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Singapore Armed Forces

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the armed forces have four service branches: the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Digital and Intelligence Service. An integrated force, it is one of the most capable, robust, technologically sophisticated and powerful militaries in the Southeast Asia region. The SAF is headed by the chief of defence force, appointed by the President, on the advice of the Cabinet.

Since its inception, the SAF has been involved in various operations, both domestically and abroad. These include peacekeeping missions in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Nepal and Timor Leste as well as disaster relief operations in various countries, including the 1970 Bhola cyclone, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, 2008 Sichuan earthquake, April 2015 Nepal earthquake, Hurricane Harvey, among others. In addition, the SAF has assisted the United Nations to oversee and supervise the electoral process in countries such as Cambodia, Ethiopia, Namibia and South Africa.

It has an approximate active strength of over 51,000 full-time personnel and is capable of mobilising over 252,500 reservists (also known as National Servicemen, or NSmen) in the event of national exigencies or a full-scale war. It also has a large pool of conscripts (also known as Full-time National Servicemen, or NSFs) in the active and reserve forces, with about 50,000 reaching military age annually.

In recent years, the SAF has also taken on a more active role in counter-terrorism efforts.

Pre-independence
Prior to Singapore attaining its independence as a nation state, the British colonial force defended Singapore.

The Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps (SVRC) was first created in 1854 as a private organisation, with the governor serving as its first Colonel. It was later gazetted in 1857. However, participation in the SVRC was weak and it was disbanded on 16 December 1887 in favour of forming an artillery corps instead. This was to be the Singapore Volunteer Artillery (SVA), which was formed in 1888 to operate the gun emplacements around Singapore, and is also considered to be the predecessor of the artillery formation of the Singapore Armed Forces. In 1901, additional non-artillery units were set up, including a Chinese infantry company, Eurasian infantry company, and the Singapore Volunteer Engineers, leading to the force being renamed as the Singapore Volunteer Corps (SVC). It assisted in suppressing the 1915 Singapore Mutiny. In 1921, the SVC was combined with other volunteer forces from Malacca and Penang as the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF).

During World War II the voluntary military forces of Singapore sustained heavy casualties. The voluntary military force of Singapore was reestablished in 1949.

Post-independence
In 1965 an Israeli military advisory team arrived in Singapore, which would remain in the country for the next nine years. Under the guidance of the Israeli military advisory team, the SAF established its organisation, doctrine, training, as well as its equipment, and arsenal. The SAF in Singapore benefited from conscription and massive public spending. In the mid-1970s, the SAF in Singapore had a force of 300,000 soldiers, including regular soldiers, conscript soldiers, as well as reserve force soldiers. The political purpose of the SAF in Singapore was to pose a reasonable deterrence to the two historically hostile neighbours of Singapore. Singapore became known as the "most heavily armed country on earth" when it purchased light tanks, M113 armoured personnel carriers, A-4 Skyhawks, and F-5 fighter aircraft in the mid-1970s.

In the 1980s the SAF in Singapore armed itself to attain the capability to defend Singapore's maritime lifeline. In the mid-1980s Singapore purchased eight F-16 fighter-bombers, demonstrating the intent to maintain the SAF as unrivalled in Southeast Asia. In the early 1990s the SAF in Singapore attained the military force necessary to defend Singapore up to 1,000 miles at sea, and therefore respond if necessary to any conflict in the region.

21st century
Singapore has been described as "a military powerhouse with the best air force and navy in Southeast Asia." Singapore's wealth allows it to acquire and make the best equipment available as well as incorporate high-end technological equipment into its nation military forces. The SAF is also called "the most technologically advanced armed forces across the Association of Southeast Asian Nation states".

A key recent example was Singapore's decision to acquire four Lockheed Martin's F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, which the United States Congress approved, with the option to acquire a further eight more and beyond. This acquisition is significant as "Singapore will fly the most advanced fleet of fighters in its region" which reflects its security relationship with the United States. Furthermore, Singapore stands out from all the other countries in Southeast Asia with its technological sophistication and equipment that "operates at a very high level of capability" and are "all integrated into a single cohesive fighting force."

Armed Forces Day is commemorated by the SAF annually on 1 July, with a parade held at the SAFTI Military Institute.

On 1 July 2018, Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen announced that the SAF would transition from its current third-generation technologies to fourth next-generation technologies by overhauling its arsenal. On 27 February 2019, the office of Inspector-General of the Armed Forces was set up to ensure that safety protocols are applied and enforced throughout the military following the death of Aloysius Pang, who was the fourth training related fatality in 18 months after 2017.

Contribution in national crises
On 15 March 1986, the six-storey Hotel New World collapsed. SAF soldiers aided in rescue operations, working alongside members of the Singapore Civil Defence Force to remove the rubble. RSAF UH-1H helicopters were on standby at the nearby Farrer Park football field to evacuate rescued victims to the Singapore General Hospital.

On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked by four Pakistanis en route to Singapore. Upon landing in Changi Airport at 8:15pm SGT, the hijackers demanded the release of several Pakistan Peoples Party members. Negotiations faltered, and after the hijackers gave their ultimatum to have their demands fulfilled at 6.15am SGT of the following morning, Commandos from SAF's Special Operations Force (SOF) stormed the plane, killing all hijackers and rescuing the hostages.

During the SARS outbreak in 2003, SAF paramedics were deployed at Changi Airport to screen incoming passengers from places hit by SARS. The SAF also deployed 220 servicemen with operations such as screening, contact tracing and enforcing home quarantine orders. The team also managed other major operations, such as the quarantine of 1,500 staff from the Institute of Mental Health.

In 2004, the Singapore Armed Forces also responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

During the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, SAF servicemen were called upon to pack and transport masks, conduct conduct tracing calls, and check compliance with stay home notices. MINDEF personnel also ran the National Call Centre to address public queries on the collection of reusable masks. The SAF also deployed manpower to assist in manning thermal imagery machines at the airport to screen travellers with symptoms. The SAF was also involved in managing COVID-19 cases in foreign worker dormitories and at isolation facilities

Defence policy
Deterrence and diplomacy have been the fundamental tenets of Singapore's military defence policy. Through the years, the SAF in Singapore has developed extensive links with armed forces from other countries. In recent years, there has also been an increased emphasis on peacekeeping and international emergency relief operations. Notable are the SAF's contribution to the peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, East Timor, the Persian Gulf, as well as the disaster response in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake, the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Singapore's spending on military hardware has enabled the SAF to advance from a defensive and defeatist "poisoned shrimp" strategy to a forward defence military strategy in tandem with sustained economic growth. Since the 1980s the government of Singapore has maintained the SAF as a modern and technically proficient armed force that is capable of conventional warfare on land. The SAF's declared mission statement is to "enhance Singapore’s peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor".

The SAF's policy towards Malay people, who share religious and ethnic ties with Singapore's largest neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, has been a source of controversy over the years. Malays were virtually excluded from conscription from the beginning of the draft in 1967 until 1977 and, after the policy was eased, were assigned mainly to serve in the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force, and not active combat roles.

In 1987, Lee Hsien Loong (then Second Minister for Defence) stated that "If there is a conflict, if the SAF is called to defend the homeland, we do not want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position where his emotions for the nation may be in conflict with his religion." Military analyst Sean Walsh claimed that "official discrimination against the Malay population remains an open secret". The Ministry of Defence contests the charge, noting that there are "Malay pilots, commandos and air defence personnel" and stating that "the proportion of eligible Malays selected for specialist and officer training is similar to the proportion for eligible non-Malays."

National Service

Women are exempt from full-time National Service in Singapore, but can sign on as a career soldier in both combat and non-combat roles. The range of positions available to women has been expanded gradually. In July 2007, the SAF held an exhibition highlighting the contributions of women in the armed forces. In recent years, some women have taken higher positions, such as BG Gan Siow Huang, who is the highest ranking female officer and the first female General in the SAF.

In 2014, a governmental Committee to Strengthening NS established a SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC). The SAFVC enables women, first generation Permanent Residents and new citizens to contribute to national defence and strengthen support for NS. Volunteers undergo a four-week course to gain basic military skills and values.

Under the Enlistment Act 1970, conscription is mandatory for all "persons subject to [the] act", defined as those who are not less than 16 years and 6 months of age and not more than 40 years of age, with some exemptions and with no specific bias to gender. In practice however, it is only compulsory for all Singaporean men who have reached 18 years of age, and are not deferred or exempted for certain reasons, to be conscripted in military service.

