prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: When did the majority party in the House of Representatives gain control of the body which approves members of the Cabinet?

The following are given passages.
Context 1: Passage 1:
2014 United States Senate elections
The 2014 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, 2014  A total of 36 seats in the 100-member U S  Senate were contested  Thirty-three Class 2 seats were contested for regular six-year terms to be served from January 3, 2015, to January 3, 2021, and three Class 3 seats were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies  The elections marked 100 years of direct elections of U S  senators  Going into the elections, 21 of the contested seats were held by the Democratic Party, while 15 were held by the Republican Party 
The Republicans regained the majority of the Senate in the 114th Congress, which started in January 2015; the Republicans had not controlled the Senate since January 2007  They needed a net gain of at least six seats to obtain a majority and were projected by polls to do so  On election night, they held all of their seats and gained nine Democratic-held seats  Republicans defeated five Democratic incumbents: Mark Begich of Alaska lost to Dan Sullivan, Mark Pryor of Arkansas lost to Tom Cotton, Mark Udall of Colorado lost to Cory Gardner, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana lost to Bill Cassidy, and Kay Hagan of North Carolina lost to Thom Tillis  Republicans also picked up another four open seats in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia  Democrats did not pick up any Republican-held seats, but they did hold an open seat in Michigan 
This was the second consecutive election held in a president's sixth year where control of the Senate changed hands, the first being in 2006  This was also the first time that the Democrats lost control of the Senate in a sixth-year midterm since 1918  With a total net gain of nine seats, the Republicans made the largest Senate gain by any party since 1980  This is also the first election since 1980 in which more than two incumbent Democratic Senators were defeated by their Republican challengers  Days after the election, the United States Election Project estimated that 36 4% of eligible voters voted, 4% lower than the 2010 elections, and possibly the lowest turnout rate since the 1942 election As of 2022, this remains the last time that a Republican has won a U S  Senate election in Colorado  This is the most recent Senate elections where any Republican flipped an open Democratic-held seat  This is also the most recent election where the party winning control of the Senate won the popular vote  It also remains the last time that the president's party has suffered a net loss of Senate seats in a midterm 

Partisan composition
For a majority, Republicans needed at least 51 seats  Democrats could have retained a majority with 48 seats (assuming the two Independents continued to caucus with them) because the Democratic Vice President Joe Biden would become the tie-breaker  From 1915 to 2013, control of the U S  Senate flipped in 10 of 50 cycles, or 20% of the time  Republicans had lost ground in the 2012 elections, leading to an internal fight among the Republican leadership over the best strategies and tactics for the 2014 Senate races  By December 2013, eight of the twelve incumbent Republicans running for re-election saw Tea Party challenges  However, Republican incumbents won every primary challenge  Although Democrats saw some opportunities for pickups, the combination of Democratic retirements and numerous Democratic seats up for election in swing states and red states gave Republicans hopes of taking control of the Senate  7 of the 21 states with Democratic seats up for election in 2014 had voted for Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election compared to just 1 state with a Republican senator that voted for Barack Obama  Democrats also faced the lower voter turnout that accompanies mid-term elections Poll aggregation website FiveThirtyEight gave the Republican Party a 60% chance of taking control of the Senate as of September 28  Another poll aggregation website, RealClearPolitics, gave the Republican Party a net gain of 7 seats  Due to the closeness of several races, it was initially believed that Senate control might not be decided on election night  Both Louisiana and Georgia were seen as competitive, and both states require a run-off election if no candidate takes a majority of the vote 
Two independent candidates (in Kansas and South Dakota) refused to commit to caucusing with either party  In the final months of the race, polls showed them with viable chances of winning, leading some analysts to speculate on the possibility of an "Independent caucus" that could also include Maine Senator Angus King and possibly Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders  However, no Independent won a Senate race in 2014, and King and Sanders continue to caucus with the Democratic Party following the 2014 election 
By midnight ET, most major networks projected that the Republicans would take control of the Senate  The party held all three competitive Republican-held seats (Kentucky, Kansas, and Georgia), and defeated incumbent Democrats in North Carolina, Colorado, and Arkansas  Combined with the pick-ups of open seats in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia, the Republicans made a net gain of 7 seats before the end of the night  Republicans defeated three incumbent Democrats, a task the party had not accomplished since the 1980 election  Five of the seven confirmed pickups were in states that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, but two of the seats that Republicans won represent states that voted for Barack Obama in 2012 (Colorado and Iowa)  Of the three races that were not called by the end of election night, Alaska and Virginia were still too close to call, while Louisiana held a December 6 run-off election  Virginia declared Democrat Mark Warner the winner of his race by a narrow margin over Republican Ed Gillespie on November 7, and Alaska declared Dan Sullivan the winner against Democratic incumbent Mark Begich a week later, on November 12  Republican Bill Cassidy defeated Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu in the Louisiana runoff on December 6 

Election spending
Altogether, at least $3 67 billion was spent by candidates, parties, committees and outside groups in the 2014 election  Spending on the 2014 Senate elections by outside groups (i e , organizations other than a candidate's campaign, such as super PACs and "dark money" nonprofit groups) more than doubled from 2010  In the 10 competitive races for which data was available, outside groups accounted for 47% of spending, candidates accounted for 41% of spending, and parties accounted for 12% of spending  The Senate race with the most outside spending was in North Carolina, at $80 million, a new record The top outside spenders in the 11 most competitive Senate races were the following:

On the Republican side, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Crossroads GPS, U S  Chamber of Commerce, Ending Spending Action Fund, Freedom Partners Action Fund, American Crossroads, and the NRA Political Victory Fund 
On the Democratic side, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and NextGen Climate Action Committee 

Results summary
The Republican Party made a net gain of nine U S  Senate seats in the 2014 elections Going into the elections, there were 53 Democratic, 45 Republican and 2 independent senators (both of whom caucus with the Democrats)  In all, there were 36 elections: 33 senators were up for election this year as class 2 senators, and 3 faced special elections (all from Class 3)  Of all these seats, 21 were held by Democrats and 15 were held by Republicans 

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row 

Source: Clerk of the U S  House of Representatives

Change in composition
Before the elections
After the elections
Gains and losses
Retirements
Four Democrats and two Republicans retired instead of seeking re-election 

Resignations
One Republican resigned four years into his six-year term 

Nomination withdrawn
One Democrat was originally to seek election for a full 6-year term in office but withdrew 

Defeats
Five Democrats sought re-election but lost in the general election 

Race summaries
Special elections during the preceding Congress
In these special elections, the winners were elected during 2014 and seated before January 3, 2015 — except that one was seated on January 3, 2015, the effective date of the predecessor's resignation 

Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2015; ordered by state 
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats 

Closest races
In seven races the margin of victory was under 10% 

Final pre-election predictions
Predicted probability of Republican takeover
Several websites used poll aggregation and psephology to estimate the probability that the Republican Party would gain enough seats to take control of the Senate 

Predictions
Republicans needed to win at least six in order to gain a majority of 51 seats and Democrats needed to win at least seven in order to hold a majority of 50 seats (including the two independents who currently caucus with the Democrats) and the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Joe Biden 

Alabama
Three-term incumbent Republican Jeff Sessions had been re-elected with 63% of the vote in 2008  Sessions sought re-election  Democrat Victor Sanchez Williams ran against Sessions as a write-in candidate  Sessions won with 97 3 percent of the vote against assorted write-in candidates 

Alaska
One-term incumbent Democrat Mark Begich had been first elected with 48% of the vote in 2008, defeating six-term Senator Ted Stevens by 3,953 votes (a margin of 1 25%)  Begich was 52 years old in 2014 and was seeking re-election to a second term  Stevens, who would have been almost 91 years old at the time of the election, had already filed for a rematch back in 2009, but was killed in a plane crash the following year 
Republican Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell, 2010 nominee Joe Miller, State Natural Resources Commissioner Daniel S  Sullivan, and Air Force veteran John Jaramillo ran for the GOP nomination  In the August 19 primary, Sullivan won the Republican nomination with 40% and defeated Begich in the general election 

Arkansas
Two-term incumbent Democrat Mark Pryor had been re-elected with 80% of the vote without Republican opposition in 2008  Pryor was running for a third term Freshman Representative Tom Cotton of Arkansas's 4th congressional district was the Republican nominee  In the general election, Cotton defeated Pryor 

Colorado
One-term incumbent Democrat Mark Udall had been elected with 53% of the vote in 2008  Udall was running for re-election Congressman Cory Gardner of Colorado's 4th congressional district was the Republican nominee; his late entry into the race caused numerous Republicans to withdraw their candidacies  Gaylon Kent was the Libertarian Party nominee  Unity Party of America founder and National Chairman Bill Hammons was the Unity Party nominee 

Delaware
Democrat Chris Coons won in the 2010 United States Senate special election in Delaware caused by Joe Biden's election as Vice President, winning by a 57% to 41% margin  Coons sought re-election  His Republican opponent was engineer Kevin Wade, whom Coons went on to defeat in the general election 

Georgia
Two-term incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss had been re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2008 in a runoff election with former state Representative Jim Martin; Georgia requires run-off elections when no Senate candidate wins over 50% of the vote  Chambliss did not seek a third term Political activist Derrick Grayson, Representatives Jack Kingston of Georgia's 1st congressional district, Paul Broun of Georgia's 10th congressional district, and Phil Gingrey of Georgia's 11th congressional district all declared their candidacy for the Republican nomination, as did former Secretary of State Karen Handel  In the May 20 primary, no candidate received a majority of votes, so the top two candidates faced each other in a runoff; Perdue narrowly won against Kingston in the runoff primary election on July 22 with 50 9% of the vote Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light and the daughter of former U S  Senator Sam Nunn, won the Democratic nomination  Other declared Democratic candidates included former State Senator Steen Miles, psychiatrist Branko Radulovacki, and former US Army Ranger Todd Robinson  Amanda Swafford, a former Flowery Branch, Georgia, city councilwoman, received the Libertarian Party of Georgia nomination 

Hawaii (special)
Daniel Inouye, the second longest serving United States Senator in U S  history, died on December 17, 2012, after respiratory complications  Hawaii law allows the Governor of Hawaii, to appoint an interim Senator "who serves until the next regularly-scheduled general election, chosen from a list of three prospective appointees that the prior incumbent's political party submits"  Governor Neil Abercrombie did so, selecting Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz to fill the Senate seat  Inouye had been re-elected in 2010 with 72% of the vote  Schatz was challenged in the Democratic primary by Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa of Hawaii's 1st congressional district, who Inouye had hoped would be his successor  Schatz defeated Hanabusa in the primary with 48 5% to 47 8% Campbell Cavasso, former State Representative and nominee for the U S  Senate in 2004 and 2010, was the Republican nominee 

Idaho
One-term incumbent Republican Jim Risch had been elected with 58% of the vote in 2008  Risch sought a second term Boise attorney Nels Mitchell was the Democratic nominee 

Illinois
Three-term incumbent and Senate Majority Whip Democrat Dick Durbin had been re-elected with 68% of the vote in 2008  Durbin ran for a fourth term State Senator Jim Oberweis was the Republican nominee  He defeated primary challenger Doug Truax with 56% of the vote 

Iowa
Five-term incumbent Democrat Tom Harkin had been re-elected with 63% of the vote in 2008  Harkin announced on January 26, 2013, that he would not seek a sixth term  Congressman Bruce Braley was the Democratic nominee State Senator Joni Ernst was the Republican nominee Doug Butzier, who was the Libertarian Party's nominee, died in a plane crash on October 13, 2014, but still appeared on the ballot 

Kansas
Three-term incumbent Republican Pat Roberts had been re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2008  Roberts sought a fourth term  He faced a primary challenge from radiologist Milton Wolf, a conservative Tea Party supporter  Roberts defeated Wolf in the Republican primary by 48% to 41%  Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor won the Democratic nomination  Randall Batson from Wichita was on the general election ballot as a Libertarian  Also, Greg Orman qualified for the ballot as an independent On September 3, Taylor announced he was dropping out of the election, leading to speculation that Democrats would support Orman's candidacy  On September 18, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that Taylor's name had to be removed from the ballot 

Kentucky
Five-term Republican incumbent and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had been re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2008  McConnell sought re-election to a sixth term  McConnell defeated businessman Matt Bevin in the Republican primary on May 20 Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, with support from much of Kentucky's Democratic leadership, won the Democratic primary  Actress Ashley Judd publicly claimed to be considering a run for the Democratic nomination, but ultimately decided against it Ed Marksberry pursued an independent bid after dropping out of the Democratic field in September 2013 

Louisiana
Three-term incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu had been re-elected with 52% of the vote in 2008  Landrieu ran for a fourth term Louisiana uses a unique jungle primary system that eschews primaries in favor of run-off elections between the top two candidates; this run-off can be avoided if the winning candidate receives over 50% of the vote  Democrats Wayne Ables, Vallian Senegal, and William Waymire ran against Landrieu in the election, as did Republicans Bill Cassidy (representative of Louisiana's 6th congressional district), Thomas Clements (small business owner), and retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness  Electrical Engineer Brannon McMorris ran as a Libertarian Because Republican candidate Maness took almost 14% of the votes in the primary, there was a runoff election on December 6, 2014, between Landrieu (42%) and Cassidy (41%)  Cassidy won the runoff with 56% of the vote 

Maine
Three-term incumbent Republican Susan Collins was seeking a fourth term  Shenna Bellows, former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, was the Democratic nominee 

Massachusetts
Five-term incumbent and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry had been re-elected with 66% of the vote in 2008  Kerry resigned in early 2013 to become U S  Secretary of State  Governor Deval Patrick appointed Democrat Mo Cowan to the seat  Democratic Congressman Ed Markey beat Republican Gabriel E  Gomez in the June 25, 2013 special election by a 55% to 45% margin  Markey had served the remainder of Kerry's term before running for re-election to a first full term in 2014  Hopkinton Town Selectman Brian Herr was the Republican nominee 

Michigan
Six-term incumbent Senator and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Democrat Carl Levin, the longest-serving senator in Michigan's history, had been re-elected with 63% of the vote in 2008  Levin announced on March 7, 2013, that he would not seek re-election 
Three term Democratic Representative Gary Peters of MI-14 was the Democratic nominee  He defeated Republican former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land who was unopposed for the Republican nomination 

Minnesota
One-term incumbent Democrat Al Franken unseated one-term Republican Norm Coleman by 312 votes in a contested three-way race with 42% of the vote in 2008; the third candidate in the race, former Senator Dean Barkley of the Independence Party of Minnesota, won 15% of the vote  Franken sought re-election  State Representative Jim Abeler, St  Louis County Commissioner Chris Dahlberg, co-CEO of Lazard Middle Market Mike McFadden, bison farmer and former hair salon owner Monti Moreno, state Senator Julianne Ortman, and U S  Navy reservist Phillip Parrish ran for the Republican nomination  McFadden won the Republican primary and was the Republican nominee in the general election Hannah Nicollet of the Independence Party of Minnesota also ran 

Mississippi
Six-term incumbent Republican Thad Cochran, re-elected with 62% of the vote in 2008, ran for re-election  Cochran was the last incumbent Senator to declare his plans, leading to widespread speculation that he might announce his retirement Tea Party candidate Chris McDaniel, a conservative Mississippi state senator, ran against Cochran in the Republican primary  Neither McDaniel nor Cochran was able to get 50% of the vote in the first round of the primary, so a runoff election was held June 24  Cochran won the runoff election by 51% to 49%, with the help of Democratic voters eligible to vote in the state's open primaries who chose Cochran as their preferred Republican  McDaniel filed a lawsuit to challenge the results of the run-off, but the challenge was rejected on appeal by the Supreme Court of Mississippi Former Congressman Travis Childers was the Democratic nominee 

Montana
Six-term incumbent Democrat Max Baucus, the longest-serving senator in Montana's history, had been re-elected with 73% of the vote in 2008  Baucus announced on April 23, 2013, that he would retire in 2014, rather than seek re-election to a seventh term  Baucus was appointed as the United States Ambassador to China, leading him to resign from the Senate in February 2014 Following Baucus's confirmation as ambassador, Governor Steve Bullock appointed the Lieutenant Governor John Walsh to fill the vacant senate seat  Former Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger was defeated by Walsh in the Democratic primary  Amid controversy over alleged plagiarism in a 2007 research paper, Walsh pulled out of the race  The Montana Democratic Party held a special nominating convention on August 16 to choose a replacement for Walsh  First-term State Representative Amanda Curtis won the nomination, thereby becoming the new Democratic nominee Congressman Steve Daines won the Republican nomination over state Representative Champ Edmunds of Missoula and David Leaser of Kalispell 

Nebraska
One-term incumbent Republican Mike Johanns had been elected with 58% of the vote in 2008  He did not seek a second term  Term limited Republican Governor Dave Heineman considered running for the Republican nomination, but ultimately decided not to do so  Former state Treasurer Shane Osborn, attorney Bart McLeay, banker Sid Dinsdale, and Midland University President Ben Sasse ran for the Republican nomination  In the May 13 primary, Sasse won the Republican nomination 
Trial lawyer David Domina was the Democratic nominee 

New Hampshire
One-term incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen had been elected with 52% of the vote in 2008  Shaheen ran for re-election  Shaheen defeated Republican nominee Scott Brown, who had represented neighboring Massachusetts in the Senate from 2010 to 2013 

New Jersey
Incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg had been re-elected with 56% of the vote in 2008  After announcing he would not seek re-election, Lautenberg died in June 2013, aged 89, after a long period of ill health Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, defeated Republican nominee Steve Lonegan by 55%-to-45% in a 2013 special election to replace interim Republican appointee Jeffrey Chiesa  Booker ran for re-election to a full term in 2014  1978 and 1982 Republican candidate and political operative Jeff Bell was the Republican nominee 

New Mexico
One-term incumbent Democrat Tom Udall had been elected with 61% of the vote in 2008  Former Doña Ana County Republican Party Chairman David Clements and former New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh sought the Republican nomination  Weh won the June 3 primary but lost to Udall in the general election 

North Carolina
One-term incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan had been elected with 53% of the vote against incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole in 2008  Hagan was seeking re-election State House Speaker Thom Tillis was the Republican nominee  Sean Haugh won the Libertarian nomination 

Oklahoma
There were 2 elections in Oklahoma, due to the resignation of Tom Coburn 

Oklahoma (regular)
Three-term incumbent Republican Jim Inhofe had been re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2008  Inhofe sought re-election  Matt Silverstein, an insurance agency owner, ran for the Democratic nomination 

Oklahoma (special)
Two-term incumbent Republican Tom Coburn had been re-elected with 71% of the vote in 2010, and was not scheduled to be up for election again until 2016  However, Coburn announced his intention to resign at the end of the 113th Congress  A special election to fill his seat took place in November 2014, concurrent with the other Senate elections  Congressman James Lankford was the Republican nominee  State Senator Connie Johnson was the Democratic nominee 

Oregon
One-term incumbent Democrat Jeff Merkley was narrowly elected with 49% of the vote in 2008  Merkley was running for a second term  State representative Jason Conger, attorney Tim Crawley, IT consultant Mark Callahan, neurosurgeon Dr  Monica Wehby, and former Linn County Republican Chair Jo Rae Perkins all ran for the Republican nomination, with Wehby ultimately winning the nomination in the May 20 primary 

Rhode Island
Three-term incumbent Democrat Jack Reed had been re-elected with 73% of the vote in 2008  Reed defeated Republican nominee Mark Zaccaria in the 2014 election 

South Carolina
There were 2 elections in South Carolina, due to the resignation of Jim DeMint 

South Carolina (regular)
Two-term Republican Lindsey Graham had been re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2008  Graham won the Republican nomination over a field that included state senator Lee Bright  State Senator Brad Hutto won the Democratic nomination 

South Carolina (special)
Jim DeMint had been elected to a second term in 2010, but resigned from the Senate in January 2013 to become president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank  Governor Nikki Haley appointed Congressman Tim Scott as DeMint's replacement  Scott, an African-American, was the Republican nominee to serve out the remainder of DeMint's term  Scott is the first African-American Republican since shortly after Reconstruction to represent a Southern state  Richland County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson won the Democratic nomination 

South Dakota
Three-term incumbent Democrat Tim Johnson had been re-elected with 63% of the vote in 2008  Johnson announced on March 26, 2013, that he would not run for re-election  Former Congressional aide Rick Weiland was the Democratic nominee Among Republicans, former two-term Governor Mike Rounds announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination on November 29, 2012  Rounds won the Republican nomination over state senator Larry Rhoden, state representative Stace Nelson, and physician Annette Bosworth Former Republican U S  Senator Larry Pressler and Republican State Senator Gordon Howie ran as independents  Pressler did not commit to caucusing with either party, while Howie said he would caucus with the Senate Republicans 

Tennessee
Two-term incumbent Republican Lamar Alexander had been re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2008  Alexander sought re-election to a third term  On August 7, 2014, Alexander won the Republican nomination over six challengers, including State Representative Joe Carr On November 4, 2014, Alexander faced Democratic nominee Gordon Ball, Libertarian Party nominee Joshua James, Constitution Party nominee Joe Wilmothm, and independent Danny Page also ran in the general election 

Texas
Two-term incumbent Republican John Cornyn, the Senate Minority Whip, had been re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2008  Cornyn sought re-election, and won the 2014 Republican primary with 59% of the vote  David Alameel, a dentist, and Kesha Rogers, a volunteer for The Lyndon LaRouche Policy Institute, faced each other in a run-off election for the Democratic nomination  Alameel won the run-off and was the Democratic nominee 

Virginia
One-term incumbent Democrat Mark Warner had been elected with 65% of the vote in 2008; he sought re-election  Ed Gillespie, former RNC Chairman and presidential adviser, ran for the Republican nomination  Robert Sarvis, the Libertarian nominee for Governor in 2013, also ran 

West Virginia
Five-term incumbent Democrat Jay Rockefeller had been re-elected with 64% of the vote in 2008  He announced on January 11, 2013, that he would not seek re-election to a sixth term  Secretary of State Natalie Tennant won the Democratic nomination On November 26, 2012, Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito announced her plans to run for the seat, in hopes of becoming the first Republican Senator elected from West Virginia since 1956  Moore Capito won the Republican nomination and the general election, the first woman to serve as United States Senator from West Virginia 

Wyoming
Three-term incumbent Republican Mike Enzi had been re-elected with 76% of the vote in 2008  Enzi sought re-election  Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, briefly entered the race for the Republican nomination, but dropped her bid in January 2014  On August 19, Enzi won the Republican primary election with 82% of the vote, and Democrat Charlie Hardy, a former Catholic priest, won his party's primary election with 48% of the vote 

See also
2014 United States elections
2014 United States gubernatorial elections
2014 United States House of Representatives elections
113th United States Congress
114th United States Congress

Notes
Passage 2:
114th United States Congress
The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives  It met in Washington, D C , from January 3, 2015, to January 3, 2017, during the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency  The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census The 2014 elections gave the Republicans control of the Senate and the House for the first time since the 109th Congress  With 248 seats in the House of Representatives and 54 seats in the Senate, this Congress began with the largest Republican majority since the 71st Congress of 1929–1931 

