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Havelock Ellis

Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English-French physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He developed the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.

Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.

Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain and an Anglican, while his mother was the daughter of a sea captain who had many other relatives that lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.

In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.

At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."

Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.

The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboo. The work also uses the term bisexual throughout .The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.

In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.

Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoeroticism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.

Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:

"On the psychic side, as I view it, the Eonist is embodying, in an extreme degree, the aesthetic attitude of imitation of, and identification with, the admired object. It is normal for a man to identify himself with the woman he loves. The Eonist carries that identification too far, stimulated by a sensitive and feminine element in himself which is associated with a rather defective virile sexuality on what may be a neurotic basis." Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".

Marriage

In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Lees was openly bisexual. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at a Fellowship House in Bloomsbury. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.

According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte (better known as Françoise Delisle).

Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:

"Eventually, it seems evident, a general system, whether private or public, whereby all personal facts, biological and mental, normal and morbid, are duly and systematically registered, must become inevitable if we are to have a real guide as to those persons who are most fit, or most unfit to carry on the race."

"The superficially sympathetic man flings a coin to the beggar; the more deeply sympathetic man builds an almshouse for him so he need no longer beg; but perhaps the most radically sympathetic of all is the man who arranges that the beggar shall not be born."

In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.

In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with the eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".

Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.

Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds.

He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower functional levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.

Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France, who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These "early ages" are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty, as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen.

For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.

Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this, either pleasure or an erection, until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as a contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".

Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".

Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".

Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.

Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."

Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.

Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis's solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.

Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration of either sex for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern which allowed those deemed 'unfit' or with strong sexual inclinations to be subject to mandatory sterilization. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and pedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus the glands' removal could greatly injure the patient.

However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favorable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.

Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"

Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of three Lophophora williamsii buds in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his set of rooms in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 12 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published two accounts of the experience, one in The Lancet in June 1897 ("A Note on the Phenomena of Mescal Intoxication"), and a second in The Contemporary Review in 1898 ("Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise"). The title of the second article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).

Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.

Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position as a Fellow of the Eugenics Society over its stance on sterilization in January 1931.

Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. His ashes were scattered at Golders Green Crematorium, North London, following his cremation.

Works

 * The Criminal (1890)
 * The New Spirit (1890)
 * The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
 * Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
 * with J.A. Symonds
 * Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
 * Affirmations (1898)
 * The Nineteenth Century (1900)
 * A Study of British Genius (1904)
 * The Soul of Spain (1908)
 * The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
 * The World of Dreams (1911)
 * (new edition 1926)
 * The Soul of Spain (1908)
 * The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
 * The World of Dreams (1911)
 * (new edition 1926)
 * The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
 * The World of Dreams (1911)
 * (new edition 1926)
 * (new edition 1926)

 * The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
 * The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
 * On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
 * Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
 * Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
 * Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
 * Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
 * The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
 * More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
 * ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
 * ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
 * Chapman (1934)
 * My Confessional (1934)
 * Questions of Our Day (1934)
 * From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
 * Selected Essays (1936)
 * Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
 * Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
 * Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
 * From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
 * The Genius of Europe (1950)
 * Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
 * The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
 * Selected Essays (1936)
 * Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
 * Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
 * Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
 * From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
 * The Genius of Europe (1950)
 * Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
 * The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
 * The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)

Translations

 * Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
 * The Psychology of the Emotions by Théodule-Armand Ribot (1897)

title: Havelock Ellis


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Lucius Aelius Caesar

Lucius Aelius Caesar (13 January 101 – 1 January 138) was the father of Emperor Lucius Verus. In 136, he was adopted by the reigning emperor Hadrian and named heir to the throne. He died before Hadrian and thus never became emperor. After Lucius' death, he was replaced by Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian the same year.

Life and family
Aelius was born Lucius Ceionius Commodus, and became Lucius Aelius Caesar upon his adoption as Hadrian's heir. He is sometimes referred to as Lucius Aelius Verus, though this name is not attested outside the Historia Augusta, where it probably was originally the result of a manuscript error. The young Lucius Ceionius Commodus was of the gens Ceionia. His father, also named Lucius Ceionius Commodus (the Historia Augusta adds the cognomen Verus), was consul in 106, and his paternal grandfather, also of the same name, was consul in 78. His paternal ancestors were from Etruria, and were of consular rank. His mother is surmised to have been an undocumented Roman woman named Plautia. The Historia Augusta states that his maternal grandfather and his maternal ancestors were of consular rank.

Before 130, the younger Lucius Commodus married Avidia, a well-connected Roman noblewoman who was the daughter of the senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus. Avidia bore Lucius at least one son and two daughters, who were:
 * Lucius Ceionius Commodus – The future Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his own death in 169. Verus would marry Lucilla, the second daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger.
 * Ceionia Fabia – at the time of Marcus Aurelius's adoption, she was betrothed, as part of the adoption conditions, to him. Shortly after Antoninus Pius' ascension, Pius came to Aurelius and asked him to end his engagement to Fabia, instead marrying Antoninus Pius’ daughter Faustina the Younger; Faustina had originally been planned by Hadrian to wed Lucius Verus.
 * Ceionia Plautia

Heir to Hadrian
For a long time, the emperor Hadrian had considered his brother-in-law Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus as his unofficial successor. As Hadrian's reign drew to a close, however, he changed his mind. Although the emperor certainly thought Servianus capable of ruling as an emperor after Hadrian's own death, Servianus, by now in his nineties, was clearly too old for the position. Hadrian's attentions turned to Servianus' grandson, Lucius Pedanius Fuscus Salinator. Hadrian promoted the young Salinator, his great-nephew, gave him special status in his court, and groomed him as his heir.

