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Mobile Suit Gundam SEED

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (機動戦士ガンダム) is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the Gundam franchise, Gundam SEED takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has developed into two subspecies: Naturals, who reside on Earth, and Coordinators, genetically enhanced humans capable of amazing feats of intellect who emigrate to man-made orbital colonies to escape persecution by natural humans. The story revolves around a young Coordinator Kira Yamato who becomes involved in the war between the two races after a third, neutral faction's space colony is invaded by the Coordinators.

The television series was broadcast in Japan between 2002 and 2003, on the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television and MBS TV networks, beginning a broadcast partnership with the Gundam franchise. The series spawned three compilations films and was adapted into a manga as well as light novels. A sequel series, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny followed in 2004 and a followup film, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom was released in 2024. Merchandise has been released, including models, CD soundtracks and video games. Gundam SEED was licensed by Bandai Entertainment for broadcast in North America, and began airing in the United States and Canada in 2004. The films and the sequel were also licensed by Bandai. The manga and light novels as well as the spin-off series, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray, were licensed. Video games were released in North America. In 2011, a HD remaster of the series consisting of 48 episodes was released.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED was widely popular with the public in Japan, winning numerous awards, with high sales of the series DVD and music. It was also a critical success with writers focusing on the character development and animation especially the leads. However, similarities with previous Gundam series were noted.

Plot
The series is the first of the Gundam franchise set in the "Cosmic Era" in which mankind is divided between normal Earth dwelling humans, known as "Naturals", and the genetically altered super-humans known as "Coordinators". The primary conflict of the story plot derives from jealous hatred by Naturals of the abilities of Coordinators, leading to hate crimes, and eventually the emigration of almost all Coordinators who flee into space to live idyllic lives on giant orbital space colonies called PLANTS of their own design. War eventually breaks out between Earth and the PLANTS. The Earth is divided between two major factions, the Earth Forces formed from most of the natural born human nations, primarily the Eurasians and the Atlantic Federation, and a natural human supremacist group known as Blue Cosmos with its slogan, "For the preservation of our blue and pure world". The Earth Forces are not a unified alliance, and infighting and mistrust exist between their various nation states. The second major Earth nation is the Orb Union, a staunchly politically neutral and isolationist nation located on small Pacific Ocean islands ruled by a hereditary monarchy and still contains Coordinator citizens.

Two major events precede the story, known as the Bloody Valentine tragedy that initiated war between the PLANTS and the Earth Forces when one of the PLANT space stations, Junius-7, is destroyed by a nuclear bomb. The second event is the counterattack by the PLANTS that buries Neutron Jammers deep into Earth's crust that halts all nuclear reactions and long range radar and radio, causing most areas of earth to go without electricity or communication, and requiring mobile suits to rely on rechargeable batteries.

The PLANTS are a technological power house, developing many new technologies that give them equal power to Earth despite their very small population. It is the invention of the Mobile Suits that give their military the edge in the beginning of the war.

The story begins in the neutral Orb Union owned space colony Heliopolis, where five advanced mobile suits for the Earth Forces war effort are developed in secret in exchange of sharing of their technical data with the neutral Orb Union military. Additionally, Heliopolis constructs a unique carrier battleship, the Archangel, to base the five mobile suits from for the Earth Forces. The colony is attacked by ZAFT forces, the military of the PLANTS, with the objective of stealing the new units. During the incursion an Orb Union student and Coordinator named Kira Yamato, upon seeing his friends in danger, pilots the GAT-X105 Strike mobile suit to fend off the invaders but the colony is critically damaged in the ensuing fight. As Heliopolis disintegrates, the survivors board the Archangel, and begin their journey to the Alliance base in Alaska. During the journey to Earth, Kira pilots the Strike to counter a series of attacks by ZAFT but is seemingly killed by his childhood friend, ZAFT soldier Athrun Zala, during one of their battles in which he also is nearly killed. Kira survives the attack and is taken by a blind priest to one of the PLANT space colonies, home to the Coordinators to recover. The Archangel arrives in Alaska but ZAFT launches a full-scale attack on the base overpowering their enemies. Unknown to ZAFT, the Earth forces knew of this attack ahead of time. They planned to sacrifice the Alaska base along with the Archangel in order to destroy ZAFT's army using a weapon of mass destruction hidden underneath the Alaska base.

Kira goes to Alaska with the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, a highly advanced, nuclear powered, and Neutron Jammer proof ZAFT mobile suit stolen by the PLANT pop star Coordinator Lacus Clyne, daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne. Using the Freedom, Kira is able to help the Archangel flee the destruction of the Alaska base. The Archangel flees to the neutral country of the Orb Union. The Archangel and a new ship, the Orb Union ship Kusanagi leave Earth for space where they then join Lacus Clyne's rebel faction and their stolen ZAFT battleship, the Eternal (meant to carry the Freedom and Justice mobile suits) to form the Three Ships Alliance with the common goal of ending the war between the Naturals and Coordinators. In the midst of the conflict, Athrun learns that Kira survived and searches for him under orders to recover the Freedom Gundam, and is given an equally powerful prototype, the ZGMF-X09A Justice. However, after learning of Patrick Zala's, Athrun's father and the radical militant faction leader of the PLANT Supreme Council, plan to commit genocide, Athrun deserts him and joins the Three Ships Alliance. In a final battle, the Earth Forces deploys nuclear weapons equipped with Neutron Jammer Canceler technology copied from stolen data on the Freedom and Justice Gundam's power systems. The Earth Forces intend to destroy the PLANT space colonies but are stopped by ZAFT's GENESIS, a nuclear pumped gamma ray laser designed to commit genocide on the Naturals. The Three Ship Alliance intervenes to defeat the GENESIS weapon ending the battle. The war ultimately ends as a peace treaty is signed.

Development
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED was directed by Mitsuo Fukuda (Future GPX Cyber Formula and Gear Fighter Dendoh) with music by Toshihiko Sahashi. A long time Gundam fan, Fukuda met the president of Sunrise in order let him work in his anime series based on the franchise, stating he had no previous experience with it. Shortly afterwards, the staff members from Sunrise believed Fukuda was worthy of directing the new Gundam anime. Fukuda conceived SEED as one of the biggest projects in his career, noting that it was difficult for him as a result as he worked under pressure. However, when the series started, Fukuda was relieved that it had strong ratings and merchandising . In the making of the series, Fukuda first wrote an idea for the premise and the use of mechas fighting. In order to write human drama, Fukuda conceived the idea of the struggle between two kind of races, the Naturals and the Coordinators who would be explored in the television series which was inspired by Yoshiyuki Tomino's Newtype concept from the first Gundam series. While the narrative of SEED often makes parallels with Tomino's Gundam, Fukuda wanted SEED to feature a more "modern war" setting. The producer of the series suggested using the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan as a reference to explore the concept of war. Some areas from the storyboards were scrapped because the staff found the original plot to be too violent.

When the series started development, Fukuda noticed the world was in chaos as a result of the September 11 attacks. This influenced the themes of Gundam SEED featuring anti-war movement themes through the pacifist Kira Yamato; Fukuda based hime concept of an Islamic soldier fighting in the US military. The setting in which the mechanics that appear are powered by electricity was influenced by Gear Fighter Dendoh which Fukuda previously directed, and when it came to handling the Gundam, he focused on its aspect as a symbol of the character piloting it.

The series was first announced in June 2002, while a trailer was available in September on the series' official website. A total of eight writers were in charge of the series. The characters were designed by Hisashi Hirai, while the mechanical designs were made by Kunio Okawara and Kimitoshi Yamane. Mobile Suit Gundam planning manager Koichi Inoue stated that the staff making Gundam SEED was a new and young team that would continue working with following Gundam series. Inoue, however, would work with anime based on the original Gundam series.

Fukuda stated that Gundam SEED was initially told from Kira's point of view, but deeper into the series the point of view would shift to other characters. His main focus with the series was to entertain the audience, pointing out that the drama would develop through the series in a similar vein to previous Gundam series. The first part worked on was the plot followed by action sequences, stating that the human characters were more important than the combat sequences. In retrospect, Fukuda said that Kira's wish to fight was forced upon him stemming from his desire to protect his friends. Moreover, he considered these actions as being based on Japanese thoughts.