NS was initially three years for commissioned officers and two years for other ranks, but it was later revised to two years and six months for soldiers with the rank of Corporal and above, and two years for those with the rank of Lance Corporal or lower. In June 2004, NS was shortened to two years for all Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs), regardless of rank, due to changes in population demographics, manpower requirements and technological advancements. Combat fit NSFs who obtain a silver or gold standard in a physical fitness test have an additional two months reduction, serving 22 months of NS effectively. Upon completion of their NSF stint, servicemen are considered as having reached their Operationally-ready Date (ORD) and are known as Operationally-ready National Servicemen (NSmen). Almost all NSmen go through a 10-year reservist cycle of military training with their assigned unit deployment. Almost all NSmen are obliged to be called up annually for a maximum of 40 days per workyear for national duties, refresher trainings, mobilisations, upgrading courses and individual physical fitness tests and conditioning, depending on their NS unit deployment.

Training
Prior to enlistment, pre-enlistees (recruits) are required to attend a medical examination (PULHHEEMS) to determine their medical status to assess vocational suitability postings. They will then be issued a "Physical Employment Status" (PES), which will be used as a guideline to determine for which vocation groupings they are deemed suitable.

PES A and PES B1 (combat-fit) recruits go through a nine-week Basic Military Training (BMT) program, held at the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) on the offshore island of Pulau Tekong. Recruits who are considered obese, are required to attend a 19-week PES Bp BMT weight-loss program. PES B2 formally PES C1 (fit for some combat vocations) recruits will go through a nine-week modified BMT programme at BMTC. PES C and PES E recruits (non-combat-fit) undertake a nine-week modified BMT program in BMTC School V at Kranji Camp II, where serviceman undergoing a four-week modified BMT programme before being deployed to various combat service support vocations such as Admin Support Assistant (ASA), Transport Operator, and Supply Assistant (SA). All servicemen, with the exception commandos, naval divers and service support vocation units, will complete their BMT at BMTC.

Military education
Initially, commissioned officers were drawn exclusively from the ranks of Singaporeans who had completed their GCE A levels or embarked on tertiary studies. While the requirements have since been revised, the SAF has still been criticised for "using a promotion system that is based more on education and scholarships than on proven competence".

Foreign defence relations
Singapore is part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, whose other members include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. Designed to replace the former defence role of the British in Singapore and Malaysia, the arrangement obliges members to consult in the event of external threat against Malaysia and Singapore. To this end, an Integrated Air Defence System is set up in Butterworth, Malaysia involving the stationing of officers from the 5 countries at its headquarters.

In 1975, President Chiang Ching-kuo and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew signed an agreement code-named "Project Starlight" (星光計畫, also known as Hsing Kuang), wherein Singaporean troops could conduct training exercises in Taiwan. These exercises, engaging as many as 10,000 troops at any one time, provided officers a chance to simulate wartime conditions more closely and gain experience in the command and control of operations involving several battalions.

Singapore has consistently supported a strong US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. In 1990, the US and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which allows the US access to Singapore facilities at Paya Lebar Air Base and the Sembawang wharves. Under the MOU, a US Navy logistics unit was established in Singapore in 1992; US fighter aircraft deploy periodically to Singapore for exercises, and a number of US military vessels visit Singapore. The US Navy's Task Force 73/Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific is now located at Sembawang. The MOU was amended in 1999 to permit US naval vessels to berth at Changi Naval Base, which was completed in early 2001.

Singapore's defence resources have also been used for international humanitarian aid missions. They included United Nations peacekeeping missions in areas such as Kosovo, Kuwait and East Timor, participation in the Multi-National Force – Iraq, sending military equipment and personnel to assist in the humanitarian rescue and relief efforts in Indonesia after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and the United States after Hurricane Katrina, sending medical supplies and personnel in response to the earthquake in Nepal and establishing medical and dental assets for use by the Afghan people. The Republic of Singapore Navy contributes to anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden off the eastern coast of Somalia as part of the 25 nations coalition Combined Maritime Forces. Several of the SAF's top officers have thus overseas operational military experience. Singapore was the only Asian country to contribute assets and personnel to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and had participated in Operation Gallant Phoenix since May 2017.

Many of the Singapore's air units are located abroad such as: No. 130 Squadron in Australia, No. 150 Squadron in France, or joint USAF-RSAF 425th and 428th Fighter Squadron. Since 2009, up to 90 soldiers annually are sent to Germany for exercises of a maximum of seven weeks each time at the Bergen-Hohne Training Area and other locations.

Legislation
Under the Singapore Armed Forces Act, the president of Singapore has the authority to raise and maintain the SAF. The president also has the power to form, disband or amalgamate units within the SAF.

The Armed Forces Council (AFC) administers matters relating to the SAF under the Singapore Armed Forces Act. The AFC consists of:
 * Minister for Defence and other ministers who are responsible for defence matters or has been assigned to assist them;
 * the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Defence;
 * the Chief of Defence Force (CDF);
 * the Chief of Army (COA);
 * the Chief of Air Force (CAF);
 * the Chief of Navy (CNV);
 * the Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service (CDI) and
 * not more than four other members as the president may appoint if the president, acting in their discretion, concurs with the advice of the prime minister.

Military offences
Military offences are governed by the SAF and the Enlistment Act in the Singapore Statutes. However, civilian offences (e.g. against the Penal Code) may also amount to a military offence. Offences may be prosecuted by military prosecutors, through the military justice system, or through the civilian judicial system.

Services
The SAF consists of four service branches:
 * Army (3 combined arms divisions - 3 Div, 6 Div & 9 Div; 2 army operational reserve divisions - 21st Div and 25th Div; 1 island defence command - 2nd People's Defence Forces)
 * Air Force (17 squadrons and 4 air bases)
 * Navy (5 commands, 8 flotillas, and 2 naval bases)
 * Digital and Intelligence Service (inaugurated in 2022)

Task Forces
The SAF comprises seven standing task forces:

 * Army Deployment Force
 * Island Defence Task Force
 * Joint Task Force
 * Special Operations Task Force; an integrated joint command formed in 2009, to combat common terrorist threats. It comprises selected members of the 1st Commando Battalion's Special Operations Force, Naval Diving Unit's Special Warfare Group and other forces
 * Maritime Security Task Force
 * Air Defence Task Force
 * Cybersecurity Task Force

Defence Agencies
Supporting the combat role of the SAF are other governmental organisations of MINDEF, such as the Defence Policy Group, the Defence Management Group, the Defence Technology Group, and the Defence Science & Technology Agency. Within these groups are the Central Manpower Base, Defence Cyber Organisation, and the Military Security Department. Domestic technology companies also play a role in building up Singapore's military capabilities, particularly the government-linked ST Engineering (formerly known as Chartered Industries of Singapore), which has designed and built SAF weaponry and equipment.

Chief of Defence Force (CDF)
The position of Chief of Defence Force was established in 1990, with the inaugural holder being Winston Choo, who was previously Chief of the General Staff. The SAF is headed by the CDF, a three-star General by establishment and the only active SAF General that can hold three-star rank. He is assisted by the four chiefs of the respective services, who are two-star generals/admirals by establishment. The SAF has a Sergeant Major who currently holds the rank of CWO. The CDF is also supported by the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, the Joint Operations Directorate, Joint Plans & Transformation Department, the Joint Manpower Department, the Joint Logistic Department, the Joint Intelligence Directorate, and Office of the Inspector-General of the Armed Forces.

Ranks
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has five rank schemes for active and reservist personnel, with a sixth for the auxiliaries of the SAF Volunteer Corps. The SAF has a unique rank structure as an integrated force, ranks are the same in the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS).

Technology in the SAF
The SAF utilises technology as "force multipliers", especially in the area of C4I integration, which will enable its various units to fight in an integrated manner. The Army, Air Force and Navy are linked via advanced data-links and networks to enable coordinated attacks and support for various units and forces. Technology is an important element in the SAF's transformation into a 3rd Generation Fighting Force.

The SAF acknowledges that technology is crucial for overcoming the limitations of Singapore's small population. Having consistently had one of the largest defence budgets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore has focused on maintaining its spending on sophisticated and superior weaponry. Research and experimentation to develop a technological edge began as early as 1971, even though the SAF then had only rudimentary capabilities. The effort started off with a three-man team. At present, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) is one of the largest employers of engineers and scientists in Singapore and the SAF continues to devote considerable resources to defence research and development (R&D) and experimentation—5% and 1% of the defence budget, respectively. Singapore's education system has also produced national servicemen who can be trained to operate SAF's sophisticated platforms and systems.

In Sep 2008, the SAF officially opened its Murai Urban Training Facility (MUTF) to hone the SAF's networked urban operations capability. The MUTF resembles a typical town and allows the soldiers to train realistically in an urban setting. In the same month, the SAF's new combat uniform, as well as the Advanced Combat Man System, were also unveiled for the first time.