Major events
January 6, 2015: Incumbent Speaker of the House John Boehner was re-elected even though several members of his own party once again chose not to vote for him  He received 216 votes, a majority of the votes cast, but two votes shy of a majority of the full membership 
January 20, 2015: 2015 State of the Union Address
March 3, 2015: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress regarding sanctions against Iran  Netanyahu was invited by Speaker John Boehner without consulting President Obama 
March 9, 2015: U S  Senator Tom Cotton wrote and sent a letter to the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed by 47 of the Senate's 54 Republicans, attempting to cast doubt on the Obama administration's authority to engage in nuclear-proliferation negotiations with Iran 
March 25, 2015: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani addressed a joint session of Congress 
April 29, 2015: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe addressed a joint session of Congress, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so 
September 24, 2015: Pope Francis addressed a joint session of Congress, becoming the first Pope to do so 
September 25, 2015: House Speaker John Boehner announced that he would resign as Speaker and from the House at the end of October 2015  Subsequently, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the presumptive favorite to succeed John Boehner, unexpectedly withdrew his candidacy for the job 
October 29, 2015: Paul Ryan was elected to succeed John Boehner as Speaker of the House receiving 236 votes (of 432 votes cast)  He is the youngest Speaker since James G  Blaine in 1869 
January 12, 2016: 2016 State of the Union Address
June 8, 2016: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint session of Congress 
June 22–23, 2016: In the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Congress debated gun control reform  The U S  House recessed for the July 4 holiday during a sit-in protest held by Democrats that halted business in the chamber for more than 24 hours 
November 8, 2016: Donald Trump and Mike Pence elected as president and vice-president in presidential elections, while the Republicans retain majority at both Senate and House of Representatives 

Major legislation
Enacted
January 12, 2015: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–1 (text) (PDF)
February 27, 2015: Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act, Pub L  114-3
March 4, 2015: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015, Pub L  114-4
April 16, 2015: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–10 (text) (PDF)
May 22, 2015: Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–17 (text) (PDF)
June 2, 2015: USA FREEDOM Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–23 (text) (PDF)
June 29, 2015: Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–27 (text) (PDF)
July 6, 2015: Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act, Pub  L  114–29 (text) (PDF)
September 25, 2015: Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2015, Pub L  114-50
September 30, 2015: National Winstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2015, Pub L  114-52
November 2, 2015: Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–74 (text) (PDF)
November 5, 2015: Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–86 (text) (PDF)
November 25, 2015: SPACE Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–90 (text) (PDF)
November 25, 2015: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, Pub L  114-92
December 4, 2015: Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Pub  L  114–94 (text) (PDF)
December 10, 2015: Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub  L  114–95 (text) (PDF)
December 18, 2015: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, Pub  L  114–113 (text) (PDF)
January 28, 2016: Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act, Pub L  114-117
February 8, 2016: International Megan's Law to Prevent Sexual Exploitation and Other Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, Pub L  114-119
February 8, 2016: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–120 (text) (PDF)
February 24, 2016: Internet Tax Freedom Act contained in Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, Pub  L  114–125 (text) (PDF)
May 9, 2016: Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, Pub L  114-151
June 28, 2016: Frank R  Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub  L  114-182
June 30, 2016: Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), Pub L  114-187
July 20, 2016: Global Food Security Act of 2016, Pub  L  114–195 (text) (PDF)
July 29, 2016: Making Electronic Government Accountable By Yielding Tangible Efficiences (MEGABYTE) Act of 2016, Pub L  114-210
September 28, 2016: Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, Pub  L  114–222 (text) (PDF)
September 29, 2016: Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act, Pub L  114-223
October 7, 2016: Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, Pub  L  114–236 (text) (PDF)
December 10, 2016: Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017, Pub L  114-254
December 13, 2016: 21st Century Cures Act, Pub  L  114–255 (text) (PDF)
December 14, 2016: First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act, Pub L  114-268
December 14, 2016: Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, Pub L  114-274
December 16, 2016: Frank R  Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, Pub  L  114-281
December 16, 2016: United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016, Pub L  114-304
December 16, 2016: Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2016, Pub L  114-308
December 16, 2016: Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Pub L  114-319
December 23, 2016: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub L  114-328
January 6, 2017: American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, Pub L  114-329

Proposed
Vetoed
February 24, 2015: Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act (S  1)
March 31, 2015: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to representation case procedures  (S J Res  8)
October 22, 2015: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (H R  1735)
December 19, 2015: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units" (S J Res  23)
December 19, 2015: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units" (S J Res  24)
January 8, 2016: The Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 (H R  3762)
January 19, 2016: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the definition of "waters of the United States" under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (S J Res  22)
June 8, 2016: A joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to the definition of the term "Fiduciary" (H J Res  88)
July 22, 2016: Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2016 (H R  1777)
September 23, 2016: Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (S  2040) (Passed over Veto)

Party summary
Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section, below 

Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Section contents: Senate: Majority (R), Minority (D) • House: Majority (R),  Minority (D)

Senate
President: Joe Biden (D)
President pro tempore: Orrin Hatch (R)

Majority (Republican) leadership
Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell
Assistant Majority Leader (Majority Whip): John Cornyn
Chief Deputy Whip: Mike Crapo
Deputy Whips:[data unknown/missing]
Republican Conference Chairman: John Thune
Republican Conference Vice Chairman: Roy Blunt
Senatorial Committee Chairman: Roger Wicker
Policy Committee Chairman: John Barrasso

Minority (Democratic) leadership
Minority Leader: Harry Reid
Assistant Minority Leader (Minority Whip): Dick Durbin
Chief Deputy Whip: Barbara Boxer
Deputy Whips:[data unknown/missing]
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Harry Reid
Democratic Caucus Vice Chair and Policy Committee Chairman: Chuck Schumer
Democratic Caucus Secretary: Patty Murray
Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman: Jon Tester
Policy Committee Vice Chairwoman: Debbie Stabenow
Policy Committee Strategic Policy Adviser: Elizabeth Warren
Policy Committee Policy Development Adviser: Mark Warner
Steering and Outreach Committee Chairwoman: Amy Klobuchar
Steering and Outreach Committee Vice Chairwoman: Jeanne Shaheen

House of Representatives
Speaker: John Boehner (R), until October 29, 2015
Paul Ryan (R), from October 29, 2015

Majority (Republican) leadership
Majority Leader: Kevin McCarthy
Majority Whip: Steve Scalise
Majority Chief Deputy Whip: Patrick McHenry
Senior Deputy Whips: Kristi Noem, Dennis Ross, Aaron Schock (until March 31, 2015), Steve Stivers, Ann Wagner
Republican Conference Chairwoman: Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Republican Conference Vice-Chairwoman: Lynn Jenkins
Republican Conference Secretary: Virginia Foxx
Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Greg Walden
Policy Committee Chairman: Luke Messer
Republican Campaign Committee Deputy Chairman: Lynn Westmoreland

Minority (Democratic) leadership
Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi
Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer
Assistant Democratic Leader: Jim Clyburn
Senior Chief Deputy Minority Whip: John Lewis
Chief Deputy Minority Whips: G  K  Butterfield, Diana DeGette, Keith Ellison, Jan Schakowsky, Kyrsten Sinema, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Peter Welch
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Xavier Becerra
Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman: Joe Crowley
Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Ben Ray Luján
Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chairs: Rosa DeLauro (Steering) and Donna Edwards (Policy)
Organization, Study, and Review Chairwoman: Karen Bass
Policy and Communications Chairman: Steve Israel

Members
Senate
Senators are listed by state and then by Senate classes, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 2016; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 2018; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 2020 

House of Representatives
Changes in membership
Senate
There were no changes in Senate membership during this Congress 

House of Representatives
Committees
[Section contents: Senate, House, Joint ]

Senate
House of Representatives
Joint committees
Caucuses
Employees
Senate
Source: "Senate Organization Chart for the 114th Congress"  Senate gov  US Senate  Archived from the original on March 28, 2015  Retrieved January 26, 2015 

Chaplain: Barry C  Black (Seventh-day Adventist)
Curator: Melinda Smith
Librarian: Leona I  Faust
Historian: Donald A  Ritchie, until June 1, 2015
Betty Koed, starting June 1, 2015
Parliamentarian: Elizabeth MacDonough
Secretary: Julie E  Adams
Sergeant at Arms: Frank J  Larkin
Secretary for the Majority: Laura Dove
Secretary for the Minority: Gary B  Myrick

House of Representatives
Source: "Officers and Organizations of the House"  House gov  US House  Archived from the original on July 6, 2017  Retrieved January 26, 2015 

Chaplain: Patrick J  Conroy (Roman Catholic)
Chief Administrative Officer: Ed Cassidy, until December 31, 2015
Will Plaster, January 1, 2016 – August 1, 2016
Phil Kiko, from August 1, 2016
Clerk: Karen L  Haas
Historian: Matthew Wasniewski
Inspector General: Theresa M  Grafenstine
Parliamentarian: Thomas J  Wickham Jr 
Reading Clerks: Susan Cole and Joseph Novotny
Sergeant at Arms: Paul D  Irving

Legislative branch agency directors
Architect of the Capitol: Stephen T  Ayers
Attending Physician of the United States Congress: Brian P  Monahan
Comptroller General of the United States: Eugene Louis Dodaro
Director of the Congressional Budget Office: Douglas Elmendorf, until March 31, 2015
Keith Hall, from April 1, 2015
Librarian of Congress: James H  Billington, until September 30, 2015
David S  Mao (acting), October 1, 2015 – September 14, 2016
Carla Diane Hayden, from September 14, 2016
Public Printer of the United States: Davita Vance-Cooks

See also
Elections
2014 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
2014 United States Senate elections
2014 United States House of Representatives elections
2016 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
2016 United States presidential election
2016 United States Senate elections
2016 United States House of Representatives elections

Membership lists
List of new members of the 114th United States Congress

Notes
Passage 3:
Svatopluk II
Svatopluk II or Svätopluk II (Latin: Zentobolchus) was a member of the House of Mojmír and Prince in Moravia (maybe of Nitra) from 894 to 899, as which he strove to control all of Great Moravia  He was the son of Svatopluk I son of Morot 

Biography
Svatopluk II was a younger son of Svatopluk I and grandson (according to Simon of Kéza) of Morot  As Prince of Nitra, Svatopluk II was subordinated to Mojmír II, the King of Great Moravia which contained the principality as its province  Svatopluk II rebelled against Mojmír II in 898 in an attempt to take over control of Great Moravia  Their conflict climaxed when Bavarian troops intervened in the winter of 898/899  Mojmír II defeated the Bavarians and captured Svatopluk II, but the Bavarians managed to rescue him and brought him to East Francia  Svatopluk II returned to the Principality of Nitra in 901  He probably died in 906 in fights with the Hungarians, who began to invade the Carpathian Basin in 896  Historical records contain no mention of Mojmír II, Svatopluk II, or their possible successors in connection with the three battles of Bratislava where the invading tribes defeated the Bavarian army 


== Notes ==
Passage 4:
Rita Mayfield
Rita Mayfield is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 60th district since July 2010 

Early life and career
She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia College in Computer Information Systems and a Master of Science from Benedictine University in Management and Organization Behavior with an Emphasis in Organization Development 

Illinois House of Representatives
On June 4, 2010, State Representative Eddie Washington died of a heart attack  On July 6, 2010, Mayfield was appointed by local Democratic leaders to succeed Washington to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives from the 60th district  The 60th district, at the time, included all or parts of Waukegan and North Chicago  During the 2011 decennial redistricting process, portions of Gurnee, Beach Park, and Park City were added to the 60th district As of July 3, 2022, Representative Mayfield is a member of the following Illinois House committees:
Appropriations - Elementary & Secondary Education Committee (HAPE)
Appropriations - Human Services Committee (HAPH)
(Chairwoman of) Appropriations - Public Safety Committee (HAPP)
Consumer Protection Committee (HCON)
Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee (HELM)
Energy & Environment Committee (HENG)
Firefighters and First Responders Subcommittee (SHPF-FIRE)
Insurance Committee (HINS)
Law Enforcement Subcommittee (SHPF-LAWE)
Police & Fire Committee (SHPF)
(Chairwoman of) Product Safety Subcommittee (HCON-PROD)
Small Business, Tech Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Committee (SBTE)
(Co-chairwoman of) Special Issues (INS) Subcommittee (HINS-SPIS)

Electoral history
Passage 5:
Careen M  Gordon
Careen M  Gordon is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who served as a representative from the 75th district from her appointment in December 2003 until leaving office in January 2011 

Early life
Gordon was born and raised in Morris, Illinois and graduated from Morris Community High School  She attended Purdue University and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University of Illinois in political science and English  After receiving her law degree from John Marshall Law School she worked as an Assistant State's Attorney in Grundy County, Kankakee County and Will County  In 2001, she became an Assistant Attorney General in the Illinois Department of Justice's Criminal Division, where she worked until she was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Mary O'Brien's resignation 

Illinois House of Representatives
Gordon was appointed to represent the 75th district, which at that time stretched from Iroquois County in the southeast to LaSalle County in the northwest and included Bourbonnais, Braceville, Braidwood, Channahon, Chebanse, Coal City, Essex, Herscher, Coal City, Minooka, Morris, Seneca and Wilmington  She began her tenure as a member of the House Agriculture and Conservation, Appropriations—Elementary and Secondary Education, Commerce and Business Development, and Judiciary II—Criminal Law Committees She was voted out of office on November 2, 2010, when voters of the 75th district elected Republican Sue Rezin  (However, before she could take Gordon's seat in the House, Rezin was appointed to the State Senate; Gordon was ultimately succeeded by Pam Roth, appointed to take Rezin's place in the House )
Passage 6:
Michael P  McAuliffe
Michael P  McAuliffe (born December 7, 1963) is a former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 20th district in northwestern Chicago  He was first appointed in 1997, following the death of his father, Roger McAuliffe; between them, the McAuliffes represented northwestern Chicago for 46 years  On June 17, 2019, McAuliffe resigned from the Illinois House of Representatives  He was the only Republican to represent a significant portion of Chicago in the Illinois General Assembly  On June 29, 2019, Republican Bradley Stephens, the Mayor of Rosemont, was appointed to succeed McAuliffe 
Passage 7:
Cabinet of the United States
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States  It is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States  The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet  The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation  The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet 
The Cabinet does not have any collective executive powers or functions of its own, and no votes need to be taken  There are 24 members (25 including the vice president): 15 department heads and nine Cabinet-level members, all of whom, except two, require Senate confirmation  The Cabinet meets with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office  The members sit in the order in which their respective department was created, with the earliest being closest to the president and the newest farthest away The members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the president, who can dismiss them at any time without the approval of the Senate, as affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Myers v  United States (1926) or downgrade their Cabinet membership status  Often it is legally possible for a Cabinet member to exercise certain powers over his or her own department against the president's wishes, but in practice this is highly unusual due to the threat of dismissal  The president also has the authority to organize the Cabinet, such as instituting committees  Like all federal public officials, Cabinet members are also subject to impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" 
The Constitution of the United States does not explicitly establish a Cabinet  The Cabinet's role, inferred from the language of the Opinion Clause (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) of the Constitution is to provide advice to the president  Additionally, the Twenty-fifth Amendment authorizes the vice president, together with a majority of the heads of the executive departments, to declare the president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office"  The heads of the executive departments are—if eligible—in the presidential line of succession 

History
The tradition of the Cabinet arose out of the debates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention regarding whether the president would exercise executive authority solely or collaboratively with a cabinet of ministers or a privy council  As a result of the debates, the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 1) vests "all executive power" in the president singly, and authorizes—but does not compel—the president (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) to "require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices"  The Constitution does not specify what the executive departments will be, how many there will be, or what their duties will be 
George Washington, the first president of the United States, organized his principal officers into a Cabinet, and it has been part of the executive branch structure ever since  Washington's Cabinet consisted of five members: himself, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph  Vice President John Adams was not included in Washington's Cabinet because the position was initially regarded as a legislative officer (president of the Senate)  Furthermore, until there was a vacancy in the presidency (which did not occur until the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841) it was not certain that a vice president would be allowed to serve as president for the duration of the original term as opposed to merely acting as president until new elections could be held  It was not until the 20th century that vice presidents were regularly included as members of the Cabinet and came to be regarded primarily as a member of the executive branch 
Presidents have used Cabinet meetings of selected principal officers but to widely differing extents and for different purposes  During President Abraham Lincoln's administration, Secretary of State William H  Seward advocated the use of a parliamentary-style Cabinet government  However, Lincoln rebuffed Seward  While a professor Woodrow Wilson also advocated a parliamentary-style Cabinet, but after becoming president did not implement it in his administration  In recent administrations, Cabinets have grown to include key White House staff in addition to department and various agency heads  President Ronald Reagan formed seven sub-cabinet councils to review many policy issues, and subsequent presidents have followed that practice 

Federal law
In 3 U S C  § 302 with regard to delegation of authority by the president, it is provided that "nothing herein shall be deemed to require express authorization in any case in which such an official would be presumed in law to have acted by authority or direction of the president " This pertains directly to the heads of the executive departments as each of their offices is created and specified by statutory law (hence the presumption) and thus gives them the authority to act for the president within their areas of responsibility without any specific delegation 
Under 5 U S C  § 3110 (also known as the 1967 Federal Anti-Nepotism statute), federal officials are prohibited from appointing their immediate family members to certain governmental positions, including those in the Cabinet Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, an administration may appoint acting heads of department from employees of the relevant department  These may be existing high-level career employees, from political appointees of the outgoing administration (for new administrations), or sometimes lower-level appointees of the administration 

Confirmation process
The heads of the executive departments and all other federal agency heads are nominated by the president and then presented to the Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority (although before the use of the "nuclear option" during the 113th United States Congress, they could have been blocked by filibuster, requiring cloture to be invoked by 3⁄5 supermajority to further consideration)  If approved, they receive their commission scroll, are sworn in, and begin their duties  When the Senate is not in session, the president can appoint acting heads of the executive departments, and do so at the beginning of their term 
An elected vice president does not require Senate confirmation, nor does the White House chief of staff, which is an appointed staff position of the Executive Office of the President 

Salary
The heads of the executive departments and most other senior federal officers at cabinet or sub-cabinet level receive their salary under a fixed five-level pay plan known as the Executive Schedule, which is codified in Title 5 of the United States Code  Twenty-one positions, including the heads of the executive departments and others, receiving Level I pay are listed in 5 U S C  § 5312, and those forty-six positions on Level II pay (including the number two positions of the executive departments) are listed in 5 U S C  § 5313  As of January 2023, the Level I annual pay was set at $235,600 
The annual salary of the vice president is $235,300  The salary level was set by the Government Salary Reform Act of 1989, which provides an automatic cost of living adjustment for federal employees  The vice president receives the same pension as other members of Congress based on their ex officio position as the president of the Senate 

Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials
The individuals listed below were nominated by President Joe Biden to form his Cabinet and were confirmed by the United States Senate on the date noted or are serving as acting department heads by his request, pending the confirmation of his nominees 

Vice president and the heads of the executive departments
The Cabinet permanently includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments, listed here according to their order of succession to the presidency  The speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate follow the vice president and precede the secretary of state in the order of succession, but both are in the legislative branch and are not part of the Cabinet 

Cabinet-level officials
The president may designate additional positions to be members of the Cabinet, which can vary under each president  They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States 

Former executive and Cabinet-level departments
Department of War (1789–1947), headed by the secretary of war: renamed Department of the Army by the National Security Act of 1947 
Department of the Navy (1798–1949), headed by the secretary of the Navy: became a military department within the Department of Defense 
Post Office Department (1829–1971), headed by the postmaster general: reorganized as the United States Postal Service, an independent agency 
National Military Establishment (1947–1949), headed by the secretary of Defense: created by the National Security Act of 1947 and recreated as the Department of Defense in 1949 
Department of the Army (1947–1949), headed by the secretary of the Army: became a military department within the Department of Defense 
Department of the Air Force (1947–1949), headed by the secretary of the Air Force: became a military department within the Department of Defense 

Renamed heads of the executive departments
Secretary of Foreign Affairs: created in July 1781 and renamed Secretary of State in September 1789 
Secretary of War: created in 1789 and was renamed as Secretary of the Army by the National Security Act of 1947  The 1949 Amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 made the secretary of the Army a subordinate to the secretary of defense 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor: created in 1903 and renamed Secretary of Commerce in 1913 when its labor functions were transferred to the new secretary of labor 
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: created in 1953 and renamed Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1979 when its education functions were transferred to the new secretary of education 

Positions intermittently elevated to Cabinet-rank
Ambassador to the United Nations (1953–1989, 1993–2001, 2009–2018, 2021–present)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (1953–1961, 1969–present)
White House Chief of Staff (1953–1961, 1974–1977, 1993–present)
Counselor to the President (1969–1977, 1981–1985, 1992–1993): A title used by high-ranking political advisers to the president of the United States and senior members of the Executive Office of the President since the Nixon administration  Incumbents with Cabinet rank included Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Donald Rumsfeld and Anne Armstrong 
White House Counsel (1974–1977)
United States Trade Representative (1975–present)
Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (1977–1981, 1993–2001, 2009–2017, 2021–present)
National Security Advisor (1977–1981)
Director of Central Intelligence (1981–1989, 1995–2001)
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (1993–present)
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (1993–2009)
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (1994–2001, 2012–present)
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (1996–2001): Created as an independent agency in 1979, raised to Cabinet rank in 1996, and dropped from Cabinet rank in 2001 
Director of National Intelligence (2017–present)
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2017–2021)
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (2021–present)

Proposed Cabinet departments
Department of Industry and Commerce, proposed by Secretary of the Treasury William Windom in a speech given at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in May 1881 
Department of Natural Resources, proposed by the Eisenhower administration, President Richard Nixon, the 1976 GOP national platform, and by Bill Daley (as a consolidation of the Departments of the Interior and Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency) 
Department of Peace, proposed by Senator Matthew Neely in the 1930s, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, and other members of the U S  Congress 
Department of Social Welfare, proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937 
Department of Public Works, proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937 
Department of Conservation (renamed Department of the Interior), proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937 
Department of Urban Affairs and Housing, proposed by President John F  Kennedy 
Department of Business and Labor, proposed by President Lyndon Johnson 
Department of Community Development, proposed by President Richard Nixon; to be chiefly concerned with rural infrastructure development 
Department of Human Resources, proposed by President Richard Nixon; essentially a revised Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 
Department of Economic Affairs, proposed by President Richard Nixon; essentially a consolidation of the Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture 
Department of Environmental Protection, proposed by Senator Arlen Specter and others 
Department of Intelligence, proposed by former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell 
Department of Global Development, proposed by the Center for Global Development 
Department of Art, proposed by Quincy Jones 
Department of Business, proposed by President Barack Obama as a consolidation of the U S  Department of Commerce's core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U S  Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U S  Trade and Development Agency 
Department of Education and the Workforce, proposed by President Donald Trump as a consolidation of the Departments of Education and Labor 
Department of Health and Public Welfare, proposed by President Donald Trump as a renamed Department of Health and Human Services 
Department of Economic Development, proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren to replace the Commerce Department, subsume other agencies like the Small Business Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office, and include research and development programs, worker training programs, and export and trade authorities like the Office of the U S  Trade Representative with the single goal of creating and protecting American jobs 
Department of Technology, proposed by businessman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang 
Department of Culture, patterned on similar departments in many foreign nations, proposed by, among others, Murray Moss and Jeva Lange 
When he was SEC Chairman, Harvey Pitt proposed that the Securities and Exchange Commission be elevated to Cabinet level  In July 2002, The New York Times wrote: "Democratic and Republican members of Congress joined administration officials today in ridiculing Harvey L  Pitt's request that his pay be increased and his job as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission be elevated to Cabinet rank     evoking an outpouring of bipartisan scorn " Pitt had tried to insert a provision into corporate antifraud legislation that would increase his pay by 21%, and also elevate his status to that of Cabinet level, at a time when the stock markets had sunk to five-year lows and some congressional leaders were calling for him to resign 