Anime
The series premiered in Japan on the terrestrial Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System networks, where it occupied the Saturday 6 pm timeslot, replacing Ultraman Cosmos. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED aired between October 5, 2002, and September 27, 2003. Each episode was streamed on the Internet the day after broadcast, for users subscribing to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone services, in Windows Media or Real format. The series was sold in Japan as thirteen DVD volumes released from March 28, 2003 to March 26, 2004. On March 26, 2004, a five-minute epilogue called After Phase: In the Valley of Stars was released on the thirteenth and final DVD of the Japanese release. A DVD box set of the series was released on February 23, 2010. A fifty-episode sequel titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny aired in Japan from October 9, 2004 to October 1, 2005, airing on the same stations as Gundam SEED. Gundam SEED Destiny takes place two years after the original series and follows Shinn Asuka, focusing mainly on his involvement in the new war.

An HD remaster edition of the series was confirmed in August 2011 although Mitsuo Fukuda stated it was leaked information and that the official information would come in the next few days. In November 2011, Bandai announced the release of the series in four Blu-ray compilations between March and December 2012. The HD version was first streamed on the Bandai Channel website in December 2011 and aired in Japan between January and November 2012.

Bandai Entertainment licensed the animation of Gundam SEED on February 15, 2004, and it began airing in the United States and Canada that same year. The English adaptation was produced in association with The Ocean Group and the English-language dub was recorded at Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The series was released on ten DVDs in bilingual format between August 10, 2004, and May 10, 2005. The epilogue was not released on the North American DVD release because it was not licensed to Bandai Entertainment by Sunrise; however, it was released on the final European DVD release. Beez Entertainment also published the series in ten DVDs from June 13, 2005 to March 6, 2006. A two part box set called the "Anime Legends Edition" was released on January 8, 2008, and March 4, 2008, with each set containing five DVDs.

On October 11, 2014, at their 2014 New York Comic Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be re-releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. On August 11, 2017, at their 2017 Otakon panel, Sunrise announced that they will be releasing the HD remaster of SEED in North America with a brand new English dub produced by NYAV Post. It was released on December 1, 2020.

Films
A three-part film compilation of the television series has been released as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Special Edition. Each compilation film is 90 minutes long and retells the story of Gundam SEED, with additional and altered scenes from the TV series. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny followed the same formula in four compilation films as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition. They were released from August 27 to October 22 during 2004 in DVD format. The three films were re-released alongside the four films from Gundam SEED Destiny on February 25, 2010. Gundam SEED: Special Edition has been licensed for North America by Bandai Entertainment and was released on DVDs in English, between July 11, 2005, and November 22, 2005. A DVD box of the three films was released by Bandai on November 26, 2008 under the title of "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Complete Feature Collection".

In addition, a new film entitled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom was released in January 2024.

Soundtracks
The music from the series is composed by Toshihiko Sahashi with CDs published by Victor Entertainment. Notable artists who sang opening and ending themes for the series include Nami Tamaki, who was fourteen years old when the third opening theme was used, and T.M. Revolution, who also provided the voice for the character, Miguel Aiman, under the artist's real name, Takanori Nishikawa. Four original soundtracks were released between December 4, 2002 and December 16, 2004. They include background music, insert themes as well as some opening and ending themes. Symphony SEED -Symphonic Suit Mobile Suit Gundam SEED- is a collaboration album between Mobile Suit Gundam SEED music and the London Symphony Orchestra released on May 8, 2004 containing a total of ten tracks. A compilation DVD, featuring four music videos from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, was released on May 24, 2006 under the title Mobile Suit Gundam SEED & SEED DESTINY Clipping 4 Songs. Five character CDs with themes performed by the Japanese voice actors were released between March 21, 2003 and July 23, 2003. Two compilation albums have also been released: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED COMPLETE BEST was released on November 22, 2006, featuring thirteen tracks. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED ~ SEED DESTINY BEST "THE BRIDGE" Across the Songs from GUNDAM SEED & SEED DESTINY is a two-CD compilation of ending themes, insert and character songs from Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. All the songs from Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny by T.M.Revolution were collected in a CD titled X42S-REVOLUTION, released on March 24, 2010. The limited edition version includes a DVD with music videos from the anime series. Two other CD singles were released during 2012 featuring the new theme songs from the HD rerelease of Gundam SEED.

Manga
A manga series was written by Masatsugu Iwase based on the events from the anime series. It was published in five tankōbon volumes from March 20, 2003 to January 21, 2005 by Kodansha. The English version was published in North America by Del Rey Manga who licensed it in January 2004 as one of their first titles, and released between April 27, 2004 and August 30, 2005. Another spin-off series is Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray, written by Tomohiro Chiba and illustrated by Kōichi Tokita, which focused on the three MBF-P0x mobile suit prototypes and their respective pilots and organizations. It was published in three tankōbon volumes from April 28, 2003 to February 26, 2004 by Kadokawa Shoten. The English release was announced by Tokyopop in December 2003. The volumes were released between May 11, 2004 and November 9, 2004. A one-volume manga titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED featuring SUIT CD (機動戦士ガンダムSEED featuring SUIT CD) was written by Yasushi Yamaguchi and released on January 22, 2005 by Kadokawa. In 2012, Kadokawa released a new manga series titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Re by Juu Ishiguchi. The manga retells the events from the television series. It was cancelled in 2015. It was partially collected into three tankobon volumes.

Two more side stories titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray R and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray were created. Toda Yasunari replaced Tokita as the illustrator in the former, while Tokita reprised his role in the latter. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray R follows the adventures of the Red Frame's pilot Lowe and his Junk Guild associates and interlocks with the events of the original Astray-series. It spanned four volumes published from March 20, 2003 to August 26, 2004. The English volumes published by TokyoPop were released from February 8, 2005 to November 8, 2005. Gundam SEED X Astray is about Canard Pars, who is a failed experiment from the Ultimate Coordinator program. Canard is searching for Kira Yamato, the successful Ultimate Coordinator, so that he can defeat him and prove he was not a "failure". Two volumes were published for the series in May and October, 2005. TokyoPop published its two volumes on October 31, 2006 and February 27, 2007. There was a "photo novel" side story titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray B which was illustrated by Toda Yasunari. A single volume from the series was published on August 31, 2005 and follows Gai Murakumo and his fellow Serpent Tail mercenaries.

There is yonkoma series titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Club Yonkoma that parodies the events from both Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. The comics were a joint venture between Sunrise's official Gundam SEED fan club and Newtype Japanese magazine. Kadokawa Shoten released the first publications of the yonkoma on August 8, 2005.

Light novels
A light novel adaptation of the TV series was authored by Riu Goto. It was originally a supplement of Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko with illustrations by Ogasawara Tomofumi. The stories were eventually published in five volumes by Kadokawa Shoten with the first one in March 2003 and the fifth in January 2004. Tokyopop released the first three light novels in North America from October 11, 2005 to May 9, 2006. Two light novels volumes from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray spin-off series were also authored by Tomohiro Chiba and published by Kadokawa on September 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004.

Video games
Video games have been released based on the anime series: Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. II for arcades, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Tomo to Kimi to Senjou de (機動戦士ガンダムSEED: 友と君と戦場で) and Gundam Seed: Battle Assault for the Game Boy Advance,  Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T., Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Never Ending Tomorrow, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny: Generation of CE, and Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. 2 Plus for PlayStation 2,   A PlayStation Portable game was also released under the title of Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. Portable as well as a mobile phone game, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Phase-Act Delivery. Artdink developed the first PlayStation Vita Gundam game, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny (機動戦士ガンダムSEED BATTLE DESTINY). Released on June 7, 2012, the game covers events from both Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny.

Characters from Gundam SEED have been featured in Gundam crossover games. These include Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next, the SD Gundam G series and a few games from the Gundam Battle Assault series, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3. Other crossover games featuring them are games from the Super Robot Wars series as well as Another Century's Episode 3 and Another Century's Episode: R.

Other merchandise
Guidebooks have been released for Gundam SEED such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Ultimate Super Encyclopedia (決定版　機動戦士ガンダムSEED超百科) on July 10, 2003. Two official guidebooks were released in Japan on July 18, 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Photos Freedom Kira (機動戦士ガンダムSEED写真集 FREEDOMキラ) and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Photos Justice Athrun (機動戦士ガンダムSEED写真集 JUSTICEアスラン) focus on Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala respectively. In the same year, a series of guidebooks with the label of "Official File" were released in Japan. A guidebook titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED – All Characters Analysis (僕たちの好きなガンダムSEED 全キャラクター徹底解析編) was published on April 19, 2004, featuring an extensive analysis on the storyline and characters. A more detailed guidebook, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Perfect Archive Series (僕たちの好きなガンダムSEED PERFECT ARCHIVE SERIES), featuring articles on the characters, technology and universe was published in March 2006. An artbook titled Mobile Suit Gundam SEED RGB Illustrations (機動戦士ガンダムSEED RGB ILLUSTRATIONS) was released on July 26, 2004.

