
William Maclay
• Born: July 20, 1732, New Garden, Pa.• Political party: Anti-Federalist• Senator from Pennsylvania: 1789–91• Died: Apr. 16, 1804, Harrisburg, Pa.• Born: July 20, 1732, New Garden, Pa.• Political ...

Musa Sayyid Al-Sadr
(b. Qom, 1928; d. Libya, 31 Aug. 1978)Lebanese; Imam (Guide) 1959–78 Al-Sadr was born in Iran's holy city, Qom, the son and grandson of Ayatollahs and a sayyed (descendant of the Prophet through the ...

agrarian parties
Parties representing farmers have been a significant feature of many Western political systems, but are now declining in importance. As urbanization and industrialization reduce the share of the ...

ward
The smallest unit of local administration or of vote counting; also known (especially in the USA) as a precinct.

Dolley Madison
First Lady• Born: May 20, 1768, Guilford County, N.C.• Wife of James Madison, 4th President• Died: July 12, 1849, Washington, D.C.• Born: May 20, 1768, Guilford County, N.C.[...]

president-elect
Title given to victor of US presidential election during the transitional period between the election in November and taking office on 20 January.

Wiley B. Rutledge
Associate Justice, 1943–49• Born: July 20, 1894, Cloverport, Ky.• Education: University of Wisconsin, B.A., 1914; University of Colorado, LL.B., 1922• Previous government service: judge, U.S. Court ...

popular sovereignty
A political condition in which the people are soverreign, that is, the people exercise the definitive decision-making power.

Rajiv Gandhi
(1944–91)Indian statesman, Prime Minister (1984–89). The eldest son of Indira Gandhi, he entered politics following the accidental death of his brother Sanjay (1946–80), becoming Prime Minister after ...

Robert C. Byrd
• Born:Nov. 20, 1917, North Wilkesboro, N.C.• Political party: Democrat• Representative from West Virginia: 1953–59• Senator from West Virginia: 1959–2010• Senate majority whip: 1971–77• Senate ...

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr
(b. Scranton, Pennsylvania, 20 Nov. 1942)US; Vice-President 2009– Biden grew up in Scranton and graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965 and from Syracuse (New York State) Law School in ...

Earl Russell Browder
(b. Wichita, Kansas, 20 May 1891; d. Princeton, New Jersey, 27 June 1973)US; Communist Party presidential candidate 1936, 1940 The son of an impoverished farmer, Browder was largely forced to finish ...

José Batlle y Ordóñez
(1856–1929)Uruguayan statesman. He was President of Uruguay (1903–07; 1911–15) and initiated legislation to increase public welfare. He believed that the Swiss Bundesrat or federal council was well ...

Pierre Auguste Joseph Messmer
(b. Vincennes, 20 Mar. 1916, d. Paris, 29 Aug. 2007)French; Prime Minister 1972–4 A Doctor of Law and graduate of the School of Oriental Languages in Paris, Messmer embarked on a career as a colonial ...

Mahathir bin Mohamad
(b. Alor Setar, Kedah, 20 Dec. 1925)Malaysian; Prime Minister 1981–2003 The son of a Malay headmaster of an English-medium school in Kedah, Mahathir was educated at Sultan Hamid College, Alor Setar, ...

Derick Heathcoat-Amory
(b. London, 26 Dec. 1899; d. Devon, 20 Jan. 1981)British; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1958–60; Viscount Amory 1960, KG 1968 The son of a baronet, Heathcoat-Amory was educated at Eton and Christ ...

political advertising
The paid-for promotions in support of political parties or issues or specifically, the marketing of a political campaign.

René Coty
(b. Le Havre, 20 Mar. 1882; d. Le Havre, 22 Nov. 1962)French; President of the Republic 1954–8 René Coty came from Normandy and was the son of the director of a private school. He studied law and ...

Dmitri Fedorovich Ustinov
(b. Samara (Kuibyshev), 30 Oct. 1908; d. Moscow, 20 Dec. 1984)Russian; member of the Politburo 1965–84, Minister of Defence 1976–84 Ustinov was the son of working-class parents, and joined the ...

Wen Jiabao
(b. Tianjin, Sept. 1942)Chinese; Vice-Premier, People's Republic of China 1998–2003, Premier 2003– Wen joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while he was a student in Beijing studying geology, ...