Iain Dale placed Reeves at Number 94 on his list of the 100 most influential people on the Left , down ten places on the previous year . When Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 , Reeves was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , with responsibility for Labours response to Brexit and shadowing Michael Gove . She was promoted to the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in a shadow cabinet reshuffle on 9 May 2021 , replacing Anneliese Dodds . Political positions and views . Reeves has written a study on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 for the Fabian Review , Institute of Public Policy Research , Socialist Environment and Resources Association , and the European Journal of Political Economy . In an article for Renewal entitled The Politics of Deficit Reduction , Reeves offers her critique of the then-current financial situation and efforts to bring down the budget deficit . Reeves is a proponent of quantitative easing to alleviate the late-2000s recession , having studied the effects of the policy on Japan in the early 2000s . Reeves supports the High Speed 2 rail project , and raised the issue in the House of Commons , as well as campaigning for the proposed Kirkstall Forge railway station . She is also involved in the campaign to save the historic Bramley Baths and the campaign to save the childrens heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary . Reeves is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel , contributed a chapter to a book about Israeli politics and society , and supports the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation . Reeves has been a long-standing admirer of Nancy Astor and has frequently praised her actions as an MP . Writing . Echoing similar titles of publications by Roy Jenkins in 1959 and Tony Wright in 1997 , Reeves wrote the new edition of Why Vote Labour ? in the run-up to the 2010 general election , as part of a series giving the case for each of the main political parties . Reeves biography of the Labour politician Alice Bacon , Baroness Bacon ( 1909–1993 ) , titled Alice in Westminster : The Political Life of Alice Bacon , was published in 2017 . Bacon was the first and previously only woman to represent a Leeds constituency , having represented Leeds North East and then Leeds South East between 1945 and 1970 . She regularly contributes to The Guardian newspaper , as well as the websites LabourList and Progress . Personal life . Reeves is married to Nicholas Joicey , a civil servant and Gordon Browns former private secretary and speech writer . The couple have homes in Bramley in Leeds and London . Reeves announced her first pregnancy on 20 September 2012 , giving birth to a daughter . She subsequently gave birth to a son in 2015 . Reeves younger sister , Ellie Reeves , is the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge and is married to John Cryer , Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead . External links . - Fabian Society |
[
"Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office"
] | easy | Which position did Rachel Reeves hold from Dec 2019 to Dec 2020? | /wiki/Rachel_Reeves#P39#3 | Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves ( born 13 February 1979 ) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021 . A member of the Labour Party , she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010 . Born in Lewisham , Reeves studied at New College , Oxford and the London School of Economics before working as an economist at the Bank of England , the British Embassy in Washington , D.C . and HBOS . Elected at the 2010 general election , she served in Ed Milibands Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2011 to 2013 and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2013 to 2015 . As Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary , Reeves announced Labour would be tougher than the Conservatives in reducing the benefits bill and would not seek to represent those out of work . Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyns election as Labour leader in 2015 , instead serving as chair of the Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2017 to 2020 . After Keir Starmer was elected as leader in 2020 , he appointed Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office , shadowing Michael Gove . In May 2021 , she replaced Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer . Early life and career . The daughter of Graham and Sally Reeves of Lewisham , south-east London , Reeves was educated at Cator Park School for Girls in Bromley . At school , she won a British Under-14 girls chess championship title in a tournament organised by the now-defunct British Womens Chess Association . After sitting A-Levels in Politics , Economics , Mathematics and Further Mathematics , she read Philosophy , Politics and Economics at New College , Oxford ( MA ) , followed by graduating as MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics . She worked as an economist at the Bank of England and British Embassy in Washington , D.C . between 2000 and 2006 . Reeves moved to Leeds in 2006 to work for HBOS . She was once interviewed for a job at Goldman Sachs , but turned it down , despite claiming that the job could have made her a lot richer . Reeves cites the influence of her father on her and her sister Ellie Reeves on her socially democratic politics . She recalls how , when she was eight years old , her father , Graham , pointed out the then-Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock on the television and told us that was who we voted for . Reeves says she and her sister have both known we were Labour since then . She joined the Labour Party at the age of sixteen . Political career . Reeves stood as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst at the 2005 general election , finishing second . She also contested the 2006 by-election in the same constituency , following the death of sitting Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) Eric Forth , and finished in fourth place . Labour support fell from 10,241 votes to 1,925 , in what was described as a humiliation for Labour . The result was the worst performance for a governing party since 1991 . Reeves later sought nomination for the Leeds West seat at the 2010 general election , seeking to replace John Battle , who had chosen to retire . She was selected to contest the seat from an all-women shortlist of Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidates . She was elected with a majority of 7,016 on 6 May 2010 – a 5,794 reduction in the majority enjoyed by Battle . In her maiden speech , delivered on 8 June 2010 , Reeves praised the work of Battle and pledged to fight for jobs , growth and prosperity for Leeds West . She also pledged to follow in Battles footsteps and fight for justice for the victims of the Armley asbestos disaster and their families . In a series of questions in Parliament , she enquired whether the government would honour promises by the previous government to compensate victims of asbestos diagnosed with pleural plaques , and bring legislation into force making it easier to pursue claims against insurers . Following the 2010 election , Reeves supported Ed Miliband for the Labour leadership because she felt he was the candidate most willing to listen to what the voters were saying about where the party went wrong . After becoming an MP , Reeves was appointed to the Department for Business , Innovation and Skills Select Committee then as Shadow Pensions Minister in October 2010 . In her role as Shadow Pensions Minister , she campaigned against the Governments proposed acceleration of equalising state pensions ages for men and women . She was promoted to the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011 . Reeves was named in 2011 by The Guardian newspaper as being one of several MPs who employ unpaid interns , a practice that some maintain may breach the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 . The same year , The Independent named Reeves as a member of a group of new Labour MPs known as the Nandos Five , the others being Luciana Berger , Jonathan Reynolds , Emma Reynolds and Chuka Umunna . Appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2013 , Reeves proposed that anyone unemployed for two years , or one year if under 25 years old , would be required to take a guaranteed job or lose access to benefits . She caused controversy within the Labour Party by stating Labour would be tougher than the Conservative Party in cutting the benefits bill . She caused further controversy in early 2015 by stating We [ Labour ] don’t want to be seen , and were not , the party to represent those who are out of work . Reeves parliamentary credit card was stopped at the start of 2015 , owing to a debt of £4,033.63 , which she subsequently repaid . In 2018 , she claimed £188,686 in expenses , of which £149,514 was in staffing costs and £22,089 in office costs , £30,422 more than the average parliamentary claim of £158,264 . Following Jeremy Corbyns election as leader in 2015 , Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet after her maternity leave and supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election . In September 2016 , Reeves described her constituency as being like a tinderbox that could explode if immigration was not curbed . In 2017 , conservative commentator Iain Dale placed Reeves at Number 94 on his list of the 100 most influential people on the Left , down ten places on the previous year . When Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 , Reeves was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , with responsibility for Labours response to Brexit and shadowing Michael Gove . She was promoted to the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in a shadow cabinet reshuffle on 9 May 2021 , replacing Anneliese Dodds . Political positions and views . Reeves has written a study on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 for the Fabian Review , Institute of Public Policy Research , Socialist Environment and Resources Association , and the European Journal of Political Economy . In an article for Renewal entitled The Politics of Deficit Reduction , Reeves offers her critique of the then-current financial situation and efforts to bring down the budget deficit . Reeves is a proponent of quantitative easing to alleviate the late-2000s recession , having studied the effects of the policy on Japan in the early 2000s . Reeves supports the High Speed 2 rail project , and raised the issue in the House of Commons , as well as campaigning for the proposed Kirkstall Forge railway station . She is also involved in the campaign to save the historic Bramley Baths and the campaign to save the childrens heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary . Reeves is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel , contributed a chapter to a book about Israeli politics and society , and supports the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation . Reeves has been a long-standing admirer of Nancy Astor and has frequently praised her actions as an MP . Writing . Echoing similar titles of publications by Roy Jenkins in 1959 and Tony Wright in 1997 , Reeves wrote the new edition of Why Vote Labour ? in the run-up to the 2010 general election , as part of a series giving the case for each of the main political parties . Reeves biography of the Labour politician Alice Bacon , Baroness Bacon ( 1909–1993 ) , titled Alice in Westminster : The Political Life of Alice Bacon , was published in 2017 . Bacon was the first and previously only woman to represent a Leeds constituency , having represented Leeds North East and then Leeds South East between 1945 and 1970 . She regularly contributes to The Guardian newspaper , as well as the websites LabourList and Progress . Personal life . Reeves is married to Nicholas Joicey , a civil servant and Gordon Browns former private secretary and speech writer . The couple have homes in Bramley in Leeds and London . Reeves announced her first pregnancy on 20 September 2012 , giving birth to a daughter . She subsequently gave birth to a son in 2015 . Reeves younger sister , Ellie Reeves , is the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge and is married to John Cryer , Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead . External links . - Fabian Society |
[
"Senator for Queensland"
] | easy | Barnaby Joyce took which position from Jul 2005 to Aug 2013? | /wiki/Barnaby_Joyce#P39#0 | Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce ( born 17 April 1967 ) is an Australian politician . He served as the leader of the National Party from February 2016 to February 2018 , and was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from February 2016 to October 2017 and from December 2017 to February 2018 . Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales , and is a graduate of the University of New England . In 1999 , he set up an accountancy practice in St George , Queensland . Joyce was elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election , taking office in 2005 , though it subsequently emerged in 2017 that he was not eligible for election . He became the National Partys Senate leader in 2008 . At the 2013 election , he transferred to the House of Representatives , winning the rural seat of New England in New South Wales . During 2013 , Joyce replaced Nigel Scullion as deputy leader of the National Party . He succeeded Warren Truss as party leader and deputy prime minister in 2016 . In the Abbott and Turnbull Governments , Joyce served as Minister for Agriculture ( 2013–2015 ) , Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources ( 2015–2017 ) , Minister for Resources and Northern Australia ( 2017 ) and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport ( 2017–2018 ) . During the 2017 parliamentary eligibility crisis , Joyce was confirmed to be a dual citizen of New Zealand . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court of Australia ruled that he had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election . Joyce re-entered parliament in December 2017 after winning the New England by-election with a large swing against low-profile opposition . In February 2018 , he resigned his ministerial and leadership roles after acknowledging that he was in a relationship and expecting a child with a former staffer . He was succeeded by Michael McCormack . Early life and career . Barnaby Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales and raised as one of six children on a sheep and cattle property about sixty kilometres north-east at Danglemah near Woolbrook . Joyces paternal grandfather , Lieutenant Colonel John P . Joyce , of the NZ Otago regiment landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 , and fought on the Western Front during World War I as well as in the Pacific War during World War II . John also once served as a bodyguard to the future King Edward VIII during the interwar period . Barnabys father , James Michael Joyce , was born in New Zealand and was injured in World War II . James Joyce moved to Australia in 1947 to study veterinary science at the University of Sydney , where he met Joyces mother , Marie Roche , who was studying physiotherapy . In 1956 , Barnabys parents married and made their living as farmers . Joyce attended Woolbrook Public School , boarded at Saint Ignatius College , Riverview in Sydney , and graduated from the University of New England ( UNE ) Armidale with a Bachelor of Financial Administration in 1989 . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at UNE . They married in 1993 . After graduating , Joyce moved around northern New South Wales and Queensland as a farm worker , nightclub bouncer , and rural banker . From 1991 to 2005 , Joyce worked in the accounting profession , and founded his own accountancy firm Barnaby Joyce & Co . in St George , Queensland in 1999 . He is a fellow of CPA Australia . From 1996 to 2001 , Joyce served in the Royal Queensland Regiment of the Australian Army Reserve . Senator for Queensland ( 2005–2013 ) . In the 2004 Australian federal election , Joyce was elected to the Senate representing Queensland and the National Party . His term ran from 1 July 2005 until 30 June 2011 . He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a member of the Liberal National Party , which was formed by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the two non-Labor parties . Before taking his seat in July 2005 , Joyce said that the government should not take his support for granted . As a senator , he crossed the floor nineteen times during the term of the Howard Government . Joyce initially expressed misgivings about the governments proposed sale of Telstra , the partially state-owned telecommunications company ; nevertheless , Joyce voted in favour of the sale a few months later in September 2005 . This led the Labor Party to label Joyce Backdown Barney and Barnaby Rubble in an acrimonious parliamentary debate . As the Telstra Sale Legislation had been pursued by the lower house in prior parliamentary sessions with no assistance package for regional Australia , Joyce was later credited for holding out until the multibillion-dollar assistance package was negotiated and delivered . Joyce opposed the free provision of the Gardasil vaccine . In May 2006 , after a one-month visit to Antarctica as a member of the External Territories Committee , Joyce promoted mining there , banned under the Antarctic Treaty , and stated that other nations did not recognise Australias 42 per cent claim over Antarctica . The proposal was roundly condemned by Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell , Labor Opposition spokesman Anthony Albanese and others . Crossing the floor . As a Senator , Joyce used the threat of crossing the floor to extract concessions from his own government on various issues , most notably in relation to the sale of Telstra . He crossed the floor 28 times and there was a perception that he was a maverick and someone not beholden to the Liberals . The They Vote For You website , which monitors the voting patterns of federal politicians , records that Joyce has rebelled against the party whip in 1.1% of divisions . The following table lists the legislation on which Joyce has crossed the floor , but does not include motions . Leader of the Nationals in the Senate . In September 2008 , after replacing Nigel Scullion as Leader of the Nationals in the Senate , Joyce stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house , which opened up another possible avenue for the Labor government to pass legislation . Joyce gained the majority support of the five Nationals ( including one Country Liberal Party ) senators through Fiona Nash and John Williams . The takeover was not expected nor revealed to the party until after it took place . Joyce remained leader of his party despite the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and National parties merging into the Liberal National Party of Queensland in July 2008 . In 2009 when Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull decided that the Coalition would support the Rudd Governments emissions trading scheme ( ETS ) , Joyce as Nationals Senate leader helped trigger the rebellion within Coalition ranks against it . The issue with the ETS would lead to Turnbull being replaced as Liberal leader by Tony Abbott . Abbott then appointed Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister . In February 2010 , Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister declared that Australia was going to hock to our eyeballs to people overseas and was getting to a point where we cant repay it . This led to a response from the Governor of the Reserve Bank , Glenn Stevens , that he had yet to meet a finance minister [ sic ] who has ever mused any possibility about debt default of his own country and that there were few things less likely than Australia defaulting on its sovereign debt . Senator Joyces time as Shadow Finance Minister was fraught with difficulties which also infamously saw him confusing trillions with billions in his first appearance as Shadow Finance Minister at the National Press Club and became the source of ridicule by the Government . There were calls from within the Coalition that Joyce be removed from the Finance portfolio as it was a distraction in their attacks on the Government which was having its own problems with the insulation scheme . Joyce lasted as Shadow Finance Minister for three months from December 2009 to March 2010 when Abbott , in a reshuffle , moved him to Regional Development , Infrastructure and Water . In the 2010 election , Joyce was reelected to parliament on the LNP ticket with Senators George Brandis and Brett Mason , but Joyce got more below the line votes than above the line votes . He was reappointed to the Shadow Ministry with his portfolio renamed as Regional Development , Local Government and Water as well as remaining as leader of the Nationals in the Senate . House of Representatives . In April 2013 , Joyce won the Nationals preselection for the House of Representatives seat of New England in New South Wales for the September 2013 election . The seat was held on a margin of 21.52% by independent politician Tony Windsor , who had decided to retire . Independent state parliamentarian Richard Torbay had been preselected as National candidate in August 2012 , but was pushed out due to concerns about his ownership of several Centrelink buildings and reports that he received secret donations from Labor interests to run against National candidates . Joyce had expressed interest in transferring to the lower house for some time . He had initially mulled running in Maranoa , which included his home in St George , but this was brought undone when that seats longtime member , Bruce Scott , refused to stand aside in his favour . When Torbays candidacy imploded , the state Nationals felt chagrin at Joyces renewed interest , even though he had been born in Tamworth and had spent much of his youth on both sides of the Tweed . They initially floated NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner as a replacement for Torbay . Ultimately , however , Joyce faced little opposition in the preselection contest . He resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 , and Barry OSullivan was selected to replace him in the Senate . Joyce won the seat of New England with a margin of 21 points . He was the first person to win back both a Senate seat and a House of Representatives seat previously lost by the Coalition . The Nationals had held New England without interruption from 1922 until Windsor won the seat in 2001 , and had been heavily tipped to regain it with Windsors retirement . During Windsors tenure , most calculations of traditional two-party matchups between the Nationals and Labor had shown it as a comfortably safe National seat . Joyce is one of only a handful of people to have represented multiple states in parliament , and the only person to have represented one state in the Senate and a different state in the House of Representatives . By Windsors account , Joyce revealed that if Windsor had contested the seat , rather than retired , Prime Minister Abbotts office was ready to finance a range of projects in the New England to aid Joyces campaign ( including $50 million for Armidale hospital ) ; however , once there was no competition , all but $5 million was reallocated to other electorates . Following the 2013 election , Joyce was elected deputy leader of the Nationals . On 18 September 2013 , Joyce was sworn in as Minister for Agriculture . On 21 September 2015 , this portfolio was expanded to include Water Resources in the First Turnbull Ministry . In September 2015 , Joyce gained international attention after warning actor Johnny Depp that his two pet dogs would be euthanised if not removed from Australia after being imported illegally . At the 2016 election , Joyce faced a stiff challenge from Tony Windsor , who came out of retirement to contest . Seat-level polling in the seat of New England found Joyce and Windsor neck and neck , however Joyce won with a majority on the primary vote , enough to retain the seat without the need for preferences . Leader of the National Party . On 11 February 2016 , Leader of the National Party , Warren Truss announced his intended retirement and Barnaby Joyce was elected unopposed as his replacement , with Fiona Nash as his deputy . Joyce was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on 18 February 2016 . On 7 December 2017 , Bridget McKenzie replaced Nash as deputy leader of the Nationals . On 26 February 2018 , Joyce resigned as leader of the National Party and was replaced by Michael McCormack , who subsequently became the deputy prime minister under the Coalition agreement . On 4 February 2020 , Joyce unsuccessfully challenged McCormack as leader of the Nationals . Constitutional eligibility . On 14 August 2017 , Joyce became embroiled in the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis , announcing to the House of Representatives that he had received advice from the New Zealand High Commission that he could possibly hold New Zealand citizenship by descent from his father . Joyce asked the government to have him referred to the High Court in the Court of Disputed Returns for consideration and clarification of his eligibility alongside that of senators Ludlam , Waters , Canavan and Roberts . Later in the day , the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and the Crown Law Office confirmed that Joyce was indeed a New Zealand citizen . He quickly renounced his New Zealand citizenship . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court ruled that Joyce had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election , since he had been a dual citizen at that time , and that his election was therefore invalid . The ruling cast doubt on the validity of ministerial decisions made after August 2017 . On 2 December 2017 , Joyce won the ensuing New England by-election with a healthy two-party swing of 7.5 percent , in the process winning almost two-thirds of the primary vote . He was sworn back into the House four days later , and on the same day was reappointed as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources . Prime Minister Turnbull had taken on that portfolio himself after Joyce was forced out of Parliament for the first time . On 20 December 2017 , in a rearrangement of the Second Turnbull Ministry , Joyce was appointed as the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . During the by-election for New England , Gina Rinehart awarded Joyce the first National Agricultural and Related Industries prize , worth $40,000 . This was criticised by Labor , and Joyces office later said that he would politely decline the money . Affair and resignation . On 7 December 2017 , Joyce announced that he had separated from his wife . On 6 February 2018 The Daily Telegraph reported that he was expecting a child with his former communications staffer Vikki Campion . Richard Di Natale of the Greens called on Joyce to resign for clearly breaching the standards required of ministers . Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull publicly called for Joyce to consider his own position . This was as much as Turnbull could do under the Coalition agreement , which stipulates that the leader of the Nationals automatically becomes Deputy Prime Minister during periods of Coalition government . Turnbull could not have sacked Joyce unless he was deposed in a National leadership spill . However , Turnbull forced Joyce to go on a week of personal leave instead of ascending as acting prime minister while Turnbull visited the United States . He also announced that the parliamentary code of conduct would be reworded to forbid sexual relationships between ministers and their staff . On 21 February , Turnbull ordered an investigation into whether Joyce had breached the ministerial code of conduct . As of May 2018 , the investigation into Joyces travel expenses was ongoing . In February 2018 , Turnbulls office relied on a technicality in stating that Joyce had not breached the ministerial code of conduct when his lover was employed by fellow MPs , arguing Vikki Campion could not be considered the Deputy Prime Ministers partner at the time . The Nationals received a formal complaint alleging that Joyce had sexually harassed a Western Australian woman . Joyces spokesman called the complaint spurious and defamatory . On 23 February , Joyce announced that he would formally resign on 26 February as leader of the National Party , step down from his ministerial portfolios and move to the backbench . On resignation , Joyce lost his Deputy Prime Minister’s and ministerial salaries of $416,000 a year , only to receive a backbencher’s salary of about $200,000 . Regional Development Minister John McVeigh became Acting Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . A leadership election within the National Party resulted in Michael McCormack becoming party leader and deputy prime minister . In September 2018 , to the dismay of the complainant , it was announced that the National Partys eight-month investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment had been unable to make a determination , and that the report would remain confidential . Political positions . Social issues . Abortion . Joyce is opposed to abortion and in 2018 he lobbied NSW Nationals to vote against a bill to provide safe zones around the states abortion clinics . Since 1 July 2018 within NSW , it is illegal to protest within 150 metres of an abortion service . Partnership with Family First . In October 2004 , Joyce expressed offence at a pamphlet handed out by Family First candidate Danny Nalliah , which identified bottle shops , brothels , masonic lodges , mosques , and Hindu and Buddhist temples as strongholds of Satan . Joyce referred to Family First as the lunatic Right , and said that he did not want the preferences of such a party . Medicinal cannabis . In June 2014 , Joyce changed his views about medicinal cannabis and publicly supported calls for the introduction of a medicinal cannabis trial following a high-profile campaign led by a young man in his constituency who was at the time suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer . By 2018 , medical cannabis was generally legalised across Australia . Same-sex marriage . In August 2014 , Joyce spoke out in opposition to same-sex marriage , attending several rallies on the matter in Canberra . In 2011 , he lobbied against a bill proposed by senator Sarah Hanson-Young that would allow for same-sex couples to marry . On 9 December 2017 , same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia . Death penalty . In April 2015 , Joyce called for a national debate on capital punishment in Australia , after previously opposing the death penalty . Refugee intake . In September 2015 , Joyce was the first senior minister to call for the Australian Government to accept more Syrian refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis engulfing Turkey and Europe . However , his call to prioritise Christian refugees above those from other faiths drew criticism from some human rights observers . Parliamentary rules . After the birth of his son Sebastian in April 2018 , Joyce advocated for changes to parliamentary rules to allow senators and MPs to hire their spouses or partners and relatives . When questioned , he denied this could be a conflict of interest . In December 2018 , Joyce raised this issue again to no avail . Religious schools . In December 2018 , Joyce said schools should be allowed to deny enrolment to transgender students . Economic issues . Populist agenda . Joyce has often angered economic rationalist parliamentary colleagues in the LNP Coalition by taking up a number of causes often labelled as populist ; such as his support for the retention of a single-desk wheat export marketing system for Australian grain growers , drought assistance for primary producers , amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 , and media reform regulations that aimed to strengthen the ability of small business to compete with multi-national corporations . When questioned on his views , Joyce stated Maybe Im an agrarian socialist . Foreign investment in Australia . On 17 March 2009 , Joyce launched a privately funded advertising campaign to keep Rio Tinto local , attacking a bid by the Chinese government-owned resources company Chinalco , a bid which had also been heavily criticised by Legal & General in the United Kingdom . Joyce has also opposed the sale of large Australian agricultural assets to foreign investors . In 2012 , as the Opposition spokesman for Water , Joyce was vocal in his unsuccessful opposition to the sale of Cubbie Station to a consortium led by a Chinese State Owned Enterprise . In 2013 , as Agriculture Minister , Joyce and his National Party colleagues strongly opposed the proposed sale of Australias largest bulk grain handler GrainCorp to the American company Archer Daniels Midland . The then Liberal Treasurer , Joe Hockey , rejected the sale based on the hugely discretionary National Interest grounds which a Treasurer can use to block such transactions . Despite the reasons Hockey used to justify his decision , it was widely reported that the National Party demanded this outcome , with the Labor Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen accusing the junior Coalition partner of bullying the Treasurer into arriving at this decision . In 2015 , Joyce voiced opposition to the sale of another large Australian asset to foreign buyers , this time S . Kidman & Co , which owned the largest combined landholdings in Australia , including the iconic Kidman Station . Most of the known interest came from Chinese companies , and Joyce was accused of xenophobia ; claims which he rejected . In November 2015 , the Treasurer , Scott Morrison decided that the sale of S . Kidman & Co to any foreign investor would not be approved based on national security grounds , due to part of the company being in the vicinity of the Woomera Prohibited Area , among other reasons . The Labor Shadow Agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon slammed the Governments decision as political and accused it of running a discriminatory foreign investment regime . Banking royal commission . When Joyce was leader of the Nationals and deputy prime minister , he repeatedly argued against a banking royal commission . After disturbing evidence emerged after hearings for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking , Superannuation and Financial Services Industry began in 2018 , CPA Joyce said , as a backbencher , that he was wrong and naive in previously opposing a royal commission . Environmental issues . Renewable energy . Joyce believes that renewable energy causes problems with energy supply . In January 2021 he called upon Zali Steggall , a prominent renewable energy advocate , to explain why renewable energy had led to power cuts in Manly and other Sydney suburbs , and followed up with I don’t have to win this argument the facts are doing it for me . However enquiries to Ausgrid showed that the outages were not due to renewable energy but to unforeseen cable faults , and that there was no pressure on the grid when the outages occurred . Biofouling . In 2015 , Joyce received a Froggatt Award from the Invasive Species Council for taking principled decisions in regard to the decision to introduce mandatory biofouling rules to prevent marine pests entering Australia , and for acting quickly and decisively in expelling two dogs belonging to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard which had been brought into Australia in an apparent breach of Australia’s strict quarantine laws . Great Barrier Reef . While his biofouling stance is relevant , Joyce has not taken a keen interest in supporting protection of the Great Barrier Reef with a notable lack of engagement in Parliamentary decisions related to the Great Barrier Reef . Global warming . Joyce is known as one of the climate doubters in the Morrison government . During 2015 and 2016 , Joyce strongly opposed major coal mining in the Liverpool Plains . In 2018 , he joined the Monash Forum , a group of Liberal and National MPs who advocate for building new coal-fired power in Australia . Joyce has been seen as a global warming climate change sceptic , but in 2016 made comment about its possibility based on some of his own personal observations . In December 2019 , he was reported as accepting that the climate was changing but insisting the solution was to respect God , rather than impose a tax to limit emissions . Murray-Darling basin . In 2016 , Joyce supported reducing environmental water allocations in the Murray–Darling basin in order to reduce the impact on towns and people currently dependent on the rivers . This was contrary to a 2016 election promise by the government , and was widely criticised by environmental groups . In 2017 , Joyce stated that the Commonwealth would not intervene regarding accusations of water theft in the basin . Endangered species . In March 2017 , Joyce called for Leadbeaters possum to be taken off the critically endangered species list in order to boost the logging of forest to maintain employment . Environmentalists believe that such action would be devastating for the possum and countered that Joyce was prepared to kill two dogs but not ensure the preservation of an entire species . Personal life . Joyce identifies as a Roman Catholic . Marriage . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at university . They were married in 1993 , and together had four daughters : Julia , Caroline , Odette , and Bridgette . In December 2017 , following his extramarital affair with political staffer Vikki Campion , Joyce announced that he and his wife had separated . Extramarital affair . In February 2018 , news reports confirmed that Joyce and his former staffer Vikki Campion were expecting a son together in April . However , in March 2018 , Joyce explained that he and Campion were often physically apart around the time that conception would have most probably occurred , therefore conceding that paternity is a grey area . Joyce later stated that his doubts had been resolved . On 16 April 2018 , Campion gave birth to Sebastian at Armidale Hospital in Armidale , New South Wales . The trio are living in the Armidale area . Joyce and Campion reportedly accepted $150,000 for an interview with Channel 7s Sunday Night program with the money going into a trust fund for Sebastian . On 1 June 2019 , a second son ( Thomas ) was born in Armidale . External links . - ; webpage includes transcript of maiden speech ; and all other parliamentary speeches . |