Reception
The show has become one of the most popular of the Gundam series in Japan, enjoying high television ratings and DVD sales. In April 2004, Bandai Visual announced that one million copies of the Gundam SEED DVD had been sold in Japan, with the first volume having sold over 100,000 copies. In total, the series set a record of making eight DVDs appearing in the first eight top sales. The same record was repeated in 2016 by Mr. Osomatsu. CDs sales have also been high with the single CD from the series' first ending theme becoming one of the top-selling CDs in Japan during 2002. By July 2004, 10 million plastic Gundam SEED models had been sold worldwide.

Jerry Chu, marketing manager for Bandai Entertainment Inc., stated the response to Gundam SEED has been highly positive, having broken rating records when it first aired in Japan. Chu added that reaction in the United States was the most enthusiastic Bandai received in the last six years. According to the analyst John Oppliger of AnimeNation Gundam SEED became the first Gundam series which was widely successful not only among "Gundam fans and hardcore otaku" but also among "mainstream, casual Japanese viewers". Gundam SEED was the eighth TV Feature Award winner at the Animation Kobe Awards in 2003. It was the third winner at the Japanese Otaku Awards in 2003. It won Animage's twenty-fifth Anime Grand Prix award winner in 2002, with the characters of Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne topping the male and female anime categories, respectively. It topped the charts in the Newtype magazine reader poll during 2004. However, the show was not well received by older Japanese fans. In February 2004, Sunrise's president, Takayuki Yoshii, stated it was because Gundam SEED incorporated elements from popular live-action television dramas. On the other hand, Bandai Visual reported in April 2004 that Gundam SEED had a wide audience, including both young and older viewers.

Gundam SEED has been praised for being a stand-out in a long line of Gundam series with Anime News Network's Paul Fargo calling it "the best of the alternative timelines, but stands as one of the best Gundam titles". The story has been praised for its battle sequences as well as its character-driven scenes, neither of which were reviewed to have detracted emphasis from the other. The series was noted to "downshift" in pace from its early episodes as the main characters development began to progress along political themes, which appealed to some audiences. Early in the series, speculations were made with regard to the progress the characters' relationships. The relationship between Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala earned praise as it resulted in entertaining action scenes between their mobile suits, while in later reviews speculation arose as to whether the two would become allies.

The climax has been praised for bringing unexpected inclusions within the war, as well as revelations regarding the characters' roles. A common comment among writers was that Gundam SEED blended elements from previous Gundam series and displayed it in a fast-paced way, making it enjoyable to younger fans but still engaging older fans familiar with previous series. DVD Verdict writer Mitchell Hattaway further noted that while it used elements from other anime series, it still "drew [him] in so quickly [he] soon found [himself] wrapped up in the proceedings". Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network stated that Gundam SEED adapted the original Mobile Suit Gundam series from 1979 for a modern audience in the same way Mobile Suit Gundam 00 would adapt Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Bamboo Dong from the same site stated that while this caused the appearance of "hardcore anti-Gundam Seed zealots" who criticized the series for these traits, it was nevertheless entertaining to watch and give anime fans a step into the "Gundam fandom".

The quality of the animation led THEM Anime Reviews' Derrick L. Tucker to call it "by-and-far the best of any Gundam Series to date". Additionally, the soundtrack was popular for bringing popular J-pop artists such as Nami Tamaki and T.M. Revolution to perform the theme songs. The casting of many talented voice actors, such as Rie Tanaka, Seki Tomokazu and Houko Kuwashima, provided the emotional depth in scenes that required it. The English dub was reviewed favorably for the most part but comparisons between the English and original Japanese dubbing revealed weaknesses in the portrayal of the characters.

In the NHK's 2018 mega "All Gundam Poll", Mobile Suit Gundam SEED was place as the third best anime in the Gundam franchise, only behind the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.

Controversy
The sixteenth episode of Gundam SEED features a scene in which Kira Yamato is seen dressing after getting out of a bed where the teenage girl Flay Allster lies sleeping naked, suggesting a sexual relationship. The Japanese Commission for Better Broadcasting reported that viewers filed complaints regarding the scene as the show was aired at 6 pm when children would be watching. Mainichi replied by mentioning it should have given more careful consideration to the episode before airing it. The scene was extended in one of the compilation films with John Oppliger noting it expanded the off-screen scene with three shots.

title: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED


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Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play

The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best non-musical play that has appeared on Broadway in a previous production, or which is determined to be a "classic" or in the historical or popular repertoire despite not having been produced on Broadway. The award goes to the producers of the play. In addition, as of 2019, authors are also eligible for the award for shows that are considered revivals but that have not previously appeared on Broadway.

Winners and nominees
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Multiple wins

 * 3 wins
 * Death of a Salesman

 * 2 wins
 * A View from the Bridge

Multiple nominations

 * 4 Nominations
 * A View from the Bridge

 * 3 Nominations
 * Death of a Salesman
 * The Iceman Cometh

 * 2 Nominations
 * Ah, Wilderness!
 * All My Sons
 * American Buffalo
 * The Best Man
 * Betrayal
 * The Crucible
 * A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
 * A Doll's House
 * Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
 * Inherit the Wind

 * The Little Foxes
 * Long Day's Journey into Night
 * The Merchant of Venice
 * A Moon for the Misbegotten
 * Morning's at Seven
 * Noises Off
 * Present Laughter
 * The Price
 * A Raisin in the Sun
 * Twelfth Night
 * Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play


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Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. In 1966, Friedan co-founded and was elected the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), which aimed to bring women "into the mainstream of American society now [in] fully equal partnership with men.”

In 1970, after stepping down as NOW's first president, Friedan organized the nationwide Women's Strike for Equality on August 26, the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote. The national strike was successful beyond expectations in broadening the feminist movement; the march led by Friedan in New York City alone attracted over 50,000 people.

In 1971, Friedan joined other leading feminists to establish the National Women's Political Caucus. Friedan was also a strong supporter of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution that passed the United States House of Representatives (by a vote of 354–24) and Senate (84–8) following intense pressure by women's groups led by NOW in the early 1970s. Following Congressional passage of the amendment, Friedan advocated ratification of the amendment in the states and supported other women's rights reforms: she founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws but was later critical of the abortion-centered positions of many liberal feminists.

Regarded as an influential author and intellectual in the United States, Friedan remained active in politics and advocacy until the late 1990s, authoring six books. As early as the 1960s Friedan was critical of polarized and extreme factions of feminism that attacked groups such as men and homemakers. One of her later books, The Second Stage (1981), critiqued what Friedan saw as the extremist excesses of some feminists.

Early life
Friedan was born Bettye Naomi Goldstein on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois, to Harry and Miriam (Horwitz) Goldstein, whose Jewish families were from Russia and Hungary. Harry owned a jewelry store in Peoria, and Miriam wrote for the society page of a newspaper when Friedan's father fell ill. Her mother's new life outside the home seemed much more gratifying.

As a young girl, Friedan was active in both Marxist and Jewish circles; she later wrote how she felt isolated from the latter community at times, and felt her "passion against injustice ... originated from my feelings of the injustice of anti-Semitism". She attended Peoria High School, and became involved in the school newspaper. When her application to write a column was turned down, she and six other friends launched a literary magazine called Tide, which discussed home life rather than school life.

Friedan attended the women's Smith College in 1938. She won a scholarship prize in her first year for outstanding academic performance. In her second year, she became interested in poetry and had many poems published in campus publications. In 1941, she became editor-in-chief of SCAN (Smith College Associated News). The editorials became more political under her leadership, taking a strong antiwar stance and occasionally causing controversy. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1942 with a major in psychology. She lived in Chapin House during her time at Smith.

In 1943 she spent a year at the University of California, Berkeley on a fellowship for graduate work in psychology with Erik Erikson. She became more politically active, continuing to mix with Marxists (many of her friends were investigated by the FBI). In her memoirs, she claimed that her boyfriend at the time had pressured her into turning down a Ph.D. fellowship for further study and abandoning her academic career.

Before 1963
After leaving Berkeley, Betty became a journalist for leftist and labor union publications. Between 1943 and 1946 she wrote for Federated Press and between 1946 and 1952 she worked for the United Electrical Workers' UE News. One of her assignments was to report on the House Un-American Activities Committee.

By then married, Friedan was dismissed from the union newspaper UE News in 1952 because she was pregnant with her second child. After leaving UE News she became a freelance writer for various magazines, including Cosmopolitan.

According to Friedan biographer Daniel Horowitz, Friedan started as a labor journalist when she first became aware of women's oppression and exclusion, although Friedan herself disputed this interpretation of her work.

