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legislature

(Encyclopedia)legislature, representative assembly empowered to enact statute law. Generally the representatives who compose a legislature are constitutionally elected by a broad spectrum of the population. While...

Hicks, Thomas Holliday

(Encyclopedia)Hicks, Thomas Holliday, 1798–1865, American statesman, b. Dorchester co., Md. In 1857 he was elected governor of Maryland as a Know-Nothing. After the states of the lower South seceded in 1860–61,...

Coty, René

(Encyclopedia)Coty, René rənāˈ kôtēˈ [key], 1882–1962, French president (1954–59). From 1923 to 1940 he served in the legislature, first as a deputy and then as a senator. In 1940, when France fell to th...

Hamilton, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, 1815–75, American politician, b. Huntsville, Ala. Moving to Texas in 1846, he served (1849) as attorney general, was a member of the legislature (1851–53), and in 1859 wa...

Mintoff, Dominic

(Encyclopedia)Mintoff, Dominic, 1916–2012, Maltese political leader, prime minister of Malta (1955–58, 1971–84). An architect and engineer, he was educated at the Univ. of Malta and Oxford. He joined the Labo...

initiative

(Encyclopedia)initiative, the originating of a law or constitutional amendment by popular petition. It is intended to allow the electorate to initiate legislation independently of the legislature. This direct form ...

Otis, Harrison Gray, 1765–1848, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Otis, Harrison Gray, 1765–1848, American political leader, b. Boston; nephew of James Otis. He practiced law in Boston, and was elected (1795) to the Massachusetts legislature. A staunch Federalist,...

Baylor, Robert Emmett Bledsoe

(Encyclopedia)Baylor, Robert Emmett Bledsoe bāˈlər [key], 1793?–1873, American jurist, founder of Baylor Univ., b. Kentucky. He served in the War of 1812, studied law, and served in the Kentucky legislature. M...

Brunei

(Encyclopedia)Brunei därˌəsəlämˈ [key], officially State of Brunei Darussalam, sultanate (2020 est. pop. ...

Tydings, Millard Evelyn

(Encyclopedia)Tydings, Millard Evelyn tīˈdĭngz [key], 1890–1961, American politician, b. Havre de Grace, Md. He was admitted (1913) to the bar, soon built a successful law practice, and became (1916) a member ...