[
""
] | easy | Which position did Barnaby Joyce hold from Sep 2013 to Feb 2016? | /wiki/Barnaby_Joyce#P39#1 | Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce ( born 17 April 1967 ) is an Australian politician . He served as the leader of the National Party from February 2016 to February 2018 , and was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from February 2016 to October 2017 and from December 2017 to February 2018 . Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales , and is a graduate of the University of New England . In 1999 , he set up an accountancy practice in St George , Queensland . Joyce was elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election , taking office in 2005 , though it subsequently emerged in 2017 that he was not eligible for election . He became the National Partys Senate leader in 2008 . At the 2013 election , he transferred to the House of Representatives , winning the rural seat of New England in New South Wales . During 2013 , Joyce replaced Nigel Scullion as deputy leader of the National Party . He succeeded Warren Truss as party leader and deputy prime minister in 2016 . In the Abbott and Turnbull Governments , Joyce served as Minister for Agriculture ( 2013–2015 ) , Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources ( 2015–2017 ) , Minister for Resources and Northern Australia ( 2017 ) and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport ( 2017–2018 ) . During the 2017 parliamentary eligibility crisis , Joyce was confirmed to be a dual citizen of New Zealand . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court of Australia ruled that he had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election . Joyce re-entered parliament in December 2017 after winning the New England by-election with a large swing against low-profile opposition . In February 2018 , he resigned his ministerial and leadership roles after acknowledging that he was in a relationship and expecting a child with a former staffer . He was succeeded by Michael McCormack . Early life and career . Barnaby Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales and raised as one of six children on a sheep and cattle property about sixty kilometres north-east at Danglemah near Woolbrook . Joyces paternal grandfather , Lieutenant Colonel John P . Joyce , of the NZ Otago regiment landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 , and fought on the Western Front during World War I as well as in the Pacific War during World War II . John also once served as a bodyguard to the future King Edward VIII during the interwar period . Barnabys father , James Michael Joyce , was born in New Zealand and was injured in World War II . James Joyce moved to Australia in 1947 to study veterinary science at the University of Sydney , where he met Joyces mother , Marie Roche , who was studying physiotherapy . In 1956 , Barnabys parents married and made their living as farmers . Joyce attended Woolbrook Public School , boarded at Saint Ignatius College , Riverview in Sydney , and graduated from the University of New England ( UNE ) Armidale with a Bachelor of Financial Administration in 1989 . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at UNE . They married in 1993 . After graduating , Joyce moved around northern New South Wales and Queensland as a farm worker , nightclub bouncer , and rural banker . From 1991 to 2005 , Joyce worked in the accounting profession , and founded his own accountancy firm Barnaby Joyce & Co . in St George , Queensland in 1999 . He is a fellow of CPA Australia . From 1996 to 2001 , Joyce served in the Royal Queensland Regiment of the Australian Army Reserve . Senator for Queensland ( 2005–2013 ) . In the 2004 Australian federal election , Joyce was elected to the Senate representing Queensland and the National Party . His term ran from 1 July 2005 until 30 June 2011 . He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a member of the Liberal National Party , which was formed by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the two non-Labor parties . Before taking his seat in July 2005 , Joyce said that the government should not take his support for granted . As a senator , he crossed the floor nineteen times during the term of the Howard Government . Joyce initially expressed misgivings about the governments proposed sale of Telstra , the partially state-owned telecommunications company ; nevertheless , Joyce voted in favour of the sale a few months later in September 2005 . This led the Labor Party to label Joyce Backdown Barney and Barnaby Rubble in an acrimonious parliamentary debate . As the Telstra Sale Legislation had been pursued by the lower house in prior parliamentary sessions with no assistance package for regional Australia , Joyce was later credited for holding out until the multibillion-dollar assistance package was negotiated and delivered . Joyce opposed the free provision of the Gardasil vaccine . In May 2006 , after a one-month visit to Antarctica as a member of the External Territories Committee , Joyce promoted mining there , banned under the Antarctic Treaty , and stated that other nations did not recognise Australias 42 per cent claim over Antarctica . The proposal was roundly condemned by Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell , Labor Opposition spokesman Anthony Albanese and others . Crossing the floor . As a Senator , Joyce used the threat of crossing the floor to extract concessions from his own government on various issues , most notably in relation to the sale of Telstra . He crossed the floor 28 times and there was a perception that he was a maverick and someone not beholden to the Liberals . The They Vote For You website , which monitors the voting patterns of federal politicians , records that Joyce has rebelled against the party whip in 1.1% of divisions . The following table lists the legislation on which Joyce has crossed the floor , but does not include motions . Leader of the Nationals in the Senate . In September 2008 , after replacing Nigel Scullion as Leader of the Nationals in the Senate , Joyce stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house , which opened up another possible avenue for the Labor government to pass legislation . Joyce gained the majority support of the five Nationals ( including one Country Liberal Party ) senators through Fiona Nash and John Williams . The takeover was not expected nor revealed to the party until after it took place . Joyce remained leader of his party despite the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and National parties merging into the Liberal National Party of Queensland in July 2008 . In 2009 when Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull decided that the Coalition would support the Rudd Governments emissions trading scheme ( ETS ) , Joyce as Nationals Senate leader helped trigger the rebellion within Coalition ranks against it . The issue with the ETS would lead to Turnbull being replaced as Liberal leader by Tony Abbott . Abbott then appointed Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister . In February 2010 , Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister declared that Australia was going to hock to our eyeballs to people overseas and was getting to a point where we cant repay it . This led to a response from the Governor of the Reserve Bank , Glenn Stevens , that he had yet to meet a finance minister [ sic ] who has ever mused any possibility about debt default of his own country and that there were few things less likely than Australia defaulting on its sovereign debt . Senator Joyces time as Shadow Finance Minister was fraught with difficulties which also infamously saw him confusing trillions with billions in his first appearance as Shadow Finance Minister at the National Press Club and became the source of ridicule by the Government . There were calls from within the Coalition that Joyce be removed from the Finance portfolio as it was a distraction in their attacks on the Government which was having its own problems with the insulation scheme . Joyce lasted as Shadow Finance Minister for three months from December 2009 to March 2010 when Abbott , in a reshuffle , moved him to Regional Development , Infrastructure and Water . In the 2010 election , Joyce was reelected to parliament on the LNP ticket with Senators George Brandis and Brett Mason , but Joyce got more below the line votes than above the line votes . He was reappointed to the Shadow Ministry with his portfolio renamed as Regional Development , Local Government and Water as well as remaining as leader of the Nationals in the Senate . House of Representatives . In April 2013 , Joyce won the Nationals preselection for the House of Representatives seat of New England in New South Wales for the September 2013 election . The seat was held on a margin of 21.52% by independent politician Tony Windsor , who had decided to retire . Independent state parliamentarian Richard Torbay had been preselected as National candidate in August 2012 , but was pushed out due to concerns about his ownership of several Centrelink buildings and reports that he received secret donations from Labor interests to run against National candidates . Joyce had expressed interest in transferring to the lower house for some time . He had initially mulled running in Maranoa , which included his home in St George , but this was brought undone when that seats longtime member , Bruce Scott , refused to stand aside in his favour . When Torbays candidacy imploded , the state Nationals felt chagrin at Joyces renewed interest , even though he had been born in Tamworth and had spent much of his youth on both sides of the Tweed . They initially floated NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner as a replacement for Torbay . Ultimately , however , Joyce faced little opposition in the preselection contest . He resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 , and Barry OSullivan was selected to replace him in the Senate . Joyce won the seat of New England with a margin of 21 points . He was the first person to win back both a Senate seat and a House of Representatives seat previously lost by the Coalition . The Nationals had held New England without interruption from 1922 until Windsor won the seat in 2001 , and had been heavily tipped to regain it with Windsors retirement . During Windsors tenure , most calculations of traditional two-party matchups between the Nationals and Labor had shown it as a comfortably safe National seat . Joyce is one of only a handful of people to have represented multiple states in parliament , and the only person to have represented one state in the Senate and a different state in the House of Representatives . By Windsors account , Joyce revealed that if Windsor had contested the seat , rather than retired , Prime Minister Abbotts office was ready to finance a range of projects in the New England to aid Joyces campaign ( including $50 million for Armidale hospital ) ; however , once there was no competition , all but $5 million was reallocated to other electorates . Following the 2013 election , Joyce was elected deputy leader of the Nationals . On 18 September 2013 , Joyce was sworn in as Minister for Agriculture . On 21 September 2015 , this portfolio was expanded to include Water Resources in the First Turnbull Ministry . In September 2015 , Joyce gained international attention after warning actor Johnny Depp that his two pet dogs would be euthanised if not removed from Australia after being imported illegally . At the 2016 election , Joyce faced a stiff challenge from Tony Windsor , who came out of retirement to contest . Seat-level polling in the seat of New England found Joyce and Windsor neck and neck , however Joyce won with a majority on the primary vote , enough to retain the seat without the need for preferences . Leader of the National Party . On 11 February 2016 , Leader of the National Party , Warren Truss announced his intended retirement and Barnaby Joyce was elected unopposed as his replacement , with Fiona Nash as his deputy . Joyce was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on 18 February 2016 . On 7 December 2017 , Bridget McKenzie replaced Nash as deputy leader of the Nationals . On 26 February 2018 , Joyce resigned as leader of the National Party and was replaced by Michael McCormack , who subsequently became the deputy prime minister under the Coalition agreement . On 4 February 2020 , Joyce unsuccessfully challenged McCormack as leader of the Nationals . Constitutional eligibility . On 14 August 2017 , Joyce became embroiled in the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis , announcing to the House of Representatives that he had received advice from the New Zealand High Commission that he could possibly hold New Zealand citizenship by descent from his father . Joyce asked the government to have him referred to the High Court in the Court of Disputed Returns for consideration and clarification of his eligibility alongside that of senators Ludlam , Waters , Canavan and Roberts . Later in the day , the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and the Crown Law Office confirmed that Joyce was indeed a New Zealand citizen . He quickly renounced his New Zealand citizenship . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court ruled that Joyce had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election , since he had been a dual citizen at that time , and that his election was therefore invalid . The ruling cast doubt on the validity of ministerial decisions made after August 2017 . On 2 December 2017 , Joyce won the ensuing New England by-election with a healthy two-party swing of 7.5 percent , in the process winning almost two-thirds of the primary vote . He was sworn back into the House four days later , and on the same day was reappointed as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources . Prime Minister Turnbull had taken on that portfolio himself after Joyce was forced out of Parliament for the first time . On 20 December 2017 , in a rearrangement of the Second Turnbull Ministry , Joyce was appointed as the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . During the by-election for New England , Gina Rinehart awarded Joyce the first National Agricultural and Related Industries prize , worth $40,000 . This was criticised by Labor , and Joyces office later said that he would politely decline the money . Affair and resignation . On 7 December 2017 , Joyce announced that he had separated from his wife . On 6 February 2018 The Daily Telegraph reported that he was expecting a child with his former communications staffer Vikki Campion . Richard Di Natale of the Greens called on Joyce to resign for clearly breaching the standards required of ministers . Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull publicly called for Joyce to consider his own position . This was as much as Turnbull could do under the Coalition agreement , which stipulates that the leader of the Nationals automatically becomes Deputy Prime Minister during periods of Coalition government . Turnbull could not have sacked Joyce unless he was deposed in a National leadership spill . However , Turnbull forced Joyce to go on a week of personal leave instead of ascending as acting prime minister while Turnbull visited the United States . He also announced that the parliamentary code of conduct would be reworded to forbid sexual relationships between ministers and their staff . On 21 February , Turnbull ordered an investigation into whether Joyce had breached the ministerial code of conduct . As of May 2018 , the investigation into Joyces travel expenses was ongoing . In February 2018 , Turnbulls office relied on a technicality in stating that Joyce had not breached the ministerial code of conduct when his lover was employed by fellow MPs , arguing Vikki Campion could not be considered the Deputy Prime Ministers partner at the time . The Nationals received a formal complaint alleging that Joyce had sexually harassed a Western Australian woman . Joyces spokesman called the complaint spurious and defamatory . On 23 February , Joyce announced that he would formally resign on 26 February as leader of the National Party , step down from his ministerial portfolios and move to the backbench . On resignation , Joyce lost his Deputy Prime Minister’s and ministerial salaries of $416,000 a year , only to receive a backbencher’s salary of about $200,000 . Regional Development Minister John McVeigh became Acting Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . A leadership election within the National Party resulted in Michael McCormack becoming party leader and deputy prime minister . In September 2018 , to the dismay of the complainant , it was announced that the National Partys eight-month investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment had been unable to make a determination , and that the report would remain confidential . Political positions . Social issues . Abortion . Joyce is opposed to abortion and in 2018 he lobbied NSW Nationals to vote against a bill to provide safe zones around the states abortion clinics . Since 1 July 2018 within NSW , it is illegal to protest within 150 metres of an abortion service . Partnership with Family First . In October 2004 , Joyce expressed offence at a pamphlet handed out by Family First candidate Danny Nalliah , which identified bottle shops , brothels , masonic lodges , mosques , and Hindu and Buddhist temples as strongholds of Satan . Joyce referred to Family First as the lunatic Right , and said that he did not want the preferences of such a party . Medicinal cannabis . In June 2014 , Joyce changed his views about medicinal cannabis and publicly supported calls for the introduction of a medicinal cannabis trial following a high-profile campaign led by a young man in his constituency who was at the time suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer . By 2018 , medical cannabis was generally legalised across Australia . Same-sex marriage . In August 2014 , Joyce spoke out in opposition to same-sex marriage , attending several rallies on the matter in Canberra . In 2011 , he lobbied against a bill proposed by senator Sarah Hanson-Young that would allow for same-sex couples to marry . On 9 December 2017 , same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia . Death penalty . In April 2015 , Joyce called for a national debate on capital punishment in Australia , after previously opposing the death penalty . Refugee intake . In September 2015 , Joyce was the first senior minister to call for the Australian Government to accept more Syrian refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis engulfing Turkey and Europe . However , his call to prioritise Christian refugees above those from other faiths drew criticism from some human rights observers . Parliamentary rules . After the birth of his son Sebastian in April 2018 , Joyce advocated for changes to parliamentary rules to allow senators and MPs to hire their spouses or partners and relatives . When questioned , he denied this could be a conflict of interest . In December 2018 , Joyce raised this issue again to no avail . Religious schools . In December 2018 , Joyce said schools should be allowed to deny enrolment to transgender students . Economic issues . Populist agenda . Joyce has often angered economic rationalist parliamentary colleagues in the LNP Coalition by taking up a number of causes often labelled as populist ; such as his support for the retention of a single-desk wheat export marketing system for Australian grain growers , drought assistance for primary producers , amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 , and media reform regulations that aimed to strengthen the ability of small business to compete with multi-national corporations . When questioned on his views , Joyce stated Maybe Im an agrarian socialist . Foreign investment in Australia . On 17 March 2009 , Joyce launched a privately funded advertising campaign to keep Rio Tinto local , attacking a bid by the Chinese government-owned resources company Chinalco , a bid which had also been heavily criticised by Legal & General in the United Kingdom . Joyce has also opposed the sale of large Australian agricultural assets to foreign investors . In 2012 , as the Opposition spokesman for Water , Joyce was vocal in his unsuccessful opposition to the sale of Cubbie Station to a consortium led by a Chinese State Owned Enterprise . In 2013 , as Agriculture Minister , Joyce and his National Party colleagues strongly opposed the proposed sale of Australias largest bulk grain handler GrainCorp to the American company Archer Daniels Midland . The then Liberal Treasurer , Joe Hockey , rejected the sale based on the hugely discretionary National Interest grounds which a Treasurer can use to block such transactions . Despite the reasons Hockey used to justify his decision , it was widely reported that the National Party demanded this outcome , with the Labor Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen accusing the junior Coalition partner of bullying the Treasurer into arriving at this decision . In 2015 , Joyce voiced opposition to the sale of another large Australian asset to foreign buyers , this time S . Kidman & Co , which owned the largest combined landholdings in Australia , including the iconic Kidman Station . Most of the known interest came from Chinese companies , and Joyce was accused of xenophobia ; claims which he rejected . In November 2015 , the Treasurer , Scott Morrison decided that the sale of S . Kidman & Co to any foreign investor would not be approved based on national security grounds , due to part of the company being in the vicinity of the Woomera Prohibited Area , among other reasons . The Labor Shadow Agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon slammed the Governments decision as political and accused it of running a discriminatory foreign investment regime . Banking royal commission . When Joyce was leader of the Nationals and deputy prime minister , he repeatedly argued against a banking royal commission . After disturbing evidence emerged after hearings for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking , Superannuation and Financial Services Industry began in 2018 , CPA Joyce said , as a backbencher , that he was wrong and naive in previously opposing a royal commission . Environmental issues . Renewable energy . Joyce believes that renewable energy causes problems with energy supply . In January 2021 he called upon Zali Steggall , a prominent renewable energy advocate , to explain why renewable energy had led to power cuts in Manly and other Sydney suburbs , and followed up with I don’t have to win this argument the facts are doing it for me . However enquiries to Ausgrid showed that the outages were not due to renewable energy but to unforeseen cable faults , and that there was no pressure on the grid when the outages occurred . Biofouling . In 2015 , Joyce received a Froggatt Award from the Invasive Species Council for taking principled decisions in regard to the decision to introduce mandatory biofouling rules to prevent marine pests entering Australia , and for acting quickly and decisively in expelling two dogs belonging to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard which had been brought into Australia in an apparent breach of Australia’s strict quarantine laws . Great Barrier Reef . While his biofouling stance is relevant , Joyce has not taken a keen interest in supporting protection of the Great Barrier Reef with a notable lack of engagement in Parliamentary decisions related to the Great Barrier Reef . Global warming . Joyce is known as one of the climate doubters in the Morrison government . During 2015 and 2016 , Joyce strongly opposed major coal mining in the Liverpool Plains . In 2018 , he joined the Monash Forum , a group of Liberal and National MPs who advocate for building new coal-fired power in Australia . Joyce has been seen as a global warming climate change sceptic , but in 2016 made comment about its possibility based on some of his own personal observations . In December 2019 , he was reported as accepting that the climate was changing but insisting the solution was to respect God , rather than impose a tax to limit emissions . Murray-Darling basin . In 2016 , Joyce supported reducing environmental water allocations in the Murray–Darling basin in order to reduce the impact on towns and people currently dependent on the rivers . This was contrary to a 2016 election promise by the government , and was widely criticised by environmental groups . In 2017 , Joyce stated that the Commonwealth would not intervene regarding accusations of water theft in the basin . Endangered species . In March 2017 , Joyce called for Leadbeaters possum to be taken off the critically endangered species list in order to boost the logging of forest to maintain employment . Environmentalists believe that such action would be devastating for the possum and countered that Joyce was prepared to kill two dogs but not ensure the preservation of an entire species . Personal life . Joyce identifies as a Roman Catholic . Marriage . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at university . They were married in 1993 , and together had four daughters : Julia , Caroline , Odette , and Bridgette . In December 2017 , following his extramarital affair with political staffer Vikki Campion , Joyce announced that he and his wife had separated . Extramarital affair . In February 2018 , news reports confirmed that Joyce and his former staffer Vikki Campion were expecting a son together in April . However , in March 2018 , Joyce explained that he and Campion were often physically apart around the time that conception would have most probably occurred , therefore conceding that paternity is a grey area . Joyce later stated that his doubts had been resolved . On 16 April 2018 , Campion gave birth to Sebastian at Armidale Hospital in Armidale , New South Wales . The trio are living in the Armidale area . Joyce and Campion reportedly accepted $150,000 for an interview with Channel 7s Sunday Night program with the money going into a trust fund for Sebastian . On 1 June 2019 , a second son ( Thomas ) was born in Armidale . External links . - ; webpage includes transcript of maiden speech ; and all other parliamentary speeches . |
[
"Deputy Prime Minister of Australia"