The country also has an established military manufacturing industry that is responsible for the design and development of the following military hardware:
 * PRIMUS – Self-propelled Howitzer
 * Bionix II – Infantry Fighting Vehicle (an upgrade of the Bionix AFV)
 * MATADOR – Unguided Short Range Anti-Armour Weapon
 * Terrex I, II, III – Infantry Carrier Vehicle
 * PEGASUS – Light Weight Howitzer
 * SAR 21 & Bullpup multirole combat rifle – Bullpup Assault Rifle
 * Formidable-Class Stealth Frigate – warships designed with stealthy characteristics, equipped with advanced combat systems and with longer endurance
 * Independence-class littoral mission vessel – warships designed for littoral and coastal warfare

Uniforms

The SAF's first-generation army uniform was named Temasek Green from the simple flat green uniform, with brown and blue colours being used for the navy and air force's uniforms respectively. This was followed by the second-generation uniform, which used a patchy camouflage pattern for the army, while using overalls for the army and navy.

The third and current generation of combat uniforms, commonly known as the No. 4, uses digital camouflage with base colours green, blue, light grey and dark grey for the army, air force, navy and DIS respectively. In June 2018, the SAF introduced a new variant of the uniform for combat units, which provides more effective cooling in a manner similar to the ones issued to US army personnel for tropical climates.

The SAF's desert-camouflage uniforms are only issued to personnel deployed overseas to countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

title: Singapore Armed Forces


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Huya (mythology)

Huya (in Wayuu: Juyá, pronounced ) is the name of the rain god of the Wayuu people of Venezuela and Colombia.

The minor planet 38628 Huya is named after this figure.

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

title: Huya (mythology)


text: Talk:Chelsea Clinton

title: Talk:Chelsea Clinton


text:
User talk:Kloy1334

Orphaned non-free image (Image:Tom profile.jpg)
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text: Category:Children's books

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Talk:Huya (mythology)

Untitled
Ignacio Ferrin, the discoverer, says that the "emphasis is on the "a": Huyá." The aitch is pronounced as in English; the Spanish spelling Ignacio first proposed was "Juya". --kwami
 * sounds like something that should be added to the article. RJFJR 03:56, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

If Huya is 'named after' the rain god, then what is huya? RJFJR 03:56, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

Sorry! My bad. Huya was the source of a name for a Kuiper-Belt Object (mini Pluto). -kwami

title: Talk:Huya (mythology)


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Category:Anatolian languages

Anatolian languages is a branch of the Indo-European language family which was spoken in Anatolia ca. 2000 BC - 600 BC.

title: Category:Anatolian languages


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Almaden Valley, San Jose

Almaden Valley (Spanish: Valle de Almadén), commonly known simply as Almaden (Spanish: Almadén), is a valley and neighborhood of San Jose, California, located in South San Jose. It is nestled between the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the Santa Teresa Hills to the east, bordering the town of Los Gatos and West San Jose neighborhood.

Almaden, named after the ancient Spanish mining town of Almadén, traces its history back to the 1820s, when Mexican miners discovered mercury deposits on Rancho Los Capitancillos, which later led to the establishment of the New Almaden mines. Almaden Valley, known for its abundant parkland, is one of the most expensive neighborhoods to live in San Jose and is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive areas in the country.

History
Almaden was originally inhabited by the Tamien nation of Ohlone people, prior to the arrival of the Spanish. The Ohlone had long utilized the area for its cinnabar, which they used for paint production.

During the Mexican era, the area of what is now Almaden was divided between two rancho grants: Rancho San Vicente, granted to José de los Reyes Berryessa, and Rancho Los Capitancillos, granted to Justo Larios. Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos and Rancho Cañada de Oro were later divided from these original ranchos.

Nueva Almadén

Almaden Valley's origins go back to the early 1800s in what is now its southernmost neighborhood, known as New Almaden (Spanish: Nueva Almadén). In the 1820s, there were several attempts by local Californio officials from the Pueblo of San José to mine the area for silver, including an 1824 venture led by Don Antonio Suñol, a prominent local figure, and Luis Chaboya, of Rancho Yerba Buena.

Quicksilver (mercury) was only successfully identified in 1845, by Mexican cavalry captain Andrés Castillero, who was able to obtain a grant to mine the area by Governor Pío Pico. However, occupied with his military responsibilities, Castillero sold his claim to the mines to Alexander Forbes, then serving as the British Consul to Mexican California. The area was named after the ancient Spanish mining town of Almadén, where mercury has been mined since Roman times.

Mercury was extracted from the New Almaden mines from the time of the California Gold Rush until 1975. Many of the names in Almaden retain their mercury mine themes, such as Silver Lode Lane and Silver Mine Drive. Many places in Almaden still use the name Quicksilver.

Post-Conquest era
Following the American Conquest of California, Almaden Valley attracted a significant amount of settlers from the East Coast and Europe.

In 1852, Charles LeFranc founded Almaden Vineyards, the first commercial winery in California, with his father-in-law Éthienne Thée, using vine cuttings from his native France. Following Prohibition, the winery and the company had great success with their blush wine and the White Grenache Rosé, one of the first popular pink wines in the United States. Almaden Vineyards has since moved its winery to Madera, California, while the historic remains of the property are now known as the Old Almaden Winery, which serves as a public park and California Historic Landmark.

Beginning in the late 1800s, Almaden was home to the Graystone Quarry (originally the Goodrich Quarry), one of the most significant quarries in the Bay Area, used in the construction of landmarks including San Francisco City Hall, Stanford University, Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, among numerous others. Today, the area where Graystone Quarry once existed and where the Pfeiffer family once lived is occupied by the neighborhood of Pfeiffer, also known as, the Graystone of Almaden, thus named after the quarry's stone master Jacob Pfeiffer and the Quarry.

20th century
In December 1959, the Regents of the University of California selected Almaden Valley to be the site of the next campus of the University of California system. Unfortunately, news of this decision caused property values in the area to increase so rapidly that the Regents could no longer afford to buy the needed land. After another year of study, the Regents selected another site much farther south, which opened in 1965 as the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In 1968, Calero County Park was established around Calero Lake in the Calero area of southern Almaden. Calero Lake was created in 1935, when Arroyo Calero was dammed.

In 1975, the New Almaden mines closed after 135 years of operation. Santa Clara County Parks subsequently purchased the vast property surrounding the mines, in order to transform it into a regional park. Almaden Quicksilver County Park opened a few years later after an extensive cleanup of the area. It was declared a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark.

Geography

The neighborhood is southeast of Los Gatos, southwest of the Blossom Valley, south of Willow Glen in West San Jose and west of Santa Teresa.

The Santa Teresa Hills are to Almaden's east, separating it from Santa Teresa, and the Capitancillos Hills of the Sierra Azul are to Almaden's west and south.

Mount Umunhum, in the Sierra Azul, is the former site of the Almaden Air Force Station.

Almaden Valley includes all the areas within the 95120 ZIP code, comprising the neighborhoods Almaden Country Club, Calero, Almaden Hills Estates, Almaden Meadows, Graystone, New Almaden, Pfeiffer Ranch, Shadow Brook and several more.

Parks
Almaden Valley is home to over 15 parks, including 3 county parks, 3 lakes, 1 regional park, 1 open space preserve and several neighborhood parks:
 * Almaden Lake Regional Park
 * Almaden Meadows Park
 * Almaden Quicksilver County Park
 * Almaden Reservoir
 * Calero Lake and County Park
 * Carabelle Park
 * Cathedral Park
 * Glenview Park
 * Greystone Park
 * Guadalupe Oak Grove Park
 * Guadalupe Reservoir County Park
 * Jeffrey Fontana Park
 * Parma Park
 * Rancho San Vicente Open Space Preserve
 * Singer Park
 * T J Martin Park

Trails
Almaden Valley is home to an expansive trail system, including:
 * Los Alamitos Creek Trail is a 9.4-mile out-and-back trail
 * Almaden Lake Loop Trail, a 1.4-mile trail
 * Almaden Quicksilver County Park, 4163 acres with several trails across the park
 * Calero Creek Trail and Mine Trail, 18 miles of unpaved hiking trails
 * Guadalupe Creek Trail, is a 1.7-mile trail
 * Mount Umunhum trail, a 7.7 mile trail in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve to the summit of the mountain
 * Senador Mine Trail, Mine Hill Trail, and Castillero Trail, a 12.7 mile trail
 * Webb Canyon, New Almaden, Cinnabar, Mine Hill, Randol and Prospect #3 Loop Trail, a 5.4-mile trail
 * New Almaden, Mine Hill and Guadalupe Trail Loop, a 13.6-mile loop trail

Also notably, Bay Area Ridge Trail, the 550-mile hiking, cycling, and equestrian trail being built on the ridgelines around all of San Francisco Bay Area includes Almaden Valley's Los Alamitos Creek Trail, Calero Creek Trail, Mount Umunhum Trail and Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

Economy
Integral to Silicon Valley, Almaden is home to numerous high tech companies. It is notably home to the IBM Almaden Research Center, which has played an important role in the discovery and development of new technologies.

