Rulers
August 2018
1
India: Bhishma Narain Singh, former governor of Assam (1984-89), Meghalaya (1984-89), Sikkim (1985), Arunachal Pradesh (1987), and Tamil Nadu (1991-93) and lieutenant governor of Pondicherry (1993), dies.
Morocco: Finance Minister Mohamed Boussaid is dismissed. On August 2 Abdelkader Amara is appointed acting finance minister. On August 20 Mohamed Benchaâboun is appointed and sworn in as finance minister.
3
Pakistan: President Mamnoon Hussain accepts the resignation of the governor of Sindh, Muhammad Zubair, and the speaker of the provincial assembly, Agha Siraj Durrani, becomes acting governor. On August 23 Imran Ismail is appointed governor (sworn in August 27).
5
Haiti: President Jovenel Moïse nominates Jean-Henry Céant as prime minister.
Japan: In gubernatorial elections in Nagano, incumbent Shuichi Abe wins 85.1% of the vote and Chuichi Kanai 14.9%. Turnout is 43.3%.
Trinidad and Tobago: In a cabinet reshuffle, Stuart Young is named minister of national security.
6
China: Yi Lianhong is appointed acting governor of Jiangxi.
United States: Former secretary of health and human services (1983-85) Margaret M. Heckler and former governor of Nevada (1967-71) Paul Laxalt die.
7
China: Liu Ning is appointed acting governor of Qinghai.
Duque | 
Trujillo |
Colombia: Iván Duque is sworn in as president with his cabinet, including Carlos Holmes Trujillo as foreign minister (see July 13).
India: Former chief minister of Tamil Nadu (1969-76, 1989-91, 1996-2001, 2006-11) Kalaignar Muthuvel Karunanidhi dies.
Kazakhstan: Nurlan Yermekbayev is appointed defense minister.
8
Japan: The governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, dies. Deputy Governors Kiichiro Jahana and Moritake Tomikawa become acting governors.
Slovenia: A coalition of centre-left parties nominates Marjan Sarec as prime minister. He is approved with 55 votes in the 90-seat parliament on August 17. On August 30 he names his ministerial candidates, including Miro Cerar as foreign minister, Karl Erjavec as defense minister, Bostjan Poklukar as interior minister, and Andrej Bertoncelj as finance minister.
9
Wangchuk |
Bhutan: Chief Justice Dasho Tshering Wangchuk is appointed chief advisor of a pre-election interim government. On August 10 portfolios are assigned, Wangchuk taking responsibility for home and foreign affairs and Dasho Karma Ura becoming finance advisor.
Japan: Former governor of Shizuoka (1986-93) Shigeyoshi Saito dies.
10
Italy: Luciano D'Alfonso resigns as president of Abruzzo. Giovanni Lolli becomes acting president.
12
Argentina: Former governor of Tierra del Fuego (1981-83) Raúl Eduardo Suárez del Cerro dies.
Mali: In the presidential runoff, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (Rally for Mali) wins 67.2% of the vote and Soumaïla Cissé (Union for the Republic and Democracy) 32.8%. Turnout is 34.5%.
14
India: The governor of Chhattisgarh, Balramji Dass Tandon, dies. The governor of Madhya Pradesh, Anandiben Patel, is given additional charge of Chhattisgarh (sworn in August 15).
15
Pakistan: The governor of Punjab, Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana, resigns. The president accepts the resignation on August 18 and the speaker of the provincial assembly, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, becomes acting governor. Mohammad Sarwar has already been designated as governor.
Abdo | 
Castiglioni |
Paraguay: Mario Abdo Benítez is sworn in as president. His cabinet includes Luis Castiglioni as foreign minister, Gen. Bernardino Soto as defense minister, Juan Ernesto Villamayor as interior minister, and Benigno López as finance minister.
16
India: Former foreign minister (1977-79, 1996, 1998) and prime minister (1996, 1998-2004) Atal Bihari Vajpayee dies.
