Index Fo
Rulers

Index Fo-Fy

Foccart, Jacques (Guillaume Louis Marie) (b. Aug. 31, 1913, Ambrières-le-Grand [now Ambrières-les-Vallées], Mayenne, France - d. March 19, 1997, Paris, France), French politician. He was general secretary of the Rally of the French People (1954-55), secretary-general of the French Community (1960-61), and secretary-general to the president for African and Malagasy affairs (1961-74).

Fock, Berndt Wilhelm friherre (b. Aug. 9, 1763, Åbo [now Turku], Finland - d. April 15, 1837, Stockholm, Sweden), governor of Uppsala (1812-30). He was made friherre (baron) in 1815.

Fock, Cees, byname of Cornelis Laurens Willem Fock (b. Jan. 27, 1905, Den Helder, Noord-Holland, Netherlands - d. July 9, 1999, The Hague), queen's commissioner of Groningen (1962-70).

Fock, Cornelis (b. Nov. 29, 1828, Amsterdam, Netherlands - d. May 9, 1910, The Hague, Netherlands), interior minister of the Netherlands (1868-71) and king's/queen's commissioner of Zuid-Holland (1871-1900). He was also mayor of Haarlem (1859-66) and Amsterdam (1866-68).

Fock, Dirk (b. June 19, 1858, Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands - d. Oct. 17, 1941, The Hague, Netherlands), governor-general of Dutch Guiana (1908-11) and the Netherlands East Indies (1921-26). He was also Dutch minister of colonies (1905-08) and chairman of the Second Chamber of the States-General (1917-20).

Fock, Gustaf friherre (b. 16... - d. March 29, 1725), governor of Älvsborg (1716-25). He was made friherre (baron) in 1719.

Fock, Jenö (b. May 17, 1916, Budapest, Hungary - d. May 22, 2001, Budapest), prime minister of Hungary (1967-75). He joined the Communist Party in 1932 and from 1940 to 1943 he was imprisoned for his Communist activities. An economist, he held several offices, including that of deputy premier (1961-67). During his premiership, his cabinet tried to add some market economy elements to the Soviet-style centrally planned economy. The initiative, however, was blocked by the Soviet-bloc trading alliance COMECON, and as a result Fock resigned in 1975.

Fockema Andreae, Joachim(us Pieter) (b. July 30, 1879, Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands - d. July 27, 1949, Utrecht, Netherlands), queen's commissioner of Groningen (1933-37). He was also mayor of Utrecht (1914-33).

Fofana, Abdoulaye (b. July 17, 1917, Rufisque, Senegal - d. Aug. 24, 1999, Dakar, Senegal), interior minister of Senegal (1962-65). He was also minister of transport and telecommunications (1960-61), commerce, industry, and handicrafts (1961-62), and information and tourism (1965-68) and ambassador to Italy and Yugoslavia (1968-70).

B. Fofana

I.K. Fofana

Fofana, Bakary (b. 1950, Bissikirima, French Guinea [now Guinea]), foreign minister of Guinea (2010).

Fofana, Ibrahima (b. 1927, Tougué, French Guinea [now Guinea]), Guinean politician. He was governor of Kankan (1975-...) and Boké (19...-79), permanent representative to the United Nations (1979-80), and minister of livestock and fisheries (1981-84).

Fofana, Ibrahima Kassory (b. 1954, Forécariah, French Guinea [now Guinea]), prime minister of Guinea (2018-21). He was also economy and finance minister (1997-2000), a minor presidential candidate (2010), and minister of state at the presidency with responsibility for investments and public-private partnerships (2014-18).

Fofana, Mohamed Said (b. 1952, Forécariah, French Guinea [now Guinea]), prime minister of Guinea (2010-15). He has also been ombudsman (2018- ).

Fogas, Lubomír (b. Dec. 12, 1950, Podolie, Czechoslovakia [now in Trenciansky kraj, Slovakia]), a deputy prime minister of Slovakia (1998-2002).

Fokaidis, Christoforos (b. June 5, 1974, Famagusta, Cyprus), defense minister of Cyprus (2014-18).

Fokin

Fokin, Vitold (Pavlovych) (b. Oct. 25, 1932, Novonikolayevka village, Ukrainian S.S.R. [now Novomykolaivka, Ukraine]), prime minister of Ukraine (1990-92). He was also chairman of the State Planning Committee and deputy premier (1987-90) and chairman of the State Committee for Economy (1990).

Foley, Sir John (Paul) (b. April 22, 1939), lieutenant governor of Guernsey (2000-05); knighted 1994.

T.S. Foley

Foley, Thomas S(tephen) (b. March 6, 1929, Spokane, Wash. - d. Oct. 18, 2013, Washington, D.C.), U.S. politician. He became assistant prosecuting attorney of Spokane county in 1958, assistant attorney general of Washington in 1960, and special counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs in 1961. In 1964 a chance encounter with a major Democratic contributor in Spokane led him to resign as counsel and run for U.S. representative against Walt Horan, a senior incumbent Republican. Foley won an upset victory - and held a reception in Horan's honour. He continued to represent that Spokane area, where Republicans won most other elections. In 1974 he helped secure the passage of a rule allowing the Democratic caucus to remove committee chairmen. Urged to oppose W.R. Poage, the chairman of his own Committee on Agriculture, he instead nominated Poage, who lost. Poage gratefully nominated Foley, who served as chairman of the committee until 1981, when he became majority whip, responsible for obtaining the maximum possible Democratic support for the leaders' programs. He used polite persuasion effectively in a job in which predecessors had used bombast. In 1987 he became majority leader. His politeness contrasted well with Speaker Jim Wright's often imperious style. Opposed to gun control, Foley favoured most of the "liberal" federal social programs and wanted abortion to remain legal. On June 6, 1989, the Democratic majority in the House met, facing a crisis in its leadership. Wright had resigned as speaker and Tony Coelho as majority whip, both while under investigation for alleged ethical lapses. The caucus turned to Foley, who was well liked and had a spotless reputation, nominating him for speaker. Hours later, the House elected Foley to that office, which he held until 1995, after having lost his seat in the Republican sweep of 1994, making him the first sitting speaker to be defeated in his district since the Civil War. In 1997-2001 he was ambassador to Japan.

Folger, Charles J(ames) (b. April 16, 1818, Nantucket Island, Mass. - d. Sept. 4, 1884, Geneva, N.Y.), U.S. treasury secretary (1881-84).

Folk, Joseph W(ingate) (b. Oct. 28, 1869, Brownsville, Tenn. - d. May 28, 1923, New York City), governor of Missouri (1905-09).

Folsom, James E(lisha), byname Big Jim Folsom (b. Oct. 9, 1908, Coffee county, Ala. - d. Nov. 21, 1987, Cullman, Ala.), governor of Alabama (1947-51, 1955-59).

Folsom, James E(lisha), Jr. (b. May 14, 1949, Montgomery, Ala.), governor of Alabama (1993-95); son of James E. Folsom.

Fombona Pachano, Jacinto (b. May 19, 1901, Caracas, Venezuela - d. Feb. 6, 1951, Caracas), acting foreign minister of Venezuela (1948).

Fombrun, (Jean-Baptiste Joseph) Charles (b. Oct. 9, 1889 - d. July 2, 1961, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), foreign minister of Haiti (1941-43). He was also president of the Senate (1951-57).

Fombrun, (Pierre Daniel) Marcel (b. Dec. 12, 1915 - d. Dec. 22, 1986), Haitian politician; son of Charles Fombrun. He was commerce minister (1950, 1954-55) and minister to Cuba (1951-54).

Fomin, Vasily (Kuzmich) (b. 1896, Izhevsk, Vyatka province [now in Udmurtia republic], Russia - d. [executed] Feb. 10, 1938), executive secretary of the Communist Party committee of Votyak autonomous oblast (1921-23). He was also executive secretary of the party committee of Syrdarya province (1925-28?), first secretary of the party committee of Ob-Irtysh oblast (1934), and chairman of the Executive Committee of Yaroslavl oblast (1937).

Fonacier (y Suguitan), Santiago (Antonio) (b. May 21, 1885, Laoag, Philippines - d. Dec. 8, 1977, Mandaluyong, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines), supreme bishop of the Philippine Independent Church (1940-46). In addition to his ecclesiastical career, he was a legislator (assemblyman 1912-16 and senator 1919-25).

Foncha

Foncha, John Ngu (b. June 21, 1916, Nkwen, Bamenda, North West province, Cameroon - d. April 10, 1999, Bamenda), Cameroonian politician. In 1959 he became premier of British Cameroons, which he led into a federation with Francophone Cameroon in 1961. He remained prime minister of what was then West Cameroon until 1965, and was also vice president of Cameroon in 1961-70. Later he became a champion of secessionist forces; in 1994 he led a delegation of the secessionist Southern Cameroons National Council (SNCC) to the United Nations to ask its backing for the movement's drive for greater autonomy for Cameroon's two English-speaking provinces.

Fonin, Mikhail (Mikhailovich) (b. 1905 - d. 1974), first secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen S.S.R. (1939-47).

Fonnesbech, Christen Andreas (b. July 7, 1817, Copenhagen, Denmark - d. May 17, 1880, Copenhagen), finance minister (1865-70, 1874-75), interior minister (1870-74), and prime minister (1874-75) of Denmark. He was also minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs (1868).

Fonseca, Aníbal Freire da (b. July 7, 1884, Lagarto, Sergipe, Brazil - d. Oct. 22, 1970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), finance minister (1925-26) and acting justice and interior minister (1925) of Brazil.

Fonseca, Antonio Augusto da (b. Feb. 9, 1830, Coimbra, Portugal - d. June 20, 1890, Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil), president of Paraná (1868-69).

Fonseca, Antonio Gabriel de Paula (b. Jan. 10, 1821, Minas Gerais province [now state], Brazil - d. July 16, 1875, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Espírito Santo (1872).

Fonseca, Antonio José Victoriano Borges da (b. Feb. 16?, 1718, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil - d. April 9, 1786, Olinda, Pernambuco), governor of Ceará (1765-81).

Fonseca, Clodoaldo da (b. March 12, 1860, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. March 24, 1936, Rio de Janeiro), governor of Alagoas (1912-15).

F. Fonseca

Fonseca, Francis (William) (b. March 11, 1967, Belize, British Honduras [now Belize City, Belize]), foreign minister of Belize (2024- ). He has also been minister of education (2004-08, 2020- ), youth and sports (2004-06), culture (2004-06, 2007-08, 2020- ), labour (2006-08), and science and technology (2020- ), attorney general (2004-08), and leader of the People's United Party (2011-16).

Fonseca, Gelson, Júnior (b. Sept. 6, 1946, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Brazilian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1999-2003) and ambassador to Chile (2003-06).

Fonseca, Hermes Ernesto da (b. Sept. 11, 1824, Alagoas [now Marechal Deodoro], Alagoas, Brazil - d. Feb. 7, 1891, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Mato Grosso (1875-78) and governor of Bahia (1890).

Fonseca, Hermes Rodrigues da (b. May 12, 1855, São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - d. Sept. 9, 1923, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), war minister (1906-09) and president (1910-14) of Brazil; son of Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca; nephew of Manoel Deodoro da Fonseca.

Fonseca, Ignacio José Vicente da (b. São Paulo captaincy [now state], Brazil - d. Aug. 11, 1830), acting president of Sergipe (1828, 1828-30).

J.C. Fonseca

Fonseca, Jorge Carlos (de Almeida) (b. Oct. 20, 1950, São Vicente island, Cape Verde [now Cabo Verde]), foreign minister (1991-93) and president (2011-21) of Cape Verde/Cabo Verde.

Fonseca, Luís de Matos Monteiro da (b. May 17, 1944, Ribeira Grande, Santo Antão, Cape Verde [now Cabo Verde]), Cape Verdean diplomat. He was ambassador to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, and Nordic countries (1987-91), the Soviet Union and later Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Estonia, and Lithuania (1991-94), and Austria (1999-2001), permanent representative to the United Nations (2001-04), and executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (2004-08).

