Rulers
August 2007
1
Argentina: Former governor of San Juan (2002-03) Wbaldino Acosta dies.
Congo (Kinshasa): Former governor of Bandundu (1988-90) and Orientale (1990-91) Guillaume Samba Kaputo dies.
Ortega |
Mexico: Ivonne Ortega Pacheco takes office as governor of Yucatán.
2
Brazil: Former governor of Santa Catarina (1966-71) Ivo Silveira dies.
Martinique: Ange Mancini takes office as prefect.
Nigeria: Former governor of Imo (1992-93) Evan Enwerem dies.
Vietnam: The National Assembly approves a new cabinet, including Tran Van Tuan as home affairs minister.
3
Mitin |
Russia: President Vladimir Putin accepts the resignation of Novgorod oblast governor Mikhail Prusak and appoints Sergey Mitin as acting governor and nominates him to succeed Prusak. On August 7 Mitin is confirmed by the local Duma (23-0) and sworn in.
5
Congo (Brazzaville): The second round of parliamentary elections is held. The ruling Congolese Labour Party and its allies win a total of 124 of the 137 seats.
Mexico: In gubernatorial elections in Baja California, José Guadalupe Osuna Millán (National Action Party) wins 50.6% of the vote and Jorge Hank Rhon (Institutional Revolutionary Party) 43.7%.
Yemen: Former prime minister (1997-98) Faraj Said Bin Ghanem dies.
6
da Costa |
Timor-Leste: President José Ramos-Horta designates Xanana Gusmão as prime minister, who is sworn in August 8. Gusmão also takes the defense portfolio, while Zacarias da Costa becomes foreign minister, Emília Pires finance minister, and Arcângelo Leite minister of internal administration.
7
Martin | 
Khoroshavin |
New Caledonia: Harold Martin is elected president of the government. Due to errors in voting procedures, a new government is elected August 21 and Martin is again elected president, winning 28 votes in the 54-member Congress.
Russia: President Vladimir Putin accepts the resignation of Sakhalin oblast governor Ivan Malakhov, appoints Aleksandr Khoroshavin as acting governor, and nominates him to succeed Malakhov. Khoroshavin is confirmed by the local Duma (20-0 with 2 abstentions) on August 9 and sworn in on August 11.
8
Scarce |
Australia: Kevin Scarce is sworn in as governor of South Australia.
Indonesia: In the first direct election for governor of Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo wins 57.9% of the vote and Adang Daradjatun 42.1%.
Poland: Interior Minister Janusz Kaczmarek is fired and replaced by Wladyslaw Stasiak.
10
India: Hamid Ansari is elected vice president with 455 votes in parliament against 222 for Najma Heptulla. Ansari is sworn in August 11.
11
Croatia: Former foreign minister (1990-91) Frane Vinko Golem dies.
Sierra Leone: In the first round of presidential elections, Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) wins 44.3% of the vote, Solomon Berewa of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) 38.3%, and Charles Margai of the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) 13.9%. The second round is to be held on September 8. In parliamentary elections, the APC wins 59 of 124 seats, the SLPP 43, and the PMDC 10; 12 seats are reserved for traditional chiefs.
12
Argentina: In gubernatorial elections in San Juan, incumbent José Luis Gioja (Justicialist Party) is reelected with about 60% of the votes against 25.5% for Roberto Basulado (Alliance Front for Change).
France: The president of the Regional Council of Centre, Michel Sapin, resigns. Jean Germain succeeds him as acting president.
13
Papua New Guinea: Parliament reelects Sir Michael Somare as prime minister with 86 votes against 21 for Sir Julius Chan. Somare appoints a caretaker cabinet for two weeks, with Patrick Pruaitch as finance minister, Puka Temu as internal security minister, and Paul Tiensten remaining foreign minister. On August 29 the definite cabinet is named, Pruaitch being confirmed as finance minister, while Sam Abal becomes foreign minister, Bob Dadae defense minister, and Sani Rambi internal security minister.
14
Bernier |
Canada: In a cabinet reshuffle, Maxime Bernier becomes foreign minister and Peter MacKay defense minister.
15
Japan: Former governor of Kagoshima (1967-77) Saburo Kanemaru dies.
16
Norway: Former governor of Aust-Agder (1961-74) Henrik Svensen dies.
18
Kazakhstan: In parliamentary elections, the Nur Otan (Light of the Fatherland) party wins 88.1% of the votes and all 98 elected seats, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party 4.6%, and Ak Zhol (Bright Path) 3.2%. Turnout is 64.6%. (The remaining 9 seats of the 107-seat Mazhilis are reserved for representatives of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, an advisory body that represents various ethnic groups.)
19
Argentina: In gubernatorial elections in La Rioja, Luis Beder Herrera (Frente del Pueblo Riojano) is elected with 41.5% of the votes, against Ricardo Quintela (Frente para la Victoria) with 27.2% and ex-president Carlos Menem (Lealtad y Dignidad) with 21.8%. In San Luis, incumbent Alberto Rodríguez Saá (Justicialist Party) is reelected with 85.3% of the votes against Roque Palma (Socialist Party) with 9.9%.
