text:
Social Democratic Party of Croatia

The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the successor of the League of Communists of Croatia, the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, which had governed Croatia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since World War II.

The party first won the elections in 2000 and formed a coalition government headed by Ivica Račan. After losing the 2003 general election, the party remained in opposition for eight years. In the 2011 parliamentary election, SDP won 61 out of 151 seats in the Croatian Parliament, and managed to form the 12th Croatian Government under Zoran Milanović with its partners from the Kukuriku coalition. After SDP and its coalition partners failed to achieve an agreement on forming a new government following the 2015 general election, the party returned to the opposition. Former SDP member and presidential candidate Ivo Josipović served as the third President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Another SDP member, Neven Mimica was the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development at the Juncker Commission.

The SDP is a member of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Progressive Alliance (PA), and the Socialist International (SI).

Early 1990s
The SDP was established on 3 November 1990 by the social democratic faction of the former League of Communists of Croatia (SKH), the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ).

If SDP is claimed successor of Austria-Hungary's Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia founded on 8 and 9 September 1894, it was the oldest social democratic party in Yugoslavia, before become Communist Party of Croatia as part of League of Communists of Yugoslavia, founded date of modern day social-democratic party is taken on 3 November 1990.

SKH delegation led by Ivica Račan, along with their Slovenian counterparts, had abandoned the 14th congress of SKJ in January 1990 following a dispute with the Serbian delegation led by Slobodan Milošević over how SFR Yugoslavia should be reorganized.

At the same time, Croatia was preparing for its first multi-party election following the decision made by SKH in December 1989 which envisioned elections in April and May 1990. In February 1990 the SR Croatia parliament adopted amendments to the constitution which enabled a multi-party system. That same month SKH had rebranded themselves as the "Party of Democratic Reform" (Stranka demokratskih promjena or SDP) and went on to run in the 1990 election as SKH-SDP, coming in second behind the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) with 26 percent of votes and a total of 107 seats in all three houses of parliament which had 351 seat.

On 3 November 1990, the party was officially established in its current form, by dropping the initialism SKH from its name. In the August 1992 election, the first election held according to the new Constitution of Croatia which had been adopted on 22 December 1990, SDP won 5.52% of the popular vote and a total of 11 seats in the 138-seat parliament. In 1993 the party re-branded themselves again and changed their name to the "Social Democratic Party" (Socijaldemokratska partija), the name they kept to this day.

Merger with SDH
In 1990, a parallel Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Socijaldemokratska stranka Hrvatske, SDSH) was founded. It was later renamed to the Social Democrats of Croatia (Socijaldemokrati Hrvatske, SDH). Like most parties created at the time, it was opposed to the communist government and wanted Croatia to secede from Yugoslavia, yet it had the distinction of being one of the few to present itself as left-wing. The party founders included many prominent intellectuals, including Antun Vujić and Miroslav Tuđman. This party claimed that it was continuing tradition of the historical Social Democratic Party of Croatia, created in 1894 and merged in 1919 into the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

In the first 1990 Croatian parliamentary election, SDSH joined the centrist Coalition of People's Accord and fared badly, winning only 21 out of 351 seats. However, its position was strong enough to warrant ministerial posts in the national unity government of Franjo Gregurić which was in power from July 1991 to August 1992. However, its two ministers Bosiljko Mišetić and Zvonimir Baletić defected to the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) soon after their appointment.

Before the 1992 parliamentary and presidential elections, SDSH was involved in bitter dispute with the SDP over its rebranding into the Social Democratic Party of Croatia. SDSH claimed that its name was stolen. The election showed SDP to be much stronger party than SDSH, which failed to win parliament seats. At the same time, SDSH leader Antun Vujić finished last in the 1992 presidential race, winning a meagre 0.7 percent of the vote. This ultimately led to SDSH and SDP patching their differences and former being incorporated into the latter in April 1994.

In the following 1995 election, SDP won 8.93 percent of the popular vote and a total of 10 seats in the parliament, coming in fourth behind the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) and the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS).

Račan government (2000–2003)
In August 1998, SDP and HSLS leaders Ivica Račan and Dražen Budiša signed a coalition agreement and proceeded to run together in the January 2000 parliamentary elections. The SDP-HSLS coalition won the election with 38.7% of the vote and 71 out of 151 seats. SDP and HSLS then formed a six-way centre-left coalition government along with the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), the Liberal Party (LS), Croatian People's Party (HNS), and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS). Račan, as the leader of the strongest party, became prime minister in the first Račan cabinet. This period was marred with constant disagreements among coalition members on various issues. The constitution was changed several times.

Račan had initially offered the post of Speaker of Parliament to Budiša, but Budiša declined hoping to win the upcoming 2000 presidential election. Following Budiša's defeat to Stjepan Mesić in February 2000, Budiša continued to serve as member of Croatian parliament. In July 2001, he opposed Račan government's decision to extradite Croatian army generals which were wanted because of, later in 2013 dismissed, charges for committing war crimes during Croatian War of Independence to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) which caused considerable turmoil within HSLS.

In June 2001, the Istrian regionalist party Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) withdrew from the coalition government and its chairman Ivan Jakovčić resigned his post as Minister of European Integration, citing criticism of the way they governed Istria on the regional level which had been coming from other parties within the ruling coalition. The uneasy coalition broke apart in early July 2002 when Račan formally handed in his resignation following HSLS refusal to support the agreement made with Slovenia concerning the two countries' joint control of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant.

In late July 2002, the second Račan cabinet was formed, with members of the remaining four parties of the original coalition (following the departure of IDS and HSLS) plus two minor liberal parties which had splintered from HSLS, the Party of Liberal Democrats (Libra) and the Liberal Party (LS). This cabinet remained in power until the next elections in November 2003. SDP then ran in the 2003 election as part of a coalition with IDS, Libra and LS, but was defeated by the conservative HDZ. The SDP thus returned to opposition with the coalition winning 43 out of 151 seats in the parliament (34 of which held by SDP).

The January 2000 election win and the defeat of the ruling HDZ was seen as a turning point as it marked the first transition of power in Croatia's young democracy and upon coming into power Račan's government was seen as the country's first staunchly pro-Western government following a decade of the "authoritarian and nationalist rule" of late President Franjo Tuđman. During its term, the country signed a pre-membership agreement with the European Union, which paved the way for the formal opening of membership negotiations in October 2006. Although the six-party coalition government made a clear break from the former regime, it nevertheless failed to handle the growing social problems, unemployment and economic difficulties. Račan struggled to contain factional disputes within the coalition and appeared indecisive in dealing with Western demands to hand over war crimes suspects to the ICTY, as well as with extremists at home who vehemently opposed such extraditions.

Opposition (2003–2011)
In the 2005 presidential race, SDP opted to support independent incumbent Stjepan Mesić, who succeeded in winning his second term by an overwhelming majority of 65.9% of the vote in the run-off in front of HDZ candidate and runner-up Jadranka Kosor with 34.1%.

In 2007, the party was dealt a blow due to the death of their long-time leader and founder Ivica Račan, who died on 30 April 2007 due to complications from his previously treated kidney cancer, after he stepped down from his chairman post earlier that month. In an extraordinary party convention, former party spokesman Zoran Milanović was elected as their new leader, beating acting chairwoman and former defence minister Željka Antunović in the party election run-off. Other prominent candidates for the post were Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić and former foreign minister Tonino Picula.

For the November 2007 parliamentary election, SDP ran on an economic program with Third Way elements devised by the previously non-partisan economist Ljubo Jurčić, who was also picked to be the party's candidate for the post of prime minister in case of their election victory at a party meeting in July 2007. In the election of 25 November SDP finished a close second behind HDZ, with 56 out of 153 seats. It might have won the domestic election, but as SDP does not participate in diaspora constituency, it lost in the overall tally. Five days after the election, amid speculations that SDP might assemble a governing coalition in spite of them failing to win outright majority, he was replaced in that role by Zoran Milanović. Nevertheless, SDP failed to assemble a governing coalition, and positioned itself as the largest opposition party instead.

In the subsequent June 2009 local elections, the party failed to make significant gains on the county level, but still managed to achieve some major wins in important cities, due to the adoption of a new election system where mayors and county heads were for the first time elected directly, as opposed to the previous system which employed party lists. SDP recorded mayoral victories in a number of traditionally centre-right leaning coastal cities such as Dubrovnik, Šibenik and Trogir and also managed to win in Vukovar, a city that had been almost destroyed in the Croatian War of Independence and was regarded as HDZ stronghold ever since. They also manage to retain control of the economically most powerful parts of the country, including the capital Zagreb, the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka and also won in Istria (in coalition with IDS).

In the run up to the 2009–10 presidential race, SDP held a primary election for the very first time, in which party nominees Ljubo Jurčić and Ivo Josipović ran. Josipović won the primary by some two-thirds of the vote. Josipović later won the 2009–10 election with 60% of the vote in the second round in front of former SDP member and populist Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić (who was expelled that year for running in the elections) and was officially inaugurated on 18 February 2010.

Milanović government (2011–15)

In 2010, SDP formed a political alliance known as the Kukuriku coalition with three other centre-left parties – the Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS), Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) and the Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU) – to run in the December 2011 parliamentary election. The coalition unveiled their 21-point campaign program on 15 September 2011 in Zagreb.

