Rulers
February 2023
1
Equatorial Guinea: Manuela Roka Botey is sworn in as prime minister. On February 2 her cabinet is appointed with Fortunato Ofa Mbo Nchama as finance minister, the foreign, defense, and interior ministers being unchanged.
Myanmar: Than Swe becomes foreign minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
Nigeria: Former governor of Plateau (1976-78) Dan Suleiman dies.
Peru: Parliament rejects (68-54) a proposal to move elections forward to December 2023. On February 2 it rejects (75-48) another proposal to advance the elections to July 2023 and to call a referendum on forming a constitutional convention.
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Marcella Liburd is sworn in as governor-general.
Sweden: Former governor of Uppsala (1986-92) Hans Alsén dies.
2
Australia: Hugh Heggie is sworn in as administrator of the Northern Territory.
Bulgaria: President Rumen Radev dissolves parliament, effective February 3, and appoints another interim government as from that date, still led by Gulub Donev as prime minister and with no change in the key portfolios.
Japan: Former governor of Hokkaido (1983-95) Takahiro Yokomichi dies.
4
Congo (Kinshasa): Former president (1962-65) and governor (1965-66) of Cuvette Centrale and governor of Équateur (1966-67), Kivu (1967-68), and Katanga (1968-70) Léon Engulu dies.
Egypt: Former prime minister (2015-18) Sherif Ismail dies.
5
Cyprus: In the first round of presidential elections, Nikos Christodoulidis wins 32.0% of the vote, Andreas Mavroyiannis 29.6%, Averof Neophytou 26.1%, and Christos Christou 6.0%; turnout is 72.0%. The runoff is held February 12, Christodoulidis winning 52.0% and Mavroyiannis 48.0%; turnout is 72.4%. On February 27 Christodoulidis announces his cabinet with Konstantinos Kombos as foreign minister, Michalis Giorgallas as defense minister, Konstantinos Ioannou as interior minister, and Makis Keravnos as finance minister. Christodoulidis is sworn in on February 28.
Japan: In gubernatorial elections in Aichi, incumbent Hideaki Omura wins 67.5% of the vote and Keiko Ogata 11.7%. Turnout is 36.4%.
Monaco: In parliamentary elections, the Monegasque National Union wins 89.6% of the vote (all 24 seats) and New Ideas for Monaco 10.4%. Turnout is 57.3%.
Pakistan: Former chief executive (1999-2002) and president (2001-08) Pervez Musharraf dies.
6
Guadeloupe: Xavier Lefort takes office as prefect.
New Caledonia: Louis Le Franc takes office as high commissioner.
Slovenia: Prime Minister Robert Golob nominates Bostjan Poklukar as interior minister. Parliament approves him (54-31) on February 21.
Ukraine: Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal asks parliament to appoint Ihor Klymenko (currently acting) as interior minister. Parliament does so (321 votes) on February 7.
7
Tunisia: President Kaïs Saïed dismisses Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi, replacing him with Nabil Ammar.
8
Argentina: Former governor of Catamarca (1983-87, 1988-91) Ramón Saadi dies.
South Korea: Parliament adopts (179-109) an impeachment motion against Interior Minister Lee Sang Min. He is suspended from office and the vice-minister, Han Chang Seob, becomes acting minister. The Constitutional Court will have 180 days to conduct the impeachment trial.
Russia: Former chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian S.F.S.R. (1990-91) and prime minister of the Soviet Union (1991) Ivan Silayev dies.
9
Belgium: Former chairman of the Executive of Wallonia (1982-85) Jean-Maurice Dehousse dies.
Ecuador: The minister of gobierno, Francisco Jiménez, resigns. Henry Cucalón is appointed to replace him.
10
Argentina: Agustín Rossi is chosen to replace Juan Luis Manzur as cabinet chief (sworn in February 15).
Canada: The mayor of Toronto, John Tory, announces his resignation (formally on February 15, effective February 17). Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie assumes most of the mayor's authority in the vacancy.
Moldova: The government of Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita resigns. President Maia Sandu nominates Dorin Recean as new prime minister. On February 15 Recean announces his cabinet with Veronica Sireteanu as finance minister, the foreign, defense, and interior ministers to continue in office. On February 16 the government is approved by 62 votes in the 101-seat parliament and sworn in.
Turkmenistan: Serdar Dzhorayev is appointed finance minister.
11
Germany: Former first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Dresden district (1973-89) and premier of East Germany (1989-90) Hans Modrow dies (night of February 10/11).
Turkey: Former foreign minister (1995-96) Deniz Baykal dies.
12
Brazil: Former governor of Amazonas (1987-90, 1995-2003, 2017-19) Amazonino Armando Mendes dies.
Germany: In the repeat state elections in Berlin, the Christian Democratic Union wins 28.2% of the vote (52 of 159 seats), the Social Democratic Party 18.4% (34), the Greens 18.4% (34), the Left 12.2% (22), the Alternative for Germany 9.1% (17), and the Free Democratic Party 4.6% (0). Turnout is 63.0%.