However, in late 136, Hadrian almost died from a haemorrhage. Convalescent in his villa at Tivoli, he decided to change his mind, and selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus as his new successor, adopting him as his son. The selection was done invitis omnibus, "against the wishes of everyone"; in particular, Servianus and the young Salinator became very angry at Hadrian and wished to challenge him over the adoption. Even today, the rationale for Hadrian's sudden switch is still unclear. It is possible Salinator went so far as to attempt a coup against Hadrian in which Servianus was implicated. In order to avoid any potential conflict in the succession, Hadrian ordered the deaths of Salinator and Servianus.

Death
After a year's stationing on the Danube frontier, Aelius returned to Rome to make an address to the senate on the first day of 138. The night before the speech, however, he grew ill, and died of a haemorrhage late the next day. On 24 January 138, Hadrian selected Titus Aurelius Antoninus as his new successor.

After a few days' consideration, Antoninus accepted. He was adopted on 25 February 138. As part of Hadrian's terms, Antoninus adopted both Lucius Aelius's son, Lucius Ceionius Commodus, and Hadrian's great-nephew by marriage, Marcus Annius Verus. Marcus became "Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus" (later Marcus Aurelius Antoninus); and Lucius became "Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus" (later Lucius Aurelius Verus). At Hadrian's request, Antoninus' daughter Faustina was betrothed to Lucius.

Marcus Aurelius later co-ruled with Lucius Verus as joint Roman Emperors, until Lucius Verus died in 169, after which Aurelius was sole ruler until his own death in 180.

In his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon tells of Aelius's brief time as Hadrian's successor-designate in these terms:

"After revolving in his mind several men of distinguished merit, whom he esteemed and hated, [Hadrian] adopted Ælius Verus a gay and voluptuous nobleman, recommended by uncommon beauty to the lover of Antinous. But whilst Hadrian was delighting himself with his own applause, and the acclamations of the soldiers, whose consent had been secured by an immense donative, the new Cæsar was ravished from his embraces by an untimely death."

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

title: Lucius Aelius Caesar


text:
List of heads of state of Ghana

This is a list of the heads of state of Ghana, from the independence of Ghana in 1957 to the present day.

From 1957 to 1960 the head of state under the Constitution of 1957 was the Queen of U.K, Elizabeth II, who was also the Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The monarch was represented in Ghana by a governor-general. Ghana became a republic within the Commonwealth under the Constitution of 1960 and the monarch and governor-general were replaced by an executive president.

Monarch (1957–1960)
The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

Governor-general
The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in Ghana and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Ghana was granted independence by the Ghana Independence Act 1957, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous Dominion and later promoted to independence by the Statute of Westminster 1931, the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Ghana without the involvement of the British government, with the sole exception of Charles Arden-Clarke, the former colonial governor, who served as governor-general temporarily until he was replaced by William Hare. In the event of a vacancy the chief justice served as officer administering the government.

{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government}}
 * Status

Republic (1960–present)
{{legend||Convention People's Party (CPP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||People's National Party (PNP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||National Democratic Congress (NDC)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||New Patriotic Party (NPP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
 * Political parties

{{legend||Military|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||Independent|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
 * Other factions

{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes acting president}}
 * Status

Constitutional referendum
 * Symbols

Died in office

First Republic (1960–1966)
Under the Constitution of 1960, the first constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the president replaced the monarch as executive head of state. The president was elected by Parliament for a 5-year term. In the event of a vacancy three members of the Cabinet served jointly as acting president.

Military rule (1966–1969)
Lieutenant-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah led a coup d'état which overthrew President Nkrumah and his government, all political parties and Parliament were also dissolved.

Military rule (1972–1979)
General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup d'état which overthrew President Akufo-Addo, Prime Minister Abrefa Busia and his government, all political parties, and Parliament were also dissolved.

Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo led a palace coup which overthrew General Acheampong, then Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a coup d'état which overthrown the Supreme Military Council.

===Third Republic (1979–1981) === Under the Constitution of 1979 the president was head of both state and government. The president was directly elected and served a four-year term that expired at the next general election; a president might serve a maximum of two terms. In the event of a vacancy the vice-president served as acting president.

Military rule (1981–1993)
Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a coup d'état which overthrew President Limann and his government, all political parties and Parliament were also dissolved.

Fourth Republic (1993–present)
Under the current Constitution the president is head of both state and government. The president is directly elected and serves a four-year term that expires at the next general election; a president may serve a maximum of two terms. In the event of a vacancy, the vice-president serves the remaining time as the president.

title: List of heads of state of Ghana


text:
Laisenia Qarase

Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment as Prime Minister on 4 July. He won two parliamentary elections, but a military coup removed him from power on 5 December 2006. He was later imprisoned on corruption charges brought by the military-backed regime.

A native of Vanua Balavu Island in the Lau archipelago, he was one of many Lauans to have held top leadership positions in Fiji.

Early and personal life
Qarase was born in 1941 into the Tota clan in Mavana on Vanua Balavu, the son of Josateki Mate of Mavana village. After attending local schools, he enrolled at Suva Boys Grammar School. Following his education at Suva Boys Grammar School, Qarase left Fiji in 1959 and went on to graduate from New Zealand's University of Auckland with a degree in Commerce. He got his first job at the Fijian Affairs Board and served as a career civil servant at the ministries of Finance, Commerce and Industry and Public Service. He entered the banking profession and became the first ethnic Fijian managing director of the publicly owned Fiji Development Bank (FDB) in 1983, a position he held for fifteen years. After the 1987 coup, he was called in by the new government to help to rebuild the damaged economy. He introduced the nine-point plan which oversaw extended government assistance to Fijians and the creation of Fijian Holdings. However, the plan mostly resulted in bankruptcies and he was embroiled in a scandal in Fijian Holdings over the acquisition of shares by his family. In 1994, he became the chairman of Fiji Television and clashed with the government for not consulting him over its plans to introduce US investment into the company.

