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Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the government as a Prime Minister of Uzbekistan from 2003 to 2016.

Mirziyoyev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR in 1990. From mid-1990s, he headed several regions of Jizzakh and Samarqand as a governor (hakim) before his appointment as the head of government by then-President Islam Karimov.

Following the death of President Karimov, Mirziyoyev was appointed by the Oliy Majlis as acting president of Uzbekistan on 8 September 2016. He was subsequently elected to a full five-year term as president in the 2016 election from the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (O'zLiDeP), winning 88.6% of the vote. Mirziyoyev was re-elected for second five-year term with 80.3% of the vote in the 2021 presidential election, and then again for a renewed first seven-year term with 87.7% of the vote in a snap 2023 presidential election as an independent candidate with the O'zLiDeP backing, after a constitutional amendment had granted him to legally run for third time after resetting his presidential term of office.

Under his presidency, Mirziyoyev implemented a range of liberal reforms in Uzbekistan’s political and economic system by attracting foreign investment, improving relations with neighboring Central Asian countries, as well as release of political prisoners that was notably accompanied by closure of the infamous Jaslyk Prison in 2019. In late 2021, he announced a series of constitutional reforms which included an abolition of capital punishment and the protection of human rights, which were ratified following the 2023 constitutional referendum with an overwhelming 90.6% of support. One of the proposed changes had initially included a removal of the semi-autonomous Karakalpakstan's right to secession, which led to deadly unrest in the region in July 2022 with the protests being brutally suppressed and resulting in the scrapping of the controversial proposal.

Early life and career
Mirziyoyev was born on 24 July 1957 in the Jizzakh Region of the Uzbek SSR. Some media outlets alleged that he was actually born in the village of Yakhtan in the Leninabad Oblast (now the Sughd Region) of Tajikistan, and even unconfirmed claims that he was allegedly a Tajik. After an investigation by several journalists, it was revealed that Yakhtan is the native home of Mirziyoyev's grandfather on his father's side, and that Mirziyoyev himself is an Uzbek, and not a Tajik. His father, Miromon Mirziyoyevich Mirziyoyev, worked as a physician for most of his life until death. He worked as the head physician of the tuberculosis dispensary in Zaamin. O‘rinbek Yoqubov, a cousin of Miromon, being a veteran of World War II, became a Hero of the Soviet Union in April 1944. Shavkat's mother Marifat, died at a young age from tuberculosis, which she contracted in the Zaamin tuberculosis dispensary, where she worked as a nurse. After the death of his wife, Miromon Mirziyoyev married a second time to a woman from Tatarstan.

In 1981, Mirziyoyev graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration. He holds a Candidate (Ph.D.) degree in Technological Sciences. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. In early 1990, he was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR's last legislative body before the independence of Uzbekistan in 1991. The ceremony took place in the Senate and State Legislative Assembly Building in Tashkent.

Political career
He served as governor (Hakim) of Jizzakh Region from 1996 to September 2001, then as governor of Samarqand Region from September 2001 until his appointment as prime minister in 2003. He was nominated as prime minister by President Islam Karimov on 12 December 2003, and approved by the Uzbek parliament. He replaced Prime Minister Oʻtkir Sultonov. His deputy was Ergash Shoismatov and his press secretary was Sherzodkhon Kudratkhuja.

Mirziyoyev and Han Myeong-sook, the Prime Minister of South Korea, met in Tashkent on 25 September 2006. They signed several agreements, including one deal in which Uzbekistan was to send 300 tons of Uzbek uranium ore to South Korea every year from 2010 to 2014. The deal bypasses U.S. companies that acted previously as middlemen for South Korean imports of Uzbek uranium ore. Han also met with President Islam Karimov and parliament speaker Erkin Xalilov. Han and Mirziyoyev boosted cooperation in the energy, agriculture, construction, architecture, and information technology sectors. Trade between South Korea and Uzbekistan increased by nearly 40% between 2005 and 2006, to $565 million.

According to a 2017 report by Human Rights Watch on forced and child labour in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan, during his time as prime minister from 2003 to 2016 Mirziyoyev "oversaw the cotton production system, and as the previous governor of Jizzakh and Samarkand, he was in charge of two cotton-producing regions. The 2016 harvest, when Mirziyoyev was acting president and retained control over cotton production, continued to be defined by mass involuntary mobilization of workers under threat of penalty." The report states that during a 2015 conference call with local authorities and farmers, Mirziyoyev said “Go to the homes of farmers in debt, who can't repay their credit, take their cars, livestock, and if there are none, take the slate from their roofs!”

On 24 October 2021, Uzbekistan's Central Election Commission announced that Mirziyoyev received 80.1 percent of the vote and will serve a second five-year term.

Presidency

A member of the Samarkand clan, he was considered to be one of the leading potential successors to Islam Karimov as President of Uzbekistan. Mirziyoyev was reported to have friendly relations with Karimov's wife, Tatyana Karimova, and National Security Council chairman Rustam Inoyatov.

After the death of Karimov was announced on 2 September 2016, Mirziyoyev was appointed as head of the committee organizing the funeral of the President. That was taken as a sign that Mirziyoyev would succeed Karimov as president. On 8 September 2016, he was appointed as interim president of Uzbekistan by a joint session of both houses of parliament. Although the chairman of the Senate, Nigmatilla Yuldashev, was constitutionally designated as Karimov's successor, Yuldashev proposed that Mirziyoyev take the post of interim president instead in light of Mirziyoyev's "many years of experience". There were expectations that Mirziyoyev would repair Uzbek relations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He started to settle a long-running border dispute with Kyrgyzstan, and regular flights between the capitals of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were set to resume in January 2017 for the first time since 1992.

The electoral commission announced on 16 September that Mirziyoyev would stand in the December 2016 presidential election as the candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Mirziyoyev won the election, held on 4 December 2016, with 88.6% of the vote according to official results, defeating three minor candidates. The election was described by The Economist as a sham; the paper wrote that Mirziyoyev's bent was as authoritarian as that of Karimov and that state media claimed the choice was between Mirziyoyev, chaos, or Islamic radicalism. It also claimed that the three opponents were only on the ballot to keep up the appearance of pluralism. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election lacked "a genuine choice," pointing to instances of ballot box stuffing and proxy voting.

On 12 December 2016, Deputy Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov was nominated to take over from Mirziyoyev as prime minister. Mirziyoyev was sworn in as president on 14 December, vowing to "continue the work of my dear teacher, the great statesman Islam Karimov", while also promising "many changes in the cabinet". Aripov was confirmed as prime minister by parliament on the same day; a cabinet reshuffle followed on 15 December. On 6 March 2017, he made a state visit to Turkmenistan; it was his first foreign trip after the election.

Domestic reforms
In the three months following the death of Islam Karimov, Mirziyoyev began to hint at reforms to longstanding policies that had held back the Uzbek economy and isolated the country internationally, so many analysts believed that Mirziyoyev would be a better president than his predecessor.

However, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that "The people of Uzbekistan play no part in political decision-making processes. So far, no parliamentary or presidential election held in the post-Soviet era has been considered as either free or fair by the international community... Given the sensitive political situation in Uzbekistan, development cooperation activities there are implemented as far away from government circles as possible." However, some positive results of his rule are visible. Uzbekistan created more than 336,000 new jobs in 2017. The volume of exports increased by almost 15 percent. In 2018, the total financial indicator of exports is expected at 12.1 billion US dollars. He initiated the project of "Tashkent City", intended to attract foreign investors to Uzbekistan. Mirziyoyev promised to resume negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on joining the organization in 2018. On several occasions, he sharply criticized the administration and officials in the presence of media.

On 22 December, the first time in the country's history, Shavkat Mirziyoyev made an appeal to the parliament. His speech lasted for four hours. He said:"Some people tell me that I did not know about everything in country when I was a prime minister? I knew everything, but the environment was bad. Now I am talking about it openly, even if some people do not like it. Several years the so-called ‘rats’, ‘the children of some people’ did much to spoil the country's investment fund. Corruption is implicated in many investment projects, and in some projects, it is 50%. Corruption was also in transport policy, both internal and external."