Fonseca, Manoel Deodoro da (b. Aug. 5, 1827, Alagoas [now Marechal Deodoro], Alagoas, Brazil - d. Aug. 23, 1892, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Rio Grande do Sul (1886) and head of the provisional government (1889-91) and president (1891) of Brazil; brother of Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca. As an army officer he fought in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-70). Named field marshal in 1884, he viewed himself as the heir to the duque de Caxias as Brazil's leading military figure. Although Fonseca was not an ardent republican, he defied the emperor, insisting that his fellow officers had the right to express their political views publicly even when they opposed the empire. The imperial government, severely weakened by other problems, could not withstand the direct military challenge to its authority. Fonseca led the revolt that overthrew Emperor Pedro II and established Brazil as a republic in 1889, oversaw the promulgation of the 1891 constitution, and was elected by the constituent assembly as the country's first president. However, he lacked the capacity for political compromise; when he attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, he provoked insurrection and was forced to resign.

Fonseca, Manuel Moreira da (b. April 30, 1877, Castelo de Paiva, Portugal - d. 19...), acting governor-general of Angola (1912) and Mozambique (1919-21, 1923-24).

Fonseca, Paulino Nogueira Borges da (b. Feb. 27, 1841, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil - d. June 15, 1908, Fortaleza), acting president of Ceará (1878); son-in-law of Domingos José Nogueira Jaguaribe, visconde de Jaguaribe.

Fonseca, Pedro Paulino da (b. July 6, 1829, Alagoas [now Marechal Deodoro], Alagoas, Brazil - d. Nov. 16, 1902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), governor of Alagoas (1889-90, 1891); brother of Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca and Manoel Deodoro da Fonseca.

Fonseca Amador, Carlos (b. June 23, 1936, Matagalpa, Nicaragua - d. Nov. 8, 1976, near Matagalpa), Nicaraguan rebel leader. He became involved in student politics and began studying the writings of Augusto César Sandino. As a member of the Nicaraguan Socialist Party, he toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in 1957 as a delegate of the General Union of Nicaraguan Workers. After his return in 1958, the Socialist Party published the pamphlet "A Nicaraguan in Moscow," a compendium of Fonseca's impressions of the Communist world. He increased his activities in the student opposition to the Somoza regime and participated in the unsuccessful attempt, launched from El Chaparral, Honduras, to oust the dictatorship in June 1959. Recognizing the futility of agitating within the restrictive ideology of the Socialist Party, he started the New Nicaragua Movement in 1960, the basis for the creation of the Sandinista National Liberation Front in July 1961. He was the principal thinker behind the revolutionary organization, but he was not a Marxist-Leninist theorist. Rather, he carefully refined Sandino's eclectic ideology in order to build popular support for revolution. The Sandinista guerrilla army established its base on the Río Coco on the Honduras-Nicaragua border. Fonseca accepted the necessity of cooperating with diverse urban and rural social groups. The strategy of armed struggle through the gradual accumulation of forces was borrowed directly from Sandino. Fonseca was captured by the National Guard in 1964 and deported to Guatemala. He returned clandestinely and participated in the failed operation at Pancasán in 1967. Two years later he was arrested for bank robbery in Costa Rica and spent more than a year in jail. Freed after Sandinistas hijacked a jetliner, he spent the early 1970s shuttling between Nicaragua and the safety of Cuba. In 1976 he was killed by the National Guard. After the victory over Somoza in 1979, his body was reburied in the Plaza de la Revolución in Managua, where a monument was erected in his memory.

G. Fonseka

Fonseka, (Sembuge Don Shelton) Gamini (b. March 21, 1936, Dehiwala, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] - d. Sept. 30, 2004, Ja-Ela, western Sri Lanka), governor of North Eastern province, Sri Lanka (1995-98). He was a famous Sinhala cinema actor and producer. In 1989 he was invited into politics by Pres. Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Fonseka, Ignatius Benedict, Sri Lankan diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1980-84).

Fonssagrives, Jean-Baptiste (Joseph Marie Pascal) (b. April 12, 1862, Brest, Finistère, France - d. May 13, 1910, Kati, Haut-Sénégal-Niger [now Mali]), acting governor of Dahomey (1899).

Font Rossell, Carles (b. Dec. 26, 1967, Canillo, Andorra), Andorran politician. He was minister of sport and voluntary work (2005-07), permanent representative to the United Nations (2007-09), and ambassador to the United States (2008-09).

Fontaine, Nicole (Claude Marie), née Garnier (b. Jan. 16, 1942, Grainville-Ymauville, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime], France - d. May 17, 2018), president of the European Parliament (1999-2002).

Fontaine, (Gaspard-)Théodore-Ignace de la (b. Jan. 6, 1787, Luxembourg, Austrian Netherlands [now in Luxembourg] - d. Feb. 11, 1871, Luxembourg, Luxembourg), governor (1841-48) and prime minister, foreign minister, and justice minister (1848) of Luxembourg. He was also president of the Council of State (1857-68).

Fontanet, Nathalie (b. Jan. 8, 1965), president of the Council of State of Genève (2024- ).

Fontanini, Pietro (b. Sept. 23, 1952, Udine, Italy), president of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (1993-94).

Fontecilla Varas, Mariano (Antonio) (b. May 3, 1893, Santiago, Chile - d. Aug. 31, 1987, Santiago), justice minister of Chile (1955, 1956). He was also ambassador to Brazil (1939-42) and minister of lands and colonization (1955-56).

Fonteles

Fonteles, Rafael Tajra (b. May 6, 1985, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil), governor of Piauí (2023- ).

Fontenelle, José Freire Bezerril (b. March 9, 1850, Viçosa do Ceará, Ceará, Brazil - d. March 30, 1926, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of Ceará (1892-96). He was also mayor of Fortaleza (1890).

Fontes, Geremias de Mattos (b. June 28, 1930, São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. March 2, 2010, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro), governor of Rio de Janeiro (1967-71).

Fontes, Joaquim Martins (b. July 27, 1798, Itabaianinha, Sergipe, Brazil - d. Aug. 20, 1860, Laranjeiras, Sergipe), acting president of Sergipe (1839, 1840, 1841, 1841).

Fontes, José Marques de (b. May 20, 1824 - d. July 16, 1898), member of the Governing Junta of Mato Grosso (1892).

Fontes, José Martins (b. July 3, 1829, Lagarto, Sergipe, Brazil - d. Jan. 9, 1895, Aracaju, Sergipe), acting president of Sergipe (1877-78).

Fontes, Menandro Rodrigues (d. April 1892, Jaguarão, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), acting president of Rio Grande do Sul (1883).

Fontoura, João Lopes Carneiro de (d. Feb. 23, 1892, Lambary, Minas Gerais, Brazil), president of the Municipal Intendancy of Rio de Janeiro (1891).

Fontoura, João Neves da (b. Nov. 16, 1887, Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - d. March 31, 1963, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), foreign minister of Brazil (1946, 1951-53). He was also ambassador to Portugal (1943-45).

Fontoura, Ubaldino do Amaral (b. Aug. 27, 1842, Lapa, São Paulo [now in Paraná], Brazil - d. Jan. 22, 1920, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), president of the Municipal Intendancy of Rio de Janeiro (1890) and prefect of Distrito Federal (1897-98). He was also president of the Bank of Brazil (1909-10).

Foot, Sir Dingle (Mackintosh) (b. Aug. 24, 1905, Plymouth, Devon, England - d. June 18, 1978, Hong Kong), British politician; brother of Michael Foot and Hugh Foot, Baron Caradon. He was Liberal MP for Dundee (1931-45) and parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare (1940-45); in 1945 he was also part of the British delegation to the San Francisco conference which framed the United Nations charter. He was defeated at Dundee in the general election that followed the war. At two subsequent elections (1950, 1951) he fought as a candidate for North Cornwall but without success. Soon afterwards he began to feel himself increasingly out of sympathy with the Liberal Party, which he thought to have lost its old radicalism, and he joined the Labour Party in 1956. He became MP for Ipswich (1957-70) and solicitor general (1964-67). He was knighted in 1964. In 1970 he lost his seat by the tiny majority of 13. As a lawyer his services were in much demand in constitutional cases in Commonwealth countries: he represented Hastings Kamuzu Banda when the then leader of the Nyasaland African Congress Party was jailed in Southern Rhodesia; he defended Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir; and in 1962 he was ordered to leave Nigeria after having appeared in the Federal Supreme Court there on behalf of a former premier of the Western Region.

M. Foot

Foot, Michael (Mackintosh) (b. July 23, 1913, Plymouth, Devon, England - d. March 3, 2010, London, England), British politician; brother of Sir Dingle Foot and Hugh Foot, Baron Caradon. A member of a strongly Liberal family (his father had been a member of Parliament), he left the Liberals at the age of 21 to express his revulsion against the mass unemployment of the 1930s. From 1945 on, apart from a break between 1955 and 1960, he was a Labour member of Parliament. In 1974 he established himself as a leading cabinet member, first as secretary of state for employment (1974-76) in charge of complex and controversial trade-union legislation, and then (1976-79) as lord president of the council and leader of the House of Commons, a role that required him to hold the parliamentary party together. From deputy leader of the Labour Party (1976-80) he rose to become the party's chief, defeating Denis Healey, the candidate of Labour's right wing, in November 1980 by a vote of 139 to 129. This vote, as well as other leftward trends in the party, caused some right-wing Labourites to resign from the party and four months later to found the Social Democratic Party. Following a disastrous showing in the June 1983 general election, Foot announced that he would not continue as party leader; Neil Kinnock succeeded him in October 1983. Foot had acquired a reputation as a rebel of the left. For many years he was a pamphleteer and political writer fervently espousing the cause of nuclear disarmament. He was a strong ally of the British trade unions and an advocate of sharply increased public expenditures and state ownership of industries.

Foot, Samuel A(ugustus) (b. Nov. 8, 1780, Cheshire, Conn. - d. Sept. 15, 1846, Cheshire), governor of Connecticut (1834-35).

Foote, Henry S(tuart) (b. Sept. 20, 1800, Fauquier county, Va. - d. May 20, 1880, Nashville, Tenn.), governor of Mississippi (1852-54).

J. Foote

Foote, Judy (May), née Crowley (b. June 23, 1952, Grand Bank, Nfld.), lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (2018-23). She was also Canadian minister of public services and procurement (2015-17).

Foraker, Joseph B(enson) (b. July 5, 1846, Rainsboro, Highland county, Ohio - d. May 10, 1917, Cincinnati, Ohio), governor of Ohio (1886-90).

Foray, Cyril P(atrick) (b. March 16, 1934, Baiama, Sierra Leone - d. July 31, 2003, Freetown, Sierra Leone), foreign minister of Sierra Leone (1969-71). He was also health minister (1971) and high commissioner to the United Kingdom (1993-94, 1998-2000).

G.W. Forbes

Forbes, George William (b. March 12, 1869, Lyttelton, N.Z. - d. May 17, 1947, Cheviot, N.Z.), prime minister of New Zealand (1930-35). He was a member of the House of Representatives for the North Canterbury constituency of Hurunui (1908-43). He was first elected as a Liberal and when his party went into opposition in 1912 he became its chief whip. As the Liberals declined further, he was elected leader of the new National Party in 1925. In 1928 the National Party was merged with other Liberal elements into the United Party, led by Sir Joseph Ward. When Ward formed a United Party government with Labour support in December 1928, Forbes became minister of lands and agriculture. A little later the illness of Ward imposed on him the additional responsibility of leading the House of Representatives, and in May 1930 he was elected to succeed Ward as leader of the United Party. Shortly afterward Ward died, and Forbes was asked to form his own ministry. At odds with the Labour Party, he formed a coalition government with the Reform Party. With the prime ministership he held the portfolio of external affairs and was also minister of finance (1930-31) and railways (1931-35) and attorney-general (1933-35). His government was confirmed in the 1931 general election. Forbes maintained only the most conservative policies to combat the deepening depression; his government allowed widespread reductions of wages by employers, and his deflationary policies further contracted an already shrinking economy, thus swelling the ranks of the unemployed. Overwhelmingly defeated by the Labour Party in elections in 1935, he became leader of the opposition for a short period and in 1936 helped to merge the defeated remnants of the United, Reform, and Democrat parties into a new National Party, led by Adam Hamilton.

Forbes, John (b. 1750 - d. June 1797, Nassau, Bahamas), governor of the Bahamas (1797).

S. Forbes

D. Ford

Forbes, Steve, byname of Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Jr. (b. July 18, 1947, Morristown, N.J.), U.S. political figure; candidate for the Republican presidential nomination (1996, 2000).

