prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority, March-September 2003;

second president of the Palestinian National Authority, beginning in 2005;

chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, beginning in 2004;

second president of the State of Palestine, beginning in 2005;

career discussed in The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas (2017).

prime minister of Japan, 2006-2007 and following 2012;

president of the Liberal Democratic Party during same years—one of the longest serving prime ministers in Japanese history;

policy of expanding the Self-Defense Forces and participating in war on terrorism; visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in 2013;

policies discussed in The Abe Restoration: Contemporary Japanese Politics and Reformation (2016).

king of Saudi Arabia, 2005-2015

maintained close relations with US and Britain; reformed the court system;

allowed women to compete in Olympics; appointed women to be members of the Consultative Assembly in 2013;

approved a law making domestic violence a criminal offense.

former American lobbyist, businessman, and movie producer;

at the center of a corruption investigation that resulted in the conviction of him and 20 others;

released from prison in 2010;

author of Capital Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption from America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist (2011).

strong supporter of Iran’s Islamic revolution and fundamentalist Shia interpretations of Islam;

mayor of Tehran, 2003-2005; minister of intelligence, 2009; and acting minister of petroleum, 2011

hardline nationalistic president of Iran, 2005-2013;

dominant leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, founded in 2003;

explained his views on Israel, homosexuality, the holocaust, and individual freedom in a 2007 speech at Columbia University;

firmly supported Iran’s nuclear program; opposed to the recognition of Israel;

balanced account in Iranian Foreign Policy During Ahmadinejad: Ideology and Action (2013).

president of Finland, 1994-2000;

noted for his work as UN diplomat and mediator;

special UN envoy for Kosovo, 2005-2008;

awarded Nobel Prize in 2008.

125th emperor of Japan, beginning in 1989;

reign name: “Emperor Heisei” (loosely translated “achieving peace”).

American politician and diplomat; ambassador to the United Nation, 1993-1997;

64th US secretary of state, 1997-2001;

considerable influence on US policy in the Balkans and Middle East;

after 2001: chair of Albright Stonebridge Group and professor at Georgetown University.

associate justice of the US Supreme Court, beginning in 2006;

earlier was judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit;

consistently conservative opinions on affirmative action, criminal justice, the death penalty, the Second Amendment, same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and other issues.

president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, beginning in 2003;

functions as chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party;

received 85 percent of the vote in election of 2013;

criticized by Amnesty International for crackdowns on journalists and opposition activists;

has referred to Armenian people as enemies and has threatened to annex the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh;

career and policies discussed in Azerbaijan Since Independence (2015).

Shia Muslim and member of Iraq Governing Council in 2003;

interim prime minister of Iraq, 2004-2005;

one of 3 vice president of Iraq in 2014-2015—second term beginning in October 2016.

American narrative historian and best-selling author;

27 single-authored books about World War II, Dwight Eisenhower, the Civil War, the Lewis and Clark expedition, as well as other topics in US history;

reputation damaged in later years because of plagiarism;

expressed his liberal and patriotic viewpoints in To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian (2002).

Saudi Arabian citizen alleged to an an-Qaeda leader and the mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole;

captured in 2002 by the CIA and held four years in secret “black sites” in Afghanistan; allegations of torture;

classified in 2006 as an “enemy combatant” and held in Guantanamo, awaiting trial.

Ghanaian diplomat—secretary-general of the United Nations, 1997-2007;

launched the UN Global Compact, encouraging businesses to practice socially responsible practices;

worked to combat HIV, particularly in Africa;

son, Kojo Annan, accused in 2004 of involvement in Oil-for-Food Program;

sponsored by UN and Arab League as envoy to Syria in 2012;

explains his perspectives in Interventions: A Life in War and Peace (2012).

leader of the Fatah political party, 1959-2004—chair of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, 1969-2004—president of the Palestinian National Authority, 1994-2004;

called for the destruction of Israel until early in the 21st century;

agreed to a peace process in the Oslo Accords of 1993;

awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1994;

refused to make enough concessions for a peace settlement in the Camp David Summit of 2000;

confined to his Ramallah compound by the Israeli military from 2002 to 2004.

particularly useful is Jonathan Schanzer, State of Failure: Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Unmaking of the Palestinian Sate (2013).

American lawyer and Republican politician—senator from Missouri, 1995-2001;

attorney general, 2001-2005;

supported strict law-and-order policies;

instrumental in design of the USA Patriot Act, expanding government authority for surveillance;

author of several books, including Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice (2006).

general secretary of the Ba’ath Party and president of Syria after his father’s death in 2000;

mass protests for democracy in 2011 evolved into full-scale civil war, destroying much of the country;

refused to negotiate with the rebels and bombed civilian locations—probably using chemical weapons;

simultaneously waged a war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS);

won a second 7-year term in 2014;

UN inquiry found evidence of his involvement in war crimes;

discussion of his war policies in David S. Sorenson, The Dynamics of the Syrian Civil War (2016).

general secretary of the Syrian Ba’ath Party and president of Syria, 1971-2000;

instituted one-man rule and increased Alawite dominance over military and security sectors;

exercised control over eastern Lebanon;

offered Israel “full peace for full withdrawal” but refused to compromise.

authoritarian rule maintained peace in Syria—but with few democratic rights.

account of Syria before the civil war in Kathy Zahler, The Assads’ Syria (2010).

Australian computer programmer and journalist;

founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks;

published intercepted Afghanistan war logs and Iraq war logs in 2010;

wanted by the US for publishing secret American documents;

accused of rape in Sweden—sought sanctuary from extradition;

remained in the Ecuador embassy in London after 2012.

defends his actions in Julian Assange: The Unauthorized Autobiography (2011).

Saudi writer and dissident—in 2013 was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and 1,0000 lashes for expressing unorthodox religious convictions;

first 50 lashes administered in 2015—second flogging postponed on numerous occasions, presumably because of his poor health;

threatened with death penalty for apostasy;

wife, Ensaf Haidar, granted refugee status in Canada;

blogs collected in 1000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think (2015); Ensaf Haidar and Andrea Hoffmann, wife’s account in The Voice of Freedom: My Husband, Our Story (2015).

leader of the terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) beginning in 2010;

declared by ISIL to be universal caliph of the Islamic State, beginning in 2014;

arrested by US forces in 2004 and detained at Abu Ghraib for almost a year;

thought to have masterminded numerous terrorist attacks in Syria and Iraq.

South Korean diplomat and secretary-general of the United Nations, 2007-2016;

identified global warming as a key issue of his administration;

unanimously approved for second term in 2011;

strong defender LGBT rights;

instrumental in holding of the World Humanitarian Summit of 2012.

Israeli prime minister, 1999-2001; defense minister, 2007-2013;

withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000;

met with President Clinton and Yasser Arafat at the unsuccessful Camp David 2000 Summit;

led Operation Cast Lead, December 2008-January 2009, a conflict in the Gaza Strip;

following 2013: real estate investor and paid large fees for lectures;

story of the summit in Shimon Shamir and Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, ed. The Camp David Summit: What Went Wrong?” (2005).

president of Sudan since 1993;

2005 agreement with southern rebels allowed for referendum of 2011, which resulted in secession;

indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2009 for crimes against humanity in Darfur;

participated in 2015 in Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen;

critical account in Paul Moorcraft’s Bashir Al-Bashir and Africa’s Longest War (2015).

historian and former professor at Emory University;

author of Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture (2000) claiming that guns uncommon until the civil war;

Bancroft Prize rescinded in 2002 because of poor data and methods that “violated basic norms of scholarship”;

debate about the issue of intentional deception or carelessness;

resigned from Emory and later obtained part-time position at Central Connecticut State University;

Discussed in Peter Hoffer, Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Fraud—American History from Bancroft and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellesiles, Ellis, and Goodwin (2004).

German-born pope, 2005-2013; earlier prefect of he Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;

insisted on fidelity to traditional Catholic doctrines and criticized the modern “dictatorship of relativism”;

permitted celebration of the 16th century Tridentine Mass in Latin;

accused of insensitivity toward Judaism and Islam;

forced Marcial Degollado, founder of the Legion of Christ, out of active service because of his “very serious and objectively immoral acts.”

suggested that condoms might be permitted to prevent AIDS but not for birth control;

broke modern precedent when he resigned in 2013;

author of 66 books, including Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life (2007), The Spirit of the Liturgy (2014), Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church (2006), and Last Testament: In His Own Words (2016).

founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, founded in 1994;

in 2016, ranked as the 5th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $71.8 billion;

in 2000, founded Blue Origin, with the goal of providing civilian spaceflights;

in 2015, announced development of orbital launch vehicle for first flight within a few years;

purchased the Washington Post for $250 million in 2013;

story of Amazon in Brad Stone, The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon (2013).

prime minister of Italy, 1994-1995, 2001-2006, and 2008-2011;

media tycoon and owner of Italian soccer club AC Milan;

proposed constitutional change for more regional control rejected in referendum of 2006;

pro-American and pro-Israeli in foreign policy;

supported strict anti-immigration enforcement and branded illegal immigrants “an army of evil” in 2008;

despite earlier relations with Gadhafi, participated in NATO’s 2012 military intervention in Libya;

in 2012, found guilty of abuse of power in publishing confidential of a newspaper—acquired on appeal based on statute of limitations;

involved in many scandals and tried 30 times in 25 years;

sentenced four years for tax evasion in 2013, but not sent to prison because of age.

found guilty in 2013 of paying to have sex with 17-year-old girl, but overturned on appeal in 2014;

interesting account in Alan Friedman, Berlusconi: The Epic Story of the Billionaire Who Took Over Italy (2015).

two terms as chairman of the US Federal Reserve, 2006-2010; earlier was chair of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors;

oversaw the Fed’s response to the financial crisis of 2007-2009;

agreed with Milton Freedman’s view that the Fed’s reduction of the money supply was largely responsible for the Great depression;

between 2007-2009, reduced the interest rate from about 5 percent to almost zero, and then purchased government securities, a policy known as “quantitative easing”;

overruled his staff’s recommendations in bailing out the American International Group (AIG);

advocated reduction of the budget deficit, primarily through reform of entitlements;

many publications, including The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis (2013) and The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and its Aftermath (2015);

twice prime minister of Pakistan, 1988-1990 and 1993-1996;

first democratically elected female leader in a Muslim country;

government dismissed in 1990 on charges of corruption;

found guilty of corruption in 1996-overturned on appeal;

following amnesty, returned to Pakistan in 2007 after 8 years of self-imposed exile;

assassinated on December 27, 2007;

author of Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography (1989) and Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West (2008).

US vice president, 2009-2017; former U.S. Senator from Delaware, 1973-2009;

voted in favor of authorizing the Iraq War in 2002;

dropped out early in the presidential primaries of 2008; elected vice president;

oversaw infrastructure spending during the Great Recession and US policy in Iraq until withdrawal in 2011;

supported same-sex marriage in 2012, which encouraged President Obama to do likewise;

instrumental in negotiating the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012;

probably would have run for president in 2016 except for death of his son Beau;

author of Promises to Keep: On life and Politics (2007.)

founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda and its first general emir, 1988-2011;

had earlier joined the Mujahedeen in fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan;

devoted to Islamist ideas of Sayyid Qutb, believing that complete restoration was the Sharia was the only way to “set things right”;

claimed responsibility for many terrorist acts, including 9/11 in New York;

$25 million award offered by US for his capture or death;

shot and killed in his private residential compound by navy seals on May 2, 2011;

biographical account in Michael Scheuer, Osama Bin Laden (2011); story of his death in Mark Bowden, The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden (2012).

prime minister of the United Kingdom, 1997-2007 leader of Labor Party, 1994-2007, and;

led the Labor Party to become more moderate and acceptance of market capitalism;

criticized for his strong support of President George W. Bush’s foreign policies and the Iraq War;

author of A Journey: My Political Life (2011).

Swedish diplomat and politician for left-of-center Liberal People’s Party;

director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 1981-1997;

executive chair of the UN Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission, 2000-2003;

warned Saddam Hussein of “serious consequences” if he continued to hinder inspections;

reported in 2003 and 2004 that inspectors had found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq;

author of Disarming Iraq (2004) and Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters (2008).