Some analysts think Mirziyoyev wants to enter in history as a reformer. He removed most of Karimov's officials and urged government to employ "new, young people who love their country." After a year in office, Mirziyoyev is increasingly moving away from his predecessor's policy, which is especially visible in his active foreign policy. He visited all the Uzbek regions and big cities to get acquainted with the implementation of the projects and reforms which he had ordered. Many analysts and Western media compared his rule with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping or Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev; his rule has been quoted as being an "Uzbek Spring".

At the end of that year, he was named the "Asian of the Year of 2018" by the Asia Journalist Association (AJA).

In August 2019 he closed the notorious Jaslyk Prison.

In July 2021, Mirziyoyev's spokesperson attempted to generate some suspense as to whether or not the President would run in the elections again. It was widely acknowledged that Mirziyoyev would not only participate but likely win.

Constitutional reform
On 1 July 2022 protests broke out in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan over proposed amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan which would have ended Karakalpakstan's status as an autonomous region of Uzbekistan and right to secede from Uzbekistan via referendum. They were brutally suppressed, at least 18 people were killed.

In April 2023, a referendum was held in Uzbekistan to change the constitution. The adopted amendments increased the presidential term from 5 to 7 years. The number of terms is still limited to two, but due to a change in the constitution, Mirziyoyev's previous presidencies are not counted. Shortly thereafter, the head of state called early elections. They passed on July 9, 2023. Mirziyoyev won with 87% of the vote on a turnout of almost 80%.

Foreign policy
Mirziyoyev's foreign policy is much more open than the policy of his predecessor. Uzbekistan was practically under international isolation after the Andijan massacre in 2005 and Karimov rarely travelled outside of Central Asia and other CIS states. Mirziyoyev promised to conduct an active foreign policy at the beginning of his tenure.

During the first 10 months of his tenure, Mirziyoyev visited Kazakhstan four times, Turkmenistan three times, Russia two times, as well as China, Saudi Arabia, United States, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan. At the different occasions, he met the presidents of Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Belarus and the King of Spain. During the CIS Summit in Tashkent in November 2017, he met eight Prime Ministers of foreign countries.

Regional policy
One of his most significant foreign policy achievements is the gradual improvement of relations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On 5 September 2017, just 3 days after the anniversary of the death of his predecessor, he made a historic visit to Kyrgyzstan. This was the first state visit of an Uzbek president to the neighboring country since 2000. On 19 September 2017, Mirziyoyev addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time.

In 2018, a large number of foreign leaders visited or were expected in Uzbekistan, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose visit took place in September and was his first state visit to the country in 24 years. In March 2018, Mirziyoyev made a visit to Tajikistan, which made him the first Uzbek president to conduct a state visit to Dushanbe since 2000.

In March 2019, Mirziyoyev held a telephone conversation with Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had resigned from office that day. In it, he expressed regret to the ex-president, saying that he was a "great politician". During a visit to Abu Dhabi in March 2019, Mirziyoyev came away from his talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed with over $10 billion in infrastructure, alternative energy and agriculture deals, as well as deals in other spheres. In 2022 Uzbekistan hosted the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Samarkand. During the summit, which was attended by world leaders Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iran's Ebrahim Raisi, Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev, presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia, and the prime ministers of Pakistan and India, it was noted that the Chinese and Indian leaders chastised President Putin about his role in Ukraine. In preparation for the Summit, the president ordered that the city be redeveloped. This included the construction of a new international airport and a tourism complex that has had mixed reviews.

Afghanistan
Mirziyoyev has also taken an important role in Afghanistan by offering to host peace talks between the government and the Taliban since March 2018. During the week of 6–10 August 2018, a Taliban delegation visited Tashkent, at the request of Mirziyoyev, to discuss issues including transport, power and peace in Afghanistan. Mirziyoyev attended the Vibrant Gujarat international investment summit as a key guest, being the first Central Asian leader to participate as a partner in the summit. In early 2019, it was announced that Mirziyoyev planned to visit 36 countries in official visits throughout the year.

Culture policy
In October 2020, Mirziyoyev issued a decree to accelerate the full Latinization of the Uzbek language that outlined language policy for the 2020–30 period as the country continues an on-again, off-again attempt to reform the Uzbek language and widen its use. Some of the main parts of the degree called on the development of a road map for a full transition to the Uzbek alphabet based on the Latin alphabet, as well as government officials by April 2021 to be certified in their knowledge of Uzbek.

Personal life
He has two sisters, a half-brother, and sister. Mirziyoyev is married to Ziroatkhon Hoshimova and has two daughters, a son and six grandchildren. The eldest daughter of Said Mirziyoyev heads the sector for communications and information policy of the executive office of the administration of the head of state. His eldest son-in-law, Oybek Tursunov, is the current head of Mirziyoyev's presidential administration, while his younger son-in-law, Otabek Shahanov, is the head of the presidential security services.

Since coming to power, Mirziyoyev has built a new residence for himself in Qibray District, which could potentially include a presidential highway, and an interior that is decorated with Argentinian marble slabs and Swarovski crystals.

In February 2021, it was reported that Mirziyoyev was building an exclusive mountain compound, including a new reservoir. The compound, located about 100 kilometers by car from Tashkent, includes a luxurious mansion built for Mirziyoyev and his relatives. Two sources estimated the cost of the development at several hundred million dollars, though only a handful of publicly available official documents make reference to the compound and the adjacent reservoir, which were largely completed by 2019.

Awards

 * National
 * Order "Mehnat shuhrati"
 * Order "Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun"
 * Foreign
 * Order of Danaker (Kyrgyzstan, 22 November 2017)
 * Honored Citizen of Seoul (South Korea, 14 April 2018)
 * Prize “For Merits to Eurasia” (Turkey, 24 April 2018)
 * Order of Friendship (Kazakhstan, 15 March 2018)
 * Honorary Doctorate from Nagoya University (Japan, 18 December 2019)
 * Order of the Crown (Tajikistan, 10 June 2021)
 * Order of Alexander Nevsky (Russia, 24 July 2022)

title: Shavkat Mirziyoyev


text:
John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey

John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, (13 October 1696 – 5 August 1743) was an English courtier and political writer. Heir to the Earl of Bristol, he obtained the key patronage of Walpole, and was involved in many court intrigues and literary quarrels, being apparently caricatured by Pope and Fielding. His memoirs of the early reign of George II were too revealing to be published in his time and did not appear for more than a century.

Family background
Hervey was the eldest son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, by his second wife, Elizabeth. He was known as Lord Hervey from 1723, upon the death of his elder half-brother, Carr, the only son of his father's first wife, Isabella, but Lord Hervey never became Earl of Bristol, as he predeceased his father.

Life
Hervey was educated at Westminster School and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he took his M.A. degree in 1715. His father then sent him to Paris in 1716, and thence to Hanover to pay court to George I.

He was a frequent visitor at the court of the Prince and Princess of Wales at Richmond, and in 1720 he married Mary Lepell, daughter of Nicholas Lepell, who was one of the Princess's ladies-in-waiting, and a great court beauty. In 1723 John's elder half-brother Carr died, whereby he became heir apparent to the Earldom of Bristol with the courtesy title of Lord Hervey. In 1725 he was elected M.P. for Bury St Edmunds.

Hervey had been at one time on very friendly terms with Frederick, Prince of Wales, but in about 1732 they quarrelled, apparently because they were rivals for the affection of Anne Vane. These differences probably account for the scathing picture he draws of the Prince's callous conduct. Hervey had been hesitating between William Pulteney (afterwards earl of Bath) and Robert Walpole, but in 1730 he definitely took sides with Walpole, of whom he was thenceforward a faithful adherent. He was assumed by Pulteney to be the author of Sedition and Defamation display'd, with a Dedication to the patrons of The Craftsman (1731). Pulteney, who, up to this time, had been a firm friend of Hervey, replied with A Proper Reply to a late Scurrilous Libel, and the quarrel resulted in a duel from which Hervey narrowly escaped with his life.

Hervey is said to have denied the authorship of both the pamphlet and its dedication, but a note on the manuscript at Ickworth, apparently in his own hand, states that he wrote the latter. He was able to render valuable service to Walpole from his influence with the Queen. Through him the minister governed Queen Caroline and indirectly George II. Hervey was vice-chamberlain in the royal household and a member of the Privy Council. In 1733 he was called to the House of Lords by writ of acceleration in his father's Barony. He was then elected a governor of the Foundling Hospital prior to its foundation in 1739. In spite of repeated requests he received no further preferment until after 1740, when he became Lord Privy Seal.

