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nationalization

(Encyclopedia)nationalization, acquisition and operation by a country of business enterprises formerly owned and operated by private individuals or corporations. State or local authorities have traditionally taken ...

Masaryk, Jan

(Encyclopedia)Masaryk, Jan yän mäˈsärĭk [key], 1886–1948, Czechoslovak diplomat, son of Thomas G. Masaryk. He was (1925–38) Czechoslovak minister to Great Britain, and in London he became (1940) foreign mi...

civil service

(Encyclopedia)civil service, entire body of those employed in the civil administration as distinct from the military and excluding elected officials. The term was used in designating the British administration of I...

Union, Act of

(Encyclopedia)Union, Act of. For the union of England and Scotland (1707), see Great Britain; for the union of Ireland (1800) with Great Britain, see Ireland. ...

East India Company, Dutch

(Encyclopedia)East India Company, Dutch, 1602–1798, chartered by the States-General of the Netherlands to expand trade and assure close relations between the government and its colonial enterprises in Asia. The c...

debenture

(Encyclopedia)debenture dəbĕnˈchər [key], document acknowledging indebtedness. In Great Britain a debenture is practically the same as a bond, and debenture stock is similar to preferred stock. In the United St...

Hurd, Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Hurd, Douglas, 1930–, British politician. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he worked in the diplomatic service (1952–66) and later served as Prime Minister Edward Heath's political...

county

(Encyclopedia)county [Fr., comté,=domain of a count], division of local government in the United States, Great Britain, and many Commonwealth countries. The county developed in England from the shire, a unit of lo...

Shuvalov, Piotr Andreyevich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Shuvalov, Piotr Andreyevich, Count pyôˈtər əndrāˈəvĭch sho͞oväˈləf [key], 1827–89, Russian administrator and diplomat. An adviser to Czar Alexander II, he opposed the czar's reforms and ...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...