Government
Almaden Valley is part of District 10 in the legislative structure of the San Jose City Council and is represented by councilmember and Silicon Valley technology executive Arjun Batra.

Arjun Batra is the first Indian-American councilmember for Almaden Valley and District 10, and the first for San Jose since Ash Kalra left in 2016 to serve as the first Indian-American on the California State Legislature.

Prior to this, Matt Mahan, was the council member representing Almaden Valley and District 10, before being elected as the current Mayor of San Jose.

Demographics
The neighborhood is primarily an affluent residential area. The average income per household in Almaden Valley is $297,716

The 2010 United States Census and the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau reported that, as of 2019, Almaden Valley had a population of 38,122, with 12,877 housing units.

The racial makeup of Almaden Valley was 20,726 (54.4%) White, 13,866 (36.4%) Asian, 2,700 (7.1%) Hispanic or Latino, 741 (1.9%) African American, 124 (0.3%) Native American, 2184 (5.7%) from two or more races and 442 (1.2%) of some other race.

The population was spread out, with 9430 (24.7%) children under the age of 18, 21,243 (55.7%) adults aged 18 to 64, and 7,449 (19.5%) adults aged 65 years or older. The median age was 46.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

Education
Almaden Valley students attend primary, middle and high schools across three different school districts: San José Unified School District, Campbell Union School District and Los Gatos Union School District. While most neighborhoods are in San José Unified School District, some in the northwest are in the Campbell Union School District, and some in the southwest bordering Los Gatos are in the Los Gatos Union School District.

Almaden Valley is served by the Almaden Branch Library of the San José Public Library.

Schools in Almaden include:

 * Public schools
 * Leland High School
 * Pioneer High School
 * Bret Harte Middle School
 * Castillero Middle School
 * Private schools
 * Almaden Country Day School
 * Challenger School
 * Holy Spirit Catholic School
 * Stratford School

Culture
Almaden is home to numerous annual cultural events, including the Almaden Art & Wine Festival, the Almaden Harvest Festival, and the San Jose Water Lantern Festival.

Sporting events held in the area include the Quicksilver Endurance Runs and the Quicksilver Trail Challenge.

Casa Grande
Casa Grande was constructed in 1854, under the direction of the mine's general manager, Henry Halleck, who used the building until 1920 as a personal and official residence for the New Almaden Mining Company. John McLaren, of Golden Gate Park fame, assisted in designing the five acres of formally landscaped grounds around the house.

In 1997, Santa Clara County purchased the building to house the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum, which started as a private collection by Constance Perham, who displayed it in her house in New Almaden. The new museum opened in 1998. The building underwent extensive renovation from 2009 to 2010 to restore it to its configuration when it was a mine manager's residence from 1854 to 1925. It reopened in January 2011. It houses interpretive exhibits and displays on the history of the New Almaden mines and on the lives of its workers and their families.

Hacienda Hotel
In the mid-1800s, just a few years before the great California Gold Rush, Andres Castillera, a Mexican officer with the Artillery discovered cinnabar in New Almaden, a precious metal also known as quicksilver which bought Castillera lot of riches. As the word spread, New Almaden was thriving with miners trying to mine more cinnabar themselves.

In 1848, a boarding house was constructed by the creek in New Almaden as a house for boarding for the miners. Hot meals were served in the rustic dining room downstairs. This was the first two-story lodging in California. Fire destroyed the building in 1875 but it was rebuilt and stayed in operation in this capacity until the 1930s.

It was then converted into Cafe Del Rio which served New Almaden for almost 40 years.

In 1992, La Foret, a high-end French restaurant opened in the building. The restaurant, still in operation, is a local landmark in San Jose and well known across the Bay Area for its fine dining.

New Almaden Historic District
A two-teacher school was built in the 1860s on a flat near Casa Grande. Enrollment came chiefly from the Hacienda along with some children from nearby ranches. One of the oldest buildings in the district is the Carson-Perham Adobe, built between 1848 and 1850 by Mexican miners, and later the home of George Carson, the mine company bookkeeper, postmaster, telegraph operator, and Wells Fargo agent. Constance Perham lived in the adobe house for many years and established a private museum there in 1949, the collections of which were purchased in 1983 by Santa Clara County.

Roads
Almaden Expressway is the primary arterial road that intersects through Almaden Valley, linking it to the rest of Santa Clara Valley with connections to the West Valley Freeway (CA 85) and the Guadalupe Freeway (CA 87)

Blossom Hill Road, an important artery for South San Jose and Los Gatos also passes through Almaden.

Rail
Until 2019, Almaden station of the VTA light rail was the main rail connection in the area. Since its closure, the closest VTA light rail station is Ohlone/Chynoweth station on the Blue Line.

Media

 * The Almaden Times is a weekly newspaper, owned by Times Media, and has been serving Almaden Valley since 1986.
 * The Almaden Resident is a weekly newspaper, owned by Metro Newspapers, and has been serving Almaden Valley since 2004.

In popular culture

 * Angle of Repose, a 1971 novel that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1972, had New Almaden as one of the key locations the story was set in
 * Aparajita Tumi, a 2012 Indian Bengali-language drama film set in Almaden Valley, directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, an adaptation of the novel Dui Nari Hathe Tarbari by famous Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay. The movie won several awards at the Indian Royal Stag Mirchi Music Awards.
 * The Tillman Story, a 2010 documentary on the life of Pat Tillman, who grew up in Almaden Valley, a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. Tillman decided to walk away from a multimillion-dollar contract to go to Afghanistan in 2002, where he was killed. The documentary was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It was named 2010 Best Documentary by the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association, and the Florida Film Critics Circle.

Notable residents

Following are some of the notable past or present residents of the Almaden Valley:

 * Alan Chang — Pianist and songwriter.
 * Brent Jones – Former American football player and Pro Bowl tight end for the San Francisco 49ers.
 * Count Five — 1960s rock band.
 * Dave Hoffmann - Professional football player and All-American college football player for the Washington Huskies
 * Dave Righetti — Professional baseball player and coach.
 * David E. Osborne — Author, Reinventing Government and The Coming. Senior White House advisor, Clinton administration. 2018 Spur Award Winner, Historical Novel.
 * Evan Low – California State Assembly member, and former Mayor of Campbell, California.

 * Jason Hardtke – Former professional baseball player
 * Jerry Hsu – Professional skateboarder.
 * Joe Murray – Creator of TV animated series Rocko's Modern Life and Camp Lazlo.
 * Kevin Pollak — Actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian.
 * Kim Yubin – Singer, actress, and former member of Wonder Girls
 * Matt Mahan - Mayor of City of San Jose (2023-)
 * Pat Tillman – Former American football player, notable for turning down a multimillion-dollar contract and enlisting as a United States Army Ranger in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 by friendly fire. The football/track stadium at Almaden Valley's Leland High School is named Tillman Stadium after him.
 * Reggie Smith – Former NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers.
 * Rob Becker — Playwright, Defending the Caveman.
 * Steven Beitashour – Major League Soccer player, formerly with the San Jose Earthquakes.
 * Steve Finn — Philanthropist and former mayor of Los Altos Hills.
 * Steve Smith – Astronaut, holds all-time second place for cumulative spacewalk time.

title: Almaden Valley, San Jose


text:
Chay Santini

Chay Lynn Santini is a Puerto Rican fashion model and actress who in 1998 was named "Latina Super Model of the Year" by Avon Products, Inc.

Early years
Santini was born in San Juan and raised between Puerto Rico and Tampa, Florida. She moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where she enrolled in the Florida State University. She studied and modeled at the same time for magazines and for companies such as Motorola and Avon. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in studio art, along with taking pre-med classes.

Acting career
In 1998, Santini landed a small and uncredited part as a cheerleader in Adam Sandler's movie The Waterboy. That experience motivated her to become an actress, and as a result she enrolled and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and The School for Film and Television Acting School.

Also, in 1998, Santini was honored by being named Latina Super Model of the Year by Avon.

She returned to Puerto Rico and on September 21, 2000, she represented San Juan in the Miss World Puerto Rico pageant. She was chosen as First Runner-Up and won awards for Best Skin, Best Legs, Best Hair, and Best Figure.

Santini was cast as "Alejandra Santiago" in episode 34 ("Family Reunion") in the television series She Spies. In 2004, Santini played the role of "Diane" in the movie Seeing Other People.

