Bölüm anahatları

  • source= A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century History 1914-1990 (by Peter TEED, 1992)

    A SELECTION OF BIOGRAPHIES-2

    Achmad SUKARNO (1901-1970): First President of Indonesia 1949-68. Son of poor schoolteachers, he was to be know as Bung Karno (The Leader) in later years. He studied engineering in Bandung. He was imprisoned 1929-31 and then exiled to Sumatra in 1933. On 17 August 1945 he declared Indonesian independence. Four years of struggle with the Dutch followed, before he returned to Jakarta in December 1949 as President, residing in the splendid palace of the Governor-General. The Bandung Conference of 1955 was perhaps his greatest achievement.

    Harry TRUMAN (1884-1972): “President of the USA 1945-53. He studied law t night school in Kansas City, and quickly built a law practice and entered local politics as a Democrat. In the Senate he quickly gained a reputation for scrupulous integrity. In 1944 he was invited to run as Roosevelt’s Vice-President. Having met the President only twice, he himself became President after eighty-two days in Office and with little experience of government. In July (1945) he found himself attending the Potsdam Conference, and in August he authorized the use of the atom bomb against Japan”.

    Jean MONNET (1888-1979):  French economist and administrator. Born in Cognac, he became a civil servant 1915-19, when he developed a high reputation for finance. He was an adviser for the League of Nations and an advocate of economic co-operation between the USA and Europe. In 1947 he became Commissioner-General of the Monnet Plan, which in five years enabled France to outstrip its pre-war production. He became the first president of the ECSC 1952-5. Monnet’s ultimate aim was to see a United States of Europe, and he became a critic of de Gaulle’s policies towards the European Community, welcoming Britain’s entry in 1973.

    Richard Milhous NIXON (1913-1994): President of the USA 1969-74. Born in California and educated at Duke University, NC, he was a rising lawyer in 1942, when he joined the US Navy. Elected to Congress in 1946, he at once became involved in seeking out ‘UN-American Activities’. In 1953 he became Vice-President to President Eisenhower. His administration (1969) initiated a New Economic Policy (1971) to counteract inflation, which included an unprecedented attempt to control prices and wages in peacetime. His presidency is best remembered for its achievements in foreign affairs, for which his Secretary of State Henry Kissenger was at least partly responsible. Having inherited the Vietnam War, Nixon began by extending it, by invading Cambodia (1970) and Laos (1971), and by saturation bombing. Recognition was given to the Communist regime of the People’s Republic of China as the official government of China (1971), and in February 1972 he paid a visit to China. Although re-elected in 1972, his second term was scarred by the Watergate scandal. Nixon announced his resignation in 1974 and was succeeded by his Vice-President Gerald Ford. (Watergate scandal: In 1972 five employees of a Republican Party organization were arrested for breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic Party’s National Committee. This had been meeting in the Watergate complex in Washington DC, and they aimed to wire-tap the proceedings. It was soon discovered that their actions formed part of a campaign to help President Nixon to win the 1972 election. Several White House officials and aides were prosecuted and convicted on criminal charges. As extracts from the conversations were released, it became clear that Nixon too had been involved. This he eventually admitted, and on 9 August 1974 he resigned.)

    A Selection of Biographies/glossary and exercises

    assasination:murder, execution. just:lawful, impartial, equitable, fair.

    to enunciate:articulate, proclaim, affirm   

    to promote:elevate, advance, urge, raise, improve.

    deputy:administrative officer, marshall, chief.     

    formation:configuration, arrangement.

    annulment:nullification, invaliditation, revokation.       

    powerless:impotent, ineffective, spineless, inadequate, futile.