] | easy | What was the position of Barnaby Joyce from Feb 2016 to Oct 2017? | /wiki/Barnaby_Joyce#P39#2 | Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce ( born 17 April 1967 ) is an Australian politician . He served as the leader of the National Party from February 2016 to February 2018 , and was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from February 2016 to October 2017 and from December 2017 to February 2018 . Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales , and is a graduate of the University of New England . In 1999 , he set up an accountancy practice in St George , Queensland . Joyce was elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election , taking office in 2005 , though it subsequently emerged in 2017 that he was not eligible for election . He became the National Partys Senate leader in 2008 . At the 2013 election , he transferred to the House of Representatives , winning the rural seat of New England in New South Wales . During 2013 , Joyce replaced Nigel Scullion as deputy leader of the National Party . He succeeded Warren Truss as party leader and deputy prime minister in 2016 . In the Abbott and Turnbull Governments , Joyce served as Minister for Agriculture ( 2013–2015 ) , Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources ( 2015–2017 ) , Minister for Resources and Northern Australia ( 2017 ) and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport ( 2017–2018 ) . During the 2017 parliamentary eligibility crisis , Joyce was confirmed to be a dual citizen of New Zealand . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court of Australia ruled that he had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election . Joyce re-entered parliament in December 2017 after winning the New England by-election with a large swing against low-profile opposition . In February 2018 , he resigned his ministerial and leadership roles after acknowledging that he was in a relationship and expecting a child with a former staffer . He was succeeded by Michael McCormack . Early life and career . Barnaby Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales and raised as one of six children on a sheep and cattle property about sixty kilometres north-east at Danglemah near Woolbrook . Joyces paternal grandfather , Lieutenant Colonel John P . Joyce , of the NZ Otago regiment landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 , and fought on the Western Front during World War I as well as in the Pacific War during World War II . John also once served as a bodyguard to the future King Edward VIII during the interwar period . Barnabys father , James Michael Joyce , was born in New Zealand and was injured in World War II . James Joyce moved to Australia in 1947 to study veterinary science at the University of Sydney , where he met Joyces mother , Marie Roche , who was studying physiotherapy . In 1956 , Barnabys parents married and made their living as farmers . Joyce attended Woolbrook Public School , boarded at Saint Ignatius College , Riverview in Sydney , and graduated from the University of New England ( UNE ) Armidale with a Bachelor of Financial Administration in 1989 . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at UNE . They married in 1993 . After graduating , Joyce moved around northern New South Wales and Queensland as a farm worker , nightclub bouncer , and rural banker . From 1991 to 2005 , Joyce worked in the accounting profession , and founded his own accountancy firm Barnaby Joyce & Co . in St George , Queensland in 1999 . He is a fellow of CPA Australia . From 1996 to 2001 , Joyce served in the Royal Queensland Regiment of the Australian Army Reserve . Senator for Queensland ( 2005–2013 ) . In the 2004 Australian federal election , Joyce was elected to the Senate representing Queensland and the National Party . His term ran from 1 July 2005 until 30 June 2011 . He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a member of the Liberal National Party , which was formed by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the two non-Labor parties . Before taking his seat in July 2005 , Joyce said that the government should not take his support for granted . As a senator , he crossed the floor nineteen times during the term of the Howard Government . Joyce initially expressed misgivings about the governments proposed sale of Telstra , the partially state-owned telecommunications company ; nevertheless , Joyce voted in favour of the sale a few months later in September 2005 . This led the Labor Party to label Joyce Backdown Barney and Barnaby Rubble in an acrimonious parliamentary debate . As the Telstra Sale Legislation had been pursued by the lower house in prior parliamentary sessions with no assistance package for regional Australia , Joyce was later credited for holding out until the multibillion-dollar assistance package was negotiated and delivered . Joyce opposed the free provision of the Gardasil vaccine . In May 2006 , after a one-month visit to Antarctica as a member of the External Territories Committee , Joyce promoted mining there , banned under the Antarctic Treaty , and stated that other nations did not recognise Australias 42 per cent claim over Antarctica . The proposal was roundly condemned by Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell , Labor Opposition spokesman Anthony Albanese and others . Crossing the floor . As a Senator , Joyce used the threat of crossing the floor to extract concessions from his own government on various issues , most notably in relation to the sale of Telstra . He crossed the floor 28 times and there was a perception that he was a maverick and someone not beholden to the Liberals . The They Vote For You website , which monitors the voting patterns of federal politicians , records that Joyce has rebelled against the party whip in 1.1% of divisions . The following table lists the legislation on which Joyce has crossed the floor , but does not include motions . Leader of the Nationals in the Senate . In September 2008 , after replacing Nigel Scullion as Leader of the Nationals in the Senate , Joyce stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house , which opened up another possible avenue for the Labor government to pass legislation . Joyce gained the majority support of the five Nationals ( including one Country Liberal Party ) senators through Fiona Nash and John Williams . The takeover was not expected nor revealed to the party until after it took place . Joyce remained leader of his party despite the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and National parties merging into the Liberal National Party of Queensland in July 2008 . In 2009 when Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull decided that the Coalition would support the Rudd Governments emissions trading scheme ( ETS ) , Joyce as Nationals Senate leader helped trigger the rebellion within Coalition ranks against it . The issue with the ETS would lead to Turnbull being replaced as Liberal leader by Tony Abbott . Abbott then appointed Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister . In February 2010 , Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister declared that Australia was going to hock to our eyeballs to people overseas and was getting to a point where we cant repay it . This led to a response from the Governor of the Reserve Bank , Glenn Stevens , that he had yet to meet a finance minister [ sic ] who has ever mused any possibility about debt default of his own country and that there were few things less likely than Australia defaulting on its sovereign debt . Senator Joyces time as Shadow Finance Minister was fraught with difficulties which also infamously saw him confusing trillions with billions in his first appearance as Shadow Finance Minister at the National Press Club and became the source of ridicule by the Government . There were calls from within the Coalition that Joyce be removed from the Finance portfolio as it was a distraction in their attacks on the Government which was having its own problems with the insulation scheme . Joyce lasted as Shadow Finance Minister for three months from December 2009 to March 2010 when Abbott , in a reshuffle , moved him to Regional Development , Infrastructure and Water . In the 2010 election , Joyce was reelected to parliament on the LNP ticket with Senators George Brandis and Brett Mason , but Joyce got more below the line votes than above the line votes . He was reappointed to the Shadow Ministry with his portfolio renamed as Regional Development , Local Government and Water as well as remaining as leader of the Nationals in the Senate . House of Representatives . In April 2013 , Joyce won the Nationals preselection for the House of Representatives seat of New England in New South Wales for the September 2013 election . The seat was held on a margin of 21.52% by independent politician Tony Windsor , who had decided to retire . Independent state parliamentarian Richard Torbay had been preselected as National candidate in August 2012 , but was pushed out due to concerns about his ownership of several Centrelink buildings and reports that he received secret donations from Labor interests to run against National candidates . Joyce had expressed interest in transferring to the lower house for some time . He had initially mulled running in Maranoa , which included his home in St George , but this was brought undone when that seats longtime member , Bruce Scott , refused to stand aside in his favour . When Torbays candidacy imploded , the state Nationals felt chagrin at Joyces renewed interest , even though he had been born in Tamworth and had spent much of his youth on both sides of the Tweed . They initially floated NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner as a replacement for Torbay . Ultimately , however , Joyce faced little opposition in the preselection contest . He resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 , and Barry OSullivan was selected to replace him in the Senate . Joyce won the seat of New England with a margin of 21 points . He was the first person to win back both a Senate seat and a House of Representatives seat previously lost by the Coalition . The Nationals had held New England without interruption from 1922 until Windsor won the seat in 2001 , and had been heavily tipped to regain it with Windsors retirement . During Windsors tenure , most calculations of traditional two-party matchups between the Nationals and Labor had shown it as a comfortably safe National seat . Joyce is one of only a handful of people to have represented multiple states in parliament , and the only person to have represented one state in the Senate and a different state in the House of Representatives . By Windsors account , Joyce revealed that if Windsor had contested the seat , rather than retired , Prime Minister Abbotts office was ready to finance a range of projects in the New England to aid Joyces campaign ( including $50 million for Armidale hospital ) ; however , once there was no competition , all but $5 million was reallocated to other electorates . Following the 2013 election , Joyce was elected deputy leader of the Nationals . On 18 September 2013 , Joyce was sworn in as Minister for Agriculture . On 21 September 2015 , this portfolio was expanded to include Water Resources in the First Turnbull Ministry . In September 2015 , Joyce gained international attention after warning actor Johnny Depp that his two pet dogs would be euthanised if not removed from Australia after being imported illegally . At the 2016 election , Joyce faced a stiff challenge from Tony Windsor , who came out of retirement to contest . Seat-level polling in the seat of New England found Joyce and Windsor neck and neck , however Joyce won with a majority on the primary vote , enough to retain the seat without the need for preferences . Leader of the National Party . On 11 February 2016 , Leader of the National Party , Warren Truss announced his intended retirement and Barnaby Joyce was elected unopposed as his replacement , with Fiona Nash as his deputy . Joyce was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on 18 February 2016 . On 7 December 2017 , Bridget McKenzie replaced Nash as deputy leader of the Nationals . On 26 February 2018 , Joyce resigned as leader of the National Party and was replaced by Michael McCormack , who subsequently became the deputy prime minister under the Coalition agreement . On 4 February 2020 , Joyce unsuccessfully challenged McCormack as leader of the Nationals . Constitutional eligibility . On 14 August 2017 , Joyce became embroiled in the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis , announcing to the House of Representatives that he had received advice from the New Zealand High Commission that he could possibly hold New Zealand citizenship by descent from his father . Joyce asked the government to have him referred to the High Court in the Court of Disputed Returns for consideration and clarification of his eligibility alongside that of senators Ludlam , Waters , Canavan and Roberts . Later in the day , the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and the Crown Law Office confirmed that Joyce was indeed a New Zealand citizen . He quickly renounced his New Zealand citizenship . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court ruled that Joyce had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election , since he had been a dual citizen at that time , and that his election was therefore invalid . The ruling cast doubt on the validity of ministerial decisions made after August 2017 . On 2 December 2017 , Joyce won the ensuing New England by-election with a healthy two-party swing of 7.5 percent , in the process winning almost two-thirds of the primary vote . He was sworn back into the House four days later , and on the same day was reappointed as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources . Prime Minister Turnbull had taken on that portfolio himself after Joyce was forced out of Parliament for the first time . On 20 December 2017 , in a rearrangement of the Second Turnbull Ministry , Joyce was appointed as the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . During the by-election for New England , Gina Rinehart awarded Joyce the first National Agricultural and Related Industries prize , worth $40,000 . This was criticised by Labor , and Joyces office later said that he would politely decline the money . Affair and resignation . On 7 December 2017 , Joyce announced that he had separated from his wife . On 6 February 2018 The Daily Telegraph reported that he was expecting a child with his former communications staffer Vikki Campion . Richard Di Natale of the Greens called on Joyce to resign for clearly breaching the standards required of ministers . Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull publicly called for Joyce to consider his own position . This was as much as Turnbull could do under the Coalition agreement , which stipulates that the leader of the Nationals automatically becomes Deputy Prime Minister during periods of Coalition government . Turnbull could not have sacked Joyce unless he was deposed in a National leadership spill . However , Turnbull forced Joyce to go on a week of personal leave instead of ascending as acting prime minister while Turnbull visited the United States . He also announced that the parliamentary code of conduct would be reworded to forbid sexual relationships between ministers and their staff . On 21 February , Turnbull ordered an investigation into whether Joyce had breached the ministerial code of conduct . As of May 2018 , the investigation into Joyces travel expenses was ongoing . In February 2018 , Turnbulls office relied on a technicality in stating that Joyce had not breached the ministerial code of conduct when his lover was employed by fellow MPs , arguing Vikki Campion could not be considered the Deputy Prime Ministers partner at the time . The Nationals received a formal complaint alleging that Joyce had sexually harassed a Western Australian woman . Joyces spokesman called the complaint spurious and defamatory . On 23 February , Joyce announced that he would formally resign on 26 February as leader of the National Party , step down from his ministerial portfolios and move to the backbench . On resignation , Joyce lost his Deputy Prime Minister’s and ministerial salaries of $416,000 a year , only to receive a backbencher’s salary of about $200,000 . Regional Development Minister John McVeigh became Acting Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . A leadership election within the National Party resulted in Michael McCormack becoming party leader and deputy prime minister . In September 2018 , to the dismay of the complainant , it was announced that the National Partys eight-month investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment had been unable to make a determination , and that the report would remain confidential . Political positions . Social issues . Abortion . Joyce is opposed to abortion and in 2018 he lobbied NSW Nationals to vote against a bill to provide safe zones around the states abortion clinics . Since 1 July 2018 within NSW , it is illegal to protest within 150 metres of an abortion service . Partnership with Family First . In October 2004 , Joyce expressed offence at a pamphlet handed out by Family First candidate Danny Nalliah , which identified bottle shops , brothels , masonic lodges , mosques , and Hindu and Buddhist temples as strongholds of Satan . Joyce referred to Family First as the lunatic Right , and said that he did not want the preferences of such a party . Medicinal cannabis . In June 2014 , Joyce changed his views about medicinal cannabis and publicly supported calls for the introduction of a medicinal cannabis trial following a high-profile campaign led by a young man in his constituency who was at the time suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer . By 2018 , medical cannabis was generally legalised across Australia . Same-sex marriage . In August 2014 , Joyce spoke out in opposition to same-sex marriage , attending several rallies on the matter in Canberra . In 2011 , he lobbied against a bill proposed by senator Sarah Hanson-Young that would allow for same-sex couples to marry . On 9 December 2017 , same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia . Death penalty . In April 2015 , Joyce called for a national debate on capital punishment in Australia , after previously opposing the death penalty . Refugee intake . In September 2015 , Joyce was the first senior minister to call for the Australian Government to accept more Syrian refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis engulfing Turkey and Europe . However , his call to prioritise Christian refugees above those from other faiths drew criticism from some human rights observers . Parliamentary rules . After the birth of his son Sebastian in April 2018 , Joyce advocated for changes to parliamentary rules to allow senators and MPs to hire their spouses or partners and relatives . When questioned , he denied this could be a conflict of interest . In December 2018 , Joyce raised this issue again to no avail . Religious schools . In December 2018 , Joyce said schools should be allowed to deny enrolment to transgender students . Economic issues . Populist agenda . Joyce has often angered economic rationalist parliamentary colleagues in the LNP Coalition by taking up a number of causes often labelled as populist ; such as his support for the retention of a single-desk wheat export marketing system for Australian grain growers , drought assistance for primary producers , amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 , and media reform regulations that aimed to strengthen the ability of small business to compete with multi-national corporations . When questioned on his views , Joyce stated Maybe Im an agrarian socialist . Foreign investment in Australia . On 17 March 2009 , Joyce launched a privately funded advertising campaign to keep Rio Tinto local , attacking a bid by the Chinese government-owned resources company Chinalco , a bid which had also been heavily criticised by Legal & General in the United Kingdom . Joyce has also opposed the sale of large Australian agricultural assets to foreign investors . In 2012 , as the Opposition spokesman for Water , Joyce was vocal in his unsuccessful opposition to the sale of Cubbie Station to a consortium led by a Chinese State Owned Enterprise . In 2013 , as Agriculture Minister , Joyce and his National Party colleagues strongly opposed the proposed sale of Australias largest bulk grain handler GrainCorp to the American company Archer Daniels Midland . The then Liberal Treasurer , Joe Hockey , rejected the sale based on the hugely discretionary National Interest grounds which a Treasurer can use to block such transactions . Despite the reasons Hockey used to justify his decision , it was widely reported that the National Party demanded this outcome , with the Labor Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen accusing the junior Coalition partner of bullying the Treasurer into arriving at this decision . In 2015 , Joyce voiced opposition to the sale of another large Australian asset to foreign buyers , this time S . Kidman & Co , which owned the largest combined landholdings in Australia , including the iconic Kidman Station . Most of the known interest came from Chinese companies , and Joyce was accused of xenophobia ; claims which he rejected . In November 2015 , the Treasurer , Scott Morrison decided that the sale of S . Kidman & Co to any foreign investor would not be approved based on national security grounds , due to part of the company being in the vicinity of the Woomera Prohibited Area , among other reasons . The Labor Shadow Agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon slammed the Governments decision as political and accused it of running a discriminatory foreign investment regime . Banking royal commission . When Joyce was leader of the Nationals and deputy prime minister , he repeatedly argued against a banking royal commission . After disturbing evidence emerged after hearings for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking , Superannuation and Financial Services Industry began in 2018 , CPA Joyce said , as a backbencher , that he was wrong and naive in previously opposing a royal commission . Environmental issues . Renewable energy . Joyce believes that renewable energy causes problems with energy supply . In January 2021 he called upon Zali Steggall , a prominent renewable energy advocate , to explain why renewable energy had led to power cuts in Manly and other Sydney suburbs , and followed up with I don’t have to win this argument the facts are doing it for me . However enquiries to Ausgrid showed that the outages were not due to renewable energy but to unforeseen cable faults , and that there was no pressure on the grid when the outages occurred . Biofouling . In 2015 , Joyce received a Froggatt Award from the Invasive Species Council for taking principled decisions in regard to the decision to introduce mandatory biofouling rules to prevent marine pests entering Australia , and for acting quickly and decisively in expelling two dogs belonging to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard which had been brought into Australia in an apparent breach of Australia’s strict quarantine laws . Great Barrier Reef . While his biofouling stance is relevant , Joyce has not taken a keen interest in supporting protection of the Great Barrier Reef with a notable lack of engagement in Parliamentary decisions related to the Great Barrier Reef . Global warming . Joyce is known as one of the climate doubters in the Morrison government . During 2015 and 2016 , Joyce strongly opposed major coal mining in the Liverpool Plains . In 2018 , he joined the Monash Forum , a group of Liberal and National MPs who advocate for building new coal-fired power in Australia . Joyce has been seen as a global warming climate change sceptic , but in 2016 made comment about its possibility based on some of his own personal observations . In December 2019 , he was reported as accepting that the climate was changing but insisting the solution was to respect God , rather than impose a tax to limit emissions . Murray-Darling basin . In 2016 , Joyce supported reducing environmental water allocations in the Murray–Darling basin in order to reduce the impact on towns and people currently dependent on the rivers . This was contrary to a 2016 election promise by the government , and was widely criticised by environmental groups . In 2017 , Joyce stated that the Commonwealth would not intervene regarding accusations of water theft in the basin . Endangered species . In March 2017 , Joyce called for Leadbeaters possum to be taken off the critically endangered species list in order to boost the logging of forest to maintain employment . Environmentalists believe that such action would be devastating for the possum and countered that Joyce was prepared to kill two dogs but not ensure the preservation of an entire species . Personal life . Joyce identifies as a Roman Catholic . Marriage . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at university . They were married in 1993 , and together had four daughters : Julia , Caroline , Odette , and Bridgette . In December 2017 , following his extramarital affair with political staffer Vikki Campion , Joyce announced that he and his wife had separated . Extramarital affair . In February 2018 , news reports confirmed that Joyce and his former staffer Vikki Campion were expecting a son together in April . However , in March 2018 , Joyce explained that he and Campion were often physically apart around the time that conception would have most probably occurred , therefore conceding that paternity is a grey area . Joyce later stated that his doubts had been resolved . On 16 April 2018 , Campion gave birth to Sebastian at Armidale Hospital in Armidale , New South Wales . The trio are living in the Armidale area . Joyce and Campion reportedly accepted $150,000 for an interview with Channel 7s Sunday Night program with the money going into a trust fund for Sebastian . On 1 June 2019 , a second son ( Thomas ) was born in Armidale . External links . - ; webpage includes transcript of maiden speech ; and all other parliamentary speeches . |
[
"Deputy Prime Minister of Australia"
] | easy | What position did Barnaby Joyce take in Dec 2017? | /wiki/Barnaby_Joyce#P39#3 | Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce ( born 17 April 1967 ) is an Australian politician . He served as the leader of the National Party from February 2016 to February 2018 , and was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from February 2016 to October 2017 and from December 2017 to February 2018 . Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales , and is a graduate of the University of New England . In 1999 , he set up an accountancy practice in St George , Queensland . Joyce was elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election , taking office in 2005 , though it subsequently emerged in 2017 that he was not eligible for election . He became the National Partys Senate leader in 2008 . At the 2013 election , he transferred to the House of Representatives , winning the rural seat of New England in New South Wales . During 2013 , Joyce replaced Nigel Scullion as deputy leader of the National Party . He succeeded Warren Truss as party leader and deputy prime minister in 2016 . In the Abbott and Turnbull Governments , Joyce served as Minister for Agriculture ( 2013–2015 ) , Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources ( 2015–2017 ) , Minister for Resources and Northern Australia ( 2017 ) and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport ( 2017–2018 ) . During the 2017 parliamentary eligibility crisis , Joyce was confirmed to be a dual citizen of New Zealand . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court of Australia ruled that he had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election . Joyce re-entered parliament in December 2017 after winning the New England by-election with a large swing against low-profile opposition . In February 2018 , he resigned his ministerial and leadership roles after acknowledging that he was in a relationship and expecting a child with a former staffer . He was succeeded by Michael McCormack . Early life and career . Barnaby Joyce was born in Tamworth , New South Wales and raised as one of six children on a sheep and cattle property about sixty kilometres north-east at Danglemah near Woolbrook . Joyces paternal grandfather , Lieutenant Colonel John P . Joyce , of the NZ Otago regiment landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 , and fought on the Western Front during World War I as well as in the Pacific War during World War II . John also once served as a bodyguard to the future King Edward VIII during the interwar period . Barnabys father , James Michael Joyce , was born in New Zealand and was injured in World War II . James Joyce moved to Australia in 1947 to study veterinary science at the University of Sydney , where he met Joyces mother , Marie Roche , who was studying physiotherapy . In 1956 , Barnabys parents married and made their living as farmers . Joyce attended Woolbrook Public School , boarded at Saint Ignatius College , Riverview in Sydney , and graduated from the University of New England ( UNE ) Armidale with a Bachelor of Financial Administration in 1989 . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at UNE . They married in 1993 . After graduating , Joyce moved around northern New South Wales and Queensland as a farm worker , nightclub bouncer , and rural banker . From 1991 to 2005 , Joyce worked in the accounting profession , and founded his own accountancy firm Barnaby Joyce & Co . in St George , Queensland in 1999 . He is a fellow of CPA Australia . From 1996 to 2001 , Joyce served in the Royal Queensland Regiment of the Australian Army Reserve . Senator for Queensland ( 2005–2013 ) . In the 2004 Australian federal election , Joyce was elected to the Senate representing Queensland and the National Party . His term ran from 1 July 2005 until 30 June 2011 . He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a member of the Liberal National Party , which was formed by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the two non-Labor parties . Before taking his seat in July 2005 , Joyce said that the government should not take his support for granted . As a senator , he crossed the floor nineteen times during the term of the Howard Government . Joyce initially expressed misgivings about the governments proposed sale of Telstra , the partially state-owned telecommunications company ; nevertheless , Joyce voted in favour of the sale a few months later in September 2005 . This led the Labor Party to label Joyce Backdown Barney and Barnaby Rubble in an acrimonious parliamentary debate . As the Telstra Sale Legislation had been pursued by the lower house in prior parliamentary sessions with no assistance package for regional Australia , Joyce was later credited for holding out until the multibillion-dollar assistance package was negotiated and delivered . Joyce opposed the free provision of the Gardasil vaccine . In May 2006 , after a one-month visit to Antarctica as a member of the External Territories Committee , Joyce promoted mining there , banned under the Antarctic Treaty , and stated that other nations did not recognise Australias 42 per cent claim over Antarctica . The proposal was roundly condemned by Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell , Labor Opposition spokesman Anthony Albanese and others . Crossing the floor . As a Senator , Joyce used the threat of crossing the floor to extract concessions from his own government on various issues , most notably in relation to the sale of Telstra . He crossed the floor 28 times and there was a perception that he was a maverick and someone not beholden to the Liberals . The They Vote For You website , which monitors the voting patterns of federal politicians , records that Joyce has rebelled against the party whip in 1.1% of divisions . The following table lists the legislation on which Joyce has crossed the floor , but does not include motions . Leader of the Nationals in the Senate . In September 2008 , after replacing Nigel Scullion as Leader of the Nationals in the Senate , Joyce stated that his party in the upper house would no longer necessarily vote with their Liberal counterparts in the upper house , which opened up another possible avenue for the Labor government to pass legislation . Joyce gained the majority support of the five Nationals ( including one Country Liberal Party ) senators through Fiona Nash and John Williams . The takeover was not expected nor revealed to the party until after it took place . Joyce remained leader of his party despite the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and National parties merging into the Liberal National Party of Queensland in July 2008 . In 2009 when Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull decided that the Coalition would support the Rudd Governments emissions trading scheme ( ETS ) , Joyce as Nationals Senate leader helped trigger the rebellion within Coalition ranks against it . The issue with the ETS would lead to Turnbull being replaced as Liberal leader by Tony Abbott . Abbott then appointed Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister . In February 2010 , Joyce as Shadow Finance Minister declared that Australia was going to hock to our eyeballs to people overseas and was getting to a point where we cant repay it . This led to a response from the Governor of the Reserve Bank , Glenn Stevens , that he had yet to meet a finance minister [ sic ] who has ever mused any possibility about debt default of his own country and that there were few things less likely than Australia defaulting on its sovereign debt . Senator Joyces time as Shadow Finance Minister was fraught with difficulties which also infamously saw him confusing trillions with billions in his first appearance as Shadow Finance Minister at the National Press Club and became the source of ridicule by the Government . There were calls from within the Coalition that Joyce be removed from the Finance portfolio as it was a distraction in their attacks on the Government which was having its own problems with the insulation scheme . Joyce lasted as Shadow Finance Minister for three months from December 2009 to March 2010 when Abbott , in a reshuffle , moved him to Regional Development , Infrastructure and Water . In the 2010 election , Joyce was reelected to parliament on the LNP ticket with Senators George Brandis and Brett Mason , but Joyce got more below the line votes than above the line votes . He was reappointed to the Shadow Ministry with his portfolio renamed as Regional Development , Local Government and Water as well as remaining as leader of the Nationals in the Senate . House of Representatives . In April 2013 , Joyce won the Nationals preselection for the House of Representatives seat of New England in New South Wales for the September 2013 election . The seat was held on a margin of 21.52% by independent politician Tony Windsor , who had decided to retire . Independent state parliamentarian Richard Torbay had been preselected as National candidate in August 2012 , but was pushed out due to concerns about his ownership of several Centrelink buildings and reports that he received secret donations from Labor interests to run against National candidates . Joyce had expressed interest in transferring to the lower house for some time . He had initially mulled running in Maranoa , which included his home in St George , but this was brought undone when that seats longtime member , Bruce Scott , refused to stand aside in his favour . When Torbays candidacy imploded , the state Nationals felt chagrin at Joyces renewed interest , even though he had been born in Tamworth and had spent much of his youth on both sides of the Tweed . They initially floated NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner as a replacement for Torbay . Ultimately , however , Joyce faced little opposition in the preselection contest . He resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 , and Barry OSullivan was selected to replace him in the Senate . Joyce won the seat of New England with a margin of 21 points . He was the first person to win back both a Senate seat and a House of Representatives seat previously lost by the Coalition . The Nationals had held New England without interruption from 1922 until Windsor won the seat in 2001 , and had been heavily tipped to regain it with Windsors retirement . During Windsors tenure , most calculations of traditional two-party matchups between the Nationals and Labor had shown it as a comfortably safe National seat . Joyce is one of only a handful of people to have represented multiple states in parliament , and the only person to have represented one state in the Senate and a different state in the House of Representatives . By Windsors account , Joyce revealed that if Windsor had contested the seat , rather than retired , Prime Minister Abbotts office was ready to finance a range of projects in the New England to aid Joyces campaign ( including $50 million for Armidale hospital ) ; however , once there was no competition , all but $5 million was reallocated to other electorates . Following the 2013 election , Joyce was elected deputy leader of the Nationals . On 18 September 2013 , Joyce was sworn in as Minister for Agriculture . On 21 September 2015 , this portfolio was expanded to include Water Resources in the First Turnbull Ministry . In September 2015 , Joyce gained international attention after warning actor Johnny Depp that his two pet dogs would be euthanised if not removed from Australia after being imported illegally . At the 2016 election , Joyce faced a stiff challenge from Tony Windsor , who came out of retirement to contest . Seat-level polling in the seat of New England found Joyce and Windsor neck and neck , however Joyce won with a majority on the primary vote , enough to retain the seat without the need for preferences . Leader of the National Party . On 11 February 2016 , Leader of the National Party , Warren Truss announced his intended retirement and Barnaby Joyce was elected unopposed as his replacement , with Fiona Nash as his deputy . Joyce was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on 18 February 2016 . On 7 December 2017 , Bridget McKenzie replaced Nash as deputy leader of the Nationals . On 26 February 2018 , Joyce resigned as leader of the National Party and was replaced by Michael McCormack , who subsequently became the deputy prime minister under the Coalition agreement . On 4 February 2020 , Joyce unsuccessfully challenged McCormack as leader of the Nationals . Constitutional eligibility . On 14 August 2017 , Joyce became embroiled in the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis , announcing to the House of Representatives that he had received advice from the New Zealand High Commission that he could possibly hold New Zealand citizenship by descent from his father . Joyce asked the government to have him referred to the High Court in the Court of Disputed Returns for consideration and clarification of his eligibility alongside that of senators Ludlam , Waters , Canavan and Roberts . Later in the day , the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and the Crown Law Office confirmed that Joyce was indeed a New Zealand citizen . He quickly renounced his New Zealand citizenship . On 27 October 2017 , the High Court ruled that Joyce had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election , since he had been a dual citizen at that time , and that his election was therefore invalid . The ruling cast doubt on the validity of ministerial decisions made after August 2017 . On 2 December 2017 , Joyce won the ensuing New England by-election with a healthy two-party swing of 7.5 percent , in the process winning almost two-thirds of the primary vote . He was sworn back into the House four days later , and on the same day was reappointed as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources . Prime Minister Turnbull had taken on that portfolio himself after Joyce was forced out of Parliament for the first time . On 20 December 2017 , in a rearrangement of the Second Turnbull Ministry , Joyce was appointed as the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . During the by-election for New England , Gina Rinehart awarded Joyce the first National Agricultural and Related Industries prize , worth $40,000 . This was criticised by Labor , and Joyces office later said that he would politely decline the money . Affair and resignation . On 7 December 2017 , Joyce announced that he had separated from his wife . On 6 February 2018 The Daily Telegraph reported that he was expecting a child with his former communications staffer Vikki Campion . Richard Di Natale of the Greens called on Joyce to resign for clearly breaching the standards required of ministers . Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull publicly called for Joyce to consider his own position . This was as much as Turnbull could do under the Coalition agreement , which stipulates that the leader of the Nationals automatically becomes Deputy Prime Minister during periods of Coalition government . Turnbull could not have sacked Joyce unless he was deposed in a National leadership spill . However , Turnbull forced Joyce to go on a week of personal leave instead of ascending as acting prime minister while Turnbull visited the United States . He also announced that the parliamentary code of conduct would be reworded to forbid sexual relationships between ministers and their staff . On 21 February , Turnbull ordered an investigation into whether Joyce had breached the ministerial code of conduct . As of May 2018 , the investigation into Joyces travel expenses was ongoing . In February 2018 , Turnbulls office relied on a technicality in stating that Joyce had not breached the ministerial code of conduct when his lover was employed by fellow MPs , arguing Vikki Campion could not be considered the Deputy Prime Ministers partner at the time . The Nationals received a formal complaint alleging that Joyce had sexually harassed a Western Australian woman . Joyces spokesman called the complaint spurious and defamatory . On 23 February , Joyce announced that he would formally resign on 26 February as leader of the National Party , step down from his ministerial portfolios and move to the backbench . On resignation , Joyce lost his Deputy Prime Minister’s and ministerial salaries of $416,000 a year , only to receive a backbencher’s salary of about $200,000 . Regional Development Minister John McVeigh became Acting Minister for Infrastructure and Transport . A leadership election within the National Party resulted in Michael McCormack becoming party leader and deputy prime minister . In September 2018 , to the dismay of the complainant , it was announced that the National Partys eight-month investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment had been unable to make a determination , and that the report would remain confidential . Political positions . Social issues . Abortion . Joyce is opposed to abortion and in 2018 he lobbied NSW Nationals to vote against a bill to provide safe zones around the states abortion clinics . Since 1 July 2018 within NSW , it is illegal to protest within 150 metres of an abortion service . Partnership with Family First . In October 2004 , Joyce expressed offence at a pamphlet handed out by Family First candidate Danny Nalliah , which identified bottle shops , brothels , masonic lodges , mosques , and Hindu and Buddhist temples as strongholds of Satan . Joyce referred to Family First as the lunatic Right , and said that he did not want the preferences of such a party . Medicinal cannabis . In June 2014 , Joyce changed his views about medicinal cannabis and publicly supported calls for the introduction of a medicinal cannabis trial following a high-profile campaign led by a young man in his constituency who was at the time suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer . By 2018 , medical cannabis was generally legalised across Australia . Same-sex marriage . In August 2014 , Joyce spoke out in opposition to same-sex marriage , attending several rallies on the matter in Canberra . In 2011 , he lobbied against a bill proposed by senator Sarah Hanson-Young that would allow for same-sex couples to marry . On 9 December 2017 , same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia . Death penalty . In April 2015 , Joyce called for a national debate on capital punishment in Australia , after previously opposing the death penalty . Refugee intake . In September 2015 , Joyce was the first senior minister to call for the Australian Government to accept more Syrian refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis engulfing Turkey and Europe . However , his call to prioritise Christian refugees above those from other faiths drew criticism from some human rights observers . Parliamentary rules . After the birth of his son Sebastian in April 2018 , Joyce advocated for changes to parliamentary rules to allow senators and MPs to hire their spouses or partners and relatives . When questioned , he denied this could be a conflict of interest . In December 2018 , Joyce raised this issue again to no avail . Religious schools . In December 2018 , Joyce said schools should be allowed to deny enrolment to transgender students . Economic issues . Populist agenda . Joyce has often angered economic rationalist parliamentary colleagues in the LNP Coalition by taking up a number of causes often labelled as populist ; such as his support for the retention of a single-desk wheat export marketing system for Australian grain growers , drought assistance for primary producers , amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974 , and media reform regulations that aimed to strengthen the ability of small business to compete with multi-national corporations . When questioned on his views , Joyce stated Maybe Im an agrarian socialist . Foreign investment in Australia . On 17 March 2009 , Joyce launched a privately funded advertising campaign to keep Rio Tinto local , attacking a bid by the Chinese government-owned resources company Chinalco , a bid which had also been heavily criticised by Legal & General in the United Kingdom . Joyce has also opposed the sale of large Australian agricultural assets to foreign investors . In 2012 , as the Opposition spokesman for Water , Joyce was vocal in his unsuccessful opposition to the sale of Cubbie Station to a consortium led by a Chinese State Owned Enterprise . In 2013 , as Agriculture Minister , Joyce and his National Party colleagues strongly opposed the proposed sale of Australias largest bulk grain handler GrainCorp to the American company Archer Daniels Midland . The then Liberal Treasurer , Joe Hockey , rejected the sale based on the hugely discretionary National Interest grounds which a Treasurer can use to block such transactions . Despite the reasons Hockey used to justify his decision , it was widely reported that the National Party demanded this outcome , with the Labor Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen accusing the junior Coalition partner of bullying the Treasurer into arriving at this decision . In 2015 , Joyce voiced opposition to the sale of another large Australian asset to foreign buyers , this time S . Kidman & Co , which owned the largest combined landholdings in Australia , including the iconic Kidman Station . Most of the known interest came from Chinese companies , and Joyce was accused of xenophobia ; claims which he rejected . In November 2015 , the Treasurer , Scott Morrison decided that the sale of S . Kidman & Co to any foreign investor would not be approved based on national security grounds , due to part of the company being in the vicinity of the Woomera Prohibited Area , among other reasons . The Labor Shadow Agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon slammed the Governments decision as political and accused it of running a discriminatory foreign investment regime . Banking royal commission . When Joyce was leader of the Nationals and deputy prime minister , he repeatedly argued against a banking royal commission . After disturbing evidence emerged after hearings for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking , Superannuation and Financial Services Industry began in 2018 , CPA Joyce said , as a backbencher , that he was wrong and naive in previously opposing a royal commission . Environmental issues . Renewable energy . Joyce believes that renewable energy causes problems with energy supply . In January 2021 he called upon Zali Steggall , a prominent renewable energy advocate , to explain why renewable energy had led to power cuts in Manly and other Sydney suburbs , and followed up with I don’t have to win this argument the facts are doing it for me . However enquiries to Ausgrid showed that the outages were not due to renewable energy but to unforeseen cable faults , and that there was no pressure on the grid when the outages occurred . Biofouling . In 2015 , Joyce received a Froggatt Award from the Invasive Species Council for taking principled decisions in regard to the decision to introduce mandatory biofouling rules to prevent marine pests entering Australia , and for acting quickly and decisively in expelling two dogs belonging to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard which had been brought into Australia in an apparent breach of Australia’s strict quarantine laws . Great Barrier Reef . While his biofouling stance is relevant , Joyce has not taken a keen interest in supporting protection of the Great Barrier Reef with a notable lack of engagement in Parliamentary decisions related to the Great Barrier Reef . Global warming . Joyce is known as one of the climate doubters in the Morrison government . During 2015 and 2016 , Joyce strongly opposed major coal mining in the Liverpool Plains . In 2018 , he joined the Monash Forum , a group of Liberal and National MPs who advocate for building new coal-fired power in Australia . Joyce has been seen as a global warming climate change sceptic , but in 2016 made comment about its possibility based on some of his own personal observations . In December 2019 , he was reported as accepting that the climate was changing but insisting the solution was to respect God , rather than impose a tax to limit emissions . Murray-Darling basin . In 2016 , Joyce supported reducing environmental water allocations in the Murray–Darling basin in order to reduce the impact on towns and people currently dependent on the rivers . This was contrary to a 2016 election promise by the government , and was widely criticised by environmental groups . In 2017 , Joyce stated that the Commonwealth would not intervene regarding accusations of water theft in the basin . Endangered species . In March 2017 , Joyce called for Leadbeaters possum to be taken off the critically endangered species list in order to boost the logging of forest to maintain employment . Environmentalists believe that such action would be devastating for the possum and countered that Joyce was prepared to kill two dogs but not ensure the preservation of an entire species . Personal life . Joyce identifies as a Roman Catholic . Marriage . Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at university . They were married in 1993 , and together had four daughters : Julia , Caroline , Odette , and Bridgette . In December 2017 , following his extramarital affair with political staffer Vikki Campion , Joyce announced that he and his wife had separated . Extramarital affair . In February 2018 , news reports confirmed that Joyce and his former staffer Vikki Campion were expecting a son together in April . However , in March 2018 , Joyce explained that he and Campion were often physically apart around the time that conception would have most probably occurred , therefore conceding that paternity is a grey area . Joyce later stated that his doubts had been resolved . On 16 April 2018 , Campion gave birth to Sebastian at Armidale Hospital in Armidale , New South Wales . The trio are living in the Armidale area . Joyce and Campion reportedly accepted $150,000 for an interview with Channel 7s Sunday Night program with the money going into a trust fund for Sebastian . On 1 June 2019 , a second son ( Thomas ) was born in Armidale . External links . - ; webpage includes transcript of maiden speech ; and all other parliamentary speeches . |
[
"Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1982"
] | easy | Frank McKenna took which position from Oct 1982 to 1985? | /wiki/Frank_McKenna#P39#0 | Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna ( born January 19 , 1948 ) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat . He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank . He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 . He served as the 27th Premier of New Brunswick from 1987 to 1997 , winning every seat in the province in his first election . Early life . McKenna was born in Apohaqui , New Brunswick , Canada . He was raised in the home of his grandparents , who lived adjacent to his parents because his large family could not be wholly housed in his parents home . After completing high school in Sussex , New Brunswick , he completed a bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics at St . Francis Xavier University in Antigonish , Nova Scotia . He began graduate studies at Queens University in Kingston , Ontario , but after working for a stint with Allan MacEachen , he took MacEachens advice that most politicians are lawyers and enrolled in law school at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton . After he obtained a law degree , he moved to Chatham , New Brunswick , and began the practice of law . He became famous and something of a folk hero , particularly among Acadians , as the defence lawyer in the high-profile murder case of famous New Brunswick boxing champion , Yvon Durelle , in what was a widely publicized case . New Brunswick politics . A few years later , he entered provincial politics and won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1982 election to represent Chatham , New Brunswick . He became leader of the provincial Liberals in 1985 , and won one of the largest electoral victories in Canadian history in the 1987 election when his party won every seat in the legislature . McKennas term in office was viewed mostly as a success . His key priority throughout his term was job creation and he was known to say that the best social program we have is a job . He encouraged small business growth and tried to entice large companies to invest in the province with tax incentives , often directly calling individual professionals to urge them to bring their talents to New Brunswick . Another of his strategies was to raise the collective self-confidence of New Brunswickers , which he believed would increase productivity . He introduced a sophisticated public relations operation which included the use of controversial video news releases . McKennas time as premier , however , also saw some controversy . In his first move as premier , McKenna dismissed several senior public servants in an effort to gain greater control over the provinces public service , which some observers perceived as a drastic step away from the integrity of the provinces impartial and professional public service . McKenna was also criticized for increasing the number of communications personnel on the government payroll but countered this complaint by pointing out that the primary government communications agency , Communications New Brunswick , had been depoliticized . He was also criticized for creating a toll free telephone number to the premiers office which had the number 1-800-MCKENNA , the number was functional throughout North America and was used for both New Brunswick constituents and business interests that were considering moving to the province . Believing ten years was long enough for a premier to hold office , and having pledged to serve such a term when first elected , McKenna resigned in 1997 – 10 years to the day of the 1987 election . Business career . After leaving office , McKenna moved to Cap-Pélé , New Brunswick , near Moncton , and returned to the practice of law and sat on numerous corporate boards . He also purchased with his son , James McKenna , Glenwood Kitchen Ltd . A manufacturer of high-end custom cabinetry in Shediac , New Brunswick . His membership on the Canadian advisory board of the Carlyle Group drew adverse media attention ; the media ceased pursuing the issue when McKenna explained that the board was established to advise on a Canadian investment fund that the group never created and that the board had never become active . Following the announcement of his appointment as Canadian ambassador to Washington , he resigned his position as counsel at law firms including McInnes Cooper and Osler , Hoskin & Harcourt , as well as all positions on corporate boards including his role as interim chairman of the board of CanWest Global Communications , a post he assumed upon the death of its founder and chairman Israel Asper . Ambassador . McKenna was mentioned as a possible Ambassador to the US to succeed Michael Kergin after Paul Martin took power . Speculation increased after John Manley turned down Prime Minister Martins offer . Many in the press commented on McKennas business connections being an asset , notably as a member of the Carlyle Group and his friendship with former President George H . W . Bush . On January 5 , 2005 , Prime Minister Paul Martins office confirmed that McKenna would be the 21st Ambassador to the United States . On January 14 , the posting was formally announced and would be effective on March 1 . McKenna became the Ambassador on March 8 when U.S . President George W . Bush accepted his credentials . On February 22 , 2005 , McKenna told reporters Canada was already a part of the U.S . National Missile Defense ( NMD ) ( or Ballistic Missile Defense ( BMD ) ) program through an amendment to the NORAD agreement made on August 5 , 2004 , which granted U.S . access to NORADs missile warning systems explicitly for use in NMD . However , Martin contradicted this two days later when he announced that Canada would not formally participate in the NMD program but focus on other items of shared defence/security interest . While Canadian defence minister Bill Graham said McKenna was simply misunderstood ( as the NORAD agreement and missile defence are separate ) , this initial contradiction was interpreted by others as evidence of characteristic indecision by the Martin government and was seen to somewhat hamper McKennas credibility . As Ambassador , McKenna attracted more media attention than most of his recent predecessors on both sides of the border . In the U.S. , his message was one of dispelling common urban legends and misconceptions about Canada , while in Canada he urged Canadians to be more understanding of the American people and culture , particularly following what he argued is their understandable sensitivity after the September 11 , 2001 attacks . McKenna generated controversy after giving a luncheon speech on September 29 , 2005 , to a Toronto business club . McKenna blasted the U.S . bureaucracy and Congressional system of government saying the government of the United States is in large measure dysfunctional . He contrasted it with Canadas government , and praised Canadas strong parliamentary party discipline as being much more efficient though sometimes less preferable . On January 25 , 2006 , McKenna offered his resignation as Ambassador , writing to Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper that he wished to be relieved of his duties , but offering to stay on until his successor is chosen . He was succeeded as ambassador by Michael Wilson on March 13 , 2006 . Prospective career in federal politics . Since leaving politics in 1997 , McKenna served for a brief time on the Security Intelligence Review Committee . He has been touted several times as a potential Atlantic Canadian minister in the cabinets of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin . He expressed some interest in running in the 2004 federal election but announced he would not do so because of the lack of an available riding in the Moncton , New Brunswick , area . He did not want to push aside any incumbent Liberal member of Parliament . After resigning the premiership of New Brunswick , McKenna was identified as a potential future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada , and Prime Minister of Canada . A poll released on August 23 , 2005 , commissioned by the Toronto Star , showed that McKenna was the top choice of the public to succeed Prime Minister Paul Martin . Among the general public , McKenna beat former New Democratic Party Ontario Premier Bob Rae by a margin of 23 to 11 while among self-identified Liberals , McKenna beat former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada John Manley by a margin of 28 to 13 . The October 2005 issue of Saturday Night magazine had pollster Darrell Bricker and Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella create odds for potential Liberal leadership candidates . They made McKenna the favourite with 7 to 2 odds beating Scott Brison ( 8 to 1 ) , Martin Cauchon ( 10 to 1 ) , Michael Ignatieff and John Manley ( each 15 to 1 ) among others . On January 30 , 2006 , McKenna confirmed earlier reports that he was not running for the Liberal leadership to replace Paul Martin , who announced his resignation as party leader on the January 23 , 2006 election night . McKenna acknowledged the strength of the Liberal brand stating : Youve got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if youre the leader of the Liberal party – every leader of the Liberal party since Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1896 had become prime minister . However , he put an end to his involvement in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership race , explaining his decision by saying that he did not want his life to become consumed by politics . and that : I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that , having escaped the trap , I wouldn’t go back for the cheese . Following Stéphane Dions resignation as federal Liberal leader after the 2008 election , McKenna was once again touted as a possibility to take the helm of the federal Liberal Party . However , on October 28 , 2008 , McKenna said that he would not be seeking the leadership , saying Although I have been deeply moved by expressions of support for me from across the country , I have not been persuaded to change my long-standing resolve to exit public life for good , and My only regret is that I cannot honour the expectations of friends and supporters who have shown enormous loyalty to me . Banking . Frank McKenna was appointed as Deputy Chair , TD Bank Financial Group effective May 1 , 2006 . McKenna is responsible for helping to build long-term business relationships that support TDs growth strategy in Canada and the United States . McKenna is responsible for supporting the company in its customer acquisition strategy , particularly in the areas of wholesale and commercial banking . In addition , he is responsible for representing TD as it works to expand its North American presence as one of the continents ten largest banks , as measured by market capitalization . Frank McKenna is referred to in the book Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer . The majority of the reference is regarding the Keystone Pipeline decision-making process . Hillary Clinton serving as secretary of State in the United States , and the monetary involvement with TD Bank in Canada is described in depth . The book describes TD Bank , with Frank McKenna as vice chairman , as having paid Bill more than any other financial institution for Lectures . More than Goldman Sachs , UBS , JPMorgan , or anyone on Wall Street . Quoting from the book , TD Bank paid Bill $1.8 million for ten speeches over a roughly two-and-half-year period from late 2008 to mid-2011 . At several of the speeches , ( Bill ) Clinton was introduced or interviewed by TD Bank vice chairman Frank McKenna . Frank McKenna is described as a good friend of both Bill and Hillary Clinton . Distinctions . - Queens Privy Council for Canada ( 1999 ) Further reading . - Philip Lee , Frank : The Life and Politics of Frank McKenna , Goose Lane , 2001 . External links . - McKennas letter of resignation - Frank McKenna Biography — TD Bank - Frank McKenna Biography — Legislative assembly of New - Brunswick - Liberal party of New-Brunswick |
[
"Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick"
] | easy | What position did Frank McKenna take from 1985 to 1987? | /wiki/Frank_McKenna#P39#1 | Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna ( born January 19 , 1948 ) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat . He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank . He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 . He served as the 27th Premier of New Brunswick from 1987 to 1997 , winning every seat in the province in his first election . Early life . McKenna was born in Apohaqui , New Brunswick , Canada . He was raised in the home of his grandparents , who lived adjacent to his parents because his large family could not be wholly housed in his parents home . After completing high school in Sussex , New Brunswick , he completed a bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics at St . Francis Xavier University in Antigonish , Nova Scotia . He began graduate studies at Queens University in Kingston , Ontario , but after working for a stint with Allan MacEachen , he took MacEachens advice that most politicians are lawyers and enrolled in law school at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton . After he obtained a law degree , he moved to Chatham , New Brunswick , and began the practice of law . He became famous and something of a folk hero , particularly among Acadians , as the defence lawyer in the high-profile murder case of famous New Brunswick boxing champion , Yvon Durelle , in what was a widely publicized case . New Brunswick politics . A few years later , he entered provincial politics and won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1982 election to represent Chatham , New Brunswick . He became leader of the provincial Liberals in 1985 , and won one of the largest electoral victories in Canadian history in the 1987 election when his party won every seat in the legislature . McKennas term in office was viewed mostly as a success . His key priority throughout his term was job creation and he was known to say that the best social program we have is a job . He encouraged small business growth and tried to entice large companies to invest in the province with tax incentives , often directly calling individual professionals to urge them to bring their talents to New Brunswick . Another of his strategies was to raise the collective self-confidence of New Brunswickers , which he believed would increase productivity . He introduced a sophisticated public relations operation which included the use of controversial video news releases . McKennas time as premier , however , also saw some controversy . In his first move as premier , McKenna dismissed several senior public servants in an effort to gain greater control over the provinces public service , which some observers perceived as a drastic step away from the integrity of the provinces impartial and professional public service . McKenna was also criticized for increasing the number of communications personnel on the government payroll but countered this complaint by pointing out that the primary government communications agency , Communications New Brunswick , had been depoliticized . He was also criticized for creating a toll free telephone number to the premiers office which had the number 1-800-MCKENNA , the number was functional throughout North America and was used for both New Brunswick constituents and business interests that were considering moving to the province . Believing ten years was long enough for a premier to hold office , and having pledged to serve such a term when first elected , McKenna resigned in 1997 – 10 years to the day of the 1987 election . Business career . After leaving office , McKenna moved to Cap-Pélé , New Brunswick , near Moncton , and returned to the practice of law and sat on numerous corporate boards . He also purchased with his son , James McKenna , Glenwood Kitchen Ltd . A manufacturer of high-end custom cabinetry in Shediac , New Brunswick . His membership on the Canadian advisory board of the Carlyle Group drew adverse media attention ; the media ceased pursuing the issue when McKenna explained that the board was established to advise on a Canadian investment fund that the group never created and that the board had never become active . Following the announcement of his appointment as Canadian ambassador to Washington , he resigned his position as counsel at law firms including McInnes Cooper and Osler , Hoskin & Harcourt , as well as all positions on corporate boards including his role as interim chairman of the board of CanWest Global Communications , a post he assumed upon the death of its founder and chairman Israel Asper . Ambassador . McKenna was mentioned as a possible Ambassador to the US to succeed Michael Kergin after Paul Martin took power . Speculation increased after John Manley turned down Prime Minister Martins offer . Many in the press commented on McKennas business connections being an asset , notably as a member of the Carlyle Group and his friendship with former President George H . W . Bush . On January 5 , 2005 , Prime Minister Paul Martins office confirmed that McKenna would be the 21st Ambassador to the United States . On January 14 , the posting was formally announced and would be effective on March 1 . McKenna became the Ambassador on March 8 when U.S . President George W . Bush accepted his credentials . On February 22 , 2005 , McKenna told reporters Canada was already a part of the U.S . National Missile Defense ( NMD ) ( or Ballistic Missile Defense ( BMD ) ) program through an amendment to the NORAD agreement made on August 5 , 2004 , which granted U.S . access to NORADs missile warning systems explicitly for use in NMD . However , Martin contradicted this two days later when he announced that Canada would not formally participate in the NMD program but focus on other items of shared defence/security interest . While Canadian defence minister Bill Graham said McKenna was simply misunderstood ( as the NORAD agreement and missile defence are separate ) , this initial contradiction was interpreted by others as evidence of characteristic indecision by the Martin government and was seen to somewhat hamper McKennas credibility . As Ambassador , McKenna attracted more media attention than most of his recent predecessors on both sides of the border . In the U.S. , his message was one of dispelling common urban legends and misconceptions about Canada , while in Canada he urged Canadians to be more understanding of the American people and culture , particularly following what he argued is their understandable sensitivity after the September 11 , 2001 attacks . McKenna generated controversy after giving a luncheon speech on September 29 , 2005 , to a Toronto business club . McKenna blasted the U.S . bureaucracy and Congressional system of government saying the government of the United States is in large measure dysfunctional . He contrasted it with Canadas government , and praised Canadas strong parliamentary party discipline as being much more efficient though sometimes less preferable . On January 25 , 2006 , McKenna offered his resignation as Ambassador , writing to Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper that he wished to be relieved of his duties , but offering to stay on until his successor is chosen . He was succeeded as ambassador by Michael Wilson on March 13 , 2006 . Prospective career in federal politics . Since leaving politics in 1997 , McKenna served for a brief time on the Security Intelligence Review Committee . He has been touted several times as a potential Atlantic Canadian minister in the cabinets of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin . He expressed some interest in running in the 2004 federal election but announced he would not do so because of the lack of an available riding in the Moncton , New Brunswick , area . He did not want to push aside any incumbent Liberal member of Parliament . After resigning the premiership of New Brunswick , McKenna was identified as a potential future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada , and Prime Minister of Canada . A poll released on August 23 , 2005 , commissioned by the Toronto Star , showed that McKenna was the top choice of the public to succeed Prime Minister Paul Martin . Among the general public , McKenna beat former New Democratic Party Ontario Premier Bob Rae by a margin of 23 to 11 while among self-identified Liberals , McKenna beat former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada John Manley by a margin of 28 to 13 . The October 2005 issue of Saturday Night magazine had pollster Darrell Bricker and Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella create odds for potential Liberal leadership candidates . They made McKenna the favourite with 7 to 2 odds beating Scott Brison ( 8 to 1 ) , Martin Cauchon ( 10 to 1 ) , Michael Ignatieff and John Manley ( each 15 to 1 ) among others . On January 30 , 2006 , McKenna confirmed earlier reports that he was not running for the Liberal leadership to replace Paul Martin , who announced his resignation as party leader on the January 23 , 2006 election night . McKenna acknowledged the strength of the Liberal brand stating : Youve got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if youre the leader of the Liberal party – every leader of the Liberal party since Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1896 had become prime minister . However , he put an end to his involvement in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership race , explaining his decision by saying that he did not want his life to become consumed by politics . and that : I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that , having escaped the trap , I wouldn’t go back for the cheese . Following Stéphane Dions resignation as federal Liberal leader after the 2008 election , McKenna was once again touted as a possibility to take the helm of the federal Liberal Party . However , on October 28 , 2008 , McKenna said that he would not be seeking the leadership , saying Although I have been deeply moved by expressions of support for me from across the country , I have not been persuaded to change my long-standing resolve to exit public life for good , and My only regret is that I cannot honour the expectations of friends and supporters who have shown enormous loyalty to me . Banking . Frank McKenna was appointed as Deputy Chair , TD Bank Financial Group effective May 1 , 2006 . McKenna is responsible for helping to build long-term business relationships that support TDs growth strategy in Canada and the United States . McKenna is responsible for supporting the company in its customer acquisition strategy , particularly in the areas of wholesale and commercial banking . In addition , he is responsible for representing TD as it works to expand its North American presence as one of the continents ten largest banks , as measured by market capitalization . Frank McKenna is referred to in the book Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer . The majority of the reference is regarding the Keystone Pipeline decision-making process . Hillary Clinton serving as secretary of State in the United States , and the monetary involvement with TD Bank in Canada is described in depth . The book describes TD Bank , with Frank McKenna as vice chairman , as having paid Bill more than any other financial institution for Lectures . More than Goldman Sachs , UBS , JPMorgan , or anyone on Wall Street . Quoting from the book , TD Bank paid Bill $1.8 million for ten speeches over a roughly two-and-half-year period from late 2008 to mid-2011 . At several of the speeches , ( Bill ) Clinton was introduced or interviewed by TD Bank vice chairman Frank McKenna . Frank McKenna is described as a good friend of both Bill and Hillary Clinton . Distinctions . - Queens Privy Council for Canada ( 1999 ) Further reading . - Philip Lee , Frank : The Life and Politics of Frank McKenna , Goose Lane , 2001 . External links . - McKennas letter of resignation - Frank McKenna Biography — TD Bank - Frank McKenna Biography — Legislative assembly of New - Brunswick - Liberal party of New-Brunswick |