After the fall of Sir Robert Walpole, he was dismissed (July 1742) from his office. An excellent political pamphlet, Miscellaneous Thoughts on the present Posture of Foreign and Domestic Affairs, shows that he still retained his mental vigour, but he was liable to epilepsy, and his weak appearance and rigid diet were a constant source of ridicule for his enemies. He predeceased his father, but three of his sons became successively Earls of Bristol.

Memoirs and literary quarrels
Hervey wrote detailed and brutally frank memoirs of the court of George II of Great Britain from 1727 to 1737. He gave a most unflattering account of the King, and of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and their family squabbles. For the Queen Caroline of Ansbach and her daughter, Princess Caroline of Great Britain, he had genuine respect and attachment. The Princess's affection for him was commonly said to be the reason for the close retirement in which she lived after his death. The manuscript of Hervey's memoirs was preserved by the family, but his son, Augustus John, 3rd Earl of Bristol, left strict injunctions that they should not be published until after the death of George III. In 1848 they were published under the editorship of J. W. Croker, but the manuscript had been subjected to a certain amount of mutilation before it came into his hands. Croker also softened in some cases the plainspokenness of the original. Hervey's account of court life and intrigues resembles in many points the memoirs of Horace Walpole, and the two books corroborate one another in many statements that might otherwise have been received with suspicion.

Until the publication of the Memoirs Hervey was chiefly known as the object of savage satire on the part of Alexander Pope, in whose works he figured as Lord Fanny, Sporus, Adonis and Narcissus. The quarrel is generally put down to the Pope's jealousy of Hervey's friendship with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In the first of the Imitations of Horace, addressed to William Fortescue, Lord Fanny and Sappho were generally identified with Hervey and Lady Mary, although Pope denied the personal intention. Hervey had already been attacked in the Dunciad and the Peribathous, and he now retaliated. There is no doubt that he had a share in the Verses to the Imitator of Horace (1732) and it is possible that he was the sole author. In the Letter from a nobleman at Hampton Court to a Doctor of Divinity (1733), he scoffed at Pope's deformity and humble birth.

Pope's reply was a Letter to a Noble Lord, dated November 1733, and the portrait of Sporus in the Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot (1743), which forms the prologue to the satires. Many of the insinuations and insults contained in it are borrowed from Pulteney's A Proper Reply to a late Scurrilous Libel.

Some literary critics, such as Martin C. Battestin, suggest that Pope's friend and fellow-satirist Henry Fielding intended the character of Beau Didapper in Joseph Andrews to be read as Hervey. Beau Didapper is described as obedient to the commands of a "Great Man" (presumably Walpole) "which he implicitly submitted to, at the Expence of his Conscience, his Honour, and of his Country." Didapper is also compared to Hylas, and is mistaken for a woman in the dark on account of his soft skin.

The malicious caricature of Sporus does Hervey great injustice, and he is not much better treated by Horace Walpole, who in reporting his death in a letter (14 August 1743) to Horace Mann, said he had outlived his last inch of character. Nevertheless, his writings prove him to have been a man of real ability, condemned by Walpole's tactics and distrust of able men to spend his life in court intrigue, the weapons of which, it must be owned, he used with the utmost adroitness. His wife Lady Hervey (1700–1768), of whom an account is to be found in Lady Louisa Stuart's Anecdotes, was a warm partisan of the Stuarts. She retained her wit and charm throughout her life, and has the distinction of being the recipient of English verses by Voltaire.

Marriages, affairs, and sexuality
Hervey married Mary Lepell (1700–1768) on 21 April 1720. They had eight children:

 * 1) George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721–1775), unmarried
 * 2) Lepell Hervey (15 April 1723 – 11 May 1780), married in 1743 Constantine John Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave, leaving issue
 * 3) Augustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol (1724–1779), died without legitimate issue
 * 4) Mary Hervey (1725–1815), married 1747 George FitzGerald, of Turlough, County Mayo, and was the mother of the notoriously eccentric duellist George Robert FitzGerald, hanged for conspiracy to murder in 1786
 * 5) Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol (1730–1803), married 1752 Elizabeth Davers, had issue
 * 6) General William Hervey (13 May 1732 – 1815), unmarried
 * 7) Amelia Caroline Nassau Hervey (1734–1814), unmarried
 * 8) Caroline Hervey (1736–1819), unmarried

Hervey was bisexual. He had an affair with Anne Vane, and possibly with Lady Townshend, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Princess Caroline. He lived with Stephen Fox often during the decade after he followed him to Italy in 1728. He wrote passionate love letters to Francesco Algarotti, whom he first met in 1736. He may have had a sexual affair with Prince Frederick before their friendship dissolved. He was in fact denounced as a sexually ambiguous figure in his time most notably by William Pulteney, then leader of the Opposition and as cited above, by Alexander Pope in his "Sporus" portrait: "Let Sporus tremble/What that thing of silk...His wit all seesaw between that and this/Now high, now low, now master up, now miss/And he himself one vile antithesis...". He was also attracted to Henry Fox before his affair with Stephen Fox.

Writings
See Hervey's Memoirs of the Court of George II, edited by John Wilson Croker (1848); and an article by G. F. Russell Barker in the Dictionary of National Biography. Besides the Memoirs he wrote numerous political pamphlets, and some occasional verses.

Modern portrayals
Hervey appears as a character in the 1999 British television series Aristocrats, where he is portrayed by Anthony Finigan. He is shown acting as a patron to the younger Henry Fox.

Hervey appears as a character in the historical novel Peter: The Untold True Story (2013) by Christopher Mechling, a tale of 18th-century feral child Peter the Wild Boy, whom the author believes to have been the inspiration for Peter Pan.

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

title: John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey


text:
Wikipedia:Welcoming committee

{| style="background:white;border:2px #B0BFD5 solid;padding:12px;"

Welcoming committee members welcome new users who have already made constructive edits and help them get started in various ways. There are no requirements for joining us except a good attitude and a willingness to help newcomers get started on Wikipedia.

Welcome new users
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There is no standard template, but the most commonly used are {{subst:Welcome}}, {{subst:W-basic}} and {{subst:W-graphical}}. To use them, type one of these on a new user's talk page: This will make a section titled "Welcome!" and place the welcome message under it. Be sure to place greetings on each user's talk page, not their user page. This will ensure they will receive the "You have new messages" automatic alert. Also please remember that all welcome templates must be substituted, not transcluded.

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To use Twinkle, go to the preferences and then the gadgets area. Then, look down for "Twinkle", and click the checkbox next to it. Save the settings, and you have a TW item. To welcome with Twinkle, click the TW, then click 'wel' and click the template you want to use.

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How can I know where a new account is located geographically you ask? Well, unless they self-identify themselves on their own userpage, you can't. But you can watchlist the city and/or neighbourhood you live in, and if you spot a new user making substantial edits to that article, it's usually very likely the user is from that same area. Imagine how pleasantly surprised they may be to see a welcome message from a 'Wikipedia representative' from their own community!

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 * Help desk – volunteers answer questions on how to use Wikipedia. Many new users go there for help too.
 * Administration – explains the internal workings of Wikipedia.
 * Questions – the "where to ask questions" directory.
 * FAQ – quick answers to the most common questions.
 * Adopt-a-user – a new user can be adopted by an experienced user who will be their mentor.

 * Directory – a list of the different directories and indexes within Wikipedia.
 * Help:Directory – a descriptive directory of Wikipedia's informative, instructional and consultation pages.

Discuss plans
As an active team, we discuss and implement new projects from time to time. We also discuss new users in general and try to keep in touch with the experience a typical new user is likely to be subjected to upon discovering and participating in Wikipedia. Sometimes the treatment they receive from veterans can be confusing or even traumatic, so we try to come up with ways to prevent this sort of thing. To participate, please see the talk page.

Add yourself to our member list
To become a member of the welcoming committee, please see Welcoming committee/members.

Welcoming Committee Userbox

 * Or you can get one that links to the Welcoming Committee homepage!
 * And you can also use our top icon that links to the Project page and displays the icon in the top-right of your user page!

title: Wikipedia:Welcoming committee


text:
1951 Irish general election

The 1951 Irish general election to the 14th Dáil was held on Wednesday, 30 May following the dissolution of the 13th Dáil on 7 May by President Seán T. O'Kelly on the request of Taoiseach John A. Costello. The general election took place in 40 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 147 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas.