Forbes, William Cameron (b. May 21, 1870, Milton, Mass. - d. Dec. 24, 1959, Boston, Mass.), governor-general of the Philippines (1909-13). A grandson of writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, he was also U.S. ambassador to Japan (1930-32).

Forcade La Roquette, (Jean Louis Victor) Adolphe de (b. April 8, 1820, Paris, France - d. Aug. 15, 1874, Paris), finance minister (1860-61) and interior minister (1868-70) of France; half-brother of Armand Jacques Achille Leroy de Saint-Arnaud. He was also minister of agriculture, public works, and commerce (1867-68).

Forckenbeck, Maximilian Franz August von (b. Oct. 21, 1821, Münster, Prussia [now in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany] - d. May 26, 1892, Berlin, Germany), German politician. He was lord mayor of Breslau (1873-78) and Berlin (1878-92) and president of the Reichstag (1874-79). In 1866 he was a founder of the National Liberal Party.

Ford, Barnett (b. July 14, 1824 - d. March 7, 1907, London, England), superintendent of the Andaman Islands (1864-68).

Ford, Doug(las Robert, Jr.) (b. Nov. 20, 1964, Etobicoke [now part of Toronto], Ont.), premier of Ontario (2018- ).

G.R. Ford

Ford, Gerald R(udolph, Jr.), original name Leslie Lynch King, Jr. (b. July 14, 1913, Omaha, Neb. - d. Dec. 26, 2006, Rancho Mirage, Calif.), president of the United States (1974-77). In 1948 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican and was reelected successively thereafter, becoming House minority leader in 1965. After the resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, Pres. Richard Nixon, on Oct. 12, 1973, nominated Ford to fill the vacant vice-presidential post. He was sworn in on December 6, the first vice president to take office in the middle of an administration. Ford's succession to the presidency on Aug. 9, 1974, after Nixon's resignation, marked the first time in U.S. history that the holder of the presidential office had not been elected either as president or as vice president. On September 8 Ford granted a full pardon to Nixon "for all offenses against the United States" that he might have committed while in office. The pardon effectively squelched any criminal prosecutions that Nixon might have been liable to in connection with the Watergate scandal. Ford's relations with the Democratic-controlled Congress were perhaps typified by his more than 50 vetoes of legislation by the end of 1976; more than 40 were sustained. In the final days of the Vietnam War in April 1975, Ford ordered an airlift of anti-Communist Vietnamese refugees that totaled 237,000, most of whom were taken to the United States. Later that year two attempts were made on Ford's life. In a close contest at the Republican convention in August 1976, Ford won his party's nomination, despite a serious challenge by Ronald Reagan. Running substantially behind from the beginning of the campaign, Ford was defeated in the November election by Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Ford, Rob(ert Bruce) (b. May 28, 1969, Etobicoke, Ont. - d. March 22, 2016, Toronto, Ont.), mayor of Toronto (2010-14); brother of Doug Ford.

Ford, Sam(uel) C(larence) (b. Nov. 7, 1882, Albany, Ky. - d. Nov. 25, 1961, Helena, Mont.), governor of Montana (1941-49).

Ford, Seabury (b. Oct. 15, 1801, Cheshire, Conn. - d. May 5, 1855, Burton, Ohio), governor of Ohio (1849-50).

Ford, Thomas (b. Dec. 5, 1800, near Uniontown, Pa. - d. Nov. 3, 1850, Peoria, Ill.), governor of Illinois (1842-46).

Ford, Wendell (Hampton) (b. Sept. 8, 1924, near Owensboro, Ky. - d. Jan. 22, 2015, Owensboro), governor of Kentucky (1971-74).

F.M. Forde

Forde, Francis Michael (b. July 18, 1890, Mitchell, Qld. - d. Jan. 28, 1983, Brisbane, Qld.), prime minister of Australia (1945). Active in state politics as a young man, he was a member of the Australian House of Representatives (1922-46) and deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (1932-46). In the cabinet he served as minister for the army (1941-46), minister for defense (1946), and deputy prime minister to John Curtin (1941-45) and Joseph Benedict Chifley (1945-46). He served as prime minister for a week, July 6-13, 1945; he automatically took over after Curtin's death but when the party met on July 12 to elect a new leader he was defeated by Chifley, making his period in office the shortest in Australia's history. From 1946 to 1953 he was Australian high commissioner to Canada.

Forde, Sir Henry (de Boulay) (b. March 20, 1933, Christ Church, Barbados), foreign minister and attorney general of Barbados (1976-81). In 1986-93 he was leader of the Barbados Labour Party. He was knighted in 1997.

L. Forde

Forde, (Mary Marguerite) Leneen, née Kavanagh (b. May 12, 1935, Ottawa, Ont.), governor of Queensland (1992-97); daughter-in-law of Francis Michael Forde.

Fordice

Fordice, Kirk, byname of Daniel Kirkwood Fordice, Jr. (b. Feb. 10, 1934, Memphis, Tenn. - d. Sept. 7, 2004, Jackson, Miss.), governor of Mississippi (1992-2000). He showed political skill in the 1991 election, beating Auditor Pete Johnson, the grandson and nephew of governors, in the Republican primary, then zeroing in on Democratic incumbent Ray Mabus. Mabus's tax plan had been rejected by the legislature and a 24-hour waiting period on abortion passed over his veto; he beat former Congressman Wayne Dowdy by only 50%-41% in the Democratic primary. In the general, Fordice campaigned against welfare and racial quotas. He trailed in polls but won 51%-48%, losing the larger urban areas but carrying the white countryside solidly. He became the first Republican governor elected in Mississippi since 1874. Fordice was not entirely successful; a 1% increase in the sales tax was passed over his veto. But he did get a capital gains tax cut, tort reform and more prison cells. He wanted to make Mississippi "the capital of capital punishment," and he eliminated air conditioning and television from prisons and required prisoners to wear stripes. He claimed to have cut state spending while Mississippi's riverboat casinos were generating much new revenue. He installed an "empowerment" interactive telephone line with information on state issues and legislators' positions. Mississippi governors have been allowed to seek a second consecutive term since 1986, but scandal-tarred Bill Allain didn't run in 1987 and Mabus lost in 1991. Fordice broke the jinx in November 1995 with his 55%-45% win over Mississippi Secretary of State Dick Molpus. Both had token opposition in the August primary.

Fore, Henrietta Holsman (b. Dec. 9, 1948, Chicago, Ill.), director of the U.S. Mint (2001-05) and executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (2018-22).

Forero (Osorio), Carlos (b. 1862?, Tacna, Peru - d. Oct. 6, 1916, Lima, Peru), finance minister of Peru (1909-10).

Forero Benavides, Abelardo (b. June 5, 1912, Facatativá, Colombia - d. Nov. 25, 2003, Bogotá, Colombia), interior minister of Colombia (1970-72). He was also governor of Cundinamarca (1942-43), minister of labour (1943), and ambassador to Argentina (1955-57).

Forestier Haensgen, Carlos (b. April 27, 1920, Concepción, Chile - d. Aug. 28, 2005, Santiago, Chile), defense minister of Chile (1980-81).

Forestier-Walker, Sir Frederick William Edward Forestier (b. April 17, 1844 - d. Aug. 30, 1910, Tenby, Wales), governor of Gibraltar (1905-10); knighted 1894.

Forfait, Pierre Alexandre (Laurent) (b. April 2, 1752, Rouen [now in Seine-Maritime département], France - d. Nov. 8, 1807, Paris, France), French minister of marine and colonies (1799-1801).

Forgács, Imre (b. April 9, 1949, Budapest, Hungary - d. Oct. 26, 2022), justice minister of Hungary (2009-10).

Forget, Amédée Emmanuel (b. Nov. 12, 1847, Marieville, Canada East [now Que.] - d. June 8, 1923, Ottawa, Ont.), lieutenant governor of the Northwest Territories (1898-1905) and Saskatchewan (1905-10).

Forlani

Forlani, Arnaldo (b. Dec. 8, 1925, Pesaro, Italy - d. July 6, 2023, Rome, Italy), prime minister of Italy (1980-81). He gained extensive political experience at the local level before embarking on a career at Christian Democrat headquarters in Rome in the 1950s. Elected to the national Chamber of Deputies in 1958, Forlani received his first junior ministerial post as minister of state investments (1968-69). He then served as Christian Democrat party leader from 1969 to 1973. In 1974-76 he was defense minister under Premier Aldo Moro. A brief experience as minister in charge of relations with the UN led to his appointment for three years as Italy's foreign minister (1976-79), a post exercised with diligence but without distinction. In October 1980 he succeeded Francesco Cossiga to become head of Italy's 40th government since the end of World War II. He inherited an unstable political situation that was compounded by the breaking of a major scandal involving a government minister and some prominent public figures alleged to have helped defraud Italy of millions of dollars during the 1970s. He also had to deal with the much-criticized relief operation following the disastrous earthquake in southern Italy in November 1980 and a new bout of terrorism by the left-wing Red Brigades. Forlani's unflamboyant style and his unflappable manner stood him in good stead in dealing with this series of challenges, and the fact that he had always stood slightly apart from the factionalism that divided the Christian Democrats helped him to survive some hectic months. In 1983-87 he was deputy prime minister. He was Christian Democrat party leader again in 1989-92.

Formica, Rino, byname of Salvatore Formica (b. March 1, 1927, Bari, Italy), finance minister of Italy (1981-82, 1989-92). He was also minister of transport (1980-81), foreign trade (1986-87), and labour and social security (1987-89).

Formuzal

Formuzal, Mihail (b. Nov. 7, 1959, Beshgioz, Ciadir-Lunga district, Moldavian S.S.R.), governor of Gagauzia (2006-15).

Forna, Alpha George Sembu (b. April 11, 1932, Penlap, Sierra Leone - d. Oct. 12, 2018, Freetown, Sierra Leone), finance minister of Sierra Leone (1970-71). He was also minister of transport and communications (1969-70), agriculture and natural resources (1971-73), health (1973-74), tourism and cultural affairs (1974-78, 1986-87), energy and power (1981-86), and information and broadcasting (1986-87).

Fornaciari, Bruno (b. Oct. 17, 1881, Sondrio, Italy - d. June 19, 1959, Rome, Italy), interior minister of Italy (1943). He was also prefect of Trieste (1926-29) and Milano (1930-35).

Fornari, Giovanni (b. May 21, 1903, Rome, Italy - d. 2000), administrator of Somalia (1950-53). He was also Italian chargé d'affaires in the Netherlands (1943-44) and Argentina (1946-47) and ambassador to Chile (1948-49), Brazil (1953-55), Egypt/United Arab Republic (1955-61), and France (1964-69).

Forné

Forné Molné, Marc (b. Dec. 30, 1946, La Massana, Andorra), head of government of Andorra (1994-2005). He did not seek political office until 1993, when he gained election to the Executive Council. That year he also founded the centre-right Liberal Union party (UL). By 1994 Andorra was experiencing a mounting national deficit, and the government of Òscar Ribas Reig of the National Democratic Party sought to address the problem by implementing a nation's first income tax. However, Andorra enjoyed an established reputation as a low-tax haven, and Ribas Reig's government fell victim to a no-confidence vote on Nov. 25, 1994. Forné was then elected to take his place based on his long opposition to broader taxation. Forné took careful steps to improve Andorra's economic survival in an age of growing international integration. The country remained largely agricultural, but he emphasized attracting tourism, its concomitant service industry, and also financial institutions. Given Andorra's strict confidentiality laws, banking became a source of some anxiety with France and Spain, for fears that such secrecy foments criminal money laundering. In 1997 and again in 2001 he was returned to office with an absolute majority of seats in the Executive Council for the UL, which ahead of the 2001 election was renamed Liberal Party of Andorra (PLA). He was constitutionally barred from a third consecutive full term.

Fornerod

Forni

Forrer

Fornerod, (Charles Emmanuel) Constant (b. May 30, 1819, Avenches, Vaud, Switzerland - d. Nov. 27, 1899, Bettens, Vaud), president of the Council of States (1855), trade and customs minister (1855-56, 1858), president (1857, 1863, 1867), finance minister (1859-61), and defense minister (1862, 1864-66) of Switzerland. He was also president of the Council of State of Vaud (1851).