Qarase had Indigenous Fijian, Tongan, and Jewish ancestry. Qarase's mother is the daughter of John Herman Ma’afu Bowman, who had Jewish parents, Alexander Bowman and Sara Annette. He was married to Leba Qarase, with whom he had five children. Qarase was a chief in his native village of Mavana, on the island of Vanua Balavu, where he held the traditional chiefly title of Tui Kobuco.

2006 coup and aftermath
On the occasion of his 65th birthday on 4 February 2006, Qarase stated that if re-elected in the election that was duly held on 6–13 May, it would very likely be his last term in office. He won re-election, but continuing disagreements between his government and the powerful Republic of Fiji Military Forces culminated in a military coup on 5 December. Fiji Village reported the next day that he had been flown to his home island of Vanuabalavu by the military, while Radio New Zealand claimed that he had fled there. He told Radio New Zealand that he was "down but not out"; he intended to fight on, and called for a peaceful popular uprising. On the same day it was reported that he had asked for military assistance from Australia. The BBC reported that after being warned by Commodore Bainimarama not to "incite violence", Prime Minister Qarase planned to return to Suva, from which he was banished, but was warned that he faced arrest if he returned.

From Vanuabalavu, he remained outspoken in condemning the military takeover, comparing the new regime to those of Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, and Idi Amin, in an interview quoted in the Fiji Times and Fiji Village on 13 and 14 December 2006.

On 2 February, Fiji Village quoted Qarase as having told Radio Australia that he was considering contesting the election to restore democracy, expected to be held within the next five years. Qarase called for the date to be brought forward.

On 6 September 2007, Bainimarama imposed a renewed state of emergency for one month, alleging that Qarase and his spokesman, Peceli Kinivuwai, were spreading lies and attempting to cause destabilization, following Qarase's return to Suva after having been confined to Vanuabalavu since his ousting. Bainimarama said that Qarase and his spokesman should return to Vanuabalavu and that they could "talk from there."

Qarase initiated a court challenge to the coup on 4 October 2007. Martial law was lifted on 6 October on the grounds that there was no threat.

Elections were tentatively set in February 2009 but did not occur until September 2014. Qarase was one of several politicians banned from running for office and his political party was forced to disband. It reorganised, but was forced to take a name in English, not Fijian (Social Democratic Liberal Party). It was later forced to change its initials to not match Qarase's former party, although its policy positions remained similar.

Financing allegations
In January 2010, it was reported that Qarase would stand trial on charges, brought by the Military-backed interim government, of abusing his office. Qarase was found guilty of abusing his office and failing to perform his duty, and sentenced on 3 August 2012 to one year in prison. His supporters say the charges were politically motivated.

title: Laisenia Qarase


text:
Talk:Divide and rule

British divide and rule in India
The main source here is an article that anyone reasonably familiar with the history of India will recognise as exceptionally partisan. Yes, Wikipedia describes it as 'the classuc nationalist position' but it is not obvious why we should have that instead of say 'the classic imperialist position'. What we really want here is the truth. Is there any real evidence for such claims as 'The British collector would secretly call the Hindu Pandit, pay him money, and tell him to speak against Muslims, and similarly he would secretly call the Maulvi, pay him money, and tell him to speak against Hindus.' Are there letters, transcripts, reports etc of this sort thing or any other solid evidence of deliberate divide and rule policy? LastDodo (talk) 20:54, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Divide and rule


text:
Tynwald Day

Tynwald Day (Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday).

On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, instead of its usual meeting place in Douglas. The session is held partly in the Royal Chapel of St John the Baptist and partly in the open air on the adjacent Tynwald Hill (a small artificial mound). The meeting, which dates back to the 10th century, is known as Midsummer Court. It is attended by members of the two branches of Tynwald: the House of Keys and the Legislative Council. The Lieutenant Governor, the representative of the Lord of Mann, presides except on the occasions when the Lord of Mann or another member of the British Royal Family is present.

All bills that have received Royal Assent are promulgated on Tynwald Day; any Act of Tynwald which is not so promulgated within 18 months of passage ceases to have effect. Other proceedings include the presentation of petitions and the swearing in of certain public officials.

Date
Tynwald Day had traditionally been held on 24 June, which is the feast day of St John the Baptist and also Midsummer's Day. In 1753, the Isle of Man legislated to replace the Julian Calendar with the Gregorian Calendar after Great Britain had done so in the previous year; making a difference of 11 days. But the legislation retained the Julian Calendar for the purpose of determining Tynwald Day: it provided that "Midsummer Tynwald Court shall be holden and kept ... upon or according to the same natural Days upon or according to which the same should have been so kept or holden ... in case this Act had never been made." Hence Tynwald Day occurred on 24 June in the Julian Calendar, but on 5 July according to the Gregorian Calendar. It was not subsequently moved back to 7 July, even though the Gregorian Calendar is now 13 days ahead of the Julian Calendar as the Gregorian Calendar had no leap day in 1800 or 1900. If 5 July falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Tynwald Day is normally celebrated on the next Monday, as happened in 2008, 2009 and 2020.

In 1979, Tynwald celebrated its millennium with a year-long festival of events showcasing Tynwald as the world's "oldest continuous parliament". This included building a replica Viking longship called Odin's Raven which recreated the early Norse voyages from Norway to the Isle of Man; the ship landed at Peel Beach on Tynwald Day 1979.

In 2020, due to Covid-19, the fair and market were cancelled, and only the legal proceedings took place.