This election was the first election since the declaration of the Republic of Ireland on 18 April 1949 under the terms of The Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which forced Ireland's withdrawal from the British Commonwealth.

The 14th Dáil met at Leinster House on 13 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Costello failed to secure a majority, and Éamon de Valera was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 6th government of Ireland, a single-party minority Fianna Fáil government.

Campaign

The 1951 general election was caused by a number of crises within the first inter-party government, most notably the Mother and Child Scheme. While the whole affair – which saw the resignation of the Minister for Health, Noël Browne – was not entirely to blame for the collapse of the government, it added to the disagreement between the various political parties. There were other problems facing the country, such as rising prices and balance-of-payments problems. Two farmer TDs withdrew their support for the government because of rising milk prices.

Although the First Inter-Party Government had come to an end, it had a number of achievements. It proved that the country could be led by a group other than Fianna Fáil. It also provided a fresh perspective after sixteen years of government by a single party.

The coalition parties fought the general election on their record over the previous three years, while Fianna Fáil argued strongly against coalition governments.

Result

 * }

Government formation
The election result was inconclusive. Fianna Fáil's support increased by 61,000 votes; however, the party only gained one additional seat. The coalition parties had mixed fortunes. Fine Gael were the big winners increasing to forty seats. The Labour Party had reunited in 1950, when the National Labour Party had merged back into the party but in spite of this, the party lost seats. Clann na Poblachta was the big loser of the election. Three years earlier the party had been a big political threat but now the party was shattered.

Fianna Fáil did not enough seats to govern alone. However, the party was able to form a minority government with the support of Noël Browne, the sacked Minister for Health, and other Independent deputies.

First-time TDs

 * Philip Brady
 * Joseph Brennan
 * Patrick Cawley
 * Declan Costello
 * Patrick Crowe
 * Liam Cunningham
 * Percy Dockrell
 * Peadar Duignan
 * Anthony Esmonde
 * John Fanning
 * Michael ffrench-O'Carroll
 * Seán Flanagan
 * Colm Gallagher
 * James Hession
 * Patrick Hillery
 * John Lynch
 * Peadar Maher
 * John Mannion Snr
 * Michael Pat Murphy
 * William Murphy
 * Denis J. O'Sullivan

Re-elected TDs

 * Laurence Walsh

Defeated TDs

 * Mick Fitzpatrick
 * John Friel
 * Patrick Gorry
 * James Kilroy
 * Michael Lydon
 * Michael Óg McFadden
 * Martin O'Sullivan
 * Robert Ryan

Retiring TDs

 * Richard Walsh

Vacancies

 * Sir John Esmonde (resigned)
 * Joseph Mongan (deceased)

Seanad election
The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 7th Seanad.

title: 1951 Irish general election


text:
John Cassin

John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and Vice President at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification of the Academy's extensive collection of birds. He was one of the founders of the Delaware County Institute of Science and published several books describing 194 new species of birds. Five species of North American birds, a cicada, and a mineral are named in his honor.

Early life and education
Cassin was born in Upper Providence Township, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1813. He was educated at the Westtown School in Westtown Township, Pennsylvania. His great Uncle, John Cassin, was a commodore in the U.S. Navy and served in the War of 1812.

He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was held prisoner in the infamous Confederate Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.

Career
Cassin moved to Philadelphia in 1834 and became the head of a lithographing business in which many of his illustrations of birds were later printed. He served for a brief time in the Philadelphia City Council. He was a member of the Zoological Society, the American Philosophical Society and the Pennsylvania Historical Society.

In 1833, Cassin, along with 4 colleagues, founded the Delaware County Institute of Science in Media, Pennsylvania.

In 1842, he was elected curator of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. From 1846 to 1850, Thomas Bellerby Wilson, a wealthy patron of the Academy, became interested in the department of ornithology and procured a collection of over 25,000 birds. The Academy had the largest ornithological collection in the United States at the time and included an extensive collection of non-North American species. This exceptional collection of birds allowed Cassin to become the leading ornithological taxonomist in the world.

Cassin worked almost exclusively at the Academy, focused on research and the systematic classification of species rather than field work. He described 194 new species of birds and revised a number of families in the Academy's publications. His publications include Birds of California, with descriptions and colored engravings of fifty species; Synopsis of the Birds of North America; Ornithology of the United States Exploring Expedition; Ornithology of the Japan Expedition; Ornithology of Gillis's Astronomical Expedition to Chile; and chapters on raptorial birds and waders in Ornithology of the Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys. He also co-authored Birds of North America (1860) with Spencer Fullerton Baird and George Newbold Lawrence.

Specimens collected from the Pacific Railroad Surveys and the Mexican Boundary Surveys were sent to the Academy and further supplemented the collection. Cassin helped revise the publications that arose from these surveys.

Martha Maxwell was a student of Cassin at the Academy of Natural Sciences from 1862 to 1869.

Cassin was elected Vice President of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1864.

He died in 1869 of arsenic poisoning caused by his handling of bird skins preserved with arsenic. His collection of 4,300 birds was purchased for $500, dollars, by John Whipple Potter Jenks for Brown University's museum of natural history.

He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Legacy
Five birds from North America are named in his honor: the Cassin's auklet, Cassin's kingbird, Cassin's vireo, Cassin's sparrow, and Cassin's finch. The periodic cicada Magicicada cassini  and the mineral orthoclase variety cassinite are also named for him.

In 1901, the journal of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club was renamed Cassinia in his honor.

title: John Cassin


text:
John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol

John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol (27 August 1665 – 20 January 1751) was an English Whig politician.

John Hervey was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the son of Sir Thomas Hervey. He was educated in Bury and at Clare College, Cambridge. He became one of the two Members of Parliament for the town five years after his father in March 1694.

In March 1703 he was created 1st Baron Hervey, of Ickworth in the county of Suffolk, and in October 1714 was created 1st Earl of Bristol as a reward for his zeal in promoting the principles of the revolution and supporting the Hanoverian succession.

Estates
The principal estate owned by John Hervey was Ickworth, which his ancestor Thomas Hervey (died 1467) acquired following his marriage to Jane Drury, the sole heiress to Henry Drury. However, when he married Elizabeth Felton, he acquired property in other parts of Suffolk: Tuddenham, Playford and Shotley following the death of her father Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet in 1709.

Marriages and issue
Lord Bristol married twice:
 * to Isabella (died 1693), daughter of Sir Robert Carr, 3rd Baronet, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire
 * 25 July 1695, Boxted Hall in Suffolk, to Elizabeth (died 1741), daughter and co-heir of local Suffolk dignitary Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet and his noble wife styled from birth Lady Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk.

By his marriage to Isabella he had three children:
 * Isabella Hervey (died November 1711), unmarried
 * Carr Hervey, Lord Hervey (1691–1723), who was educated at Clare College, Cambridge and was an MP for the same seat as his father and grandfather from 1713 to 1722. He died unmarried on 14 November 1723.
 * Catherine Hervey (b. 1693), died young

