Rulers
August 2006
1
Canada: Gordon Barnhart takes office as lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan.
Rosenthal |
Guatemala: Gert Rosenthal is sworn in as foreign minister.
Fissore |
Monaco: Henri Fissore takes office as foreign minister.
2
Germany: Former minister-president of Hessen (1976-87) Holger Börner dies.
3
Ogwu |
Nigeria: Foreign Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala resigns. On August 30 Joy Ogwu is sworn in as foreign minister.
Ielemia |
Tuvalu: In parliamentary elections, 7 of the 15 sitting MPs are returned and 8 new members are elected. All cabinet members of Prime Minister Maatia Toafa are defeated, except Toafa himself. On August 14 the parliament elects Apisai Ielemia as prime minister and the composition of his government is announced with the prime minister as foreign minister, Lotoala Metia as finance minister, and Willy Telavi as home affairs minister.
Ukraine: President Viktor Yushchenko nominates Viktor Yanukovych as prime minister. On August 4 he is approved by parliament (271-9). On August 5 a new cabinet is approved with Mykola Azarov as first deputy prime minister and finance minister; other key ministers are retained.
4
Argentina: Former governor of San Juan (1963-66, 1982, 1983-85) Leopoldo Bravo dies.
India: Former chief minister of Orissa (1972-73, 1974-76) Nandini Satpathy dies.
Satyanand |
New Zealand: Dame Silvia Cartwright retires from her office as governor-general. Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias acts as governor-general until the swearing-in of Anand Satyanand on August 23.
Switzerland: Former president of the Council of State of Ticino (1959-60, 1961-62) Alberto Stefani dies.
5
Falkland Islands: Governor Howard Pearce departs. Harriet Hall becomes acting governor until, on August 28, Alan Huckle is sworn in as governor.
6
India: Former governor of Uttar Pradesh (1998-2000), Bihar (1999), and Himachal Pradesh (2000-03) Suraj Bhan dies.
7
Araújo |
Colombia: María Consuelo Araújo takes office as foreign minister.
Potapenko |
Russia: Valery Potapenko is confirmed by the local Assembly (16-0) as head of the administration of Nenets autonomous okrug.
Somalia: The cabinet of Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Ghedi is dissolved. Ghedi is later asked to form a new cabinet, the composition of which is announced on August 21 with Ismail Mahmud Hurre as foreign minister, Barre Adan Shire as defense minister, and Hassan Muhammad Nur "Shatigadud" as finance minister; Hussein Aydid remains interior minister.
8
Seychelles: A list of ministers for the new cabinet is approved by the National Assembly, after which President James Michel assigns the portfolios. Danny Faure is named finance minister. The ministers are sworn in on August 9.
Maduro |
Venezuela: President Hugo Chávez names Nicolás Maduro as foreign minister.
9
Turks and Caicos Islands: Chief Minister Michael Misick becomes premier as a new constitution comes into effect.
10
Obama |
Equatorial Guinea: Prime Minister Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó's government resigns. Ricardo Mangue Obama Nfubea is named as the new prime minister on August 14.
14
Milososki |
Macedonia: The proposed government of Nikola Gruevski is announced, including Antonio Milososki as foreign minister, Lazar Elenovski as defense minister, Gordana Jankulovska as interior minister, and Trajko Slaveski as finance minister. The government is approved in parliament (68-22) on August 26. Gruevski takes office August 27 and the ministers on August 28.
Serbia: Joachim Rücker is named as new head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, to take office September 1.
Wallis and Futuna: Richard Didier takes office as administrator-superior.
16
Czech Republic: Prime Minister Jirí Paroubek's government resigns. Mirek Topolánek is designated as prime minister.
Paraguay: Former president (1954-89) Alfredo Stroessner dies.
17
Dominican Republic: Gen. Ramón Aquino García is named armed forces minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
20
India: Former governor of Karnataka (1990-91) Bhanu Pratap Singh dies.
Mexico: In gubernatorial elections in Chiapas, Juan Sabines Guerrero (Party of the Democratic Revolution) wins 48.5% of the vote and José Antonio Aguilar (Institutional Revolutionary Party) 47.9%.
22
Colombia: Carlos Holguín Sardi takes office as interior minister.
Paraguay: Rubén Ramírez Lezcano takes office as foreign minister.
Réunion: Prefect Laurent Cayrel leaves and Franck-Olivier Lachaud acts until the installation of Pierre-Henry Maccioni as new prefect on August 28.
25
Pakistan: Raja Zulqarnain Khan takes office as president of Azad Kashmir.
Trinidad and Tobago: Former president (1987-97) Noor Hassanali dies.
26
Pakistan: Former governor (1973-74) and chief minister (1989-90) of Balochistan Sardar Akbar Khan Bugti is killed by security forces.
27
São Tomé and Príncipe: In elections for the Regional Assembly of Príncipe, the Union for Change and Progress of Príncipe, supported by the Force for Change Democratic Movement-Democratic Convergence Party, takes all 7 seats, defeating the Democratic Alliance for Development of Príncipe, supported by the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe-Social Democratic Party.
28
Ecuador: Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrín resigns. Marcelo Delgado is named to replace him.
Estonia: Parliament fails to elect a new president in the first round of voting when Ene Ergma wins 65 votes, short of the necessary two-thirds majority (68 votes). Two further rounds of voting on August 29 also fail when Toomas Hendrik Ilves both times wins 64 votes. The decision now passes to an electoral college, due to convene on September 23.
French Guiana: Jean-Pierre Laflaquière takes office as prefect.
Guyana: In presidential and parliamentary elections, the People's Progressive Party/Civic, led by President Bharrat Jagdeo, wins 54.6% of the vote (36 of 65 seats), the People's National Congress Reform-One Guyana, led by Robert Corbin, 34% (22), and the Alliance for Change, led by Raphael Trotman, 8.1% (5). Turnout is 68.8%.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: Yves Fauqueur is installed as prefect.
United States: Former governor of Hawaii (1957-62) William F. Quinn dies.
29
Pakistan: A no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz fails, gaining the support of only 136 legislators in the 342-seat National Assembly.
Russia: In North Ossetia-Alania, President Taimuraz Mamsurov dismisses the government of Prime Minister Aleksandr Merkulov. First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Khatsayev will serve as acting prime minister pending the nomination of Merkulov's successor.