Republican US representative from Ohio, 1991-2015;

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2011-2015;

moderate conservative who often clashed with the tea-party wing of the Republican Party;

tried but failed to cut fiscal deals with President Obama;

Life discussed in N/C Williams’s A Bar Owner’s Son, John Boehner: The American Dream (2011).

young Norwegian who murdered 77 people on July 22, 2011, with the hope of creating a civil war that would save Europe from Islamic dominance;

wrote a 1,500-page document, A European declaration of Independence, denouncing the Islamic threat and multiculturalism;

adjudged sane and sentenced to approximately 21 years’ containment, a special form of imprisonment that can be extended indefinitely.

administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq, May 12, 2003-June 28, 2004;

established the Iraqi Interim Governing Council in 2003;

criticized for increasing discontent with Order Number 1 that banned members of the Ba’ath Party from government positions, and Order Number 2 that dismantled the Iraqi army, making 400,000 soldiers unemployed;

published My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope (2006).

director of National Counterterrorism Center, 2004-2005, and US Homeland Security Advisor 2009-2013;

director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2013-2017;

during Bush administration, supported transferring terrorist suspects to countries where they might be tortured;

evidence that CIA during his tenure hacked into computers of US Senate employees and released report on CIA torture;

in 2009 criticized waterboarding and other policies allowed by the Bush administration;

defended drone attacks during the Obama administration.

associate justice of the US Supreme Court, beginning in 1994;

judicial approach combines liberalism with a pragmatic approach;

rather than “originalism,” he emphasizes the “purpose and consequences” of constitutional texts;

usually shows deference to congressional judgment; considers foreign and international law;

supports abortion rights, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, strict regulations of weapons, and limits on campaign finance;

author of several books, including The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities (2015).

Soviet-born American computer scientist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Google;

Google begun on the Stanford University website—offered to the public in 1996;

initial public offering (IPO) netted more than $3.8 billion for Brin;

Google a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. in 2015 with Brin as president;

net worth estimated at $38 billion in early 2017.

author of several bestselling works of fiction, particularly The Da Vinci Code (2003);

preface claims that “all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in the novel are accurate,” and that the story has a relationship to Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion.

later described the book as “an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate.”

18-year-old African American shot by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri;

killed after stealing packages of cigarillos from a convenience store;

officer claimed that the unarmed Brown had tried to take his gun and was charging at him;

some witnesses supported the officer’s story, but others did not;

supporters of Brown chanted “hands up, don’t shoot”;

refusal of grand jury to indict officer resulted in destructive riots;

event promoted the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement;

argued by supporter in 2016 that Brown had exchanged the cigarillos for marijuana—denied by the store.

former governor of Texas and president of the United States, 2001-2009;

became President following Supreme Court’s decision, Bush v. Gore (2000);

domestic policies included No Child Left Behind, the prescription drug benefit to Medicare, and the Bankruptcy Prevention Act of 2005;

two major tax cut packages, the Economic Growh and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003;

extremely popular after 9/11;

often accused of dishonesty in claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD);

controversial foreign policies included coalitions that invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.

criticized for the government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005;

was president at the outbreak of the financial crisis of 2008;

supported Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s policy of preventing collapse of the US banking system with a $700 billion bailout;

defense of his policies in Decision Points (2011).

Republican governor of Florida, 1999-2007;

before 2016, considered to have a good chance to win the GOP’s presidential nomination;

suspended candidacy in February 2016, following the South Carolina primary;

joined Republicans who opposed the party’s nominee, Donald Trump.

examination of his impact on Florida in Matthew Corrigan, Conservative Hurricane: How Bush Remade Florida (2014).

president of Mexico, 2006-2012;

member of the National Action Party (PAN);

presidency marked by outbreak of Mexican drug war—estimated 120,000 deaths by 2013;

external debt increased by 90 percent; also increase in poverty;

espionage scandal with US—interception system in the Department of State;

Susan Darraj, Filipe Calderón (2009).

prime minister of the United Kingdom, 2010-2016;

leader of the Conservative Party, 2005-2016; member of Parliament, 2001-2016;

reorganization of National Health Service in the Health and Social Care Act of 2012;

same-sex marriage became legal in 2014;

military intervention in Libya and against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant;

supported staying in the European Union–defeated in the Brexit referendum;

resigned after 52 percent of votes cast were in favor of leaving the EU;

Andrew Glencross, Why UK Voted for Brexit: David Cameron’s Great Miscalculation (2016).

Marxist-Leninist revolutionary who held power in Cuba from 1959 to 2008;

president of Cuba, 1976-2008; prime minister, 1959-1976; first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, 1961-2011;

committed to a Marxist-Leninist system of economy and government;

opposition to the government not allowed;

closed relationship with Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela in early 2000s—called the “pink tide”;

poor health, delegated presidential duties to bother Raúl Castro in 2006;

Anthology of speeches and writings in Fidel Castro Reader, 2 volumes (2007); Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography (2008).

acting president of Cuba, 2006-2008; president from 2008;

continued Marxist-Leninist system but with significant compromises—allowed more private enterprise, reduced state spending, and encouraged foreign investments;

in 2010, released 75 political prisoners—forced exile in Spain;

in 2014 agreement with President Obama—released 53 political prisoners;

full diplomatic relations with the United States in 2015;

claimed in 2016 that no more political prisoners in Cuba—denied by informed observers;

excellent summary in Philip Brenner, et al., A Contemporary Cuba Reader: The Revolution Under Raúl Castro (2014).

French satirical caricaturist, author, and journalist;

director of the Charlie Hebdo, 2009-2015;

publication known for cartoons that ridicule political and religious leaders;

killed with 11 other people by two jihadist gunmen who stormed the newspaper offices on January 7, 2015;

author of Open Letter: On Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression; A Post-humorous Manifesto by the Editor in Chief of Charlie Hebdo (2016).

eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and heir apparent to the throne of England;

marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005;

writings include Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World (2010); several biographies, including Sally Bedell Smith, Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improvable Life (2017).

president of Venezuela, 1999 to 2013

authoritarian and socialist policies—styled himself leader of the “Bolivarian Revolution”;

ideology called chavismo—called “participatory democratic socialism” and “Bolivarianism” by Chávez; occasionally called himself a Marxist;

close relations with Cuba;

2002, following mass protests, removed from power for 47 hours in military coup;

UN speech of 2006—called President Bush “the devil”;

Popularity promoted by high oil prices;

winner of 4th election as president in 2012—inauguration postponed for medical treatment in Cuba;

explains his ideas in My First Life: Conversations with Ignacio Ramonet, translated by Ann Wright, (2016).

Republican vice president, 2001-2009; earlier secretary of defense, 1989-1993;

strong proponent of war on terror, interventions into Afghanistan and Iraq, and enhanced interrogation methods;

advocate of same-sex marriage;

wanted full pardon for Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was found guilty in perjury in Valerie Plane affair;

subject of documentary, The World According to Dick Cheney (2003);

author of In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir, with Liz Cheney (2011).

president of France, 1995-2007;

Europe’s most vocal opponent to US-led intervention in Iraq;

insisted on resumption of nuclear tests;

cut the presidential term from 7 to 5 years;

found guilty in 2011 of diverting public funds and given a two-year suspended prison sentence.

author of France and the New Euro-Asian Partnership (1996) and My Life in Politics (2012).

prime minister of Canada, 1993-2003 member of parliament from 1963 and numerous cabinet positions from 1968;

strong opponent of separatist movement in Quebec;

instrumental in passage of the Clarity Act of 2000, which established conditions for a province to secede;

accused of illegal acts in the Grand-Mere affaire—judged not guilty in 2001 report;

joined in multination invasion of Afghanistan in 2001;

longstanding feud with Finance Minister Paul Martin, who left the cabinet in 2002;

2002 Sponsorship Scandal, which involved prime minister’s distribution of $1000 million to Quebec’s federalists to oppose separatism.

did not support US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

formally resigned on December 12, 2003, and joined a law firm;

author of A Passion for Politics: My Years as Prime Minister (2007) and Straight from the Heart (2007).

Democratic president of the United States, 1993-2001

October 10, 2000, signed US-China Relations Act, granting permanent trade relations;

failure of the 14-day Camp David summit with Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak in 2000;

January 20, 2001, pardoned 140 people, included Mark Rich—called “Pardongate”;

January 19, 2001: plea deal with independent counsel, admitted giving false testimony under oath concerning Monica Lewinsky;

reported in Forbes that from 2001 and 2016 Bill and Hillary Clinton received $153 million from speeches;

Clinton fountain widely praised for philanthropic work;

his interpretations of happened in My Life 2004); for his post-presidential work, see Joe Conason, Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton (2016).

First lady of the United States, 1993-2001;

US senator from New York, 2001-2009;

instrumental in obtaining $21 billion in funding site for World Trade Center;

strongly supported 2001 intervention into Afghanistan and voted in favor the 2002 Iraq War resolution;

voted against the tax cuts of the Bush administration and voted in favor of the bailout of the US financial system, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP);

barely defeated by Barack Obama in the democratic primaries and caucuses of 2008

served as secretary of state from 2009-2013;

allegations that she used her position as Secretary of State to obtain foreign donations to the Clinton foundation

announced the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which established specific objectives of the Department of State’s mission abroad;

supported the military’s proposal in 2009 for a “Afghanistan surge” of 40,000 troops;

testified in Congress that congressional authorization not necessary for Libyan intervention;

accused of minimizing terrorism in the Libyan attack of 2012 for political purposes;

investigated for failure to follow Department of State rules concerning email servers;

primaries of 2016: won the Democratic nomination in competition with Bernie Sanders;

general election: won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote to Donald Trump;

tells her story and answers critics in Hard Choices: A Memoir (2014); criticizes in several books, including Peter Schweizer’s Clinton Cash (2016) and Doug Henwood’s My Turn: Hillary Clinton Targets the Presidency (2016); defended in Shana Corey’s Hillary Clinton: The Life of a Leader (2016).

deputy US attorney general, 2003-2005;

director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, beginning in 2013;

as deputy attorney general 2003, appointed the special council to head the investigation into the leak about Valarie Plame’s role in the CIA;

refused in 2004 to certify certain aspects of National Security Agency program;

in 2005, endorsed the memorandum approving enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding;

in 2007, testified against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ contention that firings of US attorneys were due to poor performances;

as FBI director, oversaw the investigation into the Hillary Clinton email controversy;

criticized for announcing that there was new evidence about Clinton’s emails, just days before the 2016 election, perhaps causing her to lose votes;

acts during the 2016 election in J.D. Foster, 2016: The Campaign Chronicles: The Road to Trump (2017).

British politician, elected leader of the Labour Party in 2015;

supports left-wing ideology of democratic socialism;

advocates reversal of austerity cuts to public services and welfare;

proposes renationalization of public utilities and railroads;

longstanding anti-war and anti-nuclear activist; leader of the Stop the War Coalition;

longstanding Eurosceptic, but during 2016 referendum favored staying in the European Union;

discussed in Richard Seymour, Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radial Politics (2016) and Rosa Prince, Comrade Jeremy: A Very Unlikely Coup (2016).

US senator from North Carolina, 1999-2005; vice-presidential candidate in 2004; entered the early primaries in 2008;

highly successful trial lawyer;

in 2010 admitted affair with Rielle Hunter;

federal indictment in 2011 on charges of violating federal campaign contribution charges—mistrial and Justice Department dropped charges;

firsthand account of the affair in Rielle Hunter, What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter, and Me (2012); former assistant Andrew Young gives an account in The Politician: An Insider’s Account of John Edwards’s Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal that Brought Him Down (2010).

Egyptian legal scholar, politician, and diplomat;

director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 1997-2009;

Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2005;

Inspected Iraq with Hans Blix in 2002; opposed to US invasion;

wrote in 2004 that no countries should be allowed to develop nuclear weapons;

third four-year term for ElBaradei opposed Bush administration in 2005;

major force for democratic change in Egypt—participated in anti-government protests in 2011;

involved in the 2013 coup d’état that toppled President Morsi’s government—interim vice president of Egypt, July 14-August 14, 2013;

author of The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times (2011) and Atoms for Peace: A Pictorial History of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 1957-2007 (2007);

his work at the IAEA discussed in Trevor Findlay, Nuclear Energy and Global Governance: Ensuring Safety, Security, and Non-Proliferation (2011).

Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, beginning in 1952;

celebrated Golden Jubilee in 2002 and Diamond Jubilee in 2102;

estimate wealth in 2015 at £340 million;

immensely popular in later years;

discussion of his experiences and views in The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times (2011); perhaps the best biography is Sally Bedell Smith’s Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch (2012).

president of Turkey, beginning in 2014; earlier prime minister, 2003-2014;

conservative Islamist views and revival of many Ottoman traditions;

founded Justice and Development party (AKP) in 2001;

strongly denies that a genocide of Armenians took place;

criticized for construction of lavish Ak Saray (pure white) palace, which occupies about 50 acres;

cooperated with Europe in anti-terrorism;

strongly opposed Kurdish separatists;

criticized for not allowing freedom of the press;

failed coup d’état of 2016 was followed by fierce fighting that resulted in at least 265 people;

conducted brutal crackdown following attempted coup in 2016, arresting over 7,000 members of the armed forces and dismissing over 2,700 judges—a total of perhaps 50,000 people detained and/or suspended from their positions;

blamed Fethullah Gulen and followers as source of the attempted coup;

Author of A Vision of Global Peace (2012); excellent account in David L Phillips, An Uncertain Ally: Turkey Under Erdogan’s Dictatorship (2017).

President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, January 20-February 13, 2017;

forced to resign for not acknowledging conversations with Russian officials

retired US army lieutenant general; director of Defense Intelligence Agency, 2012-2014;

author of Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan (2010) and The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War against Radical Islam and Its Allies (2016).

President of Mexico, 2000-2006; co-president of Centrist Democrat International, beginning in 2006;

leader of the conservative National Action Party—presidency marked the end of 71 years of uninterrupted rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI);

popular charisma, cowboy style, and pro-business positions;

angered African Americans with statement that Mexicans were “doing jobs that not even blacks want to do in the United States.”

said to be ineffective in the fight against crime and the drug cartels;

denounced Donald Trump’s assertion in 2016 that Mexico would pay for a wall along the Mexican-US border.

Wrote Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President (2007).

Elected bishop of Rome and Pope in 2013

reformed the Vatican Bank and replaced four of the five cardinal overseers;

surpassed the number of canonizations in a pontificate;

designated 2015 as year of mercy, providing opportunities for indulgencies and forgiveness of special-case sins;

criticized by conservatives for not condemning homosexuality;

ecumenical approach, but firm support for traditional Catholic dogma and opposition to abortion;

left-of-center views on economic issues and immigration; emphasized mercy and helping the poor; condemned excessive monetary ambition;

books include Humility: The Road Towards God (2006), Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus (2015), and The Holy Year of Mercy: A Faith-Sharing Guide with Reflections by Pope Francis (2015).

Democratic representative from Massachusetts, 1981-2013; chair of the House Finance Services Committee, 2007-2011, and its ranking member, 2011-2013;

for many years the most prominent and outspoken gay politician in the US; first sitting member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage;

consistently left-of-center policy positions—known for his quick wit and sarcasm;

denied having any responsibility for the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008;

instrumental in passage of much legislation, including the Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2007 and the Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008;

co-sponsor of the 2010 Dodd-Frank statute, a sweeping reform of the financial industry;

autobiography was a New York Times bestseller, Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage (2015).

US general who led the invasion of Afghanistan of 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq;

later said that he would still use the small and fast attack stratify, but that other methods perhaps should have been handled differently;

continued to say that world was safer without Saddam Hussein;

memoirs published as American Soldier (2004).

FBI director, 1993-2001, earlier judge of the District Court the the Southern District of New York;

2007, formed Freeh Group International Solutions;

in 2011-12, investigated sex abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University;

tells about his experiences My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror (2005).

African American literary critic, historian, professor, and television personality;

emphasizes the Afrocentric perspective, but rejects separatism;

popularized Our Nig, by Harriet Wilson, written in 1859;

hosted several televein programs, including Finding your Roots—with Henry Lous Gates Jr.

rejects the binary opposition of “evil white people and good black people”;

author and co-author of over 20 books, including Life Upon these Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 (2011).

Editor of over 10 works, including with Kwame Appiah, Encyclopedia of Africa (2010);

documentaries include The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (2013) and Africa’s Great Civilizations (2017).

US Secretary of State, 2006-2011—served under both Presidents Bush and Obama;

earlier was director of Central Intelligence, 1991-1993;

reputation of a quiet, competent civil servant;

directed the Iraq war troop surge surge of 2007;

began withdrawal of troops from Iraq in 2008—continued under Obama;

implemented surge of 30,000 troops in Afghanistan in 2009;

following scandal on handing of nuclear weapons by air force, General Michael Moseley forced to resign;

helped to prepare military for end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military;

president of the Boy Scouts of America, 2014-2016; chancellor of College of William and Mary, beginning in 2012;

critical of Obama’s leadership and commitment to war in Afghanistan in Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War (2014).

president of Germany, 2012-2017;

widely respected across the political spectrum;

former Luther pastor and anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany;

traveled widely, frequently apologized for German actions during the second world war;

boycotted 2014 Winter Olympics to protest Russian human rights record;

announced in June 2016 that he would not seek a second term.

Memoirs in Winter im Sommer—Frühling im Herbst: Erinnerungen.

US secretary of the treasury under President Barack Obama, 2009-2013; earlier president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2003-2009;

played major role in financial, overseeing allocation of $350 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program;

also managed administration efforts to restructure the regulation of the nation’s financial system

tells about his policies in Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises (2014).

associate justice on the US Supreme Court, beginning in 1993;

consistently votes with the liberal wing of the Court—supporter of abortion rights, affirmative action, LGBT rights, Miranda rights, regulations of business, etc.

generally endorses the expansive “living Constitution” approach to constitutional interpretation;

surgery related to pancreatic cancer in 2009;

her views on many people and topics in My Own Words (2016); an interestingly biographical account in James Roland, Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Iconic Supreme Court Justice (2016).

mayor of New York, 1994-2001; earlier lawyer and US attorney for the Southern District of New York, 1983-1989;

as mayor, followed the “broken windows theory of urban decay,” which holds that minor disorders creates atmosphere that produces more serious crimes;

stop-and-frisk policy unpopular with African Americans—said to have reduced crime;

withdrew from Senate race of 2000 because of prostate cancer and extramarital affair with Judith Nathan;

swift reaction to terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, increased popularity;

honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth in 2002;

in 2008, early considered frontrunner among Republican candidates for president;

defender of Donald Trump during election of 2016;

critical assessment in Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 (2007).

US attorney general, 2005-2007; earlier White House counsel, 2001-2005; associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court, 2001-2005;

first Hispanic to serve as attorney general;

controversy over the dismissal of US attorneys, approval of enhanced interrogation techniques, and warrantless surveillance of US citizens;

author of A Conservative and Compassionate Approach to Immigration Reform (2014) and True Faith and Allegiance: A Story of Service and Sacrifice in War and Peace (2016). Career discussed in Bill Minutaglio, El Ascesor del Presidente: El Ascenso al Poder de Alberto Gonzales (2012).

commissioner of the National Football League, beginning in 2006

in 2013, reached $765 million settlement with former NFL players over head injuries.

US vice president, 1993-2001; earlier Senator from Tennessee, 1085-1993;

Democratic candidate in 2000—won the popular vote but lost the elector vote;

founder and chair of the Alliance for Climate protection;

joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, 2007;

warns about the dangers of global warming in An Inconvenient Truth (2008) and The Assault on Reason (2007).

German novelist, sculptor, playwright, and illustrator;

winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature;

active supporter of the Social Democratic Party;

scandal in 2006 when revealed that he had been a member of the Waffen-SS during World War II;

best known book is The Tin Drum (1959); first volume of autobiographic memoirs in Peeling the Onion (2006); analysis of life and works in Günter Grass and His Critics: From the Tin Drum to Crabwalk (2008).

chair of the the Federal Reserve System, 1987-2006; earlier chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, 1974-1977;

supported the Bush tax cuts and fewer economic regulations;

criticized by some for his easy-money policies after 9/11, 2001) as contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008;

supported the privatization of Social Security;

writings include The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (2008); for an analysis of his life and work, see Sebastian Mallaby, The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan (2016).

secretary general of the UN, assumed office on January 1, 2017;

earlier UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2005-2015;

president of the Socialist International, 1999-2005;

strongly insisted that stable countries had the legal and moral duties to accept large numbers of refugees;

Turkish cleric and political figure who has lived in the United States since 1999;

founder of the Gülen movement and the Alliance for Shared Values;

moderate Muslim who opposes terrorism and promotes secular education;

estimated in 2009 that Gülen movement schools had 2 million students worldwide;

enemy of Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who blames Gülen and his followers for the attempted coup d’état of 2016;

author of several books, including Essentials of the Islamic Faith (2006); many books about the man and his movement, including David Tittensor, The House of Service: The Gülen Movement and Islam’s Third Way (2014).

Mexican drug lord who led the Sinaloa Cartel from the 1980s until his third capture in 2016;

considered to be cruel and ruthless;

succeeded in high profile escapes from Mexican prisons in 2001 and 2015;

said to have a net worth of over a US$1 billion;

extradited to the US on January 19, 2017—pled not guilty to a 17-count indictment in New York;

several books about Guzmán by J.D. Rockefeller, including Desire for Fame Led to El Chapo’s Downfall (2016).

evangelical pastor and leader of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) 2003-2006;

his New Life Church in Colorado Springs grew from 22 members to 14,000;

male prostitute in 2006 revealed that Haggard had paid for sex for three years, forcing Haggard to resign from his positions;

declared in 2010 that he had overcome his homosexual feelings;

identified with the charismatic movement;

founded the Association of Life-Giving Churches;

featured in HBO documentary, the Trials of Ted Haggard (2009).

FBI counterintelligence agent and spy for the Soviet Union and Russia;

Pleaded guilty in 2001 to 15 counts of espionage in District Court of Eastern Virginia—sentenced to 15 life possibilities with no possibility of parole;

numerous books about Hanssen, including David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI’s Robert Hanssen Betrayed America (2003) and Into the Mirror: The Live of Master Spy Robert P. Hanssen, by Lawrence Schiller and Norman Mailer (2002).

prime minister of Canada, 2006-2015;

foreign policy: pro-Israel and launched combat mission in Afghanistan;

hard-line approach to crime and increased funding for prisons;

assessment in Michael Harris, Party of One: Stephen Harper and Canada’s Radical Makeover (2015).

US representative from Missouri, 1987-2007, and speaker of the house, 1999-2007;

conservative Republican: score of 88 by the American Conservative Union and zero points by the American Conservative Liberties Union;

supported President George W. Bush’s foreign and domestic policies;

In 2015, plea agreement on charges of child molestation while a high school coach—sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine;

author of Speaker: Lessons from Forty Years in Coaching and Politics (2004).

Director of the National Security Agency, 1999-2005;

principal deputy direct of National Intelligence, 2005-2006;

director of the Central Intelligence Agency (NSA) 2006-2009;

oversaw controversial NSA warrantless surveillance of technological communications between alleged foreign terrorist groups and persons in the United States;

championed the Trailblazer Project, which was criticized for not including adequate privacy protection for US citizens;

argued that many searches and seizures did not require probable cause—but only that they be reasonable;

after 2009, co-chair of Bipartisan Policy Center’s Electric Grid Cyber Security Initiative;

author of New York Times bestseller, Playing to Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror (2016).

US citizen of Pakistani origin responsible for logistics for 2008 Mumbai attacks;

in 2013, sentenced in US federal court to 35 years in prison;

historical and psychological study in Kaare Sorensen, The Mind of a Terrorist: The Strange Case of David Headley.

investigative journalist—longtime contributor to The New Yorker and author of many books of foreign policy and related areas;

recognition for exposing the My Lai Massacre and helped expose the practices at Abu Ghraib;

reported in 2015 that Joint Chiefs of Staff indirectly supported Bashar al-Assad to oppose the Islamic State;

good summary of his work in the website, “Investigating Power.”

Somali-born Dutch-American activist and politician;

collaborated with Theo van Gogh in making documentary, Submission (2004) about oppression of women under Islam;

elected member of the Dutch parliament, but resigned after discovery that gave false information in application to enter the Netherlands;

left Netherlands after murder of Van Gogh and threats on her life;

leader in campaigns against female genital mutilation and the oppression of women in Islamic countries;

boooks include The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam (2004), Infidel (2006), Nomad: From Islam to America: Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), and Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now (2015).

British-American writer and public intellectual who as associated with the “new atheism”—preferred label of “anti-theist”;

particularly critical of Islam;

angered the left when he defended President George W. Bush’s post-9/11 policies;

publications on numerous topics, including Thomas Jefferson, George Orwell, Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, ethics;

for his life see Hitch-22: A Memoir; his most famous book is God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2009).

