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Saleh, Ali Abdullah

(Encyclopedia)Saleh, Ali Abdullah älēˈ äbdŭlˈä säˈlĕ [key], 1942–2017, Yemeni political leader, b. Bayt al-Ahmar. Saleh joined the army in 1958 and rose through the ranks, becoming a colonel in 1982. An...

Schoelcher, Victor

(Encyclopedia)Schoelcher, Victor vēktôrˈ shölshĕrˈ [key], 1804–93, French humanitarian and statesman. Long involved in the abolition movement, he presided (1848) over a commission that secured the abolition...

Gustavus III

(Encyclopedia)Gustavus III, 1746–92, king of Sweden (1771–92), son and successor of Adolphus Frederick. When Gustavus ascended the throne, he found his kingdom torn by civil strife. To the conflicting interests...

Mobutu Sese Seko

(Encyclopedia)Mobutu Sese Seko mōbo͞oˈtō sāˈsā sāˈkō [key], 1930–97, president of Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Born Joseph Désiré Mobutu, he returned from study in Brussels to th...

Augereau, Pierre François Charles

(Encyclopedia)Augereau, Pierre François Charles pyĕr fräNswäˈ shärl ōzhərōˈ [key], 1757–1816, marshal of France. He fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and was a principal in the coup...

Mouzinho de Albuquerque, Joaquim

(Encyclopedia)Mouzinho de Albuquerque, Joaquim zhwäkēmˈ mōzēˈnyō ᵺĭ älˌbəkĕrˈkə [key], 1855–1902, Portuguese military commander and administrator in Mozambique. As governor of the district of Gaza...

Nguema, Francisco Macias

(Encyclopedia)Nguema, Francisco Macias fränsēsˈkō mäshˈyəs ngwāˈmä [key], 1924–79, first president of Equatorial Guinea (1968–79). Leading the leftist party for independence from Spain, he was vice pr...

Limann, Hilla

(Encyclopedia)Limann, Hilla hĭlˈə lēˈmän [key], 1934–98, president of Ghana (1979–81). In 1979, after seven years of military rule, Ghana's new military leader, Jerry Rawlings, handed over power to Limann...

Lannes, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Lannes, Jean zhäN län [key], 1769–1809, marshal of France. He fought under Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I) in the Italian and Egyptian campaigns, supported his coup of 18 Brumaire, and disti...

Witos, Wincenty

(Encyclopedia)Witos, Wincenty vēntsĕnˈtĭ vēˈtôs [key], 1874–1945, Polish politician. The leader of the Polish Peasant party, he was premier three times (1920–21, 1923, 1926). Witos's government was overt...