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Lon Nol

(Encyclopedia)Lon Nol lŏn nōl [key], 1913–85, Cambodian general and political leader. He became defense minister and army chief of staff in 1955 in Norodom Sihanouk's government. He served as premier (1966–67...

López Arellano, Oswaldo

(Encyclopedia)López Arellano, Oswaldo ōsväˈdō lōˈpās ärāyäˈnō [key], 1921–2010, president of Honduras (1963–71, 1972–75). An army colonel, he led the violent coup that ousted (Oct., 1963) Preside...

Pérez Jiménez, Marcos

(Encyclopedia)Pérez Jiménez, Marcos märˈkōs pāˈrās hēmāˈnās [key], 1914–2001, president of Venezuela (1952–58). As an army captain he took part in the coup that installed (1945) the Democratic Actio...

Yhombi-Opango, Jacques Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Yhombi-Opango, Jacques Joachim, 1939–2020, Congolese politician. An army colonel, he became president of the People's Republic of the Congo in 1977 after the assassination of President Ngouabi. Forc...

Buyoya, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Buyoya, Pierre, 1949–2020, Burundian political leader. An ethnic Tutsi, he had a successful military career before he overthrew President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza and became president of a Tutsi-led mil...

Bordaberry Arocena, Juan María

(Encyclopedia)Bordaberry Arocena, Juan María, 1928–2011, Uruguayan politician. Born into a wealthy and politically conservative family, he was elected (1962) senator as a member of the National party. Switching ...

Biya, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Biya, Paul bēyĕ [key], 1933–, Cameroonian political leader. Educated in Cameroon and France, where he studied at the Sorbonne and other institutions, he joined Cameroon's civil service in 1962. Af...

Primo de Rivera, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Primo de Rivera, Miguel, 1870–1930, Spanish general and dictator. After a rapid and brilliant military career in Cuba, the Philippines, and Morocco, he became governor of Cádiz (1915), then in turn...

Azikiwe, Benjamin Nnamdi

(Encyclopedia)Azikiwe, Benjamin Nnamdi nämˈdē äzēkˈwā [key], 1904–96, Nigerian statesman, popularly known as Zik. After advanced studies in the United States (1925), he returned to Nigeria, founded a chain...

Madagascar

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Madagascar mădˌəgăsˈcär [key], officially Republic of Madagascar, republic (2015 est. pop. 24,234,000), 226,658 sq mi (587,045 sq km), in the Indian Ocean, separated from E Africa by the ...