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Who was the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in Jan, 2001?	January 01, 2001	{ "text": [ "Robert T. Kuhn", "Alvin L. Barry", "Gerald B. Kieschnick" ] }	L2_Q693844_P488_9	Friedrich Pfotenhauer is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1911 to Jan, 1935. J. A. O. Preus II is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1969 to Jan, 1981. C. F. W. Walther is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1864 to Jan, 1878. Heinrich Christian Schwan is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1878 to Jan, 1899. Oliver Raymond Harms is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1962 to Jan, 1969. Alvin L. Barry is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 2001. F. C. D. Wyneken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1850 to Jan, 1864. Robert T. Kuhn is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2001. Gerald B. Kieschnick is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2010. John William Behnken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1935 to Jan, 1962. Ralph Arthur Bohlmann is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992.	Lutheran Church–Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With slightly under 2 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (), a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.The LCMS has congregations in all 50 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, but over half of its members are located in the Midwest. It is a member of the International Lutheran Council and is in altar and pulpit fellowship with most of that group's members. The LCMS is headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, and is divided into 35 districts—33 of which are geographic and two (the English and the SELC) non-geographic. The current president is Matthew C. Harrison, who took office on September 1, 2010.The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A communal emigration from Saxony under Bishop Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.In the 19th-century German Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with Rationalism, Christian ecumenism, and the prospect of a forced unionism of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church. In the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian Union of 1817 put in place what they considered non-Lutheran communion and baptismal doctrine and practice. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the Book of Concord, Stephan and between 600 and 700 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838.Their ships arrived between December 31, 1838, and January 20, 1839, in New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. Most of the remaining immigrants left almost immediately, with the first group arriving in St. Louis on January 19, 1839. The final group, led by Stephan, remained in New Orleans for ten days, possibly to wait for the passengers of the lost ship "Amalia". The immigrants ultimately settled in Perry County, Missouri, and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation and was expelled from the settlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.During this period, there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper status of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church or whether it remained within the Lutheran hierarchy in Germany. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.Beginning in 1841, the parish pastor in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria—Wilhelm Löhe—inspired by appeals for aid to the German immigrants in North America, began to solicit funds for missionary work among them. He also began training men to become pastors and teachers, sending his first two students—Adam Ernst and Georg Burger—to America on August 5, 1842. Löhe ultimately sent over 80 pastors and students of theology to America; these pastors founded and served congregations throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.Löhe also led an early and largely abortive effort to send missionaries to convert the Native Americans. In 1844 and 1845, he solicited colonists to form a German Lutheran settlement in Michigan, with the thought that this settlement would also serve as the base for missionary activity among the Native Americans. The colonists left Germany on April 20, 1845, under the leadership of Pastor August Crämer, and arrived in Saginaw County, Michigan, in August of that year. They founded several villages—Frankenmuth, Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville)—and worked to convert the Native Americans. They had limited success, however, and the villages became nearly exclusively German settlements within a few years.In addition to sending pastors, theological students, and colonists to America, Löhe also played an instrumental role in the formation of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, raising funds for the new institution and sending eleven theological students and a professor from Germany to help found it. The seminary's first president, Wilhelm Sihler, had also been sent by Löhe to America several years before.It was due to Löhe's great zeal and indefatigable labors that the LCMS' first president, C. F. W. Walther, once said of him, "Next to God, it is Pastor Loehe to whom our Synod is indebted for its happy beginning and rapid growth in which it rejoices; it may well honor him as its spiritual father. It would fill the pages of an entire book to recount even briefly what for many years this man, with tireless zeal in the noblest unselfish spirit, has done for our Lutheran Church and our Synod in particular."In 1844 and 1845, the three groups listed above (the Saxons, the Löhe men, and Wyneken and one of his assistants) began to discuss the possibility of forming a new, confessional Lutheran church body. As a result of these discussions, the Löhe missionaries and Wyneken and his assistant (F. W. Husmann) decided to leave the synods they currently belonged to. Two planning meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, in May and July 1846. Then, on April 26, 1847, twelve pastors representing fourteen German Lutheran congregations met in Chicago, Illinois, and officially founded the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.The synod was quickly noted for its conservatism and self-professed orthodoxy. The synod's constitution required all members (both pastors and congregations) to pledge fealty to the entire Book of Concord, to reject unionism and syncretism of every kind, to use only doctrinally pure books in both church and school, and to provide for the Christian education of their children. Among other things, these requirements meant that