See also
Black Cabinet
Brain trust
Cabinet of Joe Biden
Cabinet of the Confederate States of America
Kitchen Cabinet
List of African-American United States Cabinet members
List of Hispanic and Latino American United States Cabinet members
List of female United States Cabinet members
List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members
List of people who have held multiple United States Cabinet-level positions
List of United States Cabinet members who have served more than eight years
List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines
St  Wapniacl (historical mnemonic acronym)
Unsuccessful nominations to the Cabinet of the United States
Passage 8:
Dean Sanpei
Dean Sanpei is an American politician and a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives representing District 63 since his June 10, 2010 appointment to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Stephen Clark  He lives in Provo with his wife, Hinckley, and their two children: Joelle and Timothy 

Early life and education
Dean was born into a military family  His father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and they moved around a lot during his childhood  By the time Dean was in the 7th grade, he had attended seven different schools  After graduating from Brigham Young University with a Master's of Public Administration, Dean became the Assistant Director of Planning for Intermountain Healthcare’s Urban North Region  He was part of the core team that planned the rebuild of the McKay Dee Hospital  He worked there for several years, before going to work for the consulting group of Johnston, Zabor, McManus in North Carolina where he was a Senior Project Manager with clients spread from San Diego to New York In 2003, Dean was brought back to Provo and Intermountain Healthcare as the Director of Planning for the Urban South Region, which includes Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Orem Community Hospital, and American Fork Hospital  In 2006 he was promoted to the central office and later became the Vice President over Planning for all of Intermountain Healthcare 

Political career
Dean served as a precinct chair, state and county delegate, member of the executive committee, and from 2005 - 2010 he served as the Legislative District Chair for District 63  He was first elected to the Utah House of Representatives on June 10, 2010, and last elected on November 4, 2014  During the 2016 Legislative Session, served on the Executive Appropriations Committee, and the House Government Operations Committee 

2016 sponsored legislation
Sanpei also floor sponsored SB 2 Public Education Budget Amendments, SB 3 Current Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations, SB 7 National Guard, Veterans' Affairs, and Legislature Base Budget, SJR 8 Joint Rules Resolution on Performance Notes, and SJR 9 Joint Rules Resolution on Request for Appropriations Process Change 

Elections
2016 Sanpei won in the general election by 79 2% of the vote in November against Nathan Smith Jones 
2014 Sanpei won the Republican nomination by 71% of the vote in April against Colby Johnson and then went on to win in the November General Election unopposed 
2012 Sanpei won both the June 26, 2012 Republican primary and the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 5,057 votes 
2010 Sanpei was chosen from among three candidates by the Republican convention and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 57 6% against Democratic candidate Donald Jarvis, who had run for the seat in 2008 
Passage 9:
Ordinance (India)
Ordinances are laws that are promulgated by the President of India on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet, which will have the same effect as an Act of Parliament  They can only be issued when Parliament is not  in session  They enable the Indian government to take immediate legislative action  Ordinances cease to operate either if Parliament does not approve of them within six weeks of reassembly, or if disapproving resolutions are passed by both Houses  It is also compulsory for a session of Parliament to be held within six months  A total of 679 ordinances have been issued from 1950-2014 

List of Central Government Ordinances since 2003
List of state government ordinances
Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Ordinance, 2020
Passage 10:
David J  Robinson
David J  Robinson is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives  He was appointed to his position when the previous representative, E  J  Thomas, resigned; in turn, when Robinson lost the Republican primary election to Jim Hughes, he resigned so that Hughes could be appointed to his seat and run as an incumbent While in office, Robinson was the sponsor of noise-reduction legislation for trains 
Passage 11:
Mary Ann Love
Mary Ann Love (February 21, 1940 – January 27, 2022) was an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party  She served 4 full terms in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Maryland's District 32  Love was originally appointed to the seat in 1993, but was later elected in her own right  She most recently served on the Economic Matters Committee  Love declined to run for reelection in 2014 

Early life
Mary Ann was born in West Pittston, Pennsylvania on February 21, 1940  She graduated from St  John's High School in 1958  She attended the Wilkes-Barre Business School 

Career
Legislative Notes
voted in favor of increasing the sales tax by from 5% to 6% - Tax Reform Act of 2007(HB2)[1]
voted to support in-state tuition for all graduates of a Maryland public high school, 2007(HB6)[2]
voted for the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 (HB713), subjecting gang members to up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000 [3]
voted for Jessica's Law (HB 930), eliminating parole for the most violent child sexual predators and creating a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison, 2007 [4]
voted for Public Safety – Statewide DNA Database System – Crimes of Violence and Burglary – Post conviction (HB 370), helping to give police officers and prosecutors greater resources to solve crimes and eliminating a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed DNA samples, leading to 192 arrests, 2008 [5]
voted for Vehicle Laws – Repeated Drunk and Drugged Driving Offenses – Suspension of License (HB 293), strengthening Maryland's drunk driving laws by imposing a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years, 2009 [6]
voted for HB 102, creating the House Emergency Medical Services System Workgroup, leading to Maryland's budgeting of $52 million to fund three new Medevac helicopters to replace the State's aging fleet, 2009 [7]
voted in 2013 in favor of gun control legislation (SB 281) banning certain firearms and placing significant new restrictions on the ability of law-abiding citizens to own firearms [8]

Election results
2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 32Voters to choose three:1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 32Voters to choose three:1994 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 32Voters to choose three:

Death
Love died on January 27, 2022, aged 81 
Passage 12:
Thomas Chapais
Sir Joseph Amable Thomas Chapais  (March 23, 1858 – July 15, 1946) was a French Canadian author, editor, historian, journalist, professor, and politician 
Born in Saint-Denis, Quebec (then Canada East), the son of Jean-Charles Chapais, a Father of Canadian Confederation, and Henriette-Georgina Dionne, he received a bachelor's degree in 1876 from Université Laval and was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1879 
From 1879 to 1884, he was the principal secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, Théodore Robitaille  Turning to journalism, he became the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper, Le Courrier du Canada in 1884 and from 1890 to 1901 was the owner  From 1907 to 1934, he was a professor of history at Université Laval 
In 1891, he ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative for the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of Kamouraska  He was appointed to the Legislative Council of Quebec in 1892 representing Laurentides  From 1893 to 1894, he was the Leader of the Government  In 1893, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the cabinet of Louis-Olivier Taillon  From 1895 to 1897, he was the speaker of the legislative council  From 1896 to 1897, he was the president of the executive council in the cabinet of Edmund James Flynn and was a Cabinet Minister  In 1917, he refused a seat in the Senate but was summoned to the Senate in 1919  A Conservative, he represented the senatorial division of Grandville, Quebec and served until his death in 1946 
From 1936 to 1939 and again from 1944 to 1946, he was the leader of the government in the legislative council  From 1936 to 1938, he was a minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Maurice Duplessis  He was appointed again in 1944 
In 1912, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was its president from 1923 to 1924  From 1925 to 1926, he was the president of the Canadian Historical Association  In 1930, he was a member of the Canadian delegation to the League of Nations  In 1935, he was made a Knight Bachelor by George V 
Parc Thomas-Chapais in Montreal is named in his honour 
Chapais, Quebec is named for him 

Published works
Congrégations enseignantes et le brevet de capacité (1893)
Discours et conférences (1895)
le Serment du roi (1901)
Jean Talon, intendant de la Nouvelle-France (1904)
Mélanges de polémique et d'études religieuses, politiques et littéraires (1905)
le Marquis de Montcalm (1911)
Mélanges (1915)
Cours d'histoire du Canada, 1760–1867 (1919)

See also
Université Laval
Context 2: Passage 1:
Sinead Farrelly
Sinead Louise Farrelly (born 16 November 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for NWSL team NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Republic of Ireland women's national team  Born and raised in the United States to an Irish father, she initially represented the country of birth at the youth international level before switching to represent the Republic of Ireland senior national team in 2023  She previously played for Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League  In 2011, she played for the Philadelphia Independence of the WPS and was a member of the United States women's national under-23 team  She was selected by the Philadelphia Independence as the No  2 overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft from University of Virginia  She was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2009 And 2010 

Early life
Born and raised in Havertown, Pennsylvania, Farrelly began playing soccer at the age of five  She attended Haverford High School where she was a four-time team MVP and earned First Team All All-Southeastern PA honors  She was named a 2006 NSCAA Youth All-American and ranked seventh as the nation's top recruit by SoccerBuzz 
Farrelly was a member of the Spirit United Gaels club that was the 2006 National Runner-Up and was played for the Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) team  During her time with the Spirit United Gaels, the team was a US Youth Soccer National Finalist (2006), a USYS Regional Champions (2006), and a Two-Time State Champions (2005 & 2006  Her team's incredible run in 2006, although cut short by a loss to FC Wisconsin Eclipse in the National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa, won their head coach, Sean McCafferty, the 2006 EPYSA Girls' Coach of the Year Award and 2006 NSCAA Regional Youth Girls' Coach of the Year Award  The Gaels made it through to Regionals the next year on a wildcard after a tough loss to the FC Pennsylvania Strikers in the State Cup Final  Their Regionals drive did not finish as they would have aspired to, as they did not even make the final this year 

University of Virginia
Farrelly attended the University of Virginia and played for the Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)  As a freshman in 2007, she started all 23 games and ranked third on the team with five goals (including three game-winners) and four assists  She was named First Team All-ACC, Second Team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic, and Top Drawer Soccer Co-National Rookie of the Year  During her sophomore season, she started all 23 games and ranked third on the team in scoring with five goals and three assists  She was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team, First Team All-ACC, and NSCAA and Soccer Buzz All Mid-Atlantic Region  As a junior, she started all 22 games and led the Cavaliers in scoring with eight goals and eight assists for a total of 24 points  She was named Second Team NSCAA All-America selection and was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist  During her senior year, Farrelly was honored as the University of Virginia's top female athlete of 2010–11 after starting all 22 games and leading the Cavaliers with 12 goals and seven assists (for a total of 31 points)  She was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and was a NSCAA First Team All-American  She earned her fourth straight All-ACC selection and was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist for the second time Farrelly's 90 games started ranks her second to future FC Kansas City teammate, Becky Sauerbrunn in the school's history  She ranked eighth in school history with 84 points scored in her career and eighth for most in a season with 31 

Club career
Philadelphia Independence, 2011
Farrelly was the number two pick in the 2011 WPS Draft by the Philadelphia Independence  She tallied one goal and two assists for the Independence while starting in 13 of 14 games played (1101 minutes)  Her first WPS career goal occurred during a match against Western New York, which ended up being the game-winning goal and solidified a first place standing for the Independence in mid-July  The Independence would later come in second at the WPS Championship 

New York Fury, 2012
After the WPS suspended operations in early 2012, Farrelly signed with the New York Fury in the WPSL Elite 

Apollon Limassol, 2012–2013
Farrelly played for Apollon Limassol from 2012 to 2013 in the UEFA Women's Champions League  She made five starts in five games for the club and scored six goals  During this time  Farrelly broke her arm in their first leg of their first game of the Knockout Stage against ASD Torres CF 

FC Kansas City, 2013
In 2013, Farrelly signed with FC Kansas City for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League  She scored her first goal for the club in a home match against Seattle Reign FC, helping the Blues notch their first win for the season 

Apollon Limassol, 2013–2014
At the end of the 2013 NWSL season, Farrelly joined Cypriot team Apollon Limassol for a second time, this time on loan from FC Kansas City  The loan spell will end on January 31, 2014 

Portland Thorns FC, 2014–2015
On January 13, 2014, Portland Thorns FC announced that they had obtained Farrelly from FC Kansas City in exchange for a second-round draft pick (16th pick overall) in the 2014 NWSL College Draft 

Boston Breakers, 2016
On October 26, 2015, Boston Breakers announced that they had obtained Farrelly from Portland Thorns FC in a package deal along with McCall Zerboni for first-round (No  2 overall) and second-round (No  20 overall) picks in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League College Draft  Farrelly sat the season out due to neck and back injuries sustained from a car crash In October 2016, Seattle Reign FC selected Farrelly off the NWSL Re-Entry Wire after the Breakers waived her at the end of the 2016 season  However, Farrelly announced her retirement on Facebook on December 2, 2016 

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2023–
On 25 March 2023, over six years after her retirement from professional soccer, Farrelly signed for NJ/NY Gotham FC on a one-year contract with an option for 2024  She debuted with Gotham FC on 1 April 2023, as a 70th-minute substitute against OL Reign 

International career
Farrelly has represented the United States at the U-15, U-16, U-17, U-20, and U-23 levels In April 2023, Farrelly was called up to the Republic of Ireland national team for the first time  She earned her first senior international cap with Ireland on 8 April 2023, by starting and playing 60 minutes in a friendly against the United States senior team  In June 2023, Ireland called Farrelly up to its squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 

International appearances
Personal life
During her career, Farrelly was closely connected to former women's soccer coach Paul Riley, playing for three of his teams in three different leagues  She publicly revealed accusations of sexual coercion against Riley for a 2021 story in The Athletic  Riley was fired from his position and both the NWSL and FIFA commenced investigations in the coming days 
Passage 2:
A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)  It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall and Bill Pullman  It was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel from a story by Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson 
A League of Their Own was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $132 4 million worldwide and garnering acclaim for Marshall's direction and the performances of its ensemble cast  In 2012, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" 

Plot
In 1988, Dottie Hinson attends the opening of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame  She sees many former teammates and friends, prompting a flashback to 1943 
When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, Chicago Cubs owner Walter Harvey persuades his fellow owners to bankroll a women's league  Ira Lowenstein is put in charge  Scout Ernie Capadino attends an industrial-league softball game in Oregon and likes what he sees in Dottie, the catcher for a local dairy  She is not interested; she is happy with her life while waiting for her husband Bob to return from the war  Her younger sister Kit Keller, however, is desperate to get away and make something of herself  Capadino is unimpressed by Kit's batting and refuses to watch her pitch, but agrees to take her along if she changes Dottie's mind  Dottie agrees for her sister's sake 
Dottie and Kit travel to Harvey Field in Chicago for the tryout  They meet taxi dancer Mae "All the Way Mae" Mordabito and her best friend, bouncer Doris Murphy, soft-spoken right fielder Evelyn Gardner, illiterate left fielder Shirley Baker, pitcher/shortstop and former Miss Georgia beauty queen Ellen Sue Gotlander, left field/relief pitcher Betty "Spaghetti" Horn, second baseman Marla Hooch, first baseman Helen Haley, and Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers  They and five others constitute the Rockford Peaches, while 48 others make up the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, and South Bend Blue Sox 
The Peaches are managed by former star Cubs slugger Jimmy Dugan, a cynical alcoholic  He initially treats the whole thing as a joke, forcing Dottie to take over as on-field leader initially  Dugan is also abrasive toward his players  The team travels with Evelyn's spoiled bratty son Stillwell and tightly wound team chaperone Miss Cuthburt  With a Life magazine photographer in the stands, Lowenstein begs the players to do something spectacular, as the league has attracted little attention  Dottie obliges, catching a popped-up ball behind home plate while doing a split  The resulting photograph makes the magazine cover  A publicity campaign draws more people to the ballgames, but the owners remain unconvinced 
The teammates bond  Marla marries a man named Nelson whom she met on a raucous roadhouse outing and leaves the team for the rest of the season, Mae teaches Shirley to read, and Evelyn writes a team song  Lowenstein makes Dottie the face of the league, making Kit resentful  Their sibling rivalry intensifies, resulting in Kit's trade to the Racine Belles 
The Peaches end the season with the league's best record, qualifying for the World Series  Jimmy gives Betty a telegram informing her that her husband was killed in action in the Pacific Theater  Grief-stricken, she leaves the team  That evening, Dottie receives a surprise when Bob shows up, having been wounded and discharged from the Army  Jimmy discovers that Dottie is going home with Bob  Unable to persuade her to play in the World Series, he tells her she will regret her decision 
The Peaches face the Belles in the World Series, which goes the full seven games  Dottie rejoins the Peaches for the seventh game, while Kit is the starting pitcher for the Belles  With the Belles leading by a run in the top of the ninth, Dottie drives in the go-ahead run  Kit is distraught, but gets a second chance when she comes to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth  She gets a hit and, ignoring the third base coach's sign to stop, scores the winning run by knocking her sister over at the plate and dislodging the ball from Dottie's hand 
The sellout crowd convinces Harvey to give Lowenstein the owners' support  After the game, the sisters reconcile before Dottie leaves with Bob 
In the present, Dottie is reunited with the other players, including Kit, Capadino and Lowenstein  The surviving Peaches sing Evelyn's team song and pose for a photo  During the closing credits, they play baseball at Doubleday Field 

Cast
Rockford Peaches
Others
Production
Development
Director Penny Marshall was inspired by the 1987 TV documentary A League of their Own, about the AAGPBL  She had never heard of the league, and contacted the film's creators, Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson, to collaborate with the scriptwriters, Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz, on producing a screenplay for 20th Century Fox  Fox eventually passed on the script and Marshall signed with Sony Pictures, who were eager to produce it 

Casting
On MLB Network's Costas at the Movies in 2013, director Penny Marshall talked about her initial interest in Demi Moore for the part of Dottie Hinson: "Demi Moore, I liked, but by the time we came around, she was pregnant " Debra Winger was then cast as Dottie and spent three months training with the Chicago Cubs in preparation  However, she dropped out of the production four weeks before the start of principal photography, later saying that the casting of Madonna was the reason for her decision  Marshall chose Geena Davis to replace Winger USC assistant baseball coach Bill Hughes was the film’s technical adviser and put the film’s ensemble cast through baseball camp three months before filming 

Filming
Principal photography began July 10, 1991  Filming the game scenes involved many physical mishaps: Anne Ramsay (Helen Haley) broke her nose with a baseball mitt while trying to catch a ball, and the large bruise seen on actress Renée Coleman's thigh was real 
Discussing the skirts they wore playing in the film, Geena Davis said on MLB Network's Costas at the Movies in 2013, "Some of our real cast, from sliding into home, had ripped the skin off their legs  It was nutty " In a 2021 interview, Petty claimed to have broken her foot during filming, but reiterated her enjoyment of the shoot and the understanding of the film's importance at the time The tryout scene, at a fictional Major League Baseball stadium in Chicago called Harvey Field, was filmed at the Chicago Cubs' home stadium, Wrigley Field  The Rockford Peaches' home games were filmed at League Stadium in Huntingburg, Indiana, and the championship game against Racine was filmed at Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana  Additional games were filmed at Jay Littleton Ball Park in Ontario, California  The final week of shooting was during late October 1991 in Cooperstown, New York, where 65 original AAGPBL members appeared in scenes recreating the induction of the league into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988  Due to the length of the schedule, the cast entertained themselves by putting on an elaborate amateur production, "Jesus Christ Superstar Goes Hawaiian "

Soundtrack
A League of Their Own soundtrack was released on CD and cassette tape by Columbia Records on June 30, 1992  The album peaked at #159 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart on July 25, 1992  Although Madonna contributed "This Used to Be My Playground" to the film, featured over the closing credits, her recording was not included on the soundtrack album for contractual reasons 

Reception
Box office
A League of Their Own was released on July 1, 1992, and grossed $13 2 million in its first weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Batman Returns  In its second weekend it dropped just 15%, making $11 5 million and finishing first  It ended up a commercial success, making $107 5 million in the United States and Canada, but only $24 9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $132 4 million against a production budget of $40 million 

Critical response
The film was well received by critics, who praised the cast 
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 81% based on 79 reviews, with an average score of 7/10  The website's critical consensus reads: "Sentimental and light, but still thoroughly charming, A League of Their Own is buoyed by solid performances from a wonderful cast " On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 69 based 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews"  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "Though big of budget, A League of Their Own is one of the year's most cheerful, most relaxed, most easily enjoyable comedies  It's a serious film that's lighter than air, a very funny movie that manages to score a few points for feminism in passing " Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote: "The movie has a real bittersweet charm  The baseball sequences, we've seen before  What's fresh are the personalities of the players, the gradual unfolding of their coach and the way this early chapter of women's liberation fit into the hidebound traditions of professional baseball "

Accolades
On December 19, 2012, it was announced that A League of Their Own would be preserved in the United States National Film Registry Jimmy Dugan's (Tom Hanks) remark to Evelyn Gardner (Bitty Schram), "There's no crying in baseball!", was ranked 54th on the American Film Institute's 2005 list AFI's 100 Years   100 Movie Quotes 

20th anniversary Blu-ray edition
A League of Their Own was released as a 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray on October 16, 2012 47 former AAGPBL players reunited in New York to celebrate the film and the real women who inspired it  Events included a trip to Cooperstown for a special program at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, reminiscent of the film's final scene depicting AAGPBL players and family meeting to honor the Women's Professional Baseball League  The reunion wrapped up with a game of softball held at Alliance Bank Stadium in nearby Syracuse Former players also made an appearance at Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana on June 6, 2012, where many of the film's game scenes were filmed  Bosse Field still retains many of the Racine Belles themes from the movie  The event included an outdoor screening of the film, and a display of cars featured in the film  In addition to Bosse Field, the production used Huntingburg, Indiana's League Stadium, another Southwestern Indiana field older than Bosse, that was renovated for it 

Spinoffs
A short-lived series of the same title based on the film aired on CBS in April 1993, with Garry Marshall, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Freddie Simpson, and Jon Lovitz reprising their roles  Carey Lowell took over Geena Davis's role  Only five of the six episodes made were broadcast 
On August 6, 2020, Amazon Video ordered a reboot series with the same title as the movie  The series debuted on August 12, 2022 on  Amazon  On March 14, 2023 it was announced that the rebooted series would end with a four-episode second season bringing the total number of episodes of the series to twelve after having aired eight episodes in its first season 

See also
Women in baseball
List of baseball films
Passage 3:
Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri  The film has elements of multiple genres and has been described as a drama, adventure or road movie with elements of a romantic comedy  It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances  Filming took place in California and Utah from June to August 1990  The supporting cast include Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt in one of his first major film roles  
The film was a critical and commercial success, receiving six Academy Award nominations and winning for Best Original Screenplay  Scott was nominated for Best Director, and both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for Best Actress  To date, this is the most recent film to have two actors nominated in the same category for either Best Actor or Best Actress  It influenced other films and artistic works and became a landmark of feminist film 
In 2016, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" 