The coalition won the election, winning 81 out of 151 seats in the parliament, after which SDP formed a government with two of its junior coalition (HNS and IDS). Party president, Zoran Milanović, took office as the new Prime Minister and leader of his cabinet on 23 December 2011.

The Milanović administration started its mandate by introducing several liberal reforms. During 2012, a Law on medically assisted fertilization was enacted, health education was introduced in all elementary and high schools, and Milanović announced further expansion of rights for same-sex couples. On 1 December 2013, a constitutional referendum was held in Croatia, organized by the citizen initiative For the family, creating a constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage. SDP was one of the leading forces campaigning against the proposal. The referendum passed with 65% votes in favour. Milanović announced the Life Partnership Act which passed on 15 July 2014.

The government's mandate was marked by several crises the cabinet had to deal with, including a six-year economic recession, the 2013 anti-Cyrillic protests, war veterans protests, the 2015 Croatia–Slovenia border disputes arbitration scandal and the European migrant crisis.

A new fiscalization law and the government's pursuit of dealing with the swiss francs crisis are regarded as some of SDP's biggest successes in power. In January 2015, the government decided to freeze exchange rates for Swiss francs for a year, after a rise in the franc that caused increasingly expensive loans for borrowers in that currency. In August 2015, Milanović announced that Swiss franc loans will be converted into euro-denominated ones.

The administration adopted a number of reforms in taxation in order to cope with the difficult economic situation amid the Great Recession. It also cut social insurance contributions and public-sector wages. The government succeeded in reducing the budget deficit to 5.3% in 2012, but GDP contracted by 2.2% and public debt reached 69.2%. Milanović's time in office has been marked by several cuts to Croatia's credit rating. The unemployment rate peaked in February 2014 at 22.7%.

A bad economic situation weakened the originally strong public support for the Milanović government, which was demonstrated in the 2013 local elections. In the first European Parliament elections in Croatia in 2013, SDP won 32% of the votes and five MEPs, one less than HDZ, the largest opposition party. The following year SDP's coalition won 29.9% in the 2014 European Parliament elections and four MEPs. The party supported Ivo Josipović in the presidential elections, which were won by Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović from the HDZ. Josipović later formed his own party, Forward Croatia-Progressive Alliance, instead of returning to the SDP. He eventually rejoined the party in 2019.

Opposition (2015–present)

In the 2015 parliamentary elections, SDP and its coalition partners won the majority in 5 out of 10 electoral districts, and eventually gained 56 out of 151 seats in the Parliament, or 59 since Istrian Democratic Assembly participated in the post-election negotiations on forming new government as de facto member of the coalition. After more than 70 days of negotiations with the Bridge of Independent Lists (MOST) and numerous twists and turns mainly due to MOST frequently changing terms, SDP's coalition failed to achieve agreement with MOST on forming new government, which was formed by the independent Tihomir Orešković who was supported by the center-right Patriotic Coalition.

On 2 April 2016, elections were held for the party's leadership. Zlatko Komadina, the prefect of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, who advocated for a "much more social democratic" SDP, ran against Milanović. Milanović was again re-elected president of SDP for the next four years.

A vote of no confidence in Orešković in June 2016 resulted in an early parliamentary election in November which the SDP contested as the largest party in the People's Coalition. Despite being perceived as the favorite to win the election, due to a significant lead in a large number of opinion polls, the People's Coalition won only 54 seats while the Croatian Democratic Union won 58 (61 with coalition partners) in an upset. As a result, Zoran Milanović declared that he would not contest the upcoming leadership election in the SDP and that he would retire from politics once a successor is elected. The first round of the leadership election on 19 November 2016 failed to produce an outright winner, as none of the seven candidates gained the necessary majority of 50% + 1 of cast votes. Davor Bernardić received the most votes (46%) and progressed to the second round, where he faced the runner-up, Ranko Ostojić, who received 22.8% of cast votes. The second round took place on 26 November 2016 and Davor Bernardić was elected the 3rd chairman of the SDP with 64% of cast votes.

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, the SDP achieved its worst result in parliamentary elections since the 1990s, resulting to the resignation of Davor Bernardić the day after the election. Zlatko Komadina took over the temporary duty of party leader until the next internal party elections. Five candidates ran in the party's leader elections, for which voting took place on September 26 and October 3. Peđa Grbin was chosen as the new leader, who defeated Željko Kolar in the second round. The elections were also marked by allowing only members who had paid their membership fees to vote, which meant that 12,000 out of 32,000 of all members had the right to vote.

In July 2021, intra-party clashes broke out between supporters of Grbin and Bernardić, followed by the expulsion of four MPs on charges of doing damage to party or refusing to actively participate in the May local elections. The same MPs then refused to leave the SDP parliamentary club, and for that they received the support of 14 of their colleagues who refused to vote for their expulsion. The crisis was resolved at a session of the party's presidency when a decision was made to punish 14 supporters of ousted MPs. According to the decision, seven deputies were expelled, including Davor Bernardić, while the remaining seven were warned. In the end, the expelled MPs and those who supported them founded a new parliamentary club called the Social Democrats Club, which had 18 deputies, while the SDP club was left with the remaining 14 deputies, which put them in third place in terms of the number of deputies in the Sabor. On 9 July 2022, they founded a new party named the Social Democrats.

Organization
The party's first and longest-serving president was Ivica Račan. The current party president is Peđa Grbin, who was elected in a leadership election on 3 October 2020 following Davor Bernardić. Apart from the president and four vice-presidents (Biljana Borzan, Sabina Glasovac, Ranko Ostojić, Siniša Hajdaš Dončić), the main governing bodies of the party include the party presidency (Predsjedništvo, consisting of 18 elected members), the head committee (Glavni odbor) and the supervisory committee (Nadzorni odbor).

Like all other parties, the SDP runs local chapters at municipal, city and county levels. It also runs four topical groups – the Youth Forum (Forum mladih), Women's Forum (Socijaldemokratski forum žena), Seniors' Forum (Socijaldemokratski forum seniora) and the SDP Queer Forum.

The SDP has been a member of the Socialist International since November 1999, and a full member of the Party of European Socialists since February 2012. SDP is also a full member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament as of the accession of Croatia to the EU in 2013.

Election results
The following is a summary of SDP's results in legislative elections for the Croatian parliament. The "Votes won" and "Percentage" columns include sums of votes won by coalitions SDP had been part of. After preferential votes were added to the electoral system, the votes column also includes the statistic of the total number of such votes received by candidates of SDP on coalition lists. The "Total seats won" column includes sums of seats won only by SDP in election. Column "Change" shows how many seats SDP has gained or lost.

title: Social Democratic Party of Croatia


text:
NCAA Division I Football Championship

The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.

The game serves as the final match of an annual postseason bracket tournament between top teams in FCS. Since 2013, 24 teams normally participate in the tournament, with some teams receiving automatic bids upon winning their conference championship, and other teams determined by a selection committee. The reigning national champions are the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who have won back-to-back championship games for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion, as the College Football Playoff currently used by the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is not NCAA-sanctioned.

Playoff format
In the inaugural season of Division I-AA, the 1978 postseason included just four teams; three regional champions (East, West, and South) plus an at-large selection. The field doubled to eight teams in 1981, with champions of five conferences—Big Sky, Mid-Eastern, Ohio Valley, Southwestern, and Yankee—receiving automatic bids. The top four teams were seeded, and then matched against the four remaining teams based on geographical proximity. The tournament was expanded to 12 teams in 1982, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. Champions of the Southern and Southland conferences also received automatic bids.

The number of automatic bids has varied over time, due to changes in the number and size of conferences, with an automatic bid typically granted only to champions of conferences with at least six teams. Initially, the tournament was played in December; since the expansion to twelve teams in 1982, earlier rounds have been held in late November.

The playoffs expanded to a 16-team format in 1986, requiring four postseason victories to win the title. Initially, only the top four teams were seeded, with other teams geographically placed in the bracket. From 1995 through 2000, all 16 teams were seeded, independent of geography. In 2001, the number of seeded teams was reduced to four, with the seeded teams assured of home games in early tournament rounds, and other teams once again placed in the bracket to minimize travel. Home team designation in games between unseeded teams is determined based on several factors, including attendance history and revenue potential.

In April 2008, the NCAA announced that the playoff field would expand to 20 teams in 2010, with the Big South and Northeast Conference earning automatic bids for the first time. That bracket structure included seeding of the top five teams. Twelve teams received first-round byes; the remaining eight teams played first-round games, with the four winners advancing to face the top four seeds. The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning in 2013, with the champion of the Pioneer Football League receiving an automatic bid for the first time. The number of seeded teams was increased to eight, with the 16 unseeded teams playing in first-round games. The unseeded teams continue to be paired according to geographic proximity and then placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity to the top eight seeds. Teams cannot travel more than 400 miles via ground, and teams from the same conference that played each other during the regular season are not paired for first-round games. For the 2020 season, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the bracket was reduced to 16 teams. The bracket returned to 24 teams for the 2021 season.

The field is traditionally set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend.