altar and pulpit fellowship was usually restricted to those Lutheran congregations and synods who were in complete doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod.The LCMS' conservatism soon drew it into conflict with other Lutheran synods, the majority of which were then experimenting with so-called "American Lutheranism". In addition, the LCMS also quickly became embroiled in a dispute with the Buffalo Synod and its leader, Johannes Andreas August Grabau, over the proper understanding of the church and the ministry. Within a few years, this conflict led to a separation between the Missouri Synod and Löhe, as Löhe's views were close to those of Grabau.Despite these conflicts, the Missouri Synod experienced fairly rapid growth in its early years, leading to the subdivision of the synod into four district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) in 1854. This growth was due largely to the synod's efforts, under the leadership of its second president, F. C. D. Wyneken, to care for German immigrants, help them find a home among other Germans, build churches and parochial schools, and train pastors and teachers. The synod continued these outreach efforts throughout the 19th century, becoming the largest Lutheran church body in the United States by 1888. By the synod's fiftieth anniversary in 1897, it had grown to 687,000 members.Between 1856 and 1859, the Missouri Synod hosted a series of four free conferences in order to explore the possibility of entering into fellowship agreements with other conservative Lutheran synods. As a result of these conferences, the LCMS entered into fellowship with the Norwegian Synod in 1857. In 1872, these two synods joined the Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois Synods, other conservative Lutheran bodies, in forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America.In 1876, the constituent synods of the Synodical Conference considered a plan to reorganize into a single unified church body with a single seminary. Some preliminary moves were made in this direction (including the 1880 absorption of the Illinois Synod into the LCMS' Illinois District), but opposition from some synods postponed the complete implementation of this plan, and the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s scuttled the plan entirely. As a result of the controversy, several pastors and congregations withdrew from the Ohio Synod to form the Concordia Synod; this synod merged with the LCMS in 1886.For the first thirty years of its existence, the Missouri Synod focused almost exclusively on meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Lutherans, leaving work among English-speaking Lutherans to other synods, particularly the Tennessee and Ohio synods. In 1872, members of the Tennessee Synod invited representatives from the Missouri, Holston, and Norwegian synods to discuss the promotion of English work among the more "Americanized" Lutherans, resulting in the organization of the "English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri." This conference was reorganized in 1888 as an independent church body, the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, which subsequently merged into the LCMS as the English District in 1911. In its first twenty years, the English Synod founded two colleges, organized dozens of congregations and parochial schools, took over the publication of the "Lutheran Witness" (an English-language newspaper published by LCMS pastors in Cleveland, Ohio), and published several hymnals and other books.English work became more widespread in the LCMS during the first two decades of the twentieth century, with older members of the synod continuing to speak primarily German and younger members increasingly switching to English. As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [Missouri Synod] churches, and particularly their schools ... indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on." The anti-German sentiment during the wars hastened the "Americanization" of the church and caused many churches to add English services and in some cases, drop German services entirely. During the years of language transition, the synod's membership continued to grow, until by 1947, the synod had grown to over 1.5 million members.During this time, the LCMS expanded its missionary efforts through the creation of its own radio station—KFUO (AM) (1923)—and its own international radio program—"The Lutheran Hour" (1930). Several years later, the synod began broadcasting its own TV drama—"This Is the Life" (1952).In 1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States" to its present one, "The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". On January 1, 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS, forming the SELC District.Beginning in the 1950s, the LCMS became somewhat friendlier to the more liberal Lutheran bodies, despite the opposition of the other members of the Synodical Conference. This culminated in the break up of the Synodical Conference in 1963. Six years later, the LCMS formed the Lutheran Council in the United States of America (LCUSA) with several moderate-to-liberal Lutheran bodies.However, with the election of J. A. O. Preus II as its president in 1969, the LCMS began a sharp turn towards a more conservative direction. A dispute over the use of the historical-critical method for Biblical interpretation led to the suspension of John Tietjen as president of Concordia Seminary. In response, many of the faculty and students left the seminary and formed Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile), which took up residence at the nearby Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis. In 1976, about 250 of the congregations supporting Seminex left the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The LCMS restricted its participation with LCUSA shortly after the AELC schism and announced that it would not participate in any merger discussions. In 1988, the AELC and the other LCUSA members merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.In 1900, the LCMS began sending missionaries to Brazil to minister to German-speaking immigrants in that country, and in 1904 created the Brazil District for the administration of the resulting congregations. Work was begun in Argentina in 1905 as part of the Brazil District. A separate Argentina District was established in 1926/1927. Both districts became independent church bodies that retain close relationships with the LCMS: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil in 1980, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina in 1988.The LCMS oversaw an extensive roster of congregations in Canada until 1988, when the Canadian component became a separate and autonomous organization, Lutheran