Forni, Raymond (b. May 20, 1941, Belfort, France - d. Jan. 5, 2008, Paris, France), president of the Regional Council of Franche-Comté (2004-08). He was president of the National Assembly in 2000-02.

Forrer, (Johann) Ludwig (b. Feb. 9, 1845, Islikon, Thurgau, Switzerland - d. Sept. 28, 1921, Bern), president of the National Council (1893), trade, industry and agriculture minister (1903), interior minister (1904-05), president (1906, 1912), defense minister (1907), justice and police minister (1908), and posts and railways minister (1908-11, 1913-17) of Switzerland.

Forrest, John Forrest, Baron (b. Aug. 22, 1847, Preston Point, near Bunbury, Western Australia - d. Sept. 3, 1918, off the coast of Sierra Leone), premier of Western Australia (1890-1901) and defence minister (1901-03), home affairs minister (1903-04), and treasurer (1905-07, 1909-10, 1913-14, 1917-18) of Australia. He was knighted in 1891 and created Baron Forrest in 1918.

Forrestal, James V(incent) (b. Feb. 15, 1892, Matteawan [now part of Beacon], N.Y. - d. [suicide] May 22, 1949, Bethesda, Md.), U.S. Navy secretary (1944-47) and defense secretary (1947-49).

Forselles, Samuel af (b. Dec. 16, 1757, Lovisa [Loviisa], Finland - d. Sept. 28, 1814, Spa, Belgium), governor of Göteborg och Bohus (1796-1800) and Uleåborg (1800-02).

Forssell, Hans (Ludvig) (b. Jan. 14, 1843, Gävle, Gävleborg, Sweden - d. July 31, 1901, Lostallo, Graubünden, Switzerland), finance minister of Sweden (1875-80).

Forster, Albert (b. July 26, 1902, Fürth, Bayern, Germany - d. [executed] Feb. 28, 1952, Warsaw, Poland), head of state (1939), chief of civil administration (1939), and Reichsstatthalter (1939-45) of Danzig.

Forster (of Lepe), Henry William Forster, (1st) Baron (b. Jan. 31, 1866, Southend Hall, Kent, England - d. Jan. 15, 1936, London, England), governor-general of Australia (1920-25). He was created baron in 1919.

Forstner van Dambenoy, Hendrik Frederik Christoph baron (b. Aug. 15, 1792, Maastricht, Netherlands - d. March 23, 1870, Utrecht, Netherlands), war minister of the Netherlands (1852-58). He was also acting navy minister (1854-55). He became baron in 1828.

Forsyth (Sommer), George (Patrick) (b. June 20, 1982, Caracas, Venezuela), Peruvian politician. A former footballer who played in the national team, he was mayor of the La Victoria district of Lima (2019-20) and a presidential candidate (2021).

Forsyth, John (b. Oct. 22, 1780, Fredericksburg, Va. - d. Oct. 21, 1841, Washington, D.C.), governor of Georgia (1827-29) and U.S. secretary of state (1834-41). He was also minister to Spain (1819-23).

Forsyth, William (Douglass) (b. Jan. 5, 1909, Casterton, Vic. - d. March 3, 1993, Canberra, A.C.T.), secretary-general of the South Pacific Commission (1948-51, 1963-66). He was also Australian permanent representative to the United Nations (1951-56), minister to Laos (1959-60), and ambassador to South Vietnam (1959-61) and Lebanon (1967-68).

Forsyth-Thompson, Aubrey Denzil (b. Oct. 3, 1897 - d. June 13, 1982), resident commissioner of Bechuanaland (1942-46) and Basutoland (1946-51).

Forsyth Thompson, Patrick Richard (b. Aug. 28, 1920 - d. July 29, 1998), administrator of Tristan da Cunha (1954-57).

Fort, George F(ranklin) (b. June 30, 1809, Pemberton, N.J. - d. April 22, 1872, New Egypt, N.J.), governor of New Jersey (1851-54).

Fort, John Franklin (b. March 20, 1852, Pemberton, N.J. - d. Nov. 16, 1920, South Orange, N.J.), governor of New Jersey (1908-11); nephew of George F. Fort.

Forte, Francesco (b. Feb. 11, 1929, Busto Arsizio, Varese province, Italy - d. Jan. 1, 2022, Turin, Italy), finance minister of Italy (1982-83). He was also minister without portfolio (coordination of European Community policy) (1983-85).

Fortes, Chrispim Jacques Bias (b. Oct. 25, 1847, Livramento [then part of Barbacena; now Oliveira Fortes], Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. May 14, 1917, Barbacena), president of Minas Gerais (1890-91, 1894-98).

Fortes, José Francisco Bias (b. April 3, 1891, Barbacena, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. March 30, 1971, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), justice and interior minister of Brazil (1950-51) and governor of Minas Gerais (1956-61); son of Chrispim Jacques Bias Fortes. He was also mayor of Barbacena (1937-45).

Fortes, Márcio João de Andrade (b. Oct. 4, 1944, Belo Horizonte, Brazil), acting finance minister of Brazil (intermittently 1979-80).

Fortescue, Hugh Fortescue, (2nd) Earl, (4th) Baron Fortescue, courtesy title (1789-1839) Lord Ebrington (b. Feb. 13, 1783, London, England - d. Sept. 14, 1861, Exeter, Devon, England), lord lieutenant of Ireland (1839-41); grandson of George Grenville; nephew of William Wyndham Grenville, Baron Grenville, and George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, Marquess of Buckingham. He took his father's subsidiary title of Baron Fortescue by writ in acceleration in 1839 and succeeded him as earl in 1841.

Forteza, Francisco (b. 1892 - d. 1967), defense minister of Uruguay (1947-51). He was also minister of public health (1945-46) and education (1947) and president of the state-owned Banco de la República (1955-58).

Forteza, Francisco (A.) (b. Feb. 1, 1928, Montevideo, Uruguay - d. April 11, 2005), economy and finance minister (1972) and interior minister (1989) of Uruguay; son of the above.

Forth, Frederick Henry Alexander (b. Feb. 11, 1808 - d. April 7, 1876, Leamington, Tasmania), president of the Turks and Caicos Islands (1849-54).

Forthomme, Pierre (Jean Joseph) (b. May 24, 1877, Verviers, Belgium - d. Dec. 2, 1959, Brussels, Belgium), defense minister of Belgium (1923-25). He was also minister of posts and telegraphs (1929-31), communications (1932-34), and public works (1934).

Fortier, L. Yves (b. Sept. 11, 1935, Québec, Que.), Canadian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1988-92). In 1997-2006 he was governor of Hudson's Bay Company.

Fortín (Midence), Mario (Alberto) (b. Jan. 9, 1954, Tegucigalpa, Honduras), foreign minister of Honduras (2005-06). He was also ambassador to Taiwan (2012-13) and Guatemala (2019-21).

Fortin, Wilfred E(rnestor) (b. Aug. 17, 1941 - d. Nov. 10, 2023), administrator of Sint Eustatius (1971).

Fortín Franco, Miguel A(ntonio) (b. Sept. 11, 1863, San Antonio de Oriente, El Salvador - d. July 24, 1928, San Salvador, El Salvador), foreign minister of El Salvador (1906).

Fortín Magaña, René (b. July 24, 1931, Ahuachapán, El Salvador - d. July 17, 2020), member of the Junta of Government of El Salvador (1960-61).

Fortis, Alessandro (b. Sept. 16, 1842, Forlì, Papal State [now in Italy] - d. Dec. 4, 1909, Rome), prime minister of Italy (1905-06). He fought as a volunteer with Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1866 and 1867. After the unification of Italy as a monarchy, he remained an ardent republican and was arrested on Aug. 2, 1874, for conspiring with the socialists to foment insurrection but was released five months later. In 1876 he urged the republicans to begin participating in the government. Elected a deputy in 1880, he drifted to the right politically. He served as minister of agriculture (June 1898-May 1899), and, when Giovanni Giolitti resigned as premier (February 1905), he named Fortis as his successor. Because he was considered Giolitti's pawn, Fortis had difficulty forming a government. In office he settled a rail strike by declaring railway workers to be civil servants who were not allowed to strike. He nationalized the railways and in so doing offered an exorbitant sum to the railway companies and was accused of corruption. His foreign policy favouring the Triple Alliance was also unpopular. Finally, by reducing import duties on Spanish wine, he aroused opposition that toppled his government in February 1906.

Forto, Edin (b. Aug. 16, 1972, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina), premier of Sarajevo canton (2018-20, 2021-23). He has also been Bosnian minister of transport and communications (2023- ).

Fortov, Vladimir (Yevgenyevich) (b. Jan. 23, 1946, Noginsk, Moscow oblast, Russian S.F.S.R. - d. Nov. 29, 2020, Moscow, Russia), Russian minister of science and technology (1997-98). In 1996-97 he was chairman of the State Committee for Science and Technology and a deputy prime minister. He was president of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2013-17.

Fortún Sanjinés, Arturo (d. Oct. 25, 1973, La Paz, Bolivia), interior and justice minister (1956-57) and defense minister (1960-61) of Bolivia. He was also agriculture minister (1963-64).

Fortún Sanjinés, Federico (d. September 1986), interior and justice minister of Bolivia (1952-56); brother of Arturo Fortún Sanjinés. He was also president of the Senate (1962-63).

Fortún Suárez, Guillermo (b. 1938, La Paz, Bolivia - d. Sept. 15, 2012, La Paz), interior minister of Bolivia (2000-01); son of Arturo Fortún Sanjinés; nephew of Federico Fortún Sanjinés. He was also minister of information and sport (1972-73) and labour (1973) and minister without portfolio (1989-91).

Fortunato, Marchese Giustino (b. Aug. 20, 1777, Rionero in Vulture, Kingdom of Naples [now in Basilicata, Italy] - d. Aug. 22, 1862, Naples, Italy), finance minister (1847-48, 1849) and prime minister and foreign minister (1849-52) of the Two Sicilies.

Fortune, Gabriel (Émile) (b. March 18, 1897 - d. Dec. 18, 1971), acting commandant of Chad (1938) and lieutenant governor of Middle Congo (1941-45).

Fortuño

Fortuño (Burset), Luis (Guillermo) (b. Oct. 31, 1960, San Juan, Puerto Rico), governor of Puerto Rico (2009-13).

Fortuyn

Fortuyn, Pim, byname of Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuyn (b. Feb. 19, 1948, Velsen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands - d. May 6, 2002, Hilversum, Noord-Holland), Dutch politician. He joined a new conservative populist party, Leefbaar Nederland (Livable Netherlands), and became known for his anti-Islam and anti-immigration views. When he vehemently confirmed those views in an interview in February 2002, saying that he wanted to abolish Article 1 of the Dutch constitution, which guaranteed the equal treatment of all citizens, calling Islam "a backward culture," and declaring that no more refugees should be allowed into the Netherlands, the party dropped him as its candidate for prime minister. Undeterred, he formed his own Lijst Pim Fortuyn. Meanwhile, Leefbaar Rotterdam kept him as its leading candidate in local elections in March 2002, and out of nowhere it became the biggest political force in the Netherlands' second city. Fortuyn, who led an openly gay lifestyle, believed immigration was undermining the liberal, permissive society the Netherlands stood for. "In Holland, homosexuality is treated the same way as heterosexuality. In what Islamic country does that happen?" he asked. Nine days before the national elections, he was shot and killed as he left a radio interview. It was the first time in modern history that a Dutch political leader was assassinated. His party went on to a stunning second-place victory in the elections and became one of three partners in a coalition government.

Forward, Walter (b. Jan. 24, 1786, Old Granby [now East Granby], Conn. - d. Nov. 24, 1852, Pittsburgh, Pa.), U.S. secretary of the treasury (1841-43). He was also chargé d'affaires in Denmark (1850-51).

Fosbery, Widenham Francis Widenham (b. 1869 - d. Feb. 26, 1935), acting high commissioner of Southern Nigeria (1904).

Foschini, Antonio (b. Feb. 21, 1872, Udine, Italy - d. April 13, 1965, Rome, Italy), high commissioner of Fiume (1921).

Foss, Eugene N(oble) (b. Sept. 24, 1858, West Berkshire, Vt. - d. Sept. 13, 1939, Boston, Mass.), governor of Massachusetts (1911-14).

