August 1996

1

Eroglu

Cyprus: The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktas, appoints Dervis Eroglu as prime minister. Eroglu forms his government on August 16.

Grímsson

Iceland: Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson takes office as president.
The Netherlands: Former queen's commissioner of Limburg (1964-77) Charles van Rooy dies.
Somalia: Warlord Muhammad Farah Aydid dies.

2

France: Former prime minister (1959-62) and foreign minister (1968-69) Michel Debré dies.

6

Bolivia: Former president (1956-60, 1982-85) Hernán Siles Zuazo dies.
Burundi: Luc Rukingama becomes foreign minister.
Canada: Catherine Callbeck resigns as premier of Prince Edward Island.
Mauritius: Finance Minister Rundheersing Bheenick resigns.
Yemen: Former king (1962) Muhammad al-Badr dies.

7

Niger: Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara is sworn in as president.
Suriname: No candidate wins the necessary two-thirds majority in a National Assembly vote for president. Of the 50 lawmakers eligible to vote, 23 vote for incumbent Ronald Venetiaan, 24 for former prime minister Jules Wijdenbosch, and one abstains; two votes are disqualified. In a second vote on August 8, 26 vote for Venetiaan, 23 for Wijdenbosch, and one abstains. The decision now passes to the 869-member United Peoples Assembly (VVV), which includes regional and district councilors and where a simple majority is needed. The VVV meeting will take place September 5.

8

Canada: Jean-Louis Roux is named lieutenant governor of Quebec.
South Korea: In a cabinet reshuffle, Economy and Finance Minister Rha Woong Bae is replaced by Han Seung Soo.

9

Grenada: Daniel Williams becomes governor-general.
United States: Former New Hampshire governor (1963-69) John W. King dies.

10

Bucaram

Ecuador: Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz takes office as president. The new vice president is Rosalía Arteaga Serrano. Frank Vargas Pazzos becomes interior minister, Víctor Manuel Bayes García defense minister, and Pablo Concha Ledergerber finance minister; Galo Leoro Franco remains foreign minister.

11

Chad: Djimasta Koibla is reappointed prime minister. In the government announced the following day, the new foreign minister is Saleh Kebzabo.

12

Bahrain: Sir Anthony Parsons, former British political agent (1965-69), dies.
Pakistan: The president of Azad Kashmir, Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, is removed in a no-confidence vote. On August 25 Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan is elected president.

13

Martinique: Former prefect (1970-73) Jean Terrade dies.
Portugal: Former president (1974) António de Spínola dies.

15

Russia: Aleksandr Livshits replaces Vladimir Panskov as finance minister.

16

Fernández

Dominican Republic: Leonel Fernández takes office as president. Eduardo Latorre Rodríguez is the new foreign minister.
Germany: Albert Osswald, former minister-president of Hessen (1969-76), dies.

17

Liberia: A meeting of West African heads of state in Abuja, Nigeria, chooses Ruth Perry to chair the Council of State, replacing Wilton Sankawulo.

18

Lebanon: In the first round of parliamentary elections, government supporters win 32 out of 35 seats in the Mount Lebanon region.

19

Togo: Prime Minister Edem Kodjo resigns. The next day Planning Minister Kwassi Klutse is appointed to succeed him. On August 27 Klutse names a cabinet in which Koffi Panou is foreign minister, replacing Barry Moussa Barqué, who becomes finance minister.

20

Cape Verde: Former foreign minister (1975-81) Abílio Duarte dies.

22

Turkmenistan: Finance Minister Valery Otchertsov resigns. He is replaced by Matkarim Rajapov.

24

Niger: President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara names an expanded cabinet. It includes former prime minister Amadou Cissé as finance minister and Ousmane Issoufou Oubandawaki as defense minister. Another former prime minister, Souley Abdoulaye, is appointed minister of transport.

25

Lebanon: Islamists lose in the second round of parliamentary elections in north Lebanon while several supporters of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri win seats, according to unofficial results.

26

Argentina: Former president (1971-73) Alejandro Agustín Lanusse dies.
Estonia: Neither candidate wins the necessary two-thirds majority in a parliamentary vote for president. In the 101-member parliament, incumbent Lennart Meri gets 45 votes, former president Arnold Rüütel 34, 14 members vote against both candidates. In two further tries on August 27, Meri receives 49 and 52 votes, respectively, still falling short of the necessary 68. The decision now passes to an electoral college that will convene on September 20.

27

Hamzík

Congo: President Pascal Lissouba names former foreign minister David Charles Ganao as prime minister to succeed Joachim Yhombi-Opango, who had resigned August 23.
Slovakia: Pavol Hamzík is appointed foreign minister, succeeding Juraj Schenk.

28

Bahrain: Former British political agent (1954-59) Charles Alexander Gault dies.

30

Chile: Former junta member José Toribio Merino dies.
Greece: Vasilis Skouris is sworn in as interim interior minister.