[
"27th Premier of New Brunswick"
] | easy | What position did Frank McKenna take from 1987 to Sep 1995? | /wiki/Frank_McKenna#P39#2 | Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna ( born January 19 , 1948 ) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat . He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank . He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 . He served as the 27th Premier of New Brunswick from 1987 to 1997 , winning every seat in the province in his first election . Early life . McKenna was born in Apohaqui , New Brunswick , Canada . He was raised in the home of his grandparents , who lived adjacent to his parents because his large family could not be wholly housed in his parents home . After completing high school in Sussex , New Brunswick , he completed a bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics at St . Francis Xavier University in Antigonish , Nova Scotia . He began graduate studies at Queens University in Kingston , Ontario , but after working for a stint with Allan MacEachen , he took MacEachens advice that most politicians are lawyers and enrolled in law school at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton . After he obtained a law degree , he moved to Chatham , New Brunswick , and began the practice of law . He became famous and something of a folk hero , particularly among Acadians , as the defence lawyer in the high-profile murder case of famous New Brunswick boxing champion , Yvon Durelle , in what was a widely publicized case . New Brunswick politics . A few years later , he entered provincial politics and won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1982 election to represent Chatham , New Brunswick . He became leader of the provincial Liberals in 1985 , and won one of the largest electoral victories in Canadian history in the 1987 election when his party won every seat in the legislature . McKennas term in office was viewed mostly as a success . His key priority throughout his term was job creation and he was known to say that the best social program we have is a job . He encouraged small business growth and tried to entice large companies to invest in the province with tax incentives , often directly calling individual professionals to urge them to bring their talents to New Brunswick . Another of his strategies was to raise the collective self-confidence of New Brunswickers , which he believed would increase productivity . He introduced a sophisticated public relations operation which included the use of controversial video news releases . McKennas time as premier , however , also saw some controversy . In his first move as premier , McKenna dismissed several senior public servants in an effort to gain greater control over the provinces public service , which some observers perceived as a drastic step away from the integrity of the provinces impartial and professional public service . McKenna was also criticized for increasing the number of communications personnel on the government payroll but countered this complaint by pointing out that the primary government communications agency , Communications New Brunswick , had been depoliticized . He was also criticized for creating a toll free telephone number to the premiers office which had the number 1-800-MCKENNA , the number was functional throughout North America and was used for both New Brunswick constituents and business interests that were considering moving to the province . Believing ten years was long enough for a premier to hold office , and having pledged to serve such a term when first elected , McKenna resigned in 1997 – 10 years to the day of the 1987 election . Business career . After leaving office , McKenna moved to Cap-Pélé , New Brunswick , near Moncton , and returned to the practice of law and sat on numerous corporate boards . He also purchased with his son , James McKenna , Glenwood Kitchen Ltd . A manufacturer of high-end custom cabinetry in Shediac , New Brunswick . His membership on the Canadian advisory board of the Carlyle Group drew adverse media attention ; the media ceased pursuing the issue when McKenna explained that the board was established to advise on a Canadian investment fund that the group never created and that the board had never become active . Following the announcement of his appointment as Canadian ambassador to Washington , he resigned his position as counsel at law firms including McInnes Cooper and Osler , Hoskin & Harcourt , as well as all positions on corporate boards including his role as interim chairman of the board of CanWest Global Communications , a post he assumed upon the death of its founder and chairman Israel Asper . Ambassador . McKenna was mentioned as a possible Ambassador to the US to succeed Michael Kergin after Paul Martin took power . Speculation increased after John Manley turned down Prime Minister Martins offer . Many in the press commented on McKennas business connections being an asset , notably as a member of the Carlyle Group and his friendship with former President George H . W . Bush . On January 5 , 2005 , Prime Minister Paul Martins office confirmed that McKenna would be the 21st Ambassador to the United States . On January 14 , the posting was formally announced and would be effective on March 1 . McKenna became the Ambassador on March 8 when U.S . President George W . Bush accepted his credentials . On February 22 , 2005 , McKenna told reporters Canada was already a part of the U.S . National Missile Defense ( NMD ) ( or Ballistic Missile Defense ( BMD ) ) program through an amendment to the NORAD agreement made on August 5 , 2004 , which granted U.S . access to NORADs missile warning systems explicitly for use in NMD . However , Martin contradicted this two days later when he announced that Canada would not formally participate in the NMD program but focus on other items of shared defence/security interest . While Canadian defence minister Bill Graham said McKenna was simply misunderstood ( as the NORAD agreement and missile defence are separate ) , this initial contradiction was interpreted by others as evidence of characteristic indecision by the Martin government and was seen to somewhat hamper McKennas credibility . As Ambassador , McKenna attracted more media attention than most of his recent predecessors on both sides of the border . In the U.S. , his message was one of dispelling common urban legends and misconceptions about Canada , while in Canada he urged Canadians to be more understanding of the American people and culture , particularly following what he argued is their understandable sensitivity after the September 11 , 2001 attacks . McKenna generated controversy after giving a luncheon speech on September 29 , 2005 , to a Toronto business club . McKenna blasted the U.S . bureaucracy and Congressional system of government saying the government of the United States is in large measure dysfunctional . He contrasted it with Canadas government , and praised Canadas strong parliamentary party discipline as being much more efficient though sometimes less preferable . On January 25 , 2006 , McKenna offered his resignation as Ambassador , writing to Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper that he wished to be relieved of his duties , but offering to stay on until his successor is chosen . He was succeeded as ambassador by Michael Wilson on March 13 , 2006 . Prospective career in federal politics . Since leaving politics in 1997 , McKenna served for a brief time on the Security Intelligence Review Committee . He has been touted several times as a potential Atlantic Canadian minister in the cabinets of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin . He expressed some interest in running in the 2004 federal election but announced he would not do so because of the lack of an available riding in the Moncton , New Brunswick , area . He did not want to push aside any incumbent Liberal member of Parliament . After resigning the premiership of New Brunswick , McKenna was identified as a potential future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada , and Prime Minister of Canada . A poll released on August 23 , 2005 , commissioned by the Toronto Star , showed that McKenna was the top choice of the public to succeed Prime Minister Paul Martin . Among the general public , McKenna beat former New Democratic Party Ontario Premier Bob Rae by a margin of 23 to 11 while among self-identified Liberals , McKenna beat former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada John Manley by a margin of 28 to 13 . The October 2005 issue of Saturday Night magazine had pollster Darrell Bricker and Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella create odds for potential Liberal leadership candidates . They made McKenna the favourite with 7 to 2 odds beating Scott Brison ( 8 to 1 ) , Martin Cauchon ( 10 to 1 ) , Michael Ignatieff and John Manley ( each 15 to 1 ) among others . On January 30 , 2006 , McKenna confirmed earlier reports that he was not running for the Liberal leadership to replace Paul Martin , who announced his resignation as party leader on the January 23 , 2006 election night . McKenna acknowledged the strength of the Liberal brand stating : Youve got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if youre the leader of the Liberal party – every leader of the Liberal party since Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1896 had become prime minister . However , he put an end to his involvement in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership race , explaining his decision by saying that he did not want his life to become consumed by politics . and that : I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that , having escaped the trap , I wouldn’t go back for the cheese . Following Stéphane Dions resignation as federal Liberal leader after the 2008 election , McKenna was once again touted as a possibility to take the helm of the federal Liberal Party . However , on October 28 , 2008 , McKenna said that he would not be seeking the leadership , saying Although I have been deeply moved by expressions of support for me from across the country , I have not been persuaded to change my long-standing resolve to exit public life for good , and My only regret is that I cannot honour the expectations of friends and supporters who have shown enormous loyalty to me . Banking . Frank McKenna was appointed as Deputy Chair , TD Bank Financial Group effective May 1 , 2006 . McKenna is responsible for helping to build long-term business relationships that support TDs growth strategy in Canada and the United States . McKenna is responsible for supporting the company in its customer acquisition strategy , particularly in the areas of wholesale and commercial banking . In addition , he is responsible for representing TD as it works to expand its North American presence as one of the continents ten largest banks , as measured by market capitalization . Frank McKenna is referred to in the book Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer . The majority of the reference is regarding the Keystone Pipeline decision-making process . Hillary Clinton serving as secretary of State in the United States , and the monetary involvement with TD Bank in Canada is described in depth . The book describes TD Bank , with Frank McKenna as vice chairman , as having paid Bill more than any other financial institution for Lectures . More than Goldman Sachs , UBS , JPMorgan , or anyone on Wall Street . Quoting from the book , TD Bank paid Bill $1.8 million for ten speeches over a roughly two-and-half-year period from late 2008 to mid-2011 . At several of the speeches , ( Bill ) Clinton was introduced or interviewed by TD Bank vice chairman Frank McKenna . Frank McKenna is described as a good friend of both Bill and Hillary Clinton . Distinctions . - Queens Privy Council for Canada ( 1999 ) Further reading . - Philip Lee , Frank : The Life and Politics of Frank McKenna , Goose Lane , 2001 . External links . - McKennas letter of resignation - Frank McKenna Biography — TD Bank - Frank McKenna Biography — Legislative assembly of New - Brunswick - Liberal party of New-Brunswick |
[
"Premier of New Brunswick"
] | easy | Which position did Frank McKenna hold from Sep 1995 to Oct 1997? | /wiki/Frank_McKenna#P39#3 | Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna ( born January 19 , 1948 ) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat . He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank . He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 . He served as the 27th Premier of New Brunswick from 1987 to 1997 , winning every seat in the province in his first election . Early life . McKenna was born in Apohaqui , New Brunswick , Canada . He was raised in the home of his grandparents , who lived adjacent to his parents because his large family could not be wholly housed in his parents home . After completing high school in Sussex , New Brunswick , he completed a bachelors degree in Political Science and Economics at St . Francis Xavier University in Antigonish , Nova Scotia . He began graduate studies at Queens University in Kingston , Ontario , but after working for a stint with Allan MacEachen , he took MacEachens advice that most politicians are lawyers and enrolled in law school at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton . After he obtained a law degree , he moved to Chatham , New Brunswick , and began the practice of law . He became famous and something of a folk hero , particularly among Acadians , as the defence lawyer in the high-profile murder case of famous New Brunswick boxing champion , Yvon Durelle , in what was a widely publicized case . New Brunswick politics . A few years later , he entered provincial politics and won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 1982 election to represent Chatham , New Brunswick . He became leader of the provincial Liberals in 1985 , and won one of the largest electoral victories in Canadian history in the 1987 election when his party won every seat in the legislature . McKennas term in office was viewed mostly as a success . His key priority throughout his term was job creation and he was known to say that the best social program we have is a job . He encouraged small business growth and tried to entice large companies to invest in the province with tax incentives , often directly calling individual professionals to urge them to bring their talents to New Brunswick . Another of his strategies was to raise the collective self-confidence of New Brunswickers , which he believed would increase productivity . He introduced a sophisticated public relations operation which included the use of controversial video news releases . McKennas time as premier , however , also saw some controversy . In his first move as premier , McKenna dismissed several senior public servants in an effort to gain greater control over the provinces public service , which some observers perceived as a drastic step away from the integrity of the provinces impartial and professional public service . McKenna was also criticized for increasing the number of communications personnel on the government payroll but countered this complaint by pointing out that the primary government communications agency , Communications New Brunswick , had been depoliticized . He was also criticized for creating a toll free telephone number to the premiers office which had the number 1-800-MCKENNA , the number was functional throughout North America and was used for both New Brunswick constituents and business interests that were considering moving to the province . Believing ten years was long enough for a premier to hold office , and having pledged to serve such a term when first elected , McKenna resigned in 1997 – 10 years to the day of the 1987 election . Business career . After leaving office , McKenna moved to Cap-Pélé , New Brunswick , near Moncton , and returned to the practice of law and sat on numerous corporate boards . He also purchased with his son , James McKenna , Glenwood Kitchen Ltd . A manufacturer of high-end custom cabinetry in Shediac , New Brunswick . His membership on the Canadian advisory board of the Carlyle Group drew adverse media attention ; the media ceased pursuing the issue when McKenna explained that the board was established to advise on a Canadian investment fund that the group never created and that the board had never become active . Following the announcement of his appointment as Canadian ambassador to Washington , he resigned his position as counsel at law firms including McInnes Cooper and Osler , Hoskin & Harcourt , as well as all positions on corporate boards including his role as interim chairman of the board of CanWest Global Communications , a post he assumed upon the death of its founder and chairman Israel Asper . Ambassador . McKenna was mentioned as a possible Ambassador to the US to succeed Michael Kergin after Paul Martin took power . Speculation increased after John Manley turned down Prime Minister Martins offer . Many in the press commented on McKennas business connections being an asset , notably as a member of the Carlyle Group and his friendship with former President George H . W . Bush . On January 5 , 2005 , Prime Minister Paul Martins office confirmed that McKenna would be the 21st Ambassador to the United States . On January 14 , the posting was formally announced and would be effective on March 1 . McKenna became the Ambassador on March 8 when U.S . President George W . Bush accepted his credentials . On February 22 , 2005 , McKenna told reporters Canada was already a part of the U.S . National Missile Defense ( NMD ) ( or Ballistic Missile Defense ( BMD ) ) program through an amendment to the NORAD agreement made on August 5 , 2004 , which granted U.S . access to NORADs missile warning systems explicitly for use in NMD . However , Martin contradicted this two days later when he announced that Canada would not formally participate in the NMD program but focus on other items of shared defence/security interest . While Canadian defence minister Bill Graham said McKenna was simply misunderstood ( as the NORAD agreement and missile defence are separate ) , this initial contradiction was interpreted by others as evidence of characteristic indecision by the Martin government and was seen to somewhat hamper McKennas credibility . As Ambassador , McKenna attracted more media attention than most of his recent predecessors on both sides of the border . In the U.S. , his message was one of dispelling common urban legends and misconceptions about Canada , while in Canada he urged Canadians to be more understanding of the American people and culture , particularly following what he argued is their understandable sensitivity after the September 11 , 2001 attacks . McKenna generated controversy after giving a luncheon speech on September 29 , 2005 , to a Toronto business club . McKenna blasted the U.S . bureaucracy and Congressional system of government saying the government of the United States is in large measure dysfunctional . He contrasted it with Canadas government , and praised Canadas strong parliamentary party discipline as being much more efficient though sometimes less preferable . On January 25 , 2006 , McKenna offered his resignation as Ambassador , writing to Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper that he wished to be relieved of his duties , but offering to stay on until his successor is chosen . He was succeeded as ambassador by Michael Wilson on March 13 , 2006 . Prospective career in federal politics . Since leaving politics in 1997 , McKenna served for a brief time on the Security Intelligence Review Committee . He has been touted several times as a potential Atlantic Canadian minister in the cabinets of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin . He expressed some interest in running in the 2004 federal election but announced he would not do so because of the lack of an available riding in the Moncton , New Brunswick , area . He did not want to push aside any incumbent Liberal member of Parliament . After resigning the premiership of New Brunswick , McKenna was identified as a potential future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada , and Prime Minister of Canada . A poll released on August 23 , 2005 , commissioned by the Toronto Star , showed that McKenna was the top choice of the public to succeed Prime Minister Paul Martin . Among the general public , McKenna beat former New Democratic Party Ontario Premier Bob Rae by a margin of 23 to 11 while among self-identified Liberals , McKenna beat former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada John Manley by a margin of 28 to 13 . The October 2005 issue of Saturday Night magazine had pollster Darrell Bricker and Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella create odds for potential Liberal leadership candidates . They made McKenna the favourite with 7 to 2 odds beating Scott Brison ( 8 to 1 ) , Martin Cauchon ( 10 to 1 ) , Michael Ignatieff and John Manley ( each 15 to 1 ) among others . On January 30 , 2006 , McKenna confirmed earlier reports that he was not running for the Liberal leadership to replace Paul Martin , who announced his resignation as party leader on the January 23 , 2006 election night . McKenna acknowledged the strength of the Liberal brand stating : Youve got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if youre the leader of the Liberal party – every leader of the Liberal party since Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1896 had become prime minister . However , he put an end to his involvement in the 2006 Liberal Party leadership race , explaining his decision by saying that he did not want his life to become consumed by politics . and that : I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that , having escaped the trap , I wouldn’t go back for the cheese . Following Stéphane Dions resignation as federal Liberal leader after the 2008 election , McKenna was once again touted as a possibility to take the helm of the federal Liberal Party . However , on October 28 , 2008 , McKenna said that he would not be seeking the leadership , saying Although I have been deeply moved by expressions of support for me from across the country , I have not been persuaded to change my long-standing resolve to exit public life for good , and My only regret is that I cannot honour the expectations of friends and supporters who have shown enormous loyalty to me . Banking . Frank McKenna was appointed as Deputy Chair , TD Bank Financial Group effective May 1 , 2006 . McKenna is responsible for helping to build long-term business relationships that support TDs growth strategy in Canada and the United States . McKenna is responsible for supporting the company in its customer acquisition strategy , particularly in the areas of wholesale and commercial banking . In addition , he is responsible for representing TD as it works to expand its North American presence as one of the continents ten largest banks , as measured by market capitalization . Frank McKenna is referred to in the book Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer . The majority of the reference is regarding the Keystone Pipeline decision-making process . Hillary Clinton serving as secretary of State in the United States , and the monetary involvement with TD Bank in Canada is described in depth . The book describes TD Bank , with Frank McKenna as vice chairman , as having paid Bill more than any other financial institution for Lectures . More than Goldman Sachs , UBS , JPMorgan , or anyone on Wall Street . Quoting from the book , TD Bank paid Bill $1.8 million for ten speeches over a roughly two-and-half-year period from late 2008 to mid-2011 . At several of the speeches , ( Bill ) Clinton was introduced or interviewed by TD Bank vice chairman Frank McKenna . Frank McKenna is described as a good friend of both Bill and Hillary Clinton . Distinctions . - Queens Privy Council for Canada ( 1999 ) Further reading . - Philip Lee , Frank : The Life and Politics of Frank McKenna , Goose Lane , 2001 . External links . - McKennas letter of resignation - Frank McKenna Biography — TD Bank - Frank McKenna Biography — Legislative assembly of New - Brunswick - Liberal party of New-Brunswick |
[
""
] | easy | Izmail was the capital of what from 1818 to Aug 1940? | /wiki/Izmail#P1376#0 | Izmail Izmail ( , translit . Izmayil ; , translit . Izmail , formerly Тучков ( Tuchkov ) ; or Smil ; , ) is a historic city on the Danube river in Odessa Oblast in south-western Ukraine . Administratively , Izmail is incorporated as a city of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion , one of seven districts of Odessa Oblast , though it is not a part of the district . In Russian historiography Izmail is associated with the 18th century sacking of Ottoman fortress of Izmail by Russian general Alexander Suvorov . It is the largest Ukrainian port in the Danube Delta , on its Chilia branch . As such , Izmail is a center of the food processing industry and a popular regional tourist destination . It is also a base of the Ukrainian Navy and the Ukrainian Sea Guard units operating on the river . The World Wildlife Funds Isles of Izmail Regional Landscape Park is located nearby . Population : History . The fortress of Izmail was built by Genoese merchants in the 12th century . It belonged for a short period of time to Wallachia ( 14th century ) – as the territory north of the Danube was one of the possessions of the Basarabs ( later the land being named after them , Bessarabia ) . The town was first mentioned with the name Ismailiye , derived from the name of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Izmail . From the end of the 14th century , Izmail was under the rule of Moldavia . In 1484 , the Ottoman state conquered the territory , which became from that moment an Ottoman protectorate ( under direct rule from 1538 ) . Since the early 16th century it was the main Ottoman fortress in the Budjak region . In 1569 Sultan Selim II settled Izmail with his Nogai subjects , originally from the North Caucasus . After Russian general Nicholas Repnin took the fortress of Izmail in 1770 , it was heavily refortified by the Turks , so as never to be captured again . The Sultan boasted that the fortress was impregnable , but during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 the Russian Army commander Alexander Suvorov successfully stormed it on 22 December 1790 . Ottoman forces inside the fortress had the orders to stand their ground to the end , haughtily declining the Russian ultimatum . The defeat was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire , while in Russia it was glorified in the countrys first national anthem , Let the thunder of victory sound! . Suvorov announced the capture of Ismail in 1791 to the Empress Catherine in a doggerel couplet , after the assault had been pressed from house to house , room to room , most of the garrison and support forces in the city had been killed in three days , a few hundred taken into captivity . For all his bluffness , Suvorov later told an English traveler that when all was over he went back to his tent and wept . At the end of the war , Izmail was returned to the Ottoman Empire , but Russian forces took it for the third time on 14 September 1809 . After it was ceded to Russia with the rest of Bessarabia by the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest , the town was rebuilt thoroughly . The Intercession Cathedral ( 1822–36 ) , the churches of Nativity ( 1823 ) , St . Nicholas ( 1833 ) and several others date back to that time . Izmails oldest building is the small Turkish mosque , erected either in the 15th or 16th centuries , converted into a church in 1810 and currently housing a museum dedicated to the 1790 storm of Izmail . After Russia lost the Crimean War , the town returned to the Principality of Moldavia , which would soon become part of the Romanian Principalities . Russia gained control of Izmail again after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 . With the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917 and in the aftermath of World War I , the city was occupied by the Romanian Army on 22 January 1918 , after a skirmish with troops of the Danube flotilla . Later that year , the Sfatul Țării of Chișinău , which claimed to be the representative of the whole of Bessarabia , voted to formally unite the region with Romania . This union was recognized by the United Kingdom , France and Italy in the Treaty of Paris , but not by the Soviet Union which had territorial claims over Bessarabia . In 1940 , and again during World War II , it was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and included ( August 1940 ) in the Ukrainian SSR ; the region was occupied in 1941–1944 by the Romanian Army participating in Operation Barbarossa . During the Soviet period following World War II , many Russians and Ukrainians migrated to the town , gradually changing its ethnic composition . Izmail Oblast was formed in 1940 and the town remained its administrative center until the oblast was merged to Odessa Oblast in 1954 . Since 24 August 1991 , Izmail has been part of independent Ukraine . Geography . Climate . Under the Köppen classification , Izmail has a humid continental climate ( Dfa ) with four distinct seasons and generous precipitation year-round , typical for the inland South . Summers are hot and humid , with temperatures somewhat moderated by the citys elevation . Winters are cool but variable , with an average of 48 freezing days per year . Demographics . Before 1920 , the population of Izmail was estimated at 37,000 . During that time , approximately 11,000 of the population were Jewish , 8,000 Romanians and 6,000 Germans . Additional members of the population were Russians , Bulgarians , Turks and Cossacks . - 2008 — 77,076 people ; - 2011 — 75,581 people . The national composition ( 2001 ) : Russians - 43.7% ( 33,600 ) , Ukrainians - 38.0% ( 29,200 ) , Bulgarians - 10.0% ( 7,700 ) and Romanians - 4.3% ( 3,300 ) . In 2010 , the population was 75,300 . The population also consists of many other nationalities : Gagauz , Greeks , Jews , Armenians , etc . - 75 nationalities . Notable residences . - Alexandru Averescu , Romanian Marshal , Army Commander during World War I ; Prime Minister ( in fact , born near Izmail , in the village of Ozerne ) - Ioan Chirilă , Romanian writer and sports journalist - Galina Chistyakova , Ukrainian athlete , winner of the long jump bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Leonid Dimov , Romanian poet ( 1926 , Ismail – 1987 , Bucharest ) - Olena Hovorova , Ukrainian athlete , winner of the triple jump bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Wiktor Kemula , Polish chemist , electrochemist , and polarographist , he developed a hanging mercury drop electrode ( HMDE ) - Vitali Konstantinov , Russian wrestler - Ruslan Maynov , Bulgarian actor and musician - Gavril Musicescu , Romanian composer - Sergiu Sarchizov , Romanian composer and conductor - Sholom Schwartzbard , Jewish anarchist , assassin of Symon Petliura - Ivan Shishman , Bulgarian artist - – Russian philosopher , publicist , author of television films , Member of the Union of writers of Russia - Artur Văitoianu , Romanian general , Army commander during World War I ; Prime Ministe |