Plot
Best friends Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer set out for a weekend vacation at a fishing cabin in the mountains to take a break from their dreary lives in Arkansas  Thelma, a housewife, is married to disrespectful and controlling carpet salesman Darryl, while sharp-tongued Louise works as a waitress in a diner and is dating easygoing musician Jimmy, who is on the road most of the time 
On the way, they stop at a roadhouse bar, where Thelma dances with a flirtatious stranger, Harlan  He takes her to the parking lot and tries to rape her until Louise intervenes and threatens to shoot him  As the women walk away, Harlan yells vulgarities at them, so Louise shoots him in a fit of rage 
At a motel they discuss how to handle the situation  Thelma wants to go to the police, but Louise fears that no one will believe a claim of attempted rape as Thelma was drinking and dancing with Harlan and also having no evidence of the rape, and they will be charged with murder  They decide to flee to Mexico, but Louise demands they travel there without going through Texas, as something happened to her there several years earlier which she refuses to reveal  Heading west, they come across an attractive young drifter, J D , to whom Thelma takes a liking  Louise contacts Jimmy, asking him to wire her life savings to her  He surprises her by delivering the money in person, and they spend the night together  Jimmy proposes to Louise, but she refuses  Thelma invites J D  to her room, and they sleep together  She learns he is a convicted armed-robber who has violated the terms of his parole 
The following morning, they discover J D  has stolen Louise's life savings and fled  Louise is distraught, so a guilty Thelma takes charge and later robs a nearby convenience store using tactics she learned from J D   Meanwhile, the FBI closes in on them after witnesses at the bar identify Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible  Their whereabouts are also questioned by the owner of the fishing cabin after they failed to arrive 
Arkansas State Police Investigator Hal Slocumb, leading the investigation, questions both J D  (who was caught) and Jimmy, and taps into the phone line at Darryl's house  He sympathizes with the pair's situation and understands why they did not report Harlan's killing (partly due to Louise's own experience in Texas)  During a few brief phone conversations with Louise, Hal expresses his sympathy but is unsuccessful in persuading her to surrender 
Thelma tells Louise she understands if she wants to go back home, knowing she has Jimmy waiting for her, but explains she cannot go back to Darryl  Louise promises they will keep going together  While back on the road, Thelma recalls the incident with Harlan and tries to ask Louise if what happened with Harlan was what happened to Louise in Texas  Louise responds angrily and tells Thelma to never bring it up again 
Later, they are pulled over by a New Mexico state trooper for speeding  Knowing he will soon discover they are wanted for murder and armed robbery, Thelma holds him at gunpoint and locks him in the trunk of his police car  Driving further west, they encounter a foul-mouthed truck driver who repeatedly makes obscene gestures at them  They pull over and demand an apology from him; when he refuses, they fire at his fuel tanker, causing it to explode  The women leave him stranded in the desert furious with the tanker's wreckage 
Thelma and Louise are finally cornered by the authorities only one hundred yards from the edge of the Grand Canyon  Hal arrives on the scene, but the women refuse his last chance to talk them into surrendering  Rather than be captured, Thelma proposes that they "keep going"  Louise asks Thelma if she is certain, and Thelma says yes  They kiss and then hold hands, Louise steps on the gas, and, as Hal desperately pursues them on foot, they accelerate over the cliff to their presumed deaths 

Cast
Susan Sarandon as Louise Sawyer
Geena Davis as Thelma Dickinson
Harvey Keitel as Arkansas State Police Detective Hal Slocumb
Michael Madsen as Jimmy Lennox
Christopher McDonald as Darryl Dickinson
Stephen Tobolowsky as FBI Agent Max
Brad Pitt as J D 
Timothy Carhart as Harlan Puckett
Lucinda Jenney as The Waitress
Jason Beghe as State Trooper
Marco St  John as Truck DriverCredits adapted from American Film Institute 

Production
Development
The idea for Thelma & Louise originated in the spring of 1988 when Callie Khouri, then a music video producer, was driving home from work to her apartment in Santa Monica  She spent the following six months working on her first screenplay, which was noted to have drawn inspiration from her own experience as well as her friendship with country music singer Pam Tillis  She had intended it to be a low-budget independent film, directed by herself and produced by fellow music video producer Amanda Temple (wife of English filmmaker Julien Temple)  After shopping the project around and finding no takers, Temple showed the script to her friend Mimi Polk Gitlin, who ran Ridley Scott's Percy Main Productions (later Scott Free Productions)  Gitlin in turn showed the script to Scott, who expressed great enthusiasm for the project  He agreed to produce the film and bought the film rights for $500,000  Pathé Entertainment, then led by Scott's friend and collaborator Alan Ladd Jr , came on board as a co-producer and financier Scott considered four people for the role of director, all of whom turned down the opportunity  Per Gitlin's recollection, three of the candidates were Bob Rafelson, Kevin Reynolds and Richard Donner  Scott was reluctant to direct the film himself but eventually took on the role, having been persuaded by Michelle Pfeiffer 

Casting
Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally chosen for the leads; both accepted their roles with enthusiasm  As pre-production of the film dragged on, the two eventually dropped out, with Pfeiffer going on to star in Love Field and Foster in The Silence of the Lambs  Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn then offered to play the leads, but Streep later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts while Hawn was not considered right for the part  Geena Davis (who had been vigorously pursuing the lead role for nearly a year) and Susan Sarandon were ultimately chosen  The two took extensive driving and shooting lessons in preparation for their roles Scott personally convinced Harvey Keitel to take on the role of Hal, the sympathetic Arkansas detective  The two had previously collaborated in Scott's feature directorial debut, the 1977 film The Duellists  Davis recommended her ex-boyfriend Christopher McDonald for the role of Darryl, Thelma's controlling husband  Scott wanted Michael Madsen for Harlan, Thelma's would-be rapist, but Madsen was unwilling; he eventually won the role of Jimmy, Louise's boyfriend  Brad Pitt auditioned for the hustler J D ; however, the part originally went to Billy Baldwin  Pitt eventually secured the role after both Baldwin and his replacement dropped out  George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr , Mark Ruffalo, Grant Show, John Mellencamp, Dylan McDermott, James LeGros and Dermot Mulroney were also considered for the role of J D  Davis did test scenes with Clooney, Show, Ruffalo and Pitt; her advice to the directors was to choose Pitt 

Filming
Principal photography for Thelma & Louise began on June 11, 1990, and concluded on August 31, 1990  Although the setting for the film is a fictional route between Arkansas and the Grand Canyon, it was filmed almost entirely in the states of California and Utah  The primary filming locations were rural areas around Bakersfield, California and Moab, Utah  The Grand Canyon scenes were filmed just south of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah  Parts of the film were also shot at Shafer Overlook, Monument Valley, La Sal Mountains, La Sal Junction, Cisco, Old Valley City Reservoir, Thompson Springs, Arches National Park, and Crescent Junction in Utah 

Soundtrack
Pete Haycock on slide guitar contributed to Thunderbird, the theme music for the film  In addition to Glenn Frey's "Part of Me, Part of You", which became the film's primary theme song, the soundtrack included songs performed by Chris Whitley ("Kick The Stones"), Martha Reeves ("Wild Night" written by Van Morrison), Toni Childs ("House Of Hope"), Marianne Faithfull ("Ballad of Lucy Jordan" written by Shel Silverstein), Charlie Sexton ("Badlands"), Grayson Hugh ("I Can't Untie You From Me"), B B  King ("Better Not Look Down" written by Joe Sample & Will Jennings), Michael McDonald ("No Lookin' Back"), The Temptations ("The Way You Do The Things You Do" written by Smokey Robinson & Bobby Rogers), and Johnny Nash ("I Can See Clearly Now") 

Release
Thelma & Louise was screened out of competition as the closing film at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival  Theatrical release was delayed due to financial turmoil at MGM-Pathé  The film eventually opened in American theaters on May 24, 1991 and was a box-office success, grossing $45 million within the country In February 2023, The Criterion Collection announced the film would be joining the collection in May that year 

Reception
The film received critical acclaim  Janet Maslin of The New York Times had only praise for the film in her review:

Mr  Scott's Thelma and Louise, with a sparkling screenplay by the first-time writer Callie Khouri, is a surprise on this and many other scores  It reveals the previously untapped talent of Mr  Scott (best known for majestically moody action films like Alien, Blade Runner and Black Rain) for exuberant comedy, and for vibrant American imagery, notwithstanding his English roots  It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new  It discovers unexpected resources in both its stars, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, who are perfectly teamed as the spirited and original title characters 
Roger Ebert also praised the film but withheld a perfect score on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin  It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste      It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear "After watching the film, singer-songwriter Tori Amos wrote "Me and a Gun", the story of her rape several years earlier The final scene, where the two embrace before committing suicide by driving off a cliff, has become iconic  Numerous homages and parodies of the scene have appeared, including alternate film endings, cartoon parodies, video game "Easter eggs", and as a tragic ending to television series, music videos, and commercials  Right after the film's release, there were even a few copy cats who committed suicide by driving off the edge of the Grand Canyon The film also received harsh criticism from those who thought it was biased against men and that its depictions of men were unfairly negative On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 7 9/10  The website's critical consensus reads, "Simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and peppered with action, Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise is a potent, well-acted road movie that transcends the feminist message at its core " On Metacritic, the film received a score of 88 based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim" The film placed second to The Silence of the Lambs as the best film of 1991 in a poll of 81 critics 

Feminism
Numerous critics and writers have remarked on the strong feminist overtones of Thelma & Louise  Film critic B  Ruby Rich praises the film as an uncompromising validation of women's experiences, while Kenneth Turan calls it a "neo-feminist road movie"  In her essay "The Daughters of Thelma and Louise", Jessica Enevold argues that the film constitutes "an attack on conventional patterns of chauvinist male behavior toward females"  In addition, it "exposes the traditional stereotyping of male–female relationships" while rescripting the typical gender roles of the road movie genre In her review for the Los Angeles Times, film critic Sheila Benson objects to the characterization of the film as feminist, arguing that it is more preoccupied with revenge and violence than feminist values In his review for the New York Post, film critic Kyle Smith describes the film as "a misogynist tale about unbelievably ditzy women who lose what remains of their reason under pressure and suffer the ultimate punishment " Smith's review focused on the terrible decisions these female characters make throughout the entire film In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman"  However, she also said that women-themed films have since been losing ground 

Accolades
The British Film Institute published a book about the film in 2000 as part of a Modern Classics series  On the Writers Guild of America Award's list of 101 best screenplays, it made No  72 

Notes
Passage 4:
Steve Bell (soccer)
Steve Bell (born January 7, 1975) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and USL A-League   He is a play-by-play soccer broadcaster and sideline reporter for the Fox Soccer Channel 

Youth
Bell graduated from Peters Township High School   He attended the Robert Morris University, playing on the men's soccer team from 1993 to 1996  Robert Morris won the Northeast Conference Regular Season title in 1995 with a perfect 8-0 conference record  Bell finished the season with 6 goals and 9 assists (2nd most in the Northeast Conference) 

Professional
In 1997, Bell played for the Washington Warthogs of the Continental Indoor Soccer League  He finished the season with two goals and three assists  That winter, he played as a trialist with the Tampa Bay Mutiny   On February 1, 1998, the Mutiny selected him in the second round (nineteenth overall) of the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft   The Mutiny released him on June 10, 1998, to free a roster spot for Evans Wise   In February 1999, he signed with the expansion Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL A-League   He was a regular starter, but injuries led to his retirement   In 2000, he began working in sales in Akron, Ohio, but also worked as a part-time game announcer for Riverhounds’ games on Fox Sports Radio   In November 2003, Bell and his broadcasting partner, Chris Shovlin, won the March of Dimes Achievement in Radio Award for Best Play-by-Play  In 2006, Bell was named as the Voice of the United Soccer Leagues and was the play-by-play announcer for every game featured on Fox Soccer Channel during the season  In 2007, he was named as the host for the thirty-minute feature show, USL Breakaway on Fox Soccer   In addition to his Play-by-Play duties for the USL and the NSCAA Game of the Week, he was also back in Major League Soccer from 2008 to 2010 as a sideline reporter for Fox Soccer Channel 
Passage 5:
Female buddy film
A female buddy film is a type of buddy film  In these films, women are the main characters and their friendships and relationships with each other drive the story  The plots of female buddy films can share the same concept of male buddy films—opposite personalities go on an adventure or journey of sorts—or they can concern an ensemble group of women  Female buddy films gained popularity in the 1960s from the emergence of the woman's film and the male buddy film genres 

Characteristics
The main characters of female buddy films are women, and the film's events center on their situations  The main cast is often female, depending on the plot  Critic Hannah McGill of Sight & Sound wrote, "Films that centralise friendship between women and girls are thus always doing something slightly radical, whatever their other themes and content  They repudiate the message that women are adjuncts to men; they emphasise the fact that women and girls still exist when there are no men or boys in the room "

Background
The buddy film was historically a genre limited to men and rooted in the literature and culture of America, with the fictional portrayal of male bonding in the United States tracing back to 19th-century author Mark Twain's characters Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, as well as Huck and Jim in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  The occurrence of one woman interacting with another in film was so rare that concepts like the Bechdel test originated as a means of measuring the representation of women in fiction  Female buddy films appeared as early as the 1930s, with George Cukor's The Women and Gregory La Cava's Stage Door  Other prominent examples include Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Group (1966), and Daisies (1966) 1991's Thelma & Louise remains one of the most notable female buddy films to date and had a similar impact on popular culture as buddy film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid did in the late 1960s  Similar films also paved the way for onscreen female friendships such as that between Evelyn Couch and Ninny Threadgoode in Fried Green Tomatoes  Other popular duos and groups include those in Waiting to Exhale and Walking and Talking  Though there are far fewer female buddy films than there are male buddy films, their frequency has increased in conjunction with rising numbers of women in production and creative roles 

Examples
Jonathan Rosenbaum has praised Jacques Rivette's 1974 film Céline and Julie Go Boating as an example of the genre and wrote that he knows "many women who consider Céline et Julie vont en bateau their favorite movie about female friendship " Dennis Lim sees the influence of Rivette's film in other female buddy films, such as Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive  Céline and Julie was also an influence on Erick Zonca's 1998 film The Dreamlife of Angels Female buddy films are not limited to lighthearted fare, and some critics argue there is a significance in the representation of complex female friendships on screen  "For women to whom a significant component of equality is the recognition that they embody the full spectrum of human traits, not just the sugar-and-spice ones, the onscreen depiction of ‘toxic’ friendships can be as significant and affecting as the celebration of healthy ones," critic Hannah McGill wrote In 2011, the comedy film Bridesmaids was a major box-office success, crossing over the $100 million mark in just 23 days  The film's popularity arguably ushered in a trend of R-rated female buddy comedies in the following years, such as The Heat, Bad Moms, Snatched, Rough Night, and Girls Trip  Producer David T  Friendly called this phenomenon "the Bridesmaids effect" The genre is crossed with the buddy cop film in the 1988 comedy Feds and the 2013 comedy The Heat  In both films, two female cops who are opposites in personality are paired up together  Other recent examples include Booksmart (2019) and the animated TV series Tuca & Bertie 

See also
Female buddy films by decade
Womance
Feminist cinema
Bromance
Passage 6:
List of Family Guy cast members
Family Guy is an American animated sitcom that features five main voice actors, and numerous regular cast and recurring guest stars  The principal voice cast consists of show creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis (who replaced Lacey Chabert after the first season (her last episode is "Holy Crap," now marketed as the second episode of season two)), Seth Green, and Mike Henry  Recurring voice actors include Patrick Warburton, Adam West, John G  Brennan, Nicole Sullivan and Jennifer Tilly, and repeat guest stars include Phyllis Diller, Charles Durning, Rush Limbaugh, James Woods and Phil LaMarr 
Many cast members provide voices for multiple characters  The voice actors, in portraying the various character personalities on the show, draw inspiration from celebrities and pop culture  Family Guy characters have been played by more than one actor, after members of the show left the series or had conflicting obligations 
Kunis was nominated for an Annie Award for voicing Meg Griffin in the season 5 episode "Barely Legal" and MacFarlane has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production, though no other cast member has won an award for their work on the series 

Current cast
From seasons 1 to 4, Family Guy had four main cast members  Since season 5, there have been five main cast members  The casting of Meg Griffin changed after season 1 

Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane voices four of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire  MacFarlane chose to voice these characters himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he had already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it  MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design  Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison, especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady  The voice for Glenn Quagmire is based on 1940s and 1950s radio commercials  MacFarlane uses his own voice while portraying Brian MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, including news anchor Tom Tucker, Lois' father Carter Pewterschmidt and Dr  Hartman   He is the only cast member to be in every episode 

Alex Borstein
Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt  Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv  She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen"  At the time, Borstein performed in a stage show in Los Angeles, in which she played a redhead mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins  The voice was originally slower (and deeper for the original season), but when MacFarlane heard it, he replied "Make it a little less fucking annoying     and speed it up, or every episode will last four hours "

Seth Green
Seth Green primarily plays Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman  Green stated that he did an impression of the "Buffalo Bill" character from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition  His main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how "Buffalo Bill" would sound if he were speaking through a public address system at a McDonald's 

Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis voices Meg Griffin  Kunis won the role after the auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show  MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more  Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her  Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat"  She further explained, "Meg gets picked on a lot  But it's funny  It's like the middle child  She is constantly in the state of being an awkward 14-year-old, when you're kind of going through puberty and what-not  She's just in a perpetual mode of humiliation  And it's fun "

Mike Henry
Mike Henry is the voice of Cleveland Brown, John Herbert “The Pervert”, Bruce, Consuela, and various other characters  A Family Guy writer and producer, he began acting on the show as part of the recurring cast repertory (see below) but was promoted to main cast member in 2005  Since the cancellation of The Cleveland Show, he also voices Cleveland's step-son Rallo Tubbs on Family Guy  On June 26, 2020, after twenty years of voicing the character, Mike Henry announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color " On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Arif Zahir would take over as the voice of Cleveland 

Recurring cast
In addition to both its main cast and guest stars, Family Guy utilizes a deep bench of regularly appearing supporting voice actors  Some appear in nearly every episode each season, while others appear less frequently  Some of these actors specifically play recurring characters, while others mainly play background citizens of Quahog or characters in cutaway gags 
The current supporting cast repertory includes the following actors:

In addition to the above, the following actors were formerly regularly recurring voice actors in the series:

Recurring guest voices
The recurring guest voices include Adam Carolla as Death, Patrick Stewart as Susie Swanson, Scott Grimes as Kevin Swanson, Sanaa Lathan as Donna Tubbs Brown and Emily Osment as Ruth Cochamer  Previous recurring guests included Phyllis Diller in three episodes as Peter's Mother, Thelma, and Charles Durning as Peter's father, Francis  Both characters have since died, but Durning returned once to play Francis as a ghost  Early in the show's run, Fred Willard and Jane Lynch had a recurring role as a family of nudists and James Woods as himself  In 2020, it was announced that Sam Elliott would take over as Quahog's new mayor, Mayor West's estranged cousin Wyld West 

Casting changes
Lacey Chabert voiced Meg for the first production season (14 episodes), but, because of a contractual agreement, was never credited  Chabert left the series due to time constraints with her acting role in Party of Five, as well as schoolwork 
Jon Cryer voiced Kevin Swanson in his first appearance before the role passed to Seth MacFarlane  The character was written out of the series for several years, with Scott Grimes taking over the voice when the character returned 
Fairuza Balk was the original voice of high school bully Connie D'Amico until Lisa Wilhoit took over the character from the third to eighteenth seasons 
Natasha Melnick was the original voice of Meg Griffin's Friend Ruth Cochamer until Emily Osment took over the character in the eleventh season 
Beginning in 2021-onward, Arif Zahir took over voicing Cleveland Brown from Mike Henry 

Awards and nominations
See also
Television portal
Passage 7:
List of Grand Slam women's doubles champions
List of women's doubles Grand Slam tennis tournament champions:
The only pairing to complete the Grand Slam is the team of Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver in 1984, and their eight consecutive major win-streak remains the all-time record  Maria Bueno in 1960 and Martina Hingis in 1998 also won the Grand Slam, though with multiple partners Six players have completed a Career Golden Slam by winning an Olympic gold medal and all four majors during their respective careers: Venus Williams and Serena Williams while paired together, Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková as a team, and individually Pam Shriver and Gigi Fernández  The latter four also achieved the Career Super Slam, by achieving a Career Golden Slam and winning a Year-End Championship in their careers 

Champions by year
Champions list
Most Grand Slam doubles titles
Individual
Record title holder and tournament record indicated in bold  Players with five or more Grand Slam titles are included here 

Team
Record title holder and tournament record indicated in bold  Teams with four or more Grand Slam titles are included here 

Grand Slam achievements
Grand Slam
Players who held all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously (in a calendar year) 

Non-calendar year Grand Slam
Players who held all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously (not in a calendar year) 

Career Grand Slam
Players who won all four Grand Slam titles over the course of their careers 

The event at which the Career Grand Slam was completed indicated in bold 

Individual
Team
Career Golden Slam
Players who won all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal over the course of their careers 
The event at which the Career Golden Slam was completed indicated in bold 

Career Super Slam
Players who won all four Grand Slam titles, the Olympic gold medal and the year-end championship over the course of their careers 

The event at which the Career Super Slam was completed indicated in bold 

Multiples titles in a season
Three titles
Two titles
Tournament stats
Most titles per tournament
Most consecutive titles
Overall record
At one tournament
Grand slam titles by decade
Grand Slam titles by country
Note: Titles, won by a team of players from same country, count as one title, not two 

All-time
as of 2023 French Open 

Open era
as of 2023 French Open 

See also
List of Grand Slam–related tennis records
List of Grand Slam men's singles champions
List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
List of Grand Slam men's doubles champions
List of Grand Slam mixed doubles champions
Passage 8:
Vivian Alamain
Vivian Alamain is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera on the NBC network  Created by head writers Richard J  Allen and Beth Milstein, and introduced by executive producers Ken Corday and Al Rabin, the role is notably portrayed by actress Louise Sorel  In addition to Sorel, the role has subsequently been portrayed by Marj Dusay, Robin Strasser and Linda Dano 

Casting
Louise Sorel, who was previously best known for playing Augusta Lockridge in NBC soap opera, Santa Barbara, was cast in the role of Vivian in 1992  The Days of Our Lives casting director contacted Sorel's new agent about the role of Vivian and described her  Sorel's agent explained that they managed the actress to the casting director, who was familiar with Sorel's work in Santa Barbara  Other actresses were being considered for the role, but Sorel was eventually cast as Vivian  Sorel signed an initial one-year contract with the show  Sorel was released from her contract after only five months  Marj Dusay was cast in the role, appearing for a total of five episodes  When producers learned that they would have to continue paying Sorel, despite her departure, she was brought back to the role  In 1993, it was announced that Vivian's nephew, Lawrence Alamain (Michael Sabatino), and her nemesis, Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell), were to both leave Days of Our Lives  Sorel's future with the show was subsequently in doubt  However, it was confirmed that Sorel would remain on the show regardless  In December 1993, The Herald Journal reported that Sorel had signed a new multi-year contract  In 1995, Sorel signed a third contract term with the show In October 1999, it was announced that Sorel was to leave Days of Our Lives when her contract expired in January of the following year  Of Vivian's departure, executive producers, Ken Corday and Tom Langan, said "We love the character of Vivian, and hopefully she will return sometime in the near future " Producers confirmed that the role would not be recast  Vivian and Sorel were dismissed from the soap, and the actress admitted that it felt "horrible"  Vivian departed on February 22, 2000 In July 2009, it was announced that Sorel would be reprising the role of Vivian  Executive producer, Gary Tomlin, contacted Sorel and invited her to return to the show  Sorel was surprised as Tomlin invited her to return over the telephone without seeing her current appearance  Sorel told TV Guide "[Tomlin] didn’t ask me how I’m looking these days  For all he knew, I’ve gained 250 pounds " The actress commuted from New York to California, where Days of Our Lives is filmed, for the role  Sorel signed an initial one-year contract  Sorel was planning to sign a longer contract, but since relocating to New York, she could not speculate on her long-term future with the show  Sorel returned to filming in September 2009  Vivian's return was broadcast on October 30, 2009  Sorel's return coincided with the return of Chappell as Carly  In June 2011, it was revealed by TV Guide that Sorel had been let go following the departure of head writer Dena Higley; she last appeared on September 22 of the same year In August 2017, it was announced that Sorel would reprise the role once more  Originally reported to reappear in January 2018, Sorel made her first appearance on December 29, 2017  Sorel departed on May 23, 2018, when the character was presumed dead  In February 2019, it was reported that Robin Strasser had joined the cast in an unknown role; months later it was revealed that she had been cast as Vivian  She appeared from September 2 to October 7 of the same year In December 2019, it was announced that Sorel would once again reprise the role  She returned on June 30, 2020, and wrapped up her stint on July 20 of the same year  On December 11, 2020, it was announced Linda Dano had been cast in the role  She first appeared on February 3, 2021, and departed on April 22 of that year 
In March 2023 Sorel herself revealed she would once again return as Vivian Alamain  Her return on screen is set for later that year 