By his marriage to Lady Elizabeth he had seventeen children:
 * Lady Elizabeth Hervey (1698–1727), married Bussy Mansel, without issue
 * John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey (1696–1743), was a politician, court wit and pamphleteer. On the death of his half-brother Carr in 1723 he took the courtesy title of Lord Hervey and gained some renown both as a writer and in politics. In 1733, he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Hervey. He also predeceased his father.
 * Thomas Hervey (20 January 1699 – 16 January 1775), was one of the members for Bury from 1733 to 1747; held various offices at court; and eloped with Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet. He had very poor health, and his reckless life frequently brought him into pecuniary and other difficulties. He wrote numerous pamphlets, and when he died Dr. Johnson said of him, "Tom Hervey, though a vicious man [ie a man of vice], was one of the genteelest men who ever lived".
 * Capt. William Hervey, RN (25 December 1699 – January 1776), married Elizabeth Ridge and had issue
 * Rev. Henry Hervey (5 January 1701 – 16 November 1748); married Catherine Aston, assumed her surname, and had issue
 * Rev. Charles Hervey (5 April 1703 – 21 March 1783), prebendary of Ely
 * Henrietta Hervey (5 April 1703 – April 1712)
 * A stillborn son, 6 July 1704
 * James Porter Hervey (24 June 1706 – August 1706)
 * Lady Anne Hervey (c. 1707 – 15 July 1771)
 * Lady Barbara Hervey (c. 1707 – 25 July 1727)
 * Humphrey Hervey (b. 3 June 1708), died young
 * Felton Hervey (3 July 1710 – 16 July 1710)
 * Felton Hervey (1712–1773), was also Member of Parliament for the family borough of Bury St Edmunds. He appears in the foreground of Zoffany's "The Tribuna of the Uffizi." Having assumed the additional name of Bathurst, Felton's grandson, Felton Elwell Hervey-Bathurst (1782–1819), was created a baronet in 1818, and on his death a year later the title descended to his brother, Frederick Anne Hervey-Bathurst (1783–1824).
 * James Hervey (5 March 1713 – May 1714)
 * Lady Louisa Carolina Isabella Hervey (1715 – 11 May 1770), married Sir Robert Smyth, 2nd Baronet and had issue
 * Lady Henrietta Hervey (25 September 1716 – July 1732)

When John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, died in January 1751, the earldom of Bristol and the barony of Hervey, along with the estates of Ickworth House, passed to his grandson George, the eldest son of John, Lord Hervey.

title: John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol


text:
Wikipedia talk:Welcoming committee/Archive 1

''This talk page is intended to host discussion of how to better welcome and integrate new users into the Wikipedia community. It also, of course, serves as a talk page for discussing what should go on the Welcoming committee page it's associated with.''

Old thoughts on boilerplate
One thing to put there (which I'll add soon if noone else does) is some boilerplate texts for welcoming new members. I personally feel that it's nicer to customize your own, but these should give people something to start with.

Old thoughts on auto-newuser lists
Another feature I'd like to see, but which I'm pretty sure would have to be written in by a developer, would be to have an automatic listing here of all new non-anonymous accounts that have been created in the last week or so. This would be useful to anyone who feels like helping a new user enter the community. It would also be a good resource for anyone who wants to follow up on new users to edit and correct their work (which is of course the most likely to contain errors and problems of all sorts.) Isomorphic 12:50, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * The list is something that a sysop can obtain using an SQL query, but I'm wary of running one at the moment while the servers are dodgy. Once things are more stable I will be happy to provide this. Angela. 15:32, Jan 4, 2004 (UTC)

We need more committees. - Hemanshu 16:20, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Personalized Welcoming
After wecloming this user, I got the idea that we might have welcoming committee members welcome users who are in either their geographic region, or age bracket. I believe this will make users feel more welcome than they do from the stock welcome notice. I would like users to sign up at Welcoming Committee in two separate sections, their geographic region, and their age group. Alexandros 17:12, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * It's a nice idea but most new users don't state their age or where they're from so I don't see how that would work. By the way, Ugen's been here since August so your welcome message actually duplicated my old one! (Another problem with people blanking their talk pages). Angela 18:31, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * I agree it is a great idea. How about by interest? Too bad new users don't list themselves right away. Noldoaran

 * Well, there's no harm in someone getting two welcomes - a boilerplate-type one whenever someone notices a new user, and then an interest-related specific one by someone who shares their interest. Angela

 * Good idea. —Noldoaran (Talk) 03:58, Feb 14, 2004 (UTC)

With regard to personalized welcoming, I just had an idea. I'm creating a "new user log" where new users can sign in and put their interests. We'll have to see if new users actually use it, but if they do it'll be handy. That way, a veteran can look at the new user log, see what the user is interested in, and point them in the right direction (and maybe even introduce them to people working on those areas.) Isomorphic 00:47, 17 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I think this is a great idea. Other wikis have similar things on pages like RecentVisitors, which seem to work, so hopefully it will here too. It might be good to add a link to this page on the boilerplate welcome message to see if that encourages people to add their name. If that doesn't work after a couple of weeks, we could try adding some false entries, but it would be nice to see if we can get some real ones first. Angela. 07:01, Feb 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * I wasn't terribly serious about adding phoney entries. It's just that the page looks intimidating right now, even to me.  Blank space just waiting for the first brave soul to put their name up.  :-)  Isomorphic 08:17, 17 Feb 2004 (UTC)

How to greet new users
I'd like to join the Welcoming committee but I need a tutorial on how to welcome new users. :) Somebody please write one. Is there a standard welcome greeting? --Hemanshu 19:27, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * There isn't any FAQ or tutorial yet for greeting new users, but it's a good idea. I'll answer now and maybe we'll try to turn my answer into a good, formal tutorial later.  I can't give any ancient wisdom, but I can tell you what I've been doing and show some examples...

 * The welcoming committee page is just an attempt to coordinate and improve what people had already doing for a long time. There aren't any formal guidelines but there are some standard messages available here.  You can also see what I'm personally using here.  If you look at the user pages of the other welcoming committee members, a lot of them have their standard greeting posted.

 * If you haven't seen it, there's a page at New user log where new users can introduce themselves. If I'm greeting them before they've signed in, I use a pretty standard greeting and include a request to add themselves to the new user log.  Sometimes I'll look at their user contributions, see what they've been working on so far, and customize a little bit based on that.  Something like "Thanks for your good work at ____ " if they've significantly improved an article.

 * If they write a note to the new user log before anyone has greeted them, then I use a message customized to what they've said in their introduction. I might suggest an appropriate WikiProject to look at, or an article to edit.  For an example, see what I did today at User talk:Skylark of Space after reading his entry at the New user log.  He said he was interested in (among other things) space and hats, so I pointed him to WikiProject Space and (I never would've believed this, but...) WikiProject Hats and Headgear.  Similarly, I suggested to Parelle that Diplomatic history could use work, after she mentioned on the new user log that that was her major.

 * I hope that helps. Go ahead and add yourself to the Committee page;  it's not like we're an exclusive club, and it doesn't require you to do anything - it just tells people that you're interested in this area.

 * Thanks for your interest, Isomorphic 20:22, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * For another example, see what Sennheiser and UtherSRG did at User talk:Yak.  A compliment on Yak's work at Cassia (which Yak started and mostly wrote by himself) to start off, then a bunch of useful links from Sennheiser, then some suggestions and a minor correction (phrased very politely) from UtherSRG.  This is a great example of how this should be done.  Isomorphic 20:33, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for the complement, Iso. I took a look at some of the greeting you've done and like what I see, too. I'm going to incorporate some of your technique into my standard greeting (including a suggestion to sign the New user log). Since I tend to find new users by trolling RC, it's easier for me to use a more standard greeting routine than you would need trolling the New user log. I will likely incorporate my greeting into. Probably the wrong place to ask, but can you embed a msg into a subst (or vice versa, etc.)? - UtherSRG 20:49, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * Sorry, don't know anything about using When using template tags on talk pages, don't forget to substitute with text by adding subst: to the template tag. For example, use {{subst:test}} instead of {{test}}. This reduces server load and prevents accidental blanking of the template. .  My own greeting technique is a decidedly low-tech copy-and-paste job from my user page.  That works better for me anyway since I usually modify the greeting a bit for each individual use. Isomorphic 21:08, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)
 * I don't think you can use one msg inside another one if that's what you mean. There's the danger it could lead to infinite recursion if it was allowed. Angela. 04:07, Feb 27, 2004 (UTC)

I've just created Show preview, which I think would be a good idea for everyone to add to their welcome messages, as one of the frequent complaints about newbies is that they neglect to use Show preview and make too many saves. Angela. 04:07, Feb 27, 2004 (UTC)
 * Thanks, that's a great idea. Now added to my greeting.  Isomorphic 22:56, 27 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I had an idea last night. Right now, we have an absolutely huge collection of how-tos, policies, FAQs, and such. It's daunting - no new user is going to RTFM through all that, because there's too much and not much clue where to start or what's important. I haven't read even most of it. It's like a computer's user manual - most people won't read it until they hit a problem, and not always then.

On the other hand, people do need information to get started. I've noticed that greeting messages (including mine) have gotten increasingly long as we try to fit in all the most important tips. Those should be welcome messages. By making giant welcome messages, we're implicitly admitting that there's something missing from Wikipedia.