[
"Izmail Oblast"
] | easy | What was the capital of Izmail from Dec 1940 to Feb 1954? | /wiki/Izmail#P1376#1 | Izmail Izmail ( , translit . Izmayil ; , translit . Izmail , formerly Тучков ( Tuchkov ) ; or Smil ; , ) is a historic city on the Danube river in Odessa Oblast in south-western Ukraine . Administratively , Izmail is incorporated as a city of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion , one of seven districts of Odessa Oblast , though it is not a part of the district . In Russian historiography Izmail is associated with the 18th century sacking of Ottoman fortress of Izmail by Russian general Alexander Suvorov . It is the largest Ukrainian port in the Danube Delta , on its Chilia branch . As such , Izmail is a center of the food processing industry and a popular regional tourist destination . It is also a base of the Ukrainian Navy and the Ukrainian Sea Guard units operating on the river . The World Wildlife Funds Isles of Izmail Regional Landscape Park is located nearby . Population : History . The fortress of Izmail was built by Genoese merchants in the 12th century . It belonged for a short period of time to Wallachia ( 14th century ) – as the territory north of the Danube was one of the possessions of the Basarabs ( later the land being named after them , Bessarabia ) . The town was first mentioned with the name Ismailiye , derived from the name of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Izmail . From the end of the 14th century , Izmail was under the rule of Moldavia . In 1484 , the Ottoman state conquered the territory , which became from that moment an Ottoman protectorate ( under direct rule from 1538 ) . Since the early 16th century it was the main Ottoman fortress in the Budjak region . In 1569 Sultan Selim II settled Izmail with his Nogai subjects , originally from the North Caucasus . After Russian general Nicholas Repnin took the fortress of Izmail in 1770 , it was heavily refortified by the Turks , so as never to be captured again . The Sultan boasted that the fortress was impregnable , but during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 the Russian Army commander Alexander Suvorov successfully stormed it on 22 December 1790 . Ottoman forces inside the fortress had the orders to stand their ground to the end , haughtily declining the Russian ultimatum . The defeat was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire , while in Russia it was glorified in the countrys first national anthem , Let the thunder of victory sound! . Suvorov announced the capture of Ismail in 1791 to the Empress Catherine in a doggerel couplet , after the assault had been pressed from house to house , room to room , most of the garrison and support forces in the city had been killed in three days , a few hundred taken into captivity . For all his bluffness , Suvorov later told an English traveler that when all was over he went back to his tent and wept . At the end of the war , Izmail was returned to the Ottoman Empire , but Russian forces took it for the third time on 14 September 1809 . After it was ceded to Russia with the rest of Bessarabia by the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest , the town was rebuilt thoroughly . The Intercession Cathedral ( 1822–36 ) , the churches of Nativity ( 1823 ) , St . Nicholas ( 1833 ) and several others date back to that time . Izmails oldest building is the small Turkish mosque , erected either in the 15th or 16th centuries , converted into a church in 1810 and currently housing a museum dedicated to the 1790 storm of Izmail . After Russia lost the Crimean War , the town returned to the Principality of Moldavia , which would soon become part of the Romanian Principalities . Russia gained control of Izmail again after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 . With the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917 and in the aftermath of World War I , the city was occupied by the Romanian Army on 22 January 1918 , after a skirmish with troops of the Danube flotilla . Later that year , the Sfatul Țării of Chișinău , which claimed to be the representative of the whole of Bessarabia , voted to formally unite the region with Romania . This union was recognized by the United Kingdom , France and Italy in the Treaty of Paris , but not by the Soviet Union which had territorial claims over Bessarabia . In 1940 , and again during World War II , it was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and included ( August 1940 ) in the Ukrainian SSR ; the region was occupied in 1941–1944 by the Romanian Army participating in Operation Barbarossa . During the Soviet period following World War II , many Russians and Ukrainians migrated to the town , gradually changing its ethnic composition . Izmail Oblast was formed in 1940 and the town remained its administrative center until the oblast was merged to Odessa Oblast in 1954 . Since 24 August 1991 , Izmail has been part of independent Ukraine . Geography . Climate . Under the Köppen classification , Izmail has a humid continental climate ( Dfa ) with four distinct seasons and generous precipitation year-round , typical for the inland South . Summers are hot and humid , with temperatures somewhat moderated by the citys elevation . Winters are cool but variable , with an average of 48 freezing days per year . Demographics . Before 1920 , the population of Izmail was estimated at 37,000 . During that time , approximately 11,000 of the population were Jewish , 8,000 Romanians and 6,000 Germans . Additional members of the population were Russians , Bulgarians , Turks and Cossacks . - 2008 — 77,076 people ; - 2011 — 75,581 people . The national composition ( 2001 ) : Russians - 43.7% ( 33,600 ) , Ukrainians - 38.0% ( 29,200 ) , Bulgarians - 10.0% ( 7,700 ) and Romanians - 4.3% ( 3,300 ) . In 2010 , the population was 75,300 . The population also consists of many other nationalities : Gagauz , Greeks , Jews , Armenians , etc . - 75 nationalities . Notable residences . - Alexandru Averescu , Romanian Marshal , Army Commander during World War I ; Prime Minister ( in fact , born near Izmail , in the village of Ozerne ) - Ioan Chirilă , Romanian writer and sports journalist - Galina Chistyakova , Ukrainian athlete , winner of the long jump bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Leonid Dimov , Romanian poet ( 1926 , Ismail – 1987 , Bucharest ) - Olena Hovorova , Ukrainian athlete , winner of the triple jump bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Wiktor Kemula , Polish chemist , electrochemist , and polarographist , he developed a hanging mercury drop electrode ( HMDE ) - Vitali Konstantinov , Russian wrestler - Ruslan Maynov , Bulgarian actor and musician - Gavril Musicescu , Romanian composer - Sergiu Sarchizov , Romanian composer and conductor - Sholom Schwartzbard , Jewish anarchist , assassin of Symon Petliura - Ivan Shishman , Bulgarian artist - – Russian philosopher , publicist , author of television films , Member of the Union of writers of Russia - Artur Văitoianu , Romanian general , Army commander during World War I ; Prime Ministe |
[
""
] | easy | What was the capital of Izmail from 1959 to 1960? | /wiki/Izmail#P1376#2 | Izmail Izmail ( , translit . Izmayil ; , translit . Izmail , formerly Тучков ( Tuchkov ) ; or Smil ; , ) is a historic city on the Danube river in Odessa Oblast in south-western Ukraine . Administratively , Izmail is incorporated as a city of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion , one of seven districts of Odessa Oblast , though it is not a part of the district . In Russian historiography Izmail is associated with the 18th century sacking of Ottoman fortress of Izmail by Russian general Alexander Suvorov . It is the largest Ukrainian port in the Danube Delta , on its Chilia branch . As such , Izmail is a center of the food processing industry and a popular regional tourist destination . It is also a base of the Ukrainian Navy and the Ukrainian Sea Guard units operating on the river . The World Wildlife Funds Isles of Izmail Regional Landscape Park is located nearby . Population : History . The fortress of Izmail was built by Genoese merchants in the 12th century . It belonged for a short period of time to Wallachia ( 14th century ) – as the territory north of the Danube was one of the possessions of the Basarabs ( later the land being named after them , Bessarabia ) . The town was first mentioned with the name Ismailiye , derived from the name of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Izmail . From the end of the 14th century , Izmail was under the rule of Moldavia . In 1484 , the Ottoman state conquered the territory , which became from that moment an Ottoman protectorate ( under direct rule from 1538 ) . Since the early 16th century it was the main Ottoman fortress in the Budjak region . In 1569 Sultan Selim II settled Izmail with his Nogai subjects , originally from the North Caucasus . After Russian general Nicholas Repnin took the fortress of Izmail in 1770 , it was heavily refortified by the Turks , so as never to be captured again . The Sultan boasted that the fortress was impregnable , but during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 the Russian Army commander Alexander Suvorov successfully stormed it on 22 December 1790 . Ottoman forces inside the fortress had the orders to stand their ground to the end , haughtily declining the Russian ultimatum . The defeat was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire , while in Russia it was glorified in the countrys first national anthem , Let the thunder of victory sound! . Suvorov announced the capture of Ismail in 1791 to the Empress Catherine in a doggerel couplet , after the assault had been pressed from house to house , room to room , most of the garrison and support forces in the city had been killed in three days , a few hundred taken into captivity . For all his bluffness , Suvorov later told an English traveler that when all was over he went back to his tent and wept . At the end of the war , Izmail was returned to the Ottoman Empire , but Russian forces took it for the third time on 14 September 1809 . After it was ceded to Russia with the rest of Bessarabia by the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest , the town was rebuilt thoroughly . The Intercession Cathedral ( 1822–36 ) , the churches of Nativity ( 1823 ) , St . Nicholas ( 1833 ) and several others date back to that time . Izmails oldest building is the small Turkish mosque , erected either in the 15th or 16th centuries , converted into a church in 1810 and currently housing a museum dedicated to the 1790 storm of Izmail . After Russia lost the Crimean War , the town returned to the Principality of Moldavia , which would soon become part of the Romanian Principalities . Russia gained control of Izmail again after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 . With the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917 and in the aftermath of World War I , the city was occupied by the Romanian Army on 22 January 1918 , after a skirmish with troops of the Danube flotilla . Later that year , the Sfatul Țării of Chișinău , which claimed to be the representative of the whole of Bessarabia , voted to formally unite the region with Romania . This union was recognized by the United Kingdom , France and Italy in the Treaty of Paris , but not by the Soviet Union which had territorial claims over Bessarabia . In 1940 , and again during World War II , it was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and included ( August 1940 ) in the Ukrainian SSR ; the region was occupied in 1941–1944 by the Romanian Army participating in Operation Barbarossa . During the Soviet period following World War II , many Russians and Ukrainians migrated to the town , gradually changing its ethnic composition . Izmail Oblast was formed in 1940 and the town remained its administrative center until the oblast was merged to Odessa Oblast in 1954 . Since 24 August 1991 , Izmail has been part of independent Ukraine . Geography . Climate . Under the Köppen classification , Izmail has a humid continental climate ( Dfa ) with four distinct seasons and generous precipitation year-round , typical for the inland South . Summers are hot and humid , with temperatures somewhat moderated by the citys elevation . Winters are cool but variable , with an average of 48 freezing days per year . Demographics . Before 1920 , the population of Izmail was estimated at 37,000 . During that time , approximately 11,000 of the population were Jewish , 8,000 Romanians and 6,000 Germans . Additional members of the population were Russians , Bulgarians , Turks and Cossacks . - 2008 — 77,076 people ; - 2011 — 75,581 people . The national composition ( 2001 ) : Russians - 43.7% ( 33,600 ) , Ukrainians - 38.0% ( 29,200 ) , Bulgarians - 10.0% ( 7,700 ) and Romanians - 4.3% ( 3,300 ) . In 2010 , the population was 75,300 . The population also consists of many other nationalities : Gagauz , Greeks , Jews , Armenians , etc . - 75 nationalities . Notable residences . - Alexandru Averescu , Romanian Marshal , Army Commander during World War I ; Prime Minister ( in fact , born near Izmail , in the village of Ozerne ) - Ioan Chirilă , Romanian writer and sports journalist - Galina Chistyakova , Ukrainian athlete , winner of the long jump bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Leonid Dimov , Romanian poet ( 1926 , Ismail – 1987 , Bucharest ) - Olena Hovorova , Ukrainian athlete , winner of the triple jump bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Wiktor Kemula , Polish chemist , electrochemist , and polarographist , he developed a hanging mercury drop electrode ( HMDE ) - Vitali Konstantinov , Russian wrestler - Ruslan Maynov , Bulgarian actor and musician - Gavril Musicescu , Romanian composer - Sergiu Sarchizov , Romanian composer and conductor - Sholom Schwartzbard , Jewish anarchist , assassin of Symon Petliura - Ivan Shishman , Bulgarian artist - – Russian philosopher , publicist , author of television films , Member of the Union of writers of Russia - Artur Văitoianu , Romanian general , Army commander during World War I ; Prime Ministe |
[
"Cincinnati Bearcats football"
] | easy | Who occupied Nippert Stadium from 1915 to 1968? | /wiki/Nippert_Stadium#P466#0 | Nippert Stadium Nippert Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati , Ohio , on the campus of the University of Cincinnati . Primarily used for American football , it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team . The stadium has also been used as a soccer venue , serving as the home of FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer from their inaugural 2016 USL season through the 2020 MLS season . Nippert Stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 40,000 people following an expansion and renovation in 2014 . In rudimentary form since 1901 , permanent concrete stands were built along each sideline for the 1915 season and as a complete horseshoe stadium since 1924 , making it the fourth-oldest playing site and fifth-oldest stadium in college football , respectively . Namesake . During the final game of the 1923 season with intrastate rival Miami University , UC player James Gamble Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury . He died a month later of blood poisoning , reportedly due to having been infected by droppings left after a pre-game chicken race . Nipperts grandfather , James Gamble of Procter & Gamble , donated the required funds to complete the stadium . A locker room and training ( medical ) facility was added as part of the renovation for the safety of players . Nipperts brother , Louis , was majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s . Early history . In 1895 , the organizer of UCs first football team , Arch Carson , introduced a plan to build a stadium complete with wooden bleachers on the site where Nippert Stadium currently stands . The plans became a reality in 1901 while Carson was serving as UCs physical education director . The first game played on the site originally called Varsity Field in Burnet Woods was on November 2 , 1901 vs the Ohio University Bobcats . Cincinnati was defeated 16–0 in that contest . They rebounded a week later and defeated Hannover on Varsity field November 9 , 1901 , 10–0 . Although Cincinnati has played home contests in other Cincinnati parks , this site has been the primary home of Cincinnati Football since that time . The playing surface at Nippert Stadium is called Carson Field in honor of Arch Carson . Construction of Carson Field began in 1900 and was completed in 1910 . In 1915 , construction was completed on the first sections of a brick and concrete structure to replace the wooden stands and continued for several seasons as funds were raised . In 1924 , the completed structure was dedicated as James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium with a capacity of 12,000 . The field is slightly offset from a conventional north-south alignment , configured north-northeast to south-southwest at an approximate elevation of above sea level . Timeline . - 1895 – UC physical education director Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium in Burnet Woods . - 1901 – Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field . Wood bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside . - 1909 – Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night . - 1915 – Construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete structure . - 1923 – James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson , Jimmy Nippert , to complete the stadium . Jimmy died on Christmas 1923 from a football injury a month prior . - 1924 – The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated on November 8 , with a seating capacity of 12,000 . - 1936 – Carson Field was lowered to allow the capacity to expand to 24,000 . - 1954 – Reed Shank Pavilion was completed along the east sideline to boost the capacity to 28,000 . - 1968 – Nippert was the first home of the AFLs expansion Cincinnati Bengals while the city constructed Riverfront Stadium , which opened in 1970 . - 1970 – AstroTurf replaced the natural grass surface . - 1989 – Nippert Stadium was closed for renovation and UC played its home games in 1990 at Riverfront Stadium . - 1991 – Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed to allow for UC home games to be played . The structure was fortified and a three-tiered press box was added . - 1992 – Phase II of the renovation was completed , increasing the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the ( renamed ) Herschede-Shank Pavilion , and adding new lighting and a scoreboard . - 2000 – FieldTurf , a revolutionary new grass-like artificial surface , was installed . The former press box was renamed the John and Dorothy Hermanies Press Box . - 2001 – A new video scoreboard was added in the north end zone and 10,000 seats were upgraded . - 2005 – A permanent grandstand upgraded seating behind the north end zone and provided new locker rooms at field level for game use . A new , larger video board was installed and the FieldTurf playing surface was replaced . - 2009 – 9,000 black cushioned seats were installed in the UCATS seating areas of the stadium , replacing the previously installed red plastic seating covers . - 2013 – FieldTurf playing surface replaced with Act Global UBU and at the end of the 2013–2014 season with , Nippert closed for renovation . - 2014 – UC plays home games at Paul Brown Stadium , home of the Cincinnati Bengals , during stadium renovations . - 2015 – Capacity is increased to 40,000 with the addition of premium seating , new pavilion , additional restrooms , upgraded concessions and improved concourses . - 2016 – New Turf , renovation of visitors locker room - 2017 – Playing surface expanded from 110 yards by 70 yards to 115 yards by 75 yards for soccer and player safety , resulting in the loss of 1200 seats . The $2M project was paid for by local USL club FC Cincinnati . New Videoboard . The project was made possible by a gift from longtime UC supporters Carl and Martha Lindner . Longtime multimedia rights holder IMG College also contributed to the project . Renovation history . The field was lowered in 1936 , allowing capacity to reach 24,000 . In 1954 , a small upper deck on the East sideline was completed , and named the Reed Shank Pavilion . This increased capacity to 28,000 . In 1992 , the stadium was heavily renovated , expanding the upper deck on the East sideline and adding a new Press Box on the West sideline . This increased capacity to 35,097 . In 2005 , new gameday locker rooms behind the north end zone ( underneath the newly completed Campus Rec Center ) were added , as well as a new bigger video board above the north end zone . 2014–2015 renovation and expansion . As the UC program rose to prominence in the late 2000s , the small seating capacity of Nippert became an issue . Former UC head coach Brian Kelly called for an expansion of Nippert , the smallest stadium in the Big East Conference . On December 18 , 2012 , President Santa J . Ono and then Athletic Director Whit Babcock unveiled the long-anticipated plans to update and expand Nippert Stadium . Originally the price tag was estimated at $70 million , but eventually an increased budget of $86 million was announced . On June 25 , 2013 , the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the Nippert Stadium Expansion . The West Pavilion now includes a new press box and premium seating area , which will add suites , loge boxes , and club seating . The western concourse also boasts improved general fan amenities , including concession stands , restrooms , and more efficient in-stadium traffic flow . Additions on the east side of the stadium were more sparse , but included additional concession stands , restrooms , and an expansion of the formerly-cramped concourse walkways , due to the addition of skywalks to connect the Herschede-Shank Pavilion with the OVarsity Way brick plaza , which is located just outside the stadium . After renovations , Nipperts capacity ( including about 2500 SRO ) is now around 40,000 ( an exact figure hasnt yet been put forth by the university ) . However , local United Soccer League club FC Cincinnati sold out Nippert Stadium in July 2016 after the renovations , and announced a crowd of 35,061 . Further , in early 2017 Nippert lost 1200 seats in a $2 million project expanding the playing field 5 yards in both length and width to accommodate a full-sized soccer field . The 2014–15 renovation and expansion was designed by the New York-based firm , Architecture Research Office in close collaboration with Heery International . ARO served as the design architect , while Heery served as the sports consultant and executive architect . Construction on the Nippert Stadium expansion started in December 2013 , and was completed on time , in September 2015 . During the 2014 season , the Bearcats played all of their home games at Paul Brown Stadium , the downtown home of the Cincinnati Bengals . Attendance . Record attendance . On October 24 , 2015 , the Bearcats hosted the UConn Huskies on Homecoming weekend . The crowd on hand was 40,124 making this the second consecutive official sellout in the newly renovated Nippert Stadium . The Bearcats were winners in front of 7 of the 10 largest crowds at Nippert including the top 3 attended games . Soccer attendance . During FC Cincinnati soccer matches , stadium capacity was limited to 35,061 before 2017 when the field was widened and rows were removed along the sidelines and in the corners to accommodate a regulation width soccer field . Nippert sold out once for a soccer match before the field was widened , when English Premier League club Crystal Palace FC played a friendly against FC Cincinnati on July 16 , 2016 . Current soccer capacity after rows were removed and once the club reached MLS is 32,250 . Other soccer attendance . On September 15 , 2017 , the United States womens soccer team hosted New Zealand in a friendly before 30,596 fans – a record for the womens national team in the state of Ohio . On June 9 , 2019 , the United States mens soccer team hosted Venezuela in a friendly to prepare for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup . Praise . Nippert has earned a reputation as a tough place to play . One national columnist , visiting the sold-out Keg of Nails rivalry game in 2013 , described Nippert Stadium as a quaint bowl of angry noise sitting under the gaze of remarkable architecture and went on to compare it to a baby Death Valley ( referring to LSUs notoriously intimidating Tiger Stadium ) . In 2012 , USA Today called Nippert Stadium the best football venue in what was then the Big East Conference . Other tenants and events hosted . The stadium served as home for the American Football League expansion team , the Cincinnati Bengals , in 1968 and 1969 , while their eventual permanent home at Riverfront Stadium was being constructed . The Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League played at Nippert in 1973 . The stadium has served as a concert venue at least three times . On July 22 , 1973 a show headlined by The Edgar Winter Group with The James Gang and Peter Framptons group , Framptons Camel , drew between 5,000 and 7,000 fans . On July 29 , 1973 a concert with Grand Funk Railroad drew only 8,000 fans ; seventeen were arrested on charges they got in without a ticket . On August 3 , 1975 , Nippert hosted The Ohio River Rock Festival ( Aerosmith , Black Oak Arkansas , Blue Öyster Cult , Foghat , Mahogany Rush , Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , REO Speedwagon , and Styx ; admission was festival seating/general admission , attendance 32,000 est . according to local radio broadcasts ) . In addition , the Grateful Dead was supposed to perform at Nippert on June 15 , 1973 , but the show was canceled , according to the Cincinnati Post , due to the fact that the staging was not up to the Deads demands ( they eventually played Cincinnati Gardens on December 4 , 1973. ) On November 2 , 2008 , Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at Nippert two days before the election to an estimated 27,000 attendees . FC Cincinnati began playing at Nippert in 2016 . The team broke the United Soccer League regular-season record for attendance five times , drawing 30,417 fans to its game against New York Red Bulls II on September 16 , 2017 . They drew 30,187 to their playoff game against the Charleston Battery on October 2 , 2016 . On September 29 , 2018 , they once again broke the USL attendance record , drawing 31,478 fans against Indy Eleven in FCCs final regular-season home game before the teams move to MLS . The team drew 35,061 for a friendly against Crystal Palace F.C . on July 16 , 2016 . They drew a USL record home opener crowd of 23,144 against Saint Louis FC on April 15 , 2017 . They drew 33,250 to a U.S . Open Cup semifinal against New York Red Bulls on August 15 , 2017 . Nitro Circus performed at Nippert on June 23 , 2018 . Alternative stadiums . UC has used Paul Brown Stadium , home of the NFLs Cincinnati Bengals , as an alternate home field for several high profile home games . The downtown stadium has a larger seating capacity of 65,535 . Games against Ohio State ( 2002 ) , Oklahoma ( 2010 ) , and West Virginia ( 2011 ) drew crowds of 66,319 , 58,253 , and 48,152 , respectively , at Paul Brown Stadium . |
[
"Cincinnati Bengals"
] | easy | Who occupied Nippert Stadium from 1968 to 1969? | /wiki/Nippert_Stadium#P466#1 | Nippert Stadium Nippert Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati , Ohio , on the campus of the University of Cincinnati . Primarily used for American football , it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team . The stadium has also been used as a soccer venue , serving as the home of FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer from their inaugural 2016 USL season through the 2020 MLS season . Nippert Stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 40,000 people following an expansion and renovation in 2014 . In rudimentary form since 1901 , permanent concrete stands were built along each sideline for the 1915 season and as a complete horseshoe stadium since 1924 , making it the fourth-oldest playing site and fifth-oldest stadium in college football , respectively . Namesake . During the final game of the 1923 season with intrastate rival Miami University , UC player James Gamble Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury . He died a month later of blood poisoning , reportedly due to having been infected by droppings left after a pre-game chicken race . Nipperts grandfather , James Gamble of Procter & Gamble , donated the required funds to complete the stadium . A locker room and training ( medical ) facility was added as part of the renovation for the safety of players . Nipperts brother , Louis , was majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s . Early history . In 1895 , the organizer of UCs first football team , Arch Carson , introduced a plan to build a stadium complete with wooden bleachers on the site where Nippert Stadium currently stands . The plans became a reality in 1901 while Carson was serving as UCs physical education director . The first game played on the site originally called Varsity Field in Burnet Woods was on November 2 , 1901 vs the Ohio University Bobcats . Cincinnati was defeated 16–0 in that contest . They rebounded a week later and defeated Hannover on Varsity field November 9 , 1901 , 10–0 . Although Cincinnati has played home contests in other Cincinnati parks , this site has been the primary home of Cincinnati Football since that time . The playing surface at Nippert Stadium is called Carson Field in honor of Arch Carson . Construction of Carson Field began in 1900 and was completed in 1910 . In 1915 , construction was completed on the first sections of a brick and concrete structure to replace the wooden stands and continued for several seasons as funds were raised . In 1924 , the completed structure was dedicated as James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium with a capacity of 12,000 . The field is slightly offset from a conventional north-south alignment , configured north-northeast to south-southwest at an approximate elevation of above sea level . Timeline . - 1895 – UC physical education director Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium in Burnet Woods . - 1901 – Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field . Wood bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside . - 1909 – Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night . - 1915 – Construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete structure . - 1923 – James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson , Jimmy Nippert , to complete the stadium . Jimmy died on Christmas 1923 from a football injury a month prior . - 1924 – The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated on November 8 , with a seating capacity of 12,000 . - 1936 – Carson Field was lowered to allow the capacity to expand to 24,000 . - 1954 – Reed Shank Pavilion was completed along the east sideline to boost the capacity to 28,000 . - 1968 – Nippert was the first home of the AFLs expansion Cincinnati Bengals while the city constructed Riverfront Stadium , which opened in 1970 . - 1970 – AstroTurf replaced the natural grass surface . - 1989 – Nippert Stadium was closed for renovation and UC played its home games in 1990 at Riverfront Stadium . - 1991 – Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed to allow for UC home games to be played . The structure was fortified and a three-tiered press box was added . - 1992 – Phase II of the renovation was completed , increasing the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the ( renamed ) Herschede-Shank Pavilion , and adding new lighting and a scoreboard . - 2000 – FieldTurf , a revolutionary new grass-like artificial surface , was installed . The former press box was renamed the John and Dorothy Hermanies Press Box . - 2001 – A new video scoreboard was added in the north end zone and 10,000 seats were upgraded . - 2005 – A permanent grandstand upgraded seating behind the north end zone and provided new locker rooms at field level for game use . A new , larger video board was installed and the FieldTurf playing surface was replaced . - 2009 – 9,000 black cushioned seats were installed in the UCATS seating areas of the stadium , replacing the previously installed red plastic seating covers . - 2013 – FieldTurf playing surface replaced with Act Global UBU and at the end of the 2013–2014 season with , Nippert closed for renovation . - 2014 – UC plays home games at Paul Brown Stadium , home of the Cincinnati Bengals , during stadium renovations . - 2015 – Capacity is increased to 40,000 with the addition of premium seating , new pavilion , additional restrooms , upgraded concessions and improved concourses . - 2016 – New Turf , renovation of visitors locker room - 2017 – Playing surface expanded from 110 yards by 70 yards to 115 yards by 75 yards for soccer and player safety , resulting in the loss of 1200 seats . The $2M project was paid for by local USL club FC Cincinnati . New Videoboard . The project was made possible by a gift from longtime UC supporters Carl and Martha Lindner . Longtime multimedia rights holder IMG College also contributed to the project . Renovation history . The field was lowered in 1936 , allowing capacity to reach 24,000 . In 1954 , a small upper deck on the East sideline was completed , and named the Reed Shank Pavilion . This increased capacity to 28,000 . In 1992 , the stadium was heavily renovated , expanding the upper deck on the East sideline and adding a new Press Box on the West sideline . This increased capacity to 35,097 . In 2005 , new gameday locker rooms behind the north end zone ( underneath the newly completed Campus Rec Center ) were added , as well as a new bigger video board above the north end zone . 