Participants
Midsummer Courts were sometimes presided over personally by the Lords of Mann, but more often by his representatives, as the Lords of Mann were often British aristocrats or monarchs who were not resident in the island. After the Duke of Atholl presided in 1736, over two centuries passed before a Lord of Mann participated in Tynwald Day ceremonies. George VI presided in 1946; his successor Elizabeth II presided in 1979 (the millennial anniversary of Tynwald's establishment) and again in 2003. Occasionally another member of the Royal Family may preside, as the Prince Edward did in 1986, and the Prince of Wales did in 2000.

The Lieutenant Governor is preceded by the Sword-Bearer, who wears a scarlet uniform and bears the Sword of State. The Sword of State probably dates from the 15th century, and may have been made for Sir John Stanley. The Sword, which is blunt for the sake of safety, displays the Manx triskelion (the traditional "three legs" symbol which also appears on the Manx flag).

Members of the House of Keys and of the Legislative Council are also in attendance. The Speaker of the House of Keys wears a wig and black robes with gold decorations. The President of Tynwald wears a wig and blue robes with silver decorations. The President's robes also display the triskelion.

The Isle of Man's highest judicial officers, the Deemsters, participate in the ceremony, wearing scarlet robes and long wigs. There are currently three Deemsters, including the First and Second Deemster. Their office is of great antiquity, as is reflected by the curious phraseology of their ancient oath, during which they promise to "execute the laws of this isle justly … betwixt party and party, as indifferently as the herring's backbone doth lie in the midst of the fish."

Some individuals are invited to attend as Guests of Honour. Guests of Honour include representatives of the United Kingdom and of other nations, usually including the Republic of Ireland and some Scandinavian countries. In recent years, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have sent separate representatives, in addition to those for the United Kingdom. Notable guests in recent years have included: David Waddington, Baron Waddington (1998), Gareth Wyn Williams (1999), Rory O'Hanlon (1999/2005), Liam T. Cosgrave (2002), Harald V of Norway (2002), David Steel (2002), Jack McConnell and the British Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton (2003).

Other participants include clergymen, leaders of local governments and several other officials, including all the State Officials of the Isle of Man. All participants wear bollan bane, otherwise known as mugwort. Detachments and bands from the Constabulary and the military also take part in the ceremony, which is also attended by members of the general public.

The ceremony is coordinated by the Tynwald Ceremony Arrangements Committee. The President of Tynwald is the ex officio chairman; the Committee's other members include the Speaker of the House of Keys and the Chief Minister. Recently, a Tynwald Settings Enhancements Sub-Committee was constituted to improve Tynwald Day celebrations; the President and Speaker both serve on it, with the former serving as chairman.

Procession
Before Tynwald sits, the individual presiding inspects the Guard of honour and lays a wreath at the National War Memorial, which was inaugurated in 1923. A foreign head of state attending the ceremony may accompany the Lieutenant Governor, as the King of Norway did in 2002.

At eleven o'clock, Tynwald convenes in the Chapel of St John the Baptist for a religious service. Thereafter, they proceed to the adjacent Tynwald Hill. The path is strewn with rushes; the tradition is traceable to the Celtic custom of propitiating the sea god Manannan by offering bundles of rushes on Midsummer's Eve. The path is lined with numerous flagpoles, which fly both the red national flag and the blue parliamentary flag.

The first procession includes clergymen and certain government officials. The second procession, known as the Tynwald Court Procession, follows; in order, it comprises the officers of the House of Keys, the members of the House of Keys, the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, the Speaker of the House of Keys, a messenger of the House of Keys, officers of the Legislative Council, members of the Legislative Council, the Attorney General, the Deemsters, the Bishop of Sodor and Man, the President of Tynwald and a messenger of the Legislative Council. Thereafter, two guards, the Sword-bearer, the Presiding Officer and the Lieutenant Governor (if not presiding).

Dr John Clague described the procession as such in his 1911 book Cooinaghtyn Manninagh (Manx Reminiscences) "Er Laa Tin Vaal ta sleih cheet voish dy chooilley ard jeh Mannin dy chlashtyn ny slattyssyn focklit magh. Ta ny shenn tosheeyioarree livrey ny slattyn oc da'n Chiannoort, as ta'n chied vriw loo ny feallagh noa stiagh. Eisht ta dy chooilley hoshiagh-jioarey gliooney sheese roish yn Chiannoort, as goaill yn tlat echey veih laueyn yn Chiannoort. Ta toshiaghjioarey Glenfaba lhaih ny slattyssyn ayns Gaelg.

On Tynwald Day people come from every part of the Isle of Man to hear the laws pronounced. The old coroners deliver their rods to the Governor, and the first Deemster swears the new coroners in. Then every coroner kneels down before the Governor, and takes his rod from the hands of the Governor. The coroner of Glenfaba reads the laws in Manx."

Glenfaba is the sheading in which St John's is situated.

Tynwald Hill
The main ceremonies of the day take place on Tynwald Hill, known in the Manx language as Cronk-y-Keeillown, or the Hill of the Church of John, in the village of St John's. This mound is said to include soil from all 17 of the Island's parishes. The mound, approximately 12 feet (3.7 metres) in height, includes four circular platforms, which are of successively decreasing size, thereby giving Tynwald Hill a somewhat conical shape.

The ceremony of proclaiming laws on Tynwald Hill is traceable to the Norse practice of making public proclamations from mounds: Iceland, for example, once used the Lögberg (Law-Rock or Law-Hill) for the same purpose. The origins of the man-made Tynwald Hill are unclear, but it existed by the end of the 14th century. It was used in 1393 for the inauguration of Sir William le Scrope, and again in 1408 for the inauguration of Sir John Stanley, as Lords of Mann. Its first recorded use for the promulgation of laws dates to 24 June 1417, when Sir John Stanley presided.

