August 1997

1

Palau: Former president (1989-92) Ngiratkel Etpison dies.
Seychelles: Jérémie Bonnelame becomes foreign minister.

Taylor

2

Liberia: Charles Taylor is inaugurated as president. The new government includes Peter Chea as defense minister and Elie Saleeby as finance minister. Foreign Minister Monie Captan retains his post.

3

Khatami

Iran: Mohammad Khatami takes office as president. On August 12 he names his cabinet, which is approved by parliament on August 20. Kamal Kharrazi becomes foreign minister; defense: Ali Shamkhani, interior: Abdollah Nouri; economy and finance: Hossein Namazi.
Mali: The second round of parliamentary elections confirms the victory of the ruling Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA), which will have 130 seats in the new parliament of 147 deputies.

4

Norfolk Island: Anthony J. Messner becomes administrator.

5

Banzer

Bolivia: Congress chooses Hugo Banzer Suárez as president. He receives 115 votes against 30 for Juan Carlos Durán. Banzer and his vice president, Jorge Quiroga, are sworn in August 6. The new cabinet includes Javier Murillo de la Rocha as foreign minister, Fernando Kieffer Guzmán as defense minister, Guido Nayar Parada as interior minister, and Edgar Millares Ardaya as finance minister.
New Zealand: Tumu Te Heuheu is installed as paramount chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa.
South Korea: In a cabinet reshuffle, Home Affairs Minister Kang Oon Tae is replaced by Cho Hae Nyoung.

6

Philippines: President Fidel Ramos accepts the resignation of Defense Minister Renato de Villa (effective September 15).

Ulufa'alu

Oti

Solomon Islands: Prime Minister Solomon Mamaloni's National Unity Party wins parliamentary elections. Later in the month the party elects Danny Philip as its new leader, but Liberal Party leader Bartholomew Ulufa'alu is elected prime minister by the new parliament on August 27, defeating Philip 26-22. Patteson Oti becomes foreign minister; Manasseh Sogavare, finance minister.

7

Cambodia: Ung Huot is formally appointed first prime minister. The previous day, parliament voted for him to replace ousted Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

Vunibobo

Fiji: Berenado Vunibobo becomes foreign minister.

Krasts

Latvia: Parliament formally votes Guntars Krasts into power as prime minister (73-13). Ziedonis Cevers becomes interior minister.

10

Russia: Valery Chaptynov, former chairman of the Supreme Council (1990-94) and of the State Council (1994-97) of Altay, dies.

11

Afghanistan: The anti-Taliban forces name a new government under President Burhanuddin Rabbani, including Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai as prime minister, Abdul Malik Pahlawan as foreign minister, and Ahmad Shah Masood as defense minister. Ghafoorzai dies in a plane crash on August 21.

13

Morocco: Abderrahmane Sbaï is named minister-delegate in charge of defense.

16

India: Parliament elects Andhra Pradesh governor Krishan Kant as vice president. He receives 441 votes, against 273 for Surjit Singh Barnala. On August 22 Orissa governor Gopala Ramanujam assumes additional charge of Andhra Pradesh.

20

Federated States of Micronesia: Epel K. Ilon is sworn in as foreign minister.

21

Colombia: Former president (1970-74) Misael Pastrana Borrero dies.

Brandt

Montserrat: Chief Minister Bertrand Osborne resigns. On August 22 David Brandt is sworn in as new chief minister.

Siew

Taiwan: Prime Minister Lien Chan resigns. Vincent Siew is designated to replace him on September 1. Jason Hu is to replace John Chang as foreign minister.

23

Grenada: Sir Eric Gairy, former chief minister (1961-62), premier (1967-74), and prime minister (1974-79), dies.

25

Chile: Former foreign minister (1970-73) Clodomiro Almeyda Medina dies.
Suriname: President Jules Wijdenbosch fires Finance Minister Motilal Mungra. Mungra's Basis Party and the Renewed Progressive Party leave Wijdenbosch's coalition in protest, leaving it with only 22 seats in the 51-seat National Assembly. Tjan Gobardhan becomes new finance minister.

26

Haiti: The Chamber of Deputies rejects President René Préval's nominee for prime minister, Ericq Pierre, by a 43-9 vote.
Trinidad and Tobago: Former foreign minister (1964-66) Patrick Solomon dies.

28

Poland: Parliament votes 177-79 with 93 abstentions to defeat a motion of no confidence in the cabinet of Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

30

Australia: In elections in the Northern Territory, Chief Minister Shane Stone's Country Liberal Party wins at least 16 seats in the 25-member Legislative Assembly.
Yugoslavia: Former premier (1977-82) and president of the Collective Presidency (1984-85) Veselin Djuranovic dies.