Storylines
1992–2000
Vivian, the aunt of Lawrence Alamain arrives in Salem on March 2, 1992  She is determined to take over Alamain corporations, but is foiled when John Black inherits them  Vivian looks to be rich, and powerful, so she pursues wealthy crime lord, Victor Kiriakis  Vivian marries Victor for business purposes, but the marriage is short lived  After Victor leaves her for Kate Roberts, Vivian sets out to destroy Carly Manning  Vivian is taking herbal pills from Dr  Wu, which makes her loopy  She begins to target Carly's patients, by injecting them with cleaning fluids   The police begin to investigate Carly for murder  Carly learns Vivian is the one killing off her patients, and sets out to prove it  A crazed Vivian gives Carly a strong dose of morphine to put her in a very deep sleep  Vivian gives Carly a serum that gives her a deathlike paralysis  Carly is pronounced dead, and Vivian buries Carly alive in a coffin, built with a low oxygen supply, and little water  Vivian stops taking her herbs, and realizes what she is doing is crazy, and with the help of Lawrence she digs Carly up  Vivian is arrested and put in Pine Haven Sanitarium where she meets and befriends Laura Horton  Laura sees Vivian as her ticket out of the Sanitarium, and so Laura continues her friendship with Vivian in order to get out of the Sanitarium and get back to Salem Vivian is released, and sets her sights on destroying Kate, and Victor's marriage  She finds out that Kate can't produce a male heir, so she carries Kate & Victor's baby   Vivian is now pregnant with their child, and tries to seduce Victor who doesn't fall for her tricks  Vivian gives birth to Philip Kiriakis, and Kate tries everything to get custody   Vivian also tricked Victor into marrying her by replacing Kate during the wedding rehearsal and made it the real deal   When Kate finds out, Vivian drugs Kate's coffee, but the coffee is given to the pilot of a plane Kate is on  The plane crashes, but Kate lives although they can't find her body  She and Victor make love, after they can't find Kate's body  Kate returns, and wants custody of Philip, and gets it   Vivian takes comfort in Rudolfo (who is actually Stefano DiMera) and unwillingly helps with his plan   She and Ivan are accused of helping Stefano kidnap Marlena Evans, but Stefano signs an affidavit exonerating them   She and Ivan are named accomplices in Kristen DiMera 's scheme trapping Marlena in a secret room and are arrested   In exchange for her freedom, Vivian agrees to divorce Victor and gives up her wealth 
Vivian receives bad news when she learns she is fired from Titan   She and Ivan begin taking odd jobs to make ends meet   She meets Steven "Jonesy" Jones, an elderly man whom she thinks is wealthy, but is merely a caretaker for Stefano DiMera   She marries him after a brief romance, and he dies on their wedding night after making love to her   She inherits his belongings, which makes Stefano romance her in order to get his possessions back   He implants a device in her tooth allowing him to control her moods   After they are married, she discovers what he did and files for divorce   He gives her the townhouse and money in exchange for her silence  She begins to look for alternative methods to cure Victor after he suffers a stroke   Once Victor recovers, he returns to Kate  Vivian leaves Salem with her sidekick Ivan to get a fresh start  They travel around the world, and live off Ivan's lottery winnings 

2009–2011
Vivian returned to Salem in 2009, seeking revenge on Carly Manning for killing her nephew Lawrence  She arranges for someone else to take the fall for her nephew's killing as she wants to deal with Carly personally  She discovers that Carly had an illegitimate child, the result of an affair, and that Lawrence had forced her to give up the child  Vivian resolves to find the now grown child, and kill her in order to hurt Carly  A vision of Lawrence encourages her in this scheme  Victor, her old flame and a fellow adversary of Carly, invites Vivian to live in his mansion and offers to help her in her vengeful scheme  With the help of her new manservant and henchman Gus, Vivian learns that Carly's daughter is Melanie Layton, who is engaged to Phillip  Victor forbids her from killing Melanie, and tells Viv to focus on Carly instead  Vivian ignores him and befriends Melanie  She helps with the wedding and poisons a comb that she gives Melanie to wear on her wedding day  Gus holds Carly hostage in a warehouse where she will watch her daughter's death  Carly attacks Gus and steals his phone  She texts Vivian, calling her to the warehouse  Vivian arrives and is attacked by Carly, but Hope has discovered Vivian's plot also  Hope arrives and stops Carly from killing Vivian by revealing that Melanie is fine  Victor discovered Vivian's scheme and switched the poisoned comb with a safe one  Hope begins to cuff Vivian and arrest her, but Gus awakens behind a stack of crates and topples them onto Hope and Carly  Vivian returns to the wedding at the Kiriakis mansion and lures Melanie to the rooftop terrace to hurl her off  Carly follows with Hope's gun and is about to shoot Vivian but Melanie steps in front of Vivian and is shot and falls into a coma  Victor scolds Vivian for defying him and threatens to turn her over to the police if Melanie dies  Vivian and Carly are both arrested after Hope's statement implicates Vivian  Bo interrogates Vivian to no avail  Victor has hidden all evidence pointing to Vivian's involvement and she is freed  Phillip and Daniel Jonas, who has recently learned that he is Melanie's father, also threaten Vivian  Melanie lives and Victor warns her that he will hand the police the evidence against her if she makes another attempt on Melanie 
Vivian, nevertheless, makes another attempt on her life, but Melanie wakes as Vivian is about to suffocate her in her hospital bed  The dazed Melanie tells Vivian to kill her, and reveals her tormented childhood to Vivian  Vivian is moved and relents  She tells the vision of Lawrence that she refuses to kill the young woman and, with Victor's encouragement, she focuses on Carly  Gus is arrested and questioned by Bo and Hope Williams Brady, but does not give up his mistress and is released  Vivian moves out of the mansion temporarily when Phillip tells Victor that he will not return with Melanie while Vivian is there  She soon returns, however, and makes a deal with Carly  She will leave Carly and her loved ones alone if Carly will plead guilty to shooting Melanie  Melanie, angry at finding out that Carly is the mother who gave her up, does not help and is hateful towards Carly, to Vivian's delight  Hope, however, brings Melanie around, and as Carly is about to be sentenced, Melanie exonerates her by telling the judge that the shooting was an accident  Vivian is not pleased, and threatens to kill Carly, and continues to torment her, even in spite of Bo's warning to leave her alone 
Bo goes to Vivian and threatens to kill Vivian, even if it means jail time, in order to protect Carly  Victor, who does not want Bo in jail or Vivian dead, offers to marry Vivian if she will stop her vendetta, and she agrees  She learns, however, that Carly has been threatening to ruin Chloe Lane's relationship with Daniel due to an affair Chloe had with Phillip  Vivian offers her support to Chloe in dealing with Carly  Vivian is married to Victor in a somber ceremony, both Victor and the attending guests are bitter and cynical about the bizarre proceedings  Chloe, however, turns to Vivian for help  Vivian gives Chloe the number of one of her past henchmen and tells Chloe to ensure that Carly is in an elevator at the hospital when the henchman instructs  Chloe is uncomfortable with killing Carly, but Vivian convinces her that it is the only way  When the time comes, however, Chloe attempts to stop the killing several times, finally pushing Carly from the elevator and ending up being dropped herself when the cable malfunctions 
Vivian, meanwhile, is on her honeymoon and Victor notices her preoccupation  He threatens to end the marriage and make her life very difficult if anything happens to Carly  Vivian, however, discovers that Chloe was in the elevator and has survived  She vows to punish Chloe for failing to kill Carly  Now, Vivian wants to get rid of Maggie, whom she thinks Victor has eyes on  Her evil plan is similar to Carly's but putting her in a sarcophagus and try to bury her alive  With her henchman, Gus, she may be able to pull it off, but Melanie thinks Maggie is leaving town  Under the ruse of creating a celebration of Isabella Toscano's (Brady's mother and Victor's daughter) life, Vivian commences her plan to kidnap and entomb Maggie in a new sarcophagus, which has supposedly been purchased to contain Isabella's remains  Vivian gets overly confident, and, hence, sloppy in the final stages of her plan  Her trusty assistant, Gus, gets cold feet and quits  Brady happens upon her plan and discovers what Vivian has planned and that she has deposited his mother's remains in a pet cemetery  Brady ends up interring Vivian in the sarcophagus rather than Maggie, to Vivian's horror  Vivian is freed by Gus and they entomb Maggie  Victor frees Maggie and plans for Vivian to be arrested but Brady decides she deserves to be free  Vivian and Gus are then dropped on an island but Brady rescues him in June  We discover that Vivian had an affair years ago and has a son Quinn who is a pimp  Quinn is blackmailing Chloe into becoming a prostitute but no one besides Chloe and Taylor knows what his occupation is  At first he doesn't get along with Vivian because she abandoned him but he soon turns around and agrees to give his mother a second chance much to Gus's dismay   Carly develops a drug addiction to Vivian's delight, however Quinn helps Carly through it and Vivian disowns him  Months later, Vivian and Quinn reconcile and Vivian's side-kick, Gus frames Quinn for a series of assaults on prostitutes when in reality, he is the culprit  On September 21, 2011 it is revealed that Quinn is innocent and Gus is guilty when Gus' latest victim (Chloe) comes out of the coma caused by his attack on her, at which time Gus takes Nicole Walker hostage in the police station  Gus is eventually wrestled to the ground and hauled off to a jail cell to await trial  Vivian’s friend/former-henchman, Ivan suddenly returns to Salem, shows her the great wealth he has acquired as a Bollywood movie director/producer, expresses his undying love to her, and then takes her with him to India to make her a movie star, and open a new chapter in their lives together as equals 

2017–2023
On New Year's Eve, 2017, Vivian crashes the DiMera family's New Year's Eve party claiming to have been accompanied by Stefano  In actuality, she is accompanied by her and Stefano's son, Stefan O Dimera (Tyler Christopher)  Vivian watches in admiration as Stefan seizes control of DiMera Enterprises and lays claim to the DiMera mansion  Vivian is scheming with Andre DiMera, but their plans end when Andre is killed by Abigail Deveraux (Marci Miller)  During a confrontation with Kate, Vivian is shot and presumed dead  Kate tells everyone it was self-defense  In 2019, Vivian (Robin Strasser) is revealed to be alive  She shoots and buries Kate in the cemetery, and later pulls her tubes out when she is in hospital recovering  During an altercation with Lani Price (Sal Stowers), Stefan (Brandon Barash) is shot and presumed dead after trying to save his mother, leading to a devastated Vivian leaving town  In 2020, Vivian (Sorel) makes a surprising return during Lani's wedding to Eli Grant (Lamon Archey)   She was arrested after threatening Lani with a gun  In police custody  she was convinced that Jake was Stefan brought back from the dead   Ivan explained that she had twins unknowingly due to her passing out and Jake was taken from her before she awakened  She faked her death shortly after to avoid prison and disappeared again  In 2021 Vivian (Linda Dano) got arrested after participating in the kidnapping of Eli and Lani's twins 
On January 30 2023 Vivian (Louise Sorel) returns, she is heard during a phone call (from prison) to Stefan in which she attempts to jog his memory of who he is 
In March 2023 it was revealed Louise Sorel was back on set as Vivian Alamain and episodes would begin airing from August or September 
Passage 9:
That Certain Something
That Certain Something is a 1941 Australian musical film directed by Clarence G  Badger and starring Megan Edwards and Thelma Grigg  The plot concerns an American film director who decides to make a musical in Australia  It was the last film directed by Badger, a noted silent era director 

Plot
A famous director, Robert Grimble, comes to Australia to make a film about pioneering women and seeks for an unknown to play the lead role  He casts socialist Miss Hemingway, who soon proves to be temperamental  She is tricked into walking off the job by Jimmie Jones who wants his girlfriend Patsy cast  He succeeds and Patsy becomes a star 

Cast
Production
The film was the first from Argosy Films and was made with the assistance of a bank overdraft from the New South Wales government  It was directed by Clarence Badger, a Hollywood director who had retired to Australia  The original title was Daughters of Australia Megan Edwards had only appeared in a few stage shows before being cast in the lead  She later received a three-year contract from a Hollywood manager The seven-week shoot took place at Pagewood Studios, the first movie made there in three years  The colonial sequence was especially researched  The camera crew included notable cameraman John Howes, who died aged 29 

Release
Despite securing distribution from RKO, reception to the film from critics and the public was poor 
Passage 10:
Thelma Hopkins (athlete)
Thelma Elizabeth Hopkins (born 16 March 1936) is a Northern Irish athlete, who competed in the high and the long jump 
On 5 May 1956 she broke the world record in high jump in Belfast with a jump of 1 74 metres, breaking the record of 1 73 metres set by Aleksandra Chudina of the USSR on 22 May 1954  Her record was broken on 14 July 1956 in Bucharest by Iolanda Balaș of Romania Her achievement in breaking the world record is commemorated by a plaque in Cherryvale Playing Fields, South Belfast 
Hopkins was born in Kingston upon Hull  She competed for Great Britain in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, in the high jump event, where she won the silver medal jointly with Maria Pisareva  In the 1954 Commonwealth Games she won a gold medal for Northern Ireland 
As well as athletics she excelled at hockey where she was a regular choice for the Ireland women's national field hockey team, playing at forward and winning 40 caps  She also represented Ireland as an international Squash player 
She was one of many signatories in a letter to The Times on 17 July 1958 opposing 'the policy of apartheid' in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games' 
Passage 11:
Thelma, Kentucky
Thelma is an unincorporated community in Johnson County, Kentucky, United States  The community was originally known as Buskirk, after a local family  But, when the community received its first post office on June 5, 1905, it was renamed Thelma after the daughter of Warren Meek  Meek was a successful pioneer in the newspaper field in the Big Sandy Valley Thelma's ZIP code is 41260 
Thelma is located at an elevation of 636 feet 
Passage 12:
Breakwater Cat
Breakwater Cat is the tenth album by American singer Thelma Houston, released in 1980 on RCA Records  The 12" single "Suspicious  Minds" became a popular club hit  Breakwater Cat contains five songs written by Jimmy Webb, who was also the executive producer of the album 

Track listing
All songs were written by Jimmy Webb; except where indicated 

"Breakwater Cat" – 3:55
"Long and Lasting Love" – 5:30
"Before There Could Be Me" – 3:12
"Gone" – 3:43
"What Was That Song" – 4:19
"Suspicious Minds" (Mark James) – 4:15
"Down the Backstairs of My Life" (Eric Mercury, William Smith) – 3:00
"Understand Your Man" (Alan Gordon) – 3:27
"Lost and Found" (Daniel Moore) – 4:20
"Something We May Never Know" (Shelby Flint) – 3:38

Personnel
MusicThelma Houston – vocals
Sonny Burke – piano, arrangements
Matthew McCauley – string and horn arrangements
David T  Walker, Tim May, Steve Beckmeier, Carlos Rios, Steve Hunter, Fred Tackett, Greg Poree – guitar
David Shields, Eddie N  Watkins Jr , Keni Burke, Scott Edwards, Dennis Belfield, Reggie McBride – bass guitar
Gary Morse - steel guitar on "Something We May Never Know"
Jerry Peters - keyboards
James Gadson – drums
Jerry Hey - horn
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Clydie King – backing vocals
Greg Wright – backing vocals
Oren Waters – backing vocals
Tom Kelly – backing vocalsProductionJames Gadson – producer
Michael Stewart – producer
Mike Vickers – assistant producer
Jimmy Webb – executive producer
Brian Christian – engineer
Frank "Cheech" D'Amici – engineer
Mark Linett – engineer
Rick Hart – engineer
Rick Ruggieri – engineer
Gribbitt! – art direction
Henry Vizcarra – art direction
Tim Bryant – art direction
Charles Veal, Jr  – contractor
Jerry Hoff – contractor
Sid Sharp – contractor
Lynne Morse – A&R coordinator
Linda Gerrity – production coordinator
Glenn Parsons - design
Gribbitt! - design
John Arrias – mixing
Ron Slenzak – photography



ground_truth: January 2015

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What character in A League of their Own was played by the actress who played Thelma in the movie Thelma and Louise?

The following are given passages.
Context 4: Passage 1:
Billiken
The Billiken is a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Florence Pretz of Kansas City, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream  It is believed that Pretz found the name Billiken in Bliss Carman's 1896 poem "Mr  Moon: A Song Of The Little People"   In 1908, she obtained a design patent on the ornamental design of the Billiken, which she sold to the Billiken Company of Chicago   The Billiken was monkey-like with pointed ears, a mischievous smile and a tuft of hair on his pointed head  His arms were short and he was generally sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him  Billiken is known as "The God of Things as They Ought to Be" 
To buy a Billiken was said to give the purchaser luck, but to receive one as a gift would be better luck  The image was copyrighted and a trademark was put on the name  After a few years of popularity, the Billiken faded into obscurity  Although they are similar, the Billiken and the baby-like kewpie figures that debuted in the December 1909 Ladies' Home Journal are not the same 
Today, the Billiken is the official mascot of Saint Louis University and St  Louis University High School, both Jesuit institutions located in St  Louis  The Billiken is also the official mascot of the Royal Order of Jesters, an invitation only Shriner group affiliated with Freemasonry  The Billiken also became the namesake of Billiken Shokai, the Japanese toy & model manufacturing company (established 1976) 

History
The Billiken sprang from the height of the "Mind-Cure" craze in the United States at the start of the twentieth century   It represented the "no worry" ideal, and was a huge hit   Variations appeared, such as the "Teddy-Billiken Doll" and the Billycan/Billycant pair (to drive petty problems away)   The Billiken helped touch off the doll craze of the era At least two Billiken-themed songs were recorded, including "Billiken Rag" and the "Billiken Man Song " The latter was recorded by Blanche Ring The Billiken, as a good luck charm, appears multiple times in the Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor movie Waterloo Bridge   It is employed as a device that both prompts recollections of the male lead, Robert Taylor, and that links several scenes within the movie as the plot unfolds  Wizard of Oz author L  Frank Baum kept a Billiken doll on his piano The Billiken made its Japanese debut in 1908  A statue was installed in the uppermost level of the original Tsutenkaku Tower as it was opened to the public in 1912  When the nearby Luna Park was closed in 1925, the tower's Billiken statue disappeared  In 1980, a replacement statue made its appearance in a new Tsutenkaku Tower that was built in 1956 

Sports mascot
In its heyday, the Billiken enjoyed worldwide celebrity   In the United States he became the athletic mascot of Saint Louis University, because the figure was said to resemble coach John R  Bender   The school's athletic teams remain the Billikens to this day  A bronze statue of the Billiken stands in front of the Chaifetz Arena on the Saint Louis University Campus   A junior version of the Billiken became the mascot of nearby St  Louis University High School; a stainless steel statue of the Junior Billiken stands adjacent to the Danis Fieldhouse, on the St  Louis University High School Campus  Bud Billiken was a youth-club mascot for The Chicago Defender, and was created in 1923, and is known more contemporarily as the inspiration for the yearly parade of the same name held shortly before the start of the school year 
The Billiken was the team nickname for several minor league professional baseball teams, including the Fort Wayne Billikens of the 1908–1910 Central League, the Montgomery Billikens of the 1910 Southern Association (a Class A league that ran from 1902–1935), the Bay City Billikens of the 1911 and 1912 Southern Michigan League (a league that dwelled in several classifications between 1906 and 1912), and the McLeansboro Billikens of the 1910 Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League ("KITTY League"), a Class D professional baseball league that ran from 1903 until 1955  McLeansboro is located in southern Illinois, 116 miles from St  Louis 

Alaska
In 1909, the Billiken began its appearance in souvenir shops of Alaska  In Nome, Alaska, an Inuit carver by the name Angokwazhuk copied a Billiken figurine in ivory brought to him by a merchant  Since that first appearance in Alaska, some Inuit carvers began to include the billiken in the collection of figurines they created  By the 1960s the Billiken was ubiquitous in larger Alaskan cities like Anchorage, and heavily touristed areas  Billikens were often carved from Alaskan ivory and were used in jewelry and knick-knacks  Often these souvenirs were accompanied by printed, romanticized Billiken lore  In Anchorage, the name was also adopted by merchants, as in the Billiken Drive-In movie theater 

Japan
Throughout Japan representations of the Billiken were enshrined  Pre-World War II statues of the Billiken could be found in Kobe city's Chinju Inari and Matsuo Inari shrines  Both of these statues were removed from display for many years at the onset of the war when foreign deities fell out of favor 
The most famous representation of the Billiken was in an amusement park, Luna Park, in the Shinsekai district of Osaka, Japan   In 1912, he was enshrined in the park as a symbol of Americana and there was revered as "The God of Things As They Ought to Be"  Popular Billiken souvenirs in the park included dolls and manjū  When the park closed in 1923, the wooden statue of the Billiken went missing 
A replica of the statue was placed in the second-generation Tsūtenkaku Tower in 1980  The Billiken was a star in Sakamoto Junji's 1996 comedy Billiken in which the statue is restored to the Tsutenkaku in an effort to revive the popularity of the tower and save Shinsekai The statue was a permanent fixture in the tower until September 2005 when it made its first departure and was taken, as an ambassador of sorts, to Shibuya's Tokyu Hands department store in Tokyo as a part of a fair to promote Naniwa (traditional Osaka) culture   As a part of the cultural exchange, a replica of the statue of Shibuya's most famous dog, Hachikō, was sent to Osaka 
In October 2008, the Billiken of Tsutenkaku took a journey all the way from Japan to its "home" city of St  Louis, Missouri where it was visited by students of St  Louis University, whose mascot is also the Billiken 
Due to wear (particularly to the soles of the feet), the dark, worn statue replica from 1980 was replaced in May 2012 with a new one  Presently he resides on the fifth floor observation deck and has become closely associated with the tower  Each year thousands of visitors place a coin in his donation box and rub the soles of his well-worn feet to make their wishes come true 
The Billiken also became the namesake of Billiken Shokai, the Japanese toy & model manufacturing company established in 1976 

Notes
See also
Billiken, an Argentine children's magazine named after the doll
Passage 2:
Economy of Saint Lucia
Once a single-crop agricultural economy, Saint Lucia has shifted to a tourism and banking serviced-based economy  Tourism, the island's biggest industry and main source of jobs, income and foreign exchange, accounts for 65% of its GDP  Agriculture, which was once the biggest industry, now contributes to less than 3% of GDP, but still accounts for 20% of jobs  The banana industry is now on a decline due to strong competition from low-cost Latin American producers and reduced European trade preferences, but the government has helped revitalize the industry, with 13,734 tonnes exported in 2018  Agricultural crops grown for export are bananas, mangoes, and avocados  The island is considered to have the most diverse and well-developed manufacturing industry in the eastern Caribbean 
Saint Lucia has been able to attract many foreign businesses and investors 

Economic history
The island's banana output was heavily impacted in 2007 by  Hurricane Dean  In 2006, the governor stated:

While living standards have improved for many, a large number of people have been pushed to the margin of economic activity, especially in the areas which once depended heavily on the banana industry for a livelihood 