African American attorney general of the United States, 2009-2015; earlier deputy attorney general, 1997-200l;

said later that regretted having supported President Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich;

strongly criticized for refusal to prosecute member of New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation during the 2008 election—accused of only protecting minority rights;

said in a 2009 speech on racism that US was “essentially a nation of cowards on the issue.”

found that no legal basis to prosecute persons responsible for enhanced interrogation techniques during the Bush presidency;

staunchly defended legality of President Obama’s policies in the war on terror, including the use of drones;

particularly strong defense for affirmative action, disparate impact, the Voting Rights Act, and right of transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice;

strongly opposed requirements of state-issued IDs to vote;

in 2011, refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court;

refused to testify concerning “Fast & Furious,” the scheme to allow Mexican drug dealers to obtain weapons;

said that one regret was signing warrant for investigation of Fox reporter James Rosen;

severely criticized for saying under oath that he was never involved in subpoena of news media phone records;

resigned for person reasons on September 25, 2014;

critical studies include John Fund and Hans von Spakovsky, Obama’s Enforcer: Eric Holder’s Justice Department (2014) and J. Christian Adams, Injustice: Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department (2011).

French politician; first secretary of the French Socialist Party, 1997-2008;

president of France, 2012-2017;

policies included 75 percent “millionaire’s tax” and same-sex marriage law;

ordered intervention into Mali in 2013;

conservative reforms of labor and pension laws led to mass protests;

approval rating declined to 4 percent in 2016;

announced that he would not run for re-election in 2017;

discussed in John Gaffney, France in the Hollande Presidency: The Unhappy Republic (2015).

President of the People’s Republic of China, 2003-2013;

general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, 2002-2012;

first leader of the Communist Party without revolutionary credentials, and had been purged in 1980s for his liberal tendencies;

followed a low-key and collective-leadership style; pursued aggressive foreign policy and tough-on-corruption policies.

president of Iraq, 1979-2003; secretary of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party;

personality cult and widely condemned at as brutal dictator;

expansionist policies led to catastrophic results in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and the Gulf war (1991);

condemned by the European Union in 2002 for arbitrary and summary executions, use of rape as a political tool, clandestine disappearances, and other human rights violations;

refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors led to invasion by the US-led coalition on March 20, 2003—with the fall of Bagdad on April 9;

captured while hiding in a hole in the ground on December 13, 2003;

tried and found guilty of murder, torture, and illegal arrests by a Iraqi Special Tribunal—executed by hanging December 30, 2006;

useful introduction in James Arnold’s Saddam Hussein’s Iraq (revised edition, 2009).

popular radio talk-show host of Imus in the Morning—called a “shock jock”;

frequently used derogatory epithets and insulting descriptions of persons;

national scandal in 2007 after referring to Rutgers University basketball players as “nappy-headed hos”—suspended despite his apology;

sued several times on charges of slander and defamation;

reasons for opposition to Imus explored in Michael Awkward’s Burying Don Imus: Anatomy of a Scapegoat (2009).

controversial British historian who minimizes the number of victims in the Holocaust and argues that Hitler did not order it;

earlier recognized for his popular books, knowledge of Nazi Germany, archival research, and early recognition that the Hitler Diaries were forgeries;

reputation harmed by his unsuccessful libel case against Deborah Lipstadt, who had accused him of “holocaust denial”—dramatized in the film Denial (2016);

accused by historian Richard Evans of distorting and mistranslating documents;

said in 2005 that the Nazis had murdered “millions of Jews,” but rejected the generally accepted number;

sentenced by Austrian court in 2005 to 3 years’ imprisonment for holocaust denial—released in December 2006.

Use of documents strongly criticized in Richard J. Evans, Lying About History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial (2001); alternative perspective in David Irving’s Website and Paul Grubach’s review in The Revisionist (2002), available over the Web.

general secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, 1989-2002;

5th president of the People’s Republic of China; period of continuation of reforms and substantial economic growth;

advocated policy of the “three represents”: efficient productive forces, progressive culture, and interests of the overwhelming majority;

explains his views on modernization and technology in On the Development of China’s Information Technology Industry (2009); Robert Kuhn argues that Jiang was responsible for fundamental economic and political changes in The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy Jiang Zemin (2004).

Highly successful American singer, dancer, and song writer;

Sensational trial on charges of child molestation—acquitted in 2005;

Making plans for an ambitious tour despite his many health problems;

death attributed to drug overdose;

year following death, sale of 35 million albums worldwide;

autobiography in Moonwalk (2010); many biographies, including Steve Knopper, MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson (2010).

African American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and politician;

founder and president of Rainbow PUSH coalition;

was the most prominent civil rights leader during the last three decades of the twentieth century;

biographies include Marshall Frady, Jesse: The Life and Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson (2006); a critical perspective in Ken Timmerman, Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson (2002).

African American congressman from Illinois, 1996-2012;

sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in 2013.

Author of A More Perfect Union: Advancing New American Rights (2001); book by the Chicago Tribune staff, Jesse Jackson Jr.: From Promise to Scandal: The Journey of a Chicago Political Scion (2012).

co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc.

Apple Computer incorporated in 1977, same year as Apple II; list of Fortune 500 in 1983; Macintosh introduced in 1984; controlling interest in Pixar in 1986—sold to Disney in 2006;

Gilbert Amelio chief executive in 1996, but Jobs returned in 1997;

iTunes and iPod in 2001;

name changed to Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007;

diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003; surgery in 2009;

Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs (2011) is widely acclaimed.

Polish born bishop of Rome and pope, 1978-2005;

severely wounded in the assassination at St. Peter’s Square in 1981;

traveled widely, visiting 129 countries, attracting large crowds;

conservative on doctrine and issues relating to sexual reproduction and ordination of women;

outspoken opponent of apartheid in South Africa;

endorsed the theory of biological evolution;

supported redistribution of wealth in Haiti to alieve poverty but condemned aspects of Liberation Theology;

credited with helping end communism in Russia and eastern Europe;

praised animism because of its similarity with veneration of saints;

criticized for failure to respond quickly to the sex abuse crisis in the church;

apologized for past Catholic practices, including the inquisition, the condemnation of Galileo, and the inactivity of many Catholics during the holocaust;

canonized as a saint in 2014.

president of Nigeria, 2010-2015; vice president, 2007-2010

“Roadmap for Power Sector Reform” of 2010, with goal to achieve stable electricity supply;

announced $4 million to assist in cleaning up villages affected by lead;

declared emergency in 2013 against radical Islamist group, Boko Haram. in three provinces;

criticized because of government’s inability to find 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram;

ended policy of fuel subsidies in 2012;

signed law prohibiting gay relationships in 2014, followed by jailing of many gays and lesbians;

government generally described as corrupt;

study of Johnathan’s career in Moshood Fayemiwo, Jonathan: The Squandering of Goodluck (2011).

American Olympic track-and-field medalist

president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, beginning 2001;

peace agreement of 2002: Second Congo War—called the deadliest war in modern African history—formally ended in 2003 when Transitional Government began;

faced with continuous wars in eastern Congo and rebels supported by neighbors, Uganda and Rwanda;

alleged attempted coup against Kabila’s government in 2004;

second term of office scheduled to end in 2016, but extended to 2018;

country never experience a peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1960;

led the overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, which marked the end of the First Congo War;

president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997-2001;

invasion by Rwandan/Ugandan forces marked in 1998 marked beginning of Second Congo War; Kabila assisted by Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe;

former Marxist, but policies were a mixture of collectivism and capitalism;

assassinated by a bodyguard in 2001;

discussed in Francois Ngolet, Crisis in the Congo: The Rise and Fall of Laurent Kabila (2011).

president of Rwanda since 2000—de facto ruler after 1994—credited with ending genocide in 1994;

head of the Rwandan Patriotic Front—popular with Tutsis, unpopular with Hutus;

supported Laurent Kabila in First Congo War (1996-1997) and opposed him in the Second Congo War (1998-2003);

UN report of 2010—accused Rwandan army of crimes against humanity in first and second Congo Wars;

Constitution approved by referendum in 2003—does not allow political parties that promote division of country, which allows stifling of dissent;

elected president under the new Constitution in 2003 and 2010;

ruthless toward opponents;

improvements in economic conditions and less ethnic conflict under his leadership—per capita income of $567 in 2000 and $1,592 in 2013;

allegations of continuing exploitation of minerals in Congo and support of M23 rebel group;

referendum for constitutional amendment in 2015—allows Kagame to run for 3rd term in 2017;

for early years, see Colin Waugh’s Paul Kagame and Rwanda: Power, Genocide, and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (2003).

associate justice of the US Supreme Court, from 2010

earlier served as solicitor general, 2009-2010;

consistently liberal voting record, including abortion, affirmative action, LGBT issues, criminal justice, etc.

agrees with Justice Antonin Scalia’s textual approach in interpretation of statutes;

for her life and judicial views, see Meg Greene’s Elena Kagan: A Biography (2014).

centrist associate justice of the US Supreme Court justice since 1988.

after Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement, became the swing-vote on the Court—votes with the conservative justices in about 60 percent of cases and the liberal justices about 40 percent of cases;

has written most of the pro-LGBT decisions of the Court, including Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which recognizes the constitutional right of same-gender couples to enter into legally recognized marriages;

two good studies of of his decisions are Frank Colucci’s Justice Kennedy’s Jurisprudence: The Full and Necessary Meaning of Liberty (2009) and Helen J. Knowles, The Tie Goes to Freedom: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on Liberty (2009).

US senator from Massachusetts, 1962-2009; called “lion of the Senate”:

instrumental in passage of Great Society laws in 1960s—continued tradition;

joined in support of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which emphasized testing and accountability;

opposed Bush tax cuts and Bush’s version of the prescription drug addition to Medicare;

supported invasion of Afghanistan but firmly opposed invasion of Iraq;

writings include True Compass: A Memoir (2009) and America Back on Track (2006);

books about him include Lisa McElroy’s Ted Kennedy: A Remarkable Life in the Senate (2009) and The Legislative Legacy of Edward M Kennedy: Eleven Milestones in Pursuit of Social Justice, 1965-2007 (2014).

president of Kenya, since 2013; earlier deputy prime minister, 2008-2013; and minister of finance, 2009-2012;

in 2012, International Criminal Court prosecutor charged Kenyatta as indirect co-perpetrator in 2007-08 violent murders in Kenya, but dropped for lack of evidence in 2015;

close election of 2013—Kenyatta’s victory confirmed by Supreme Court;

presidency saw economic growth, with Kenya declared a middle-income country;

terrorist attack at Mpeketoni with 60 killed in 2013;

launched Operation Linda Nchi, joint military operation with Somalia to fight the radical Somalian group, Al-Shabaab;

see Irungu Thatiah, Hard Tackle: The Life of Uhuru Kenyatta (2014).

Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, 1985-2013; Democratic candidate for president in 2004; Secretary of State, 2013-2017;

on the left in the Senate Democratic caucus—in 2003, named by National Journal as the top liberal in the Senate;

in election of 2014, said, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.”

was strongly criticized by some Vietnam veterans for his part in the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in the 1960s;

worked with Russia on plan to convince Syria to destroy its chemical weapons in 2014;

classified in 2014 by Foreign Policy Magazine as the more effective Secretary of State in last 50 years;

played a prominent role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal of 2015;

signed the Paris Climate Accords in New York in 2016;

defended Israel’s right to self-defense during the Israeli-Gaza conflict of 2014;

in 2016, supported UN Security Council condemnation of Israeli settlement policies;

voted in 2002 to authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq;

author of A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America (2003).

also known as “Dr. Death”—helped about 130 terminally ill patients obtain voluntary euthanasia from 1990 until 1998;

in 1999, convicted by a Michigan jury of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison with possibility with parole;

released on good behavior in 2007—pledged not to help in anyone’s death;

ran for Congress in 2008, receiving 2.6 percent of the vote;

said in 2010, “Anytime you interfere with a natural process, you are playing God.”

following release, gave speeches and created outrageous paintings;

had great influence on death-with-dignity movement;

HBO film, You Don’t Know Jack—the Real Jack Kevorkian (2010), with Al Pacino playing Kevorkian;

discusses his philosophy of life and death in Beyond Any Kind of God (2015); for Kevorkian’s influence on the right-to-die movement, see Michael DeCesare” Death on Demand: Jack Kevorkian and the Right-to-Die Movement (2015).