The Feminine Mystique
For her 15th college reunion in 1957 Friedan conducted a survey of college graduates, focusing on their education, subsequent experiences and satisfaction with their current lives. She started publishing articles about what she called "the problem that has no name", and got passionate responses from many housewives grateful that they were not alone in experiencing this problem.

"The shores are strewn with the casualties of the feminine mystique. They did give up their own education to put their husbands through college, and then, maybe against their own wishes, ten or fifteen years later, they were left in the lurch by divorce. The strongest were able to cope more or less well, but it wasn't that easy for a woman of forty-five or fifty to move ahead in a profession and make a new life for herself and her children or herself alone."

Friedan then decided to rework and expand this topic into a book, The Feminine Mystique. Published in 1963, it depicted the roles of women in industrial societies, especially the full-time homemaker role which Friedan deemed stifling. In her book, Friedan described a depressed suburban housewife who dropped out of college at the age of 19 to get married and raise four children. She spoke of her own 'terror' at being alone, wrote that she had never once in her life seen a positive female role-model who worked outside the home and also kept a family, and cited numerous cases of housewives who felt similarly trapped. From her psychological background she criticized Freud's penis envy theory, noting a lot of paradoxes in his work, and offered some answers to women desirous of further education.

The "Problem That Has No Name" was described by Friedan in the beginning of the book:

"The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning [that is, a longing] that women suffered in the middle of the 20th century in the United States. Each suburban [house]wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries ... she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question – 'Is this all?'"

Friedan asserted that women are as capable as men for any type of work or any career path against arguments to the contrary by the mass media, educators and psychologists. Her book was important not only because it challenged hegemonic sexism in US society but because it differed from the general emphasis of 19th- and early 20th-century arguments for expanding women's education, political rights, and participation in social movements. While "first-wave" feminists had often shared an essentialist view of women's nature and a corporatist view of society, claiming that women's suffrage, education, and social participation would increase the incidence of marriage, make women better wives and mothers, and improve national and international health and efficiency,  Friedan based women's rights in what she called "the basic human need to grow, man's will to be all that is in him to be". The restrictions of the 1950s, and the trapped, imprisoned feeling of many women forced into these roles, spoke to American women who soon began attending consciousness-raising sessions and lobbying for the reform of oppressive laws and social views that restricted females.

The book became a bestseller, which many historians believe was the impetus for the "second wave" of the women's movement in the United States, and significantly shaped national and world events.

Friedan originally intended to write a sequel to The Feminine Mystique, which was to be called Woman: The Fourth Dimension, but instead only wrote an article by that title, which appeared in the Ladies' Home Journal in June 1964.

Other works
Friedan published six books. Her other books include The Second Stage, It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women's Movement, Beyond Gender and The Fountain of Age. Her autobiography, Life so Far, was published in 2000.

She also wrote for magazines and a newspaper:
 * Columns in McCall's magazine, 1971–1974
 * Writings for The New York Times Magazine, Newsday, Harper's, Saturday Review, Mademoiselle, Ladies' Home Journal, Family Circle, TV Guide, and True.

National Organization for Women
In 1966 Friedan co-founded, and became the first president of the National Organization for Women. Some of the founders of NOW, including Friedan, were inspired by the failure of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; at the Third National Conference of State Commissions on the Status of Women they were prohibited from issuing a resolution that recommended the EEOC carry out its legal mandate to end sex discrimination in employment. They thus gathered in Friedan's hotel room to form a new organization. On a paper napkin Friedan scribbled the acronym "NOW". Later more people became founders of NOW at the October 1966 NOW Organizing Conference. Friedan, with Pauli Murray, wrote NOW's statement of purpose; the original was scribbled on a napkin by Friedan. Under Friedan, NOW fiercely advocated the legal equality of women and men.

NOW lobbied for enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the first two major legislative victories of the movement, and forced the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to stop ignoring, and start treating with dignity and urgency, claims filed involving sex discrimination. They successfully campaigned for a 1967 Executive Order extending the same affirmative action granted to blacks to women, and for a 1968 EEOC decision ruling illegal sex-segregated help want ads, later upheld by the Supreme Court. NOW was vocal in support of the legalization of abortion, an issue that divided some feminists. Also divisive in the 1960s among women was the Equal Rights Amendment, which NOW fully endorsed; by the 1970s, women and labor unions opposed to ERA warmed up to it and began to support it fully. NOW also lobbied for national daycare.

NOW also helped women get equal access to public places. For example, the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel in New York held men-only lunches on weekdays until 1969, when Friedan and other members of NOW staged a protest.

Despite the success NOW achieved under Friedan, her decision to pressure Equal Employment Opportunity to use Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to enforce more job opportunities among American women met with fierce opposition within the organization. Siding with arguments from the group's African American members, many of NOW's leaders accepted that the vast number of male and female African Americans who lived below the poverty line needed more job opportunities than women within the middle and upper class. Friedan stepped down as president in 1969.

In 1973, Friedan founded the First Women's Bank and Trust Company.

Women's Strike for Equality
In 1970 NOW, with Friedan leading the cause, was instrumental in the U.S. Senate's rejection of President Richard M. Nixon's Supreme Court nominee G. Harrold Carswell, who had opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act granting (among other things) women workplace equality with men. On August 26, 1970, the 50th anniversary of the Women's Suffrage Amendment to the Constitution, Friedan organized the national Women's Strike for Equality, and led a march of an estimated 20,000 women in New York City. While the march's primary objective was promoting equal opportunities for women in jobs and education, protestors and organizers of the event also demanded abortion rights and the establishment of child-care centers.

Friedan spoke about the Strike for Equality:

"All kinds of women's groups all over the country will be using this week on August 26 particularly, to point out those areas in women's life which are still not addressed. For example, a question of equality before the law; we are interested in the equal rights amendment. The question of child care centers which are totally inadequate in the society, and which women require, if they are going to assume their rightful position in terms of helping in decisions of the society. The question of a women's right to control her own reproductive processes, that is, laws prohibiting abortion in the state or putting them into criminal statutes; I think that would be a statute that we would [be] addressing ourselves to."

So I think individual women will react differently; some will not cook that day, some will engage in dialog with their husband[s], some will be out at the rallies and demonstrations that will be taking place all over the country. Others will be writing things that will help them to define where they want to go. Some will be pressuring their Senators and their Congressmen to pass legislations that affect women. I don't think you can come up with any one point, women will be doing their own thing in their own way.

National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws

Friedan founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, renamed National Abortion Rights Action League after the Supreme Court had legalized abortion in 1973.

Politics
In 1970 Friedan led other feminists in derailing the nomination of Supreme Court nominee G. Harrold Carswell, whose record of racial discrimination and antifeminism made him unacceptable and unfit to sit on the highest court in the land to virtually everyone in the civil rights and feminist movements. Friedan's impassioned testimony before the Senate helped sink Carswell's nomination.

In 1971 Friedan, along with many other leading women's movement leaders, including Gloria Steinem (with whom she had a legendary rivalry) founded the National Women's Political Caucus.

In 1972, Friedan unsuccessfully ran as a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention in support of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. That year at the DNC Friedan played a very prominent role and addressed the convention, although she clashed with other women, notably Steinem, on what should be done there, and how.

Movement image and unity
One of the most influential feminists of the twentieth century, Friedan (in addition to many others) opposed equating feminism with lesbianism. As early as 1964, very early in the movement, and only a year after the publication of The Feminine Mystique, Friedan appeared on television to address the fact the media was, at that point, trying to dismiss the movement as a joke and centering argument and debate around whether or not to wear bras and other issues considered ridiculous. In 1982, after the second wave, she wrote a book for the post-feminist 1980s called The Second Stage, about family life, premised on women having conquered social and legal obstacles.

She pushed the feminist movement to focus on economic issues, especially equality in employment and business as well as provision for child care and other means by which both women and men could balance family and work. She tried to lessen the focuses on abortion, as an issue already won, and on rape and pornography, which she believed most women did not consider to be high priorities.

Lesbian politics
When she grew up in Peoria, Illinois, she knew only one gay man. She said, "the whole idea of homosexuality made me profoundly uneasy." She later acknowledged that she had been very square, and was uncomfortable about homosexuality. "The women's movement was not about sex, but about equal opportunity in jobs and all the rest of it. Yes, I suppose you have to say that freedom of sexual choice is part of that, but it shouldn't be the main issue". She ignored lesbians in the National Organization for Women (NOW) initially, and objected to what she saw as their demands for equal time. "Homosexuality ... is not, in my opinion, what the women's movement is all about." While opposing all repression, she wrote, she refused to wear a purple armband as an act of political solidarity, considering it not part of the mainstream issues of abortion and child care.