Foss, Joe, byname of Joseph Jacob Foss (b. April 17, 1915, Sioux Falls, S.D. - d. Jan. 1, 2003, Scottsdale, Ariz.), governor of South Dakota (1955-59). He won the Medal of Honor as a Marine pilot during World War II. He also earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was among the most prominent U.S. World War II heroes, shooting down 26 enemy planes. He also served as a colonel in the Air Force in the Korean War. A Republican, he served in the state legislature for five years before becoming governor. Foss also was the first commissioner of the American Football League (1959-66) and hosted the national television show "The American Sportsman" (1964-67). He was chosen president of the National Rifle Association in 1988, serving through 1990.

Foss, Per-Kristian (b. July 19, 1950, Oslo, Norway), finance minister of Norway (2001-05). He was the first openly gay minister in a Norwegian government.

Fosse, Alexandre François Ghislain burggraaf van der (b. May 20, 1769, Mechelen, Austrian Netherlands [now in Antwerpen province, Belgium] - d. Feb. 28, 1840, Mechelen), governor of Noord-Brabant (1826-30) and Antwerpen (1830).

Fossé, Roger (Jules) (b. Sept. 23, 1920, Pavilly, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime], France - d. Dec. 18, 1996, Saint-Hellier, Seine-Maritime), president of the Regional Council of Haute-Normandie (1986-92).

Foster, Charles (b. April 12, 1828, near Tiffin, Ohio - d. Jan. 9, 1904, Springfield, Ohio), governor of Ohio (1880-84) and U.S. secretary of the treasury (1891-93).

Foster, Sir George (Eulas) (b. Sept. 3, 1847, Wakefield parish, Carleton county, New Brunswick - d. Dec. 30, 1931, Ottawa, Ont.), finance minister of Canada (1888-96, 1896); knighted 1914. He was also minister of marine and fisheries (1885-88) and trade and commerce (1911-21).

J.W. Foster

Foster, John W(atson) (b. March 2, 1836, Pike county, Ind. - d. Nov. 15, 1917, Washington, D.C.), U.S. secretary of state (1892-93). After service in the Union army during the Civil War, he was active in Republican affairs in Indiana. He served as minister to Mexico (1873-80), Russia (1880-81), and Spain (1883-85). Appointed secretary of state by Pres. Benjamin Harrison in 1892, Foster tacitly encouraged American interests in Hawaii in their revolt against Queen Liliuokalani and negotiated a treaty (1893) for the annexation of Hawaii (which, at the urging of his successor, Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham, was withdrawn from Senate consideration by the newly installed administration of Pres. Grover Cleveland). Foster resigned in early 1893 in order to represent the United States in the Bering Sea controversy before an arbitration tribunal at Paris.

Mike Foster

Foster, Mike, byname of Murphy James Foster, Jr. (b. July 11, 1930, Shreveport, La. - d. Oct. 4, 2020, Franklin, La.), governor of Louisiana (1996-2004); grandson of Murphy J. Foster. In June 1994 Gov. Edwin Edwards announced he was not running in 1995, leaving as wide open a field as Louisiana has had since 1979. Republicans in the October 1995 open primary included former governor Buddy Roemer and state senator Mike Foster. Democrats included state treasurer Mary Landrieu, attorney Phil Preis, Lieutenant Governor Melinda Schwegmann, state representative Robert Adley, and congressman Cleo Fields. Fields and Foster, their parties' top vote getters with 26% and 19%, respectively, went on to the November election where Foster bested Fields 63%-37%. Foster, a former Democrat who switched parties in the summer of 1995, was the second Republican to be elected governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was a staunch conservative who opposed abortion rights and affirmative action. He was reelected in 1999, defeating Democrat William J. Jefferson 62%-29%. His campaign benefited from the fact that Louisiana was enjoying an economic boom, and he took credit for improving schools and passing a popular tort reform law. He was blocked by term limits from seeking reelection in 2003.

Murphy Foster

Foster, Murphy J(ames) (b. Jan. 12, 1849, Franklin, La. - d. June 12, 1921, Dixie Plantation, near Franklin), governor of Louisiana (1892-1900).

Foster, Sir Robert (Sidney) (b. Aug. 11, 1913 - d. Oct. 12, 2005, Cambridge, England), high commissioner for the Western Pacific (1964-68) and governor (1968-70) and governor-general (1970-73) of Fiji; knighted 1964.

W.Z. Foster

Foster, William Z(ebulon), originally William E. Foster (b. Feb. 25, 1881, Taunton, Mass. - d. Sept. 1, 1961, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), U.S. presidential candidate (1924, 1928, 1932). A militant union organizer from 1894, Foster joined the Industrial Workers of the World (1909), which aimed at achieving socialism through industry-wide labour organization. He came into national prominence as an American Federation of Labor leader in the bloody steel strike of 1919. In 1921 the Russian Communists designated Foster's Trade Union Educational League (which he had founded in 1920) as the American branch of their Profintern (Red Trade Union International), thereby moving him into the American Communist organization as a top leader. He was a candidate three times for president, running on a platform that envisioned the ultimate demise of capitalism and the establishment of a workers' republic. In 1932 Foster suffered a serious heart attack, and party leadership passed to coworker Earl Browder. When the international Communist leadership indicated its dissatisfaction with Browder in 1945, Foster again became party chairman. In 1948 he was among the party leaders indicted for subversive activity, but, because of his precarious health, he was not brought to trial. Foster's control of the party was endangered in 1956, when the Soviets' repudiation of Iosif Stalin and their suppression of the Hungarian Revolution caused an upheaval within the party. Foster, who steadfastly defended the Soviet leadership, was made chairman emeritus at the party's national convention in New York City (February 1957) and was thus, in effect, removed from power.

Foster of A.

Foster of Aghadrumsee, Arlene (Isobel) Foster, Baroness, née Kelly (b. July 17, 1970, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland), first minister of Northern Ireland (2016-17, 2020-21). She was leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (2015-21). She was knighted in June 2022 and in November made a life peer.

Foster Recabarren, Manuel (b. May 5, 1864, Santiago, Chile - d. June 11, 1946, Santiago), war and marine minister of Chile (1905-06).

Fostervoll, Alv Jakob (b. Jan. 20, 1932, Kristiansund, Møre og Romsdal, Norway - d. June 15, 2015), defense minister of Norway (1971-72, 1973-76) and governor of Møre og Romsdal (1977-2002).

Foteyev, Vladimir (Konstantinovich) (b. June 25, 1935, Stavropol [now Tolyatti, Samara oblast], Russian S.F.S.R.), first secretary of the Communist Party committee of the Chechen-Ingush A.S.S.R. (1984-89).

Fotyga

Fotyga, Anna (Elzbieta), née Kawecka (b. Jan. 12, 1957, Lebork, Poland), foreign minister of Poland (2006-07).

Fouché, Jacobus Johannes (b. June 6, 1898, Wepener, Orange Free State [now Free State, South Africa] - d. Sept. 23, 1980, Cape Town, South Africa), state president of South Africa (1968-75). A dedicated Afrikaner nationalist, he was a Nationalist Party member of parliament in 1941-50 (for Smithfield) and 1960-68 (for Bloemfontein West). In 1951-59 he was administrator of the Orange Free State. As minister of defense (1959-66) he had to deal with the UN embargo on arms supplies and his failure in this respect led to his replacement, ostensibly for health reasons, by Pieter Willem Botha. But Fouché continued to exercise a considerable influence in white South African political affairs and was minister of agricultural technical services and water affairs (1966-68) until his appointment as president. Known through his presidency as "Oom Jim" ("Uncle Jim"), he continued to show his loyalty to the government by defending censorship and castigating outside "pressure groups" and "Communists" for attempting to sow internal discord; he also was the B.J. Vorster ministry's chief spokesman when it wished to emphasize its "development" programs for the black "homelands," or to announce the introduction of increased self-government for the same. He was the first South African head of state to visit an independent black African nation when he went to Malawi in March 1972, to return Pres. Hastings Kamuzu Banda's visit the year before.

Foucher de Careil, Louis Alexandre, comte (b. March 1, 1826, Paris, France - d. Jan. 10, 1891, Paris), French official. He was prefect of the départements of Côtes-du-Nord (1871-72) and Seine-et-Marne (1872-73) and ambassador to Austria-Hungary (1883-86).

Fouchet, Christian (b. Nov. 17, 1911, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Seine-et-Oise [now in Yvelines], France - d. Aug. 11, 1974, Geneva, Switzerland), high commissioner of Algeria (1962) and interior minister of France (1967-68). He was also minister of Moroccan and Tunisian affairs (1954-55) and education (1962-67) and ambassador to Denmark (1958-62).

Fougier, Guy (Albin Paul) (b. March 13, 1932, Paris, France - d. May 2, 2008), prefect of police of Paris (1983-86). He was also prefect of Vienne département (1981-83).

Fougner, Else Bugge (b. Nov. 9, 1944, Moss, Østfold, Norway), justice minister of Norway (1989-90).

Fould, Achille (Marcus) (b. Nov. 17, 1800, Paris, France - d. Oct. 5, 1867, Laloubère, Hautes-Pyrénées, France), finance minister of France (1849-51, 1851, 1851-52, 1861-67). He was also minister of state (1852-60) and minister of the Emperor's House (1852-60).

Foulkes

Foulkes, Sir Arthur (Alexander) (b. May 11, 1928, Mathew Town, Inagua, Bahamas), governor-general of The Bahamas (2010-14); knighted 2001. He was founding editor (1962-67) of the Bahamian Times, official organ of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). He was elected to parliament in 1967 and served in various political offices over the years including minister of communications and minister of tourism in the PLP government. He was one of the Dissident Eight who rejected the leadership of Lynden Pindling in 1970 and was a founder of the Free National Movement in 1971. He was appointed to the Senate in 1972 and 1977 and was reelected to the House of Assembly in 1982. Later he held posts as high commissioner to the United Kingdom and ambassador to France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the European Union (1992-99) and non-resident ambassador to China and Cuba (1999-2007).

Foum, Muhammed Ali (b. June 4, 1936, Zanzibar [now in Tanzania]), Tanzanian diplomat. He was ambassador to Italy and Tunisia (1975-76), Zaire, Burundi, and Rwanda (1976-77), and Egypt (1990s), high commissioner to India (1980-84), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1984-86).

Foumane Akame, Jean (b. Aug. 31, 1937, Ndonkol, French Cameroons [now in Cameroon] - d. Jan. 13, 2019, Geneva, Switzerland), territorial administration minister of Cameroon (1983-84).

Fourati, Hichem (b. June 9, 1967, Tunis, Tunisia), interior minister of Tunisia (2018-20). He has also been governor of Monastir (2011-12) and ambassador to Saudi Arabia (2021- ).

Fourcade, Jean-Pierre (b. Oct. 18, 1929, Marmande, Lot-et-Garonne, France), economy and finance minister of France (1974-76). He was also minister of equipment (1976-77) and regional planning (1977) and mayor of Saint-Cloud (1971-92) and Boulogne-Billancourt (1995-2007).

Foureau, Fernand (b. Oct. 17, 1850, Saint-Barbant, Haute-Vienne, France - d. Jan. 17, 1914, Paris, France), governor of Mayotte (1906-07) and Martinique (1908-13).

Fourès, Augustin Julien (b. June 14, 1853, Pouilly, Oise, France - d. June 16, 1915, Paris, France), acting French representative in Cambodia (1881-85), lieutenant governor of Cochinchina (1889, 1892-95), acting governor-general of French Indochina (1896-97), and resident-superior of Tonkin (1897-1905).

Fourichon, (Léon) Martin (b. Jan. 10, 1809, Thiviers, Dordogne, France - d. Nov. 24, 1884, Paris, France), governor of French Guiana (1853-54).

Fourie, Bernardus Gerhardus, byname Brand Fourie (b. Oct. 13, 1916, Wolmaransstad, Transvaal [now in North West province], South Africa - d. July 31?, 2008, Pretoria, South Africa), South African diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1958-62) and ambassador to the United States (1982-85).

Fourneau, Alfred (Louis) (b. June 14, 1860, Rambouillet, Seine-et-Oise [now in Yvelines], France - d. May 1930, Paris, France), administrator of Chad (1902-03), lieutenant governor of Gabon (1905-06), and acting commissioner-general of French Congo (1906-07).