Team selection
At-large selections and seeding within the bracket are determined by the FCS Playoff Selection Committee, which consists of one athletic director from each conference with an automatic bid. As of the 2018 season, there were 10 conferences with automatic bids and the selection committee made 14 at-large selections. An 11th automatic bid was added as of the 2021 season, reducing the number of at-large selections to 13.

Championship final
The tournament culminates with the national final, played between the two remaining teams from the playoff bracket. Unlike earlier round games in each year's playoff, which are played at campus sites, the title game is played at a site predetermined by the NCAA, akin to how the NFL predetermines the site for each Super Bowl. Originally played in December, with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the final moved to January, with two or three weeks between the semifinals and final.

The inaugural title game was played in 1978 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The 1979 and 1980 games were held in Orlando, Florida, and Sacramento, California, respectively, and the game returned to Wichita Falls for 1981 and 1982. The games played in Wichita Falls were known as the Pioneer Bowl, while the game played in Sacramento was known as the Camellia Bowl—both names were used for various NCAA playoff games played in those locations, and were not specific to the I-AA championship. In 1983 and 1984, the game was played in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1985 and 1986, Tacoma, Washington, hosted the game, which the NCAA branded as the "Diamond Bowl".

The 1987 and 1988 games were played in Pocatello, Idaho; and from 1989 through 1991, in Statesboro, Georgia. The 1992 through 1996 games were held in Huntington, West Virginia; and from 1997 through 2009, the title game was played in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Since 2010, the title game has been played in Frisco, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, at Toyota Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium primarily used by FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The stadium was known as Pizza Hut Park until the day after the final of the 2011 season, and then as FC Dallas Stadium until September 2013. The original contract with Frisco began in the 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season. The contract has since been extended three times; first through the 2015 season, then through the 2019 season, and most recently through the 2024 season with an option for the 2025 season.

† at the time games were played earlier name of the same venue

There have been six instances where a team whose venue was predetermined to host the final game advanced to play for the championship on their own field. Georgia Southern won both title games they played at Paulson Stadium, while Marshall had a 2–2 record in four title games they played at Marshall University Stadium (now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium).

Non-participants
Three FCS conferences usually do not participate in the tournament: the Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

The Ivy League has been at the FCS level since 1982 and prohibits its members from awarding athletic scholarships in any sport, plays a strict ten-game regular season and does not participate in any postseason football, citing academic concerns. The MEAC and SWAC, two conferences consisting of historically black colleges and universities, opt to play the Celebration Bowl (which was established in 2015) instead of the FCS tournament. MEAC gave up its automatic spot in the tournament prior to the 2015 season, while the SWAC's regular season extends through the Turkey Day Classic and Bayou Classic at the end of November and the SWAC Championship Game is played in December. Teams from the MEAC and SWAC may accept at-large bids, so long as they aren't committed to other postseason games that would conflict with the tournament. The most recent MEAC and SWAC teams to accept bids were the 2023 North Carolina Central Eagles and 2021 Florida A&M Rattlers, respectively.

Historically, conferences in FCS that did not offer athletic scholarships were not granted automatic bids into the tournament and, although in theory were eligible for at-large bids, never received any. The last non-scholarship conference in the subdivision, the Pioneer Football League, now receives a tournament bid, which was initiated with the 2013 postseason.

FCS conferences

 * Notes

Championship game history
For each season since the inaugural year of Division I-AA play, 1978, the following table lists the date of each title game and the champion. The score and runner-up are also noted, along with the host city, game attendance, and head coach of the championship team.

Notes:
 * 1987 champion Northeast Louisiana has been known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe) since 1999.
 * The 2020–21 school year was the first in which Sam Houston State University called its athletic program "Sam Houston", without the word "State".
 * Attendance at the 2020 championship game (played in May 2021) was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearances by team
Key
 * National Champion
 * National Runner-up
 * Semifinals
 * Quarterfinals
 * Round of 12 (1982 through 1985), Round of 16 (1986 to present)
 * First Round (2010 to present, except for 2020)

MVPs
Since 2009, a Most Outstanding Player has been named for each final.

Note: starting with the 2010 season, the final game is played in the next calendar year.

Most appearances
The following table summarizes appearances in the final, by team, since the 1978 season, the first year of Division I-AA (the predecessor of FCS).

Updated through the January 2024 championship game (46 finals, 92 total appearances). Schools are listed by their current athletic brand names, which do not always match those used in a given season.

 * * Denotes finals played in the following calendar year.
 * ^ Team is now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Appearances by conference
The following table summarizes appearances in the final, by conference, since the 1978 season, the first year of Division I-AA (the predecessor of FCS).

Updated through the January 2024 championship game (46 finals, 92 total appearances).

 * Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in the following calendar year.
 * Records reflect conference affiliations at the time each game was played.
 * Conferences in italics are defunct or not currently active in FCS.
 * The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) are historically related but independently operating entities. MVFC was known as the Gateway Football Conference until June 2008.
 * The Yankee Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), and CAA Football, although separately chartered, are effectively the same entity in football. The Yankee Conference, formerly an all-sports conference but a football-only league since 1976, was effectively merged into the A-10 after the 1996 season. In turn, the A-10 shut down its football league after the 2006 season, with the multi-sports Colonial Athletic Association (since renamed the Coastal Athletic Association) taking over administration of that league as the separate entity of CAA Football.
 * Teams from the same conference have met in the championship game following the 2014 and 2022 seasons. Both matchups involved MVFC teams.

Game records
This table lists records for the Championship Game.

Media coverage
The game has been televised on an ESPN affiliated network since 1995.

Note: starting with the 2010 season, the final game is played in the next calendar year.

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

title: NCAA Division I Football Championship


text:
Foscott

Foscott (also called Foxcote and Foscote) is a hamlet and civil parish in north Buckinghamshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Thornton. In the 20th century a reservoir was built within Foscote, named Foxcote Reservoir. It is just to the north of Maids Moreton.

The name was Anglo Saxon in origin, meaning "Fox cottage".

Population of Foscott
In the earliest government census of 1801, there were 85 inhabitants in 17 families living in 17 houses recorded in Foscott.

Rectors of the Parish Church of St Leonard, Foscott
According to George Lipscomb's 1847 The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham there were 39 rectors of the Parish of Foscott, between 1220 and 1840. The church was converted into a private residence in the 1970s.

title: Foscott


text:
Socialist Workers Organization

Socialist Workers Organization is the name of more than one political organization:

 * Socialist Workers Organization (New Zealand)
 * Socialist Workers Organisation (Senegal)

title: Socialist Workers Organization


text:
Talk:Jimmy Key

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 17:14, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

All-Star
I am about 99% sure that Jimmy was selected as an All-Star one year that he was with the O's. If I recall correctly, he didn't play because he had planned his wedding for the All-Star break (since he had no expectation of being selected.) If anybody can confirm this, his selection should be added to his info box and a mention should be made in the section about his time with the O's. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rugbyhelp (talk • contribs) 14:13, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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Personal Life
He has 3 children. His first born, Jordan, is a fellow Clemson graduate, all honors scholar, double high school varsity athlete and now a Dermatologist and is to be married June 30, 2023. 136.33.140.53 (talk) 06:17, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Jimmy Key


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People's Front for Democracy and Justice

The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (ህዝባዊ ግንባር ንደሞክራስን ፍትሕን, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the Marxist–Leninist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ regards itself as a left-wing nationalist party, though it holds itself open to nationalists of any political affiliation. The leader of the party and current President of Eritrea is Isaias Afwerki. The PFDJ has been described as totalitarian,   and under its rule Eritrea reached the status of the least electorally democratic country in Africa according to V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023.

Creation
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), later (from 1994) People's Front for Democracy and Justice, formed from the secessionist movement that successfully fought for the creation of an independent Eritrean nation out of the northernmost province of Ethiopia in 1993.

The historical region of Eritrea had joined Ethiopia as an autonomous unit in 1952. The Eritrean Liberation Movement was founded in 1958 and was succeeded by the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1961. The ELF grew in membership when the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie abolished Eritrea's autonomous status, annexing it as a province in 1962. In the 1960s and 1970s, the ELF undertook a systematic campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Ethiopian government. A faction of the ELF broke away in 1970 to form the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. The EPLF managed to secure control of much of the Eritrean countryside and build effective administrations in the areas it controlled. Fighting that broke out between the EPLF, ELF, and other Eritrean rebel groups in 1981 prevented further military gains, but the EPLF subsequently emerged as the principal Eritrean guerrilla group.

As Soviet support of Ethiopia's socialist government collapsed in the late 1980s, the EPLF formed an alliance with guerrilla groups in Tigray province and other parts of Ethiopia. After the holding of a United Nations-supervised referendum on independence there in April 1993, the EPLF declared the new nation of Eritrea the following month.

At the third congress of the EPLF Front in February 1994, delegates voted to transform the 95,000‐person organization into a mass political movement, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). The congress gave the PFDJ a transitional mandate to draw the general population into the political process and to prepare the country for constitutional democracy.

The leader of the PFDJ party and current President of Eritrea is Isaias Afewerki.

Post-independence
Eritrea formed itself from a referendum with high voter participation. EPLF provisioned education, health, and other public services to save women, workers, and peasants from poverty and oppression. As a consequence, both domestic and foreign media expressed high hopes that Eritrea would develop a self-governed and democratic government. EPLF leaders at the time were perceived as a “new generation” of African leaders. They enjoyed high popularity rates among their constituents. They endorsed, at least theoretically, democracy, human rights, and free markets. They defined clear development policies based on their priorities.