But in 1977, at the National Women's Conference, she seconded a lesbian rights resolution "which everyone thought I would oppose" in order to "preempt any debate" and move on to other issues she believed were more important and less divisive in the effort to add the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution. She accepted lesbian sexuality, albeit not its politicization. In 1995, at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, she found advice given by Chinese authorities to taxi drivers that naked lesbians would be "cavorting" in their cars so that the drivers should hang sheets outside their cab windows, and that lesbians would have AIDS and so drivers should carry disinfectants, to be "ridiculous", "incredibly stupid" and "insulting". In 1997, she wrote that "children ... will ideally come from mother and father." She wrote in 2000, "I'm more relaxed about the whole issue now."

Abortion choice
She supported the concept that abortion is a woman's choice, that it shouldn't be a crime or exclusively a doctor's choice or anyone else involved, and helped form NARAL (now NARAL Pro-Choice America) at a time when Planned Parenthood wasn't yet supportive. Alleged death threats against her speaking on abortion led to the cancellation of two events, although subsequently one of the host institutions, Loyola College, invited her back to speak on abortion and other homosexual rights issues and she did so. Her draft of NOW's first statement of purpose included an abortion plank, but NOW didn't include it until the next year.

In 1980, she believed abortion should be in the context of "the choice to have children", a formulation supported by the Roman Catholic priest organizing Catholic participation in the White House Conference on Families for that year, though perhaps not by the bishops above him. A resolution embodying the formulation passed at the conference by 460 to 114, whereas a resolution addressing abortion, ERA and "sexual preference" passed by only 292–291 and that only after 50 opponents of abortion had walked out and so hadn't voted on it. She disagreed with a resolution that framed abortion in more feminist terms that was introduced in the Minneapolis regional conference resulting from the same White House Conference on Families, believing it to be more polarizing, while the drafters apparently thought Friedan's formulation too conservative.

As of 2000, she wrote, referring to "NOW and the other women's organizations" as seeming to be in a "time warp", "to my mind, there is far too much focus on abortion. ... [I]n recent years I've gotten a little uneasy about the movement's narrow focus on abortion as if it were the single, all-important issue for women when it's not". She asked, "Why don't we join forces with all who have true reverence for life, including Catholics who oppose abortion, and fight for the choice to have children?"

Pornography
She joined nearly 200 others in Feminists for Free Expression in opposing the Pornography Victims' Compensation Act. "To suppress free speech in the name of protecting women is dangerous and wrong," said Friedan. "Even some blue-jean ads are insulting and denigrating. I'm not adverse to a boycott, but I don't think they should be suppressed."

War
In 1968, Friedan signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.

Gun Violence
Friedan cofounded WoMen Against Gun Violence with Ann Reiss Lane in 1994.

Influence
Friedan is credited for starting the contemporary feminist movement and writing a book that is one of the cornerstones of American feminism. Her activist work and her book The Feminine Mystique have been a critical influence to authors, educators, writers, anthropologists, journalists, activists, organizations, unions, and everyday women taking part in the feminist movement. Allan Wolf, in The Mystique of Betty Friedan writes: "She helped to change not only the thinking but the lives of many American women, but recent books throw into question the intellectual and personal sources of her work." Although there have been some debates on Friedan's work in The Feminine Mystique since its publication, there is no doubt that her work for equality for women was sincere and committed.

Judith Hennessee (Betty Friedan: Her Life) and Daniel Horowitz, a professor of American Studies at Smith College, have also written about Friedan. Horowitz explored Friedan's engagement with the women's movement before she began to work on The Feminine Mystique and pointed out that Friedan's feminism did not start in the 1950s but even earlier, in the 1940s. Focusing his study on Friedan's ideas in feminism rather than on her personal life Horowitz's book gave Friedan a major role in the history of American feminism.

Justine Blau was also greatly influenced by Friedan. In Betty Friedan: Feminist Blau wrote of the feminist movement's influence on Friedan's personal and professional life. Lisa Fredenksen Bohannon, in Woman's work: The story of Betty Friedan, went deep into Friedan's personal life and wrote about her relationship with her mother. Sandra Henry and Emily Taitz (Betty Friedan, Fighter for Woman's Rights) and Susan Taylor Boyd (Betty Friedan: Voice of Woman's Right, Advocates of Human Rights), wrote biographies on Friedan's life and works. Journalist Janann Sheman wrote a book called Interviews with Betty Friedan containing interviews with Friedan for The New York Times, Working Women and Playboy, among others. Focusing on interviews that relate to Friedan's views on men, women and the American Family, Sheman traced Friedan's life with an analysis of The Feminine Mystique.

Friedan (among others) was featured in the 2013 documentary Makers: Women Who Make America, about the women's movement.

In 2014, a biography of Friedan was added to the American National Biography Online (ANB).

Personality
The New York Times obituary for Friedan noted that she was "famously abrasive", and that she could be "thin-skinned and imperious, subject to screaming fits of temperament".

Media focus would fall on feminists grading each other on personality and appearance, the source of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem's well-documented antipathy. In February 2006, shortly after Friedan's death, the feminist writer Germaine Greer published an article in The Guardian, in which she described Friedan as pompous and egotistic, somewhat demanding and sometimes selfish, citing several incidents during a 1972 tour of Iran.

Indeed, Carl Friedan had been quoted as saying "She changed the course of history almost singlehandedly. It took a driven, super aggressive, egocentric, almost lunatic dynamo to rock the world the way she did. Unfortunately, she was that same person at home, where that kind of conduct doesn't work. She simply never understood this."

Writer Camille Paglia, who had been denounced by Friedan in a Playboy interview, wrote a brief obituary for her in Entertainment Weekly:

Personal life
She married Carl Friedan (Friedman), a theater producer, in 1947 while working at UE News. She continued to work after marriage; first as a paid employee and, after 1952, as a freelance journalist. The couple divorced in May 1969, and Carl died in December 2005.

Friedan stated in her memoir Life So Far (2000) that Carl had beaten her during their marriage; friends such as Dolores Alexander recalled having to cover up black eyes from Carl's abuse in time for press conferences (Brownmiller 1999, p. 70). Carl denied abusing her in an interview with Time magazine shortly after the book was published, describing the claim as a "complete fabrication". She later said, on Good Morning America, "I almost wish I hadn't even written about it, because it's been sensationalized out of context. My husband was not a wife-beater, and I was no passive victim of a wife-beater. We fought a lot, and he was bigger than me."

Carl and Betty Friedan had three children, Daniel, Emily and Jonathan. She was raised in a Jewish family, but was an agnostic. In 1973, Friedan was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II.

Death
Friedan died of congestive heart failure at her home in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 2006, her 85th birthday.

Papers
Some of Friedan's papers are held at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Awards and honors

 * Honorary doctorate of humane letters from Smith College (1975)
 * Humanist of the Year from the American Humanist Association (1975)
 * Mort Weisinger Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (1979)
 * From 1981 to 1983, Bonnie Tiburzi put on three “Women of Accomplishment” luncheons for the Wings Club honoring certain women, including Friedan.
 * Honorary doctorate of humane letters from the State University at Stony Brook (1985)
 * Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Award (1989)
 * Honorary doctorate of humane letters from Bradley University (1991)
 * Induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame (1993)
 * Honorary doctorate of letters from Columbia University (1994)
 * "The 75 Most Important Women of the Past 75 Years" – Glamour magazine listed Friedan as one of them (2014)

In media
Friedan was portrayed by actress Tracey Ullman in the 2020 FX limited series Mrs. America.

Friedan was portrayed in Season 1 Episode 7 of the HBO Max series "Julia". The scene, which takes place at a Public Television gala in New York, depicts a conversation between Friedan and Julia Child, in which Friedan criticizes Child's cooking show on WGBH, suggesting that it harms women.

A fictionalized version of her was a character in the Britney Spears jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time as the 'Original Fairy Godmother' who gives the fairytale princesses 'The Feminine Mystique' to empower themselves. In the show, she is a fairy godmother who was banished from the fairytales and went to live in Flatbush to publish the book.