grand ayatollah of Shia Islam; third president of Iran, 1981-1989;

supreme leader of Iran since 1989; autocratic ruler;

supreme leader’s approval required for all political decisions;

generally continuation of the hardline policies of Ruhollah Khomeini and support for president Ahmadinejad;

intolerant of dissent and strong support for Iran’s nuclear program;

in election of 2004, Guardian Council disqualified over 2000 reformist candidates from running, which resulted in a conservative parliament;

widely condemned for lack of concern for human rights (from the Western perspective);

flexibility in instructions concerning the nuclear deal of 2015 in a letter to President Rouhani in October of that year;

criticized President Rouhani for slow economic progress in a Teheran speech, February 21, 2017;

scholarly studies include Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce’s The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran (2016) and The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Vision of Islamic Philosophical Theology and Praxis of Global Peace, edited by Parviz Morewedge (2015).

president of Iran, 1997-2005, and Shia theologian;

considered moderate and pragmatic within context of Iranian culture and politics;

limited powers because outranked by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameinei;

bills to reform national election laws passed by parliament but vetoed by the conservative Guardian Council;

in foreign policy, Khatami rejected idea of a “clash of civilizations” and introduced idea of “dialogue among civilizations”;

told Syrian president Bashar Assad in 2000 that the Iranian government “would stand by and support him.”

expressed opposition to Guardian Council’s exclusion of moderate candidates in the election of 2004, but did not boycott the election;

in 2004, founded the International Institute for Dialogue Among Cultures and Civilizations;

scholarly analysis in Edward Wastnidge’s Diplomacy and Reform in Iran: Foreign Policy under Khatami (2016).

president of South Sudan since independence in 2011;

earlier president of Southern Sudan, 2005-2011;

oversaw the peace agreement of 2005 and the independence of South Soudan in 2011;

Heglig oilfield crisis with Sudan in 2012—South Soudan made a formal complaint to the United States Security council;

Country faced with famine and starvation in early 2017.

supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, 1997-2011; supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, 1991-2011; chairman of the National Defense Commission;

personality cult: called “the Dear Leader” to distinguish him from Kim Il-sung, “the Great Leader”;

North Korean Famine, 1994-1998—continuing problem with food production;

in 2002, money declared “capable of measuring the worth of all commodities”;

in 2002, admitted having produced nuclear weapons despite Agreed Framework;

announced withdrawal from the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003;

in 2006, announced that had successfully conducted underground nuclear test;

Human Rights Watch in 2004 charged that N.K. had 200,000 political prisoners;

in 2011, army of 1.2 million personnel, one of the largest in the world;

economy severely hurt by combination of sanctions, mismanagement, and natural disasters;

For more information, see Michael Breen’s Kim Jong-il: North Korea’s Dear Leader (revised edition, 2011).

Supreme Leader of North Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Party, beginning in 2011; Many other official titles after 2016;

Announced in 2012 economic reforms similar to those of China;

policy of continuing to develop nuclear weapons while developing ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States;

announced in 2015 that N.K. possessed a hydrogen bomb;

by 2016, five rounds of sanctions against N.K. by the United Nations;

reports of many purges and executions, including his uncle Jang Sung-teek.

allegations that ordered the murder of his half-brother, Kim Jong Nan, in 2017;

UN commission of inquiry in 2016 recommended making Kim accountable for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

Russian ambassador to Belgium, 1998-2003, and to the United States, beginning 2008;

established close connections to many influential Americans;

reported to have had conversations with members of the Trump campaign during the election of 2016, particularly with Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions;

controversy because of Sessions’ meeting with Kislyak twice in 2016—differing interpretations of Sessions’ denial of having met with Russians;

allegations by CNN that Kislyak was a Russian spy.

president of Argentina, 2007-2015; earlier first lady, 2003-2007;

protests in 2007 following attempts to increase agricultural taxes—no increases;

nationalization of private pension funds denounced as threat to property rights;

restructured sovereign debt in 2010 by exchanging new bonds for defaulted bonds—controversy finally settled in 2016;

accused of responsibility for the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman;

continuation of trials of military personnel involved in the Dirty War;

unconditional supporter of leftists Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela;

faced several charges of financial improprieties after leaving office.

president of Argentina, 2003-2007; first gentleman, 2007-2010;

Peronist with left-of-center policies;

devaluation of the Argentine peso promoted economic growth;

negotiated a swap of defaulted debt in 2005, paying one-third of the original debt;

tried for unjust enrichment in 2004—acquitted in 2005 and 2010;

opposed the Free Trade Area of the Americas—not implemented;

influential in the first three years of his wife’s presidency;

last years tainted by corruption and high inflation.

president of Argentina, 2003 to 2007;

social democrat and Peronist; president of the Justicialist Party, 2008-2010;

oversaw the country during the recovery from the financial crisis.

Russian diplomat; ambassador to the United States from 2008;

establishment of many connections in the United States;

suspected by some Democrats of involvement in the US elections of 2016.

last president of Yugoslavia, 2000-2003;

prime minister of Serbia for two terms, 2004-2008;

president of the Democratic Party of Serbia, 1992-2014;

in 2000, mass demonstrations forced Slobodan Milosevic to accept Kostunica electoral victory;

in 2008, Kostunica demanded that US rescind its recognition of Kosovo, which he called a “fake state.”

Russian minister of foreign affairs, since 2004; earlier representative to the United Nations, 1994-2004;

required as foreign minister to defend the policies of Vladimir Putin—impossible to know if he agrees with policies.

able to maintain cordial relations with diplomats of other countries, even during strong disagreements;

has traveled widely and maintained a high profile;

his diplomacy discussed in James Sherr, Hard Diplomacy and Soft Coercion: Russia’s Influence Abroad (2013). Lavrov’s article, “Russia’s Foreign Policy: Historical Background,” published in Global Affairs, 2016—available in website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs.

Enron’s chief executive officer and chairman of the board;

one of highest paid CIOs in 1999—compensation package of $42.4 million;

sold $300 million in Enron stock from 1989 to 2001—claimed business going well;

Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001—largest in US history;

May 25, 2006—found guilty of conspiracy and fraud; died on July 5 before sentencing.

Business discussed in Peter Fusaro and Ross Miller, What Went Wrong at Enron: Everyone’s Guide to the Largest Bankruptcy in U.S. History (2002).

French politician; Leader of the National Front, from 2011;

advocate of strict limits on new immigrants and for expulsion of those in France illegally—accused of being racist and Islamophobic;

criticized in 2010 for comparing of blockage of streets for Muslim prayers to German occupation—acquitted of inciting hatred in 2015;

opposed to free trade and in favor of protectionism;

opposed to privatization of the French Post Office and public utilities;

strong opponent of the Euro;

placed third in presidential election of 2012;

considered a serious candidate for presidency in 2017;

Political career and ideas in Daniel Stockemer’s The Front National in France: Continuity and Change under Jean-Marie Le Pen and Marine Le Pen.

professor emeritus at Princeton University and outstanding scholar of the Middle East and Islamic religion;

criticized for denial that the Ottoman government intended genocide of the Armenian people;

in French trial of 2004, found guilty of lack of objectivity, nuance, and sensitivity concerning the Armenian question—fined one franc;

publications include What Went Wrong? (2002); From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East (2004) and with Buntzie Churchill, Islam: The Religion and the People (2008).

chief organizer and CEO of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), 2008 to 2010;

founder of the The Black Institute (TBI) in 2010;

for ACRON’s history, see John Atlas, Seeds of Change: The Story of ACORN, America’s most Controversial Antipoverty Community Organizing Group (2010).

American lawyer and chief of staff to V.P. Dick Cheney;

found guilty of obstruction of justice and making false statements about leaks on the covert of CIA officer Valerie Wilson;

prison term commuted by President Bush.

former senior operational officer in the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation

accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya;

died in 2006 from poisoning by radioactive polonium—210—suspected on the orders of President Putin;

accused Russian secret services of terrorist acts in Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within (2002) and The Gang from Lubyanka (2002); the case for Putin’s responsibility in Luke Harding, A Very Expensive Poison: The Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko and Putin’s War With the West (2016).

Chinese writer, professor, human rights activist, political prisoner;

recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize while in prison;

called for more freedom and end to communist single-party rule;

continued to be incarcerated in early 2017;

publications include Civil Awakening: The Dawn of a Free China (2005); books about him include Yu Jie, Steel Gate to Freedom: The Life of Liu Xiaobo, translated by Hc Hsu (2015).

African American attorney general 2015-2017;

first African American woman to hold the position;

aggressive enforcement of civil rights legislation, especially concerning discriminatory treatment by the police;

for her ideas and career, see Eric Braun, Loretta Lynch: First African American Woman Attorney General (2016).

founder and chairman of hedge fund, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC, that operated as a Ponzi scheme.;

reported extremely high profits, even in bad times;

admitted that business was “one big lie” in 2008;

in 2009, pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and sentenced to 150 years in prison;

many books about the scandal, including Diana Henriques, The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust (2011).

Second president of South Africa, 1999-2008;

oversaw transition from the Organization of African Union to the African Union (AU);

mediated compromises on several conflicts in Africa;

criticized for denying the linkage between the HIV virus and AIDS;

defeated by Jacob Zuma in presidential election of 2007;

several good biographies available, including Ronald Roberts, Fit to Govern: The Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki (2008).

senator from Arizona, first elected in 1987; chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 2015; Republican nominee for president in 2008;

prisoner of war in North Vietnam, 1967-1973;

voted against the Bush tax cuts;

strong supporter of military interventions into Afghanistan and Iraq, called for more ground troops in 2003;

introduced the 2005 McCain Detainee Amendments, which prohibit waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques;

advocated cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse emissions;

concern for campaign finance reform—co-sponsor of McCain-Feingold Act of 2002;

in September 2008, temporarily suspended campaign to work on proposed bailout to deal with the financial crisis;

during campaign, called Obama a socialist and criticized his purported relationship with anarchist Bill Ayers—but called Obama a “decent family man, citizen.”

opposed the DREAM act, the new START Treaty, and repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

called for more aggressive interventions in Syria and other Middle East conflicts;

writings include Worth the Fighting For, (2002); biographies include Elaine S. Povich, John McCain (2009).

Republican senator for Kentucky since 1985; Senate Majority Leader since 2015;

Senate minority Leader, 2007-2015.

president of Venezuela, beginning in 2013; earlier vice president, 2012-2013; minister of foreign affairs, 2006-2013;

economic crisis from drop in the price of oil after 2014—discontent and riots.

Prime Minister of Iraq, 2006-2014; vice president 2014-2016;

a Shia Muslim—descried as a sectarian by the Kurds and Sunnis;

many American leaders wanted him to be removed.

president of the African National Congress Youth League, 2008-2012; commander-in-chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters, from 2013;

calls for largescale redistribution of wealth—primarily from white South Africans in favor of poor backs;

critic of President Jacob Zuma;

admirers Zimbabwe’s policy of confiscation of white-owned farms without compensation;

interesting interview, manifestos, and summary in The Coming Revolution: Julius Malema and the Fight for Economic Justice, edited by Floyd Shivambu, (2014).

prime minister of Canada, 2003-2006; earlier minister of finance, 1993-2003;

often disagreed with Prime Minister Chrétien;

see Andrew Larsen, et al, Paul Martin: A Political Biography.

prime minister of the United Kingdom, beginning 2016;

pro-remaining in the European Union, but accepted results of Brexit referendum.

president of Russia, 2008-2012; prime minister since 2012; earlier first deputy prime minister, 2005-2008;

selected by Vladimir Putin for presidency in 2008; as president selected Putin as prime minister;

signed law expanding the Federal Security Service in 2010, following a terrorist attack;

main achievement was new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 2010;

detailed account in J.L. Black’s The Russian Presidency of Dmitgry Medvedev, 2008-12: The Next Step Forward of Merely a Time Out? (2015).

chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany after 2005; leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after 2000; member of the Bundestag since 1990;

in 2003, supported the US invasion of Iraq, disagreeing with Chancellor Schröder;

became chancellor with a grand coalition (with the Social Democrats) in 2005;

signed the 2007 agreement for the Transatlantic Economic Council

following election of 2009, entered into coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP);

took a hardline position on the need for austerity during the Greek crisis;

criticized multiculturalism in 2010 and said, “we feel attached to the Christian concept of mankind, that is what defines us.”

announced phasing out nuclear power following the Fukushima accident of 2011;

joined EU in 2014 condemnation of Russian annexation of Crimea;

lost popularity in 2015 when she invited an unlimited number of refugees into Germany—resulting in an influx of almost a million;

instituted reforms to return economic migrants to their home countries more rapidly;

supported EU agreement with Turkey to contain immigration;

in 2015, instrumental in obtaining quota on percentage of women on corporate boards;

in 2015, endorsed President Obama’s decision to slow withdrawal from Afghanistan;

named 2015 Time person of the year; in 2016, called by Forbes the most powerful woman in the world for the tenth time;

numerous biographies, including Matthew Qvortrup’s Angela Merkel: Europe’s Most Influential Leader (2016).

president of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1997-2000; earlier president of Serbia, 1991-1997 and president of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, 1989-1991;

transformed Serbia from a Marxist-Leninist one-party state to a multi-party system;

involved in the Bosnian civil war and negotiated the Dayton Agreement of 1995;

anti-Albanian policies in Kosovo led to the Kosovo War and NATO bombings, 1999;

resigned during protests against disputed election of 2000;

defendant in trial for Bosnian genocide and war crimes, 2002-2006—died before completion;

subject of many studies, including Judith Armatta, Twilight of Impunity: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic (2010).