Acting roles
Santini has participated in the following:

Actress
 * The Waterboy (1998) (uncredited) - Cougar Cheerleader
 * Directing Eddie (2001) (uncredited) - Oliver's Girl
 * Nightstalker (2002) - Teenage Girl, "Tina"
 * Stunt C*cks (2004) - Alexxxis
 * Seeing Other People (2004) - Diane
 * Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation (2008) - Betty

Miscellaneous crew
 * Kiss the Bride (2002) - set costumer
 * May (2002) - set costumer
 * This Girl's Life (2003) - set costumer

Notable TV guest appearances
 * Popular, playing "Salsa Girl" in episode "The Brain Game" (episode # 2.18), April 27, 2001
 * The Geena Davis Show, playing "Cheerleader" in episode "White Moms Can't Jump" (episode # 1.21), July 10, 2001
 * The Andy Dick Show, playing "Renee" in episode "The Garage Sale" (episode # 3.6), 2002
 * She Spies, playing "Alejandra Santiago" in episode "Family Reunion" (episode # 2.14), February 9, 2004

title: Chay Santini


text:
Bank of Latvia

The Bank of Latvia (Latvijas Banka, ) is the Latvian member of the Eurosystem and has been the monetary authority for Latvia from 1922 to 2013, issuing the Latvian lats albeit with a long suspension between 1940 and 1993. Since 2014, it has also been Latvia's national competent authority within European Banking Supervision. The Bank of Latvia's administration is located in Riga.

History
On 7 September 1922, the Constitutional Assembly adopted the Law on the Establishment of the Bank of Latvia. The Bank of Latvia was granted emission rights. The Bank's interim statutes were approved on 19 September 1922, with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, and its initial capital was 10 million lats.

On 24 April 1923, Saeima approved the Statute of the Bank of Latvia, signed by President Jānis Čakste on 2 July. The bank was headed by a council and board. The Council consisted of a chairman, a deputy, and 11 members, but the board included a director general, his deputy, and three directors.

On 17 June 1940, Latvia was occupied and was incorporated into the USSR on 5 August. On 25 July, the Law on the Nationalization of Banks and Large Industrial Enterprises was adopted. After the Second World War, both money emission and the Treasury's functions were performed by the USSR State Bank, but the money system of the Latvian SSR was under its full control.

On 2 March 1990, the Latvian SSR Supreme Council passed the Law "On Banks" and the decision "On the Bank of Latvia". It determined that the Bank of Latvia, a local central bank, was reestablished as an independent state bank, a money issuing center, a central bank in relation to commercial banks, an organizer of the execution of the state budget, and a monetary policy regulator.

However, only after the Declaration of 4 May 1990 on the restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia and the collapse of the USSR with the decision of the Republic of Latvia Supreme Council of 3 September 1991 "On the Reorganization of Banking Institutions in the Territory of the Republic of Latvia", the Bank of Latvia became the only central and issuing bank. It took over the ownership and structure of the USSR banks, Latvijas Republikānisko banku, and other state credit institutions.

On 4 March 1992, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia passed the Law "On the Acquisition of the Bank of Latvia established in 1922". The Bank of Latvia's status as the central bank of the country and the issue bank was definitively consolidated by the laws of the Republic of Latvia "On Banks" and "On the Bank of Latvia" adopted on 19 May 1992. For the first time in Latvia, the independence of the national central bank from the government policy was ensured through legislation. The Law "On the Bank of Latvia" did not envisage its commercial activities, therefore, a decision was taken on the restructuring and privatization of 49 Bank of Latvia branches.

Monetary policy strategy and exchange rate policy
Like most central banks of the world, the main goal of the Bank of Latvia is to provide inflation at a certain level.

After joining the European Union (EU), until its membership in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the Bank of Latvia was able to pursue its monetary policy, provided that it is in line with the common EU interests, does not harm the development of other EU Member States, and contributes to economic stability.

Membership in the EU also envisages joining EMU and the euro. After joining the EU, Latvia had to demonstrate its ability to meet the EMU accession criteria. One of these criteria was the two-year membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II). Latvia joined it on 2 May 2005. ERM II means that at least two years before the euro changeover, the lats had been pegged to the euro and the exchange rate of the lats against the euro may fluctuate by no more than +/− 15% against the lats' pegging rate in euro.

In order to achieve its main goal, as well as successfully entering the EMU, the Bank of Latvia implemented a fixed exchange rate strategy (EUR 1 = Ls 0.702804). Fluctuations around the fixed coupling rate are possible within +/− 1%. The Bank of Latvia had been implementing the lats attraction policy since February 1994, when the lats was pegged to the SDR basket of currencies. The lats was pegged to the euro on 1 January 2005.

Also, at the beginning of 2006 and 2007, the Bank of Latvia operated a refinancing rate instrument, a rate for travel. In a situation where banks do not intend to actively use the instruments offered by the Bank of Latvia, the increase of the refinancing rate has a more signaling function.

Research
The Bank of Latvia also serves as a research center, producing economic and financial analysis and providing data on economic trends and developments in Latvia and the wider region.

Management
The Bank of Latvia is managed by the Bank's Board and Management Board. The council consists of eight people: the president of the bank, his deputy, and six members of the council. The Bank's Supervisory Council is managed by the President of the Bank of Latvia. The Governing Council of the Bank of Latvia takes decisions on behalf of the Bank of Latvia.

For the practical work and operational management of the Bank of Latvia, the Bank Council establishes a permanent board of six people. The Bank's Governor approves the structure of the Bank of Latvia and recruits and dismisses the Bank of Latvia's employees.

Governors

 * Kārlis Vanags (1 November 1922 – 14 October 1923)
 * Edgars Švēde (15 October 1923 – 21 September 1926)
 * Kārlis Vanags (22 September 1926 – 13 July 1940)
 * Kārlis Zandersons (13 July 1940 – 21 July 1940)
 * Artūrs Graudiņš (26 March – 30 July 1990)
 * Pāvils Sakss (31 July 1990 – 3 September 1991)
 * Einars Repše (3 September 1991 – 20 December 2001)
 * Ilmārs Rimšēvičs (21 December 2001 – 20 December 2019)
 * Mārtiņš Kazāks (21 December 2019 – present)

title: Bank of Latvia


text: Category:Arrondissements of Paris

title: Category:Arrondissements of Paris


text:
Chalmers Students' Union

Chalmers Student Union (Chalmers Studentkår or ChS) is the student union at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its primary purpose is to look after the interests of the students of the university in questions regarding the education. The student union also arranges one of Europe's largest labour market days, CHARM.

The social committee of ChS, consisting of 6 members, is called FestU. It was founded in 1948. FestU's primary job is to arrange big parties for the student union members, their biggest event of the year is Valborgskalaset which is held April 30 every year.

History
The union was founded in 1904, and the first charter of the organisation was adopted in 1906. In 1911 a proposal to start The Cortège, an annual carnival parade now seen by 250,000 people each year, was accepted. The union's own magazine Tofsen was first published in 1944, and ChS obtained its first union building Lopphuset that same year. A new union building was opened in 1952. The union owns several corporations, including Cremona, a bookstore which became an aktiebolag in 1988. A new union building was inaugurated in 2001. The building was drawn by Gert Wingårdh and won the Kasper Salin Prize that year.

Notable pranks
In 1955, a student at the university, Rickard Wilson, held a fake disputation on fatilary calculus, witnessed by many of the larger newspapers in Sweden, fooling many of the journalists, who the day after produced a number of serious articles on the disputation. Three years later, in 1958, a committee at the union, Chalmersspexet, donated 64 öre–corresponding to around 4.5 USD of today–to the Swedish state to "even out the national debt to a whole number of kronor". In 1968, when the Stockholm University Student Union occupied their union building, ChS decided to occupy the brewery Pripps. Before the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China from the United Kingdom in 1997, the students' union wrote a request to the British Prime Minister asking if they could hire the whole of Hong Kong for a few minutes in connection with the transfer to China.

title: Chalmers Students' Union


text:
Category:World Heritage Sites in Turkey

World Heritage Sites in Turkey.

title: Category:World Heritage Sites in Turkey


text:
Morris Minor

The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured in three series: the Series MM (1948 to 1953), the Series II (1952 to 1956), and the 1000 series (1956 to 1971).

Initially available as a two-door saloon and tourer (convertible), the range was expanded to include a four-door saloon from September 1950. An estate car with a wooden frame (the Traveller) was produced from October 1953 and panel van and pick-up truck variants from May 1953. It was the first British car to sell over a million units, and is considered a classic example of automotive design, as well as typifying "Englishness".

Although Morris launched a new model with a similar name and a similar market positioning, the Morris Mini in 1959, the Minor remained in production for more than a decade after that, and inearly 2020, its 23-year production run was counted as the twenty-eighth most long-lived single generation car in history by Autocar magazine, who called it: "... a primary way Britain got back on the road after the Second World War."