Church-Canada. However, this was an administrative and not theological division and the two groups still share close ties. A small number of Ontario and Quebec churches remain within the LCMS.One of the signature teachings of the Lutheran Reformation is "Sola scriptura"—"Scripture alone." The LCMS believes that the Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged, and holds that Scripture is best explained and interpreted by the "Book of Concord"—a series of confessions of faith adopted by Lutherans in the 16th century. LCMS pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord "because" they believe that it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God, not based on its own authority alone. Since the LCMS is a confessional church body, its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are sworn by their oaths of ordination or installation, or both, to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the "Book of Concord". Its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are asked to honor and uphold other official teachings of the synod, meaning "to abide by, act, and teach in accordance with," but are not sworn to believe, confess and teach them as correct interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures. The Missouri Synod also teaches biblical inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much—if not all—of modern liberal scholarship. The Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, written by Franz August Otto Pieper, was adopted by the synodical convention in 1932 as a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that justification comes from God "by divine grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone." It teaches that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that faith in him alone is the way to eternal salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection.The synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the Sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in the hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. Many Missouri Synod Lutherans define a sacrament as an action instituted by Jesus that combines a promise in God's Word with a physical element, although the synod holds no official definition for sacrament. This means that some may disagree on the number of sacraments. All agree that Baptism and Communion are sacraments. Confession and absolution is called a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it is not tied to a physical element.Unlike Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the "Book of Concord".Regarding the Eucharist, the LCMS rejects both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the sacramental union, Real Presence, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is generally rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS as an attempt to define the holy mystery of Christ's presence.The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millennialism and considers itself amillennialist. This means that it believes there will be no literal 1000-year visible earthly kingdom of Jesus, a view termed as "realized millennialism" in which the "thousand years" of Rev 20:1–10 is taken figuratively as a reference to the time of Christ's reign as king from the day of his ascension. Hence, the millennium is a present reality (Christ's heavenly reign), not a future hope for a rule of Christ on earth after his return (the parousia) (cf. Mt 13:41–42; Mt 28:18; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1–3).The LCMS believes that the Holy Scriptures contain two crucial teachings—Law and Gospel. The Law is all those demands in the Bible which must be obeyed in order to gain salvation. However, because all people are sinners, it is impossible for people to completely obey the Law. Therefore, the Law implies an inevitable consequence of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the promise of free salvation from God to sinners. The Law condemns; the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show people their sinful nature and drive them to the Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The LCMS holds that the Old Testament and the New Testament both contain both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This Lutheran doctrine was summarized by C. F. W. Walther in "The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel".The LCMS holds that all "false teachers who teach contrary to Christ's Word are opponents of Christ" and, insofar as they do so, are anti-Christ. The LCMS does not teach, nor has it ever taught, that any individual pope as a person is to be identified with the Antichrist. However, to the extent that the papacy continues to claim as official dogma the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, the LCMS position is that the office of the papacy is the Antichrist.The LCMS officially supports literal creationism but does not have an official position on the precise age of the earth. An official publication of the synod, the "Brief Statement" of 1932, states under the heading "Of Creation": "We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days." According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To commend preaching and teaching Creation", all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the Biblical perspective." The LCMS website states that an individual's personal views regarding creation do not disqualify a person from being a member of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that the teachings of Freemasonry are in direct conflict with the Gospel and instructs its pastors and laypeople to avoid membership or participation in it.The LCMS practices infant baptism, based on Acts 2:38–39 and other passages of Scripture. It also subscribes to the statement of faith found in the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer to be applicable to daily life. These doctrines are emphasized in "Luther's Small Catechism".The original constitution of the LCMS stated that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while more recent changes to those documents also encourage responsible and doctrinally sound diversity. The synod requires that hymns, songs, liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the Bible and "Book of Concord". Worship in LCMS congregations is generally thought of as orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, and is typically accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The contents of LCMS hymnals from the past, such as "The Lutheran Hymnal" and "Lutheran Worship", and those of its newest hymnal, "Lutheran Service Book", highlight the synod's unwavering stance towards more traditional styles of hymnody and liturgy. More traditional LCMS Lutherans point