Rulers

March 2010

1


Maiga
Komarova
Niger: Prime Minister Mahamadou Danda's cabinet is announced with Touré Aminatou Maiga as foreign minister, Gen. Mamadou Ousseini as defense minister, Cissé Ousmane as interior minister, and Badamassi Annou as finance minister.
Russia: Natalya Komarova is sworn in as governor of Khanty-Mansi autonomous okrug. Aleksandr Mikhailov is confirmed as governor of Kursk oblast by the local Duma (35-4).

Mujica
Almagro
Uruguay: José Mujica is inaugurated as president. Luis Almagro becomes foreign minister, Luis Rosadilla defense minister, Eduardo Bonomi interior minister, and Fernando Lorenzo economy and finance minister.

2

Brazil: Former governor of Rio de Janeiro (1967-71) Geremias de Mattos Fontes dies.
United States: In mayoral elections in Oklahoma City, incumbent Mick Cornett (Republican) wins 58.3% of the vote and Steve Hunt (independent) 41.7%.

3


Roger
Monaco: Prince Albert II names Michel Roger as minister of state. He takes office March 29.

Kobylkin
Azarov
Russia: Dmitry Kobylkin is confirmed (unanimously) as governor of Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrug by the local assembly. He is inaugurated on March 16.
Ukraine: The cabinet of Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko loses a no-confidence vote in parliament (the motion is adopted by 243 of the 450 members). On March 4 Oleksandr Turchynov is named acting prime minister as Tymoshenko takes a leave, although she nominally remains in office until March 11, when the parliament endorses a new cabinet with Mykola Azarov as prime minister, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko as foreign minister, Mykhailo Yezhel as defense minister, Fedir Yaroshenko as finance minister, and Anatoliy Mohyliov as interior minister.

4


Gervais
Côte d'Ivoire: Jean-Marie Kacou Gervais is named foreign minister.
Georgia: Former head of state of separatist Abkhazia (1990-2005) Vladislav Ardzinba dies.
Togo: In presidential elections, incumbent Faure Gnassingbé wins 60.9% of the vote, Jean-Pierre Fabre 33.9%, and Yawovi Agboyibo 3%. Turnout is 64.7%.

5


Nadingar
Chad: Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas resigns. Emmanuel Nadingar is named to replace him. On March 10 the full government is announced, with no change in key ministries.

6

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Haris Silajdzic becomes chairman of the presidency.

7

Indonesia: Former governor of Bali (1988-98) Ida Bagus Oka dies.
Iraq: In parliamentary elections, Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya coalition wins 91 of 325 seats, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition 89, the National Alliance 70, and the Kurdistan Alliance 43. Turnout is about 62%.

11


Piñera
Moreno
Chile: Sebastián Piñera takes office as president with his cabinet, including Alfredo Moreno as foreign minister (see February 9).
The Netherlands: Former foreign minister (1994-98) Hans van Mierlo dies.
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates incumbent Aman Tuleyev as governor of Kemerovo oblast. He is confirmed by the local council on March 18 (36-0).

14

Argentina: Former governor of Neuquén (1973-76, 1983-87, 1995-99) Felipe Sapag dies.
Colombia: In parliamentary elections, the Party of the U wins 25.9% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies (47 of 166 seats) and 25.2% for the Senate (28 of 102 seats), the Conservative Party 21.4% (38) and 20.6% (22), and the Liberal Party 19.3% (37) and 15.8% (17).
France: Regional elections (with a second round on March 21) result in the Left winning in 21 of the 22 mainland regions as well as in Guadeloupe and Martinique; the Right wins Alsace, Guyane, and Réunion.
Japan: In gubernatorial elections in Ishikawa, incumbent Masanori Tanimoto wins 66.7% of the vote and Yutaka Kawabara 23.7%. Turnout is 48.1%.

15

Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates Mikhail Yurevich as governor of Chelyabinsk oblast and incumbent Vyacheslav Dudka as governor of Tula oblast. Dudka is confirmed by the local Duma on March 18 (46-1) and Yurevich by the local legislative assembly on March 22 (57-0).