We should create a Tutorial - a series of pages to walk you through all the basics. This way, we can develop a standard canon of stuff that people should know before they do a lot of editing. I'm thinking things like what a talk page is and how/why to use it, how and when to create wikilinks and external links, how and when to bold and italicize, and some other basic help on formatting and style. We could even walk people through creating their user page, if they haven't already.

We can also include brief explanations of our policies, with some examples. Then, we put an area at the bottoms of the pages for people to practice. These pages won't (in general) replace the pages we've got now - what I want to do is create a distinction between a tutorial and a user manual. The idea is to keep the tutorial short and include only what's crucial, so that people will actually go through the whole thing.

Once it's built, we can start using shorter, chattier welcome messages with only a few links, as long as one of them is to the tutorial start page.

I'll start on this project in the next few days, but I'll be busy in real life, so if anyone else wants to pitch in, I'd appreciate it. Comments anyone? Isomorphic 15:20, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Update: screw real life, project started. I'd still appreciate help, though.  My formatting is uninspired, and I'm sure to leave some things out. Isomorphic 22:29, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)

What about Help? --Hemanshu 22:34, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * It's a good source for material, but it doesn't fill the function I had in mind. I want to cover only the most basic stuff, so that people will actually read through the tutorial in one sitting.  For example, a new user doesn't need interlanguage links and doesn't probably need to know much about deletion, so those subjects (which are in help) won't be in the tutorial.  Similarly, while Talk page has lots of good info, the bare amount needed to get started is much smaller, so the tutorial lesson will be shorter. Isomorphic 23:12, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I like this idea. Is there a reason it doesn't have many links? I was thinking of adding some so people know where to go for further information but I wanted to check whether they had been excluded on purpose. Angela. 11:55, Mar 4, 2004 (UTC)
 * The current state reflects some indecision on my part. At first I felt that links were a distraction - these are new users who generally won't know the system well, and the idea is to go through the tutorial, not to wander off to some other part of Wikipedia.  So at first I wasn't putting in any links at all.  Then later I changed my mind and added in some, thinking that they're omnipresent on Wikipedia so they should be here, too.  I'm still not sure, and I'd appreciate comments from anyone who's interested. Isomorphic 13:46, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I think more links would be useful. If people want to go through the tutorial in the order they are meant to, they can open the other links in a separate window or tab. I'd prefer to give them that option rather than not have the links. Angela. 03:30, Mar 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * That's what I was starting to lean toward. If you agree, then it shall be so.  Isomorphic 03:33, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Help Wanted
I'm trying to create the perfect Welcome boilerplate--will you help? jengod 00:06, Mar 6, 2004 (UTC)

Changing attribution for an edit
From #Wikipedia:

[02:45]  can people stop putting the changing attribution page in their newbie greeting messages?

Angela. 02:50, Mar 14, 2004 (UTC)
 * OK. It's now removed from mine.  I'll take it off the boilerplates if it's not been done already. Isomorphic 02:55, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Minor Edits?
My apologies if I missed this elsewhere, but would we prefer to welcome people and mark the welcome message on their talk page as Minor edits? Or should we just go ahead and always make it a regular edit? My only thought is that I've welcomed a few dozen people today, and those are all showing up on the Recent Changes page. --Wolf530 06:34, Mar 30, 2004 (UTC)
 * I don't know of any policy on this kind of thing. Personally I lean toward making them regular edits, since I prefer to reserve "minor edit" for truly minor edits like copyediting and wikifying, and never for adding any kind of substantial materlal, including messages.  There are plenty of people who feel differently, and I've noticed one or two who mark all their edits to talk pages as minor. Isomorphic 07:21, 30 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * I always used to mark these minor as I thought there was no need for them to appear on recent changes, but it seems most people don't hide minor edits from recent changes anyway. I now always mark them as major edits as creating a new page is not something minor, and like Isomorphic I try to use 'minor' only for edits that don't change the content itself. Angela. 23:12, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

Newbie helpdesk
There has been a lot of discussion at the village pump talk page about whether anons should be allowed post questions on the Village pump. User:MyRedDice suggested that there should be a sort of "Village pump for newcomers" set up. I think this is a good idea. Are any other WWC members interested in helping? The page, if set up would needed to be linked from ALL the newbie help pages. L UDRAMAN | T 17:27, 30 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I'd be willing to lend a hand. --Wolf530 17:47, Mar 30, 2004 (UTC)

 * I've created the page at Newcomers' village pump. It needs to be linked from other pages though. I also posted a question or two as an anon IP, so users wont be frightened at being the first to ask a question, and so they get the idea. L UDRAMAN | T 18:09, 30 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * I've thought about something like this on and off for a while, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything about it. I'll watchlist it and help maintain it.  In addition to linking it from our various pages, we should also put the link into greeting messages.  Isomorphic 04:57, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * I think I like the name "Newcomers' Help Desk" better than "Newcomers' Village Pump" though. It's more accurate, and additionally it doesn't imply that newcomers can't post to places like the Village Pump, just that this is the place for newcomers to get help.  Isomorphic 05:03, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * The name change is a good idea. Angela. 23:12, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

 * I'd be willing to help. Also, this points out another need, for a standardized user greeting; I'm thinking something like  .  That way everybody wouldn't have to continually copy-paste. Meelar 05:04, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * It might seem useful but I have a strong reservation. This would reduce the ability to add any personal touch to a greeting.  One of the reasons I've been happy to stick with copy/paste is that I often insert user-specific comments at various points in my message, and I don't always say the same things.  For example, my message will be different depending on whether someone has signed the new user log.  Sometimes I'll thank a user for some notable contribution, and sometimes I'll leave out tips or links that they obviously don't need.
 * If I use a MediaWiki message, I greatly reduce my ability to tailor the greeting to the user I'm talking to. Not only that, but MediaWiki messages reduce the personal touch at the other end, since the sender's personality isn't showing at all.  I'm worried that having the message available will discourage anyone from taking extra effort, and we'll end up with a situation where we might as well have a bot do our welcoming for us. Isomorphic 05:56, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I agree with Isomorphic. Not only would a

Welcome!

Hello,, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place  on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! take away personalization, but once a newbie responds to the message s/he will see that the message wasn't written out, but only a stanard greeting. It gives a nice touch of personalization to have actual text written on the page. Also, while I'm busy griping about user welcomes, please check out my complaint at Wikipedia talk:Standard user greeting - no one seems to have noticed it. And yes, I'd love very much to help out at the Newbie Village Pump. Excellent idea! --Alex S 17:02, 1 Apr 2004 (UTC)
 * The five pillars of Wikipedia
 * How to edit a page
 * Help pages
 * Tutorial
 * How to write a great article
 * Manual of Style

 * Sorry for the "me too" post, but I agree with the above that the message should not be over-standardised. Angela. 23:12, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

Tutorial
The Tutorial looks like it's about ready to go live. I'll post an announcement on the Village Pump tomorrow if no one objects. Isomorphic 06:35, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)
 * I agree. It's looking really useful now. Angela. 12:01, Apr 9, 2004 (UTC)

Signing articles
I've joined the committee and created my standard welcome text (to be personalised as and when necessary), based on what UtherSRG greeted me with a couple of months back. Following some discussion on the village pump, I've amended the section on how to use signatures, to make it clear that main articles shouldn't be signed. It might be useful for anyone else who mentions signatures to have a look at whether it's clear in what they've said.--ALargeElk 15:48, 19 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Oh, and as I'm new to the committee, if anyone wants to suggest changes to my welcome text, feel free. --ALargeElk 15:57, 19 May 2004 (UTC)

Welsoming all users! ........ or not?
I was never really welcomed. First thing I got in my talk was about copyright. Nobody ever asked me do I know anything about internet copyright. I could say that I am from ex-communist country(not communist since 2000) and that somebody could explain me something about it.

I am here since March of 2004.

Avala 20:54, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)

newbie alerts ?
Hi, no one welcomed me when I joined either.... but it's alright. I'll live.... :-)

I have been running the Opentask the last little while, and I run into quite a number of newbies. Sometimes I leave a greeting on their talkpage. However, I am not really that comfortable greeting newbies. Is there anywhere I can post newbie alerts to notify the Welcoming committee that there is a newbie here that needs greeting ? (Usually, it's a newbie making newbie mistakes...)