Sectors
Agriculture
Agriculture is the second-largest industry in Saint Lucia  In 2020, agriculture only contributed 2 2% to Saint Lucia's GDP, but still accounts for a significant number of jobs - some 10% of the employed population  As of the 2010 census, the roughly 10,000 agricultural holdings covered an area of 30,204 acres, an average of 3 0 acres per agricultural holding 
About 18% of the land is used for agricultural practices  Most farms consist of less than 5 acres of land  The main agricultural products grown in Saint Lucia are bananas, coconuts, cocoa beans, mangoes, avocados, vegetables, citrus fruits, and root crops such as yams and sweet potatoes  Most of these agricultural products are grown for local consumption, but bananas and coconuts are mainly grown for export, with some vegetables  Bananas occupy about 14,826 acres of the agricultural land, while coconuts occupy 12,400 acres 
Saint Lucia has a small livestock sector, which is dominated by poultry and pork  The island is self-sufficient in egg production and is trying to become self-sufficient in poultry and pork production  The Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging farmers to raise sheep and goats to reduce the island's importation of frozen meats, and has helped by providing support to farmers, importing bloodlines of livestock to increase the productivity of animals, and providing subsidies on animal feed 
Help is also being given to revitalize the local dairy and beef industries through the introduction of efficient cattle breeds, training of farmers to care properly for livestock, and establishing funds for the construction of dairy units and abattoirs 
The island is also looking to expand its exports under the Taste of Saint Lucia brand sponsored by Export Saint Lucia  Products that are being promoted include Saint Lucia Honey, rum, chocolate, coconut oil, granola, and insect repellent 

Tourism
The island currently attracts over 900,000 visitors annually  St Lucia has been able to attract foreign businesses and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries  Tourism is St Lucia's main source of jobs and income, accounting for 65% of GDP, and the island's main source of foreign exchange earnings  The northern end of St Lucia is tourism's most urbanized area, with a fair number of hotels and resorts located along beaches, or with seaside views  This is also home to many of the island's large, all-inclusive resorts 

Economic trends
The level of island households living at or below the poverty level increased from 18 7 to 21 4% from 1995 to 2005  As of 2006, another 16 2% of the island's population are vulnerable to economic shocks that could easily push them below the poverty line   One rural district had 44 9% of households living below the poverty line (2005) To broaden the island's economic base, the government added small, computer-driven information technology and financial services as development objectives 
St  Lucia's leading revenue producers—agriculture, tourism, and small-scale manufacturing—benefited from a focus on infrastructure improvements in roads, communications, water supply, sewerage, and port facilities  Foreign investors also have been attracted by the infrastructure improvements and by the educated and skilled work force and relatively stable political conditions  The largest investment is in a petroleum storage and transshipment terminal built by Hess Oil  The Caribbean Development Bank  funded an airport expansion project 
Until the events of 11 September 2001, the tourism sector had made significant gains, experiencing a boom despite some untimely and destructive hurricanes  Stay-over visitors and cruise arrivals declined in 2001, and several hotels declared bankruptcy, including the Hyatt  The development of the tourism sector remains a priority, and the government is committed to providing a favourable investment environment  Incentives are available for building and upgrading tourism facilities  Use of public funds to improve the physical infrastructure of the island has been liberal, and the government has made efforts to attract cultural and sporting events and develop historical sites 

Overview
St  Lucia's economy depends primarily on revenue from tourism and banana production, with some contribution from small-scale manufacturing 
Although banana revenues have helped fund the country's development since the 1960s, the industry is now in a terminal decline, due to reduced European Union trade preferences and competition from lower-cost Latin American banana producers  The country is encouraging farmers to plant crops such as cocoa, mangoes, and avocados to diversify its agricultural production and provide jobs for displaced banana workers 
Tourism recovered in 2004, following the post-11 September 2001 recession, and continued to grow in 2005, making up more than 48% of St  Lucia's GDP  The hotel and restaurant industry grew by 6 3% during 2005  Stay-over arrivals increased by 6 5%, and the United States remained the most important market, accounting for 35 4% of these arrivals  Yacht passengers rose by 21 9%  Redeployment of cruise ships, remedial berth construction, and high fuel costs prevented higher growth rates  However, several investors have planned new tourism projects for the island, including a large hotel and resort in the southern part of the island  The global recession has caused a reduction in tourist revenue and foreign investment, significantly slowing growth rates 
St  Lucia's currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU)  The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issues the EC$, manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in its member countries  The ECCB has kept the EC$ pegged at EC$2 7 = US$1 
St  Lucia is a beneficiary of the U S  Caribbean Basin Initiative and is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market  The country hosts the executive secretariat of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States 
St  Lucia is the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications authority, which is developing the regulations to liberalize the telecommunications sector in the region by 2004 

Economic statistics

GDP: purchasing power party - $1,667 billion (2016 est )
GDP - real growth rate: 3 5% (2012 est )
GDP - per capita: purchasing power party - $12,952 (2016 est )GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 2 43%
industry: 13 43%
services: 84 14% (2016 est )Population below poverty line: 21 4% (2005)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0 934% (2016 est )
Labour force: 50,300 (2011)
Labour force - by occupation:

agriculture 21 7%,
industry and commerce 24 7%,
services 53 6% (2002 est )Unemployment rate: 15% (2013 est )
Pay:
best is $350 a week
Budget:
revenues:
$141 2 million
expenditures:
$146 7 million, including capital expenditures of $25 1 million (2000 estimate)
Industries:
clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing
Industrial production growth rate:

8 9% (1997 est )Electricity - production: 281 GWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 102 KWh (1998)
Agriculture - products:
bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa
Exports: $82 million (2004)
Exports - commodities:
bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil
Exports - partners:France 25%, United States 18 3%, United Kingdom 14 5%, Brazil 6 8% (2005)
Imports:
$410 million (2004)
Imports - commodities:
food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels
Imports - partners:
United States 23 8%, Trinidad and Tobago 16%, Netherlands 11 1%, Venezuela 6 3%, Finland 6 2%, United Kingdom 5 7%, France 4 7% (2005)
Debt - external:

$214 million (2000)Economic aid - recipient: $51 8 million (1995)
Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 – 2 7000 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April – 31 March
Passage 3:
Blanton's
Blanton's is a brand of bourbon whiskey produced and marketed by the Sazerac Company  Though it doesn't own the brand, it has exclusive distilling rights  It is owned by Age International, Inc  It is distilled in Frankfort, Kentucky at the Buffalo Trace Distillery 

History
The Blanton's brand was launched in 1984 under the guidance of the distillery's master distiller Elmer T  Lee, as the first modern bourbon brand marketed as a single barrel bourbon  The original brand name was "Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon"  A single barrel bourbon is one for which each bottling batch is produced from the contents of only one particular aging barrel – not mixed with whiskey from any other barrels (and not blended with neutral spirits, colorings, or flavorings)  The company says that producing a high quality whiskey using this production method requires constant monitoring of every barrel in the middle of the warehouse by the Master Distiller  The barrels are dumped by hand without using machinery  There are eight different stopper designs, each with a different letter of the alphabet molded into it and topped with a figurine of a racehorse and jockey   When placed in order, spelling "B L A N T O N: S", the horse and jockey's poses display eight different scenes of a horse race, from standing at the gate, to crossing the finish line with a win 
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon is typically aged for 6 to 8 years  It is aged in Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace, which is the only metal-cladded warehouse at Buffalo Trace and was commissioned for construction by one of the distillery's early leaders, Albert B  Blanton, shortly after the end of the Prohibition era  Being metal, the warehouse transfers heat quicker than brick warehouses, which allows for more rapid aging There are multiple different expressions of Blanton's, each being a different proof  The original 93 proof Blanton's was the only expression available in the United States until 2020  That year, Sazerac Company announced domestic annual limited releases of 103 proof Blanton's Gold and cask proof Blanton's Straight From the Barrel 

Prior to these announcements, both Gold and Straight From the Barrel were available exclusively in select international markets  
Other export-only expressions are available in select international markets, including 80 proof Green Label Special Reserve, and the Japanese market's 80 proof Black Label, 93 proof Takara Red and 103 proof Takara Gold, all of which are aged for an additional two years  From 2014 to 2018 a 'Poland Limited Edition' release was bottled for the M&P Wine and Spirits Festival in Raszyn, Poland  Since 2019, this has been marketed as a 'Special Release' available to select European markets and retailers  Moreover, an annual collaboration with Parisian Whisky retailer La Maison du Whisky has been released every year since 2006, with the inaugural bottling celebrating the 50th Anniversary of La Maison, presented at their Whisky Festival 

Albert Blanton and the Buffalo Trace distillery
Blanton's bourbon was named in honor of one of the distillery's early leaders, Albert B  Blanton, who the company claims spent most of his life preserving the tradition of handcrafted bourbon  Blanton worked at the facility now known as the Buffalo Trace Distillery for approximately 55 years  He was born and raised on a farm just outside Frankfort, Kentucky, and he began working at the distillery (then called the O F C  Distillery or Old Fire Copper Distillery) in 1897 as an office boy when he was 16 years old  Over the next few years, he reportedly worked in every department, and in 1912 he was appointed superintendent of the distillery, its warehouse, and bottling shop – at the same time that the distillery was renamed to become the George T  Stagg Distillery  He became president of the whiskey plant in 1921  Blanton died in 1959 
The company refers to him as "Colonel Blanton", as he held the honorific title of Kentucky Colonel (a relatively common honorific bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky)  The distillery had several owners during its history, and was renamed by its current owner, the Sazerac Company, to become the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 2001 
Elmer T  Lee, the originator of Blanton's, was hired by the distillery by Blanton in 1949  He introduced the Blanton's brand in 1984, a year before he retired, as the first modern brand of bourbon marketed as single barrel bourbon  Lee continued to act as an ambassador for Buffalo Trace until his death in 2013 
Passage 4:
Auguste Levêque
Auguste Levêque (1866 – 1921) was a Belgian painter influenced both by realism and symbolism  Levêque was also a sculptor, poet and art theoretician 
Levêque was born in Nivelles, Walloon Brabant  He studied under Jean-François Portaels at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and received the Prix Godecharle for his painting Job in 1890 
Levêque was a member of the "Salon d'Art Idéaliste", formed by Jean Delville in Brussels in 1896, which is considered the Belgian equivalent to the Parisian Rose & Cross Salon  Other members of the group were  Léon Frédéric, Albert Ciamberlani, Constant Montald, Emile Motte, Victor Rousseau, Armand Point and Alexandre Séon  The Salon was abandoned in 1898  He died in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode 

Notable paintings
Job
Les Dentelles d'airain
Panthéra et Vipérena
Mater dolorosa
Circé
Dante
Parque
Repos
Ouvriers tragiques
Triomphe de la Mort
Moisson future
Hymne d'Amour
Repos de Diane
Combat de Centaures
Portrait d'Edmond Picard (I)
Portrait d'Edmond Picard (II)

Notable sculptures
Fin de Sodome
Triomphe de la Vigne
Combat d'amazones
Vision païenne
Passage 5:
KCC Corporation
KCC Corporation (renamed from Kumkang Korea Chemicals Co , Ltd  on February 25, 2005) is a Korean chemical and auto parts manufacturer, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea 

Operations
KCC's products include various kinds of paints, float glass, soft sponges, silicon, chassis, and car parts  This company is the biggest provider of construction materials and paints in South Korea  Various types of industrial materials such as epoxy moulding compound, alumina metallizing, silicone etc  are produced in 13 domestic locations 
KCC Corporation has 9 overseas liaison offices and 7 overseas factories over the world:

KCC Houston (Texas, U S  - Liaison Office)
KCC Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan - Liaison Office)
KCC Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China - Liaison Office)
KCC Dubai (Dubai, U A E  - Liaison Office)
KCC Greece (Piraeus, Greece - Liaison Office)
KCC Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany - Liaison Office)
KCC Iran (Teheran, Iran - Liaison Office)
KCC Moscow (Moscow, Russia - Liaison Office)
KCC Shanghai (Shanghai, China - Liaison Office)
KCC Kunshan (Shanghai, China - Paint Factory)
KCC Beijing (Beijing, China - Paint Factory)
KCC Guangzhou (Guangzhou, China - Paint Factory)
KCC Singapore (Singapore - Paint Factory)
KCC Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Paint Factory)
KCC India (Chennai, India - Paint Factory)
KCC Turkey (Istanbul, Turkey - Paint Factory)
KCC Poland (Lublin, Poland - Liaison Office)
KCC Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, VietNam - Liaison Office)

Main Rivals in Silicone Markets
KCC's silicone is one of major market which is developing  There are some main rivals for this Korean company to develop market as the list below:
Dow Corning (USA)
Momentive (USA)
Shin-Etsu (Japan)
Wacker (Germany)
Bluestar silicone (China)

Purchasing Basildon Chemical
April 2011, Basildon Chemicals was purchased by the KCC Corporation of Korea  In this partnership, KCC gains a company with a history in silicone emulsification 

See also
Economy of South Korea
Jeonju KCC Egis
Passage 6:
Intrall
Intrall, or International Truck Alliance, is a Russo-British automotive company with headquarters in London, England, and manufacturing in Poland   At the end of 2003, the company acquired from Intrall Treasury factory of Daewoo Motor Poland in Lublin, then operating from January 2004 to 2007 years, called Intrall Polska (Intrall Poland)   Under the new production in 2005, FSC Lublin and Honker models were produced under the Intrall brand   In 2006 the company acquired the rights to produce models of trucks of the Czech brand Praga   A brand-new commercial van/truck was developed called the Intrall Lubo 
Production was suspended in 2007 as tougher engine emission requirements were implemented, plus the Polish government (a major customer) required all Polish-military providers to be at least 50% owned by Polish interests  In October 2007, Intrall Polska was declared bankrupt by Polish court  In 2007, Intrall was declared bankrupt in London court 

Products
Lublin vehicles
Lublin Furgon all metal van
Lublin Furgon with raised roof
Lublin Towas work van
Lublin Kombi
Lublin Skrzyniowy flatbed
Lublin Brygadowy four door flatbed
Lublin Kontener - box body
Lublin special vehicles
Police, fire an emergency vehicles

Honker vehicles
Honker hardtop
Honker Softtop
Honker Skorpion - desert patrol vehicle [1]
Honker Sibil - civil version of the Skorpion
Honker special vehicles
Military ambulance

Gallery
See also
Honker
Passage 7:
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural fleurs-de-lis or fleurs-de-lys), is a common heraldic charge in the shape of a lily (in French, fleur and lis mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively)  Most notably, the fleur-de-lis is depicted on the traditional coat of arms of France that was used from the High Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1792, and then again in brief periods in the 19th century  This design still represents France and the House of Bourbon in the form of marshalling in e g  the arms of Spain, Quebec and Canada 
Other European nations have also employed the symbol  The fleur-de-lis became "at one and the same time, religious, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic," especially in French heraldry  The Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph are among saints often depicted with a lily 
The fleur-de-lis is represented in Unicode at U+269C ⚜  in the Miscellaneous Symbols block 

Origin
The fleur-de-lis is widely thought to be a stylized version of the species Iris pseudacorus, or Iris florentina  However, the lily (genus Lilium, family Liliaceae) and the iris (family Iridaceae) are two different plants, phylogenetically and taxonomically unrelated  Lily (in Italian: giglio) is the name usually associated with the stylized flower in the Florentine heraldic devices 
Decorative ornaments that resemble the fleur-de-lis have appeared in artwork from the earliest human civilizations  According to Pierre-Augustin Boissier de Sauvages, an 18th-century French naturalist and lexicographer:
The old fleurs-de-lis, especially the ones found in our first kings' sceptres, have a lot less in common with ordinary lilies than the flowers called flambas [in Occitan], or irises, from which the name of our own fleur-de-lis may derive  What gives some colour of truth to this hypothesis that we already put forth, is the fact that the French or Franks, before entering Gaul itself, lived for a long time around the river named Lys in the Flanders  Nowadays, this river is still bordered with an exceptional number of irises —as many plants grow for centuries in the same places—: these irises have yellow flowers, which is not a typical feature of lilies but fleurs-de-lis  It was thus understandable that our kings, having to choose a symbolic image for what later became a coat of arms, set their minds on the iris, a flower that was common around their homes, and is also as beautiful as it was remarkable  They called it, in short, the fleur-de-lis, instead of the flower of the river of lis  This flower, or iris, looks like our fleur-de-lis not just because of its yellow colour but also because of its shape: of the six petals, or leaves, that it has, three of them are alternatively straight and meet at their tops  The other three on the opposite, bend down so that the middle one seems to make one with the stalk and only the two ones facing out from left and right can clearly be seen, which is again similar with our fleurs-de-lis, that is to say exclusively the one from the river Luts whose white petals bend down too when the flower blooms 

The heraldist François Velde is known to have expressed the same opinion:
However, a hypothesis ventured in the 17th c  sounds very plausible to me  One species of wild iris, the Iris pseudacorus, yellow flag in English, is yellow and grows in marshes (cf  the azure field, for water)  Its name in German is Lieschblume (also gelbe Schwertlilie), but Liesch was also spelled Lies and Leys in the Middle Ages  It is easy to imagine that, in Northern France, the Lieschblume would have been called 'fleur-de-lis'  This would explain the name and the formal origin of the design, as a stylized yellow flag  There is a fanciful legend about Clovis which links the yellow flag explicitly with the French coat of arms 
Sauvages' hypothesis seems to be supported by the archaic English spelling fleur-de-luce and by the Luts's variant name Lits 

Alternative derivations
Another (debated) hypothesis is that the symbol derives from the angon or sting,  a typical Frankish throwing spear  The medieval Bec de Corban, a bladed and hooked polearm, bears similarities to the symbol as well  
A possibly derived symbol of Frankish royalty was the bee, of similar shape, as found in the burial of Childric I, whose royal see of power over the Salian Franks was based over the valley of the Lys Other imaginative explanations include the shape having been developed from the image of a dove descending, which is the symbol of the Holy Ghost 

Ancient usages
It has consistently been used as a royal emblem, though different cultures have interpreted its meaning in varying ways  Gaulish coins show the first Western designs which look similar to modern fleurs-de-lis



ground_truth: Dottie Hinson

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who is the president of the newly declared independent country that is part of the Commission of Truth and Friendship with the country where Sumardi was born?

The following are given passages.
Context 3: Passage 1:
East Timor
East Timor ( (listen)), also known as Timor-Leste (; Portuguese pronunciation: [tiˈmoɾ ˈlɛʃtɨ]), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia  It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, of which the western half is administered by Indonesia, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-western half, and the minor islands of Atauro and Jaco  Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea  The country's size is 14,874 square kilometres (5,743 sq mi)  Dili is its capital and largest city 
East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975  Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an Indonesian invasion and annexation  Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule, and, in 1999, a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory  On 20 May 2002, as Timor-Leste, it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century  That same year, relations with Indonesia were established and normalized, with Indonesia also supporting East Timor's accession into ASEAN  
The national government runs on a semi-presidential system, with the popularly elected president sharing power with a prime minister appointed by the National Parliament  Power is centralised under the national government, although many local leaders have informal influence  The country maintains a policy of international cooperation, and is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, an observer of the Pacific Islands Forum, and an applicant for ASEAN membership  The country remains relatively poor, with an economy that relies heavily on natural resources, especially oil, and foreign aid 
The total population is over 1 1 million, and is heavily skewed towards young people due to a high fertility rate  Education has led to increasing literacy over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of Portuguese and Tetum  High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the 30 indigenous languages spoken in the country  The majority of the population is Catholic, which exists alongside strong local traditions, especially in rural areas 

Name
"Timor" is derived from timur, meaning 'east' in Malay, thus resulting in a tautological place name meaning 'East East'  In Indonesian, this results in the name Timor Timur  (this name only refers to the former de facto Indonesian province, Timor Leste is used instead to refer this country)  In Portuguese, the country is called Timor-Leste (Leste meaning 'east')  In Tetum it is Timór Lorosa'e (Lorosa'e can be literally translated as 'where the sun rises') The official names under its constitution are "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" in English, "República Democrática de Timor-Leste" in Portuguese, and "Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste" in Tetum  The official short form of the name is "Timor-Leste", and it uses the ISO codes TLS & TL 

History
Prehistory and Classical era
Cultural remains at Jerimalai on the eastern tip of East Timor have been dated to 42,000 years ago  The first known inhabitants are those who arrived during the Australo-Melanesian migration through the region, likely bringing the precursors to today's Papuan languages  A later migration of Austroasiatic-speakers is suspected, although no such languages remain  The arrival of Austronesian peoples brought new languages, and merged with existing cultures on the island  Timorese origin myths recount settlers sailing around the eastern end of the island before landing in the south  These people are sometimes noted as being from the Malay Peninsula or the Minangkabau highlands of Sumatra  Austronesian migration to Timor may be associated with the development of agriculture on the island While information is limited about the political system of Timor during this period, the island had developed an interconnected series of polities governed by customary law  Small communities, centred around a particular sacred house, were part of wider sucos (or principalities), which were themselves part of larger kingdoms led by a liurai  Authority within these kingdoms was held by two individuals, with the worldly power of the liurai balanced by the spiritual power of a rai nain, who was generally associated with the primary sacred house of the kingdom  These polities were numerous and saw shifting alliances and relations, but many were stable enough that they survived from initial European documentation in the 16th century until the end of Portuguese rule : 11–15 From perhaps the thirteenth century, the island exported sandalwood,: 267  which was valued both for its use in crafting and as a source of perfume  Timor was included in Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Indian trading networks by the fourteenth century, exporting sandalwood, honey, and wax  The island was recorded by the Majapahit Empire as a source of tribute : 89  It was sandalwood that attracted European explorers to the island in the early sixteenth century  Early European presence was limited to trade, with the first Portuguese settlement being on the nearby island of Solor : 90

Portuguese era (1769–1975)
Early Portuguese presence on Timor was very limited; trade was directed through Portuguese settlements on nearby islands  Only in the 17th century did they establish a more direct presence on the island, a consequence of being driven out of other islands by the Dutch : 267  After Solor was lost in 1613 the Portuguese moved to Flores  In 1646 the capital moved to Kupang on Timor's west, before Kupang too was lost to the Dutch in 1652  The Portuguese then moved to Lifau, in what is now East Timor's Oecusse exclave : 90  Effective European occupation in the east of the island only began in 1769, when the city of Dili was founded, although actual control remained highly limited  A definitive border between the Dutch and Portuguese parts of the island was established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 1914 and remains the international boundary between the successor states Indonesia and East Timor, respectively For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post, with minimal investment in infrastructure and education, until the late nineteenth century  Even when Portugal established actual control over the interior of its colony, investment remained minimal : 269, 273  Sandalwood continued to be the main export crop and coffee exports became significant in the mid-nineteenth century At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering domestic economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with East Timorese resistance  The colony was seen as an economic burden during the Great Depression and received little support or management from Portugal : 269 During World War II, Dili was occupied by the Allies in 1941, and later by the Japanese beginning in 1942  The mountainous interior of the colony became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the Battle of Timor  Waged by East Timorese volunteers and Allied forces against the Japanese, the struggle killed between 40,000 and 70,000 East Timorese civilians  The Japanese eventually drove the last of the Australian and Allied forces out in early 1943  Portuguese control resumed, however, after Japanese surrender at the end of World War II Portugal began investment in the colony in the 1950s, funding education and promoting coffee exports, but the economy did not improve substantially and infrastructure improvements were limited : 269  Growth rates remained low, near 2%  Following the 1974 Portuguese revolution, Portugal effectively abandoned its colony in Timor, and civil war between East Timorese political parties broke out in 1975 
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) resisted a Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) coup attempt in August 1975, and unilaterally declared independence on 28 November 1975  Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, the Indonesian military launched an invasion of East Timor in December 1975  Indonesia declared East Timor its 27th province on 17 July 1976  The United Nations Security Council opposed the invasion, and the territory's nominal status in the UN remained as "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration" 