2014–2015 renovation and expansion . As the UC program rose to prominence in the late 2000s , the small seating capacity of Nippert became an issue . Former UC head coach Brian Kelly called for an expansion of Nippert , the smallest stadium in the Big East Conference . On December 18 , 2012 , President Santa J . Ono and then Athletic Director Whit Babcock unveiled the long-anticipated plans to update and expand Nippert Stadium . Originally the price tag was estimated at $70 million , but eventually an increased budget of $86 million was announced . On June 25 , 2013 , the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the Nippert Stadium Expansion . The West Pavilion now includes a new press box and premium seating area , which will add suites , loge boxes , and club seating . The western concourse also boasts improved general fan amenities , including concession stands , restrooms , and more efficient in-stadium traffic flow . Additions on the east side of the stadium were more sparse , but included additional concession stands , restrooms , and an expansion of the formerly-cramped concourse walkways , due to the addition of skywalks to connect the Herschede-Shank Pavilion with the OVarsity Way brick plaza , which is located just outside the stadium . After renovations , Nipperts capacity ( including about 2500 SRO ) is now around 40,000 ( an exact figure hasnt yet been put forth by the university ) . However , local United Soccer League club FC Cincinnati sold out Nippert Stadium in July 2016 after the renovations , and announced a crowd of 35,061 . Further , in early 2017 Nippert lost 1200 seats in a $2 million project expanding the playing field 5 yards in both length and width to accommodate a full-sized soccer field . The 2014–15 renovation and expansion was designed by the New York-based firm , Architecture Research Office in close collaboration with Heery International . ARO served as the design architect , while Heery served as the sports consultant and executive architect . Construction on the Nippert Stadium expansion started in December 2013 , and was completed on time , in September 2015 . During the 2014 season , the Bearcats played all of their home games at Paul Brown Stadium , the downtown home of the Cincinnati Bengals . Attendance . Record attendance . On October 24 , 2015 , the Bearcats hosted the UConn Huskies on Homecoming weekend . The crowd on hand was 40,124 making this the second consecutive official sellout in the newly renovated Nippert Stadium . The Bearcats were winners in front of 7 of the 10 largest crowds at Nippert including the top 3 attended games . Soccer attendance . During FC Cincinnati soccer matches , stadium capacity was limited to 35,061 before 2017 when the field was widened and rows were removed along the sidelines and in the corners to accommodate a regulation width soccer field . Nippert sold out once for a soccer match before the field was widened , when English Premier League club Crystal Palace FC played a friendly against FC Cincinnati on July 16 , 2016 . Current soccer capacity after rows were removed and once the club reached MLS is 32,250 . Other soccer attendance . On September 15 , 2017 , the United States womens soccer team hosted New Zealand in a friendly before 30,596 fans – a record for the womens national team in the state of Ohio . On June 9 , 2019 , the United States mens soccer team hosted Venezuela in a friendly to prepare for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup . Praise . Nippert has earned a reputation as a tough place to play . One national columnist , visiting the sold-out Keg of Nails rivalry game in 2013 , described Nippert Stadium as a quaint bowl of angry noise sitting under the gaze of remarkable architecture and went on to compare it to a baby Death Valley ( referring to LSUs notoriously intimidating Tiger Stadium ) . In 2012 , USA Today called Nippert Stadium the best football venue in what was then the Big East Conference . Other tenants and events hosted . The stadium served as home for the American Football League expansion team , the Cincinnati Bengals , in 1968 and 1969 , while their eventual permanent home at Riverfront Stadium was being constructed . The Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League played at Nippert in 1973 . The stadium has served as a concert venue at least three times . On July 22 , 1973 a show headlined by The Edgar Winter Group with The James Gang and Peter Framptons group , Framptons Camel , drew between 5,000 and 7,000 fans . On July 29 , 1973 a concert with Grand Funk Railroad drew only 8,000 fans ; seventeen were arrested on charges they got in without a ticket . On August 3 , 1975 , Nippert hosted The Ohio River Rock Festival ( Aerosmith , Black Oak Arkansas , Blue Öyster Cult , Foghat , Mahogany Rush , Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , REO Speedwagon , and Styx ; admission was festival seating/general admission , attendance 32,000 est . according to local radio broadcasts ) . In addition , the Grateful Dead was supposed to perform at Nippert on June 15 , 1973 , but the show was canceled , according to the Cincinnati Post , due to the fact that the staging was not up to the Deads demands ( they eventually played Cincinnati Gardens on December 4 , 1973. ) On November 2 , 2008 , Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at Nippert two days before the election to an estimated 27,000 attendees . FC Cincinnati began playing at Nippert in 2016 . The team broke the United Soccer League regular-season record for attendance five times , drawing 30,417 fans to its game against New York Red Bulls II on September 16 , 2017 . They drew 30,187 to their playoff game against the Charleston Battery on October 2 , 2016 . On September 29 , 2018 , they once again broke the USL attendance record , drawing 31,478 fans against Indy Eleven in FCCs final regular-season home game before the teams move to MLS . The team drew 35,061 for a friendly against Crystal Palace F.C . on July 16 , 2016 . They drew a USL record home opener crowd of 23,144 against Saint Louis FC on April 15 , 2017 . They drew 33,250 to a U.S . Open Cup semifinal against New York Red Bulls on August 15 , 2017 . Nitro Circus performed at Nippert on June 23 , 2018 . Alternative stadiums . UC has used Paul Brown Stadium , home of the NFLs Cincinnati Bengals , as an alternate home field for several high profile home games . The downtown stadium has a larger seating capacity of 65,535 . Games against Ohio State ( 2002 ) , Oklahoma ( 2010 ) , and West Virginia ( 2011 ) drew crowds of 66,319 , 58,253 , and 48,152 , respectively , at Paul Brown Stadium . |
[
"Cincinnati Comets"
] | easy | Who occupied Nippert Stadium from 1973 to 1975? | /wiki/Nippert_Stadium#P466#2 | Nippert Stadium Nippert Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati , Ohio , on the campus of the University of Cincinnati . Primarily used for American football , it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team . The stadium has also been used as a soccer venue , serving as the home of FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer from their inaugural 2016 USL season through the 2020 MLS season . Nippert Stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 40,000 people following an expansion and renovation in 2014 . In rudimentary form since 1901 , permanent concrete stands were built along each sideline for the 1915 season and as a complete horseshoe stadium since 1924 , making it the fourth-oldest playing site and fifth-oldest stadium in college football , respectively . Namesake . During the final game of the 1923 season with intrastate rival Miami University , UC player James Gamble Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury . He died a month later of blood poisoning , reportedly due to having been infected by droppings left after a pre-game chicken race . Nipperts grandfather , James Gamble of Procter & Gamble , donated the required funds to complete the stadium . A locker room and training ( medical ) facility was added as part of the renovation for the safety of players . Nipperts brother , Louis , was majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s . Early history . In 1895 , the organizer of UCs first football team , Arch Carson , introduced a plan to build a stadium complete with wooden bleachers on the site where Nippert Stadium currently stands . The plans became a reality in 1901 while Carson was serving as UCs physical education director . The first game played on the site originally called Varsity Field in Burnet Woods was on November 2 , 1901 vs the Ohio University Bobcats . Cincinnati was defeated 16–0 in that contest . They rebounded a week later and defeated Hannover on Varsity field November 9 , 1901 , 10–0 . Although Cincinnati has played home contests in other Cincinnati parks , this site has been the primary home of Cincinnati Football since that time . The playing surface at Nippert Stadium is called Carson Field in honor of Arch Carson . Construction of Carson Field began in 1900 and was completed in 1910 . In 1915 , construction was completed on the first sections of a brick and concrete structure to replace the wooden stands and continued for several seasons as funds were raised . In 1924 , the completed structure was dedicated as James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium with a capacity of 12,000 . The field is slightly offset from a conventional north-south alignment , configured north-northeast to south-southwest at an approximate elevation of above sea level . Timeline . - 1895 – UC physical education director Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium in Burnet Woods . - 1901 – Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field . Wood bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside . - 1909 – Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night . - 1915 – Construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete structure . - 1923 – James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson , Jimmy Nippert , to complete the stadium . Jimmy died on Christmas 1923 from a football injury a month prior . - 1924 – The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated on November 8 , with a seating capacity of 12,000 . - 1936 – Carson Field was lowered to allow the capacity to expand to 24,000 . - 1954 – Reed Shank Pavilion was completed along the east sideline to boost the capacity to 28,000 . - 1968 – Nippert was the first home of the AFLs expansion Cincinnati Bengals while the city constructed Riverfront Stadium , which opened in 1970 . - 1970 – AstroTurf replaced the natural grass surface . - 1989 – Nippert Stadium was closed for renovation and UC played its home games in 1990 at Riverfront Stadium . - 1991 – Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed to allow for UC home games to be played . The structure was fortified and a three-tiered press box was added . - 1992 – Phase II of the renovation was completed , increasing the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the ( renamed ) Herschede-Shank Pavilion , and adding new lighting and a scoreboard . - 2000 – FieldTurf , a revolutionary new grass-like artificial surface , was installed . The former press box was renamed the John and Dorothy Hermanies Press Box . - 2001 – A new video scoreboard was added in the north end zone and 10,000 seats were upgraded . - 2005 – A permanent grandstand upgraded seating behind the north end zone and provided new locker rooms at field level for game use . A new , larger video board was installed and the FieldTurf playing surface was replaced . - 2009 – 9,000 black cushioned seats were installed in the UCATS seating areas of the stadium , replacing the previously installed red plastic seating covers . - 2013 – FieldTurf playing surface replaced with Act Global UBU and at the end of the 2013–2014 season with , Nippert closed for renovation . - 2014 – UC plays home games at Paul Brown Stadium , home of the Cincinnati Bengals , during stadium renovations . - 2015 – Capacity is increased to 40,000 with the addition of premium seating , new pavilion , additional restrooms , upgraded concessions and improved concourses . - 2016 – New Turf , renovation of visitors locker room - 2017 – Playing surface expanded from 110 yards by 70 yards to 115 yards by 75 yards for soccer and player safety , resulting in the loss of 1200 seats . The $2M project was paid for by local USL club FC Cincinnati . New Videoboard . The project was made possible by a gift from longtime UC supporters Carl and Martha Lindner . Longtime multimedia rights holder IMG College also contributed to the project . Renovation history . The field was lowered in 1936 , allowing capacity to reach 24,000 . In 1954 , a small upper deck on the East sideline was completed , and named the Reed Shank Pavilion . This increased capacity to 28,000 . In 1992 , the stadium was heavily renovated , expanding the upper deck on the East sideline and adding a new Press Box on the West sideline . This increased capacity to 35,097 . In 2005 , new gameday locker rooms behind the north end zone ( underneath the newly completed Campus Rec Center ) were added , as well as a new bigger video board above the north end zone . 2014–2015 renovation and expansion . As the UC program rose to prominence in the late 2000s , the small seating capacity of Nippert became an issue . Former UC head coach Brian Kelly called for an expansion of Nippert , the smallest stadium in the Big East Conference . On December 18 , 2012 , President Santa J . Ono and then Athletic Director Whit Babcock unveiled the long-anticipated plans to update and expand Nippert Stadium . Originally the price tag was estimated at $70 million , but eventually an increased budget of $86 million was announced . On June 25 , 2013 , the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the Nippert Stadium Expansion . The West Pavilion now includes a new press box and premium seating area , which will add suites , loge boxes , and club seating . The western concourse also boasts improved general fan amenities , including concession stands , restrooms , and more efficient in-stadium traffic flow . Additions on the east side of the stadium were more sparse , but included additional concession stands , restrooms , and an expansion of the formerly-cramped concourse walkways , due to the addition of skywalks to connect the Herschede-Shank Pavilion with the OVarsity Way brick plaza , which is located just outside the stadium . After renovations , Nipperts capacity ( including about 2500 SRO ) is now around 40,000 ( an exact figure hasnt yet been put forth by the university ) . However , local United Soccer League club FC Cincinnati sold out Nippert Stadium in July 2016 after the renovations , and announced a crowd of 35,061 . Further , in early 2017 Nippert lost 1200 seats in a $2 million project expanding the playing field 5 yards in both length and width to accommodate a full-sized soccer field . The 2014–15 renovation and expansion was designed by the New York-based firm , Architecture Research Office in close collaboration with Heery International . ARO served as the design architect , while Heery served as the sports consultant and executive architect . Construction on the Nippert Stadium expansion started in December 2013 , and was completed on time , in September 2015 . During the 2014 season , the Bearcats played all of their home games at Paul Brown Stadium , the downtown home of the Cincinnati Bengals . Attendance . Record attendance . On October 24 , 2015 , the Bearcats hosted the UConn Huskies on Homecoming weekend . The crowd on hand was 40,124 making this the second consecutive official sellout in the newly renovated Nippert Stadium . The Bearcats were winners in front of 7 of the 10 largest crowds at Nippert including the top 3 attended games . Soccer attendance . During FC Cincinnati soccer matches , stadium capacity was limited to 35,061 before 2017 when the field was widened and rows were removed along the sidelines and in the corners to accommodate a regulation width soccer field . Nippert sold out once for a soccer match before the field was widened , when English Premier League club Crystal Palace FC played a friendly against FC Cincinnati on July 16 , 2016 . Current soccer capacity after rows were removed and once the club reached MLS is 32,250 . Other soccer attendance . On September 15 , 2017 , the United States womens soccer team hosted New Zealand in a friendly before 30,596 fans – a record for the womens national team in the state of Ohio . On June 9 , 2019 , the United States mens soccer team hosted Venezuela in a friendly to prepare for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup . Praise . Nippert has earned a reputation as a tough place to play . One national columnist , visiting the sold-out Keg of Nails rivalry game in 2013 , described Nippert Stadium as a quaint bowl of angry noise sitting under the gaze of remarkable architecture and went on to compare it to a baby Death Valley ( referring to LSUs notoriously intimidating Tiger Stadium ) . In 2012 , USA Today called Nippert Stadium the best football venue in what was then the Big East Conference . Other tenants and events hosted . The stadium served as home for the American Football League expansion team , the Cincinnati Bengals , in 1968 and 1969 , while their eventual permanent home at Riverfront Stadium was being constructed . The Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League played at Nippert in 1973 . The stadium has served as a concert venue at least three times . On July 22 , 1973 a show headlined by The Edgar Winter Group with The James Gang and Peter Framptons group , Framptons Camel , drew between 5,000 and 7,000 fans . On July 29 , 1973 a concert with Grand Funk Railroad drew only 8,000 fans ; seventeen were arrested on charges they got in without a ticket . On August 3 , 1975 , Nippert hosted The Ohio River Rock Festival ( Aerosmith , Black Oak Arkansas , Blue Öyster Cult , Foghat , Mahogany Rush , Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , REO Speedwagon , and Styx ; admission was festival seating/general admission , attendance 32,000 est . according to local radio broadcasts ) . In addition , the Grateful Dead was supposed to perform at Nippert on June 15 , 1973 , but the show was canceled , according to the Cincinnati Post , due to the fact that the staging was not up to the Deads demands ( they eventually played Cincinnati Gardens on December 4 , 1973. ) On November 2 , 2008 , Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at Nippert two days before the election to an estimated 27,000 attendees . FC Cincinnati began playing at Nippert in 2016 . The team broke the United Soccer League regular-season record for attendance five times , drawing 30,417 fans to its game against New York Red Bulls II on September 16 , 2017 . They drew 30,187 to their playoff game against the Charleston Battery on October 2 , 2016 . On September 29 , 2018 , they once again broke the USL attendance record , drawing 31,478 fans against Indy Eleven in FCCs final regular-season home game before the teams move to MLS . The team drew 35,061 for a friendly against Crystal Palace F.C . on July 16 , 2016 . They drew a USL record home opener crowd of 23,144 against Saint Louis FC on April 15 , 2017 . They drew 33,250 to a U.S . Open Cup semifinal against New York Red Bulls on August 15 , 2017 . Nitro Circus performed at Nippert on June 23 , 2018 . Alternative stadiums . UC has used Paul Brown Stadium , home of the NFLs Cincinnati Bengals , as an alternate home field for several high profile home games . The downtown stadium has a larger seating capacity of 65,535 . Games against Ohio State ( 2002 ) , Oklahoma ( 2010 ) , and West Virginia ( 2011 ) drew crowds of 66,319 , 58,253 , and 48,152 , respectively , at Paul Brown Stadium . |
[
"FC Cincinnati"
] | easy | Who was the occupant of Nippert Stadium from 2016 to 2018? | /wiki/Nippert_Stadium#P466#3 | Nippert Stadium Nippert Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati , Ohio , on the campus of the University of Cincinnati . Primarily used for American football , it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team . The stadium has also been used as a soccer venue , serving as the home of FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer from their inaugural 2016 USL season through the 2020 MLS season . Nippert Stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 40,000 people following an expansion and renovation in 2014 . In rudimentary form since 1901 , permanent concrete stands were built along each sideline for the 1915 season and as a complete horseshoe stadium since 1924 , making it the fourth-oldest playing site and fifth-oldest stadium in college football , respectively . Namesake . During the final game of the 1923 season with intrastate rival Miami University , UC player James Gamble Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury . He died a month later of blood poisoning , reportedly due to having been infected by droppings left after a pre-game chicken race . Nipperts grandfather , James Gamble of Procter & Gamble , donated the required funds to complete the stadium . A locker room and training ( medical ) facility was added as part of the renovation for the safety of players . Nipperts brother , Louis , was majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s . Early history . In 1895 , the organizer of UCs first football team , Arch Carson , introduced a plan to build a stadium complete with wooden bleachers on the site where Nippert Stadium currently stands . The plans became a reality in 1901 while Carson was serving as UCs physical education director . The first game played on the site originally called Varsity Field in Burnet Woods was on November 2 , 1901 vs the Ohio University Bobcats . Cincinnati was defeated 16–0 in that contest . They rebounded a week later and defeated Hannover on Varsity field November 9 , 1901 , 10–0 . Although Cincinnati has played home contests in other Cincinnati parks , this site has been the primary home of Cincinnati Football since that time . The playing surface at Nippert Stadium is called Carson Field in honor of Arch Carson . Construction of Carson Field began in 1900 and was completed in 1910 . In 1915 , construction was completed on the first sections of a brick and concrete structure to replace the wooden stands and continued for several seasons as funds were raised . In 1924 , the completed structure was dedicated as James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium with a capacity of 12,000 . The field is slightly offset from a conventional north-south alignment , configured north-northeast to south-southwest at an approximate elevation of above sea level . Timeline . - 1895 – UC physical education director Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium in Burnet Woods . - 1901 – Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field . Wood bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside . - 1909 – Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night . - 1915 – Construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete structure . - 1923 – James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson , Jimmy Nippert , to complete the stadium . Jimmy died on Christmas 1923 from a football injury a month prior . - 1924 – The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated on November 8 , with a seating capacity of 12,000 . - 1936 – Carson Field was lowered to allow the capacity to expand to 24,000 . - 1954 – Reed Shank Pavilion was completed along the east sideline to boost the capacity to 28,000 . - 1968 – Nippert was the first home of the AFLs expansion Cincinnati Bengals while the city constructed Riverfront Stadium , which opened in 1970 . - 1970 – AstroTurf replaced the natural grass surface . - 1989 – Nippert Stadium was closed for renovation and UC played its home games in 1990 at Riverfront Stadium . - 1991 – Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed to allow for UC home games to be played . The structure was fortified and a three-tiered press box was added . - 1992 – Phase II of the renovation was completed , increasing the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the ( renamed ) Herschede-Shank Pavilion , and adding new lighting and a scoreboard . - 2000 – FieldTurf , a revolutionary new grass-like artificial surface , was installed . The former press box was renamed the John and Dorothy Hermanies Press Box . - 2001 – A new video scoreboard was added in the north end zone and 10,000 seats were upgraded . - 2005 – A permanent grandstand upgraded seating behind the north end zone and provided new locker rooms at field level for game use . A new , larger video board was installed and the FieldTurf playing surface was replaced . - 2009 – 9,000 black cushioned seats were installed in the UCATS seating areas of the stadium , replacing the previously installed red plastic seating covers . - 2013 – FieldTurf playing surface replaced with Act Global UBU and at the end of the 2013–2014 season with , Nippert closed for renovation . - 2014 – UC plays home games at Paul Brown Stadium , home of the Cincinnati Bengals , during stadium renovations . - 2015 – Capacity is increased to 40,000 with the addition of premium seating , new pavilion , additional restrooms , upgraded concessions and improved concourses . - 2016 – New Turf , renovation of visitors locker room - 2017 – Playing surface expanded from 110 yards by 70 yards to 115 yards by 75 yards for soccer and player safety , resulting in the loss of 1200 seats . The $2M project was paid for by local USL club FC Cincinnati . New Videoboard . The project was made possible by a gift from longtime UC supporters Carl and Martha Lindner . Longtime multimedia rights holder IMG College also contributed to the project . Renovation history . The field was lowered in 1936 , allowing capacity to reach 24,000 . In 1954 , a small upper deck on the East sideline was completed , and named the Reed Shank Pavilion . This increased capacity to 28,000 . In 1992 , the stadium was heavily renovated , expanding the upper deck on the East sideline and adding a new Press Box on the West sideline . This increased capacity to 35,097 . In 2005 , new gameday locker rooms behind the north end zone ( underneath the newly completed Campus Rec Center ) were added , as well as a new bigger video board above the north end zone . 2014–2015 renovation and expansion . As the UC program rose to prominence in the late 2000s , the small seating capacity of Nippert became an issue . Former UC head coach Brian Kelly called for an expansion of Nippert , the smallest stadium in the Big East Conference . On December 18 , 2012 , President Santa J . Ono and then Athletic Director Whit Babcock unveiled the long-anticipated plans to update and expand Nippert Stadium . Originally the price tag was estimated at $70 million , but eventually an increased budget of $86 million was announced . On June 25 , 2013 , the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the Nippert Stadium Expansion . The West Pavilion now includes a new press box and premium seating area , which will add suites , loge boxes , and club seating . The western concourse also boasts improved general fan amenities , including concession stands , restrooms , and more efficient in-stadium traffic flow . Additions on the east side of the stadium were more sparse , but included additional concession stands , restrooms , and an expansion of the formerly-cramped concourse walkways , due to the addition of skywalks to connect the Herschede-Shank Pavilion with the OVarsity Way brick plaza , which is located just outside the stadium . After renovations , Nipperts capacity ( including about 2500 SRO ) is now around 40,000 ( an exact figure hasnt yet been put forth by the university ) . However , local United Soccer League club FC Cincinnati sold out Nippert Stadium in July 2016 after the renovations , and announced a crowd of 35,061 . Further , in early 2017 Nippert lost 1200 seats in a $2 million project expanding the playing field 5 yards in both length and width to accommodate a full-sized soccer field . The 2014–15 renovation and expansion was designed by the New York-based firm , Architecture Research Office in close collaboration with Heery International . ARO served as the design architect , while Heery served as the sports consultant and executive architect . Construction on the Nippert Stadium expansion started in December 2013 , and was completed on time , in September 2015 . During the 2014 season , the Bearcats played all of their home games at Paul Brown Stadium , the downtown home of the Cincinnati Bengals . Attendance . Record attendance . On October 24 , 2015 , the Bearcats hosted the UConn Huskies on Homecoming weekend . The crowd on hand was 40,124 making this the second consecutive official sellout in the newly renovated Nippert Stadium . The Bearcats were winners in front of 7 of the 10 largest crowds at Nippert including the top 3 attended games . Soccer attendance . During FC Cincinnati soccer matches , stadium capacity was limited to 35,061 before 2017 when the field was widened and rows were removed along the sidelines and in the corners to accommodate a regulation width soccer field . Nippert sold out once for a soccer match before the field was widened , when English Premier League club Crystal Palace FC played a friendly against FC Cincinnati on July 16 , 2016 . Current soccer capacity after rows were removed and once the club reached MLS is 32,250 . Other soccer attendance . On September 15 , 2017 , the United States womens soccer team hosted New Zealand in a friendly before 30,596 fans – a record for the womens national team in the state of Ohio . On June 9 , 2019 , the United States mens soccer team hosted Venezuela in a friendly to prepare for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup . Praise . Nippert has earned a reputation as a tough place to play . One national columnist , visiting the sold-out Keg of Nails rivalry game in 2013 , described Nippert Stadium as a quaint bowl of angry noise sitting under the gaze of remarkable architecture and went on to compare it to a baby Death Valley ( referring to LSUs notoriously intimidating Tiger Stadium ) . In 2012 , USA Today called Nippert Stadium the best football venue in what was then the Big East Conference . Other tenants and events hosted . The stadium served as home for the American Football League expansion team , the Cincinnati Bengals , in 1968 and 1969 , while their eventual permanent home at Riverfront Stadium was being constructed . The Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League played at Nippert in 1973 . The stadium has served as a concert venue at least three times . On July 22 , 1973 a show headlined by The Edgar Winter Group with The James Gang and Peter Framptons group , Framptons Camel , drew between 5,000 and 7,000 fans . On July 29 , 1973 a concert with Grand Funk Railroad drew only 8,000 fans ; seventeen were arrested on charges they got in without a ticket . On August 3 , 1975 , Nippert hosted The Ohio River Rock Festival ( Aerosmith , Black Oak Arkansas , Blue Öyster Cult , Foghat , Mahogany Rush , Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , REO Speedwagon , and Styx ; admission was festival seating/general admission , attendance 32,000 est . according to local radio broadcasts ) . In addition , the Grateful Dead was supposed to perform at Nippert on June 15 , 1973 , but the show was canceled , according to the Cincinnati Post , due to the fact that the staging was not up to the Deads demands ( they eventually played Cincinnati Gardens on December 4 , 1973. ) On November 2 , 2008 , Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at Nippert two days before the election to an estimated 27,000 attendees . FC Cincinnati began playing at Nippert in 2016 . The team broke the United Soccer League regular-season record for attendance five times , drawing 30,417 fans to its game against New York Red Bulls II on September 16 , 2017 . They drew 30,187 to their playoff game against the Charleston Battery on October 2 , 2016 . On September 29 , 2018 , they once again broke the USL attendance record , drawing 31,478 fans against Indy Eleven in FCCs final regular-season home game before the teams move to MLS . The team drew 35,061 for a friendly against Crystal Palace F.C . on July 16 , 2016 . They drew a USL record home opener crowd of 23,144 against Saint Louis FC on April 15 , 2017 . They drew 33,250 to a U.S . Open Cup semifinal against New York Red Bulls on August 15 , 2017 . Nitro Circus performed at Nippert on June 23 , 2018 . Alternative stadiums . UC has used Paul Brown Stadium , home of the NFLs Cincinnati Bengals , as an alternate home field for several high profile home games . The downtown stadium has a larger seating capacity of 65,535 . Games against Ohio State ( 2002 ) , Oklahoma ( 2010 ) , and West Virginia ( 2011 ) drew crowds of 66,319 , 58,253 , and 48,152 , respectively , at Paul Brown Stadium . |
[
"FC Cincinnati"
