August 2003

1

Canada: Former lieutenant governor of Newfoundland (1974-81) Gordon Arnaud Winter dies.

Zuquilanda

Ecuador: Interior Minister Mario Canessa resigns. On August 4 Felipe Mantilla takes over as interior minister. On August 6 the Pachakutik party leaves the government. Foreign Minister Nina Pacari Vega consequently resigns, and Patricio Zuquilanda is named foreign minister.

Jaafari

Iraq: Ibrahim al-Jaafari becomes head of the Governing Council.
São Tomé and Príncipe: Prime Minister Maria das Neves resigns. Earlier, Defense Minister Fernando da Trindade Danquá and Finance Minister Maria Tebus already placed their offices at the disposal of President Fradique de Menezes. On August 4 the president reaffirms his confidence in das Neves. On August 9 a new cabinet is named with Eugénio Soares as finance minister and Óscar Sousa as defense and interior minister.
Singapore: Teo Chee Hean takes office as defense minister.

2

Malaysia: Former head of state of Sabah (1978-86) Tun Datuk Mohamad Adnan Robert dies.
Sierra Leone: Former president (1985-92) Joseph Saidu Momoh dies.

3

Apang

India: Gegong Apang is sworn in as chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
North Korea: In elections to the Supreme People's Assembly, the 687 candidates handpicked by the ruling Korean Workers' Party, standing unopposed, win 100% of the votes each. Turnout is reported to be 99.9%.

4

I. Aliyev

Azerbaijan: The parliament elects Ilham Aliyev, son of President Heydar Aliyev, as prime minister. On August 6 he takes a leave of absence from his post so that he can legally run for president, and delegates authority to his predecessor, Artur Rasizade.
Indonesia: Syahrial Oesman is elected governor of Sumatera Selatan, defeating incumbent Rosihan Arsyad by a 38-37 vote.

5

Bolivia: Carlos Sánchez Berzaín is sworn in as defense minister.
Canada: In Nova Scotia elections, the Progressive Conservative Party of Premier John Hamm wins 25 of 52 seats (36.3% of the vote), the New Democratic Party 15 (31%), and the Liberals 12 (31.4%).
Pakistan: Balochistan Governor Abdul Qadir resigns. Owais Ahmed Ghani is sworn in as new governor on August 11.

6

Bulgaria: Finance Minister Milen Velchev resigns. He withdraws the resignation on August 20.
India: Former governor of Kerala (1990) and Gujarat (1990-95) and lieutenant governor of Pondicherry (1990-93) Sarup Singh dies.
Indonesia: Dewa Beratha is reelected as governor of Bali.

7

Blah

Liberia: President Charles Taylor resigns, effective August 11, when he is succeeded by Vice President Moses Blah. Lewis Brown becomes foreign minister under Blah. On August 21 Gyude Bryant is named to become chairman of an interim government on October 14; Wesley Johnson is named his deputy.
Turks and Caicos Islands: The opposition Progressive National Party wins 2 seats in by-elections, giving it a majority in parliament with 8 of 13 seats against 5 for the People's Democratic Movement. On August 15 Michael Misick is sworn in as chief minister; Floyd Hall becomes finance minister.

8

Nauru: President Ludwig Scotty is ousted in a no-confidence vote and René Harris is elected president. Marcus Stephen becomes finance minister in the cabinet formed on August 10.
Russia: The president of Adygeya, Khazret Sovmen, fires Prime Minister Gennady Mikichura. On August 20 the parliament approves Khazret Khuade as new prime minister.

11

Jeffery

Australia: Michael Jeffery takes office as governor-general.

Louisa-Godett

Netherlands Antilles: Mirna Louisa-Godett takes office as prime minister.
United States: President George W. Bush nominates Utah Governor Mike Leavitt to become head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

12

Barbados: Former acting governor-general (1976, 1984) Sir William Douglas dies.

15

Canada: Herménégilde Chiasson is appointed lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. He takes office August 26.

Duarte

Cowles

Paraguay: Nicanor Duarte Frutos is sworn in as president. Luis Alberto Castiglioni becomes vice president, Leila Rachid de Cowles foreign minister, Carlos Romero Arza defense minister, Roberto González interior minister, and Dionisio Borda finance minister.

16

Indonesia: Karel Albert Ralahalu is elected governor of Maluku.
Uganda: Former president (1971-79) Idi Amin dies.

17

Russia: In presidential elections in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Mustafa Batdyev wins 42.3% of the vote, incumbent Vladimir Semyonov 36.3%, Islam Burlakov 12.8%, and 4.6% vote against all candidates. In a runoff held August 31, Batdyev wins 48% and Semyonov 46.4%.

18

Australia: Richard Butler is appointed governor of Tasmania. He is to be sworn in on October 3.

19

Honduras: Former president (1994-98) Carlos Roberto Reina commits suicide.
India: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government defeats a no-confidence motion (312-186).
United Nations: Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the high commissioner for human rights and special envoy to Iraq and also former administrator of Kosovo (1999) and East Timor (1999-2002), is killed in a bomb attack in Baghdad.
Uruguay: Economy and Finance Minister Alejandro Atchugarry resigns. Isaac Alfie is sworn in as new minister.

20

Malakhov

Russia: The governor of Sakhalin, Igor Farkhutdinov, dies in a helicopter crash. Vice Governor Ivan Malakhov becomes acting governor.

22

Senegal: Prime Minister Idrissa Seck resigns but is immediately reappointed. Macky Sall becomes interior minister in Seck's new cabinet announced on August 27.
United States: President George W. Bush announces his intent to nominate Gordon England as Navy secretary again (he held the post until January).

23

Kenya: Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa dies.

24

Argentina: In gubernatorial elections in the city of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri wins 37% of the vote and incumbent Aníbal Ibarra 33.6%. A runoff is to be held on September 14. In Catamarca province, Eduardo Brizuela del Moral wins 50.8% of the vote and Liliana Barrionuevo 43.5%.

25

Khin

Myanmar: Gen. Khin Nyunt is appointed prime minister, replacing Gen. Than Shwe who remains head of state.
Rwanda: In presidential elections, incumbent Paul Kagame wins 95.1% of the vote, Faustin Twagiramungu 3.6%, and Jean-Népomuscène Nayinzira 1.3%. Turnout is 96.6%.
Serbia and Montenegro: Harri Holkeri takes office as Kosovo administrator.

26

India: Chief Minister Mayawati of Uttar Pradesh resigns. Mulayam Singh Yadav is sworn in as chief minister on August 29.

27

Bulgaria: Former acting president (1990) Nikolay Todorov dies.

Bilokon

Ukraine: President Leonid Kuchma fires Interior Minister Yuriy Smirnov and replaces him with Mykola Bilokon.

28

Masala

Italy: Italo Masala is elected president of Sardegna.

29

Philippines: Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes resigns. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo takes over the portfolio.

30

Argentina: In gubernatorial elections in Río Negro, Miguel Saiz (Radical Civic Union) wins 32.6% of the votes, Carlos Soria (Peronist) 30.2%, and Julio Arriaga (Encuentro por los Rionegrinos) 20.5%.
Bhutan: Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley takes office as prime minister.
Vietnam: Former acting prime minister of South Vietnam (1964, 1965) Nguyen Xuan Oanh dies.