In 1994, the PFDJ established a transitional 150-member National Assembly to determine the pending constitutions and elections. The assembly later chose the PFDJ's secretary-general and the former EPLF leader, Isaias Afwerki as Eritrea's president and formed a cabinet around him. In 1997, the National Assembly adopted a constitution for a multi-party democratic system. It scheduled multi-party elections for 1997. The new government appeared to practice separation of powers. However, the political institutions other than the executive office – the cabinet of ministers, a temporary parliament and a nominally independent judiciary – did not actually pose checks on the executive power. The cabinet did not provide a platform for debates. The military remained under the president's control. The PFDJ has not held a party convention since January 2002.

Ideological foundations
Eritrean nationalism constitutes the core of PFDJ's ideology because it is perceived as a necessary process within the overall nation-building effort. To that end, the PFDJ advocates unity, equality and participation of all sections of Eritrean society as the bases for all its programs. Engagement as well as active contribution to the political, economic, social and cultural life of Eritrea is therefore perceived as a necessary precondition for social cohesion, stability and development of the country. To do so the PFDJ aims to establish a national government which ensures unity and equality for the people of Eritrea, rejects all divisive attitudes and activities, places national interest above everything else, and enables participation of all sectors of Eritrean society in the PFDJ. Moreover, all political establishments must be built on a national basis, and all sectarian political tendencies must be categorically rejected. All forms of discrimination and domination, including ethnic and regional, must also be rejected. The diverse cultures of Eritrea should be a source of power and unity. The national system should be secular, separate from religion, but respectful of the equality of established traditional religions. In short, nationhood is the basis of all political institutions and policies. The National Charter of the PFDJ was adopted in 1994 and sets out the key objectives the PFDJ is striving to achieve.

Those include:
 * 1) National Harmony – For the people of Eritrea to live in harmony, peace and stability, with no distinction along regional, ethnic, linguistic, religious, gender or class lines.
 * 2) Political Democracy – For the people of Eritrea to be active participants and decision-makers in the administration and conduct of their lives and of their country, with their rights guaranteed by law and in practice.
 * 3) Economic and Social Development – For Eritrea to progress socially and economically in the areas of education, technology and standard of living.
 * 4) Social Justice (Economic and Social Democracy) – Equitable distribution of wealth, services and opportunities, with special attention and focus on the most disadvantaged sections of society.
 * 5) Cultural Revival – Drawing on our rich cultural heritage and on the progressive values we developed during the liberation struggle, to develop an Eritrean culture characterized by love of one's country, respect for humanity, solidarity between men and women, love of the truth and of justice, respect for law, hard work, self-confidence, self-reliance, open mindedness and inventiveness.
 * 6) Regional and International Cooperation – For Eritrea to become a respected member of the international community; by coexisting in harmony and cooperation with its neighbors; and by contributing to the extent of its capability to regional and global peace, security and development.

These six goals are supported by six basic principles which can serve as guidelines for political activities. These are national unity, active public participation, the human element, linkage between national and social struggles, self-reliance, and a strong relationship between people and the leadership. Self-reliance is considered an important underlying principle. Politically, it means to follow an independent line of thinking and to give priority to internal conditions; economically, to rely on internal capabilities and develop internal capacities; and culturally, to have self-confidence and develop one's own cultural heritage. Self-reliance does not mean to isolate the country from the international community but to achieve a status of independence and self-confidence and be an [important] player in the international community.

Political positions
Although the PFDJ lacks specific political programs covering concrete policies, its overall foundations are embedded in declared priorities including the establishment of a constitutional system which is built on nationalism and democracy. Nationalism is perceived as the safeguarding of national interests, development and the strengthening of the unity of the Eritrean people and preserving Eritrea. All political institutions should be established on a national basis, free from divisive sub-national sentiments and activities, strengthening and developing nationally coordinated efforts of the Eritrean people. In other words, the political system must have a broad social basis, enabling participation of all the people in both the rural and urban areas. Democracy as an important principle for the political system's establishment is defined in a more general way by invoking the establishment of a people-based institution and public participation in decision making from the grass-roots to the national level.

In this regard, the PFDJ provides a specific approach in-line with historical development and conditions of Eritrean society. The party states that its understanding of democracy emphasizes its context rather than its external manifestations. In the context of Eritrean society, democracy should not be dependent on the number of political parties and regular elections, but on the actual participation of people in the decision-making process at community and national levels. What is being questioned here is not political parties as a manifestation of political pluralism with rights to organization and free expression and elections. Rather, the PFDJ challenges the concept of democracy in the political arena as experienced by several African (and other) countries in which the existence of various political parties and organized elections did not lead to a democratic system. Insistence on increased number of political parties and regularity of electoral schedule are therefore perceived by the PFDJ as narrow concepts which limit the meaning of democracy to its form.

Second, priority is given to the establishment of an economic system which satisfies the desires of the majority and improves their living conditions, ensures equitable development, operates through a market economy, encourages private investment, initiative and competition and guarantees balanced economic growth. In short, the economic system must enhance social justice for all.

Third, the PFDJ introduces socialist elements, defining social justice as the condition which allows: 1) the narrowing of the gap in economic opportunities and wealth between the rich and the poor to ensure equitable distribution of national wealth among all citizens; as well as 2) the narrowing of the development gap between the rural and urban areas, and between the center and periphery. Thus ensuring the balanced and fair distribution of economic development in the whole country.

Fourth, one of the key elements in nation-building, the PFDJ program sets out priorities, which include the development and evolution of Eritrean culture. This builds on the culture developed during the liberation struggle by ensuring the preservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage, with the integration of values drawn internationally.

Finally, program priorities also invoke the necessity of fair and proportionate distribution of social services (chiefly healthcare end education), the strong respect of women and other social rights of the Eritrean population as well as guaranteeing national security and defense and establishing regional and international cooperation.

Organizational principles
The PFDJ was conceived as a broad-based movement with the capacity to embrace all segments of the population. The PFDJ was not to be representative of any particular social class, nor was it to be narrow-based, that is only embracing only those who were politically committed. The PFDJ was to ensure the right to form national political parties at the right time.

In its Charter, the PFDJ states that internal democratic life and the cultivation of popular participation are critical not only for the unity of the party, but also to clarify and enhance its policies, and to identify and correct any shortcomings.

The PFDJ Charter defines principles of relations between the Government and the party. In this sense it is stated, that even though the PFDJ has to play a major and critical role in the government, it is also to be independent of the government.

Although the PFDJ is organized as a broad-based and participatory entity, it does not attempt to be the only form of political organization. On the contrary, it encourages and assists the establishment of public associations with objectives similar to its programs, along social, trade and other non- sectarian lines. Finally, in terms of concrete organizational structure the PFDJ introduces a highly decentralized structure with presence in the majority of rural communities as well as within major urban centers. To do this, the party charter states that it has adopted a bottom-heavy, grassroots organizational structure instead of a top-heavy one.

Judicial development
After independence, the PFDJ regime adopted the law of the ousted Ethiopian regime with some amendments in order to maintain law and order and avoid a legal vacuum. A committee of former senior fighters reviewed the old Ethiopian law regime to adapt the law to the newly formed state and make it compatible with the values and principles of the EPLF. Reviews revealed that basic principles of human rights and procedures of due process and models of judicial independence were not emphasized.

Status
The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the sole legal party in Eritrea.

There is some debate as to whether PFDJ is a true political party or whether it is a broad governing association in transition. Some observers perceive the PFDJ as a fairly amorphous, diffuse, transitional organization, and a nationalist umbrella, out of which spin-off parties could develop when the social and economic development advances to a level in which a multiparty system can be established and sustained. The PFDJ subscribes to a pluralist political system and as adopted in the Second Congress of the EPLF – during the liberation struggle – in 1987.

PFDJ influence on public policy
The first attempt of the PFDJ to influence the country's norms and values system immediately after the end of the independence war failed because the fighters were in the minority. The 1998–2000 border conflicts with Ethiopia presented the PFDJ with a second chance to impose its ideology on the society.

U.S. sanctions
On 12 November 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control added the PFDJ to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list for being "a political party that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, activities that have contributed to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or have obstructed a ceasefire or peace process to resolve such crisis".


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Talk:Socialism in New Zealand

Untitled
According to the list on International Socialist Tendency, (which I got from their web site), it is the Socialist Workers Organization which is a member, and not the ISO. I haven't altered it as I may be wrong. Secretlondon 19:37, Dec 16, 2003 (UTC)

 * I think you're right - on the Socialist Worker website (specifically, at, it states that it is part of the International Socialist Tendency. Thanks for noticing - I'm a little surprised that anyone is even reading a page on obscure New Zealand political parties. :-) -- Vardion 02:30, 18 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I've done a bit of work on the links - fitting them into the List of Trotskyist internationals and existing articles on Trotskyist parties. It needs more work, however. Secretlondon 20:42, Dec 16, 2003 (UTC)

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
There needs to be some mention of New Zealand Council of Trade Unions somewhere in the article. I don't have the time/knowledge to do it. --Midnighttonight 05:49, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Weasel words

 * The extent to which socialism plays a part in modern New Zealand politics depends on which definitions of socialist are used, but few mainstream politicians would describe themselves using the word "socialist".