The Lieutenant Governor, together with the Sword-Bearer and the officers and members of the Legislative Council, occupy the highest level of the Hill; officers and members of the House of Keys occupy the next level. Other officials are accommodated on the lower levels and at the foot of the mound. A tent covers the top platform. The flag of the Isle of Man flies from the flagpole except when the British Sovereign presides, when the Royal Standard flies.

After the royal anthem is sung, the First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls, upon the instruction of the Lieutenant Governor, directs the Coroner of Glenfaba to "fence the Court". The coroner accomplishes the task by declaring, "I fence this Court of Tynwald in the name of our most gracious Sovereign Lord The King. I charge that no person do quarrel, brawl or make any disturbance and that all persons do answer to their names when called. I charge this audience to witness this Court is fenced. I charge this audience to witness this Court is fenced. I charge this whole audience to bear witness this Court is now fenced." Yn Lhaihder (the Reader) then repeats the same words in Manx.

After the Court is fenced, the coroners appointed for the coming year take the oath. The Coroners of the six sheadings ascend the Hill in order of precedence (there are now four such Coroners) commencing with the Coroner of Glenfaba and Michael, followed (in a clockwise direction around the Island) by the Coroner of Ayre and Garff, the Coroner of Middle and the Coroner of Rushen. The First Deemster administers the oath to the kneeling coroners: "By that book and by the holy contents thereof and by the wonderful works that God hath miraculously wrought in heaven above and in the earth beneath in six days and seven nights, you shall, without respect of favour or friendship, love or gain, consanguinity or affinity, envy or malice, well and truly execute the office of coroner for each sheading to which you have been appointed for the ensuing year. So help you God." The phrase "wonderful works that God hath miraculously wrought ... in six days and seven nights" alludes to the Book of Genesis. The Coroners then receive ceremonial staves from the Lieutenant Governor.

After the Coroners take the oath, the Lieutenant Governor states, "Learned deemsters, I exhort you to proclaim to the people in ancient form such laws as have been enacted during the past year and which have received the Royal Assent." Each law is promulgated by the First Deemster in English and by the Second Deemster in Manx. The deemsters state the title, and a brief description of the effects, of each act. For example, on Tynwald Day in 2003, one Act was promulgated with the words "Transfer of Deemsters' Functions Act 2003, which transfers certain functions of the deemsters to the Treasury." If an Act of Tynwald is not promulgated within 18 months of receiving the Royal Assent, it ceases to remain valid.

Once the deemsters have promulgated the laws, individuals may present petitions for the redress of grievances. Petitions are presented at the foot of Tynwald Hill to the Clerk of Tynwald, who conveys them to the Lieutenant Governor. The petitions are then referred to a committee of Tynwald. Thereafter, after the singing of the first verse of the National Anthem, the Deputy Chief Constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary calls the participants individually off the Hill and they proceed to the Chapel.

Captioning ceremony
Tynwald then reconvenes in the Chapel. While Tynwald conducts substantive business in Douglas, it only participates in the captioning ceremony at St John's. During the ceremony, the Lieutenant Governor, the President of Tynwald and the Speaker of the House of Keys use quills1 to sign certificates documenting the promulgation of the laws.

Once the captioning of the acts has concluded, the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative Council withdraw, leaving members of the House of Keys for a session of their house. If there are any bills that have not completed all of their stages in the House of Keys, a member moves "That all Bills and other business before the House remaining unfinished at this date be suspended and continued at the same stage at the first sitting of the House in the next legislative year." This pro forma motion is approved by a voice vote; the House of Keys then adjourns. Even if there remains no unfinished business before it, the House of Keys still meets, but no motion is made, and adjournment is immediate.

After Tynwald Day, Tynwald Court returns to Douglas for three further sittings, normally held on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday following Tynwald Day. If, however, Tynwald Day falls on a Monday, the sittings are not held until the following week. Following these sittings, Tynwald adjourns for the summer, not reconvening until October.

1 The use of quills appears now to have ceased.

Other celebrations
Traditionally, Tynwald Day was also marked by a fair and market; these customs still continue. In recent years, the Tynwald Settings Enhancements Sub-Committee has introduced several other forms of celebration. Since 2000, the week of Tynwald Day has been commemorated as Manx National Week. Concerts are held in the evening; at the conclusion, the Manx national anthem is played, and a fireworks display is staged.

title: Tynwald Day


text:
List of presidents of Guinea

This article lists the presidents of Guinea, since the country gained independence from France in 1958 (after rejecting to join the French Community in a constitutional referendum).

Term limits
As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Guinea. This limit has been lifted for Conté in 2001 and for Condé in 2020.

List of officeholders
{{legend||Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally (PDG–RDA)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||Unity and Progress Party (PUP)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||Rally of the Guinean People (RPG)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
 * Political parties

{{legend||Military|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
 * Other factions

{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes acting President}} Elected unopposed
 * Symbols

Died in office

title: List of presidents of Guinea


text:
Howard Cooke

Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke  (13 November 1915 – 11 July 2014) served as the fourth governor-general of Jamaica from 1 August 1991 to 15 February 2006.

Early life
Cooke was born on 13 November 1915, in Goodwill, St. James, Jamaica, the son of David Brown Cooke and Mary Jane Minto. In his youth, Cooke was the group scoutmaster and secretary of the St. Andrew Boys' Scout Association and captain of the County of Cornwall cricket team. He attended Mico University College in Kingston and London University in London. Cooke was a teacher for 23 years, serving as president of the Jamaica Union of Teachers and headmaster of Belle Castle All-Age School, Port Antonio Upper School, and Montego Bay Boys' School. He was also active in the insurance industry for some three decades, working at Standard Life Insurance Company, Jamaica Mutual Life Insurance Company, and ALICO.