Thakur | 
Bhandare |
India: Rameshwar Thakur is appointed as governor of Karnataka (sworn in August 21), Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare as governor of Orissa (sworn in August 21), Narain Dutt Tiwari as governor of Andhra Pradesh (sworn in August 22), S.K. Singh as governor of Rajasthan, K. Sankaranarayanan as governor of Arunachal Pradesh (in addition to his duties as governor of Nagaland), Sudarshan Agarwal as governor of Sikkim, and B.L. Joshi as governor of Uttarakhand.
Senegal: In indirect senatorial elections, the Democratic Party of Senegal wins 34 seats and And-Jëf/African Party for Democracy and Socialism 1. The remaining 65 members are appointed by the president.
20
British Virgin Islands: In parliamentary elections, the Virgin Islands Party wins 45.2% of the vote (10 of 15 seats), the National Democratic Party 39.6% (2), and independents 15.2% (1). (The remaining two seats are held by the speaker and attorney general.) Turnout is 62.3%. On August 22 Ralph O'Neal is appointed as the territory's first premier. He is sworn in August 23, also becoming finance minister.
Babacan |
Turkey: In the first round of the presidential election, the parliament gives 341 votes to Abdullah Gül (Justice and Development Party), 70 to Sabahattin Çakmakoglu (Nationalist Movement Party), and 13 to Tayfun Içli (Democratic Left Party); 23 votes are blank and one invalid. As 367 votes are required to be elected in the first or second round, a second round is held on August 24, with Gül receiving 337 votes, Çakmakoglu 71, and Içli 14; 24 votes are blank. A third round is held on August 28 and Gül is elected with 339 votes, against 70 for Çakmakoglu and 13 for Içli. Gül is sworn in the same day. On August 29 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces the composition of his new cabinet, approved by President Gül. Ali Babacan becomes foreign minister and Besir Atalay interior minister, while Vecdi Gönül remains defense minister and Kemal Unakitan finance minister.
21
Shahid |
Jordan: Finance Minister Ziad Fariz resigns. On August 26 Bassem al-Salem is appointed acting finance minister.
Maldives: Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed resigns. On August 23 Abdulla Shahid is named to replace him.
22
Kiribati: In the first round of parliamentary elections, 18 of the 44 seats are allocated, President Anote Tong being among the successful candidates. A second round is held August 30.
King-Akerele |
Liberia: Olubanke King-Akerele is appointed foreign minister in a government reshuffle.
Pande |
Zambia: President Levy Mwanawasa sacks Foreign Minister Mundia Sikatana and appoints Kabinga Pande in his place.
23
Belgium: Yves Leterme gives up his attempt to form a government.
Canada: Former lieutenant governor of Manitoba (1970-76) William John McKeag dies.
Japan: Former governor of Miyazaki (1979-2003) Suketaka Matsukata dies.
24
Greece: Spyros Flogaitis is sworn in as interim interior minister.
Iraq: Former president (1966-68) Abdul Rahman Arif dies.
25
France: Former prime minister (1976-81) Raymond Barre dies.
Mauritius: Angidi Chettiar is appointed vice president, replacing Raouf Bundhun.
Nauru: In parliamentary elections, supporters of President Ludwig Scotty win at least 14 of the 18 seats. On August 28 Scotty is reelected president, defeating Marcus Stephen by 14 votes to 3, and names an unchanged cabinet.
26
Argentina: In gubernatorial elections in Tucumán, incumbent José Alperovich (Front for Victory) is reelected with about 78% of the votes, against Ricardo Bussi (Republican Force) with about 5%.
Luxembourg: Former foreign minister (1969-80) and prime minister (1974-79) Gaston Thorn (also president of the European Commission 1981-85) dies.
27
Japan: In a cabinet reshuffle, Nobutaka Machimura is appointed foreign minister, Fukushiro Nukaga finance minister, Masahiko Komura defense minister, and Hiroya Masuda interior minister.
Artyakov |
Russia: The governor of Samara oblast, Konstantin Titov, resigns. President Vladimir Putin appoints Vladimir Artyakov as acting governor. On August 29 Artyakov is confirmed as governor by the local Duma (41-0 with 4 abstentions) and sworn in.
United States: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigns, effective September 17. Solicitor General Paul Clement is to become acting attorney general on that date.
28
Indonesia: Mardiyanto, governor of Jawa Tengah, is appointed as home affairs minister; he is installed the following day.
Mexico: Former governor of Jalisco (1971-77) Alberto Orozco Romero dies.
29
France: Former prime minister (1972-74) Pierre Messmer, who was also governor of Mauritania (1952-54) and Ivory Coast (1954-56) and high commissioner of French Cameroons (1956-58), French Equatorial Africa (1958), and French West Africa (1958-59), dies.
India: Former chief minister of Haryana (1975-77, 1990) Banarsi Das Gupta dies.
30
China: Finance Minister Jin Renqing resigns. He is replaced by Xie Xuren.
Ecuador: Defense Minister Lorena Escudero resigns. Wellington Sandoval is appointed to replace her; he is sworn in on August 31.
31
French Polynesia: The government of President Gaston Tong Sang is removed from office in a vote of no confidence (35 of 57 assembly members vote for the motion). A new president is to be elected on September 10.
Sri Lanka: Former foreign minister (1990-93) Harold Herath dies.