Books

 * The Feminine Mystique (1963)
 * It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women's Movement (1976)
 * The Second Stage (1981)
 * The Fountain of Age (1993)
 * Beyond Gender (1997)
 * Life So Far (2000)

Obituaries

 * Betty Friedan, philosopher of modern-day feminism, dies – CNN, February 4, 2006.
 * Betty Friedan, Who Ignited Cause in 'Feminine Mystique,' Dies at 85 – The New York Times, February 5, 2006.
 * Anything you can do, Icon do better – Germaine Greer remembers Betty Friedan
 * Anything you can do, Icon do better – Germaine Greer remembers Betty Friedan
 * Anything you can do, Icon do better – Germaine Greer remembers Betty Friedan
 * Anything you can do, Icon do better – Germaine Greer remembers Betty Friedan
 * Anything you can do, Icon do better – Germaine Greer remembers Betty Friedan
 * Anything you can do, Icon do better – Germaine Greer remembers Betty Friedan

title: Betty Friedan


text:
List of mayors of Minneapolis

The Mayor of Minneapolis is the chief executive officer of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, responsible for overseeing the city's administration. As the political and ceremonial leader of the city, the mayor also represents Minneapolis on the state, national, and international levels. The Mayor's Office is located in the Minneapolis City Hall.

History
Minneapolis has had a politically diverse set of mayors since its incorporation. In the years since its incorporation, the political representation in the mayoral office has shifted. The city has seen mayors from the Republican, Democratic, Democratic-Farmer-Labor, Farmer-Labor, and Socialist parties, as well as from unaffiliated backgrounds. Notable historical figures include A.A. "Doc" Ames, known for his multiple terms and controversial tenure, Hubert Humphrey, who later became Vice President of the United States, and Sharon Sayles Belton, the first African American and first woman to hold the office.

Term in office
The term of office for the Mayor of Minneapolis is four years, with no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve. The inauguration of the newly elected mayor takes place in January following the municipal election.

From 1867 to 1878 mayors were elected for a 1-year term. Beginning in 1878 the term was extended to 2 years. The term was extended to 4 years beginning in January 1982, to provide mayors with more time to achieve their programs.

Role
As Minneapolis' chief executive officer, the mayor is tasked with enforcing all municipal laws, overseeing and coordinating the activities of city departments, and drafting and presenting the city budget at the close of each fiscal year. The mayor holds the authority to approve or veto legislation passed by the Minneapolis City Council.

The Mayor's Office, which includes the mayor and several staffers, is involved in information technology, neighborhood and community relations, public safety, public works, racial inclusion, and climate.

Mayor of St. Anthony
St. Anthony was a city that was incorporated into Minneapolis in 1872. From 1855 to 1872, St. Anthony had 13 mayors.

title: List of mayors of Minneapolis


text:
Governor of Georgia

The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legislature, and the power to convene the legislature. The current governor is Republican Brian Kemp, who assumed office on January 14, 2019.

There have officially been 77 governors of the state of Georgia, including 11 who served more than one distinct term (John Houstoun, George Walton, Edward Telfair, George Mathews, Jared Irwin, David Brydie Mitchell, George Rockingham Gilmer, M. Hoke Smith, Joseph Mackey Brown, John M. Slaton, and Eugene Talmadge, with Herman Talmadge serving two de facto distinct terms). The early days were chaotic, with several gaps and schisms in the state's power structure, as the state capital of Savannah was captured during the American Revolutionary War. After independence was achieved, the office was solidly Democratic-Republican until the 1830s, when the office began to be contested by Democrats and Whigs for a few decades. The state seceded and was part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, after which it had several governors appointed by the president of the United States and the military occupation. During Reconstruction, it had two Republican governors, but after local rule was re-established, Democrats would be the only party elected for the next 131 years.

The longest-serving governors are George Busbee, Joe Frank Harris, Zell Miller, Sonny Perdue, and Nathan Deal, each of whom served two full four-year terms; Joseph E. Brown, governor during the Civil War, was elected four times, serving seven and a half years. The shortest term of the post-revolutionary period is that of Matthew Talbot, who served 13 days after succeeding his predecessor who died in office. One man, Eugene Talmadge, died before taking office in his third distinct term, leading to a dispute in which three people claimed the office.

Governors
Georgia was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and ratified the Constitution of the United States on January 2, 1788. It seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861, and was a founding member of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. Following the end of the American Civil War, Georgia during Reconstruction was part of the Third Military District, which exerted control over governor appointments and elections. Georgia was readmitted to the Union on July 25, 1868, expelled from Congress for failures in Reconstruction on March 3, 1869, and again readmitted on July 15, 1870.

Selection and length of term
In Georgia's Rules and Regulations of 1776, considered by some to be the first constitution, the chief executive was a president chosen by the legislature every six months. This was quickly superseded by the 1777 constitution, which called for a governor to be chosen by the legislature each year, with a term limited to one year out of every three. The governor's term was lengthened to two years in the 1789 constitution, and an 1824 amendment provided for popular election of the governor. While the 1861 secessionist constitution kept the office the same, the 1865 constitution, following Georgia's surrender, limited governors to two consecutive terms of two years each, allowing them to serve again after a gap of four years. The Reconstruction constitution of 1868 increased the governor's term to four years. The 1877 constitution, after the end of Reconstruction, returned the office to the provisions of the 1865 constitution. An amendment in 1941 lengthened terms to four years, but governors could no longer succeed themselves, having to wait four years to serve again. The constitution does not specify when terms start, only that the governor is installed at the next session of the General Assembly. The current constitution of 1983 allows governors to succeed themselves once before having to wait four years to serve again.

Qualifications
Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of Georgia must meet the following qualifications:
 * Be at least thirty years of age when sworn in
 * Be a resident of Georgia for at least six years immediately preceding the election
 * Be a United States citizen for at least fifteen years before the election

Vacancy
Originally, in the event of a vacancy, the president of the executive council acted as governor. This was changed in 1798 to the president of the senate. The 1945 constitution created the office of lieutenant governor, who would act as governor if that office became vacant; in 1983, this was changed so that the lieutenant governor now becomes governor in the event of a vacancy.

Three governors controversy
In December 1946, Governor-elect Eugene Talmadge died before assuming office. Talmadge's son, Herman, was appointed governor by the State Legislature. This was challenged by the Lieutenant Governor-elect Melvin Thompson, who maintained that the state constitution authorized him to assume the office upon the death of the governor. Outgoing governor Ellis Arnall announced that he would not relinquish the office until it was clear who the new governor was. The political turmoil that ensued became known as the "three governors controversy". In January 1947, while all three governors occupied different portions of the State Capitol, Secretary of State Ben W. Fortson Jr., took the Great Seal of the State of Georgia and hid it. This prevented any of the claimants to the governorship from executing any business until the Supreme Court of Georgia could make a ruling on the rightful winner. Thompson was eventually declared "acting governor" until a special election could be held to fill the remainder of the original term. Herman Talmadge won the special election and served out the remaining portion of his father's term.

Exceptions and omissions
The revolutionary government was thrown into disarray by the capture of Savannah in 1778, which led to several governments with varying levels of influence; they would reunite in 1780. The Official and Statistical Register of Georgia ignores the Council of Safety of William Ewen in favor of Archibald Bulloch's government, and omits the government of William Glascock and Seth John Cuthbert. The Register includes colonial governors in its numbering, listing Archibald Bulloch as the 7th governor.

Succession
Article V, Section 1, Paragraph V of the Constitution of Georgia provides a plan of succession in the event of the death or incapacitation of the Governor. The first successor would be the Lieutenant Governor, followed by the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives.

General

 * A History of Georgia, second ed. Kenneth Coleman, general editor.  University of Georgia Press: 1991.
 * A History of Georgia, second ed. Kenneth Coleman, general editor.  University of Georgia Press: 1991.
 * A History of Georgia, second ed. Kenneth Coleman, general editor.  University of Georgia Press: 1991.

title: Governor of Georgia


text:
Governor of Hawaii

The governor of Hawaii (Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi) is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state.

The governor is responsible for enforcing laws passed by the Hawaii State Legislature and upholding rulings of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The role includes being commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Hawaii and having the power to use those forces to execute laws, suppress insurrection and violence and repel invasion. The lieutenant governor of Hawaii becomes acting governor upon the officeholder's absence from the state or if the person is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office. Historically, the Governor of Hawaii has been from either the Democratic Party of Hawaii or Hawaii Republican Party.

The current governor of Hawaii is Democrat Josh Green, who assumed the position on December 5, 2022. Hawaii was the first U.S. state to have an Asian American chief executive; George Ariyoshi served three terms between 1974 and 1986.

Qualifications
The governor of Hawaii is limited to two four-year terms. Inauguration takes place on the first Monday in December following a gubernatorial election. A single term ends at noon four years later. There is no lifetime limit on the number of times a governor may be elected, but a governor who has been elected to two consecutive terms must be out of office for at least one election cycle before being eligible once again for re-election. A Governor is:
 * required to be at least 30 years old,
 * required to have been a resident of Hawaii for five consecutive years previous to election,
 * barred from other professions or paid positions during the term.