United Nations Special representative for the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, 2013-2015;

UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, 2015-present.

prime minister of India, beginning in 2014;

leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party;

chief minister of the State of Gujarat, 2001-2014;

his administration alleged to be complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots;

decreased spending on social programs; reduced regulations on business;

launched “clean India campaign” in 2014;

many books about Modi, including Lance Price’s The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi’s Campaign to Transform India (2015).

considered “the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks”;

captured in Pakistan in 2003—transferred to Guantanamo by 2006;

waterboarded more than 180 times in Poland and Guantánamo;

in early 2017, trial continued to be bogged down in legal delays;

interesting account in Richard Miniter, Mastermind: The Many Faces of the 9/11 Architect, Khalid Shakh Mohammed (2011).

Egyptian who was a member of the Egyptian Brotherhood after 1977—served as a member of Parliament from 2000 to 2005;

arrested with other members of the brotherhood in 2006 and 2011;

founded the Justice and Justice Party in 2011

became Egypt’s first democratically elected president on June 30, 2012;

millions of protesters calling for his arrest;

ousted in the coup d’état in July 2013; replaced by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi;

about 800 of his followers were massacred in the Rabaa massacre of August 2013;

sentenced to death in 2015—sentence overturned and new trial ordered;

Morsi’s story is told in Arab Fall: How the Muslim Brotherhood Won and Lost Egypt in 891 days (2016).

Democratic senator from New York, 1977-2001;

politician and sociologist, former professor at Harvard University, and author of 19 books;

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2001-2003;

Urban Institute in 2013 released an reexamination of his famous study, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,” published 50 years earlier.

president of Egypt, 1981 to 2011; vice president from 1975 to 1981;

forced to resign during the Arab Spring violent protests of 2011;

June 2012, given life sentence for his role in killing pro-democracy demonstrators;

2014, sentenced 3 years for embezzlement;

new trial on death of protestors, sentenced to death;

dramatic story in Mohamed El-Bendary, The Egyptian Revolution: Between Hope and Despair: Mubarak to Morsi (2013).

Zimbabwean revolutionary; prime minister, 1980-1987;

president of the Republic of Zimbabwe since 1987;

since 2000, Mugabe supported the “war veterans” who invaded and took over white-owned farms;

accusations by observers that elections have been dishonest;

economy marked by poverty, unemployment, and hyper-inflation, causing largescale emigration;

agreement with Tsvangira and Mutambara in 2008;

Almost all authors are highly critical, as in Peter Godwin’s The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabe (2011).

authoritarian lelader of Pakistan, 1999-2008;

led a coup d’état in 1999, appointed himself head of government and president in 2001;

2002, supported US-led war on terror in Afghanistan;

2007, declares state of emergency and suspends the Constitution;

announced retirement in 2008;

2013—prime suspect in death of Benazir Bhtto;

author of In the Line of Fire: A Memoir (2006); best book as of 2016 is John Wilson, The General and Jihad: Pakistan Under Musharraf (2007).

prime minister of Israel, 1996-1999 and after 2009;

nationalistic member of Likud Party; supports aggressive building of settlements in the West Bank; highly suspicious of Arab intentions; does not want an independent Palestinian state;

responded strongly to Arab attacks in the Israel-Gaza conflict of 2014;

objected to the Iran deal of 2015;

explains his hawkish views in Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies can Defeat the International Terrorist Network (2001 edition) and A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations (2000); Also see Neill Lochery, The Resistible Rise of Benjamin Netanyahu (2016).

first African American president of the United States, 2009-2017; earlier Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, 1997-2004; US Senator from Illinois, 2005-2008;

early opponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq;

gained national recognition in his speech to the Democratic convention of 2004

introduced Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008;

awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009;

responding to the financial crisis, signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, an economic stimulus package of $787 billion;

supported and signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, relaxing the statute of limitations on equal-pay lawsuits;

appointed to liberal justices to the Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan;

LGBT rights: supported and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2008 and the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010;

supported and signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, known as Obamacare;

called for more regulations on the purchasing of guns;

promised in February 2009 to end combat operations in Iraq; announced on August 31, 2010 that combat mission in Iraq was over;

ordered surge of 30,000 additional troops into Afghanistan in 2009;

participated in joint military operations in Libya without congressional approval;

approved operation that killed Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011;

joined in 2015 multilateral agreement with Iran to limit develop of nuclear weapons;

announced formal diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015;

abstained from vetoing 2016 UN Security council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories;

Strongly supported Hillary Clinton and opposed Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

See Paul Street. Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics (2015); Katie Pavlich, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and Is Shameless Cover-Up (2012).

associate justice of the US Supreme Court, 1981-2012;

pragmatic and moderately conservative—often was the swing-vote on the Court;

emphasized the importance of precedents and accepted the doctrine of substantive due process;

on abortion, introduced standard of “no undue burden” on a woman’s right;

Ann McFeatters, Sandra Day O’Connor: Justice in the Balance (2005).

prime minister of Israel, 2006-2009;

had good relations with the Palestinian National Authority;

found guilty of bribery and other charges in 2014; began serving a 27-months sentence in 2017.

commander of the guerrilla group, the Lord’s Resistance Army;

trial for war crimes began at the International Criminal Court in 2016.

popular host of The O’Reilly Factor over the Fox News Channel;

conservative commentator, but diversity of views on is program;

story of hearing shots during George de Mohrenschildt’s suicide has been challenged;

accused of sexual harassment by Andrea Mackris—settled out of court;

author of over a dozen books, including Cultural Warrior (2006).

prime minister of Hungary, 1998-2002 and since 2010;

leader of the conservative Fidesz Party;

advocates “illiberal democracy” and “soft Euro-skepticism”;

emphasizes nationalism and Hungarian sovereignty;

says that “Islamisation” is constitutionally banned to protect the country’s language and culture;

policy of building a wall to keep Muslims out and “to keep Europe Christian.”

Republican governor of Alaska, 2006-2009; vice presidential candidate in 2008;

conservative republican, lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and calls herself a “Bible believing Christian”;

as governor used the veto to cut many programs and reduce the state’s budget;

chosen by McCain in 2008 to receive support of the Tea Party and religious right;

in 2008, controversies about Republican expenditures on Palin’s clothes and hair styling;

coined the term “death panel” to describe presumed rationing in Obamacare;

resigned before the end of her term in 2009;

following resignation, promoted her book; promoted the Tea Party, campaigned for candidates, and formed SarahPAC, a political action committee;

reality television series of 2014-2015, Amazing America with Sarah Palin;

personal and political memoir written with Lynn Vincent, Going Rogue: An American Life (2009); also see Carolyn Cooper’s Sarah Palin: A Biography (2011).

director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1909-2011;

secretary of the Department of Defense, 2011-2013;

tells about his career in Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace (2014).

president of South Korea, 2013-2017; first lady of South Korea, 1974-1979;

first female president popularly elected in East Asia;

promised “a new era of hope and happiness” with 5 goals, including “a jobs-centered creative economy, “a new era of hope and happiness,” and “a safe and united society.”

Responding to N.K. missiles, announced that would seek coordination with powers such as the US, China, and the EU.

maintained close relations with United States—over 20,000 US soldiers in S.K.;

signed “Joint declaration in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States.”

impeached by the National Assembly on charges of soliciting bribes and pressuring businesses to donate to foundations set up to support her policies;

impeachment upheld by the Constitutional Court on March 10, 2017, forcing her out of office

ruling caused protests from supporters, two of whom were killed in conflicts with police.

secretary of the U.S. Treasury, 2006-2009;

major designer of economic bailout of 2008.

Democratic member of the US House of Representatives since 1987; House minority whip, 2002-2003; House minority leader 2003-2007; speaker of the House, 2007-2011; House minority leader since 2011

popular in San Francisco but not in the country;

strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act and highly critical of President Donald Trump.

president of Mexico since 2012;

returned the Institutional Revolutionary Party to power;

highly critical of President Trump’s promise to build a wall along the border and declared that Mexico would not pay for such a wall;

director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2011-2012;

earlier commander of the Multi National Force in Iraq, 2007-2008 and US Central Command, 2008-2010;

scandal of extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell—providing her with classified documents;

in 2015, pled guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information—sentenced to 2 years probation and a fine of $100,000.

the book that came out of the affair, Paula Broadwell and Vernon Loeb, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus (2012).

Republican politician—elected vice-president of the United States, 2016;

Earlier governor of Indiana, 2013-2017; member of the House of Representatives, 2001-2013;

Strong defense for policies of President Donald Trump.

president of Ukraine since June 7, 2014; earlier positions included minister of Foreign Affairs, 2009-2010;

a wealthy “oligarch” as a result of real estate and mass-media outlets;

strong Ukrainian nationalist—promised to return Crimea to Ukrainian sovereignty;

vigorous military operations against pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Lugansk;

advocated constitutional amendments to provide for Ukraine’s administrative decentralization;

signed economic part of Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement of 2014;

advocated membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to counter Russia’s aggressive actions;

described in Tom Ward’s The Chocolate King: Braving the Storms of the Russian Invasion, the Oligarchs, and Local Corruption (2016).

African American secretary of state in the Bush administration, 2001-2005; earlier chair of the joint chiefs of staff during the Persian Gulf War; 4-star general

supported Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as a compromise;

moderately liberal Republican—strong supporter of affirmative action policies;

openly critical of hawkish neo-conservatives in the Bush administration;

known for the “Powell Doctrine,” which advocates exhaustion of non-military means, overwhelming force in military actions, need for public support, analysis of all possible consequences, and an exit strategy;

criticized for 2003 speech before the UN Security Council, accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction;

instrumental in formation of coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003;

resigned before election of 2004;

joined a Silicon Valley venture capital firm in 2005;

writings include My American Journey (2003) and It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership (2014).

president of Russia, 2000-2008; prime minister; 2008-2012; president since 2012;

recognized as one of the world’s most powerful leaders and has enjoyed high domestic approval ratings, but widely criticized for his autocratic and nationalistic policies;

in a 2005 speech characterized the collapse of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century,” and asserted that “the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself.”

preserved Russia’s territorial integrity in the Second Chechen War, 199-2009;

blamed for many of the 130 deaths during the Moscow theater hostage crisis of of 2002;

aggressive reaction to the Beslan school hostage crisis of 2004;

suppression of “dissenters’ marches” in 2007;

dissolved the government in 2007 in order to have a “free hand” in running the country during a parliamentary election;

more than 660 protestors arrested during the large “Pussy Riot” of 2012;

backed strict legislation against “homosexual propaganda” in 2012-2013;

annexed Crimea and ordered military incursions into Ukrainian territory in 2014;

religious policy of religious freedom while attempting unification under the authority of the states;

has attempted to expand territorial claims in the Arctic;

has emphasized expansion and modernization of the military;

intervened against Georgia in the South Ossetia War of 2008, and opened a second front in Abkhzia;

accused of having ordered the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko;

provided military support to Assad in the Syrian civil war, 2015-2016;

accused of attempting to US elections of 2016 by hacking into Democratic emails;

A good account of Putin’s life and career is in Steven Lee Myers, The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin (2015).

Libyan dictator—title of Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya, 1969-2011; Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of libya, 1969-1977;

increasingly replaced pan-Arab nationalism with pan-Africanism;

claimed to have developed the highest form of democracy—expressed in the Green Book;

captured and killed in the civil war of 2011.

many useful books, but especially Allison Pargeter, Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi (2012).

prime minister of Denmark, 2001-2009—headed a central-right coalition;

secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2009-2014;

strongly supported the Iraq War from 2003, accepting allegations that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction;

said that homosexuals should be allowed to have religious ceremonies but left decision up to individual churches;

policy of not arming rebels during the NATO mission in Libya;

criticizes the welfare state and argues for a low-tax economy in From Welfare State to Minimal State (1993).

associate justice of the U.S. Supreme court, 1972-1986; chief justice of the court, 1986-2005

consistently conservative positions;

publications include All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime (2000) and The Supreme Court (2000); biographical account in John Jenkins, The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist (2012).

