Rulers
January 2010
1
Leuthard |
Switzerland: Doris Leuthard takes office as president. Beat Vonlanthen becomes president of the Council of State of Fribourg, Claudio Lardi president of the government of Graubünden, Charles Juillard president of the government of Jura, Anton Schwingruber president of the government of Luzern, Erhard Meister president of the government of Schaffhausen, and Walter Straumann Landammann of Solothurn.
Switzerland: Former president of the Council of State of Valais (1977-78, 1981-82) Franz Steiner dies.
United States: Stephanie Miner takes office as mayor of Syracuse.
2
Afghanistan: Parliament rejects 17 of the 24 ministers nominated by President Hamid Karzai on Dec. 19, 2009, but the defense, finance, and interior ministers are among the approved ones. Karzai's new lineup, presented to parliament on January 9, includes Zalmay Rasul as foreign minister. On January 16 parliament rejects 10 of the 17 nominees, but Rasul is approved. The 14 approved ministers are sworn in on January 18.
United States: Annise Parker takes office as mayor of Houston.
4
Dominica: Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announces his new cabinet (sworn in the same day) with himself as foreign and finance minister and Charles Savarin as national security minister.
Morocco: In a cabinet reshuffle, Taib Cherkaoui is appointed as interior minister.
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates incumbent Aleksandr Berdnikov as head of Altay republic. On January 12 Berdnikov is confirmed by the Altay state assembly (33-6).
Suriname: Former prime minister (1955-58), governor (1968-75), and president (1975-80) Johan Ferrier dies.
United States: Kasim Reed takes office as mayor of Atlanta, Mike McGinn as mayor of Seattle, and Mike Bell as mayor of Toledo.
5
Wigmore |
Cook Islands: In a cabinet reshuffle, Robert Wigmore is appointed as foreign minister, Apii Piho as internal affairs minister, and Wilkie Rasmussen as finance minister.
Japan: Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii resigns. On January 6 Naoto Kan is named to replace him. Kan takes office January 7.
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates incumbent Sergey Darkin as governor of Primorsky kray. On January 11 Darkin is confirmed by the local assembly (31-1).
6
Gayzer |
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates Vyacheslav Gayzer as head of Komi republic. On January 15 Gayzer is confirmed by the local State Council (25-0) and sworn in.
7
Indonesia: Former governor of Riau (1988-98) Soeripto dies.
8
São Tomé and Príncipe: António Paquete becomes interior minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
10
Armenia: Former chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian S.S.R. (1977-89) Fadey Sarkisyan dies.
Croatia: In the presidential runoff, Ivo Josipovic wins 60.3% of the vote and Milan Bandic 39.7%. Turnout is 50.3%. Josipovic is to take office on February 18.
Dominica: Former president (1993-98) Crispin Sorhaindo dies.
Uzbekistan: In the second round of parliamentary elections, the Liberal Democratic Party wins 20 seats (for a total of 53), the People's Democratic Party 10 (32), the National Revival Democratic Party 6 (31), and the Justice Social Democratic Party 3 (19). Turnout is 79.7%.
12
China: Luo Ning is elected acting governor of Qinghai. He is elected governor on January 30.
China: Qiangba Puncog, the chairman of the government of Xizang, resigns. Padma Choling is elected as new governor on January 15.
Pozo Malo | 
Patiño |
Brovko |
Ecuador: Foreign Minister Fander Falconí resigns. Lautaro Pozo Malo is appointed acting foreign minister on January 14. On January 21 Ricardo Patiño is designated as new minister; he is sworn in on January 28.
Equatorial Guinea: The government resigns but Ignacio Milam Tang is reappointed as prime minister the same day. The new cabinet is announced on January 14 with no change in key portfolios.
Peru: Former foreign minister (1972-76) Miguel Ángel de la Flor dies.
Russia: Anatoly Brovko takes office as head of the administration of Volgograd oblast.
14
Morjane |
Tunisia: In a cabinet reshuffle, Kamel Morjane becomes foreign minister, Ridha Grira defense minister, and Mohamed Ridha Chalghoum finance minister.
15
Taylor |
Cayman Islands: Duncan Taylor takes office as governor.
Venezuela: Jorge Giordani is named finance minister.
16
Maricar | 
Dutt | 
Singh | 
Narayanan | 
Patil |
India: K. Sankaranarayanan is appointed as governor of Maharashtra (sworn in January 22), M.O. Hasan Farook Maricar as governor of Jharkhand (sworn in January 22), E.S.L. Narasimhan as full-time governor of Andhra Pradesh (sworn in January 22; he already held the post as additional charge), Shekhar Dutt as governor of Chhattisgarh (sworn in January 23), Prabha Rau as governor of Rajasthan (sworn in January 25; she already held additional charge), Urmila Singh as governor of Himachal Pradesh (sworn in January 25), Mayankote Kelath Narayanan as governor of West Bengal (sworn in January 24), and Shivraj Patil as governor of Punjab and administrator of Chandigarh (sworn in January 22).