Authority
The governor and lieutenant governor (running together on the same ticket) are the only two elected statewide executive officers in Hawaii. All other statewide executives (attorney general, auditor, etc.) are appointed by either the governor or the state legislature.

Also, the governor of Hawaii has wide-reaching authority comparably stronger than the other governors in the Union; administrative powers are more centralized than that of most other states with little authority devolved to the counties, and unlike other states there are no local school districts. Included within the governor's sphere of jurisdiction is the power to appoint all judges of the various courts within the Hawaiian judicial system, subject to Senatorial approval.

The state of Hawaii does not have fixed cabinet positions and departments. By law, the governor of Hawaii has the power to create their cabinet and departments as needed as long as the executive department is composed of no more than twenty bodies and cabinet members. The governor of Hawaii is also empowered to remove cabinet officers at will, with the exception of the attorney general of Hawaii, who must be removed by an act of the Hawaii State Senate.

Residence
The governor of Hawaii's official residence was Washington Place, a mansion that was once a minor royal palace of Queen Liliuokalani and her husband, Prince Consort John Owen Dominis. The mansion is located across the street from the Hawaii State Capitol, where the Office of the Governor is located, and is accessed from the Capitol through underground passages beneath Beretania Street in downtown Honolulu. Befitting of its history as a former royal palace, the governors of Hawaii have entertained royal families from around the world at Washington Place including Queen Elizabeth II and Emperors Hirohito and Akihito.

In 2001, the new mansion for the governor was built on the grounds of Washington Place, after the state decided to turn Washington Place into a museum, an idea supported by then-Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano and family. This new mansion: Hale Kia Aina was completed in 2002 and Cayetano became the first governor to live in it for a few days before leaving office. His successor, Governor Linda Lingle, became the first governor to begin a term in the new mansion. Despite the building of this new mansion, Washington Place remains the official residence of the governor and is still used for state dinners and other official functions.

title: Governor of Hawaii


text:
Governor of Illinois

The governor of Illinois is the head of state and head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state. The governor is responsible for enacting laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly. Illinois is one of 13 states that does not have a gubernatorial term-limit along with Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, District of Columbia, Vermont, New Hampshire and Puerto Rico. The governor is commander-in-chief of the state's land, air and sea forces when they are in state service.

The 43rd and current governor is J. B. Pritzker, a Democrat who took office on January 14, 2019.

Qualifications
The term of office of governor of Illinois is 4 years, and there is no limit on the number of terms a governor may serve. Inauguration takes place on the second Monday in January following a gubernatorial election in November. A single term ends four years later. A governor is required to be:

 * at least 25 years old
 * a United States citizen
 * a resident of Illinois for 3 years prior to election

Succession
If the incumbent governor is no longer able or permitted to fulfill the duties of the office of governor, the line of succession is as follows:

Residence
The governor is allowed the occupancy of the Illinois Governor's Mansion in Springfield, the state capital. Its first occupant was Governor Joel Aldrich Matteson, who took residence at the mansion in 1855. It is one of three oldest governor's residences in continuous use in the United States.

The governor is also given the use of two official residences on the state fair grounds, located in Springfield and DuQuoin. The official residence in DuQuoin is Hayes House. Governors have traditionally used these residences part of the year.

However, some governors, such as Rod Blagojevich, have chosen to not use the governor's homes as their primary residence, instead commuting either by car or plane to Springfield from their home cities. Many Chicago-based governors also have done much of their business out of the governor's office in Chicago's James R. Thompson Center, an office building owned by the state named for former governor James R. Thompson (1977–1991) Illinois' longest-serving governor.

title: Governor of Illinois


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Governor of Indiana

The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide executive officers, who manage other state government agencies. The governor works out of the Indiana Statehouse and holds official functions at the Indiana Governor's Residence in the state capital of Indianapolis.

The 51st, and current, governor is Republican Eric Holcomb, who took office on January 9, 2017.

The position of the governor has developed over the course of two centuries. It has become considerably more powerful since the mid-20th century after decades of struggle with the Indiana General Assembly and Indiana Supreme Court to establish the executive branch of the government as an equal third branch of the state government. Although gubernatorial powers were again significantly expanded by constitutional amendments during the 1970s, Indiana governors remain significantly less powerful than their counterparts in most other states.

Authority
The governor's powers are established in Article V of the Constitution of Indiana. Constitutionally, the governor has very limited executive authority to manage the government of the state; most exercisable powers over state agencies are held by independently elected cabinet heads.

The governor works in concert with the state legislature (the bicameral Indiana General Assembly, consisting of the Indiana House of Representatives and the Indiana Senate) and the state supreme court (the Indiana Supreme Court) to govern the state. The governor has the power to veto legislation passed by the General Assembly. If vetoed, a bill is returned to the General Assembly for reconsideration. Unlike other states, most of which require a two-thirds supermajority to override a veto, the Indiana General Assembly may override the veto with an absolute majority vote in both chambers.

One of the governor's most important political powers is the ability to call a special session of the General Assembly. During a two-year period, the assembly can meet on its own for no more than 91 days, and this often prevents them from passing all the legislation they intend to. This can give the governor considerable influence in the body which will often compromise on issues with him in exchange for a special legislative session.

Among his other powers, the governor can call out the state defense force (the Indiana Guard Reserve) or the Indiana National Guard in times of emergency or disaster. The governor is also charged with the enforcement of all the state's laws and the Indiana Code through the Indiana State Police. The governor also has the ability to grant a pardon or commutation of sentence of any person convicted of a crime in the state, except in cases of treason or impeachment.

In addition to constitutional powers, governors also have a considerable degree of statutory authority. Most of the authority exercised by governors on a daily basis is derived from statute, giving the General Assembly a great degree of power to expand or contract the governor's authority. Historically, the party in control of the General Assembly would reassign control of agencies from the governor or to the governor based upon party affiliation, and the party affiliation of the cabinet heads, which at times has left the governor with no direct control over state agencies.

The governor also can influence the state court system through the appointment of judges. In Indiana, when vacancies occur on the Supreme Court, Tax Court, and circuit courts, the Judicial Nominating Commission interviews candidates and sends a list of three candidates for each vacancy to the governor, who chooses one. Justices of the peace and superior courts judges are elected in Indiana; if a vacancy occurs (such as by death or resignation) the governor may make an appointment, who holds the office until the next general election. The authority to make such appointments gives the governor considerable sway in setting the makeup of the judiciary.

The annual salary of the governor of Indiana is US$134,051 (2021). Additionally, he receives $6,000 annually for discretionary spending and expenses.

Requirements
To become governor of Indiana, a candidate must be a citizen of the United States and must have been a resident of the state in which they are running for the period of five consecutive years before the election. The candidate must also be at least 30 years old when sworn into office. The governor may not hold any other state or federal office during his term and must resign from any such position before being eligible to be sworn in as governor. Before taking the office, the candidate must swear an oath of office administered by the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, promising to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States of America and the State of Indiana.

Term limits
The governor serves a four-year term beginning on the date he is sworn into office; inauguration day is the second Monday in January. He remains governor until his successor takes the oath of office. The governor's term can be shorter if he resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated or impeached. There is no limit to how many terms a governor may serve; however, the governor is limited to serving a total of eight years in any 12-year period, equivalent to two full terms. To be eligible to run for a third term, the governor would have to sit out for one election period.

Succession
If the governor becomes incapacitated, then the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana becomes acting governor until his recovery. Only two governors have become incapacitated during their terms, and the current precedent is that the governor's office is to notify the lieutenant governor, who will then make the decision to become acting governor by notifying the General Assembly by letter. The governor can resume his powers and duties by sending a letter to the General Assembly notifying them that he is again capable of executing the duties of office. If the governor resigns, dies, or is impeached, tried, and convicted, then the lieutenant governor ascends as governor. If the office of the lieutenant governor is vacant, then the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes governor. If the office of Senate President Pro Tempore is also vacant, then the Senate must elect a replacement to fill the governor's office.

Residence and offices
The governor maintains an office on the first floor of the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, and from there he manages all of the state's agencies that are under his jurisdiction. He shares the building with the Indiana General Assembly and the Supreme Court of Indiana. The other elected executive officers, including the attorney general and the lieutenant governor, are also located in the statehouse, but most of the state's bureaus are located in the state office building. Traditionally, the governor lives in the Indiana Governor's Residence, also located in Indianapolis; however, former governor Mitchell Daniels' family maintained their private home, using the Governor's Residence only for official functions.