Fourneau, Jacques (Georges) (b. April 9, 1901 - d. May 20, 1956), acting governor of French Guinea (1944-46) and lieutenant governor of Middle Congo (1947-50); son of Alfred Fourneau; nephew of Lucien Fourneau.

Fourneau, Lucien (Louis) (b. Feb. 16, 1867, Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole, Seine-et-Oise [now in Yvelines], France - d. Aug. 3, 1930, Perros-Guirec, Côtes-du-Nord [now Côtes-d'Armor], France), lieutenant governor of Oubangui-Chari (1909-10) and Middle Congo (1911-16) and commissioner of French Cameroons (1916-19).

Fournier, Albéric (Auguste), lieutenant governor of Mauritania (1926-28) and Upper Volta (1928-32) and acting commissioner of French Cameroons (1932).

Fournier, Hubert (b. Sept. 13, 1948, Paris, France), prefect of Réunion (1992-95). He was also prefect of the French départements of Var (1997-99), Calvados (1999-2000), and Haute-Garonne (2000-03) and ambassador to Kenya (2004-06).

J.-R. Fournier

Fournier, Jean-René (b. Dec. 18, 1957), president of the Council of State of Valais (2000-01, 2004-05).

Fournier Quirós, Ricardo (b. Feb. 6, 1891, San José, Costa Rica - d. July 10, 1979, San José), Costa Rican diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1947-48).

Fousset, Louis Jacques (Eugène) (b. July 18, 1882 - d. May 11, 1949), governor of French Sudan (1931-35) and Martinique (1935-36).

Foveaux, Joseph (baptized April 6, 1767, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England - d. March 20, 1846, London, England), commandant of Norfolk Island (1800-04) and acting governor of New South Wales (1808-09).

Fowle, Daniel G(ould) (b. March 3, 1831, Washington, N.C. - d. April 7, 1891, Raleigh, N.C.), governor of North Carolina (1889-91).

Fowle, Sir Trenchard Craven William (b. Nov. 28, 1884 - d. Feb. 23, 1940), British acting political agent in Bahrain (1916), political agent and consul in Muscat and Oman (1930-31, 1931-32), and political resident in the Persian Gulf (1932-39); knighted 1937.

H.H. Fowler

Fowler, Henry H(ammill) (b. Sept. 5, 1908, Roanoke, Va. - d. Jan. 3, 2000, Alexandria, Va.), U.S. treasury secretary (1965-68). In his native Virginia, Fowler was an opponent of the state political machine led by Sen. Harry F. Byrd. At the state's 1956 Democratic convention, nine of the 10 congressional districts supported a move to withdraw state support from nominee Adlai Stevenson. Fowler was a leading delegate in the lone northern Virginia district that remained loyal to the national ticket, prompting shouts of "Yankee, go home!" at the state convention. Some encouraged Fowler to run for governor against the Byrd machine, but Fowler never did so. Fowler's tenure as treasury secretary saw the last federal budget without a deficit until 1998. Fowler guided fiscal policy while the Vietnam War was expanding and the government was pursuing a more active social policy, a time when Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson insisted that the nation could afford both guns and butter. He lobbied within the administration for a 10% tax increase, which Johnson opposed because he didn't think Congress would accept it. The increase finally went through in 1968. Despite the disagreement, Fowler remained a strong backer of Johnson. Fowler also is known for the creation of so-called "paper gold," a special reserve currency used to bolster the nation's gold reserves when the strength of the dollar waned in early 1968.

Fowler, Robert R(amsay) (b. Aug. 18, 1944, Ottawa, Ont.), Canadian diplomat. He was permanent representative to the United Nations (1995-2000), ambassador to Italy (2000-06), San Marino (2001-06), and Albania (2001-06), high commissioner to Malta (2001-06), and UN special envoy to Niger (2008-09). In the latter role he was kidnapped by an al-Qaeda group and spent four months in captivity before being released, apparently after payment of a ransom.

Fox, Charles James (b. Jan. 24, 1749, London, England - d. Sept. 13, 1806, Chiswick, Middlesex [now part of London], England), British foreign secretary (1782, 1783, 1806); son of Henry Fox, Baron Holland.

Fox, Liam (b. Sept. 22, 1961, East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, Scotland), British defence secretary (2010-11). He was also chairman of the Conservative Party (2003-05) and secretary of state for international trade (2016-19).

Fox, Sir William (b. Jan. 20, 1812, South Shields, Durham [now in Tyne and Wear], England - d. June 23, 1893, Auckland, N.Z.), premier of New Zealand (1856, 1861-62, 1869-72, 1873); knighted 1879. He was also attorney general (1856, 1861).

V. Fox

Fox Quesada, Vicente (b. July 2, 1942, Mexico City), president of Mexico (2000-06). Mexico's difficult economy during the 1980s convinced Fox that the country needed new leadership. In 1988, as a candidate of the centre-right National Action Party (PAN), he ran for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico's legislature, and was elected. After serving one term he ran for governor of Guanajuato but lost in an election during which charges of fraud were made. In 1995 he again ran for governor and was elected. On July 2, 2000, he was elected president of Mexico and thereby ended 71 uninterrupted years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). As the PAN candidate, Fox won approximately 43% of the vote to 36% for PRI candidate Francisco Labastida Ochoa and 16.5% for Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). After his election Fox, at one time president of the Mexican subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Co., said that he planned to run a "businesslike" administration and that "the main problem of Mexico is development... growth of the economy, it's getting the jobs that we need, it's sharing the income, redistributing income." He also pledged to end the cronyism that had been prevalent in PRI administrations, saying he would "make sure we get the best men and best women this country has for each of the positions. It's a little bit like we do it in companies." During the sometimes stormy presidential campaign, the almost 2-m-tall Fox lashed out at Labastida, calling him "shorty" and ridiculing him as an "errand boy" for the PRI. After the election Fox broke precedent by apologizing in person to Labastida and other opponents he had criticized.

Fox-Strangways, Maurice Walter (b. March 23, 1862 - d. May 27, 1938), acting chief commissioner of the Central Provinces (1912).

Fox-Strangways, Vivian (b. July 29, 1898, Pachmarhi, Central Provinces [now in Madhya Pradesh], India - d. Nov. 21, 1974, Dorset, England), resident commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (1941-46); son of Maurice Walter Fox-Strangways.

Foxley

Foy

Foxley (Rioseco), Alejandro (Tomás) (b. May 26, 1939, Viña del Mar, Chile), finance minister (1990-94) and foreign minister (2006-09) of Chile. He was also president of the Christian Democratic Party (1994-96).

Foy, Tim(othy John) (b. 1961, St. Helens, Lancashire, England), governor of Anguilla (2017-20).

Foyer, Jean (b. April 27, 1921, Contigné, Maine-et-Loire, France - d. Oct. 3, 2008, Paris, France), justice minister of France (1962-67). He was also minister of cooperation (1961-62) and public health (1972-73).

Fradkov

Fradkov, Mikhail (Yefimovich) (b. Sept. 1, 1950, Kuybyshev, Russian S.F.S.R. [now Samara, Russia]), prime minister of Russia (2004-07). Since 1975 he slowly climbed the bureaucratic ladder at the Soviet (later Russian) ministry of external trade. After serving for a couple of years at Russian mission to GATT, on Oct. 19, 1992, he was appointed deputy minister of external trade. On Oct. 12, 1993, he was promoted to the position of first deputy minister of external trade. At last, after another government reshuffle on April 16, 1997, Pres. Boris Yeltsin named Fradkov minister of external trade. In another government reshuffle on April 30, 1998, his ministry was abolished, but a new Ministry of Trade was later established, and on May 25, 1999, Fradkov became minister again. In May 2000 that ministry was also abolished and Fradkov was transferred to the Security Council, becoming its first deputy secretary on May 31, 2000. On March 28, 2001, Pres. Vladimir Putin appointed Fradkov to head the powerful Federal Tax Police. However, this department was also abolished in March 2003. Fradkov was sent to Brussels as Russian ambassador at the European Commission, seen by most as an honourable exile. On March 1, 2004, Putin surprised virtually all experts by designating Fradkov to the position of prime minister. But the State Duma was too loyal to be surprised and on March 5, it confirmed Fradkov as prime minister (352-58 with 24 abstentions). On May 12, after the start of Putin's second term, the Duma again confirmed Fradkov in the post (356-72 with 8 abstentions). Many said that Fradkov proved to be the most colourless and uninfluential prime minister after 1991. He was completely overshadowed by Putin and never lived up to the title of Russia's number two. In 2007-16 he was director of the External Intelligence Service.

Fraga (López), (Segundo) Rosendo (María Eduardo) (b. Oct. 13, 1856, Santa Fe, Argentina - d. June 3, 1928, Buenos Aires, Argentina), war minister of Argentina (1906-07); son of Rosendo María Fraga.

Fraga (Ranchel), Rosendo (José) María (b. May 1, 1815, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. Sept. 1, 1871, Buenos Aires), governor of Santa Fe (1858-60).

Fraga Iribarne, Manuel (b. Nov. 23, 1922, Vilalba, Galicia, Spain - d. Jan. 15, 2012, Madrid, Spain), Spanish politician. He was information and tourism minister (1962-69), ambassador to the U.K. (1973-75), deputy prime minister and interior minister (1975-76), chairman of the Popular Alliance (1979-86) and the Popular Party (1989-90), and president of the Xunta of Galicia (1990-2005).

Fragelli, José Manuel Fontanillas (b. Dec. 31, 1915, Corumbá, Mato Grosso [now in Mato Grosso do Sul], Brazil - d. April 30, 2010, Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul), governor of Mato Grosso (1971-75); nephew of Fernando Correia da Costa. He was also president of the Senate of Brazil (1985-87).

Fragoso, Augusto Tasso (b. Aug. 28, 1869, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil - d. Sept. 20, 1945, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), chairman of the Government Junta of Brazil (1930).

Fragueiro (del Corro), Mariano Antonio (b. June 20, 1795, Córdoba city, Río de la Plata [now Argentina] - d. July 3, 1872, Córdoba), governor of Córdoba (1831 [acting], 1858-60) and finance minister of Argentina (1854).

Fraiteur, Raoul (Laurent Alexandre Gaspard) de (b. Nov. 13, 1895, Leernes, Hainaut, Belgium - d. Dec. 9, 1984, Beauraing, Namur, Belgium), defense minister of Belgium (1946-49).

Franasovic, Dragutin (b. Dec. 5, 1842, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] - d. April 18, 1914, Vienna, Austria), war minister (1885-86, 1893, 1895-96) and foreign minister (1886-87, 1887-88) of Serbia.

Franasovici, Richard (b. April 8, 1883, Turnu Severin [now Drobeta-Turnu Severin], Romania - d. July 24, 1964, Paris, France), interior minister of Romania (1937). He was also minister of public works and communications (1933-37), ambassador to Poland (1938-39) and France (1939-40), and minister to Switzerland (1945-46).

Franc, Evert August (b. May 23, 1729, Janslunda, Södermanland, Sweden - d. Feb. 23, 1800), governor of Örebro (1780-96); son-in-law of Johan Abraham friherre Hamilton af Hageby.

L. Franc

Franc, Lubomír (b. Aug. 28, 1953, Broumov, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), governor of Královéhradecký kraj (2008-16).

Franc, Peter (b. Sept. 26, 1642, Kvillinge, Östergötland, Sweden - d. April 2, 1714, Nyköping, Södermanland, Sweden), governor of Södermanland (1710-14).

Franc, Ulric Gustaf (b. April 16, 1736, Överselö socken, Södermanland, Sweden - d. May 23, 1811, Stockholm, Sweden), acting chancellery president of Sweden (1790-92).

França, Augusto Ferreira (b. April 17, 1836, São Salvador da Bahia [now Salvador], Brazil - d. Sept. 28, 1902, São Salvador da Bahia), president of Goiás (1865-67).

C.A.F. França

França, Carlos Alberto Franco (b. April 18, 1964, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil), foreign minister of Brazil (2021-23). He was appointed ambassador to Canada in 2023.

França, Francisco Xavier Monteiro da (b. June 15, 1773, Paraíba [now João Pessoa], Paraíba, Brazil - d. June 16, 1851), president of Paraíba (1840-41).