Indonesian occupation (1975–1999)
Fretilin resisted the invasion, initially as an army, holding territory until November 1978, and then as a guerrilla resistance  The Indonesian occupation of Timor was marked by violence and brutality  A detailed statistical report prepared for the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor cited a minimum of 102,800 conflict-related deaths in the period between 1974 and 1999, including approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 excess deaths from hunger and illness  The total number of conflict-related deaths during this period is difficult to determine due to a lack of data  One estimate based on Portuguese, Indonesian, and Catholic Church data suggests it may have been as high as 200,000  Repression and restrictions counteracted improvements in health and education infrastructure and services, meaning there was little overall improvement in living standards; economic growth mostly benefited immigrants from elsewhere in Indonesia : 271  A huge expansion of education was intended to increase Indonesian language use and internal security as much as it was for development The 1991 massacre of more than 200 demonstrators by the Indonesian military was a turning point for the independence cause, and brought increased international pressure on Indonesia  Following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, the new President BJ Habibie, prompted by a letter from Australian Prime Minister John Howard, decided to hold a referendum on independence  A UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for a UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999  A clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East Timorese pro-integration militias supported by elements of the Indonesian military  In response, the Indonesian government allowed a multinational peacekeeping force, INTERFET, to restore order and aid East Timorese refugees and internally displaced persons  On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET)  INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN 

Contemporary era
On 30 August 2001, the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect members of the Constituent Assembly  On 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution  By May 2002, more than 205,000 refugees had returned  On 20 May 2002, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor came into force and East Timor was recognised as independent by the UN  The Constituent Assembly was renamed the National Parliament, and Xanana Gusmão was elected as the country's first president  On 27 September 2002 the country became a UN member state In 2006, a crisis of unrest and factional fighting forced 155,000 people to flee their homes; the United Nations sent in security forces to restore order  The following year, Gusmão declined to run for another term  While there were minor incidents in the build-up to the mid-year presidential elections, the process was peaceful overall and José Ramos-Horta was elected president  In June 2007, Gusmão ran in the parliamentary elections and became prime minister at the head of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party  In February 2008, Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an attempted assassination; Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed  Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order  In March 2011, the UN handed over operational control of the police force to the East Timor authorities  The United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission on 31 December 2012 Francisco Guterres of the centre-left Fretilin party became president in May 2017  The leader of Fretilin, Mari Alkatiri, formed a coalition government after the July 2017 parliamentary election  This government soon fell, leading to a second general election in May 2018  In June 2018, former president and independence fighter, Taur Matan Ruak, became the new prime minister  José Ramos-Horta again became president on 20 May 2022 after winning the April 2022 presidential election runoff against Francisco Guterres 

Politics and government
The political system of East Timor is semi-presidential, based upon the Portuguese system : 175  The constitution establishes both this separation of executive powers between the president and the prime minister; and the separation of powers between the executive, legislature, and judiciary : 12  Individuals are not allowed to participate in both the legislature and the executive branch  The legislature is intended to provide a check on the executive; in practice the executive has maintained control of the legislature under all political parties, reflecting the dominance of individual leaders within political parties and coalitions : 174  The executive, through the council of ministers, also holds some formal legislative powers : 175  The judiciary operates independently, although there are instances of executive interference : 13, 39  Some courts shift between locations, to improve access for those in more isolated areas  Despite political rhetoric, the constitution and democratic institutions have been followed by politicians, and changes of government are peaceful : 15, 42  Elections are run by an independent body,: 216  and turnout is high, ranging from around 70% to 85% : 17  The political system has wide public acceptance : 17 : 106 The head of state of East Timor is the president of the republic, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term,: 244  and can serve a maximum of two terms  Formally, the directly elected president holds relatively limited powers compared to those in similar systems, with no power over the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and the council of ministers  However, as they are directly elected, past presidents have wielded great informal power and influence : 175  The president does have the power to veto government legislation, initiate referendums, and to dissolve parliament in the event that it is unable to form a government or pass a budget : 244  If the president vetoes a legislative action, the parliament can overturn the veto with a two-thirds majority : 10  The prime minister is chosen by the parliament, with the president appointing the leader of the majority party or coalition as prime minister of East Timor and the cabinet on the proposal of the latter : 10  As head of government, the prime minister presides over the cabinet 

Representatives in the unicameral National Parliament are elected by popular vote to a five-year term  The number of seats can vary from a minimum of fifty-two to a maximum of sixty-five  Parties must achieve 3% of the vote to enter parliament, with seats for qualifying parties allocated using the D'Hondt method  Elections occur within the framework of a competitive multi-party system  Upon independence, power was held by the Fretilin political party, which was formed shortly before the Indonesian invasion and led its resistance  Given its history, Fretilin viewed itself as the natural party of government and supported a multi-party system, expecting the development of a dominant-party system  Support from the United Nations and the international community, both before and after independence, allowed the nascent political system to survive shocks such as the 2006 crisis : 173 Candidates in parliamentary elections run in a single national district in a party-list system  One in three of all candidates presented by political parties must be women  This system promotes a diversity of political parties, but gives voters little influence over the individual candidates selected by each party : 175–176  Women hold more than a third of parliamentary seats, with parties required by law to run female candidates, but they are less prominent at other levels and within party leadership Political divisions exist along class lines and along geographical lines  There is broadly a divide between eastern and western areas of the country, stemming from differences that arose under Indonesian rule  Fretilin in particular is strongly linked to the Eastern areas : 176–177  Political parties are more closely associated with prominent personalities more than with ideology : 16  The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction became the main opposition to Fretilin, following its establishment to allow Xanana Gusmão to run for Prime Minister in the 2007 parliamentary elections : 168–169  While both major parties have been relatively stable, they remain led by an "old guard" of individuals who came to prominence during the resistance against Indonesia : 175 : 10–11 Politics and administration is centred in the capital Dili, with the national government responsible for most civil services : 9, 36  Oecusse, separated from the rest of the country by Indonesian territory, is a special administrative region with some autonomy : 180  The National Police of East Timor and Timor Leste Defence Force have held a monopoly on violence since 2008 and very few guns are present outside of these organisations : 8  While there are allegations of abuse of power, there is some judicial oversight of police and public trust in the institution has grown  An active civil society functions independently of the government, as do media outlets : 11–12  Civil society organisations are concentrated in the capital, including student groups  Due to the structure of the economy, there are no powerful trade unions : 17  The Catholic Church has strong influence in the country : 40

Foreign relations and military
International cooperation has always been important to East Timor; donor funds made up 80% of the budget before oil revenues began to replace them : 42–44  International forces also provided security, with five UN missions sent to the country from 1999  The final one, the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor, began after the 2006 East Timorese crisis and concluded in 2012 : 4, 14 East Timor formally applied to join ASEAN in 2011,: 42–44  and was granted observer status and accepted "in principle" in November 2022  Despite the nationalist political leadership promoting closer ties with Melanesian states, the country has targeted ASEAN membership since before its independence, with its leaders stating that joining Pacific bodies would have precluded ASEAN membership  ASEAN membership was sought for economic and security reasons, including to improve the relationship with Indonesia  Nonetheless, the process has been slow due to a lack of support from some ASEAN states : 10–11  East Timor is thus an observer to the Pacific Islands Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group  More broadly, the country is a leader within the Group of Seven Plus (g7+), an organisation of fragile states  It is also a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries : 42–44 Continuing bilateral donors include Australia, Portugal, Germany, and Japan, and East Timor has a reputation for effectively and transparently using donor funds  Good relations with Australia and with Indonesia are a policy goal for the government, despite historical and more-recent tensions  These countries are important economic partners and provide most transport links to the country : 42–44  China has also increased its presence by contributing to infrastructure in Dili : 12 The relationship with Australia was dominated from before independence by disputes over natural resources in the ocean between them, hampering the establishment of a mutually agreed border  The dominance of Australian hard power led East Timor to utilise public diplomacy and forums for international law to push their case  The dispute was resolved in 2018 following negotiations at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, when a maritime boundary between the two was established along with an agreement on natural resource revenues The Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) was established in 2001, replacing Falintil, and was restructured following the events of 2006  It is responsible not only for safeguarding against external threats, but also for addressing violent crime, a role it shares with the National Police of East Timor  These forces remain small: 2,200 soldiers in the regular army and 80 in a naval component  A single aircraft and seven patrol boats are operated, and there are plans to expand the naval component  There is some military cooperation with Australia, Portugal, and the United States 

Administrative divisions
East Timor is divided into fourteen municipalities, which in turn are subdivided into 64 administrative posts, 442 sucos (villages), and 2,225 aldeias (hamlets)  The municipalities are: Aileu, Ainaro, Atauro, Baucau, Bobonaro, Cova Lima, Dili, Ermera, Lautém, Liquiçá, Manatuto, Manufahi, Oecusse, and Viqueque The existing system of municipalities and administrative posts was established during Portuguese rule : 3  While decentralisation is mentioned in the constitution, administrative powers generally remain with the national government operating out of Dili : 2  Upon independence there was debate about how to implement decentralisation; various proposed models would create different levels of administration between the sucos and the central government  In most proposals, there were no specific provisions for suco-level governance, and they were expected to continue to exist as mostly traditional spaces, identifying communities rather than being part of the civil administration  In the end, the existing districts were kept and renamed municipalities in 2009, and received very few powers : 88–92  In 2016 changes were made so that each municipality is led by a civil servant appointed by the central government  This civil servant is advised by locally elected leaders : 4, 7  The isolated Oecusse municipality, which has a strong identity and is fully surrounded by Indonesian territory, is specified by Articles 5 and 71 of the 2002 constitution to be governed by a special administrative policy and economic regime  Law 3/2014 of 18 June 2014 implemented this constitutional provision, which went into effect in January 2015, turning Oecusse into a Special Administrative Region  The region began operating its own civil service in June 2015  In January 2022 the island of Atauro, formerly an Administrative Post of Dili, became its own municipality Administration in the lowest levels of the administrative system of East Timor, the aldeias and sucos, generally reflects traditional customs,: 1  reflecting community identity and relationships between local households : 4  Sucos generally contain 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants  Their long persistence and links to local governance means the sucos are the level of government that is linked to community identities, rather than any high level of administration : 89  Such relationships, however, are associated specifically with the kinship groups within that land, rather than the land itself : 52–53  Relationships between sucos also reflect customary practices, for example through the reciprocal exchanging of support for local initiatives : 9  Laws passed in 2004 provided for the election of some suco officials, but assigned these positions no formal powers  An updated law in 2009 established the expected mandate of these positions, although it continued to leave them outside of the formal state system, reliant on municipal governments to provide formal administration and services : 94–97  Further clarification was given in 2016, which entrenched the treatment of sucos and aldeias more as communities than formal levels of administration  Despite this lack of formal association with the state, suco leaders hold great influence and are often seen by their community as representatives of the state  They have responsibilities usually associated with civic administration : 7–10

Geography
Located in between Southeast Asia and the South Pacific,: 2  the island of Timor is the largest of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which lie within the Malay archipelago : 1  The island is surrounded by the Ombai and Wetar Straits of the rougher Banda Sea in the north, and the calmer Timor Sea in the south : 2  East Timor shares the island with Indonesia, with Indonesian territory separating the Oecusse exclave from the rest of the country  The island of Atauro lies north of the mainland,: 2  with the fourth area being the small island of Jaco  The Savu Sea lies north of Oecusse : 1  The country is about 265 kilometres (165 mi) long and 97 kilometres (60 mi) wide, with a total land area of 14,874 square kilometres (5,743 sq mi) : 1  This territory is situated between 8′15S – 10′30S latitude and 125′50E – 127′30E longitude : 2  The country's coastline covers around 700 kilometres (430 mi),: 27  while the main land border with Indonesia is 125 kilometres (78 mi) long, and the Oecusse land border is around 100 kilometres (62 mi) long : 1  Maritime borders exist with Australia to the south and Indonesia elsewhere  East Timor has an exclusive economic zone of 77,051 km2 (29,750 sq mi) The interior of the country is mountainous,: 2  with ridges of inactive volcanic mountains extending along the island : 2  Almost half of the country has a slope of at least 40%  The south is slightly less mountainous, and has some plains near the coastline : 2  The highest point is Tatamailau (also known as Mount Ramelau) at 2,963 metres (9,721 ft)  Most rivers dry up at least partially during the dry season : 2  Outside of some coastal areas and river valleys, the soil is shallow and prone to erosion, and its quality is poor : 13 : 2  The capital and largest city is Dili  The second-largest city is the eastern town of Baucau : 22 

The climate is tropical with relatively stable temperatures throughout the year  A wet season lasts from December to May throughout the country, and lasts slightly longer in the south: 5  and the interior due to the effect of a monsoon from Australia : 2  During this period, rainfall can reach 222–252 millimetres (8 7–9 9 in) per month  In the dry season, it drops to 12–18 millimetres (0 47–0 71 in) : 5  The country is vulnerable to flooding and landslides that occur as a result of heavy rain, especially when rainfall levels are increased by the La Niña effect : 13  The mountainous interior is cooler than the coasts  Coastal areas are heavily dependent on groundwater, which faces pressure from mismanagement, deforestation, and climate change : 14  While the temperature is thought to have experienced a small increase due to climate change, there has been little change in annual rainfall : 6 Coastal ecosystems around the country are diverse and varied, with vary spatially between the north and south coastlines, as well as between the eastern tip and areas more to the west  These ecosystems include coral reefs, as the country's waters are part of the Coral Triangle biodiversity hotspot : 28  The easternmost area of East Timor consists of the Paitchau Range and the Lake Ira Lalaro area, which contains the country's first conservation area, the Nino Konis Santana National Park  It contains the last remaining tropical dry forested area within the country  It hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated  The northern coast is characterised by a number of coral reef systems that have been determined to be at risk There are around 41,000 terrestrial plant species in the country  Forests covered 35% of East Timor's land in the mid 2010s : 1  The forests of the northern coast, central uplands, and southern coast are distinct : 2  East Timor is home to the Timor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion  There is some environmental protection in law, but it has not been a government priority : 27 : 10–14  In addition to climate change, local ecosystems are threatened by deforestation, land degradation, overfishing, and pollution : 2–3

Economy
The economy of East Timor is a market economy, although it is dependent upon the export of a few commodities and has a large public sector  Internally, market operations are limited by widespread poverty : 20  The country uses the United States dollar, producing its own coins to facilitate smaller transactions  The economy is generally open to foreign investment, although a prohibition on foreigners owning land means many require a local partner in the country : 20  Competition is limited by the small size of the economy, rather than any government barriers  There are far more imports than exports,: 21  and prices for goods are often higher than in nearby countries : 27  Inflation is strongly affected by government spending : 257  Growth has been slow, averaging just 2 5% per year from 2011 to 2021 : 24 Most of the country is very poor, with just more than 40% living under the national poverty line  This poverty is especially prevalent in rural areas, where many are subsistence farmers or fishermen  Even in urban areas, the majority are poor  Overall, women are poorer than men, often being employed in lower-paying careers : 18  Malnutrition is common, with over half of children showing stunted growth : 255  While 91% of married working age (15–49) men were employed as of 2016, only 43% of married working age women were  There are small disparities in favour of men in terms of home and land ownership and owning a bank account : 14  The eastern three municipalities, which contain around a quarter of the population, has less poverty than the western areas, which contain 50% of the population : 214 Sixty-six per cent of families are in part supported by subsistence activities; however, the country as a whole does not produce enough food to be self-sustaining, and thus relies on imports : 16  Agricultural work carries the implication of poverty, and the sector receives little investment from the government : 260  Ninety-four per cent of domestic fish catch comes from the ocean, especially coastal fisheries : 17  Those in the capital of Dili are on average better off, although they remain poor by international standards : 257  The small size of the private sector means the government is often the customer of public businesses  A quarter of the national population works in the informal economy, with the official public and private sectors employing 9% each : 18  Of those of working age, around 23% are in the formal sector, 21% are students, and 27% are subsistence farmers and fishers : 21  The economy is mostly cash-based, with little commercial credit available from banks : 11–12  Remittances from overseas workers add up to around $100 million annually : 257 

This poverty belies significant wealth in terms of natural resources, which at the time of independence had per capita value equivalent to the wealth of an upper-middle income country  Over half of this was in oil, and over a quarter natural gas  The Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund was established in 2005 to turn these non-renewable resources into a more sustainable form of wealth : 4–6  From 2005 to 2021, $23 billion earned from oil sales has entered the fund  $8 billion has been generated from investments, while $12 billion has been spent : 30  A decrease in oil and gas reserves led to decreasing HDI beginning in 2010 : 18–19  Eighty per cent of government spending comes from this fund, which as of 2021 had $19 billion, 10 times greater than the size of the national budget  As oil income has decreased, the fund is at risk of being exhausted  Withdrawals have exceeded sustainable levels almost every year since 2009 : 23  Resources within the Bayu-Undan field are expected to soon run out, while extracting those within the so far undeveloped Greater Sunrise field has proven technically and politically challenging  Remaining potential reserves are also losing value as oil and gas become less favoured sources of energy : 264–272 The country's economy is dependent on government spending and, to a lesser extent, assistance from foreign donors  Government spending decreased beginning in 2012, which had knock-on effects in the private sector over the following years  The government and its state-owned oil company often invest in large private projects  Decreasing government spending was matched with a decrease in GDP growth : 18  After the petroleum fund, the second largest source of government income is taxes  Tax revenue is less than 8% of GDP, lower than many other countries in the region and with similarly sized economies  Other government income comes from 23 "autonomous agencies", which include port authorities, infrastructure companies, and the National University of East Timor : 13, 28–309  Overall, government spending remains among the highest in the world,: 12  although investment into education, health, and water infrastructure is negligible : 260 

Private sector development has lagged due to human capital shortages, infrastructure weakness, an incomplete legal system, and an inefficient regulatory environment  Property rights remain ill-defined, with conflicting titles from Portuguese and Indonesian rule, as well as needing to accommodate traditional customary rights : 23  As of 2010, 87 7% of urban (321,043 people) and 18 9% of rural (821,459 people) households have electricity, for an overall average of 38 2%  The private sector shrank between 2014 and 2018, despite a growing working age population  Agriculture and manufacturing are less productive per capita than at independence : 255–256  Non-oil economic sectors have failed to develop, and growth in construction and administration is dependent on oil revenue : 256  The dependence on oil shows some aspects of a resource curse  Coffee made up 90% of all non-fossil fuel exports from 2013 to 2019, with all such exports totalling to around US$20 million annually : 257  In 2017, the country was visited by 75,000 tourists 

Demographics
East Timor recorded a population of 1,183,643 in its 2015 census  The population lives mainly along the coastline, where all urban areas are located : 27  Those in urban areas generally have more formal education, employment prospects, and healthcare  While a strong gender disparity exists throughout the country, it is less severe in the urban capital  The wealthy minority often go abroad for health, education and other purposes : 25  The population is young, with the median age being under 20 : 29  In particular, a large proportion of the population (almost 45% in 2015) are males between the ages of 15 and 24, the third largest male 'youth bulge' in the world : 212 The Government of Timor-Leste's website lists the English-language demonym for East Timor as Timorese  Other reference sources list it as East Timorese  The word Maubere formerly used by the Portuguese to refer to native East Timorese and often employed as synonymous with the illiterate and uneducated, was adopted by Fretilin as a term of pride Healthcare received 6% of the national budget in 2021 : 24  From 1990 to 2019 life expectancy rose from 48 5 to 69 5  Expected years of schooling rose from 9 8 to 12 4 between 2000 and 2010, while mean years of schooling rose from 2 8 to 4 4  Progress since 2010 for these has been limited  Gross national income per capita similarly peaked in 2010, and has decreased since : 3  As of 2016, 45 8% of East Timorese were impoverished, 16 3% severely so : 6  The fertility rate, which at the time of independence was the highest in the world at 7 8, dropped to 4 2 by 2016  It is relatively higher in rural areas, and among poorer: 3  and less literate households  As of 2016, the average household size was 5 3, with 41% of people aged under 15, and 18% of households headed by women : 2  Infant mortality stood at 30 per 1,000, down from 60 per 1,000 in 2003 : 7  46% of children under 5 showed stunted growth, down from 58% in 2010  Working age adult obesity increased from 5% to 10% during the same time period  As of 2016, 40% of children, 23% of women, and 13% of men had anemia : 11

Ethnicity and language
Timorese communities are not strictly defined by ethnic background or linguistic group  Separate communities may share ethnicity or language, and many areas show overlaps and hybridisation between ethnic and linguistic groups : 44  Familial relations and descent, which are interlinked with sacred house affiliation, are a more important indicator of identity : 47  Each family group generally identifies with a single language or dialect : 49  With this immense local variation in mind, there is a broad cultural and identity distinction between the east (Bacau, Lautém, and Viqueque Municipalities) and the west of the country, a product of history more than it is of linguistic and ethnic differences,: 45–47  although it is very loosely associated with the two language groups : 142–143  There is a small mestiço population of mixed Portuguese and local descent  There is a small Chinese minority, most of whom are Hakka  Many Chinese left in the mid-1970s, but a significant number have also returned to East Timor following the end of Indonesian occupation  East Timor has a small community of Timorese Indian, specifically Goan descent, as well as historical immigration from Africa and Yemen Likely reflecting the mixed origins of the different ethnolinguistic groups of the island, the indigenous languages fall into two language families: Austronesian and Papuan : 10  Depending on how they are classified, there are up to 19 indigenous languages with up to 30 dialects : 136  Aside from Tetum, Ethnologue lists the following indigenous languages: Adabe, Baikeno, Bunak, Fataluku, Galoli, Habun, Idaté, Kairui-Midiki, Kemak, Lakalei, Makasae, Makuv'a, Mambae, Nauete, Tukudede, and Waima'a  According to the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, there are six endangered languages in East Timor: Adabe, Habu, Kairui-Midiki, Maku'a, Naueti, and Waima'a  The largest Malayo-Polynesian group is the Tetum, mostly around Dili or the western border  Other Malayo-Polynesian languages with native speakers of more than 40,000 are Mambai in the central mountains south of Dili, Baikeno in Oecusse, Kemak in the north-west interior, and Tokodede on the northwest coast  The main Papuan languages spoken are Bunak in the centre of Timor, especially within Bobonaro Municipality; Makasae in the eastern Baucau and Viqueque municipalities; and Fataluku in the eastern Lautém Municipality : 43  The 2015 census found that the most commonly spoken mother tongues were Tetum Prasa (mother tongue for 30 6% of the population), Mambai (16 6%), Makasai (10 5%), Tetum Terik (6 05%), Baikenu (5 87%), Kemak (5 85%), Bunak (5 48%), Tokodede (3 97%), and Fataluku (3 52%)  Other indigenous languages accounted for 10 47%, while 1 09% of the population spoke foreign languages natively East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum  In addition, English and Indonesian are designated by the constitution as "working languages" : 3  This is within the Final and Transitional Provisions, which do not set a final date  In 2012, 35% could speak, read, and write Portuguese, which is up significantly from less than 5% in the 2006 UN Development Report  Portuguese is recovering as it has now been made the main official language of Timor, and is being taught in most schools  The use of Portuguese for government information and in the court system provides some barriers to access for those who do not speak it  Tetum is also not understood by everyone in the country : 11  According to the Observatory of the Portuguese Language, the East Timorese literacy rate was 77 8% in Tetum, 55 6% in Indonesian, and 39 3% in Portuguese, and that the primary literacy rate increased from 73% in 2009 to 83% in 2012  According to the 2015 census, 50% of the population between the ages of 14 and 24 can speak and understand Portuguese  The 2015 census found around 15% of those over the age of five were literate in English 