Origins
The Minor was conceived in 1941. Although the Nuffield Organization was heavily involved in war work and a governmental ban existed on civilian car production, Morris Motors' vice chairman, Miles Thomas, wanted to prepare the ground for new products to be launched as soon as the war was over. Vic Oak, the company's chief engineer, had already brought to Thomas' attention a promising junior engineer, Alec Issigonis, who had been employed at Morris since 1935 and specialised in suspension design, but he had frequently impressed Oak with his advanced ideas about car design in general. Issigonis had come to Oak's particular attention with his work on the new Morris Ten, which was in development during 1936/7. This was the first Morris to use unitary construction and was conceived with independent front suspension. Issigonis designed a coil-sprung wishbone system, which was later dropped on cost grounds. Although the design was later used on the MG Y-type and many other postwar MGs, the Morris Ten entered production with a front beam axle. Despite his brief being to focus on the Ten's suspension, Issigonis had also drawn up a rack and pinion steering system for the car. Like his suspension design, this was not adopted, but resurfaced in the postwar years on the MG Y-type. These ideas showed that he was the perfect candidate to lead the design work on a new advanced small car.

With virtually all resources required for the war effort, Thomas nonetheless approved the development of a new small family car that would replace the Morris Eight. Although Oak (and Morris's technical director, Sidney Smith) were in overall charge of the project, Issigonis was ultimately responsible for the design, working with only two other draughtsmen: (William)Jack Daniels. Thomas named the project 'Mosquito' and ensured that it remained as secret as possible, both from the Ministry of Supply and from company founder William Morris (Lord Nuffield), who was still chairman of Morris Motors, and as widely expected, would not look favourably on Issigonis' radical ideas.

Issigonis' overall concept was to produce a practical, economical, and affordable car for the general public that would equal, or even surpass, the convenience and design quality of a more expensive car. In later years he summed up his approach to the Minor; that he wanted to design an economy car that "the average man would take pleasure in owning, rather than feeling of it as something he'd been sentenced to" and "people who drive small cars are the same size as those who drive large cars and they should not be expected to put up with claustrophobic interiors." Issigonis wanted the car to be as spacious as possible for its size, and comfortable to drive for inexperienced motorists. Just as he would with the Mini 10 years later, he designed the Mosquito with excellent roadholding and accurate, quick steering, not with any pretence of making a sports car, but to make it safe and easy to drive by everyone.

Original design features
Issigonis' design included the same ideas he had proposed for the Ten before the war: independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, and unitary construction. In the case of the Mosquito, Issigonis was inspired by the Citroën Traction Avant, a car he greatly admired, and he proposed using torsion bars on each wheel, as on the Citroën, rather than the usual coil spring system. The French car, launched in 1934, had also been an early example of the use of rack and pinion steering.

Nearly every feature of the Minor served the joint aims of good handling and maximum interior space. For example, Issigonis specified 14 in wheels for the Mosquito, with 5.20-14 Dunlop Crossply tyres, (145R14 is the radial alternative). These were smaller than any other production car of the time (the existing Morris Eight had 17 in wheels). These small wheels reduced intrusion into the cabin space and minimised the car's unsprung mass, giving better ride comfort and stability. For the same reasons, the wheels themselves were placed as far as possible towards each corner of the Mosquito's floorpan. The same went for the placement of the engine, as far as possible towards the front of the engine compartment. Most cars of the time had a front beam axle, which forced the engine to be mounted behind the front axle line. While this meant that, with only a driver on board, the weight distribution was fairly even, when laden with passengers, cars often became severely tail-heavy, leading to unstable handling and oversteer. The new Morris's independent suspension meant there was no front axle, allowing the engine to be placed low down and far forward. Putting the Mosquito's engine in the nose meant that the car was nose-heavy when lightly laden, leading to superior directional stability, and when fully laden it achieved nearly equal weight balance, so handling and grip remained good regardless of the load carried. Placing the engine further forward also maximised cabin space.

As proposed by Issigonis, the engine itself was also radical, being a water-cooled flat-four unit. One of Miles Thomas's few restrictions on the Mosquito project was that it had to have an engine that would not fall afoul of the British horsepower tax, which taxed cars under a formula relating to their engine cylinder bore. At the same time, Thomas wanted the car to appeal to the all-important export markets, which had no such restrictions, and generally favoured larger-engined cars. Issigonis' solution was the flat-four engine, which could easily be produced in two versions – a narrow-bore 800-cc version for the British market and a wide-bore 1100-cc version for export. Both versions would use identical parts, except for the actual cylinder blocks (which could still be produced on the same machinery) and the pistons. The flat-four layout reduced the overall length of the engine, further increasing potential cabin space, and reduced the car's centre of gravity for improved handling.

Pre-production changes
The engine was to prove a step too far for the Mosquito project. As the car approached completion in 1946, the war was over and secrecy was no longer necessary or possible to maintain, as more and more Morris staff and executives had to be involved to start production. Many were pessimistic about the radical car's prospects and especially the huge cost in tooling up for a design that shared no parts with any existing Morris product. Lord Nuffield himself took a strong dislike to both the Mosquito and Issigonis, famously saying that the prototype resembled a poached egg. Nuffield preferred to continue production of the conventional Morris Eight, which succeeded very well before the war, with some minor styling and engineering improvements. He particularly objected to the Mosquito's expensive and unconventional engine design. Whatever Nuffield's personal views, all of the Mosquito's radical features were looking increasingly unlikely to be implemented while maintaining an acceptable final purchase price and without incurring too much setup costs at the Cowley factory. Thomas and Vic Oak drew up a plan to create a three-model range of cars using Issigonis' design – the Mosquito with an 800-cc engine, a mid-sized model (tentatively designated the Minor after a previous small Morris launched in 1928) with an 1100-cc engine, and a new Morris Oxford with a 1500-cc version of the engine, all sharing different-sized variants of the same platform and with sporting MG and luxury Wolseley versions to achieve further economies of scale.

There was also the matter of timing – a big rush existed for British manufacturers to get new models to market following the end of the war. Austin was known to be working on an all-new but conventional car, the Austin A40 Devon, which would be launched in 1947. The Mosquito was proposed for launch in 1949 and that deadline was appearing increasingly unlikely due to the untried nature of many of the car's features. The Morris board insisted on launching the Mosquito at the first postwar British Motor Show in October 1948.

This meant that several of Issigonis' proposals were reviewed – first the all-independent torsion bar suspension was changed for a torsion-sprung live rear axle and this was then substituted by a conventional leaf-sprung arrangement. All of Miles Thomas' suggestions for spreading the cost of developing the new car and broadening the design's appeal were treated sceptically by the Morris board and vetoed by Lord Nuffield. It became clear that the only way to overcome the personal and financial obstacles to the project was to adopt a lightly revised version of the Morris Eight's obsolete side-valve engine. Thomas resigned his position at Morris Motors over the debacle. Despite the changes the fundamental principles of Issigonis' concept – a spacious cabin, small wheels at each corner, a forward-placed engine, rack and pinion steering, and independent torsion-bar front suspension – remained.

While Thomas had been battling for the Mosquito's future, Issigonis had been settling the car's styling. Although in his later career he became known for very functional designs, Issigonis was heavily influenced by the modern styling of American cars, especially the Packard Clipper and the Buick Super. A new feature was a low-set headlamps, integral with the grille panel (Issigonis had originally sketched hidden lamps concealed behind sections of the grille, but these were never implemented). The original Mosquito prototype, which drew Lord Nuffield's "poached egg" comment, was designed with similar proportions to prewar cars, being relatively narrow for its length. In late 1947, with Cowley already tooling up for production, Issigonis was unhappy with the appearance of the car. He had the prototype cut lengthways and the two halves moved apart until it looked "right". The production model was thus 4 in wider than the prototype, and in keeping with Issigonis' design principles, this further improved interior space and roadholding. It also gave the car distinctive (and recognisably modern) proportions – contrast with the Austin A30, launched in 1952, but still recognisably prewar in size and proportions. The last-minute change to the design required a number of workarounds – bumpers had already been produced, so early cars had ones cut in half with a four-inch plate bolted between the joint. The bonnet had a flat fillet section added to its centreline and the floorpan had two two-inch sections added either side of the transmission tunnel.

From Mosquito to Minor
The last change made was to the car's name. The Mosquito codename was widely expected to be the name of the production model, but Nuffield disliked it. Also, Issigonis' last-minute size increase and the fitment of the larger-than-planned sidevalve engine needed to be considered; while still a small car, the new Morris was no longer the ultra-compact economy car that it had been on the drawing board, and the Mosquito name seemed inappropriate. Morris's marketing department wanted a reassuring name for what it worried would be an innovative, radical car that would be difficult to sell to a cautious public. So, the Minor name, intended for the midsized model in Thomas' planned trio of new cars, was adopted for what would become the smallest postwar Morris. The original 1928 Morris Minor had itself introduced a number of innovative features and had been the first four-wheeled car to sell for £100.