This is the topic sentence of the section entitled, "Present status of New Zealand socialism". This sentence promises to describe the various definitions of socialism or "socialist", but I did not find any definitions in this or any other section of the article.

I did find some mentions of a clash between those using the word socialism as a label for various groups or people, and those who object that the label was misapplied. I don't come away from the article with a clear sense of the reasons either side gave in this clash for applying or rejecting the label.

I would like to know whether New Zealand is a socialist country. Please tell us readers in what way, and to what extent, New Zealand has achieved socialism; and who or what is trying to help or thwart this progress. --Uncle Ed (talk) 12:43, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Ed: This sounds like you're interested in some form of political vigilance to keep socialism from occurring in NZ. Some countries do adapt socialism as a form of government and many of them thrive under such governance. Perhaps, if you're interested in learning more, you should refrain from demanding your POV being represented in the article and simply ask which version of socialism applies, if any, and why politicians would not want to be considered socialists. --IrrationalAtheist (talk) 16:45, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

title: Talk:Socialism in New Zealand


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Frieth

Frieth is a village in the parish of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies on the top of "Frieth Hill", which is part of the chalk escarpments of the Chiltern Hills.

Frieth lies at a height of around 550 ft, on the edge of a broad and deep winterbourne chalk valley in which are located the older settlements of the parish and adjacent parishes – Hambleden, Skirmett, Turville, and Fingest. Because of the shortage of surface water and the relatively poor soils – heavy clay and flint overlaying the permeable chalk – Frieth did not develop into a village until well into Victorian times. However, there are a number of ancient properties and Frieth has all the symbols of a traditional English village. As well as the church, it has a village hall, a village green, two rural pubs, a village society, fine open hilly countryside, and a small but thriving primary school. The village shop and dairy has closed.

Parmoor House
In the 12th century, Parmoor House was owned by the Knights Templar. After falling into ruin it was rebuilt by the new Earl of the hundred in 1352. The property was then lost to the crown around 1790 when the incumbent Earl was supplanted by George III with a John "Frith" whose surname was to be that of the village. Although Frith never took up residence, on his death in 1791, the property was bought by the Cripps Family of Berkshire. It was the birthplace of Sir Stafford Cripps, the post-war Chancellor of the Exchequer. During the war, it was let to King Zog of Albania. In 1947, the Anglican Community of St Katharine of Alexandria moved to Parmoor House from Fulham to provide care for elderly ladies. Later the house became home for the Community of the Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship. St Katharine's, Parmoor, Frieth, Henley-on-Thames is now a retreat home and conference centre welcoming all for day or residential visits.

King Zog
During the Second World War Frieth was home to King Zog of Albania. King Zog lived at Parmoor House with his wife Queen Geraldine, their son Crown Prince Leka (the late King Leka I), and the King's sisters, nephews and nieces. The King also had a group of bodyguards who lived nearby and some Ministers who lived at Lane End. After the war they left to go to Egypt but one nephew stayed in Frieth.

Frieth Church

Frieth Church was built in 1848 as a chapel of ease for Hambleden. It is now part of the parish of Hambleden with Frieth and Skirmett. Flint from the ruined wing of the Old Rectory (now Kenricks) at Hambleden was used for the new church built to the design of JP Harrison. The South aisle was added later, probably by Woodyer dated 1872 on the rainwater heads. The church is built of flint with stone mullions and edges, and has an attractive tiled roof but no tower or turret.

The church is noted for its Victorian stained glass and carved woodwork. Most of the furniture and carving in the church were made by the local firm of West and Collier. Most of the beautiful stained glass windows were the gift of the Cripps family. They date from 1880 and include St John the Evangelist, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and the Ten Commandments (North wall), Benjamin and Joseph, and King David on the south aisle.

The Church Aided school at Frieth is the school for the Hambleden Valley. The school holds services at Frieth Church each term. The Rector is an ex officio Governor of the school.

Frieth School
Frieth Church of England Combined School was established in 1865. The catchment area encompasses the many villages of the Hambleden Valley.

Every October, the PTA of the School organises a 10K run called the Frieth Hilly 10K. This race which starts/finishes at the School involves sections on road, trails and footpaths through woods and fields, including challenging off-road descents and ascents. The race was first held in 2008.

title: Frieth


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USL W-League (1995–2015)

The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the opportunity to play alongside established international players while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. The league was administered by the United Soccer Leagues system (the USL), which also oversees the men's United Soccer League and Premier Development League. The W-League announced on November 6, 2015 that the league will cease operation ahead of 2016 season.

After the popularity of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, though, USL began considerations for a new professional women's league; this effort eventually returned to the re-establishing of the league as the USL W League.

History
The W-League's inaugural season was in 1995. Originally called the United States Interregional Women's League, it later changed its name to the W-League. Although at its inception some of the league's franchises were barely above amateur level, it provided a professional outlet for many of the top female soccer players in the country. With professionals driving the level of play, the league made a very strong debut performance.

From 1995 through the 1997 season the W-League was a single tier format (all teams at the same division). This changed before the 1998 season when the W-League became a two tier league. The top tier/division was called W-1 and lower division, W-2. This division was in effect through the 2001 season – the first year of the new US Women's first division league WUSA. The W-League returned to a single tier format in the 2002 season.

The W-League grew to a maximum of 41 teams for the 2008 season, but then began contracting rapidly. By the time the league suspended operations in 2015, there were three, six-team conferences. Of those 18 teams, eight went on to found United Women's Soccer (though the two Canadian teams were denied entry) and another seven joined the WPSL.

The revival of the W-League as the USL W League was announced on June 8, 2021, with eight founding teams due to begin play in 2022, none of which were revivals of teams from the original iteration of the W-League. Instead, many were associate with USL League One organizations.

Teams
127 unique teams participated in the W-League over the course of its history. Fifteen still existed (at varying levels of activity) as of 2019.

undefinedundefined undefined undefinedundefinedundefined undefined (*) indicates championship

Past champions
For 1998 through 2001 the W-League was divided into two divisions: W-1 (the top division) W-2 (the lower division). The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of titles a club has won if they have won multiple titles. Click on year for W-League season summaries.
 * 2015 Washington Spirit Reserves 2–1 Colorado Pride
 * 2014 Los Angeles Blues (4) 6–1 Washington Spirit Reserves
 * 2013 Pali Blues (3) 1–0 Laval Comets
 * 2012 Ottawa Fury Women 1–1 (4–3 PSO) Pali Blues
 * 2011 Atlanta Silverbacks Women 6–1 Ottawa Fury Women
 * 2010 Buffalo Flash  3–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Women
 * 2009 Pali Blues (2) 2–1 Washington Freedom Reserves
 * 2008 Pali Blues 2–1 FC Indiana
 * 2007 Washington Freedom 3–1 Atlanta Silverbacks Women
 * 2006 Vancouver Whitecaps Women (2) 3–0 Ottawa Fury Women
 * 2005 New Jersey Wildcats 3–0 Ottawa Fury Women
 * 2004 Vancouver Whitecaps Women 0–0 (4–2 PSO) New Jersey Wildcats
 * 2003 Hampton Roads Piranhas 1–0 Chicago Cobras
 * 2002 Boston Renegades (2) 3–0 Charlotte Lady Eagles
 * 2001
 * W-1: Boston Renegades 5–1 Vancouver Whitecaps Women
 * W-2: Charlotte Lady Eagles 3–1 Memphis Mercury
 * 2000
 * W-1: Chicago Cobras 1–1 (4–2 PSO) Raleigh Wings
 * W-2: Springfield Sirens 2–1 Charlotte Lady Eagles
 * 1999
 * W-1: Raleigh Wings (2) 3 -2 Chicago Cobras (OT)
 * W-2: North Texas Heat 5–1 Springfield Sirens
 * 1998
 * W-1: Raleigh Wings 4–3 Boston Renegades
 * W-2: Fort Collins Force 3–1 Hampton Roads Piranhas
 * 1997 Long Island Lady Riders (2) 2–1 Chicago Cobras (OT)
 * 1996 Maryland Pride 3–0 Dallas Lightning
 * 1995 Long Island Lady Riders 3–0 Southern California Nitemares

title: USL W-League (1995–2015)


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Dunhill

Dunhill may refer to:

People

 * Alfred Dunhill (1872–1959), founder of the luxury goods company Alfred Dunhill Ltd.
 * Alison Dunhill (born 1950), English artist and art historian
 * Thomas Dunhill (1877–1946), English composer and writer

Places

 * Dunhill, County Waterford, a town in County Waterford, Ireland

Retail brands

 * Alfred Dunhill Ltd., a British luxury goods company owned by Richemont
 * Dunhill (cigar), a brand of cigars owned by British American Tobacco
 * Dunhill (cigarette), a brand of luxury cigarettes owned by British American Tobacco

Sports and entertainment

 * Dunhill Records, a record label (later ABC/Dunhill Records)
 * Alfred Dunhill Cup, a former golf event
 * Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a golf event
 * The Dunhill Trio, American dancers

Other

 * Dunhill Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina

title: Dunhill


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Frithsden

Frithsden is a small hamlet in Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about two miles north of Berkhamsted, to which it belongs. It is in the Dacorum Ward of Nettleden with Potten End.