Career
One of the founding members of the People's National Party (PNP), Cooke joined politics in 1938. He became a member of the parliament of the West Indies Federation in 1958, and then the independent Jamaican parliament as a Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives after 1962. He was a minister in the government of Michael Manley during the 1970s and President of the Senate of Jamaica from 1989 to 1991. On 1 August 1991, he became the fourth Governor-General of Jamaica, succeeding Florizel Glasspole. Queen Elizabeth visited Jamaica in 1994 and 2002 while Cooke was Governor-General. He retired on 15 February 2006, and became the first Governor-General to invest his successor, Kenneth Octavius Hall. Afterwards, Cooke was appointed Chancellor of the International University of the Caribbean in Kingston.

Personal life and death
Cooke had several views of British colonialism and slavery. In 2006, he remarked, "Even during slavery the British were sending some very good people out to Jamaica...Missionaries, Reformers...Jamaica's greatness was not entirely due to slavery." He was critical of Margaret Thatcher, her views stating that "after Thatcher we became more and more materialist... But there's more to life than cars and dollars."

On 22 July 1939, Cooke married schoolteacher Ivy Sylvia Lucille (née Tai). The couple had two sons, retired Court of Appeal Justice Howard Fitz-Arthur Cooke and hotelier Richard Washington McDermott Cooke, and one daughter, counsellor Audrey Faith.

Howard Cooke died at the age of 98 on 11 July 2014 in Kingston, Jamaica, only 11 days before he and Lady Cooke's 75th wedding anniversary. Lady Cooke died on 4 June 2017 aged 100.

Awards and honours
In 1980, Cooke received the Special Plaque for Distinguished Service from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. In 1991, Cooke was awarded both the Order of the Nation and the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). In 1994, he was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). Several places in Jamaica are named after Howard Cooke, including the Howard Cooke Boulevard, Howard Cooke Primary School, and the Howard Cooke Campus at the International University of the Caribbean.

title: Howard Cooke


text:
President of Ghana

The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2020 presidential election against former president, John Dramani Mahama, by a margin of 4.23%. He was sworn into office for his second term on 7 January 2021.

Eligibility
According to Chapter 8, Article 62 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, a person shall not be qualified for election as the president of Ghana unless:

 * (a) is a citizen of Ghana by birth
 * (b) has attained the age of forty years; and
 * (c) is a person who is otherwise qualified to be elected a Member of Parliament, except that the disqualifications set out in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of clause (2) of article 94 of this Constitution shall not be removed, in respect of any such person, by a presidential pardon or by the lapse of time as provided for in clause (5) of that article.

Presidential candidates must lodge a nomination document signed by at least two registered voters in each district, and includes the name of a vice presidential running mate.

The president serves a four-year term. The president is limited to two terms, whether successive or separated. The first president for whom the term limits applied was Jerry Rawlings in 2001.

If the president dies, resigns, is permanently incapacitated, or is removed from office, the vice president automatically ascends as president for the balance of the term. If the vice president ascends to the presidency before more than half of the presidential term expires, the vice president is only allowed to run for a single full term as president. If both the president and vice president are unable to perform the duties of president, the Speaker of Parliament becomes acting president, and new elections must be held within three months.

Oath of office
The president of Ghana must be sworn in by the chief justice before Parliament and the citizens of Ghana. The president-elect must repeat the following:

"I, _______________ having been elected to the high office of President of the Republic of Ghana do (in the name of the Almighty God swear) (solemnly affirm) that I will be faithful and true to the Republic of Ghana; that I will at all times preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana; and that I dedicate myself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Ghana and to do right to all manner of persons.

I further (solemnly swear) (solemnly affirm) that should I at any time break this oath of office; I shall submit myself to the laws of the Republic of Ghana and suffer the penalty for it. (So help me God)".

Insignia
After the oath of office has been taken by the elected president, these following insignia are handed over to the president. These devices are used to display the rank of his/her office and are used on special occasions.

 * President's Sword (image) and the Presidential Seat, Presidential standard pole and state sword. A carved wooden seat overlaid with gold.

Powers and duties of the president
Chapter 8 of the Constitution of Ghana states the duties and the powers of the president. The president is required to:
 * uphold the Constitution
 * exercise executive authority
 * preserve the safety and homeland of Ghana.

Also, the president is given the powers:
 * as the leader of the executive branch of government
 * as the commander-in-chief of the military
 * to declare war
 * to hold referendums regarding issues of national importance
 * to issue executive orders
 * to issue medals in honor of service for the nation
 * to issue pardons
 * to declare a state of emergency suspending all laws or enacting a state of martial law.

The president may execute or cause to be executed treaties, agreements or conventions in the name of the Republic of Ghana. The president shall take precedence over the populace of the Republic of Ghana and may refer important policy matters to a national referendum, declare war, conclude peace and other treaties, appoint senior public officials, and grant amnesty (with the concurrence of the Parliament of Ghana). In times of serious internal or external turmoil or threat, or economic or financial crises, the president may assume emergency powers "for the maintenance of national security or public peace and order".

The president shall be removed from office if found, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, Chapter 8 section 69 (ii) – prejudicial or inimical to the economy or the security of the Republic of Ghana. The president shall cease to hold office on the date the Parliament of Ghana votes to remove the president from office.

Presidential Aircraft
The official presidential aircraft is a Dassault Falcon 900, registration 9G-EXE, which was acquired in 2010. The aircraft was overhauled for six months in 2022, and returned to service in February 2023.

The presidential aircraft uses the colour scheme of the flag of Ghana in stripes, with the Ghanaian coat of arms on the tail.

