March 1997 Rulers

March 1997

1


Fino
Albania: Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi resigns. On March 11 President Sali Berisha appoints Bashkim Fino of the opposition Socialist Party as prime minister. Arjan Starova becomes foreign minister; Shaqir Vukaj, defense minister; Arben Malaj, finance minister; Belul Celo, interior minister.

3

Albania: President Sali Berisha is reelected unopposed by Parliament (113-1 with 4 abstentions).
Zaire: Former prime minister (1991) Mulumba Lukoji dies.

4

South Korea: President Kim Young Sam appoints Goh Kun as prime minister. On March 5 Kim appoints Kang Kyong Shik as finance minister. Kang Oon Tae becomes interior minister.

6


Kocharyan

Hinds
J. Jagan
Armenia: Prime Minister Armen Sarkisyan tenders his resignation. On March 20 President Levon Ter-Petrosyan names Robert Kocharyan, president of the Azerbaijani breakaway region Nagorno-Karabakh, as the new prime minister. Kocharyan is succeeded as president of the ethnic Armenian enclave on an interim basis by Leonard Petrosyan.
Guyana: President Cheddi Jagan dies. Prime Minister Sam Hinds is sworn in as new president. On March 17 Jagan's widow, Janet, is sworn in as prime minister.
Jamaica: Former prime minister (1972-80, 1989-92) Michael Manley dies.
Nepal: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba resigns following his defeat in a confidence vote. Deuba's government received 101 votes against a required minimum of 103 in the 205-seat lower house. On March 10 King Birendra names Lokendra Bahadur Chand as prime minister. He is sworn in March 12. Bamdev Gautam becomes deputy prime minister and home (interior) minister, Rabindra Nath Sharma becomes finance minister, and Chand himself takes charge of defense. On March 19 Chand wins a confidence vote with 113 votes.

Nemtsov

7

France: Former president of the Regional Council of Corse (1974-79) François Giacobbi dies.
Russia: President Boris Yeltsin appoints Anatoly Chubais as first deputy prime minister. On March 17 he appoints Boris Nemtsov to the same rank, and gives Chubais the additional portfolio of finance minister.

8

The Gambia: President Yahya Jammeh replaces Foreign Minister Baboucarr-Blaise Jagne with Omar Njie. The finance and economy portfolio passes from Bala Garba Jahumpa to Dominic Mendy, and Interior Minister Lamin Kaba Bajo is replaced by Momodou Bojang. Jammeh himself takes over the post of defense minister, previously held by Edward Singateh. On March 20 Jammeh appoints Isatou Njie Saidy as vice president.

9

India: Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh (1955-56) and governor of Uttar Pradesh (1967-72) Bezawada Gopala Reddy dies.
United States: Former Rhode Island governor (1950-51) John S. McKiernan dies.

11

Canada: In a provincial election in Alberta, Premier Ralph Klein's Progressive Conservatives win 51.2% of the vote (63 seats), the Liberals 32.7% (18 seats), the New Democrats 8.8% (2 seats), and Social Credit 6.8%. Turnout is 57%.

12

Ghana: Former governor-general (1957-60) William Francis Hare, Earl of Listowel dies.

14

The Bahamas: Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's Free National Movement wins 34 out of 40 seats in a parliamentary election, and Sir Lynden Pindling's Progressive Liberal Party 6. Turnout is estimated at about 90%.
India: Former Karnataka chief minister (1968-71, 1989-90) Veerendra Patil dies.

16

Australia: Former Tasmanian premier (1981-82) Harry Holgate dies.
Barbados: Former governor (1959-66) and governor-general (1966-67) Sir John Montague Stow dies.
Colombia: Defense Minister Guillermo Alberto González resigns.
El Salvador: In parliamentary elections, the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) wins 28 of 84 seats (33.3% of the vote), the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) 27 seats (32.1%), the National Conciliation Party 11, and the Christian Democrats 10. Turnout is about 40%.
Russia: Presidential elections in the republic of Tuva are won by incumbent Sherig-ool Oorzhak with over 50% of the vote.
Wallis and Futuna: In elections to the Territorial Assembly, right-wing candidates win 14 of 20 seats, against 6 won by the socialists and other leftist candidates. Turnout is 87.2%.

17

United States: Anthony Lake withdraws his candidacy for CIA director. On March 19 President Bill Clinton names George Tenet as his new choice for the post.

18


Soljic
Bosnia and Hercegovina: Vladimir Soljic takes office as president of the Muslim-Croat federation.

19

Bermuda: Premier David Saul resigns. Environment Minister Pamela Gordon is sworn in as new premier on March 27.

Majali
Jordan: King Hussein dismisses Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Kabariti and replaces him with Abdul Salam al-Majali. Majali also takes over the defense portfolio. Fayez Tarawneh becomes foreign minister.
Trinidad and Tobago: A.N.R. Robinson takes office as president.

20

Canada: John Savage resigns as premier of Nova Scotia.
Yugoslavia: Zoran Sokolovic replaces Vukasin Jokanovic as interior minister in a cabinet reshuffle.

21


Mayawati
India: In Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party is sworn in as chief minister, heading a coalition government between the BSP and the Bharatiya Janata Party. She is to be chief minister for six months, after which a BJP member is to take over the post.

23

Switzerland: Former Landammann of Aargau (1973-74, 1977-78, 1982-83) Jörg Ursprung dies.

24

Zaire: Prime Minister Kengo Wa Dondo resigns.

25

Papua New Guinea: Parliament votes 58-39 to defeat a motion calling on Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan to step down. He does resign, however, on March 26, along with Finance Minister Chris Haiveta and Defense Minister Mathias Ijape. On March 27 John Giheno is chosen as caretaker prime minister. He also takes over the defense portfolio, while Nakikus Konga becomes finance minister.
Puerto Rico: Former governor (1965-69) Roberto Sánchez Vilella dies.

27

Haiti: Prime Minister Rosny Smarth survives a censure motion (37-29 with 6 abstentions).
United States: Former New Hampshire governor (1955-59) Lane Dwinell dies.

30

Chile: Former foreign minister (1963-64) Julio Philippi Izquierdo dies.
Malaysia: Former Sarawak chief minister (1963-66, 1966) Tan Sri Stephen Kalong Ningkan dies.