India: President Draupadi Murmu accepts the resignations of the governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, and of the lieutenant governor of Ladakh, Radha Krishna Mathur. The following governors are appointed: Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (Arunachal Pradesh), Lakshman Prasad Acharya (Sikkim), C.P. Radhakrishnan (Jharkhand), Shiv Pratap Shukla (Himachal Pradesh), Gulab Chand Kataria (Assam), S. Abdul Nazeer (Andhra Pradesh), Biswa Bhusan Harichandan (Chhattisgarh), Anusuiya Uikey (Manipur), La. Ganesan (Nagaland), Phagu Chauhan (Meghalaya), Rajendra Arlekar (Bihar), Ramesh Bais (Maharashtra), B.D. Mishra (lieutenant governor of Ladakh). Parnaik and Acharya are sworn in on February 16, Arlekar on February 17, Radhakrishnan, Shukla, Chauhan, and Bais on February 18, Mishra on February 19, Ganesan on February 20, Kataria and Uikey on February 22, Harichandan on February 23, Nazeer on February 24.
13
Bangladesh: Mohammad Shahabuddin Chuppu is declared president-elect (unopposed). He will take office April 24.
Italy: In presidential elections in Lombardia held February 12-13, incumbent Attilio Fontana (centre-right) wins 54.7% of the vote, Pierfrancesco Majorino (centre-left) 33.9%, and Letizia Moratti (Third Pole) 9.9%; turnout is 41.7%. In Lazio, Francesco Rocca (centre-right) wins 53.9% of the vote, Alessio D'Amato (centre-left) 33.5%, and Donatella Bianchi (Five Star Movement) 10.8%; turnout is 37.2%.
14
Western Sahara: The president of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, Ibrahim Ghali, appoints a new government with Mohamed Sidati as foreign minister and Maryam al-Salik Ahmadeh as interior minister.
15
United Kingdom: The first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, resigns, effective after the election of a new leader of the Scottish National Party.
World Bank: President David Malpass announces his resignation by June 30.
16
Czech Republic: Bohuslav Svoboda is elected mayor of Praha.
India: In state elections in Tripura, the Bharatiya Janata Party wins 39.0% of the vote (32 of 60 seats), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) 24.6% (11), the Tipra Motha Party 19.7% (13), and the Indian National Congress 8.6% (3). Turnout is about 90%.
United States: Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh says he will step down in mid-March. On February 28 President Joe Biden nominates Julie A. Su for the post.
18
African Union: The president of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, is elected chairman.
France: The government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne survives another no-confidence motion, which receives 89 votes (289 needed).
19
Sweden: Former governor of Östergötland (1987-96) Rolf Wirtén dies.
20
India: Former governor of Gujarat (2014-19), Goa (2014), Maharashtra (2014), and Madhya Pradesh (2016-18) Om Prakash Kohli dies.
Madagascar: In a cabinet reshuffle, Yvette Sylla becomes foreign minister and Gen. Josoa Rakotoarijaona defense minister.
21
South Africa: The premier of Free State, Sefora Ntombela, resigns, effective February 24, when the provincial assembly elects Mxolisi Dukwana as premier; he receives 13 votes, against 7 for Roy Jankielsohn.
22
Palestine: Former prime minister (2003-05, 2005-06) Ahmed Qureia dies.
23
Azerbaijan: The president of Artsakh, Araik Arutyunyan, dismisses the minister of state, Ruben Vardanyan, and appoints Gurgen Nersisyan to replace him.
United States: Former governor of Wisconsin (1983-87) Anthony S. Earl dies.
24
Congo (Kinshasa): The central government, recognizing the validity of the no-confidence motion adopted on Nov. 24, 2022, against the governor of Sud-Kivu, Théo Ngwabidje Kasi, removes him from office and appoints the vice-governor, Marc Malago Kashekere, as acting governor.
Djibouti: In parliamentary elections, the Union for the Presidential Majority wins 58 of 65 seats and the Union for Democracy and Justice 7. Turnout is 75.9%.
Dominican Republic: Former foreign minister (1972-75) Víctor Gómez Bergés dies.
Mexico: Former governor of Aguascalientes (1998-2004) Felipe González González dies.
25
Nigeria: In presidential elections, Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress) wins 36.6% of the vote, Atiku Abubakar (People's Democratic Party) 29.1%, and Peter Obi (Labour Party) 25.4%.
27
China: Former governor of Zhejiang (1988-90) Shen Zulun dies.
Haiti: Former foreign minister (1988) and prime minister (2004-06) Gérard Latortue dies.
India: In state elections in Meghalaya, the National People's Party wins 31.5% of the vote (26 of 60 seats), the United Democratic Party 16.2% (11), the All India Trinamool Congress 13.8% (5), the Indian National Congress 13.1% (5), and other parties and independents 25.4% (12); polling for one seat has been postponed. In Nagaland, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party wins 32.2% of the vote (25 of 60 seats), the Bharatiya Janata Party 18.8% (12), the Nationalist Congress Party 9.6% (7), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 8.6% (2), the Naga Peoples Front 7.1% (2), the National People's Party 5.8% (5), and other parties and independents 17.9% (7); turnout is 86.7%.
Nepal: The ministers of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), including Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal, Defense Minister Hari Prasad Upreti, and Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, resign.
28
United States: In mayoral elections in Chicago, Paul Vallas wins 33.8% of the vote, Brandon Johnson 20.3%, incumbent Lori Lightfoot 17.1%, and Jesús García 13.7%. A runoff will be held April 4.