The new Morris Minor was launched at the British Motor Show at Earls Court in London on 27 October 1948. The original range consisted solely of a two-door saloon or a two-door tourer with a 918-cc engine and a starting price of £358. At the same show, Morris also launched the new Morris Oxford and Morris Six models, plus Wolseley variants of both cars, which were scaled-up versions of the new Minor, incorporating all the same features and designed with Issigonis' input under Oak's supervision. Thus, Issigonis' ideas and design principles underpinned the complete postwar Morris and Wolseley car ranges, although not the same extent that Miles Thomas had initially proposed.

Minor "Series MM"
The Series MM type Minor was produced from late 1948 until early 1953. It included a pair of four-seat saloons, two-door and (from 1950) a four-door, and a convertible four-seat Tourer. The front torsion bar suspension shared its design with the larger Morris Oxford MO, as was the almost-unibody construction. Although the Minor was originally designed to accept a flat-4 engine, late in the development stage it was replaced by a 918 cc side-valve inline-four engine, little changed from that fitted in the early 1930s Morris Minor and Morris 8, with a bore of 57 mm but with the stroke of 90 mm and not 83 mm, and producing 27.5 hp and 39 lb.ft of torque. The engine pushed the Minor to just 64 mph but delivered 40 mpgimp. Brakes were four-wheel drums.

Early cars had a painted section in the centre of the bumpers to cover the widening of the production car from the prototypes. This widening of 4 in is also visible in the creases in the bonnet. Exports to the United States began in 1949 with the headlamps removed from within the grille surround to be mounted higher on the wings to meet local safety requirements. In 1950 a four-door version was released, initially available only for export, and featuring from the start the headlamps faired into the wings rather than set lower down on either side of the grille. The raised headlight position became standard on all Minors in time for 1951. From the start, the Minor had semaphore-type turn indicators, and subsequent Minor versions persisted with these until 1961. An Autocar magazine road test in 1950 reported that these were "not of the usual self-cancelling type, but incorporate[d] a time-basis return mechanism in a switch below the facia, in front of the driver". It was all too easy for a passenger hurriedly emerging from the front passenger seat to collide with and snap off a tardy indicator "flipper" that was still sticking out of the B-pillar, having not yet been safely returned by the time-basis return mechanism to its folded position. Another innovation towards the end of 1950 was a water pump (replacing a gravity dependent system), which permitted the manufacturer to offer an interior heater "as optional equipment".

When production of the first series ended, just over a quarter of a million had been sold, 30% of them the convertible Tourer model.

A 918 cc-engined tourer tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1950 had a top speed of 58.7 mph and could accelerate from 0–50 mph in 29.2 seconds. However, the 918 cc engine did 0–60 mph in 50+ seconds. A fuel consumption of 42 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £382 including taxes.

Minor Series II
In 1952, the Minor was substantially re-engineered following the merger of the Nuffield Organization (Morris's parent company) with the Austin Motor Company to form the British Motor Corporation. As part of a rationalisation programme to reduce the production of duplicate components for similar vehicles, the Minor drivetrain was completely replaced with an Austin-derived engine, gearbox, propshaft, differential and axle casing. The more modern Austin-designed 803 cc overhead valve A-series engine, which had been designed for the Minor's main rival, the Austin A30, was smaller in all dimensions, but nevertheless gave noticeable performance improvements over the pre-war side-valve 918 cc Morris unit it replaced. The 52 second drive to 60 mph was still calm, but top speed increased to 63 mph. Fuel consumption also rose to 36 mpgimp.

An estate version was introduced in 1952, known as the Traveller (a Morris naming tradition for estates, also seen on the Mini). The Traveller featured an external structural ash (wood) frame for the rear bodywork, with two side-hinged rear doors. The frame was varnished rather than painted and a highly visible feature of the body style. Travellers were built alongside the saloon model at Cowley minus their rear bodies. The half-completed cars were then shipped to the MG factory at Abingdon where the bodies (built in Coventry) would be mated to the chassis and the final assembly carried out. This was because the main Cowley production lines were no longer fully equipped to deal with body-on-frame vehicles such as the Traveller while the MG lines still handled these sorts of cars and had experience working with wood-framed bodies. Commercial models, marketed as the Morris Quarter Ton Van and Pick-up were added in May 1953. Rear bodies of the van versions were all steel. The four-seat convertible and saloon variants continued as well.

In October 1954 the Minor's front end and interior styling was updated, with the addition of a horizontal slat grille, and a new dashboard with a central speedometer. Larger tail lights were also fitted by the end of the year. As Alec Issigonis had left BMC for Alvis in 1952 and wouldn't return until 1955, the Cowley design team led by Sid Goble undertook this series of design updates. These changes were announced at the London Motor Show in late October 1954.

The Motor magazine tested a four-door saloon in 1952. It reported a top speed of 62 mph and acceleration from 0–50 mph in 28.6 seconds. A fuel consumption of 39.3 mpgimp was recorded. The test car cost £631 including taxes.

The 803 cc A-Series inline-four engine used in the Series II produced 30 hp at 4,800 rpm and 40 ftlb of torque at 2,400 rpm

269,838 examples of the Series II had been built when production ended in 1956.

Series III
In 1956, the Minor received a major programme of updates intended to keep the car competitive into the 1960s. Where previously the Minor had been offered with a broad range of colours and trim options, the 'Minor 1000' (so named for its 948cc engine) shifted emphasis towards rationalisation of components to access improved economies of scale, and thus enabled increased production volumes to help the Minor retain a significant share of the small car market during a period where car ownership was becoming more commonplace.

The dawn of the motorway era necessitated the fitting of a new 948cc (57.9 cu in) variant of the BMC A-Series engine, elevating top speed from 63 mph to 75 mph, and reducing 0-60 mph acceleration from 52.5 secs to 31.3 secs. Driving was further improved by a substantially revised gearbox, which incorporated taller ratios for more relaxed cruising speeds and a remote selector allowing a shorter gear lever and less ponderous gearchange action. This new engine and gearbox was the product of a broader engine policy at BMC, and had been developed for use in a range of their smaller vehicles, including the Austin A35, A40 Farina, and Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget, to maximise parts sharing and thus reduce production costs, servicing costs and consumer costs across the model range.

A series of changes to the body pressings for the roof/scuttle and bonnet panels yielded a large wraparound rear windscreen and one-piece curved front windscreen, which markedly improved visibility and lent a modernised appearance to the car at relatively small outlay.

Many of the 'luxury' items, such as leather trim (except for the Tourer), were replaced with more durable and cheaper materials, and over the course of the following years the range of available paint and interior colours was dramatically reduced. Various unique Minor trim items and components (such as light units and heaters) were also gradually replaced with ubiquitous items from the BMC range. This programme of changes succeeded in giving access to improved economies of scale to allow production to be ramped up. By the turn of the 1960s, over 100,000 Minors were being produced per year, compared to fewer than 50,000 per year a decade earlier.

In 1961 the semaphore-style trafficators were replaced by flashing direction indicators. These were US-style red at the rear (using the same bulb filament as the brake lamp) and white at the front (using a second brighter filament in the parking lamp bulb) which was legal in the UK and many export markets at the time (such as New Zealand). On the two door cars, the rear wings were modified to remove the openings for the trafficators; on the 4-door, the B-pillar pressing was modified to leave a "blank" in place of the trafficator housing.

An upmarket car based on the Minor floorpan using the larger BMC B-Series engine was sold as the Riley One-Point-Five/Wolseley 1500 beginning in 1957: versions of this Wolseley/Riley variant were also produced by BMC Australia as the Morris Major and the Austin Lancer.

Minor Million
In December 1960 the Morris Minor became the first British car to sell more than 1,000,000 units. To commemorate the achievement, a limited edition of 350 two-door Minor saloons (one for each UK Morris dealership) was produced with distinctive lilac paintwork and a white leather interior with black piping. The badge name on the side of the bonnet was modified to read "Minor 1000000" instead of the standard "Minor 1000". The millionth Minor was donated to the National Union of Journalists, which planned to use it as a prize in a competition in aid of the union's Widow and Orphan Fund. The company, at the same time, presented a celebratory Minor to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, but this car was constructed of cake.

Series V (ADO59)
The final major upgrade to the Minor was made in 1962. Although the name Minor 1000 was retained, the changes were sufficient for the new model to be given its own ADO development number. Morris chassis numbering convention refers to these cars as 'Series V', the 'Series IV' designation having been assigned to the Morris Mini Minor.