17

Nigeria: Acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolves the cabinet. The permanent secretaries, including Martin Uhomoibhi (foreign affairs), Ezekiel Oyemomi (defense), Ochi Achinivu (finance), and Dere Awosika (interior), are to take charge of the ministries from March 18 (Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe hands over to Uhomoibhi on March 22). On March 24 Jonathan submits to the parliament the list of his ministerial nominees (without allocation of portfolios). Parliament approves the nominees on March 31.
Norfolk Island: Elections are held to the Legislative Assembly. On March 24 a new executive takes office with David Ernest Buffett as chief minister and Craig Anderson as finance minister.
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev nominates incumbent Pavel Ipatov as governor of Saratov oblast. He is confirmed by the local Duma on March 23 (28-2).

Konstantynov
Dzharty
Ukraine: The Crimean parliament elects Volodymyr Konstantynov as its chairman and Vasyl Dzharty as prime minister.

18

Pakistan: Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is named finance advisor.

19

The Gambia: Finance Minister Abdou Kolley is sacked. On March 22 Momodou S. Foon is sworn in as finance minister.
Mexico: Former governor of Baja California (1977-83) Roberto de la Madrid Romandía dies.
Palau: President Johnson Toribiong asks Minister of State Sandra Pierantozzi to resign. He subsequently asks Ramon Rechebei to temporarily serve in the post and submits to the Senate the nomination of Victor Yano as new minister of state.

20

Argentina: Former governor of Chubut (1983-87) Atilio Viglione dies.
Australia: In parliamentary elections in South Australia, the Liberal Party wins 41.7% of the vote (18 of 47 seats), the Labor Party 37.5% (26), and the Greens 8.1% (0). Turnout is 92.8%. In Tasmania, the Liberal Party wins 39% of the vote (10 of 25 seats), the Labor Party 36.9% (10), and the Greens 21.6% (5). Turnout is 93.9%.
Nepal: Former prime minister (1991-94, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2006-08) and foreign minister (1991-94, 1998-99) Girija Prasad Koirala dies.
United States: Former interior secretary (1961-69) Stewart L. Udall dies.

21


Nujoma
Namibia: A new cabinet is sworn in with Utoni Nujoma as foreign minister.

22

Latvia: Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins resigns as the People's Party withdraws from the government. He agrees to continue in office until the appointment of a new foreign minister.

23

Ireland: Tony Killeen becomes defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
Mexico: Former foreign minister (1994) Manuel Tello Macías and former governor of Aguascalientes (1968-74) Francisco Guel Jiménez die.
Pakistan: Shama Khalid is sworn in as governor of Gilgit-Baltistan.

25

Brazil: Leonel Arcângelo Pavan takes office as governor of Santa Catarina.
France: Dominique Bucchini (Communist Party) is elected president of the Corsican Assembly. In the third round of voting (a relative majority being sufficient), he receives 24 votes, against 15 for Gilles Simeoni and 12 for incumbent Camille de Rocca Serra. Paul Giacobbi is then elected president of the Executive Council, also in a third round of voting.

Minnikhanov
Russia: Rustam Minnikhanov is inaugurated as president of Tatarstan. He appoints Ravil Muratov as acting prime minister.
Switzerland: Former president of the Council of State of Neuchâtel (1988-89) Jean-Claude Jaggi dies.

26

France: Philippe Richert is elected president of the Regional Council of Alsace, Rodolphe Alexandre president of the Regional Council of Guyane, Serge Letchimy president of the Regional Council of Martinique, and Didier Robert president of the Regional Council of Réunion.
Netherlands Antilles: A new government is sworn in. Emily de Jongh-Elhage remains prime minister, Roland Duncan internal affairs minister, and Ersilia de Lannooy finance minister.

28

The Bahamas: It is announced that Governor-General Arthur Dion Hanna will retire April 14.

29

Italy: Results of elections of regional presidents held March 28-29 (overall turnout 64%):

31

Brazil: Omar José Abdel Aziz takes office as governor of Amazonas, Silval da Cunha Barbosa as governor of Mato Grosso, Antônio Augusto Junho Anastasia as governor of Minas Gerais, Iberê Paiva Ferreira de Souza as governor of Rio Grande do Norte, and João Aparecido Cahulla as governor of Rondônia.
Mauritania: In a cabinet reshuffle, Ahmed Ould Moulay Ahmed is appointed as finance minister.