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opposition

(Encyclopedia)opposition, in astronomy, alignment of two celestial bodies on opposite sides of the sky as viewed from earth. Opposition of the moon or planets is often determined in reference to the sun. Only the s...

Bakiyev, Kurmanbek Saliyevich

(Encyclopedia)Bakiyev, Kurmanbek Saliyevich ko͞ormänbĕkˈ bäkēˈyĕv [key], 1949–, Kyrgyz political leader, president of Kyrgyzstan (2005–2010), b. Masadan. A graduate of Kuybyshev Polytechnic Institute (1...

Tshisekedi, Félix Antoine

(Encyclopedia)Tshisekedi, Félix Antoine, 1963–, political leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, son of longtime opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi. Elected to the Congolese parliament in 2011, he re...

Tshisekedi, Étienne

(Encyclopedia)Tshisekedi, Étienne (Étienne Tshisekedi wa Lumumba), 1932–2017, opposition leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He entered government service in the 1960s and helped draft the Congolese...

Ortega Saavedra, Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Ortega Saavedra, Daniel ôrtāˈgä sävāᵺˈrä [key], 1945–, president of Nicar...

Maduro Moros, Nicolás

(Encyclopedia)Maduro Moros, Nicolás nēkōläsˈ mädo͞oˈrō mōˈrōs [key], 1962–, Venezuelan trade union and political leader. He was trained as a union organizer in Cuba, and later became a leader in an un...

Sandinistas

(Encyclopedia)Sandinistas, members of a left-wing Nicaraguan political party, the Sandinist National Liberation Front (FSLN). The group, named for Augusto Cesar Sandino, a former insurgent leader, was formed in 196...

Mugabe, Robert Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Mugabe, Robert Gabriel mo͞ogäˈbē, –bā [key], 1924–2019, president of Zimbabwe (1987–2017). A founder of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1963 and a guerrilla leader, he was imp...

Bongo, Omar

(Encyclopedia)Bongo, Omar (El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba) bôngˈgō [key], 1935–2009, Gabonese political leader, president of Gabon (1967–2009), b. Albert-Bernard Bongo. He entered the civil service (1958), becam...

Gnassingbé, Faure Essozimna

(Encyclopedia)Gnassingbé, Faure Essozimna, 1966–, Togolese political leader, president of Togo, (2005–), b. Afagnan. The son of President Gnassingbé Eyadèma, he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and at George...