Democratic senator from Nevada, 1987-2017;

Senate majority leader, 2007-2015;

Harry Reid, with Mark Warren, The Good Fight (2009).

African American political scientist, historian, author, and diplomat;

National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, 2001-2005; US Secretary of State, 2005-2009;

proponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq—warned about possibility of nuclear weapons;

insisted in 2009 that did not authorize the CIA to use enhanced interrogation techniques;

policy of “Transformational Diplomacy,” an imitative aimed at expanding democratic governments;

returned to Stanford University as professor in 2009.

publications include No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington (2012).

first US Homeland Security secretary, 2003-2005; advisor to Homeland Security, 2001-2005;

introduced the color-coded “Homeland Security Advisory System”;

authorized special attention given to air passengers from “terrorist-friendly” nations;

his experiences and ideas in The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…And How We Can Be Safe Again (2009).

chief justice of the US Supreme Court, confirmed in 2005;

served on US Court of Appeals before joining the nation’s highest court;

impressed the judiciary committee with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Supreme Court’s precedents—confirmed by a 78-22 vote in the Senate;

usually votes with the conservative wing of the court;

voted with the majority in the 2010 Citizens United decision, allowing corporations to spend unlimited amount of money on political candidates;

affirmed in 2020 the constitutionality of Obamacare by broadly interpreting congressional power of taxation;

voted in 2015 against requiring all 50 states to give legal recognition to same-gender marriage;

liberal analysis in Lawrence Tribe and Joshua Matz, Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution (2024).

bishop of the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire, 2004-2013;

first clergyman in an openly gay relationship to be consecrated as bishop in a major Christian denomination;

strongly defended gay rights in speeches and books;

listed in Out magazine in 2009 as 7th most influential gay person in the US.

Republican candidate for the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election;

former governor of Massachusetts;

opposed Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election;

books include No Apology: The Case for American Greatness (2010) and Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympics Games (2004).

young white supremacist responsible for the 2015 “Charleston church massacre,” in which he murdered nine African Americans at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church;

kept a website containing a 2,444-word manifesto explaining his ideas about race and his motivation to begin a race war;

first person in US history to face death penalty in both federal and state jurisdictions at the same time;

said, “There’s nothing wrong with me psychologically,” and resented have to go through two competency hearings;

sentenced to death in 2017, based on the federal Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act;

represented himself during the sentencing phase of the trial;

story is told in Dylann Roof: The Man Who Wanted To Start a Race War In America (2016); concise discussion of the event within the context of hate crimes by Melissa Abramovitz in Hate Crimes in America (2017).

president of Iran, assuming office in 2013;

earlier secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, 1989-2005, and chief negotiator for the nuclear issue, 2003-2005;

considered moderate and pragmatic in the context of Iranian political and religious culture;

during election of 2013, promised to institute a “civil rights charter,” improve relations with Western countries, and restore the economy;

said if national wealth not increased, poverty would be distributed;

condemned the Nazi treatment of the Jews but did not comment on whether a holocaust occurred;

expressed support for upholding rights of ethnic and religious minorities;

instrumental in achievement of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal);

during US elections of 2016, said “We won’t let Trump tear up the US-Iran nuclear deal”;

accusations of plagiarism in his PhD thesis, entitled “The Flexibility of Sharia,” accepted by Glasgow Caledonian University;

author of memoirs and many books in the Persian language; a collection of articles about his foreign policy in Iran in the World: President Rouhani’s Foreign Policy, edited by Shahram Akbarzadeh & Dara Conduit (2016).

senior advisor to President George W. Bush, 2001-2007; White House deputy chief of staff for policy, 2005-2007;

President Bush in 2004 called Rover “the architect” of his victory of that year;

frequently a political commentator over Fox News;

accused by Democrats in 2009 of having played a significant role in earlier firings of US attorneys;

tells about his political experiences and ideas in Courage and Consequences: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight (2010); also wrote The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1898 Still Matters (2015);

fascinating accounts in Bush’s Brian: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential (2003) and Craig Unger, Boss Rove: Inside Karl Rove’s Secret Kingdom of Power (2012).

first president of Kosovo, 1992-2000 and 2002-2006;

ethnic Albanian and branch of Kelmendi tribe;

oversaw popular struggle for independence, especially during the Kosovo War (1998-99)—called “father of the nation” and “Gandhi of the Balkans”;

pursued close relations with US and EU;

escaped an assassination attempt in 2005;

treated in 2005 for lung cancer at US air force base in Germany; died in January 2006;

referred to himself as a “symbolic Muslim”—unconfirmed reports that converted to Catholicism;

discussed in Robert Hudson, ed., After Yugoslavia: Identities and Politics Within the Successor States (2012).

secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense, 2001-2006; many previous political positions;

considered the most powerful Pentagon chief since Robert McNamara;

attempted to modernize and reorganize the military, as in the creation of the United Combatant Command;

played a dominant role in planning the military strategies of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq;

criticized for underestimating Iraqi opposition and not deploying sufficient US troops;

supported enhanced interrogation techniques;

suit filed against Rumsfeld by the ACLU in behalf of 8 men “subjected to torture and abuse”—without success;

supported repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 2011;

author of Known and Unknown: A Memoir (2011) and Rumsfeld’s Rules: Leadership Lesson in Business, Politics, War, and Life (2013); his website contains more than 4,000 documents from the “The Rumsfeld Papers.”

Wisconsin representative in U.S. Congress, beginning in 1999;

Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012;

chairman of House Ways and Means Committee, 2015;

speaker of the House of Representatives, beginning October 29, 2015;

generally conservative, particularly on fiscal issues—but willing to compromise;

discussion of his political ideas and recent experiences in The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea (2014).

independent Senator from Vermont, 2007-present; earlier representatives. 1991-2007; mayor of Burlington, 1981-1989;

calls himself a democratic socialist—caucuses with the Democrats;

barely defeated by Hillary Clinton for the nomination in 2016;

author of several books, including Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In (2016).

assistant football coach, Pennsylvania State University for over 30 years;

found guilty of sexual abuse of minors in 2012—sentenced to 30-60 years.

Ukrainian who was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms, 2004-2016;

governor of Odessa Oblast, 2015-2016;

president after Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in the 2003 “Rose Revolution”;

considered pro-Western and pro-NATO leader;

Georgia’s conflict with South Ossetia resulted in the Georgia-Russian War of 2008;

supported the Ukrainian revolution of 2014;

appointed by President Poroshenko the governor of Odessa Oblast in southwestern Ukraine;

for his role in the Georgia-Russian war, see Asmus, A Little War that Shook the World: Georgia, Russia, and the Future of the West (2010).

French politician; president of France, 2007-2012;

earlier president of France’s major right-wing party, the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, 2004-2007;

minister of the Interior, 2005-2007;

strong law-and-order positions; considered pro-US and pro-Israeli;

supporter of war on terror;

dismantled “neighborhood police” and special domestic intelligence police force;

ordered in 2017 to stand trial on charges of illegal funding of 2012 campaign.

conservative associate justice of the US Supreme Court, 1986-2016;

advocated originalist and textualist approaches to constitutional interpretations;

rejected legislative history approach to statutory interpretations;

opposed substantive due process, abortion rights, affirmative action, gay rights, and “living Constitution” interpretation;

strong support for federalism and 2nd amendment rights;

publications include Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, with Bryan Garner (2012).

United Methodist minister removed from ministry in 2013 for preforming his gay son’s wedding six years earlier;

refused to uphold the church’s Book of Discipline;

defrocking upheld by the church’s Judicial Council in 2014;

became an activist in the cause of LGBT rights in the church and the larger society;

wrote autobiography, Defrocked: How a Father’s Act of Loved Shook the United Methodist Church (2014).

story told in documentary film, “An Act of Love” (2015) directed by Scott Sheppard.

chancellor of Germany, 1998-2005;

German lawyer and politician; member of Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP);

policy of phasing out nuclear power, funding renewal energies, civil unions, liberalizing naturalization laws, lowering taxes, and reducing social welfare programs;

sent forces to Kosovo and Afghanistan as part of NATO;

strong opposition to US policy in the Iraq War;

apologized to Poland for World War II in 2004;

following chancellorship, chairman of Nord Stream AG, a gas pipeline company.

Democratic senator from New York, from 1999; chair of Democratic Policy Committee, 2011-2017; Senate minority leader, from January 3, 2017;

generally liberal voting record, but supported the Iraq War Resolution and firmly pro-Israel;

one of the Gang of Eight proposing a comprehensive immigration bill in 2013;

author of Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time (2007).

governor of California, 2003-2011;

former bodybuilder, film actor, businessman, and author;

allegations of sexual misconduct during his first campaign;

signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006—nation’s first cap on greenhouse gasses;

author of an autobiography, Total Recall (2012).

Republican senator from Alabama, 1997-2017;

conservative US attorney and politician;

became attorney general on February 9, 2017;

strong on law-and-order; moderate on civil rights issues;

strongly criticized for failure during confirmation hearings to disclose 2 meetings with Russian ambassador.

prime minister of Israel, 2001-2006; many previous positions in the military and government;

presence on the Temple Mount in 2000 contributed to the Second Intifada and his election in 2001;

launched Operation Defensive Shield in 2002—defensive offensive in Palestinian areas;

increasingly conciliatory—embraced US-sponsored Roadmap to Peace;

responsible for 2005 disengagement from Gaza and 4 settlements in the West Bank;

broke with Likud Party in 2005 to form a new centrist group, the Kadima Party;

8 last years in a coma, 2006-2014;

author of Warrior: An Autobiography (2001); several good biographies, including David Landau, Arik: The Life of Ariel Sharon (2013).

African American civil rights leader—founder and president of the National Action Network;

most controversial rallies—the Tawana Brawley affair and crown the Heights Riots—took place in the 20th century;

led numerous demonstrations to protest discrimination and police treatment of African Americans—including the Black Lives Matter rallies;

candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2004;

President Obama called him “the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden”;

tells about his life and protests in Al on America, with Karen Hunter (2002); also see Jay Mallin, Al Sharpton: Community Activist (2006).

famed African American National Football League player and movie star;

infamous acquittal in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife and her friend;

convicted in 2008 for armed robbery in Las Vegas—sentenced to 33 years, with minimum of 8 years.

prime minister of India, 2004-2014; earlier finance minister;

first Sikh to serve as prime minister;

presided over a fast growing economy—with Singh often given credit;

pragmatic foreign policy; strengthened ties with US;

interesting critical account by his aid Sanjaya Baru, The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh (2015).

detained in Guantánamo detention center without charge, 2002-2016;

fought with mujahedeen in fighting Soviets in Afghanistan;

claimed to have dissolved relations with al-Qaeda in 1992—no evidence that untruthful;

claims to have been subjected to isolation, temperature extremes, beatings, and sexual humiliation by interrogators;

finally released for lack of proof on October 17, 2016;

describes experiences with enhanced interrogation in Guantánamo Diary (2015).