A new, larger version of the existing A-Series engine had been developed in conjunction with cylinder head specialist Harry Weslake for the then new ADO16 Austin/Morris 1100 range. This new engine used a taller block than the 948 cc unit, with increased bore and stroke bringing total capacity up to 1,098 cc. Although fuel consumption suffered moderately at 38 mpg, the Minor's top speed increased to 77 mph, and a 20% increase in torque gave an altogether more responsive drive. The revised engine was teamed to a stronger gearbox fitted with baulk ring synchromesh replacing the previous cone-clutch type. Drum brakes were retained on each corner, but the front units were increased from 7 to 8 in in diameter. From October 1963, larger combined front side/indicator light units, common to many BMC vehicles of the time, were fitted to the front wings, and larger tail lamp units were fitted at the rear. Both incorporated separate amber flashers for directional indicators. In 1964 the interior received its final update, with a new heater unit (now with fresh air ventilation), and from October of that year, a modified dashboard with toggle switches, white-on-black speedometer unit (incorporating a warning light for a blocked oil filter), textured alloy fascia, new glove-box cover design (a fully enclosing bottom-hinged cover on the passenger side, and fixed open aperture surround on the driver's side), and finally a two-spoke 'safety' steering wheel (shared with the Morris 1100) were added.

From 1965, no further major production improvements were made to the Minor, with resource being channelled into improving the ADO16 (the Minor's spiritual successor and Britain's best-selling car in the 1960s), and development of the Morris Marina, which would succeed the Minor on the Cowley production lines in 1971.

In 1969, production of the Traveller variants was moved to the ex-Wolseley plant at Adderley Park, where the van and pick-up models were already made. This freed up production space at Cowley and simplified the production chain as the Traveller's rear bodies were built at the Morris Bodies factory in Coventry. Adderley Park-built Travellers were offered in a new range of colours from the paint range that had been introduced for 1970, including vibrant shades such as Limeflower (lime green) and Aqua (turquoise). From 1971 Minors were fitted with a steering-column mounted ignition key and a steering lock rather than the facia-mounted ignition switch used up to that point.

 * Engines
 * 1956–62 (Series III): 948 cc A-series inline-four, 37 bhp at 4,750 rpm and 50 lb/ft (68 N·m) at 2,500 rpm
 * 1962–71 (Series V): 1,098 cc A-series inline-four, 48 bhp at 5,100 rpm and 60 lb/ft (81 N·m) at 2,500 rpm

Decline and replacement
During the life of the Minor 1000 model, production declined – as the Mini and 1100/1300 had become BMC's best selling models by the mid-1960s.

The last Convertible/Tourer was manufactured on 18 August 1969, and the final saloon model was built on November 12, 1970. Production of the more practical Traveller and commercial versions ceased in April 1971. According to Newell (1993), 1.6 million Minors were made in total and Wainwright (2008) even claims that 1,619,857 Minors of all variants were ultimately sold. Overseas production in the form of ckd Kit Assembly continued in New Zealand until 1974.

The last new Morris Minor, a blue 4-door saloon, was assembled at The Brittans group, Dublin, in 1975 – the same year British Leyland ordered the company to cease assembly of their vehicles for the Irish market.

In November 2020, on the 50th anniversary of the last saloon produced, it was announced that the final Morris Minor Saloon ever made had been fully restored by the Morris Minor Owners Club in Derby.

The Minor vs Volkswagen
The decline and cancellation of Minor production was source of some consternation by industry commentators in the late 1960s, who believed that further development of the car had the potential to challenge the Volkswagen Beetle in export markets. The Volkswagen, which was developed as a small family car with a very similar brief to the Minor, had been upgraded consistently over 25 years, and retained a healthy market share in export markets (especially developing countries), where it was very often the lowest priced new car on the market. It went on to achieve over 21 million units before cancellation in 2003. Having said this, in the year of the Minor's cancellation (1971), over 1.3 million Beetles were produced (its peak year of production). This corresponded to over 80% of total Minor production in 23 years, or ten times the production volume of Minors in their peak year (1958) when 113,699 were built. This gulf of production capacity made the Minor's ability to effectively challenge the Beetle, which had a global distributor and servicing network, moot. Some historians also report that the Minor was being sold at a loss during its final years. British Leyland management were pinning hopes for greater market share and profitability on the Morris Marina, which was being specifically developed for assembly on the Minor production lines at Cowley, thereby precluding the continuance of Minor production in any event.

Successors
The Minor was officially replaced on the Cowley production lines by the Morris Marina (ADO28), which was developed primarily in response to Ford's top-selling (and in many respects, conservatively engineered) Escort. Building a larger mid-sized car capable of volume sales (particularly in the lucrative fleet-buying market) was becoming increasingly key in maintaining healthy sales figures, and was an issue BMC had consistently failed to address hitherto. The Marina was developed under the watchful eye of British Leyland management, and used a modified version of the Minor chassis floorplan, extended to increase the wheelbase by 10 inches. Many other Minor components, including much of the suspension, were used in the running gear, which served to streamline production changeover and minimise the financial outlay associated with chassis development and retooling.

The spiritual successor to the Morris Minor was arguably the ADO16 Austin/Morris 1100 range, which had been launched in 1962 and aimed at the same small family-car market (and actually replaced the Minor in some export markets such as Australia and New Zealand). The crisp styling, hydrolastic suspension and innovative front-wheel drive system (itself a "scaling-up" of the Mini principle) made ADO16 a worthy successor to the (in its day) forward-looking Minor. However, due to the British Motor Corporation's commitment to both the Morris factory at Cowley, and Austin plant at Longbridge – in addition to a healthy demand for both products – production of the two cars continued in parallel for nearly 10 years. Indeed, production of ADO16 outlasted that of the Minor by only three years or so, before being replaced by the innovative, export-oriented, yet flawed Austin Allegro in 1973.

Safety
Despite the four major updates of the Minor in its 23-year production run, very few actively designed "safety features" were ever engineered into the Minor's design. Provisions were made for seat belt fittings in the early '60s, but the rigid structure of the car's monocoque body made it dangerously unabsorbent to impact. For a short time in 1968, the thickness of the steel used in the bonnet and doors was decreased from 1.2 mm to 1.0 mm to act as a form of crumple zone, but as the wings continued to be made of 1.4 mm mild steel, the modification was pointless and ineffectual and was reversed in 1969 as it increased passenger compartment crush in collisions.

The 1950 change from the "lowlight" model was made to comply with Canadian lighting standards, with higher and brighter headlights to increase visibility in fog and during dark Canadian winters.

Australian models, and tourer models made in Britain and exported to Australia, featured safety glass windscreens and safety glass windows, to comply with local regulations. Australian models also had blinking indicator lights in addition to the standard trafficator arms on the indigenous Minor 1000.

Morris quarter ton van and pick-up
Closed van and open flat-bed ("pick-up") versions of the Minor were built from 1953 until the end of production. They were designed for commercial use with small businesses, although many were also used by larger corporations. Van versions were popular with the General Post Office, the early versions of these (to around 1956) having rubber front wings to cope with the sometimes unforgiving busy situations in which they were expected to work. Both the van and the pickup differed from the monocoque construction of the Saloon and Traveller variants by having a separate chassis. They also differed in details such as telescopic rear dampers, stiffer rear leaf springs and lower-ratio differentials to cope with heavier loads.

The commercial versions were initially marketed as the Morris Quarter Ton Van and Pick-up, with a Series III designation applied from 1956. The names Morris 6cwt Van and Pickup was used following the introduction of the 1098cc engine in 1962 and 8cwt versions were added in 1968 with more substantial rear leaf springs.

As BMC's policy was to provide both Austin and Morris with complete commercial vehicle ranges, Austin-badged variants of the Minor van and pick-up were sold following the end of Austin A35 production in 1968. These featured Austin badging and the corporate Austin 'crinkle-cut' radiator grille but were otherwise identical to the standard Minor commercials, and were sold as the Austin 6cwt and Austin 8cwt.

Morris Minor today

Today the Morris Minor and 1000 are among the best-served classic family-sized cars in the old vehicle movement and continue to gain popularity. The enduring affection for the "Moggie" (also a common British nickname for an undistinguished cat, or a Morgan) or "Morrie" (as it is often known in Australia and New Zealand) is reflected in the number of restored and improved Morris Minors currently running in Britain and Australasia. In addition to more powerful engines, desirable improvements necessitated by the increase in traffic density since the Minor was withdrawn from volume production include the replacement of the original equipment drum brakes with discs. Other important upgrades include the 1275 cc version of the A-series engine, derided by Morris Marina enthusiasts as a key reason why many Marinas were scrapped, and the similarly sized Nissan A engine, which shares all common dimensions to the Morris Minor engine, except piston size. Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson once stated that the Morris Minor is Britain's Volkswagen Beetle (although this was meant in a derogatory way rather than favourably). There is still an extensive parts backup for these cars, and parts are cheap compared to modern day cars.

Replacement panels for the Morris Minor were still being made in 2002 by the Durable Car Company in Sri Lanka.

title: Morris Minor