Thanks.

-- PFHLai 16:14, 2004 Jul 28 (UTC)

 * If you're not comfortable, then you can create a template (for example, see User:Meelar/welcopyvio, which is for users who upload copyrighted images. Then, when you see someone doing this, just go to their talk page and enter, which expands to the full template. As far as an alert, I'm not sure it would get checked, so I don't know if it would do all that much good, but you're welcome to add a section to the project page. Best, [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 16:18, 2004 Jul 28 (UTC)

 * I haven't encountered much copyvio problems, actually. Mostly articles with weird formats.  And sometimes questions about how to do things here. (e.g. see Talk:Eye. User:Si morgan could use a greeting.)
 * I suppose greeting newbies is not that bad. I am just trying to avoid newbies latched on me (just because of my 4 ~'s on the greeting notice), with questions after questions that I don't know how to answer (hasn't happened yet).  I thought members of the Welcoming committe would be better prepared to handle these things.  But I suppose I can instead direct newbies to the Community Portal.  I see some familiar names there also listed here as members of the Welcoming committee. -- PFHLai 05:33, 2004 Jul 29 (UTC)

 * If you see someone who really needs help, you could always drop a note on the talk page of one of the Welcoming Committee members. Isomorphic 05:25, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks. I'll do that when I see someone in need of serious help. -- PFHLai 05:33, 2004 Jul 29 (UTC)

 * Other places you might want to place newbie alerts are RC patrol or Clueless newbies. Angela. 18:08, Jul 29, 2004 (UTC)

Welcoming anon users
Should we be welcoming anon users? I'm not sure if anyone does this already, but I have seen a few anon welcome messages floating around, and created my own a while ago (not that I've used it - see User:TPK/Welcome messages). Would it be too much trouble? Should only anons who make a certain number of edits be greeted (and asked to join up)? Or would it be better to have a bot do it, or to simply change the bolierplate Mediawiki text on the anon talk pages to include a welcome? I admit it's time-consuming enough to welcome signed-in users, but if an anon sees a similar kind of welcome message, that could well be what leads them to join up, which we all agree is a Good Thing™. TPK 15:50, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Feel free to welcome anons if you want. Personally, I don't think it's worthwhile unless it's an IP that has been contributing for a while and is clearly used by a single person.  Otherwise it's quite likely that you're welcoming a dynamic IP or a public machine, and your message won't ever be seen by the person whose edits you saw. Isomorphic 00:17, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Surveying new users
Has anyone ever considered (or is there hidden somewhere in WP's bowels) a survey for new users? It could ask such things as "How did you find out about Wikipedia?", "What made you decide to join up?", "What are some of your first impressions?", "What are some of your ambitions for Wikipedia?", et cetera. Of course, the exact questions mightn't be so nebulous. I think it's very interesting to know what new users think, how they came to be here, what they want to do here; it could also go beyond simple interest. WP could, using the results of a survey (given enough new users can be coaxed into completing it), do things to better streamline the learning curve, or provide better resources for new users, or do things to increase the number of anons who sign up, (exactly what the results could lead to I couldn't say, nor how it would be implemented, but you see the point).

As for the technical aspect, the survey could be hosted in the Wikipedia: space, and a copy-n-paste template provided which the user would add to the end of the page along with their answers. A link would be provided in welcome messages asking (but not forcing) the newbie to fill it out. If someone wanted to go a bit further and provide the survey on another website with a proper UI for filling it out, that could be an option too. It could also be dovetailed into New user log, as we already try to direct everyone there.

Comments, ideas? What questions might be asked? What could the results be used for? TPK 22:00, 16 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Update: I've create a quick draft at User:TPK/Drafts. TPK 22:31, 16 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Hmm. A survey isn't a bad idea but I'm not sure how much time people would devote to actually reading them.  The most useful thing we might get from a survey is some constructive criticism, something we don't usually see on the new user log.  Maybe Wikipedia is so wonderful that people don't see any flaws until they've been here a while?  We can hope.  More likely the page just isn't conducive to griping or suggestions.
 * I took a look at the draft and it looks like a good start. The only question I object to is the bit about becoming an administrator.  If we ask anything along those lines at all, it should be something like whether people want to focus on original writing, editing, or management.  Really though, I think that's something people should be allowed to discover for themselves as they get oriented here, not something we pester them about. Isomorphic 18:52, 18 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * Well the questions are up in the air, and they could be geared to get more constructive criticism, to be more to-the-point. Prehaps it would be more valuable if the survey was aimed at new users who have made x edits, or been active for y days/weeks, so that the respondees would have some time to get used to WP and form more of an opinion. TPK 05:04, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * I'm not convinced on the validity of non-anonymous surveys. A proper research study where the data were kept confidential with only aggregate reports being made would be interesting though. Angela. 04:05, Oct 4, 2004 (UTC)

Please have a look on Wikipedia talk:Please do not bite the newcomers. --Wikimol 17:46, 28 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Bootcamps
Please take a look at Bootcamp and comment on its talk page. The first one was very successful; they are currently running every night at midnight. And consider adding to your welcome messages!

 * I just came across this and I think it's a great idea - adds a whole new dimension to the Wikipedia Experience™ for new users. Are there or will there be any chatlogs, to get an idea of what goes on without being a nth wheel at the real thing? T.PK 05:39, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Help with User:Alantheodoresherman
Hi guys, I need help with User:Alantheodoresherman. I'm not a member of this committee and have no interest in helping newbies but Alan is having a rough time coming into Wikipedia. He is kinda lost and the software and our documentation is not helping him much (everything is pretty confusing for newcomers). Can someone please give him a hand so that I can focus on other things? Please join us on the discussion in his talk page. —Ahnoneemoos (talk) 18:10, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Help with User:Maineshepp
I also need help with User:Maineshepp. I approved her article about Lore Alford Rogers through WP:AFC but she doesn't know how to proceed regarding the cleanup tags that I put under the "Recognition and awards" section. This is the email that I got from her:

Could someone please help her so that I can focus on other things?

—Ahnoneemoos (talk) 18:56, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Support for Today Article for Improvement - welcoming new editors
There is ongoing discussion about the implementation of Today's article for improvement on the Main Page. It would be good if we could get input from editors at this project over at the discussion. -- Nick Penguin ( contribs ) 17:03, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Proposal for working with ClueBot
Hello!

There is a proposal at the Village Pump regarding User:ClueBot_NG and WP:Welcoming Committee working together for mutual benefit. Your input would be appreciated.

Thanks --LukeSurlt c 14:54, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

A discussion about new users
This discussion may also be of interest to the welcoming committee. Bazonka (talk) 21:28, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Am glad to be here. Nice for accepting me OJOKOCEE (talk) 18:57, 21 January 2016 (UTC)

Proposed Welcoming Barnstar
Hello Welcoming committee. I've proposed for a Welcoming Barnstar to be made at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Wikipedia Awards and I thought it would be of interest to you. Please share your thoughts on this at the linked page. Thank you, --XapApp · talk · contribs 12:21, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Template proposal - non Latin usernames
I have altered the template to include a short paragraph for users who have non-Latin alphabet usernames, advising them that it would helpful for them to have a latin translation in their signature markup, as per WP:SIG.

You can find it here

Examples (manually edited version of, I have only just created the template in my userspace) -

 * User talk:عبدالله خالد حسين
 * User talk:სულხან ქვიშხელი
 * User talk:Москаленко Ирина

I would welcome any discussion and comments.

Cheers,

Feedthepope (talk) 21:41, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Red "contributions" tag
What does it mean when the tag marked "contributions" is red. Does it mean that they have not made an edit yet? If it does, you definitely cannot accuse said user of vandalism. What does it mean?--Gg53000 (talk) 13:28, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

 * Yes it means it's a newly created account and has not made any edits yet. -- œ ™ 21:21, 2 March 2014 (UTC)

Welcoming Committee Userbox
Hey, I'm going to make a userbox for the members of the welcoming committee. That way we'll be able to show others that we are apart of an organization on Wikipedia, while also getting the welcoming committee more known to users.Schoolskater (talk) 14:37, 10 June 2014 (UTC)
 * There are some userboxes already created and listed on Welcoming committee/members. If you have a new one, add it there.  --Mysdaao talk 11:47, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

How to welcome possible advertising user?
Hullo. Just wonder what the best approach is for welcoming a new user that seems to perhaps be advertising? See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Photograph_album&diff=613211811&oldid=582957173 Thanks! Sam Wilson 02:59, 17 June 2014 (UTC)
 * --Mysdaao talk 02:44, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

 * Thanks! (Someone beat me to it in this case, but I'll know for next time.) Sam Wilson 03:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Requesting wider consensus for a proposal affecting WikiProject-specific welcome templates
I noticed that in the category the welcoming messages link to the full Manual of Style rather than a condensed version. I was considering mass-replacing the links to the more basic version, but was looking for any more thoughts on this.

