Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Kim Il Sung kĭm jông ĭl [key], 1941?–2011, was groomed as his successor. Active in the Korean Workers' party leadership from 1964, Kim Jong Il became secretary of its central committee in 1973. I...

(Encyclopedia) Himmler, Heinrich hīnˈrĭkh hĭmˈlər [key], 1900–1945, German Nazi leader. An early member of the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) party, Himmler took part in Adolf Hitler's “beer-hal...

(Encyclopedia) Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich lāyōnēdˈ ĭlyēchˈ brĕzhˈnĕf [key], 1906–82, Soviet leader. He joined (1931) the Communist party and rose steadily in its hierarchy. In 1952 he became a secretary of ...

(Encyclopedia) Gandhi, Sonia gänˈdē [key], 1946–, Indian politician, b. Turin, Italy, as Sonia Maino. She met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965 when they were students in Cambridge, England. They were married in 1968 and se...

(Encyclopedia) Lacalle Pou, Luis Alberto Alejandro Aparicio, 1973–, Uruguayan politican, president of Uruguay (2020–). A lawyer and a member of the conservative National (Blanco) party, he served in the chamber ...

(Encyclopedia) Persad-Bissessar, Kamla, 1952—, Trinidadian political leader. A lawyer of South Asian descent and a member of the United National Congress (UNC), she was appointed to Trinidad and Tobago's senate in...

(Encyclopedia) Christofias, Demetris dĕmēˈtrēs krĭstôfˈēäs [key], 1946–2019, Cypriot political leader, president of Cyprus (2008–13). A member of the AKEL (Communist) party, he served as chairman of its...

(Encyclopedia) Fetterman, William Judd, 1833?–1866, American army officer. In 1861 he enlisted in the Union army from Delaware; he served throughout the Civil War and was twice brevetted for gallant conduct. After...

(Encyclopedia) Woodsworth, James Shaver, 1874–1942, Canadian politician. Having done social welfare work while serving as a Methodist minister, he later gave up the ministry to devote himself wholly to labor and w...

(Encyclopedia) Youlou, Fulbert yo͞oˈlo͞o [key], 1917–72, first president (1960–63) of Congo (Brazzaville). Originally a Roman Catholic priest, he entered politics, founded the country's strongest political pa...