] | easy | Who was the occupant of Nippert Stadium from 2019 to 2020? | /wiki/Nippert_Stadium#P466#4 | Nippert Stadium Nippert Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati , Ohio , on the campus of the University of Cincinnati . Primarily used for American football , it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team . The stadium has also been used as a soccer venue , serving as the home of FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer from their inaugural 2016 USL season through the 2020 MLS season . Nippert Stadium has a seating capacity of approximately 40,000 people following an expansion and renovation in 2014 . In rudimentary form since 1901 , permanent concrete stands were built along each sideline for the 1915 season and as a complete horseshoe stadium since 1924 , making it the fourth-oldest playing site and fifth-oldest stadium in college football , respectively . Namesake . During the final game of the 1923 season with intrastate rival Miami University , UC player James Gamble Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury . He died a month later of blood poisoning , reportedly due to having been infected by droppings left after a pre-game chicken race . Nipperts grandfather , James Gamble of Procter & Gamble , donated the required funds to complete the stadium . A locker room and training ( medical ) facility was added as part of the renovation for the safety of players . Nipperts brother , Louis , was majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s . Early history . In 1895 , the organizer of UCs first football team , Arch Carson , introduced a plan to build a stadium complete with wooden bleachers on the site where Nippert Stadium currently stands . The plans became a reality in 1901 while Carson was serving as UCs physical education director . The first game played on the site originally called Varsity Field in Burnet Woods was on November 2 , 1901 vs the Ohio University Bobcats . Cincinnati was defeated 16–0 in that contest . They rebounded a week later and defeated Hannover on Varsity field November 9 , 1901 , 10–0 . Although Cincinnati has played home contests in other Cincinnati parks , this site has been the primary home of Cincinnati Football since that time . The playing surface at Nippert Stadium is called Carson Field in honor of Arch Carson . Construction of Carson Field began in 1900 and was completed in 1910 . In 1915 , construction was completed on the first sections of a brick and concrete structure to replace the wooden stands and continued for several seasons as funds were raised . In 1924 , the completed structure was dedicated as James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium with a capacity of 12,000 . The field is slightly offset from a conventional north-south alignment , configured north-northeast to south-southwest at an approximate elevation of above sea level . Timeline . - 1895 – UC physical education director Arch Carson introduced a plan to build a stadium in Burnet Woods . - 1901 – Cincinnati played its first game on Carson Field . Wood bleachers were built on the surrounding hillside . - 1909 – Lights were first used because the large number of co-op students on the team could practice only at night . - 1915 – Construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete structure . - 1923 – James Gamble donated $250,000 in memory of his grandson , Jimmy Nippert , to complete the stadium . Jimmy died on Christmas 1923 from a football injury a month prior . - 1924 – The completed James Gamble Nippert Stadium was dedicated on November 8 , with a seating capacity of 12,000 . - 1936 – Carson Field was lowered to allow the capacity to expand to 24,000 . - 1954 – Reed Shank Pavilion was completed along the east sideline to boost the capacity to 28,000 . - 1968 – Nippert was the first home of the AFLs expansion Cincinnati Bengals while the city constructed Riverfront Stadium , which opened in 1970 . - 1970 – AstroTurf replaced the natural grass surface . - 1989 – Nippert Stadium was closed for renovation and UC played its home games in 1990 at Riverfront Stadium . - 1991 – Phase I of the stadium renovation was completed to allow for UC home games to be played . The structure was fortified and a three-tiered press box was added . - 1992 – Phase II of the renovation was completed , increasing the seating capacity to 35,000 through the expansion of the ( renamed ) Herschede-Shank Pavilion , and adding new lighting and a scoreboard . - 2000 – FieldTurf , a revolutionary new grass-like artificial surface , was installed . The former press box was renamed the John and Dorothy Hermanies Press Box . - 2001 – A new video scoreboard was added in the north end zone and 10,000 seats were upgraded . - 2005 – A permanent grandstand upgraded seating behind the north end zone and provided new locker rooms at field level for game use . A new , larger video board was installed and the FieldTurf playing surface was replaced . - 2009 – 9,000 black cushioned seats were installed in the UCATS seating areas of the stadium , replacing the previously installed red plastic seating covers . - 2013 – FieldTurf playing surface replaced with Act Global UBU and at the end of the 2013–2014 season with , Nippert closed for renovation . - 2014 – UC plays home games at Paul Brown Stadium , home of the Cincinnati Bengals , during stadium renovations . - 2015 – Capacity is increased to 40,000 with the addition of premium seating , new pavilion , additional restrooms , upgraded concessions and improved concourses . - 2016 – New Turf , renovation of visitors locker room - 2017 – Playing surface expanded from 110 yards by 70 yards to 115 yards by 75 yards for soccer and player safety , resulting in the loss of 1200 seats . The $2M project was paid for by local USL club FC Cincinnati . New Videoboard . The project was made possible by a gift from longtime UC supporters Carl and Martha Lindner . Longtime multimedia rights holder IMG College also contributed to the project . Renovation history . The field was lowered in 1936 , allowing capacity to reach 24,000 . In 1954 , a small upper deck on the East sideline was completed , and named the Reed Shank Pavilion . This increased capacity to 28,000 . In 1992 , the stadium was heavily renovated , expanding the upper deck on the East sideline and adding a new Press Box on the West sideline . This increased capacity to 35,097 . In 2005 , new gameday locker rooms behind the north end zone ( underneath the newly completed Campus Rec Center ) were added , as well as a new bigger video board above the north end zone . 2014–2015 renovation and expansion . As the UC program rose to prominence in the late 2000s , the small seating capacity of Nippert became an issue . Former UC head coach Brian Kelly called for an expansion of Nippert , the smallest stadium in the Big East Conference . On December 18 , 2012 , President Santa J . Ono and then Athletic Director Whit Babcock unveiled the long-anticipated plans to update and expand Nippert Stadium . Originally the price tag was estimated at $70 million , but eventually an increased budget of $86 million was announced . On June 25 , 2013 , the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved the Nippert Stadium Expansion . The West Pavilion now includes a new press box and premium seating area , which will add suites , loge boxes , and club seating . The western concourse also boasts improved general fan amenities , including concession stands , restrooms , and more efficient in-stadium traffic flow . Additions on the east side of the stadium were more sparse , but included additional concession stands , restrooms , and an expansion of the formerly-cramped concourse walkways , due to the addition of skywalks to connect the Herschede-Shank Pavilion with the OVarsity Way brick plaza , which is located just outside the stadium . After renovations , Nipperts capacity ( including about 2500 SRO ) is now around 40,000 ( an exact figure hasnt yet been put forth by the university ) . However , local United Soccer League club FC Cincinnati sold out Nippert Stadium in July 2016 after the renovations , and announced a crowd of 35,061 . Further , in early 2017 Nippert lost 1200 seats in a $2 million project expanding the playing field 5 yards in both length and width to accommodate a full-sized soccer field . The 2014–15 renovation and expansion was designed by the New York-based firm , Architecture Research Office in close collaboration with Heery International . ARO served as the design architect , while Heery served as the sports consultant and executive architect . Construction on the Nippert Stadium expansion started in December 2013 , and was completed on time , in September 2015 . During the 2014 season , the Bearcats played all of their home games at Paul Brown Stadium , the downtown home of the Cincinnati Bengals . Attendance . Record attendance . On October 24 , 2015 , the Bearcats hosted the UConn Huskies on Homecoming weekend . The crowd on hand was 40,124 making this the second consecutive official sellout in the newly renovated Nippert Stadium . The Bearcats were winners in front of 7 of the 10 largest crowds at Nippert including the top 3 attended games . Soccer attendance . During FC Cincinnati soccer matches , stadium capacity was limited to 35,061 before 2017 when the field was widened and rows were removed along the sidelines and in the corners to accommodate a regulation width soccer field . Nippert sold out once for a soccer match before the field was widened , when English Premier League club Crystal Palace FC played a friendly against FC Cincinnati on July 16 , 2016 . Current soccer capacity after rows were removed and once the club reached MLS is 32,250 . Other soccer attendance . On September 15 , 2017 , the United States womens soccer team hosted New Zealand in a friendly before 30,596 fans – a record for the womens national team in the state of Ohio . On June 9 , 2019 , the United States mens soccer team hosted Venezuela in a friendly to prepare for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup . Praise . Nippert has earned a reputation as a tough place to play . One national columnist , visiting the sold-out Keg of Nails rivalry game in 2013 , described Nippert Stadium as a quaint bowl of angry noise sitting under the gaze of remarkable architecture and went on to compare it to a baby Death Valley ( referring to LSUs notoriously intimidating Tiger Stadium ) . In 2012 , USA Today called Nippert Stadium the best football venue in what was then the Big East Conference . Other tenants and events hosted . The stadium served as home for the American Football League expansion team , the Cincinnati Bengals , in 1968 and 1969 , while their eventual permanent home at Riverfront Stadium was being constructed . The Cincinnati Comets of the American Soccer League played at Nippert in 1973 . The stadium has served as a concert venue at least three times . On July 22 , 1973 a show headlined by The Edgar Winter Group with The James Gang and Peter Framptons group , Framptons Camel , drew between 5,000 and 7,000 fans . On July 29 , 1973 a concert with Grand Funk Railroad drew only 8,000 fans ; seventeen were arrested on charges they got in without a ticket . On August 3 , 1975 , Nippert hosted The Ohio River Rock Festival ( Aerosmith , Black Oak Arkansas , Blue Öyster Cult , Foghat , Mahogany Rush , Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , REO Speedwagon , and Styx ; admission was festival seating/general admission , attendance 32,000 est . according to local radio broadcasts ) . In addition , the Grateful Dead was supposed to perform at Nippert on June 15 , 1973 , but the show was canceled , according to the Cincinnati Post , due to the fact that the staging was not up to the Deads demands ( they eventually played Cincinnati Gardens on December 4 , 1973. ) On November 2 , 2008 , Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at Nippert two days before the election to an estimated 27,000 attendees . FC Cincinnati began playing at Nippert in 2016 . The team broke the United Soccer League regular-season record for attendance five times , drawing 30,417 fans to its game against New York Red Bulls II on September 16 , 2017 . They drew 30,187 to their playoff game against the Charleston Battery on October 2 , 2016 . On September 29 , 2018 , they once again broke the USL attendance record , drawing 31,478 fans against Indy Eleven in FCCs final regular-season home game before the teams move to MLS . The team drew 35,061 for a friendly against Crystal Palace F.C . on July 16 , 2016 . They drew a USL record home opener crowd of 23,144 against Saint Louis FC on April 15 , 2017 . They drew 33,250 to a U.S . Open Cup semifinal against New York Red Bulls on August 15 , 2017 . Nitro Circus performed at Nippert on June 23 , 2018 . Alternative stadiums . UC has used Paul Brown Stadium , home of the NFLs Cincinnati Bengals , as an alternate home field for several high profile home games . The downtown stadium has a larger seating capacity of 65,535 . Games against Ohio State ( 2002 ) , Oklahoma ( 2010 ) , and West Virginia ( 2011 ) drew crowds of 66,319 , 58,253 , and 48,152 , respectively , at Paul Brown Stadium . |
[
"United States Representative"
] | easy | What position did Hugh Carey take from 1961 to 1963? | /wiki/Hugh_Carey#P39#0 | Hugh Carey Hugh Leo Carey ( April 11 , 1919 – August 7 , 2011 ) was an American politician and attorney . He served as a seven-term United States Representative from 1961 to 1974 as well as the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982 . Early life . Carey was born in New York , New York , the son of Margaret ( née Collins ) and Dennis Joseph Carey . Among his siblings were brothers Edward M . Carey ( former president of Carey Energy Corporation ) and Martin T . Carey ( an entrepreneur who owned Winfield Hall and Bogheid in Glen Cove and Seaview Terrace in Newport ) . Education and military service . In 1939 , Carey enlisted in the New York National Guard as a private in C Squadron , 101st Cavalry . Later , he served as a major in the 104th Infantry Division , known as the Timberwolves . He served in the 415th Infantry Regiment of the 104th Division as the Regimental S-3 , operations officer . Carey was with the 104th Division throughout its 10-month campaign in the European Theater of Operations , which included the fighting in Northern France , Holland and Germany . His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge , the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters , and the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star . He was discharged in 1946 at the rank of colonel . He received his B.A . from St . Johns University in 1942 . Following his military service , he enrolled at the institutions law school , where he earned his J.D . in 1951 . He was admitted to the New York state bar that same year . Career . Carey was a partner in the law firm of Finley , Kumble , Wagner , Underberg , Manley , Myerson & Casey . U.S . House of Representatives . In 1960 , Running as a Democrat , Carey was elected to the United States House of Representatives unseating Republican incumbent Francis E . Dorn . Careys seven terms in office coincided with major demographic changes in his district , as exemplified by deindustralization , concomitant gentrification and the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( which spurred migration to the more suburban borough of Staten Island ) in 1964 . Although he has been erroneously characterized as the first congressman to oppose the Vietnam War , he may have been the first member of the Brooklyn congressional delegation to take this stance . In 1966 , he was appointed Chairman of the Adhoc Subcommittee on the Handicapped by Adam Clayton Powell , then Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee . The sub-committee held hearings in Washington and New York City and Carey introduced HR 14 . The Carey Bill provided , for the first time , a program of grants to the states for initiating , expanding or improving education for children with disabilities . It also included other titles mirroring the structure of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act , PL 89-10 , which Carey had assisted Powell in passing as part of the Lyndon Baines Johnson initiative . Three parts of the Bill were picked up by the Senate : the grants to states , a new Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S . Office of Education and a National Advisory Committee . Careys friend and mentor , John Fogerty of Rhode Island , the powerful Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee which provided funding for all Health , Education and Welfare programs , backed his legislation . The bill became Title VI of the ESEA , as Public Law 89-750 , in 1966 . Carey also sponsored and saw passed that year The Model Secondary School for the Deaf Bill , to be established on the campus of the worlds only liberal arts college for the deaf . In 1965 , he and Fogerty had sponsored The National Technical Institute for the Deaf , which was awarded to the Rochester Institute of Technology . The Carey Bill and its grant program to the states began with a $2.5 million appropriation , to provide each state with $50,000 to plan for its implementation . The second year , the appropriation was $12.25 million , distributed to the states in proportion to their population . In 1975 Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Bill , PL 94-142 which today distributes approximately $11 billion to the states for this purpose . He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and led the effort to pass the first Federal Aid to Education program . He was elected Governor of New York in 1974 and resigned his Congressional seat on December 31 , 1974 . City politics . In 1969 Carey ran briefly for the Democratic nomination for Mayor . He then agreed to run for City Council President on the ticket led by former Mayor Robert F . Wagner Jr . Carey narrowly lost the primary to incumbent City Council President Francis X . Smith . Then he briefly mounted an independent bid for Mayor , from which he withdrew after the death of his two eldest sons in a car accident . Governor of New York . In the state election of 1974 , Carey became New Yorks first Democratic governor in 16 years , defeating Howard Samuels for the Democratic nomination and then unseating incumbent Republican Malcolm Wilson , who had assumed the office after Nelson Rockefeller resigned in December 1973 to serve on the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans . Nationally , the 1974 election was dominated by the Watergate scandal , which had destroyed President Richard Nixons presidency and hurt Republicans nationwide . In 1974 , Democrats also recaptured the New York State Assembly . Carey is best remembered for his successful handling of New York Citys economic crisis in the mid-1970s . Carey came into office with New York City close to bankruptcy and is credited with bringing business and labor together to help save New York City from the fiscal crisis . Carey managed to keep the growth of state spending below the rate of inflation through his frequent use of line-item vetoes and fights with the New York State Legislature , which was at the time divided between a Republican-controlled Senate and a Democratic-controlled Assembly . Upon taking office , Carey cut taxes significantly , reducing corporate taxes from 14% to 10% , and capping personal income tax at 9% , and reducing capital gains taxes as well . His administration also offered tax credits to encourage new investment . As governor , he was responsible for building the Jacob K . Javits Convention Center ; Battery Park City ; the South Street Seaport and the economic development of New York Citys outer boroughs . He also helped provide state funding for the construction of the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University . He is also remembered for preventing conservative legislators from reinstating the death penalty and preventing such legislators from taking away state abortion laws . Carey signed the Willowbrook Consent Decree , which ended the warehousing of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled . His vision and leadership led to the community placement of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled . He also made major strides in community programs for the mentally ill . Carey also pardoned Cleveland Jomo Davis , one of the leaders of the Attica prison riots . Careys tenure in office was marked by a growing awareness of the environmental consequences of New Yorks strong industrial base , including the designation by the federal government of the Love Canal disaster area . Carey made environmental issues a priority of his administration . Along with Senators Edward Kennedy and Daniel Patrick Moynihan and U.S . House Speaker Tip ONeill , Carey led efforts to end the violence in Northern Ireland and support peace in the region . The four Irish-American politicians called themselves The Four Horsemen . Carey considered running for president in 1976 and 1980 . Careys first wife had died in 1974 , and Carey later attributed his decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 1976 to her death . In 1978 , he was challenged for re-election by State Assembly Minority Leader and former Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea . After a competitive , sometimes negative campaign , Carey was the first Democrat re-elected in 40 years . Carey decided against seeking a third term as governor in 1982 and returned to private law practice . On January 1 , 1983 , he was succeeded by his lieutenant governor , Mario Cuomo . Later career . In 1989 , Carey announced that he was no longer pro-choice and regretted his support for legalized abortion and public financing of abortion as governor . In 1992 , he joined other anti-abortion leaders in signing the anti-choice document A New American Compact : Caring About Women , Caring for the Unborn . Later in his life , he was of counsel at the law firm of Shea & Gould . He continued to practice law as a member of the Harris Beach law firm and sat on the board of Triarc Cos. , the Nelson Peltz controlled holding company . Personal life . In 1947 , Carey married Helen Owen ( 1924–1974 ) . The two had a very happy marriage , and they became the parents of Alexandria , Christopher , Susan , Peter , Hugh , Jr. , Michael , Donald , Marianne , Nancy , Helen , Bryan , Paul , Kevin , and Thomas . Beginning in 1961 , the family resided at 61 Prospect Park West , a 1910 Park Slope mansion built for the daughter of Bon Ami Company chairman and Progressive Era philanthropist William H . Childs ; a decade later , Carey sold the home to journalist Pete Hamill . His wife , Helen , died of breast cancer in 1974 . Peter and Hugh , Jr . died in an automobile accident in 1969 . Carey was devastated by the death of his wife and laid to rest any plans for the White House . Paul , who served as White House Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton as well as 77th Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission , died of cancer in 2001 . In 1981 , Carey married Evangeline Gouletas , a Chicago-based real estate mogul , just three months after meeting her . This marriage proved controversial and a political liability . The marriage generated controversy due to false statements Gouletas made about her marital history . Initially , Gouletas claimed that she was a widow of a single marriage but later affirmed on the marriage license that she had two ex-husbands . Gouletas also said that her first husband , with whom she had a daughter , was dead , but he was still alive at the time . In reality , she actually had three previous marriages , and all three of her former husbands were still living at the time . The marriage also caused trouble for Carey with the Catholic Church , since he married a thrice-divorced woman in a Greek Orthodox Church ; the church , which does not recognize civil no-fault divorce , refused to perform communion . To an extent , the marriage also hurt his public reputation . Carey and Gouletas divorced in 1989 . Carey later described this marriage as his greatest failure.Carey died surrounded by his family on August 7 , 2011 . He was at his summer home on Shelter Island , New York . Legacy . On October 22 , 2009 , he was named as the recipient of University at Albany Foundations Citizen Laureate Award . On October 22 , 2012 , the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was officially renamed the Hugh L . Carey Tunnel . Building 14 at the Rochester Institute of Technology was named for Carey in 1984 . Bibliography . - Paterson , David .Skyhorse Publishing . New York , New York , 2020 Primary sources . - Almeida , Linda Dowling , Peter Quinn , and Hugh Carey . Oral History : Governor Hugh Carey Interviewed by Peter Quinn . American Journal of Irish Studies ( 2012 ) : 179–190 . in JSTOR External links . - New Yorks Forgotten Governor through the University at Albany , SUNY . |
[
"United States Representative",
"Chairman of the Adhoc Subcommittee on the Handicapped",
"Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee"
] | easy | Which position did Hugh Carey hold from 1963 to Dec 1974? | /wiki/Hugh_Carey#P39#1 | Hugh Carey Hugh Leo Carey ( April 11 , 1919 – August 7 , 2011 ) was an American politician and attorney . He served as a seven-term United States Representative from 1961 to 1974 as well as the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982 . Early life . Carey was born in New York , New York , the son of Margaret ( née Collins ) and Dennis Joseph Carey . Among his siblings were brothers Edward M . Carey ( former president of Carey Energy Corporation ) and Martin T . Carey ( an entrepreneur who owned Winfield Hall and Bogheid in Glen Cove and Seaview Terrace in Newport ) . Education and military service . In 1939 , Carey enlisted in the New York National Guard as a private in C Squadron , 101st Cavalry . Later , he served as a major in the 104th Infantry Division , known as the Timberwolves . He served in the 415th Infantry Regiment of the 104th Division as the Regimental S-3 , operations officer . Carey was with the 104th Division throughout its 10-month campaign in the European Theater of Operations , which included the fighting in Northern France , Holland and Germany . His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge , the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters , and the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star . He was discharged in 1946 at the rank of colonel . He received his B.A . from St . Johns University in 1942 . Following his military service , he enrolled at the institutions law school , where he earned his J.D . in 1951 . He was admitted to the New York state bar that same year . Career . Carey was a partner in the law firm of Finley , Kumble , Wagner , Underberg , Manley , Myerson & Casey . U.S . House of Representatives . In 1960 , Running as a Democrat , Carey was elected to the United States House of Representatives unseating Republican incumbent Francis E . Dorn . Careys seven terms in office coincided with major demographic changes in his district , as exemplified by deindustralization , concomitant gentrification and the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( which spurred migration to the more suburban borough of Staten Island ) in 1964 . Although he has been erroneously characterized as the first congressman to oppose the Vietnam War , he may have been the first member of the Brooklyn congressional delegation to take this stance . In 1966 , he was appointed Chairman of the Adhoc Subcommittee on the Handicapped by Adam Clayton Powell , then Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee . The sub-committee held hearings in Washington and New York City and Carey introduced HR 14 . The Carey Bill provided , for the first time , a program of grants to the states for initiating , expanding or improving education for children with disabilities . It also included other titles mirroring the structure of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act , PL 89-10 , which Carey had assisted Powell in passing as part of the Lyndon Baines Johnson initiative . Three parts of the Bill were picked up by the Senate : the grants to states , a new Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S . Office of Education and a National Advisory Committee . Careys friend and mentor , John Fogerty of Rhode Island , the powerful Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee which provided funding for all Health , Education and Welfare programs , backed his legislation . The bill became Title VI of the ESEA , as Public Law 89-750 , in 1966 . Carey also sponsored and saw passed that year The Model Secondary School for the Deaf Bill , to be established on the campus of the worlds only liberal arts college for the deaf . In 1965 , he and Fogerty had sponsored The National Technical Institute for the Deaf , which was awarded to the Rochester Institute of Technology . The Carey Bill and its grant program to the states began with a $2.5 million appropriation , to provide each state with $50,000 to plan for its implementation . The second year , the appropriation was $12.25 million , distributed to the states in proportion to their population . In 1975 Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Bill , PL 94-142 which today distributes approximately $11 billion to the states for this purpose . He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and led the effort to pass the first Federal Aid to Education program . He was elected Governor of New York in 1974 and resigned his Congressional seat on December 31 , 1974 . City politics . In 1969 Carey ran briefly for the Democratic nomination for Mayor . He then agreed to run for City Council President on the ticket led by former Mayor Robert F . Wagner Jr . Carey narrowly lost the primary to incumbent City Council President Francis X . Smith . Then he briefly mounted an independent bid for Mayor , from which he withdrew after the death of his two eldest sons in a car accident . Governor of New York . In the state election of 1974 , Carey became New Yorks first Democratic governor in 16 years , defeating Howard Samuels for the Democratic nomination and then unseating incumbent Republican Malcolm Wilson , who had assumed the office after Nelson Rockefeller resigned in December 1973 to serve on the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans . Nationally , the 1974 election was dominated by the Watergate scandal , which had destroyed President Richard Nixons presidency and hurt Republicans nationwide . In 1974 , Democrats also recaptured the New York State Assembly . Carey is best remembered for his successful handling of New York Citys economic crisis in the mid-1970s . Carey came into office with New York City close to bankruptcy and is credited with bringing business and labor together to help save New York City from the fiscal crisis . Carey managed to keep the growth of state spending below the rate of inflation through his frequent use of line-item vetoes and fights with the New York State Legislature , which was at the time divided between a Republican-controlled Senate and a Democratic-controlled Assembly . Upon taking office , Carey cut taxes significantly , reducing corporate taxes from 14% to 10% , and capping personal income tax at 9% , and reducing capital gains taxes as well . His administration also offered tax credits to encourage new investment . As governor , he was responsible for building the Jacob K . Javits Convention Center ; Battery Park City ; the South Street Seaport and the economic development of New York Citys outer boroughs . He also helped provide state funding for the construction of the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University . He is also remembered for preventing conservative legislators from reinstating the death penalty and preventing such legislators from taking away state abortion laws . Carey signed the Willowbrook Consent Decree , which ended the warehousing of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled . His vision and leadership led to the community placement of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled . He also made major strides in community programs for the mentally ill . Carey also pardoned Cleveland Jomo Davis , one of the leaders of the Attica prison riots . Careys tenure in office was marked by a growing awareness of the environmental consequences of New Yorks strong industrial base , including the designation by the federal government of the Love Canal disaster area . Carey made environmental issues a priority of his administration . Along with Senators Edward Kennedy and Daniel Patrick Moynihan and U.S . House Speaker Tip ONeill , Carey led efforts to end the violence in Northern Ireland and support peace in the region . The four Irish-American politicians called themselves The Four Horsemen . Carey considered running for president in 1976 and 1980 . Careys first wife had died in 1974 , and Carey later attributed his decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 1976 to her death . In 1978 , he was challenged for re-election by State Assembly Minority Leader and former Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea . After a competitive , sometimes negative campaign , Carey was the first Democrat re-elected in 40 years . Carey decided against seeking a third term as governor in 1982 and returned to private law practice . On January 1 , 1983 , he was succeeded by his lieutenant governor , Mario Cuomo . Later career . In 1989 , Carey announced that he was no longer pro-choice and regretted his support for legalized abortion and public financing of abortion as governor . In 1992 , he joined other anti-abortion leaders in signing the anti-choice document A New American Compact : Caring About Women , Caring for the Unborn . Later in his life , he was of counsel at the law firm of Shea & Gould . He continued to practice law as a member of the Harris Beach law firm and sat on the board of Triarc Cos. , the Nelson Peltz controlled holding company . Personal life . In 1947 , Carey married Helen Owen ( 1924–1974 ) . The two had a very happy marriage , and they became the parents of Alexandria , Christopher , Susan , Peter , Hugh , Jr. , Michael , Donald , Marianne , Nancy , Helen , Bryan , Paul , Kevin , and Thomas . Beginning in 1961 , the family resided at 61 Prospect Park West , a 1910 Park Slope mansion built for the daughter of Bon Ami Company chairman and Progressive Era philanthropist William H . Childs ; a decade later , Carey sold the home to journalist Pete Hamill . His wife , Helen , died of breast cancer in 1974 . Peter and Hugh , Jr . died in an automobile accident in 1969 . Carey was devastated by the death of his wife and laid to rest any plans for the White House . Paul , who served as White House Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton as well as 77th Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission , died of cancer in 2001 . In 1981 , Carey married Evangeline Gouletas , a Chicago-based real estate mogul , just three months after meeting her . This marriage proved controversial and a political liability . The marriage generated controversy due to false statements Gouletas made about her marital history . Initially , Gouletas claimed that she was a widow of a single marriage but later affirmed on the marriage license that she had two ex-husbands . Gouletas also said that her first husband , with whom she had a daughter , was dead , but he was still alive at the time . In reality , she actually had three previous marriages , and all three of her former husbands were still living at the time . The marriage also caused trouble for Carey with the Catholic Church , since he married a thrice-divorced woman in a Greek Orthodox Church ; the church , which does not recognize civil no-fault divorce , refused to perform communion . To an extent , the marriage also hurt his public reputation . Carey and Gouletas divorced in 1989 . Carey later described this marriage as his greatest failure.Carey died surrounded by his family on August 7 , 2011 . He was at his summer home on Shelter Island , New York . Legacy . On October 22 , 2009 , he was named as the recipient of University at Albany Foundations Citizen Laureate Award . On October 22 , 2012 , the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was officially renamed the Hugh L . Carey Tunnel . Building 14 at the Rochester Institute of Technology was named for Carey in 1984 . Bibliography . - Paterson , David .Skyhorse Publishing . New York , New York , 2020 Primary sources . - Almeida , Linda Dowling , Peter Quinn , and Hugh Carey . Oral History : Governor Hugh Carey Interviewed by Peter Quinn . American Journal of Irish Studies ( 2012 ) : 179–190 . in JSTOR External links . - New Yorks Forgotten Governor through the University at Albany , SUNY . |
Subsets and Splits