The village name is derived from the wood le Fryth (me. frith »wood«). It is first mentioned 1291 as Frithesdene (»valley of the wood«).

It is pronounced locally as 'Frizden'

West of the hamlet bordering to Ashridge Park are the Frithsden Beeches, a wood left to nature, with large beeches. Scenes for Sleepy Hollow, Jonathan Creek and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire have been filmed in this wood.

Frithsden, together with the neighbouring hamlets Nettleden and Potten End, is famous for its black cherries and the villagers hold in July their annual cherry fair. They also claim to have originated the Cherry Bounce and the Cherry Turnover. The village has also a winery, the Frithsden Vineyard.

title: Frithsden


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Fiji Labour Party

The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; Ilawalawa Cakacaka ni Viti), also known as Fiji Labour, is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. The party has been elected to power twice, with Timoci Bavadra and Mahendra Chaudhry becoming prime minister in 1987 and 1999 respectively. On both occasions, the resulting government was rapidly overthrown by a coup.

Formation of the Fiji Labour Party
By 1985, the people of Fiji were yearning for a third force in Fiji politics, as the opposition National Federation Party (NFP) was again falling apart and the right-wing policies of the ruling Alliance Party had alienated it from the ordinary people. Dissatisfaction with Government policies had begun soon after the 1982 elections with a prolonged teachers' strike and a hunger strike by young graduates, who were longer guaranteed employment. In industrial disputes, the government sided with the employers. In November 1984, when the Government announced a wage freeze, instead of calling a national strike, the largest trade union in Fiji, the Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA), decided, in March 1985 by a margin of 2914 votes to 326 votes, to "associate itself with any organisation, in pursuance of workers' rights." The Fiji Labour Party was launched on 6 July 1985 under the auspices of the Fiji Trades Union Congress, at the Fiji Teachers Association hall in Suva.

Initial electoral success
FLP faced its first electoral test in municipal elections held three months later, when it won control of the Suva City Council and its candidate, Bob Kumar, was elected Lord Mayor. It also won seats on the Labasa, Nadi, and Ba Town Councils, and subsequently secured a seat on the Lautoka City Council at a by-election.

FLP's main test as a national political force came during the by-election for the North Central Indian National Seat in December 1985, following the resignation of Vijay R. Singh. FLP decided to field Mahendra Chaudhry, who was also the general secretary of the National Farmers Union as its candidate. The NFP candidate was former Alliance Minister, James Shankar Singh and the Alliance candidate was Uday Singh. Whereas both the Alliance and NFP again used race as an issue, Labour campaigned on policies. The result of the election was: Uday Singh, 7848 votes; Mahendra Chaudhry, 7644 votes and James Shankar Singh 5003 votes. Despite Chaudhry's narrow loss, Labour was considered to have done well.

In June 1986, the NFP-elected MP Satendra Nandan joined the FLP. One month later, he was joined by Davendra Singh of the NFP Youth Wing, who had defeated the official NFP candidate in an earlier by-election, and Jay Raj Singh, another NFP-elected MP.

Towards coalition with NFP
The narrow loss of the North Central by-election warned Labour of what awaited it in three-cornered elections in future. In September 1985, there had been talks between the NFP Youth Wing and Labour, but Labour had refused to accept group affiliation. In December 1985, the President of the Ba Branch of the NFP had called for a coalition between NFP and FLP, but the first meeting on talks regarding a coalition took place with Western United Front (WUF) delegates on 6 June 1986 where WUF MP, Isikeli Nadalo argued that, "there should only be two political groups fighting the election." With the common aim of defeating the Alliance, a meeting between FLP, NFP and WUF was arranged for 26 June 1986.

Opposition to Coalition
Not all Labour supporters were happy with the idea of a coalition with NFP. USP lecturer, Dr Anirudh Singh, released the results of a survey, which demonstrated that Labour could win 26 seats on its own. The main concern for those who agreed with Dr Singh was that a coalition with NFP would destroy Labour's multiracial image and undermine its efforts to win greater Fijian support. Dr Singh's survey was designed to rally anti-coalition support at the first FLP convention in Lautoka in July 1986, but Krishna Dutt managed to persuade the convention to allow the Party's Management Board "a free hand to negotiate possible areas of cooperation that might serve the Party's electoral strategy." The Fiji Sun's political columnist wrote, "The Party must choose between political expediency and clinging to the basic principles on which the Party was founded." Mahendra Sukhdeo, a Labour Suva City Councillor, resigned in protest and joined the Alliance.

Coalition formalised
Despite grassroots opposition, the Labour Party moved closer to coalition. On 10 October 1986, agreement was reached for a coalition with WUF. On 9 November 1986, the NFP appointed former opposition leader, Jai Ram Reddy, to negotiate the final pact with the FLP, and two days later the National Council of the FLP authorised the management board to finalise the coalition details.

First Labour Government
The Fiji Labour Party formed its first government (in coalition with the National Federation Party) after elections in April 1987 gave the coalition 28 of the 52 parliamentary seats. Its election was overwhelmingly supported by Indo-Fijians, but resented by many ethnic Fijians, only 9% of whom had voted for the coalition. Strikes and demonstrations followed, and on 14 May the army seized power.

1987 to 2000
Bavadra's widow, Kuini (later Adi Kuini Speed) took the leadership of the party after her husband's death in 1989, but was deposed in 1991 by Mahendra Chaudhry. She left the party in 1995, objecting to the direction in which Chaudhry was taking it. In the 1990s, the Labour Party lost most of its ethnic Fijian support, and the 1994 election showed that its support among Indo-Fijians was declining as well. It won only 7 seats that year.

In 1992, the party was admitted into the Socialist International as a consultative member.

The People's Coalition and the Coup of 2000
The fortunes of the Labour Party revived in the later 1990s, as the government of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka became unpopular amid admissions of womanising and reports of high-level corruption in his administration. In the election of 1999, the Labour Party swept to power, winning 37 seats in the 71-member House of Representatives, an absolute majority. A further 21 seats were won by its partners in the People's Coalition. Chaudhry became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister.

On 19 May 2000, Chaudhry's government was overthrown in a putsch led by George Speight, a businessman whom the Labour government had fired from management of Fiji's lucrative pine industry. The President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, dismissed the government on 27 May, intending to assume executive authority himself to confront the rebels, but his plan misfired when he was pressured into resigning two days later by the military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

Post-coup developments
Elections to restore democracy were held in September 2001. The Labour Party contested the election on a platform calling for an independent inquiry into the 2000 coup, and for compensation to be paid to its victims, including police officers and military personnel. The party also backed medical cover for all workers, and proposed removing Value Added Tax (VAT) from basic items; it had already instigated court proceedings to that effect. The party also proposed a five-year plan for economic recovery. Hurt by intra-party fighting and the defection of key figures including Tupeni Baba, however, the party won the most votes (34.8%), but only 28 of the 71 seats in the House of Representatives (Fiji), four fewer than the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) of Laisenia Qarase. The inability of the Labour Party and National Federation Party (NFP) (the only other political party with significant Indo-Fijian support) to reach a deal on exchanging "preferences" in Fiji's transferable voting system, and the NFP's decision to give its preferences to the SDL instead, probably cost Labour the election: despite their having been allies in the 1980s, the two parties have since become bitter enemies.

Since 2001, Mahendra Chaudhry had survived a leadership challenge and had rebuilt the Labour Party. Before 2006 it had won several key by-elections, and appeared well-placed to mount a credible challenge to the Qarase government in 2006. Chaudhry's strained relationship with Prime Minister Qarase had prevented the Labour Party from being represented in the Cabinet, despite the constitutional stipulation that any political party with more than eight seats in the House of Representatives is entitled to proportionate representation in the Cabinet. On 18 July 2003, the Supreme Court of Fiji ruled that Qarase's exclusion of the Labour Party breached the constitution, and demanded that the situation be rectified. Negotiations, appeals, and counter-appeals followed, which delayed the appointment of Labour Party ministers. In June 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that the Labour Party was entitled to 14 out of 30 Cabinet posts. Qarase announced that he would accept and implement the order, but his refusal to include Chaudhry himself in any cabinet line-up continued to stall negotiations about the composition of the cabinet until Chaudhry announced towards the end of 2004 that the Labour Party was no longer interested in joining the government, and would remain in opposition for the remainder of the parliamentary term.

2005 municipal poll
On 7 July 2005, the Labour Party suspended all of its councillors on the Lautoka City Council, following a scandal in which councillors were found to have granted taxi bases to relatives and colleagues. Those suspended were the Deputy Mayor, Vijend Verma, Torika Ram, Aruna Devi, Atish Lekh Ram, Sunia Kunawave, Pravin Naidu, Hari Narayan, Divendra Chandra and Dhurup Chand. The last four submitted in their resignations from the Labour Party, saying they wanted nothing more to do with it. Naidu said he was resigning from the party in protest against the suspensions, which he said were a public relations ploy. The Labour Party was thought to be facing a stiff challenge to its control of the council in the municipal elections of 22 October and 13 November, from the new Sugar City Ratepayers Alliance, but in the end swept to a landslide victory, taking 12 of the 16 seats. The party also won a two-thirds majority in the Nasinu Town Council, but was heavily defeated in the poll for the Suva City Council.