Governors
The first Governor of Indiana, Jonathan Jennings, was elected in August 1816 and assumed office in December of that year. The first capital was in Corydon, and the first three governors maintained homes and offices there. The capital was moved to Indianapolis in December 1824. Governors originally served three-years terms until the constitution was replaced in 1851. The 1851 constitution extended terms to four years but banned governors from serving consecutive terms. The constitution was amended again in 1972 to allow governors to serve consecutive terms but limited them to two consecutive terms at a time.

There have been 51 governors of Indiana. 23 Republicans and 21 Democrats have each held the position. Four have died while in office; seven have resigned. Ten lieutenant governors have succeeded to become governor. James B. Ray has been the only President of the Senate pro tempore to assume the office of governor.

Jonathan Jennings was the first Governor to have an attempted impeachment brought against him in response to his actions as an agent of the federal government during the negotiations of the Treaty of St. Mary's in 1819, illegal under Indiana's constitution. The evidence of his role was destroyed, and after two months of investigation the proceedings were dropped. The only other time was when the General Assembly attempted to bring impeachment proceedings against Governor James B. Ray for a similar action in 1826, but the action was also defeated 28–30.

Three governors were elected Vice President of the United States, two while in office.

Power shifts
Historically, the office of Indiana's governor has been a weaker institution relative to the other branches of state government and also when compared to the role of governors of other U.S. states. During Indiana's territorial period, there was a considerable resentment to the power wielded by the territorial governors, and in response the anti-governor faction, which dominated the constitutional convention, created a weak executive position. The governor was not given complete authority over the militia, his term was set at three years, and most of his actions could be overridden by the General Assembly. The position was steadily weakened by the legislature, and his power was limited further by the constitution of 1851. The governor's authority to choose his own appointments for the state courts was removed, and the ability to appoint his own cabinet was ended. The cabinet was effectively made independent by making them elected popularly. The authority to propose budgets was revoked, and serving consecutive terms was banned. By comparison, the Supreme Court was made almost entirely independent, and the General Assembly assumed many of the powers taken from the governor.

Governors first began to assert their own power during the American Civil War as the General Assembly attempted to remove command of the militia from the governor. In response, the General Assembly was effectively suppressed, during which time the governor assumed many powers to appoint public officials, hire and remove state employees, and manage state finances. When the General Assembly reconvened with a majority sympathetic to the governor, he was permitted to continue many of his assumed powers. In 1889, the General Assembly began to reassert its authority over hiring state employees. The issued ended when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the legislature, again returning to it final authority over hiring state employees. The legislature passed acts in 1895 that removed the last of the governor's authority to appoint anyone to executive positions.

With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the governors again began to reassert authority. The Executive Reorganization Act was passed, returning the governor to a considerable level of appointment power. New state welfare and regulatory agencies were placed directly under the governor's control, greatly expanding his role in running the state and creating many patronage positions. The legislature responded by trying to create a merit system for public offices, but it was largely unable to effectively enforce it given the new scope of government agencies. The battle with the governor continued until 1941 when the legislature rescinded the Executive Reorganization Act and replaced it with the State Administration Act, which placed most of the government under the control of elected commissioners and reduced the governor's practical executive authority to commander of the militia and the executor of legislation. The matter was taken to the Indiana Supreme Court in the case of Tucker v. State. The court ruled for the first time that the governor was in fact the Chief Executive of the state, and that the legislature could pass no law that infringed upon that right. The decision was a major shift from previous court decisions and granted governors a legal basis to resist future encroachment on their powers.

During the 1970s, a series of amendments was passed under popular governors that also increased their powers. The state courts were again made appointive, but the selection of the candidates was granted to the court-dominated Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission. However, the governor was given more control over the process in which he previously had none. Another amendment removed the ban on consecutive terms, allowing Indiana's first consecutive term governors in over one hundred years. A third amendment granted the power to prepare a budget to a State Budgetary Agency, which was run by officials appointed by the governor. The significant authority this gave the governor over the budget was the "greatest transfer of power" to the governor yet, according to historian and professor of political science Linda Gugin.

Despite gaining considerable power during the mid-twentieth-century, Indiana's governor remains fairly weak compared to his counterparts in other states. He has no line-item veto authority, and the pocket veto was ruled unconstitutional. If a governor does not sign or reject a bill, it becomes law automatically. This led to a fistfight during the term of Claude Matthews, who was locked out of the House chambers to prevent him from returning a bill in time. The legislature can override a veto with a simple majority, as opposed to a supermajority that is required federally and in most other states. The legislature still exercises final control over the hiring of state employees, but given the large size of the government and the short legislative sessions, they are unable to make any considerable impact other than their continued advocacy for an expanded merit system. The cabinet is still almost entirely independent of the governor, and he has control over only half of the government's agencies, such as the Indiana State Police and the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Other large agencies, such as the Department of Administration, are under the control of the cabinet.

Veto usage
During the state's early history, vetoes were seldom employed by governors primarily because they were seen as only symbolic since the General Assembly could override them with only a simple majority. Governor James Whitcomb was the first to make significant use of the power and vetoed a record of fifteen bills during a single legislative session. Roger Branigin, who presided over a hostile legislature, made the most total vetoes of any governor, returning a total of one hundred bills to the assembly. Despite the fact that vetoes are easily overridden, only around ten percent of vetoed bills are overridden. During the 1970s, for example, 117 bills were vetoed, but only eleven were overridden. Observers and historians attribute this to the short length of legislative sessions, which often do not allow enough time for a large number of bills to pass through both houses twice. Another factor is that legislators of the same party as the governor typically refuse to override his veto, even in cases where they supported the bill originally.

General Assembly relations

The governor's relationship with the General Assembly has typically been the determining factor in his success at enacting his agenda, although other factors also play an important role. In most of Indiana's history, the governor has come to power at a time in which his party controlled the assembly. Since the political parties first became dominant in 1831 and until 2010, thirty-three sessions of the legislature have been divided with different parties controlling the House and Senate. Only five sessions have occurred where the legislature was entirely controlled by the opposition party, while in ninety-eight sessions the governor's party controlled the entire assembly.

Governors who had previously been legislators have generally had greater success in achieving their legislative goals while governor. Three speakers of the house have become governor. Governor Joseph A. Wright had the worst relations of any governor with the assembly. He twice delivered speeches to a joint session where he harangued them for what he perceived to be corruption, accusing them of taking bribes from the Bank of Indiana. The legislature responded by overriding all his anti-banking vetoes. He was so disliked by his own party that he was expelled from it after his term.

Traits
Except for James Whitcomb, all of Indiana's governors have been married at the time of their election. Whitcomb married while in office. About half of the governors have been married multiple times, all due to the death of their first wives. Three governors' wives, including Whitcomb's, died while their husbands were in office. Except for Jonathan Jennings, Thomas R. Marshall and Eric Holcomb, all of the state governors have also had children. After leaving office, Marshall adopted a young boy. Only twenty of Indiana's governors were native to the state. Seven were born in Pennsylvania, four born in Ohio, and four born in Kentucky. Other governors have come from Michigan, Virginia, New York, and Vermont.

Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison was appointed to office at age twenty-seven, making him the youngest executive. James B. Ray, elevated at thirty-one and reelected at thirty-two, was the youngest governor to be elected to office. Evan Bayh, at age thirty-four, is the only other governor under the age of forty to be elected. James D. Williams, at age sixty-nine, was the oldest governor to be elected and died in office at age seventy-two. The average age of governors at the time of their election is fifty.

Thirty-two of Indiana's governors have served in the military. Veteran organizations have served as a gateway for the governorship. Ira J. Chase served as leader of the Grand Army of the Republic. Paul V. McNutt, Ralph F. Gates, and George N. Craig were leaders of the American Legion, whose national headquarters is in Indianapolis. Thirty governors have been lawyers by profession, and three have been farmers. Thirty received a college education, with eleven of them having attended Indiana University. Several governors have gone on to higher office, with nine serving in the United States Senate, and three serving as Vice President of the United States.

Gubernatorial elections
Under the original constitution of 1816, the state held gubernatorial elections every three years. The first election was held before statehood was approved, in August 1816. Until the constitution was replaced in 1851, elections were held in October, and winners took office in December. In 1851, Indiana adopted its second and current constitution, which banned governors from serving consecutive terms and lengthened terms to four years. Elections since then have been held on Election Day in November during years divisible by four, concurrent with presidential elections. In 1972, the constitution was amended to allow governors to immediately succeed themselves. As mentioned above, the amendment limited a governor to a total of eight years in office during a 12-year period, effectively limiting him to two consecutive terms.

title: Governor of Indiana