França, José Manoel de (b. 1794?, Guaratinguetá, São Paulo, Brazil - d. March 9, 1852, São Paulo, Brazil), acting president of São Paulo (1836).

França, Manoel José de Souza (b. 1780, Laguna, Santa Catarina, Brazil - d. Feb. 8, 1856, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), principal minister of Brazil (1831). He was also justice minister (1831, 1831) and president of Rio de Janeiro (1840-41).

França (Gomes), Márcio (Luiz) (b. June 23, 1963, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil), governor of São Paulo (2018-19). He was also mayor of São Vicente (1997-2005) and Brazilian minister of ports and airports (2023).

Francesco I, in full Francesco Saverio Gennaro Giuseppe (b. Aug. 14, 1777, Naples [Italy] - d. Nov. 8, 1830, Naples), king of the Two Sicilies (1825-30); son of Ferdinando I.

Francesco II, in full Francesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo (b. Jan. 16, 1836, Naples [Italy] - d. Dec. 27, 1894, Arco, Italy), king of the Two Sicilies (1859-60); son of Ferdinando II.

Francese, Antonio (b. Oct. 29, 1899, Montevideo, Uruguay - d. 1979), defense minister (1967-70, 1973) and interior minister (1970-71) of Uruguay.

Franchini, Alessandro (d. March 1836), member of the Council of State of Ticino (1834-36).

Franchuk, Anatoliy (Romanovych) (b. Sept. 8, 1935, Vladimirovka, Vinnitsa oblast, Ukrainian S.S.R. - d. July 7, 2021), prime minister of Crimea (1994 [acting], 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98).

Francia (y Velasco), José Gaspar Rodríguez de (b. Jan. 6, 1766, Asunción, Río de la Plata [now in Paraguay] - d. Sept. 20, 1840, Asunción, Paraguay), supreme dictator of Paraguay (1814-40). In 1811 he became secretary to the junta that had overthrown Spanish rule. Not content with freedom from Spain, Francia in 1813 declared independence from Argentina (though Paraguay's only tie to the outer world lay on the river route through Buenos Aires) and became one of two consuls of the republic. The next year he was elected supreme dictator, and in 1816 perpetual supreme dictator. The word "dictator" at the time did not yet have the present meaning of "tyrant" - although he in fact was one. Determined to keep his country independent, he forbade all river traffic to Argentina and banned all foreign commerce. Paraguay thus became a hermit nation, few people being permitted to enter or leave. Francia, or "El Supremo," fostered internal industries and modern methods of farming and livestock raising which brought the nation to a primitive level of self-sufficiency. He organized and equipped the army, abolished the Inquisition, suppressed the college of theology, did away with the tithes, and deprived the aristocracy of their privileges. Francia was a frugal ruler but unspeakably cruel.

Francini

Francini, Loris (b. Aug. 12, 1962, San Marino, San Marino), captain-regent (1998, 2006) and secretary of state for internal affairs (2002-05) of San Marino.

Franciosi, Carlo (b. April 1, 1935, Serravalle, San Marino - d. Dec. 27, 2021), captain-regent of San Marino (1987).

A. Francis

D.J. Francis

Francis, Alida (b. 1965?), government commissioner of Sint Eustatius (2021- ).

Francis, David J(ohn) (b. Oct. 5, 1965), chief minister (2018-21) and foreign minister (2021-23) of Sierra Leone.

Francis, David R(owland) (b. Oct. 1, 1850, Richmond, Ky. - d. Jan. 15, 1927, St. Louis, Mo.), mayor of St. Louis (1885-89), governor of Missouri (1889-93), and U.S. secretary of the interior (1896-97). He was also ambassador to Russia (1916-17).

Francis, Dennis (b. Nov. 27, 1956), Trinidad and Tobago diplomat. He has been non-resident ambassador to Italy and Austria (2007-11), permanent representative to the United Nations (2021-23), and president of the UN General Assembly (2023- ).

Francis, Harold Huyton, byname Tim Francis (b. May 1, 1928, Auckland, N.Z. - d. Jan. 2, 2016, Wellington, N.Z.), administrator of Tokelau (1984-88). He was also New Zealand high commissioner to Singapore (1970-73), permanent representative to the United Nations (1978-82), and ambassador to the United States (1988-91).

Francis, John B(rown) (b. May 31, 1791, Philadelphia, Pa. - d. Aug. 9, 1864, Warwick, R.I.), governor of Rhode Island (1833-38).

Francis, Larry (b. April 23, 1933, San Antonio, Texas), mayor of El Paso (1993-97).

M.E. Francis

Francis, Mayann E(lizabeth) (b. Feb. 18, 1946, Sydney, N.S.), lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia (2006-12).

Francis, Nathaniel J(oseph) S(elver), byname Bops Francis (b. May 6, 1912, Grand Turk island, Turks and Caicos Islands - d. early August 2004), chief minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands (1985-86). He was also minister of works and communications (1980-85).

Francis, Sarita (Violeta) (b. Sept. 11, 1953), acting governor of Montserrat (2011).

Francis Lanuza, Yavel Mireya (b. Nov. 6, 1967, Panama), Panamanian diplomat. She has been permanent representative to the United Nations (2009) and ambassador to Belgium (2019- ).

Franciscus

Franciscus, English Francis, original name Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Sívori) (b. Dec. 17, 1936, Buenos Aires, Argentina), pope of the Roman Catholic Church (2013- ). He was ordained a priest in 1969, took his final vows in the Jesuit order in 1973, and served as superior of the Jesuit province of Argentina (1973-79). He later claimed to have hidden several people from the authorities during the period of military rule (1976-83), although his role in the case of two Jesuit priests who were kidnapped for five months in 1976 generated controversy. He was made an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992, archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and a cardinal in 2001. He acquired a public reputation for humility, living in a simple downtown apartment rather than in the archbishop's residence and traveling by public transportation or by foot rather than in a chauffeured limousine. He became an outspoken advocate for the poor and promoted the church's position on social matters in meetings with government officials. His theological conservatism, however, set him at odds with the left-leaning administrations of Presidents Néstor Kirchner (2003-07) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-15); he was a vocal critic of the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010. Following the resignation of Pope Benedictus XVI, Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot to become the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Western (or the Southern) Hemisphere. He chose the name Franciscus in honour of St. Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226), who lived a life of humble service to the poor, and also recalling St. Francis Xavier (1506-52), a founding member of the Jesuits. He declined to use the Roman numeral I to indicate that he was the first to use his papal name. Clergy sexual-abuse scandals having undermined the church's stature, Franciscus called for spiritual renewal within the church and increased attention to the plight of the poor. He at first appeared more tolerant of homosexuality ("Who am I to judge?"), but in 2018 aroused controversy when he suggested parents should seek psychiatric help for their gay children and also compared abortion to "hiring a hitman."

Francisque, (Marie Joseph) Édouard (b. Sept. 12, 1928, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti - d. May 19 or 26, 2023, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), finance minister (1971-73) and foreign minister (1981-82) of Haiti. He was also ambassador to France (1973-76) and West Germany (1976-81) and a presidential candidate in 2006, winning 0.3% of the vote.

Franck

A.P.P. Franco

Franck, Antonio (Gabriel) (b. Nov. 27, 1927, Pointe-Noire, Middle Congo [now Congo (Brazzaville)] - d. March 8, 2006, Gonesse, Val-d'Oise, France), foreign minister of the Central African Republic (1975-76). He was also minister of education, youth, and sports (1969), art and culture (1969), public service and labour (1969-70), veterans (1973-74), and public works (1974-75).

Francke (Ballvé), Pedro (Andrés Toribio Topiltzin) (b. Nov. 1, 1960, Lima, Peru), finance minister of Peru (2021-22).

Franco, Adolpho de Oliveira (b. Nov. 12, 1915, Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil - d. March 9, 2008), governor of Paraná (1955-56).

Franco, Afonso Arinos de Mello (b. Nov. 27, 1905, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - d. Aug. 28, 1990, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), foreign minister of Brazil (1961, 1962); son of Afrânio de Mello Franco.

Franco, Afonso Arinos de Mello, Filho (b. Nov. 11, 1930, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - d. March 15, 2020, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Brazilian diplomat; son of Afonso Arinos de Mello Franco. He was ambassador to Bolivia (1979-82), Venezuela (1983-85), the Vatican (1986-90), and the Netherlands (1991-94).

Franco, Afrânio de Mello, original name Afrânio Camorim Jacaúna de Otingi (b. Feb. 25, 1870, Paracatu, Minas Gerais, Brazil - d. Jan. 1, 1943, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), foreign minister of Brazil (1930-33). He was also minister of transport (1918-19) and acting minister of justice and interior (1930, 1932).

Franco, Albano do Prado Pimentel (b. Nov. 22, 1940), governor of Sergipe (1995-2003); son of Augusto do Prado Franco.

Franco, Augusto do Prado (b. Sept. 4, 1912, Laranjeiras, Sergipe, Brazil - d. Dec. 15, 2003, Aracaju, Sergipe), governor of Sergipe (1979-82).

Franco, Carlos Augusto, governor-general of Angola (1860-61).

Federico Franco

Franco (Gómez), (Luis) Federico (b. July 23, 1962, Asunción, Paraguay), vice president (2008-12) and president (2012-13) of Paraguay. He was also governor of Central department (2003-07).

Francisco Franco

Franco (y Bahamonde), Francisco (Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo), byname El Caudillo (the Leader) (b. Dec. 4, 1892, El Ferrol, Galicia, Spain - d. Nov. 20, 1975, Madrid, Spain), Spanish head of state (1939-75). In May 1935 he was appointed chief of the Spanish Army's general staff. The leftist Popular Front won elections in 1936, but the new government was unable to prevent the accelerating dissolution of Spain's social and economic structure. Franco was removed from the general staff and sent to an obscure command in the Canary Islands. On July 18, 1936, Franco's manifesto acclaiming military rebellion was broadcast from the Canary Islands, and the same day the rising began on the mainland. The following day he flew to Morocco and within 24 hours was firmly in control of the protectorate and the Spanish Army garrisoning it. After landing in Spain, he and his army marched toward Madrid. In preparation of what they believed was the final assault that would deliver the country into their hands, the Nationalists decided to choose a commander in chief, or generalissimo, who would also head the rebel Nationalist government in opposition to the republic. Franco was the obvious choice. He became head of state of the new Nationalist regime on Oct. 1, 1936. The rebel government did not, however, gain complete control of the country until April 1, 1939. The tens of thousands of executions carried out by the Nationalist regime, which continued during the first years after the war ended, earned Franco more reproach than any other aspect of his rule. During World War II he kept Spain neutral. A 1947 referendum made the Spanish state a monarchy and ratified Franco's powers as a sort of regent for life. In 1969 he designated Juan Carlos as his official successor upon his death. His widow Carmen Polo was awarded the title Señora de Meirás by King Juan Carlos on Nov. 26, 1975.

I. Franco

Franco, Itamar (Augusto Cautiero) (b. June 28, 1930, on board a ship between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - d. July 2, 2011, São Paulo, Brazil), president of Brazil (1992-95). He was a founding member of what would become the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), which was the only opposition party permitted under military rule, and served as mayor of his hometown Juiz de Fora (1967-71, 1973-74). He was a senator for 16 years, leading committees on economy and finance (1983-84) and investigating corruption (in the late 1980s). He lost a bid to be governor of Minas Gerais in 1986 but was later picked by Fernando Collor to balance his presidential ticket and thus became vice president in 1990. He became acting president on Oct. 2, 1992, when Collor was suspended, and with Collor's definite removal was sworn in as president on Dec. 29, 1992, serving, in a somewhat eccentric way, until Jan. 1, 1995, when Fernando Henrique Cardoso became president. On Jan. 1, 1999, he began a four-year term as governor of Minas Gerais. He stopped paying the state's debt on January 6, blocked a plan to reduce layoffs at auto plants, and refused to meet Cardoso, whose irritation turned into public rage. Cardoso needed the cooperation of governors to cut the country's huge budget deficit, as Brazil promised it would do to get an International Monetary Fund loan. The action by Brazil's third-wealthiest state alarmed investors, who pulled dollars out of the country. When the drain had not stopped a week later, Cardoso's government was forced to devalue the currency, which plunged 40%. But Franco's feud with Cardoso was more than financial. Franco had never forgiven Cardoso (who was finance minister at the time) for "stealing" credit for the Plano Real, the economic program that slashed inflation from 2,700% in 1993 to about 2% in 1998. Franco left the PMDB in December 1999 after failing to win the party's backing to split with Cardoso's alliance. He was also ambassador to Portugal (1995-96) and Italy (2004-05).