Towards 2006
At its conference on 28 July 2005, the Labour Party approved a platform for the election due in 2006. The platform calls for strategies to be enacted to ensure annual economic growth of 6%, price reductions for basic food items, and incentives for indigenous landowners to develop and profit from their land. The party also advocates electoral reform, calling for the abolition or at least the reduction of Communal constituencies, which are reserved for candidates and electors enrolled as members of specific ethnic groups. On 21 November, FLP Parliamentarian Perumal Mupnar said that an FLP government would remove Value Added Tax (VAT) from all food items.

The FLP has been exploring coalition possibilities with other parties ahead of the election. Fiji's instant run-off voting system, known locally as the alternative vote, allows votes for a low-polling candidate to be transferred to other candidates, following an order specified by the candidate, which may be customised by the individual voter. Most political parties are seeing coalition arrangements that will enable them to maximise their chances.

Deputy Leader Poseci Bune announced on 3 October that the FLP would attempt to broaden its appeal to indigenous Fijians by fielding more indigenous candidates than in previous elections. The final decision about what seats to contest would be made after the conclusion of negotiations with potential coalition partners, such as the NAPF and the UPP. On 10 October, Mahendra Chaudhry announced that 222 applications had been received for the 71 parliamentary constituencies, many of them indigenous. He was not surprised, he said, by the increasing interest shown by indigenous Fijians, whom he described as "frustrated" with the SDL government. He also welcomed what he said was a good number of prospective female candidates, saying that more women were needed in an area that was dominated by men.

FLP secretary and parliamentarian Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi announced on 9 January 2006 that the party would contest the forthcoming elections on a platform of completing the program it had begun in 1999–2000.

Negotiations with the NFP
On 18 August 2005, officials of the FLP and the National Federation Party (NFP) held what they described as a "courtesy call". Preferential voting was among the topics discussed, but no serious negotiations were entered into, with both parties indicating that such a move would be premature. Several major news services reported in early September, however, that the two parties were close to reaching a deal. Comments by FLP officials led credence to these rumours, but on 7 September, the NFP President, Raman Pratap Singh, denied that any such agreement was imminent, stating that the NFP had held no talks with FLP officials on any cooperative arrangements. NFP secretary Pramod Rae thought likewise: "We are open to discussion," he said. "But at this stage there is nothing. We will have to see what their party policies are, if they are similar then we will share preferences." On 3 October, however, Rae said that although a final decision had not been made, sentiment within the NFP was leaning towards contesting the 2006 election alone, rather than aligning itself with either the FLP or the ruling SDL.

Chaundry claimed on 19 October that NFP officials were unwilling to meet their FLP counterparts, and that the FLP would therefore concentrate on trying to maximise its own vote in the first count, rather than rely on votes transferred from other parties. Then, on 4 November, he rebuffed what he said was an NFP overture to exchange preferences in seven safe Indian communal constituencies. Speaking at three sugar cane farming settlements in Ba Province, he said that what the NFP really wanted was for the FLP to give them those seven seats, all of which were then held by the FLP. "They want something for nothing and their proposal is simply not on," Chaudhry said. However, NFP assistant general secretary Kamal Iyer denied that his party had presented any such proposal to the FLP, or to any party for that matter.

The FLP announced on 13 February 2006 that it would put aside its differences with the NFP provided that the NFP would do likewise. The NFP rejected the offer, calling it a deliberate tactic designed to mislead the supporters of both parties, Fiji Television reported. The NFP strongly denied Chaudhry's claim that the NFP leader failed to appear at a scheduled meeting in late 2005.

A meeting between representatives of the two parties took place in the last week of February 2006. Conflicting media reports followed on whether the talks had proved fruitful or whether they had ended in deadlock.

Chinese Communist Party
In 2005, the FLP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Communist Party, a move which was criticised by the National Federation Party.

Negotiations with NAPF, UPP
The FLP also attempted to negotiate coalition preferences with the National Alliance Party (NAPF) and the United Peoples Party. UPP leader Mick Beddoes was hopeful, but cautioned that his party would not accept any deal that was not favourable to UPP candidates. On 7 October, however, he revealed that the UPP and the FLP were close to finalising a draft agreement for consideration, and on 16 October he announced that the UPP executive had approved an electoral pact with the FLP the day before. "We share similar positions on issues of unemployment, poverty alleviation, health and other areas. It is also based on our belief in the rights of all our citizens and their need for equality under the law," Beddoes said, explaining his agreement with the FLP. On 2 December, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to draw up a joint manifesto and to share preferences at the 2006 election. The agreement left both parties free to contest any or all of the 71 parliamentary seats, or to field joint candidates by mutual agreement. It also left open the possibility of other parties joining the coalition.

On 22 February 2006, the FLP and its UPP and Party of National Unity (PANU) allies announced that the UPP's Mick Beddoes had been chosen to lead the negotiations with other parties, such as the NAPF and the NFP, concerning coalitions or preference deals.

On 13 March, FLP Parliamentarian Krishna Datt and NAPF President Ratu Epeli Ganilau both denied reports that their respective parties had agreed on Cabinet allocations in a coalition government. A secret agreement had allegedly provided for Ganilau to become Prime Minister, Chaudhry Minister for Finance, and FLP Deputy Leader Poseci Bune Foreign Minister. Discussions were ongoing, they said, and no agreement had been made.

Election result
In the 2006 Fijian general election, the FLP contested 59 seats in the 71-member House of Representatives. The party won 39% of the popular vote and 31 seats. Almost 80% of the Indo-Fijian community voted for the FLP, which won all 19 seats allocated to Indo-Fijians.

2006 coup and aftermath
The FLP initially supported the 2006 Fijian coup d'état, after party president Jokapeci Koroi announced support for a military takeover on national television in January 2006. Chaudhry served in the interim regime, holding the portfolios of Finance, Sugar Reform and National Planning, with Assistant secretary-general Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi and management board member Tom Ricketts holding other portfolios. As a result, the party was expelled from the Socialist International at its 23rd congress.

In August 2008, the FLP left the interim government, ostensibly to prepare for elections. Chaudhry subsequently became a critic of the regime and was arrested for breaching emergency laws.

In January 2013, the military regime promulgated new regulations governing the registration of political parties, requiring all parties to have at least 5,000 members. The FLP applied for registration on 15 February, becoming one of only two parties to do so. Registration was granted on 3 May 2013.

2014–present
The FLP contested the general elections held in September 2014. The military-backed interim government did not permit Chaudhry to be a candidate and prohibited him from campaigning in the first election since the 2006 coup, although he was still the Fiji Labour Party leader. The results gave the party only 2.4 percent of the vote and no parliamentary seats, while interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's Fiji First Party took 59.2 percent of the vote and 32 of the 50 seats. Chaudhry joined the leaders of other opposition parties in alleging electoral fraud.

On 3 July 2015, Chaudhry was quoted by Radio New Zealand as announcing his retirement from the leadership of the FLP, having served in that capacity for 23 years. The next day, however, he denied having made such a statement.

2018 election
In October 2018 the FLP signed a partnership agreement with the Freedom Alliance to join forces for the 2018 election. The party submitted a joint list of 25 candidates, including 6 women. However, it failed to win any seats, winning only 2,800 votes.

2022 election
In the 2022 election the FLP managed to increase significantly its vote share, obtaining a better result than in both the 2014 and 2018 elections, but failed again to get any parliamentary representation.

title: Fiji Labour Party


text:
Gutterflower

Gutterflower is the seventh studio album by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls. It was released in 2002 on Warner Bros. Records. It is the follow-up to their critically successful albums Dizzy Up the Girl and A Boy Named Goo. The album was commercially successful upon its release, hitting No. 4 on the Billboard 200, their highest position on the chart.

Singles
"Here Is Gone" and "Big Machine" have been the only two songs released from this album as singles and videos have been created for both. A video for the promotional single "Sympathy" was also released.

"Big Machine"
John Rzeznik refers to this as his "disco song". "I'm really horrible at programming drum machines, but this was like pattern 74 on my drum machine, which said 'disco.' I called all my friends and said, 'Check this out, this is my disco song!'" He describes it as "a propulsive tale of unrequited love". "Big Machine" was occasionally performed live on a smashed Stratocaster guitar that Rzeznik has fondly nicknamed "The Half-Caster". Despite being smashed in half, it still plays. It can be seen in a 2002 VH1 Storytellers special. Rzeznik stated that he had someone fix it up and it works just fine.

"Here Is Gone"
John Rzeznik wrote this song on the phone while talking to a friend. He asked his friend if he should "take the chords up or take 'em down?" and the friend told him to "take 'em up" and that's how he came up with the chorus and the rest of the song came together shortly thereafter.

According to Rzeznik in 2007, the video for this song cost more to produce than the entire Gutterflower album itself.