Pakistan: Syed Murad Ali Shah is elected chief minister of Sindh, defeating Sheryar Mehr 97-61; he is sworn in on August 18. Mahmood Khan is elected chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, defeating Mian Nisar Gul 77-33; he is sworn in on August 17.
17
Khan |
Pakistan: Imran Khan is elected prime minister, winning 176 votes against 96 for Shahbaz Sharif. Khan is sworn in on August 18. He names a cabinet (sworn in August 20) including Shah Mehmood Qureshi as foreign minister, Pervez Khattak as defense minister, and Asad Umar as finance minister; Khan himself keeps the interior portfolio.
Pakistan: The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, resigns. The president accepts the resignation on August 20; the speaker of the provincial assembly, Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, becomes acting governor. Shah Farman has been designated as new governor.
Russia: President Vladimir Putin nominates the candidates for the heads of those areas where they are elected by the regional parliaments. For head of the republic of Dagestan are nominated Vladimir Vasilyev, Kamil Davdiyev, and Makhmud Makhmudov; for head of the republic of Ingushetia, Ilyas Bogatyryov, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, and Uruskhan Yevloyev; for governor of Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrug, Dmitry Artyukhov, Aleksandr Golubenko, and Vitaly Lagutin.
18
Rumas |
Belarus: President Alyaksandr Lukashenka dismisses Prime Minister Andrey Kabyakow and names Syarhey Rumas in his place.
Pakistan: Jam Kamal Khan is elected chief minister of Balochistan. He receives 39 votes, against 20 for Yunas Aziz Zehri. He is sworn in on August 19.
United Nations: Former secretary-general (1997-2006) Kofi Annan dies.
19
Pakistan: Usman Buzdar is elected chief minister of Punjab. He receives 186 votes, against 159 for Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. Buzdar is sworn in on August 20.
21
Morrison | 
Payne |
Australia: Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton resigns following a failed leadership challenge. Scott Morrison becomes acting home affairs minister. However, on August 24 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull relinquishes his position; Morrison then defeats Dutton in a second round of voting to be elected leader of the Liberal Party and is sworn in as prime minister later that day. Josh Frydenberg is sworn in to succeed Morrison as treasurer. On August 26 Marise Payne is named foreign minister, Christopher Pyne defence minister, and Dutton again home affairs minister; Dutton is sworn in on August 27, the rest of the cabinet on August 28.
India: The following gubernatorial appointments are announced: Lalji Tandon (Bihar; sworn in August 23), Satyadev Narayan Arya (Haryana; sworn in August 25), Satya Pal Malik (Jammu and Kashmir; sworn in August 23), Tathagata Roy (Meghalaya; sworn in August 25), Ganga Prasad (Sikkim; sworn in August 26), Kaptan Singh Solanki (Tripura; sworn in August 25), and Baby Rani Maurya (Uttarakhand; sworn in August 26).
23
Indonesia: Syarifuddin becomes acting governor of Jawa Tengah as the term of Governor Ganjar Pranowo ends.
24
Russia: Mikhail Babich is relieved from his position as plenipotentiary of the president in Privolzhsky federal district. Igor Panshin is appointed acting plenipotentiary.
25
Afghanistan: President Ashraf Ghani asks his security cabinet to resign, including Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami and Interior Minister Wais Barmak. On August 26, however, he rejects the resignations of the two ministers.
26
Iran: Parliament votes 137-121 to remove Finance Minister Masoud Karbasian.
28
Comoros: A new cabinet is named. Souef Mohamed El-Amine remains foreign minister, Mohamed Daoudou interior minister, and Said Ali Said Chayhane finance minister.
Greece: Alexandros Charitsis is named interior minister in a cabinet reshuffle (sworn in August 29).
29
Indonesia: Hamdani is appointed acting governor of Bali.
30
South Korea: In a cabinet reshuffle, Jeong Kyeong Doo is named defense minister.
31
Belarus: Maksim Yermalovich is appointed finance minister.
Ecuador: María Paula Romo is appointed interior minister.
Fiji: Parliament reelects Jioji Konrote (unopposed) as president.