In 2011, the government purchased an Embraer 190 making a part payment of $55m however it was revealed in 2020 that the jet was not delivered. There has been some speculation to whether or not the delivery was cancelled due to the government defaulting on its payment.

title: President of Ghana


text:
List of presidents of Guinea-Bissau

This article lists the presidents of Guinea-Bissau, since the establishment of the office of president in 1973.

Term limits
As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Guinea-Bissau. The term limit has not been met by any president yet.

List of officeholders
{{legend||African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC)|border=1px solid #aaa}} {{legend||Party for Social Renewal (PRS)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} {{legend||Movement for Democratic Alternation, Group of 15 (Madem G15)|border=1px solid #aaa}}
 * Political parties

{{legend||Military|border=1px solid #aaa}} {{legend||Independent|border=1px solid #aaa}}
 * Other factions

{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes acting president}}
 * Symbols

 * Symbols

Died in office

title: List of presidents of Guinea-Bissau


text:
John the Merciful

John V Eleemon, also known as John the Almsgiver, John the Almoner, John the Compassionate, or John the Merciful, was the Chalcedonian/Melkite Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century (from 606 to 616). He was born in Amathus around 560. Originally appointed by the emperor Heraclius, he later resisted attempts by the emperor to persecute the monophysites. At the end of his life he was obliged to flee back to Cyprus, where he died around 620.

He was unusual for his time in a number of ways. He was a married man with children, was elected bishop as a layman, and became a saint without being a martyr. He is one of the very few Byzantine era saints to gain a following in the West. He was one of the saints in the Golden Legend. He became famous as the original patron of the order of St. John of the Hospital, the Hospitallers, one of the great Western crusading military orders. This order still survives as the Knights of Malta. In the British Commonwealth, the "St. John's Ambulance Corps" is named after him.

He is considered a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. He is also the patron saint of Casarano, Italy and of Limassol, Cyprus.

His "life" was written by his contemporary Leontius bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus, who seems to have known him personally.

Early life
He was born at Amathus as the son of Epiphanius, governor of Cyprus, and was of noble descent. In early life he was married and had children, but his wife and children soon died, after which he entered religious life.

Patriarch of Alexandria

On the death of the Patriarch Theodore, the Alexandrians besought Emperor Phocas to appoint John his successor, which was accordingly done. One of the first steps he took was to make a list of several thousand needy persons, whom he took under his especial care. He always referred to the poor as his "lords and masters", because of their mighty influence at the Court of the Most High. He assisted people of every class who were in need.

He was a reformer who attacked simony, and fought heresy by means of improvements in religious education. He also reorganized the system of weights and measures for the sake of the poor, and put a stop to corruption among the officials. He increased the number of churches in Alexandria from seven to seventy.

The ministry of Vitalis of Gaza, a monk who worked among the prostitutes of the city, was a noteworthy episode of John's reign. The patriarch was considered to have behaved with wisdom for not punishing this monk who was notorious for visiting the seedy part of town, and his judgment was vindicated only after the death of Vitalis when the story of the monk's mission of mercy became known.

Anecdotes from the Life by Leontius
In his youth John had had a vision of a beautiful maiden with a garland of olives on her head, who said that she was Compassion, the eldest daughter of the Great King. This had evidently made a deep impression on John's mind, and, now that he had the opportunity of exercising benevolence on a large scale, he soon became widely known all over the East for his liberality towards the poor.

A shipwrecked merchant was thus helped three times, on the first two occasions apparently without doing him much good; the third time however, John fitted him out with a ship and a cargo of wheat, and by favourable winds he was taken as far as Britain, where, as there was a shortage of wheat, he obtained his own price.

Another person, who was not really in need, applied for alms and was detected by the officers of the palace; but John merely said "Give unto him; he may be Our Lord in disguise." He visited the hospitals three times every week, and he freed a great many slaves. John is said to have devoted the entire revenues of his see to the alleviation of those in need. A rich man presented him with a magnificent bed covering; he accepted it for one night, but then sold it, and disposed of the money in alms. The rich man "bought in" the article, and again presented it to John, with the same result. This was repeated several times; but John drily remarked: "We will see who tires first."

Another instance of his piety was that he caused his own grave to be dug, but only partly so, and appointed a servant to come before him on all state occasions and say "My Lord, your tomb is unfinished; pray give orders for its completion, for you know not the hour when death may seize you." When the Sassanids sacked Jerusalem in 614, John sent large supplies of food, wine, and money to the fleeing Christians. But eventually the Persians occupied Alexandria, and John himself in his old age was forced to flee to his native country, where he died.

Death and veneration
John died in Cyprus somewhere between 616 and 620.

From Cyprus his body was moved to Constantinople, then in 1249 to Venice, where there is a church dedicated to him, the Chiesa di San Giovanni Elemosinario, although his relics are preserved in another church, San Giovanni in Bragora, in a separate chapel.

Another relic of him was sent by Sultan Bayezid II in 1489 to King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. It was placed in the private Royal Chapel in Buda Castle, which was dedicated to him. Now his body lies in the St. John the Merciful Chapel in St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava, Slovakia.

A church in Cospicua, Malta, is dedicated to him, and one of the bastions of the Santa Margherita Lines in the same city is also named after him.

Biography
A hagiographical biography was written by his contemporary Leontios of Neapolis.

title: John the Merciful


text:
President of the Gambia

The president of the Republic of The Gambia is the head of state and head of government of the Gambia. The president leads the executive branch of the government of the Gambia and is the commander-in-chief of the Gambia Armed Forces. The post was created in 1970, when the Gambia became a republic and has been held by three people: Dawda Jawara, who ruled from 1970 until 1994, Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless coup that year and Adama Barrow, who defeated Jammeh in elections held in December 2016.