Reception

 * Upon release, Gutterflower received generally positive reviews from critics. In fact, although The Goo Goo Dolls' multi-platinum album Dizzy Up the Girl (which was Gutterflower's predecessor) sold around 3,000,000 more albums than Gutterflower, reviews were equally positive.
 * In 2005, Gutterflower was ranked number 499 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Personnel

 * Johnny Rzeznik – guitar, lead vocals
 * Robby Takac – bass, background vocals, lead vocals on "Smash", "Tucked Away", "You Never Know" and "Up, Up, Up"
 * Mike Malinin – drums, percussion

title: Gutterflower


text:
List of political parties in Fiji

Prior to the 2006 coup d'état, Fiji had a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party had a chance of gaining power alone, forcing parties to work with each other to form coalition governments.

In January 2013 the military regime promulgated new regulations governing the registration of political parties. Parties are required to have 5,000 financial members, obey a code of conduct, and be named in the English language. The existing 16 registered parties were required to re-register under the new rules, but only two – the Fiji Labour Party and the National Federation Party – did so. The rest were dissolved on 15 February 2013 and their assets forfeited to the government.

Historical parties
Political parties that have played a pivotal role in the past, but are now defunct.
 * All Nationals Congress – formerly a multiracial party. Split, with some joining the Fijian Association Party (FAP), and others the United General Party, which later became the United Peoples Party.
 * Alliance Party – the former ruling party (1967-1987); founded by Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. On 18 January 2005, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, the past Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, formally registered the National Alliance Party of Fiji as the claimed successor to the defunct party.
 * Bei Kai Viti (Protector of Fiji or BKV) – ethnic Fijian party founded in 1999 by Ratu Tevita Momoedonu; later merged with PANU to form People's National Party (PNP)
 * Christian Democratic Alliance, more commonly known by the Fijian acronym VLV (Veitokoni ni Lewenivanua VaKarisito) – founded in 1999, this party won 19 per cent of the vote and 3 seats in the 1999 election. It was weakened in 2001 when the leader, Poseci Bune, defected to join the Fiji Labour Party.  In 2005, this party merged into the National Alliance Party of Fiji.
 * Coalition of Independent Nationals – a grouping of six candidates styling themselves as independents, in the 1999 election. Led by  Prince Vyas Muni Lakshman.
 * Conservative Alliance (CAMV), a nationalistic party that broke away from the Fijian Political Party (SVT) (q.v.) in 2001; led by Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, its key figures included insurrectionist George Speight. The party merged into the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua in March 2006, but was revived in 2008.
 * Dodonu ni Taukei (DNT) – ethnic Fijian party led by Dr Fereti S. Dewa.
 * Freedom Alliance (FAP), dissolved 2022
 * Fijian Association Party (FAP) – founded by Josefata Kamikamica; significant in the 1990s but wiped out in 2001. Most members merged in June 2002 into the new Fiji Democratic Party; a rump continued under the leadership of Ratu Inoke Seru.
 * Fiji Democratic Party – founded in June 2002 by Filipe Bole as a merger of the Fijian Association Party, the Christian Democratic Alliance, the New Labour Unity Party, and most members of the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei. Dissolved in April 2005 and merged into the new National Alliance Party of Fiji
 * FijiFirst - a secular party founded in 2014 by dictator Frank Bainimarama to contest elections. Governed Fiji for 8 years, before losing power at the 2022 election. Dissolved in 2024 after its constitution was found to not contain legally-required dispute-resolution clauses.
 * Fijian Nationalist Party – a hardline nationalist party advocating indigenous Fijian supremacy, founded by Sakeasi Butadroka in 1975. Merged with the Vanua Tako Lavo Party in 1999 to form the Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party
 * General Voters Party (GVP), the rump of a once-significant party that mostly merged into what is now the United Peoples Party in the late 1990s. Led by Dan Johns.
 * Girmit Heritage Party (GHP), a small Indo-Fijian party led by Beni Sami.
 * Green Party of Fiji – dissolved 2013
 * HOPE, led by Tupou Draunidalo, dissolved 2022
 * Lio 'On Famör Rotuma Party (LFR), a party representing Rotuman Islanders, led by Sakumanu Pene
 * Justice and Freedom Party (AIM): led by Dildar Shah, dissolved 2013
 * National Alliance Party of Fiji (NAPF): registered on 18 January 2005 by Ratu Epeli Ganilau as the successor to the defunct Alliance Party; dissolved 2013
 * National Youth Party (2005–2013)
 * Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP), led by Iliesa Duvuloco, dissolved 2013
 * New Labour Unity Party (founded in 2001 by Tupeni Baba; won two seats).
 * People's National Party, predominantly ethnic Fijian; effectively led by Meli Bogileka; formed from a merger of the Party of National Unity (PANU) – and the Protector of Fiji (Bai kei Viti, founded by Ratu Tevita Momoedonu).
 * New Nationalist Party, led by Saula Telawa. A splinter from the NVTLP
 * One Fiji Party (OFP)
 * Party of National Unity (PANU) – multiracial party founded in 1998 by Sairusi Gagavoka; now merged into the People's National Party (PNP), though it was revived.
 * Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – a split from the Fiji Labour Party, active from 2013 to 2018.
 * Social Liberal Multicultural Party, led by Joketani Delai (dissolved 2013)
 * Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (United Fiji Party or SDL, mainly ethnic Fijian; led the government from 2001 through 2006; dissolved 2013)
 * Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), ethnic Fijian; the governing party from 1992 to 1999, but decimated in 1999 and anihlated in 2001. Partially merged into the Fiji Democratic Party in June 2002.
 * Sugar City Ratepayers Alliance – a party that exists only in the City of Lautoka, where it participates in municipal politics.
 * United Peoples Party (supported mostly by Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities; dissolved 2013)
 * Vanua Tako Lavo Party – nationalist party advocating political supremacy for indigenous Fijians, founded by Iliesa Duvuloco. Merged with Fijian Nationalist Party in 1999 to form the Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party
 * Western United Front, political party based in the western part of Viti Levu, active in the early 1980s.

Coalitions and electoral alliances

 * Grand Coalition Initiative Group – a coalition of five predominantly indigenous Fijian parties formed to contest the upcoming election scheduled for mid-2006. Participating parties are: the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, Conservative Alliance, Fijian Political Party, Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party, and the People's National Party.
 * People's Coalition – an electoral alliance consisting of the Fiji Labour Party, the Fijian Association Party, and the Party of National Unity, which won the 1999 elections.
 * NFP–Labour Coalition was the coalition of the National Federation Party and Fiji Labour Party under the leadership of Timoci Bavadra, formed in 1987 to contest that year's general election. The coalition won the election with 28 seats in the House of Representatives to the Alliance Party's 24 seats.
 * NFP-WUF Coalition was a coalition of the National Federation Party(NFP) led by Jai Ram Reddy and the Western United Front (WUF) under the leadership of Ratu Osea Gavidi, formed to fight the 1982 general election against the Alliance Party. The coalition was an attempt by Reddy to broaden the appeal of a future NFP led Government to the ethnic Fijians.

title: List of political parties in Fiji


text:
Talk:Paul Simon (politician)

Neutrality?
Someone has put up a NPOV tag, but I don't see any reason here. Wooyi 23:49, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Inline citations
This article did not have incline citations, I just added several, but still not enough. Anyone who is familiar with Simon please help! Thanks! Wooyi 21:55, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

GA Failed: Notes for fixes
I have had to fail this article's GA nomination per criteria listed at WP:WIAGA. Please make the following fixes, and renominate for GA when they are done: Once these changes are made, please feel free to renominate it again at WP:GAC. If you feel that this review was not done correctly, please bring the issue up for remediation at WP:GA/R. If you have any further questions, drop a note at my talk page.--Jayron32| talk | contribs 03:24, 7 April 2007 (UTC) }}
 * Criteria 1 (quality of writing): Needs some copyediting. In the lead, for example, there are to many "He was...." sentances.  Several sentances seem to beg for expansion, and there probably should be a reorganization to include a section on Personal Life.
 * Criteria 2 (accuracy and referencing): Uneven level of referencing. Some sections, for example, Rise to National Prominence, are VERY inadequately referenced.  This section makes many assertions of fact, but only has one inline reference.  Several parts of Early Political Years suffer from the same problems.  Also, each reference needs full bibliographical information.  Consider using citation templates found at WP:CITET to help organize this information.
 * Criteria 3 (broadness): Needs a personal life section.
 * Criteria 4 (NPOV): Looks fine here.
 * Criteria 5 (stability): Again, looks fine
 * Criteria 6 (images): all good!

Book
Didn't he write a book titled Tapped Out? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.215.27.182 (talk) 22:49, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Saturday Night Live
Am I the only one to remember the two Paul Simons coming to host SNL? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:302:D85:94D9:4C58:B0E6:19C8:27B5 (talk) 06:43, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Clarification
It reads "The Ogilvie-Simon ticket was the only one in Illinois history in which the elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor were from different political parties."

I don't think that "ticket" is correct: they were elected from separate lines on the ballot. After this, the Illinois constitution was amended to have the candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor listed as a team of running mates (only now a "ticket"), so that it would not happen again. It was an awkward situation, as the Lt. Gov. had the power to sign bills into law whenever the Governor was outside the state of Illinois, though Simon pledged not to do so. WHPratt (talk) 16:16, 2 May 2018 (UTC)

title: Talk:Paul Simon (politician)