The idea is that newcomers might find themselves overwhelmed, and only need an overview; whereas hard-core Wikipedians can be expected to research this a little more on their own.

Main thread is Template talk:Welcome. Just looking for any further opinions, if any are to be had. meteor_sandwich_yum (talk) 20:50, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
 * meteor_sandwich_yum (talk) 04:26, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

Welcome + Adventure?
New users may get welcomed by a human, but it is now about equally likely that a bot may invite them to play the WP:Adventure game; sometimes they get both. Both messages offer some induction to Wikipedia in their different ways. A small study indicates that human welcomers are not very good at distinguishing "good" from "bad" editors, but that the selection of who gets the Adventure invite doesn't discriminate at all. It could do little harm, then, for the two messages to be combined: "Welcome! Here are links to wodges of text you can read, or if you prefer here's a link to an interactive game-style activity". Then new editors could decide for themselves which approach would suit them better at the start. The combined template could be sent equally by a human welcomer or by the Adventure bot: best though if the bot could be programmed to only post the template where the talk page was blank, to avoid duplicated welcomes and also avoid inviting already warned vandals. How about it? If people here are in favour I'll put the idea across to the Adventure people Noyster  (talk),  16:43, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

 * OK, taking to Village Pump Noyster  (talk),  10:32, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Welcomelaws
Template:Welcomelaws has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. G. C. Hood (talk) 16:15, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

Suggestion
I am posting a feedback from an IP user on my talk page here. It is as follows:

''Hi! Thank you for your welcome message :)''

''I was wondering if you'd be able to forward a suggestion (concerning the welcome template you posted on my talk page via Twinkle) - Specifically the "please sign your comments..." bit. At the first glance it sounded like I'd forgotten to sign something. I think the following would make more sense and sound more friendly: "You can discuss any article by going to its talk page. If you post on a talk page, please make sure you sign your comments! You can do this by...". Now, since I'm not new to mediawiki, this might end up making things worse for new users, I don't know :P. Do with the feedback as you will! Cheers again :) --134.225.160.10 (talk) 23:14, 2 October 2014 (UTC)'' Rijin   Talk  06:22, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

 * In my opinion this would be a useful change to make to the templates. The proposed wording would be more constructive and more informative for the new user. And we need to encourage use of talk pages, which at present seem to be going out of fashion Noyster  (talk),  16:40, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Changes to Template:Welcome
I thought the Welcoming Committee might be interested in the proposed addition of The Wikipedia Adventure to the Welcome template. Feel free to comment at the discussion I linked to above. -- Biblio worm  22:18, 30 November 2014 (UTC)

A reminder
- for anyone who is new to the Welcoming Committee that welcome templates are for new users who have already made constructive edits. New users themselves who simply hover over new registrations to paste welcome templates aren't  really  being  helpful. Be sure to check first what the user's edits were. --Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 07:27, 6 December 2014 (UTC)

Addition to welcome messages
Hello! So since the New User Homepage is slowly being I think the welcome messages should encourage users to check out the New User Hompeage. I think before doing this we should wait to see the result of the RFC related to this (Even though I highly doubt it will fail since so far everyone has said yes). This would help new users get the help they need from their automatically assigned mentor. ― Blaze WolfTalkBlaze Wolf#6545 00:00, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

FYI has been nominated for deletion -- 65.92.246.142 (talk) 04:09, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

Discussion at Wikipedia talk:Twinkle § Restoration of poorly designed welcome templates
You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Twinkle § Restoration of poorly designed welcome templates. {{u| Sdkb  }}  talk 21:44, 30 April 2022 (UTC)

Invitation to RfC on inclusion of Welcome-menu and Welcome-graphical in the default Twinkle menu
You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Twinkle § RfC: Welcome-menu and Welcome-graphical. {{u| Sdkb  }}  talk 23:58, 18 May 2022 (UTC)

Proposed change to Template:Welcome-t
You are invited to discuss proposed changes to Template:Welcome-t at Template talk:Welcome-t. Perfect4th (talk) 17:49, 19 June 2022 (UTC)


text:
N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein

N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor, also known as NSF or N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion proteins, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the NSF gene.

Function
NSF is a homohexameric AAA ATPase involved in membrane fusion. NSF is ubiquitously found in the membrane of eukaryotic cells. It is a central component of the cellular machinery in the transfer of membrane vesicles from one membrane compartment to another. During this process, SNARE proteins on two joining membranes (usually a vesicle and a target membrane such as the plasma membrane) form a complex, with the α-helical domains of the SNAREs coiling around each other and forming a very stable four-helix bundle. As SNAREs intertwine, they pull the vesicle towards the target membrane, excluding water and promoting fusion of the vesicle with the target membrane. NSF unravels SNARE complexes once membrane fusion has occurred, using the hydrolysis of ATP as an energy source, allowing the dissociated SNAREs to be recycled for reuse in further rounds of membrane fusion. This proposal remains controversial, however. Recent work indicates that the ATPase function of NSF does not function in recycling of vesicles but rather functions in the act of fusing vesicles with the plasma membrane.

SNARE hypothesis
Because neuronal function depends on the release of neurotransmitters at a synapse — a process in which synaptic vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane — NSF is a key synaptic component. Thus, conditional temperature-sensitive mutations in the Drosophila melanogaster gene for NSF lead to a comatose behaviour at the restrictive temperature (and hence the gene is called comatose), presumably because neuronal functions are blocked. In Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae, similar mutations lead to a cessation of cell movement at the restrictive temperature, indicating a role for intracellular membrane transport in migration. Another neuronal role for NSF is indicated by its direct binding to the GluR2 subunit of AMPA type glutamate receptors (which detect the neurotransmitter glutamate). This gives NSF a putative role in delivery and expression of AMPA receptors at the synapse.

NSF was discovered by James Rothman and colleagues in 1987 while at Stanford University; they identified NSF after observing that a cytoplasmic factor, required for membrane fusions, was inactivated by treatment with N-ethylmaleimide. This assay enabled them to purify NSF.

Interactions
N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein has been shown to interact with NAPA.


text:
Célestin Gaombalet

Célestin Leroy Gaombalet (1 January 1942 – 19 December 2017 ) was a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2005. He was President of the National Assembly of the Central African Republic from 2005 to 2013.

Biography
Gaombalet was born in the village of Grimari in 1942. He began working for the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) in the 1970s, then became Director-General of the Union Bank in Central Africa, located in Bangui, before being dismissed from that post by President André Kolingba in 1981. Kolingba moved Gaombalet to a position at the Development Bank of Central African States in Brazzaville. In the early 1990s, Gaombalet returned to the Central African Republic, becoming head of the Moroccan-Central African People's Bank and later retiring.

Despite having no political experience, Gaombalet was appointed as Prime Minister by President François Bozizé on December 12, 2003, replacing Abel Goumba, who in turn became Bozizé's vice-president. In a reshuffle of the government on September 2, 2004, Gaombalet remained Prime Minister while the number of ministers was reduced to 24 from the previous 28; Gaombalet said that this did not affect the political balance and that it was necessary to save money. In the 2005 parliamentary election, Gaombalet was elected to the National Assembly as a Deputy from Bambari. At the opening of the National Assembly, he was elected as President of the National Assembly on June 7, 2005, receiving 78 votes against 18 for Luc Apollinaire Dondon Konamabaye, who had previously held the position under President Ange-Félix Patassé. Gaombalet resigned as Prime Minister on June 11 and was replaced by Élie Doté on June 13.

In the January–March 2011 parliamentary election, Gaombalet was re-elected to the National Assembly; when the legislature began sitting for its new term, he was re-elected as President of the National Assembly.

title: Célestin Gaombalet