Ali |
Mozambique: President Armando Guebuza names Aires Ali as prime minister. Key ministries remain unchanged.
Nigeria: Former governor of Niger (1992-93) Musa Inuwa dies.
United States: Bob McDonnell is sworn in as governor of Virginia.
17
Chile: In the presidential runoff, Sebastián Piñera wins 51.6% of the vote and Eduardo Frei 48.4%.
Greece: Former foreign minister (1992-93) Michalis Papakonstantinou dies.
India: Former chief minister of West Bengal (1977-2000) Jyoti Basu dies.
Mexico: Former governor of Guanajuato (1979-84) Enrique Velasco Ibarra dies.
Ukraine: In presidential elections, Viktor Yanukovych wins 35.3% of the vote, Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko 25.1%, Serhiy Tihipko 13.1%, Arseniy Yatsenyuk 7%, incumbent Viktor Yushchenko 5.5%, and Petro Symonenko 3.6%. Turnout is 66.8%.
18
Argentina: Former foreign minister (1958-59) Carlos Alberto Florit dies.
19
Doré |
Guinea: Jean-Marie Doré is designated as prime minister. He is officially appointed on January 21 and takes office January 26.
Akbulatov |
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev signs a decree creating the new Severo-Kavkazsky federal district from a part of the Yuzhny federal district. He appoints Aleksandr Khloponin as deputy prime minister and his plenipotentiary in Severo-Kavkazsky federal district. To replace Khloponin as governor of Krasnoyarsk kray, Medvedev appoints Edkham Akbulatov as acting governor.
United States: Chris Christie is sworn in as governor of New Jersey.
20
Mladenov |
Bulgaria: In a cabinet reshuffle, Defense Minister Nikolay Mladenov is designated as foreign minister while Anyu Angelov is named as the new defense minister. Parliament confirms the changes on January 27 (127-69).
Russia: Former head of the administration of Ulyanovsk oblast (1992-2001) Yury Goryachev dies.
21
Lithuania: Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas resigns. On January 26 the president accepts the resignation and assigns Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene to act as foreign minister. On January 29 Audronius Azubalis is appointed to the post (to take office in February).
Réunion: Michel Lalande is appointed prefect.
22
Malaysia: The sultan of Johor and former paramount ruler of Malaysia (1984-89), Tuanku Mahmud Iskandar ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ismail, dies. Shortly before his death Tunku Ibrahim Ismail was appointed regent of Johor, and he is proclaimed the new sultan on January 23.
Netherlands Antilles: In parliamentary elections, the Antillean Restructuring Party wins 6 of the 14 Curaçao seats, the List of Change 5, the Sovereign People 2, and the National People's Party 1; the Bonaire Patriotic Union wins 2 of the 3 Bonaire seats and the Bonaire Democratic Party 1; the National Alliance wins all 3 Sint Maarten seats; the Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius wins that island's sole seat and the Windward Islands People's Movement that of Saba.
23
Bolivia: A new cabinet is sworn in including Rubén Saavedra Soto as defense minister and Sacha Llorenti Soliz as interior minister.
24
Malaysia: Former foreign minister (1981-84) Tun Muhammad Ghazali bin Shafie dies.
United States: Former commerce secretary (1989-92) Robert A. Mosbacher dies.
25
Ghana: Martin Amidu is named interior minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
Saint Kitts and Nevis: In parliamentary elections, the ruling Labour Party wins 47% of the vote (6 of 11 seats), the People's Action Movement 32.2% (2), the Concerned Citizens Movement 11% (2), and the Nevis Reformation Party 9.8% (1). Turnout is 79.8%.
Venezuela: Vice President and Defense Minister Ramón Carrizalez resigns. On January 26 Elías Jaua is named as vice president and Carlos Mata as defense minister.
26
Libya: Muhammad Abul-Qasim al-Zwai becomes secretary of the General People's Congress.
Federated States of Micronesia: Former foreign minister (1979-92) Andon Amaraich dies.
Sri Lanka: In presidential elections, incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse wins 57.9% of the vote and Sarath Fonseka 40.2%. Turnout is 74.5%.
27
Lobo | 
Canahuati |
Honduras: Porfirio Lobo is sworn in as president. Mario Canahuati becomes foreign minister, Áfrico Madrid interior minister, and William Chong Wong finance minister.
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates Rustam Minnikhanov as president of Tatarstan.
28
Ukraine: Parliament dismisses Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, but Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko keeps him in control by appointing him first deputy interior minister and acting interior minister.
29
Italy: Former president of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (1984-91) Adriano Biasutti dies.
31
African Union: Bingu wa Mutharika, president of Malawi, is elected chairman.