J. Franco

Franco (Ferreira Pinto Castelo Branco), João (b. Feb. 14, 1855, Alcaide, eastern Portugal - d. April 1929, Lisbon, Portugal), interior minister (1893-97, 1906-08) and prime minister (1906-08) of Portugal. He was also minister of finance (1890) and public works, commerce, and industry (1891-92). He took office as prime minister in May 1906 with a programme of reforming the national finances and administration by constitutional means if possible. The Cortes was dissolved in June and an election was held at which it was promised that all votes should be fairly counted; the Franquistas or "New Regenerators" obtained a majority. When the new Cortes met in September the king was charged by the opposition with complicity in grave financial scandals; the Republican deputies even accused him of trying to assign the tobacco monopoly in payment of one of his own foreign creditors. Franco sought to organize a coalition in defense of the crown, but early in 1907 business in the Cortes was brought to a standstill. The ministry appeared to be doomed, and the old "Rotativist" politicians prepared once more to divide the spoils of office. On May 2, however, Franco struck his blow. He obtained the dissolution of the Cortes, and announced that certain measures still under discussion should have forthwith the force of law. With the support not only of the king and the army but also of many Portuguese who hailed with joy the advent of an honest dictator, Franco was able to carry some useful reforms. But certain transactions in regard to the king's debts aroused so much indignation that rebellion was widely and openly advocated. On Feb. 1, 1908, King Carlos and his elder son were assassinated. Franco was sent into exile by the dynasty. The Rotativist politicians regained their power, but soon had to give way to the Republican revolution effected in October 1910. Franco, who had returned to Portugal, was arrested but acquitted by the Supreme Court in January 1911.

J.C. Franco

Franco (Gómez), Julio César, byname Yoyito (b. April 17, 1951, Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay), vice president of Paraguay (2000-02).

Manuel Franco

Mike Franco

Franco, Manuel (b. June 9, 1871, Concepción, Paraguay - d. June 5, 1919, Asunción, Paraguay), president of Paraguay (1916-19). He was also minister of justice, worship, and education (1908) and interior (1908-10).

Franco, Mike, byname of Marcolino Cerbinio Ferdinand Franco (b. Oct. 4, 1959), government commissioner of Sint Eustatius (2018-20). He was also chairman of the parliament of Curaçao (2012-16).

Franco (Bahamonde), Nicolás (b. July 1, 1891, El Ferrol, Spain - d. April 15, 1977, Madrid, Spain), Spanish diplomat; brother of Francisco Franco. He was ambassador to Italy (1937-38) and Portugal (1938-58).

R. Franco

Franco (Ojeda), Rafael (de la Cruz) (b. Oct. 22, 1896, Asunción, Paraguay - d. Sept. 16, 1973), provisional president of Paraguay (1936-37). He led a military insurrection in February 1936 and founded the still extant Partido Revolucionario Febrerista.

Franco, Salvador (b. 1864 - d. 1930), war minister (1916-18) and finance minister (1927) of Colombia. He was also governor of Boyacá (1896, 1900) and Cundinamarca (1925-26) and minister of treasury (1915-16) and industry (1926-27).

Franco, Wellington Moreira (b. Oct. 19, 1944, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil), governor of Rio de Janeiro (1987-91). He was also mayor of Niterói (1977-82) and Brazilian minister of strategic affairs (2011-13), civil aviation (2013-15), and mines and energy (2018).

Franco Franco, Tulio (b. Aug. 8, 1893, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - d. 1978), Dominican Republic diplomat. He was minister to Haiti (1944-45) and Switzerland (1948-50), ambassador to the Vatican (1946-47, 1956-60, 1966-70), France (1950-52), and Haiti (1952-53), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1953-54).

Franco López, Gabriel (b. Oct. 14, 1897, Astorga, León, Spain - d. Jan. 29, 1972, Madrid, Spain), finance minister of Spain (1936).

François, Jacques (Arthur) (b. 1908 - d. April 13, 1987, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), foreign minister of Haiti (1986). He was also ambassador to Cuba (1955-56).

François, Joseph (Pascal) (b. June 27, 1853, Montpellier, Hérault, France - d. 19...), commandant of Nossi-Bé (1889-96) and governor of French India (1905-06) and the French Settlements in Oceania (1908-10).

François, Pierre (Claude Emmanuel) (b. Dec. 28, 1869 - d. Aug. 15, 1933), acting lieutenant governor of Oubangui-Chari (1923-24).

François-Marsal

François-Marsal, Frédéric (b. March 16, 1874, Paris, France - d. May 28, 1958, Gisors, Eure, France), finance minister (1920-21, 1924), prime minister (1924), and acting president (1924) of France.

François-Poncet, André (b. June 13, 1887, Provins, Seine-et-Marne, France - d. Jan. 8, 1978, Paris, France), French high commissioner in Germany (1949-55). He was also ambassador to Germany (1931-38), Italy (1938-40), and West Germany (1955).

François-Poncet, Jean (André) (b. Dec. 8, 1928, Paris, France - d. July 18, 2012, Paris), foreign minister of France (1978-81); son of André François-Poncet.

Francos, Guillermo (Alberto) (b. April 20, 1950, Puerto Belgrano, Buenos Aires province, Argentina), interior minister (2023- ) and cabinet chief (2024- ) of Argentina.

H. Franjieh

Franjieh, Hamid (Kabalan), also spelled Hamid Frangié, Arabic Hamid Faranjiyya (b. Aug. 6, 1907, Ehden, northern Lebanon, Ottoman Empire - d. Sept. 5, 1981, Beirut, Lebanon), Lebanese politician; brother of Suleiman Franjieh (1910-1992). He entered politics as a fervent nationalist, became finance minister for the first time in 1938, a post he also held in 1944-45, and was foreign minister several times for different governments (1938, 1941-42, 1945-46, 1947-49, 1955). He also aspired to the presidency, but was defeated in 1952 by Camille Chamoun, who had greater support from central Lebanon. After his resignation in 1955 Franjieh, who was then associated with a group supporting the policies of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, was forced to withdraw from political activity in 1957 because of illness.

S. Franjieh

Franjieh, Suleiman (Kabalan), also spelled Soleiman Frangié, Arabic Sulayman Faranjiyya (b. June 15, 1910, Zgharta, northern Lebanon, Ottoman Empire - d. July 23, 1992, Beirut, Lebanon), president of Lebanon (1970-76). In 1957 he was implicated in the murder of several members of a rival clan and fled to Syria, where he became friends with Hafez al-Assad, later to become president of Syria (1971). Franjieh soon returned to Lebanon to succeed his elder brother, Hamid, as clan leader, and after being elected to his brother's former seat in parliament (1960) he held a succession of ministerial posts, including posts and telegraphs (1960-61), agriculture (1961), interior (1968), economy (1968-70), and justice (1968-69). On Aug. 17, 1970, parliament elected Franjieh president by one vote on the third ballot, but he soon alienated Muslims and Christians alike by his autocratic rule and his promotion of inept and corrupt clansmen, notably his son Tony. He was considered to be in large part responsible for the country's descent into civil war in the mid-1970s. In June 1976, shortly before he left office, Franjieh reportedly invited Assad to send troops into Lebanon to assist the Maronite Christians against left-wing Muslim and Palestinian forces. Rival clans who opposed Syrian intervention allied themselves with Israel. In June 1978, members of the Phalange, a rival Christian militia, murdered Tony along with his wife and daughter, thus cementing the rift between the clans and precluding a quick end to the war.

S. Franjieh

Franjieh, Suleiman, also spelled Soleiman Frangié, Arabic Sulayman Faranjiyya (b. Oct. 18, 1964, Zgharta, northern Lebanon), interior minister of Lebanon (2004-05); grandson of Suleiman Franjieh (1910-1992). He was also minister of public health (1996-98, 2000-04) and agriculture (1998-2000).

Frank, Charles (Raphael, Jr.) (b. May 15, 1937, Pittsburgh, Pa.), first vice president (1997-2001) and acting president (1998, 2000) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

E. Frank

Frank, Édouard, Frank also spelled Franck (b. April 5, 1934, Grimari, Oubangui-Chari [now in Central African Republic]), prime minister of the Central African Republic (1991-92). He was also president of the Supreme Court (1980-82) and of the Constitutional Court (1996-2003) and ambassador to France (1982-84). He also presided over the criminal court that tried ex-emperor Bokassa in 1986-87.

Frank, Felix (b. Oct. 31, 1876, Vienna, Austria - d. March 2, 1957, Innsbruck, Austria), vice chancellor (1922-24), interior minister (1922-23), and justice minister (1923-24) of Austria.

Frank, Hans (b. May 3, 1900, Karlsruhe, Germany - d. Oct. 16, 1946, Nürnberg, Germany), German governor-general of Poland (1939-45). He was hanged as a war criminal.

Franke, Egon (b. April 11, 1913, Hannover, Germany - d. April 26, 1995, Hannover), vice chancellor of West Germany (1982). He was also minister of inner-German relations (1969-82).

Franke, Emil (b. April 3, 1880, Grosspriesen, Austria [now Velké Brezno, Czech Republic] - d. Dec. 1, 1939, Prague, Bohemia and Moravia [now Czech Republic]), acting finance minister of Czechoslovakia (1936, 1937). He was also minister of railways (1919-20 [acting], 1925 [acting]), supply (1922-25), posts and telegraphs (1924-25 [acting], 1929-36), and education (1936-38).

Frankinet, Bénédicte (b. July 23, 1951), Belgian diplomat. She was ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi (1999-2003) and Israel (2008-13) and permanent representative to the United Nations (2013-16).

Franklin, Benjamin (b. Jan. 17, 1706 [Jan. 6, 1705, O.S.], Boston, Massachusetts - d. April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pa.), U.S. postmaster general (1775-76) and president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania (1785-88). A man of many talents, he was famous as a printer, publisher, author, inventor, and scientist besides being one of the U.S. founding fathers. He became involved in civic improvement in Philadelphia in 1727. He purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729 and commenced the publication of Poor Richard's Almanac in 1732. He was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia (1737), then deputy postmaster-general for the colonies (1753). His invention of the Franklin stove and its commercial success encouraged him to turn from printing to the natural sciences in the 1740s, and in 1746 he commenced his famous researches in electricity, suggesting that buildings could be protected by lightning-conductors. His scientific ingenuity also found outlet in the theory of heat, charting the Gulf Stream, ship design, meteorology, and the invention of bifocal lenses and a harmonica. His election in 1751 to the Pennsylvania Assembly began nearly 40 years as a public official. He proposed to the Albany Congress a Plan of Union for the colonies in 1754. During the French and Indian War (1754-63), he worked with British commanders to win a North American empire for Britain. When he went to England in 1757 as agent of the Assembly, the British attitude of dominance over the colonies began to strain his loyalty. He remained in England until 1762 and in 1764 was sent there again to contest the pretensions of Parliament to tax the American colonies without representation. But the differences became too grave to be reconciled by negotiation, and he returned in 1775 and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. To secure foreign assistance in the war of independence, Franklin was sent to Paris in 1776, and in February 1778 a treaty of alliance was signed. He was officially minister to France - the first U.S. minister - in 1779-85. In 1783 he helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris, ending the war with Great Britain. In 1787 he was a delegate to the convention which framed the U.S. constitution.

Franklin, Benjamin J(oseph) (b. March 1839, near Maysville, Ky. - d. May 18, 1898, Phoenix, Ariz.), governor of Arizona (1896-97).

Franklin, Jesse (b. March 24, 1760, Orange county, Virginia - d. Aug. 31, 1823, Surry county, N.C.), governor of North Carolina (1820-21).

Franklin, Sir John (b. April 16, 1786, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England - d. June 11, 1847, near King William Island [now in Nunavut, Canada]), lieutenant governor of Tasmania (1837-43); knighted 1829. He was a famous Arctic explorer who died in an expedition in search for the Northwest Passage.
