Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Babiš, Andrej, 1954–, Czech political leader and business executive, b. Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now in Slovakia), grad. Univ. of Economics, Bratislava. He was a petrochemical executive for Chem...

(Encyclopedia) Mogae, Festus Gontebanye 1939–, Botswanan political leader, president of Botswana (1998–2008), b. Serowe. After studying economics at Sussex and Oxford universities, he returned to Botswana, where...

(Encyclopedia) Emanuel, Rahm Israel, 1959–, American politician, b. Chicago, grad. Sarah Lawrence College (B.A., 1981), Northwestern Univ. (M.A., 1985). A seasoned Democratic power broker and skilled dealmaker kno...

(Encyclopedia) Stein, Lorenz von lōˈrĕnts fən shtīn [key], 1815–90, German economist and sociologist. He studied jurisprudence at the Univ. of Kiel and at Paris and taught (1846–51) at the Univ. of Kiel, bu...

(Encyclopedia) Toledo, Francisco de fränthēˈskō ᵺā tōlāˈᵺō [key], 1515?–84, Spanish viceroy of Peru (1569–81). He came from one of the noblest families of Spain and had served Charles V and Philip I...

(Encyclopedia) Monti, Mario, 1943–, Italian economist and political leader. After studying at Bocconi Univ., Milan, and at Yale, he taught economics at the Univ. of Turin (1970–85) and then at Bocconi Univ., whe...

(Encyclopedia) Colombo, Emilio āmēˈlyō kōlômˈbō [key], 1920–2013, Italian political leader. He was elected a member of the constituent assembly in 1946 and a parliamentary deputy for the Christian Democrat...

(Encyclopedia) perfume, aroma produced by the essential oils of plants and by synthetic aromatics. The burning of incense that accompanied the religious rites of ancient China, Palestine, and Egypt led gradually to ...

(Encyclopedia) Le Sage, Alain René älăNˈ rənāˈ ləsäzhˈ [key], 1668–1747, French novelist and dramatist. His masterpiece, Gil Blas de Santillane (1715–35, tr. by Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Gil B...

(Encyclopedia) Cowen, Brian, 1960– Irish political leader, prime minister of the Repubic of Ireland (2008–11). A lawyer from a family long involved in Fianna Fáil politics, he was first elected to the Irish par...