As of 2021, there are no term limits for the president in the Constitution of the Gambia.

title: President of the Gambia


text:
President of Kenya

The president of the Republic of Kenya (Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya) is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. The country's current president is William Ruto since 13 September 2022.

History
Kenya's pre-independence constitution was based on the standard "Lancaster House template" used for the former British colonies in Africa, subject to early amendments. It was replaced in 1969.

Under the Independence Constitution, the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, was the country's head of state, represented locally by a governor-general of Kenya, who was the head of government. In 1964, the year after the country gained independence from Britain, the 1963 Constitution was amended to make the country a republic, with the president now serving as both head of state and head of government.

Kenya has had a total of five presidents since independence, in successive order: Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta, and the incumbent, William Ruto, who was inaugurated on 13 September 2022. Moi remains the country's longest serving president, having served for a total of 24 years.

Qualifications and election to office
According to the current Constitution, if a person wishes to be elected as president, the following qualifications must be met:

 * 1) Should be a Kenyan citizen by birth;
 * 2) Should be qualified for election as a Member of Parliament;
 * 3) Should have been nominated by a political party to stand as its candidate for the presidency, or they may stand as an independent candidate; and
 * 4) The person should have been nominated by more than two thousand voters from each of a majority of the country's 47 counties.

A candidate will be disqualified to run for presidency if they have allegiance to a foreign state or is working for the government in any capacity as a public officer. Being a public officer is not applicable to the incumbent president if running for a second term.

The president is elected by popular vote in the general election held in the month of August every five years. For a presidential candidate to be declared the winner, they must have:

 * 1) More than half of the total votes cast in the election; and
 * 2) At least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the 47 counties in the country.

The official residence of the president of Kenya is State House, Nairobi.

The wife of the president is referred to as the first lady of Kenya.

Term of office
A president is eligible for two consecutive terms of five years each, starting from the date the president is sworn in.

Roles and responsibilities
The following is a summary of the roles of the president of Kenya as provided in the Constitution of Kenya: The responsibilities of the president are summarised as follows: Additionally, a person serving as president has legal immunity, with the exception of crimes under treaties to which Kenya is party with provisions that prohibit such immunity.
 * Is the country's head of state and government.
 * Exercises the country's executive authority.
 * Is the commander-in-chief of the country's military, the Kenya Defence Forces.
 * Is the chairperson of the country's National Security Council.
 * Is a symbol of national unity.
 * Is responsible for addressing each newly elected Parliament and report once to special parliamentary seating concerning issues of national value and governance.
 * Holds nominating and appointing authority, with Parliament's approval, over the country's cabinet secretaries, attorney-general, principal secretaries, diplomatic and consular representatives and any other public officer over whom the Constitution grants said authority.
 * Is the chairperson of Cabinet meetings and oversees the running of operations in various ministries and government departments.
 * The president may also undertake any other executive functions as permitted by the Constitution.
 * The president also exercises the power of mercy, whereupon the president may pardon a person convicted of an offence.

List of presidents
Jomo Kenyatta - 12 December 1964 - 22 August 1978 Daniel Toroitich arap Moi - 14 October 1978 - 30 December 2002 Emilio Mwai Kibaki - 30 December 2002 - 9 April 2013 Uhuru Kenyatta - 9 April 2013 - 13 September 2022 William Samoei Ruto - 13 September 2022 - Present

Presidential standards
As with most other countries, the president of Kenya has a presidential standard to signify their status as the country's head of state and government. Its design is generally based on the country's national flag, although the president has some leeway to customise its appearance. The flag is generally displayed in notable locations associated with the president, usually alongside the national flag, such as the president's offices and the president's official state car, and during notable state occasions.

The presidential standards of Kenya's presidents since the country's independence have been as follows:

 * Lists of incumbents
 * Politics of Kenya
 * Prime Minister of Kenya

title: President of Kenya


text:
Joan Enric Vives i Sicília

Joan-Enric Vives i Sicília (born 24 July 1949) is a Spanish cleric, who has served as Bishop of Urgell since 2003, and is therefore the Co-Prince of Andorra. This makes him a joint head of state (alongside the President of France) and one of the two Catholic religious figures in the world who also leads a country, the other such prelate being the pope himself (who leads Vatican City).

He holds the rank of archbishop as a personal distinction, his diocese being a suffragan diocese.

Life
Vives i Sicília was born in 1949 in Barcelona as the third son of Francesc Vives i Pons and of Cornèlia Sicília Ibáñez, who were small retailers. He entered the seminary in 1965 and studied humanities, philosophy and theology. In 1974, Vives was ordained a priest in his native parish Santa Maria del Taulat de Barcelona. He was later nominated as auxiliary bishop of Barcelona (and titular bishop of Nona) in 1993, and consecrated to the episcopacy and automatically became a member of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. Pope John Paul II nominated him as coadjutor bishop of Urgell in 2001. After two years, on the retirement of his predecessor Joan Martí Alanis in 2003, he succeeded him as Bishop of Urgell on 12 May 2003, and hence therefore as co-prince of Andorra in the Principality of Andorra located in the heights of the Pyrenees Mountains. On 10 July 2003, he carried out the Constitutional Oath as the new Co-Prince of Andorra at "Casa de la Vall", Andorra la Vella. Vives i Sicília was later elevated to archbishop as a personal title by Pope Benedict XVI in March 2010.

Vives i Sicília is due to resign as Bishop and as Co-Prince in the near future. Msgr. Josep-Lluís Serrano is to subsequently take up those positions.

Foreign honours

 * PRT Order of Christ - Grand Cross BAR.svg Grand Cross of the Order of Christ of the Portuguese Republic (5 March 2010).

title: Joan Enric Vives i Sicília