Education
East Timor's adult literacy rate was 68% among adults, and 84% among those aged 15–24, as of 2021  It is slightly higher among women than men : 27  More girls than boys attend school, although some drop out upon reaching puberty : 25  As of 2016 22% of working age women (15–49) and 19% of working age men had no education, 15% of women and 18% of men had some primary education, 52% of women and 51% of men had some secondary education, and 11% of women and 12% of men had higher education  Overall, 75% of women and 82% of men were literate : 2  Primary schools exist throughout the country, although the quality of materials and teaching is often poor  Secondary schools are generally limited to municipal capitals  Education takes up 10% of the national budget : 27  The country's main university is the National University of East Timor  There are also four colleges Since independence, both Indonesian and Tetum have lost ground as media of instruction, while Portuguese has increased: in 2001 only 8 4% of primary school and 6 8% of secondary school students attended a Portuguese-medium school; by 2005 this had increased to 81 6% for primary and 46 3% for secondary schools  Indonesian formerly played a considerable role in education, being used by 73 7% of all secondary school students as a medium of instruction, but by 2005 Portuguese was used by most schools in Baucau, Manatuto, as well as the capital district  Portugal provides support to about 3% of the public schools in East Timor, focused on those in urban areas, further encouraging the use of the Portuguese language : 28

Religion
While the Constitution of East Timor enshrines the principles of freedom of religion and separation of church and state, Section 45 Comma 1 also acknowledges "the participation of the Catholic Church in the process of national liberation" in its preamble  Upon independence, the country joined the Philippines to become the only two predominantly Catholic states in Asia, although nearby parts of eastern Indonesia such as Flores and parts of Western New Guinea also have Catholic majorities According to the 2015 census, 97 57% of the population is Catholic; 1 96% Protestant; 0 24% Muslim; 0 08% Traditional; 0 05% Buddhist; 0 02% Hindu, and 0 08% other religions  A 2016 survey conducted by the Demographic and Health Survey programme showed that Catholics made up 98 3% of the population, Protestants 1 2%, and Muslims 0 3% The number of churches grew from 100 in 1974 to more than 800 in 1994, with Church membership having grown considerably under Indonesian rule as Pancasila, Indonesia's state ideology, requires all citizens to believe in one God and does not recognise traditional beliefs  East Timorese animist belief systems did not fit with Indonesia's constitutional monotheism, resulting in mass conversions to Christianity  Portuguese clergy were replaced with Indonesian priests and Latin and Portuguese mass was replaced by Indonesian mass  While just 20% of East Timorese called themselves Catholics at the time of the 1975 invasion, the figure surged to reach 95% by the end of the first decade after the invasion  The Roman Catholic Church divides East Timor into three dioceses: the Archdiocese of Díli, the Diocese of Baucau, and the Diocese of Maliana  In rural areas, Roman Catholicism is syncretised with local animist beliefs  The number of Protestants and Muslims declined significantly after September 1999, as these groups were disproportionately represented among supporters of integration with Indonesia  Fewer than half of previous Protestant congregations existed after September 1999, and many Protestants were among those who remained in West Timor 

Culture
The many cultures within East Timor stem from the several waves of Austronesian and Melanesian migration that led to the current population, with unique identities and traditions developing within each petty kingdom  Portuguese authorities built upon traditional structures, blending Portuguese influence into the existing political and social systems : 91–92  The presence of the Catholic Church created a point of commonality across the various ethnic groups, despite full conversion remaining limited  The Portuguese language also provided common linkages, even if direct Portuguese impact was limited : 97–98  Under Indonesian rule, resistance strengthened cultural links to Catholicism and the Portuguese language  At the same time, Indonesian cultural influence was spread through schools and administration : 98–99 The preservation of traditional beliefs in the face of Indonesian attempts to suppress them became linked to the creation of the country's national identity : 7–13  This national identity only began to emerge at the very end of Portuguese rule, and further developed during Indonesian rule : 134–136  Following independence, a civic identity began to develop  This was most clearly expressed through enthusiasm for national-level democracy,: 155–156  and was reflected in politics through a shift from resistance narratives to development ones : 3  The capital has developed a more cosmopolitan culture, while rural areas maintain stronger traditional practices : 30  Internal migration into urban areas, especially Dili, creates cultural links between these areas and rural hinterlands  Those in urban areas often continue to identify with a specific rural area, even those with multiple generations born in Dili : 53–54 The presence of so many ethnic and linguistic groups means cultural practices vary across the country : 11  These practices reflect historical social structures and practices, where political leaders were regarded as having spiritual powers  Ancestry was an important part of cultural practices, and partly signified leadership  Leaders often had influence over land use, and these leaders continue to play an informal role in land disputes and other aspects of community practice today  An important traditional concept is lulik, or sacredness  Some lulik ceremonies continue to reflect animist beliefs, for example through divination ceremonies which vary throughout the country  Sacred status can also be associated with objects, such as Portuguese flags which have been passed down within families : 7–13 

Community life is centred around sacred houses (Uma Lulik), physical structures which serve as a representative symbol and identifier for each community : 47–49  The architectural style of these houses varies between different parts of the country, although following widespread destruction by Indonesian forces many were rebuilt with cheap modern materials : 22–25  The house as a concept extends beyond the physical object to the surrounding community : 92–93, 96  Kinship systems exist within and between houses  Traditional leaders, who stem from historically important families, retain key roles in administering justice and resolving disputes through methods that vary between communities : 47–49  Such leaders are often elected to official leadership positions, merging cultural and historical status with modern political status : 52  The concept of being part of a communal house has been extended to the nation, with Parliament serving as the national sacred house : 96 Art styles vary throughout the various ethnolinguistic groups of the island  Nonetheless, similar artistic motifs are present throughout, such as large animals and particular geometric patterns  Some art is traditionally associated with particular genders  For example, the Tais textiles that play a widespread role in traditional life throughout the island are traditionally handwoven by women  Different tais patterns are associated with different communities, and more broadly with linguistic groups : 137  Many buildings within central Dili maintain historical Portuguese architecture : I-5 Traditional rituals remain important, often mixed in with more modern aspects : 137  A strong oral history is highlighted in individuals able to recite long stories or poetry  This history, or Lia nain, passes down traditional knowledge : 16  There remains a strong tradition of poetry  Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, for example, is a distinguished poet, earning the moniker "poet warrior" In the field of cinema, East Timor released its first feature-length film, a period thriller titled Beatriz's War, in 2013  Shot with a limited budget by a mix of local filmmakers and a volunteer Australian film crew, the film depicted East Timorese life under Indonesian occupation in the 1970s, with producer Lurdes Pires acknowledging their aim to diverge from the government's "friendship and forgiveness" policy for its past conflicts by telling a story of truth-seeking and justice 

See also
Outline of East Timor
Index of East Timor-related articles
List of topics on the Portuguese Empire in the East
Passage 2:
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, officially the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden), and commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795  It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands  The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration)  It comprised Groningen, Frisia, Overijssel, Guelders, Utrecht, Holland and Zeeland 
Although the state was small and contained only around 1 5 million inhabitants, it controlled a worldwide network of seafaring trade routes  Through its trading companies, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (GWC), it established a Dutch colonial empire  The income from this trade allowed the Dutch Republic to compete militarily against much larger countries  It amassed a huge fleet of 2,000 ships, initially larger than the fleets of England and France combined  Major conflicts were fought in the Eighty Years' War against Spain (from the foundation of the Dutch Republic until 1648), the Dutch–Portuguese War (1602–1663), four Anglo-Dutch Wars (the first against the Commonwealth of England, two against the Kingdom of England, and a fourth against the Kingdom of Great Britain: 1652–1654, 1665–1667, 1672–1674 and 1780–1784), the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697), the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713), the War of Austrian Succession (1744–1748) and the War of the First Coalition (1792–1795) against the Kingdom of France 
The republic was more tolerant of different religions and ideas than its contemporary states were, allowing freedom of thought to its residents  Artists flourished under this regime, including painters such as Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer and many others  So did scientists, such as Hugo Grotius, Christiaan Huygens and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek  The Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world during much of the 17th century, a period which became known in Dutch history as the Dutch Golden Age 
The republic was a confederation of provinces each with a high degree of independence from the federal assembly, known as the States General  In the Peace of Westphalia (1648) the republic gained approximately 20% more territory, located outside the member provinces, which was ruled directly by the States General as Generality Lands  Each province was led by an official known as the stadtholder (Dutch for 'steward'); this office was nominally open to anyone, but most provinces appointed a member of the House of Orange  The position gradually became hereditary, with the Prince of Orange simultaneously holding most or all of the stadtholderships, making him effectively the head of state  This created tension between political factions: the Orangists favoured a powerful stadtholder, while the Republicans favoured a strong States General  The Republicans forced two Stadtholderless Periods, 1650–1672 and 1702–1747, with the latter causing national instability and the end of Great Power status 
Economic decline led to a period of political instability known as the Patriottentijd (1780–1787)  This unrest was temporarily suppressed by a Prussian invasion in support of the stadtholder  The French Revolution and subsequent War of the First Coalition caused these tensions to reignite  Following military defeat by France, the stadtholder was expelled in the Batavian Revolution of 1795  This ended the Dutch Republic; it was succeeded by the Batavian Republic 

History
Until the 16th century, the Low Countries—corresponding roughly to the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg—consisted of a number of duchies, counties, and prince-bishoprics, almost all of which were under the supremacy of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the County of Flanders, most of which was under the Kingdom of France 
Most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg  In 1549, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which further unified the Seventeen Provinces under his rule  Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain  In 1568, the Netherlands, led by William I of Orange, together with Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, and Lamoral, Count of Egmont revolted against Philip II because of high taxes, persecution of Protestants by the government, and Philip's efforts to modernize and centralize the devolved-medieval government structures of the provinces  This was the start of the Eighty Years' War  During the initial phase of the war, the revolt was largely unsuccessful  Spain regained control over most of the rebelling provinces  This period is known as the "Spanish Fury" due to the high number of massacres, instances of mass looting, and total destruction of multiple cities and in particular Antwerp between 1572 and 1579 
In 1579, a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Army of Flanders  This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II  Dutch colonialism began at this point, as the Netherlands was able to swipe a number of Portuguese and Spanish colonies, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region  After the assassination of William of Orange on 10 July 1584, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined offers of sovereignty  However, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England (Treaty of Nonsuch, 1585), and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general  This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy  The Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by Spain until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 
During the Anglo-French War (1778–1783), the internal territory was divided into two groups: the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American, and the Orangists, who were pro-British  The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of republican revolutions in 1783–1787  During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities  Initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787  The republican forces fled to France, but then successfully re-invaded alongside the army of the French Republic (1793–1795), ousting stadtholder William V, abolishing the Dutch Republic, and replacing it with the Batavian Republic (1795–1806)  After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810) 
The Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813  In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names "United Provinces of the Netherlands" and "United Netherlands" were used  In 1815, it was rejoined with the Austrian Netherlands and Liège (the "Southern provinces") to become the Kingdom of the Netherlands, informally known as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, to create a strong buffer state north of France  On 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands  Between 1815 and 1890, the King of the Netherlands was also in a personal union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg  After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became unequivocally known as the "Kingdom of the Netherlands", as it remains today 

Economy
During the Dutch Golden Age in the late-16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch Republic dominated world trade, conquering a vast colonial empire and operating the largest fleet of merchantmen of any nation  The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world  In 1650 the urban population of the Dutch Republic as a percentage of total population was 31 7 percent, while that of the Spanish Netherlands was 20 8 percent, of Portugal 16 6 percent, and of Italy 14 percent  In 1675 the urban population density of Holland alone was 61 percent, compared to the rest of the Dutch Republic, where 27 percent lived in urban areas The free trade spirit of the time was augmented by the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries  The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands  The Dutch East-India Company exchange went public in six different cities  Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a single city, so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles  While the banking system evolved in the Low Countries, it was quickly incorporated by the well-connected English, stimulating English economic output The Dutch Republic was a master of banking, often compared to 14th century Florence  When Southern Europe was experiencing poor harvests, surplus grain from Poland was sold by the Dutch for large profits 

Politics
The republic was a confederation of seven provinces, which had their own governments and were very independent, and a number of so-called Generality Lands  The latter were governed directly by the States General, the federal government  The States General were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives of each of the seven provinces  The provinces of the republic were, in official feudal order:

Duchy of Guelders
County of Holland
County of Zeeland
Lordship of Utrecht
Lordship of Overijssel
Lordship of Frisia
Lordship of GroningenThere was an eighth province, the County of Drenthe, but this area was so poor that it was exempt from paying federal taxes, and as a consequence, it was denied representation in the States General 
Each province was governed by the Provincial States, their main executive official (though not the official head of state) being a raadpensionaris or landsadvocaat  In times of war, the stadtholder, who commanded the army, would have more power than the raadpensionaris  In theory, the stadtholders were freely appointed by and subordinate to the states of each province  However, in practice the princes of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau, beginning with William the Silent, were always chosen as stadtholders of most of the provinces 
Zeeland and usually Utrecht had the same stadtholder as Holland  There was a constant power struggle between the Orangists, who supported the stadtholders and specifically the princes of Orange, and the Republicans, who supported the States General and hoped to replace the semi-hereditary nature of the stadtholdership with a true republican structure 
After the Peace of Westphalia, several border territories were assigned to the United Provinces  They were federally governed Generality Lands  These were Staats-Brabant, Staats-Vlaanderen, Staats-Overmaas, and (after the Treaty of Utrecht) Staats-Opper-Gelre  The States General of the United Provinces were in control of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, but some shipping expeditions were initiated by some of the provinces, mostly Holland and Zeeland 
The framers of the United States Constitution were influenced by the Constitution of the Republic of the United Provinces, as Federalist No  20, by James Madison, shows  Such influence appears, however, to have been of a negative nature, as Madison describes the Dutch confederacy as exhibiting "Imbecility in the government; discord among the provinces; foreign influence and indignities; a precarious existence in peace, and peculiar calamities from war " Apart from this, the American Declaration of Independence is similar to the Act of Abjuration, essentially the declaration of independence of the United Provinces, but concrete evidence that the latter directly influenced the former is absent 

Religion
In the Union of Utrecht of 20 January 1579, Holland and Zeeland were granted the right to accept only one religion (in practice, Calvinism)  Every other province had the freedom to regulate the religious question as it wished, although the Union stated every person should be free in the choice of personal religion and that no person should be prosecuted based on religious choice  William of Orange had been a strong supporter of public and personal freedom of religion and hoped to unite Protestants and Catholics in the new union, and, for him, the Union was a defeat  In practice, Catholic services in all provinces were quickly forbidden, and the Dutch Reformed Church became the "public" or "privileged" church in the republic During the republic, any person who wished to hold public office had to conform to the Reformed Church and take an oath to this effect  The extent to which different religions or denominations were persecuted depended much on the time period and regional or city leaders  In the beginning, this was especially focused on Roman Catholics, being the religion of the enemy  In 17th-century Leiden, for instance, people opening their homes to services could be fined 200 guilders (a year's wage for a skilled tradesman) and banned from the city  Throughout this, however, personal freedom of religion existed and was one factor—along with economic reasons—in causing large immigration of religious refugees from other parts of Europe In the first years of the republic, controversy arose within the Reformed Church, mainly around the subject of predestination  This has become known as the struggle between Arminianism and Gomarism, or between Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants  In 1618, the Synod of Dort tackled this issue, which led to the banning of the Remonstrant faith 
Beginning in the 18th century, the situation changed from more or less active persecution of religious services to a state of restricted toleration of other religions, as long as their services took place secretly in private churches 

Decline
Long-term rivalry between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans, Dutch States Party) and the Prinsgezinden (Royalists or Orangists), sapped the strength and unity of the country  Johan de Witt and the Republicans did reign supreme for a time at the middle of the 17th century (the First Stadtholderless Period) until his overthrow and murder in 1672  Subsequently, William III of Orange became stadtholder  After a 22-year stadtholderless era, the Orangists regained power, and his first problem was to survive the Franco-Dutch War (with the derivative Third Anglo-Dutch war), when France, England, Münster, and Cologne united against this country 
Wars to contain the expansionist policies of France in various coalitions after the Glorious Revolution, mostly including England and Scotland—after 1707, Great Britain—burdened the republic with huge debts, although little of the fighting after 1673 took place on its own territory  The necessity to maintain a vast army against France meant that less money could be spent on the navy, weakening the republic's economy  After William III's death in 1702 the Second Stadtholderless Period was inaugurated  Despite having contributed much in the War of the Spanish Succession, the Dutch Republic gained little from the peace talks in Utrecht (1713)  However, the Dutch had over a period of forty years successfully defended their positions in the Southern Netherlands and their troops were central in the alliances which had halted French territorial expansion in Europe until 1792  The end of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, and Austria becoming allies with France against Prussia, marked the end of the republic as a major military power Fierce competition for trade and colonies, especially from France and England, furthered the economic downturn of the country  The three Anglo-Dutch Wars and the rise of mercantilism had a negative effect on Dutch shipping and commerce 

See also
List of countries that gained independence from Spain
Dutch Empire
Dutch East India Company
Passage 3:
Sumardi
Sumardi (born 26 June 1972) is an Indonesian former footballer who plays as a goalkeeper 
Passage 4:
Zeferino Martins
Zeferino Martins, also known as Ze Martins (born September 5, 1985) is an East Timorese footballer who plays as midfielder for Ad  Dili Oeste and the Timor-Leste national team 
Passage 5:
The Trouble with the Truth (song)
"The Trouble with the Truth" is a song written by Gary Nicholson, and recorded by American country music artist Patty Loveless  It was released in April 1997 as the fifth and final single and title track from her album  The Trouble with the Truth 
The song charted for 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart, reaching number 15 during the week of July 12, 1997 

Other versions
Joan Baez also cut a version of the song during an early 1990s recording session in Nashville, but the recording remained unissued until released in 2012 as a bonus track on the remastered rerelease of her 1992 album Play Me Backwards 

Chart positions
Passage 6:
Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship
The Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission on Truth and Friendship (more commonly known by its Portuguese acronym CVA, Comissão Verdade e Amizade) was a truth commission established jointly by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor in August 2005  The commission was officially created to investigate acts of violence that occurred around the independence referendum held in East Timor in 1999 and sought to find the "conclusive truth" behind the events  After holding private hearings and document reviews, the commission handed in the final report on July 15, 2008 to the presidents of both nations, and was fully endorsed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, providing the first acknowledgement by the government of Indonesia of the human rights violations committed by state institutions in Timor  The commission is notable for being the first modern truth commission to be bilateral 

Background
East Timor was originally colonized by the Portuguese, and remained a colony up until the fall of the military dictatorship in 1974  East Timor declared independence soon afterwards, but Indonesia soon decided to intervene as it became clear that the government of the new state would most likely be leftist  The Indonesian government began Operation Komodo, which was intended to bring about the integration of the East Timorese territory  It began with a propaganda campaign, but after the outbreak of conflict in East Timor, the Indonesian military began a campaign on 7 October starting with an assault on a border post and accumulating with a full-scale invasion utilizing paratroopers and naval support  The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion via resolution, but due to resistance in the Security council, no further action was taken  The United States also tacitly gave their approval, as the dismantling of a pro-communist government helped advance the policy of containment being pursued by the government 
Indonesia occupied the territory for the following two decades  During the administration of the Habibie government, a referendum was held in the occupied area asking if the residents of the area wished to remain a part of Indonesia  Even before the referendum, there was harassment by militia groups in the area, with UN workers being attacked in Maliana  It soon became clear in the wake of the referendum that the referendum result would be overwhelmingly in favor of the "no" option on the ballot; this raised tensions to a boiling point, and within two hours of the announcement of the results, armed militia groups began attacking civilians  Militia continued to attack civilians as they withdrew from the country, and several massacres occurred as the troops filtered out of the area  A UN peacekeeping force known as INTERFET was deployed to stabilize the situation, made up of mostly Australian troops, and was withdrawn with the arrival of normal UN peacekeepers  East Timor eventually transitioned from a UN mandate to an independent country 

Report
The commission itself was announced in August 2006 and sought to establish "the conclusive truth regarding human rights violations to have occurred prior to, immediately after the Popular Consultation on 30 August 1999" as well as "prepare recommendations that can contribute to healing wounds of the past and strengthen friendship"  The timing of the commission's creation was criticized by some, as it was believed that it was created to intentionally subvert calls for an international tribunal to deal with the events surrounding the 1999 plebiscite  The commission's mandate allowed it to review documents pertaining to four other inquiries surrounding the events that predated it: "The Indonesian National Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in East Timor in 1999", "The Indonesian Ad Hoc Human Rights Court on East Timor", "The Special Panels for Serious Crimes", and "The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation" The commission was made up of four members appointed from each nation, and these commissioners were instructed to conduct a document review and analyze previous trials and investigations into the subject, including the UN Special Panels for Serious Crimes and Serious Crime Units in Dili, and the report of the Commission of Reception, Truth and Reconciliation of Timor-Leste  The commission also stated its intent to research the "historical background, political dynamics, and institutional structures that shaped events before and during 1999" to "inform its conclusions with a broader understanding of the way in which the causes of the violence in 1999 were connected to previously established institutional structures and practices "Operating over three years, the commission gave its final report on July 15, 2008, and presented it to the Presidents of Indonesia and East Timor, concluding that "gross human rights violations in the form of crimes against humanity did occur in East Timor in 1999" and that "pro-autonomy militia groups, TNI, the Indonesian civil government, and Polri must all bear institutional responsibility", as well as stating that "from a moral and political perspective the respective states must accept state responsibility for the violations identified in the report " The commission also made recommendations that both nations begin institutional reform enhancing the strength of investigative and prosecuting bodies involved with investigations into the events, as well as forming joint security policy to ensure the safety of individuals in case of the recurrence of violence  It also noted the need to resolve other standing border and security issues between the two nations to allow for more cooperation  Notably, the report gave no recommendations of amnesty or rehabilitation  The report was endorsed by the president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, making it the first recognition of the Indonesian government's complicity in human rights violations in East Timor by Indonesia 

Reception
In Indonesia and Timor, the report was presented to both governments and accepted by both the Timorese and Indonesian governments  However, Timorese NGO Timor-Leste National Alliance for International Tribunal wrote an open letter in response to the commission's findings with several criticisms, including the lack of public consultation with victims and parliamentary approval of the commission, as well as noting that the commission assigned institutional responsibility rather than individual responsibility, "which is contrary to the principles of international laws which were ratified by the state of Timor-Leste and to Article 160 of its constitution which says that there must be a justice process for crimes against humanity ", as well as stating their belief that the CAVR was a more trustworthy and support worthy commission for the government to support Internationally, the report had a mixed reception  Some, such as the War Crimes Studies Center at the University of California, Berkeley, said that the commission could be seen as "widely acknowledged as credible and far-reaching ", noting that the Indonesian government's affirmation of the results was important and that the commission made arguments that "there was credible evidence to indicate that Timorese institutions were also responsible for illegal detentions and possibly other crimes "

See also
History of East Timor
Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Santa Cruz massacre



ground_truth: Francisco Guterres