U.S. computer professional who in 2013 leaked classified information from the National Security Agency;

on June 21, 2013, charged by the Justice Department of violating the Espionage Act of 1917;

said disliked President Obama and feared banning of assault rifles;

claimed to be a patriot defending individual rights;

fled to Moscow on June 23, 2013—asylum renewed until 2020;

best book at this time is Edward Jay Epstein, How America Lost Its Secrets: Edward Snowden, the Man, and the Theft (2016).

associate justice of the Supreme Court, 1990-2009;

nominated by a Republican president—came to vote reliably with the liberals on the Court;

for his jurisprudence and decisions see Tinsley Yarbrough, David Hackett Souter: Traditional Republican on the Rehnquist Court (2005).

governor of New York, 2007-2008; New York State attorney general, 1999-2007;

as attorney general, a crusading prosecutor known as “sheriff of Wall Street”;

discovered conflicts of interest at Merrill Lynch, which settled out of court for $100 million;

executive order for allowing illegal immigrants to be issued driver’s licenses;

discovery that Spitzer had paid thousands of dollars for illegal prostitute services, forcing his resignation in 2008;

career and disgrace in Peter Elkind, Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010).

former general who became president of Egypt on June 8, 2014; earlier minister of defense, 2012-2014;

leader of the coup of July 3, 2013, following mass protests against President Morsi;

figurehead president, Adly Mansour, installed, but real power was in hands of Sisi;

hundreds killed in riots by the Muslim Brotherhood in August;

easily won the elelction of 2014;

good account of Sisi’s role in the revolution and his presidency in Cherif Bassiouni, Chronicles of the Egyptian Revolution and Its Aftermath, 2011-2016 (2016).

associate justice of US Supreme Court, beginning in 2009;

first Latino to hold this position; previously was judge on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit;

especially noted for her strong support of minority rights and affirmative action;

consistently left-of-center opinions on almost all issues.

tells about her life and challenges in My Beloved World (2013); several good biographies, including Meg Green, Sonia Sotomayor: A Biography (2012).

associate justice of the US Supreme Court, 1975-2010;

third longest-serving justice in history;

most decisions on the liberal side of the Court, especially in later years;

wrote an especially strong dissent in Bush v. Gore (2000);

advocated liberal constitutional changes in Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution (2014); tells about his experiences in Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir (2011).

corporate executive, editor, writer, and television-show host;

famous for advice on cooking, homemaking, crafts, and gardening;

found guilty in 2004 of conspiracy and making false statements to federal investigators—sentenced to 5-month term in correction facility and 2-year supervised release;

made a rapid comeback in 2005;

publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine;

author of many books, including Living the Good Life: A Practical Guide to Caring for Yourself and Others (2013); biographies include Joann Price, Martha Stewart: A Biography (2007).

German lawyer sentenced to prison a total of eight and a half years for questioning whether the holocaust happened;

In 2015 sentenced for 20 months in prison for a speech in which she asserted that holocaust laws were vague and contrary to free speech because defendants were not allowed to present evidence for their positions;

considered a political prisoner because her only crime was expressing an opinion about an event in the past;

Stolz’s 2015 speech, “The Reality of Freedom of Expression,” available over the web.

prime minister of Norway, 2000-2001 and 2005-2013;

secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) beginning in 2014

as PM supported military participation in Afghanistan, petroleum activities in the Barents Sea; LGBT rights, and immigration;

accepted responsibility for lack of preparation before Anders Breivik’s terrorist attakck of 2012, but refused to resign;

in 2014, emphasized the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “a brutal reminder of the necessity for NATO,” but called for more cooperation with Russia in the war on terror;

in 2015, said that NATO stands in solidarity with Turkey in support of “the territorial integrity of our NATO ally after shooting down a Russian military jet;

ended a border dispute with Russia in the Oslo agreements of 2010, generally based on the equidistance principle.

former minister of the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Pennsylvania;

notified the congregation in 2003 that she was a lesbian and in a committed same-sex relationship;

defrocked in 2004 by a local jury of Methodist ministers, and sentence upheld in October 2005 by the United Methodist Judicial Council in Houston, Texas;

Methodist church’s decision on homosexuality postponed for at least two years by the church’s General Council of 2016.

former chairman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2007-2011;

considered a serious candidate of the French Socialist Party before the sex scandals;

accused of sexual assaulting a maid in New York in 2011—resigned following arrest;

paid the maid $1.44 million to drop rape allegations in 2015;

charged in France with “aggravated pimping”—acquitted in 2015;

detailed account of the New York event in John Solomon, DSK: The Scandal that Brought Down Dominique Strauss-Kahn (2012); subject of a biography drama, Sully (2016).

retired U.S. airline pilot who works as an aviation safety consultant; employed by US Airways from 1880 to 2010;

celebrated for his 2009 emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan;

author of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, with Jeffrey Zaslow (2009).

president of Iraq, 2005-2014;

Kurdish ethnicity—first non-Arab to serve as president of Iraq;

participated in the Kurdish rebellion after the Persian Gulf War of 1991;

member of the Iraqi governing council—helped develop the interim constitution;

attempted to reduce sectarian violence and improve relations with Turkey;

succinct discussion in Zoe Lowery, Key Figures of the Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan (2016).

Libyan lawyer, human rights activist, and former political prisoner;

represented over 1,000 prisoners killed in the Abu Salim Prison in 1996;

arrest of Tarbel in 2011 triggered the revolt that removed Qaddafi from power;

awarded the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in 2011;

suffered an incapacitating stroke in 2012;

see Joshua Muravchik, Trailblazers of the Arab Spring: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East (2013).

African American associate justice of the US Supreme Court, confirmed in 1991;

uses textual analysis and originalism in interpretations—rejects stare decisis (i.e., precedents of the Court);

usually considered to be the most conservative member of the Court;

firmly opposed to affirmative action, disparate impact, and method of substantive due process;

tells his own story in My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir (2008); balanced assessment in Ralph Rossum, Understanding Clarence Thomas: The Jurisprudence of Constitutional Restoration (2014).

president of Mali, 2002 to March 22, 2012;

seized power in a coup d’état against military dictator Moussa Traore;

launched campaigns against polio and endemic parasites;

unable to control rebellions of Tuareg nomads of northern Mali;

ousted in a 2012 military coup—went into exile in Senegal.

prime minister of Canada, beginning in 2015;

leader of the Liberal Party;

pro-choice on abortion, supports legalization of marijuana, and calls himself a feminist;

ended air strikes against the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant;

liberal policy of welcoming refugees into Canada—25,000 by 2016;

life and ideas discussed in Huguette Young, Justin Trudeau: The Natural Heir, translated by George Tombs (2016).

wealthy businessman, television personality, and Republican politician;

elected president in 2016, inaugurated on January 20, 2017;

unconventional candidate; insulted opponents;

scandal concerning his earlier “locker-room” talk about grabbing women by their genitalia;

won the electoral vote but not the popular vote;

electoral promises included end of Obamacare, a wall at the Mexican border; vigorous enforcement of immigration laws, robust opposition to terrorist organizations, lower taxes, renegotiation of trading agreements, rebuilding of the infrastructure, reduction in regulations, appointment of conservative federal judges; and extreme vetting of new immigrants, especially those from the Middle East;

following inauguration, many appointments and executive orders were controversial;

author of Trump: The Art of the Deal (2016) and Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again (2011).

Kyrgyzstani-American citizen who, with his brother, placed bombs at the Boston Marathon in 2013;

Trial of 2015—found guilty and sentenced to death;

interesting narrative in Michele McPhee, Maximum Harm: The Tsarnaef Brothers, the FBI, and the Road to the Marathon Bombing (2017).

prime minister of Greece, beginning in 2015; earlier leader of the opposition, 2012-2015; first elected to the Hellenic Parliament in 2009;

leader of the socialist party, Syriza, beginning in 2009;

in 2014, opposed the austerity that the European Union demanded for a bailout loan;

as p.m., negotiated EU bailout of July 13, 2015—increased VAT and reduced pensions and social programs;

2016—additional austerity measures;

criticized by the left wing of Syriza for his austerity measures;

the Greek crisis discussed in George Papaconstantinou, Game Over: The Inside Story of the Greek Crisis (2016).

Dutch film producer who, with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, produced the film Submission, which dealt with the treatment of women under Islam;

murdered by an Islamist militant in 2004;

study of the murder and its significance in Ron Eyerman, The Assassination of Theo Van Gogh: From Social Drama to Cultural Trauma (2008).

professional football player;

quarterback for 13 seasons, primarily with the Atlanta Falcons;

in 2007, sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for dog fighting ring;

discusses his rise to stardom, the dogfighting scandal, and his search for redemption in Finally Free: An Autobiography (2012).

president of Senegal, 2000-2012;

had been jailed several times for his political activities;

criticized his advanced age and tendency toward autocracy;

commissioned a famous 164-feet high bronze monument to the African Renaissance;

see Momar-Coumba Diop, Le Sénégal sous Abdoulaye Wade: le Sopi à l’épreuve du pouvoir (2013).

considered the co-creator of the Occupy Wall Street Movement;

opposed to consumerism and advertisements;

author of The End of Protest: A New Playbook for Revolution (2016).

popular media proprietor, talk show host, producer, actress, and philanthropist;

The Oprah Winfrey Show: aired for 25 seasons, from 1986 to 2011;

said by President Obama to be “the most influential woman in the country”;

optimistic, uplifting, and altruistic in her point of view;

pantheistic new age religion: belief “in God force that lives inside all of us”;

published O, the Oprah Magazine from 2004 to 2008;

advises readers to enjoy life in What I Know for Sure (2014); short biography in Oprah Winfrey: Media Mogul (2010).

among the most famous golfers of all time—winner of 14 major championships and number one for the greatest total number of weeks for any golfer;

refers to ethnicity as “Cablinasian”—combination of Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian;

marital scandal in 2009—accident when fleeing from his wife;

raised a Buddhist, said in 2000 that he believed in “most of it”;

his views on golf in How I play Golf (2001); analysis of his career and scandal in Orin Starn, The Passion of Tiger Woods: An Anthropologist Reports on Golf, Race, and Celebrity Scandal (2011).

general secretary of the People’s Republic of China, beginning in 2012;

7th president of the People’s Republic of China, beginning in March 2013;

supported “comprehensive deepening reforms,” emphasizing market forces and competition;

departed from collective rule of ZI Jintao;

aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

prime minister of Ukraine, 2006-2007; president, 2010-2014;

criticized for his pro-Russian policies—rejected pending agreement with European a Union in 2013 and pursued a Russian loan bailout;

led to the Ukrainian Revolution of 2014—violent clashes in Independence Square and elsewhere—presidential palace occupied;

fled to exile in southern Russia—removed by Ukrainian parliament;

officially deprived of title of President on June 18, 2015;

Discussed in Oleg Bazaluk, Corruption in Ukraine: Rulers’ Mentality and the Destiny of the Nation, Geophilosophy of Ukraine (2016).

economist and chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, beginning in 2014; vice chair, 2010-2014;

first woman to serve as chair of the Fed;

Keynesian and considered to be more concerned about unemployment than inflation;

in 2015, first increase in key interest rate since 2006;

career and economic theories in Marie Bussing-Burks, Janet Yellen: Federal Reserve Chair (2015).

Korean-American attorney, law professor, and prolific author;

deputy assistant attorney general, office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, 2001-2003;

interpreted Geneva Conventions as legitimizing aggressive policies in the War on Terror;

author of the so-called “torture memos,” which authorized “enhanced interrogation techniques” and expansive executive powers;

President Obama in 2009 repudiated and revoked Yoo’s legal guidance on interrogation;

Yoo’s publications include The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11 (2005); Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Powr from George Washington to George W. Bush (2010); Taming Globalization (2012) and Point of Attack (2014).

prime minister of Spain, 2004-2011;

member of Spanish Socialist Workers Party;

in 2004, announced withdrew of 1,300 troops from the Iraq War;

said would recognize any “Catalan statute of autonomy approved by the Catalan Parliament.”

strained relations with United States;

legalized same-gender marriage in Spain, 2005.

president of Pakistan, 2008-2013;

married Benazir Bhutto in 1987;

co-chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party.

Egyptian jihadist—general emir of al-Qaeda following the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011;

deputy emir of Al-Qaeda, 1988-2011;

suggested unification with the Islamic State in 2015;

State Department has offered $25 million reward for information leading to his capture.

right-wing German on trial for participation in the National Socialist Underground (NSU);

close associate of terrorists/criminals Uwe Munlos and Uwe Böhnhardt until their suicides in police shootout, 2011;

denied any involvement in the crimes or the 10 murders committed;

admitted having set fire to her home in Zwickau;

trial began May 6, 2013, with verdict expected in 2017;

her role in the organization discussed in Right-Wing Terrorism in the 21st Century: The “National Socialist Underground” and the History of Terror from the Far-Right in Germany (2015).

president of the African National Congress from 2007, and president of South Africa from 2009;

described himself as socialist—supported by left-wing of African National Congress;

trial on charges of rape in 2005—decided that consensual by the jury;

speech of 2006, called same-sex marriage “a disgrace to the nation and to God.”

indicted in 2007 on charges of racketeering, fraud, money laundering, and corruption—dismissed on procedural grounds;

in 2012, ended speech by singing the song, “Shoot the Boer.”

in 2013, found to have improperly had his home upgraded with state funds—agreed to a payback;

early 2017, called to constitutional amendment to allow confiscation of white-owned land without compensation—rejected by the legislature.

German citizen imprisoned in Canada and Germany several times for denying the holocaust—considered a crime of “inciting racial hatred”;

sentenced to 5 years in 2007;

operated a small publishing company called Samisdat Publishers;

never denied existence of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany, and never suggested that Jews should have been killed.

considered a political prisoner because he was punished simply for the expression of an opinion—an unpopular interpretation of a historical event.