to the Lutheran Confessions in their defense of liturgical worship.Towards the later parts of the twentieth century and up until present day, many congregations have adopted a more progressive style of worship, employing different styles such as contemporary Christian music with guitars and praise bands and often project song lyrics onto screens instead of using hymnals. While this shift in style challenges the traditionalism of hymnody that the LCMS holds strongly, the LCMS has released a statement on worship stating that, "The best of musical traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the choir."The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion—the policy of sharing the Eucharist ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of its sister churches with which it has formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship (i.e., agreement in all articles of doctrine). Missouri Synod congregations implement closed communion in various ways, requiring conformity to official doctrine in various degrees. Usually, visitors are asked to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time. Most congregations invite those uneducated on the subject of the Eucharist to join in the fellowship and receive a blessing instead of the body and blood of Christ.Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the public ministry. The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope agrees that "ordination was nothing else than such a ratification" of local elections by the people. The LCMS does not believe ordination is divinely instituted or an extension of an episcopal form of apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St. Jerome). The Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call.LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master of Divinity degree, which is usually obtained from one of these institutions: Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the Lutheran Church–Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries but may then be required to take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (Biblical Greek and Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod).The Missouri Synod teaches that the ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of debate within the synod. During the Cooperative Clergy Study Project in the year 2000, 10% out of 652 LCMS pastors surveyed stated that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 82% disagreed. Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the synod's 2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices do not include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office". Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, etc. This is the cause of contention within the LCMS, with some congregations utilizing women in public worship to read lessons and assist in the distribution of holy communion. Other traditional Lutherans reject such practices as unbiblical, with a minority of congregations continuing the historic practice of male suffrage, similar to the Wisconsin Synod.The LCMS bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths, holding "that church fellowship or merger between church bodies in doctrinal disagreement with one another is not in keeping with what the Bible teaches about church fellowship." In practice of this, a Connecticut LCMS pastor was asked to apologize by the president of the denomination, and did so, for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school, and an LCMS pastor in New York was suspended for praying at an interfaith vigil in 2001, 12 days after the September 11 attacks.The National Youth Gathering is held every three years. The most recent gathering took place from July 10–15, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of "Real. Present. God." The theme for the 2016 gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana was "In Christ Alone." The previous gathering took place in 2013 in San Antonio, Texas from July 1–5, 2013. It was based on the theme, "Live Love(d)." The 2010 gathering in New Orleans was based on the theme "We Believe". In both 2007 and 2004, The LCMS National Youth Gatherings were held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The gathering's theme in 2007 was "Chosen." The gathering in 2007 was originally planned to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the location was changed to Orlando, Florida. Around 25,000 youth attend each gathering. Many Christian bands and artists perform at gatherings.The LCMS has a modified form of congregational polity. This is different from some other Lutheran bodies which have maintained episcopal polity; however, this is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure.The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: self-governing local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained synodical president, currently Reverend Matthew C. Harrison. The president is chosen at a synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen and lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various synod positions. The next LCMS convention is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, although a proposal to move that convention to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.The entire synod is divided into 35 districts. Of these, 33 have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas. The other two, the English and the SELC, are non-geographic and were formed when the English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into circuits, each of which is led by a circuit visitor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations. Districts are roughly analogous to dioceses in other Christian communities.Most congregations are served by full-time professional clergy. Some congregations, usually in rural areas, are served by ordained bi-vocational ministers (worker-priests) who maintain secular employment for sustenance and receive a small stipend or none at all. The LCMS is congregationalist with regard to polity.In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates seven universities, known as the Concordia University System.Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including "The Lutheran Hour" radio program; and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes its official magazine, "The Lutheran Witness," and newspaper, "Reporter".Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Council of Churches or the Lutheran World Federation. It is, however, a member of the International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity. However, both LCMS and Evangelicals share the common belief that life begins and should be protected by law since conception.The LCMS is distinguished from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) by three main theological beliefs:Respondents to the Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 2008 included members of LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Membership growth was substantial in the first half of the 20th century. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", the LCMS had 628,695 members in 1925. By 1950 the number of members had grown to over 1.6 million. Membership peaked in 1970 at just under 2.8 million. In 2015 the LCMS reported 2,097,258 members and 6,105 churches, with 6,094 active clergy. LCMS membership continues to be concentrated in the Upper Midwest. The five states with the highest rates of adherence are Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.The Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey in 2014 found that the LCMS was the third-least racially diverse major religious group in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was second and the National Baptist Convention was the least diverse. The 2008 figures were::	[ "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms" ]
Who was the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in 2001-01-01?	January 01, 2001	{ "text": [ "Robert T. Kuhn", "Alvin L. Barry", "Gerald B. Kieschnick" ] }	L2_Q693844_P488_9	Friedrich Pfotenhauer is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1911 to Jan, 1935. J. A. O. Preus II is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1969 to Jan, 1981. C. F. W. Walther is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1864 to Jan, 1878. Heinrich Christian Schwan is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1878 to Jan, 1899. Oliver Raymond Harms is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1962 to Jan, 1969. Alvin L. Barry is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 2001. F. C. D. Wyneken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1850 to Jan, 1864. Robert T. Kuhn is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2001. Gerald B. Kieschnick is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2010. John William Behnken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1935 to Jan, 1962. Ralph Arthur Bohlmann is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992.	Lutheran Church–Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With slightly under 2 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (), a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.The LCMS has congregations in all 50 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, but over half of its members are located in the Midwest. It is a member of the International Lutheran Council and is in altar and pulpit fellowship with most of that group's members. The LCMS is headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, and is divided into 35 districts—33 of which are geographic and two (the English and the SELC) non-geographic. The current president is Matthew C. Harrison, who took office on September 1, 2010.The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A communal emigration from Saxony under Bishop Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.In the 19th-century German Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with Rationalism, Christian ecumenism, and the prospect of a forced unionism of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church. In the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian Union of 1817 put in place what they considered non-Lutheran communion and baptismal doctrine and practice. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the Book of Concord, Stephan and between 600 and 700 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838.Their ships arrived between December 31, 1838, and January 20, 1839, in New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. Most of the remaining immigrants left almost immediately, with the first group arriving in St. Louis on January 19, 1839. The final group, led by Stephan, remained in New Orleans for ten days, possibly to wait for the passengers of the lost ship "Amalia". The immigrants ultimately settled in Perry County, Missouri, and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation and was expelled from the settlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.During this period, there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper status of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church or whether it remained within the Lutheran hierarchy in Germany. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.Beginning in 1841, the parish pastor in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria—Wilhelm Löhe—inspired by appeals for aid to the German immigrants in North America, began to solicit funds for missionary work among them. He also began training men to become pastors and teachers, sending his first two students—Adam Ernst and Georg Burger—to America on August 5, 1842. Löhe ultimately sent over 80 pastors and students of theology to America; these pastors founded and served congregations throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.Löhe also led an early and largely abortive effort to send missionaries to convert the Native Americans. In 1844 and 1845, he solicited colonists to form a German Lutheran settlement in Michigan, with the thought that this settlement would also serve as the base for missionary activity among the Native Americans. The colonists left Germany on April 20, 1845, under the leadership of Pastor August Crämer, and arrived in Saginaw County, Michigan, in August of that year. They founded several villages—Frankenmuth, Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville)—and worked to convert the Native Americans. They had limited success, however, and the villages became nearly exclusively German settlements within a few years.In addition to sending pastors, theological students, and colonists to America, Löhe also played an instrumental role in the formation of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, raising funds for the new institution and sending eleven theological students and a professor from Germany to help found it. The seminary's first president, Wilhelm Sihler, had also been sent by Löhe to America several years before.It was due to Löhe's great zeal and indefatigable labors that the LCMS' first president, C. F. W. Walther, once said of him, "Next to God, it is Pastor Loehe to whom our Synod is indebted for its happy beginning and rapid growth in which it rejoices; it may well honor him as its spiritual father. It would fill the pages of an entire book to recount even briefly what for many years this man, with tireless zeal in the noblest unselfish spirit, has done for our Lutheran Church and our Synod in particular."In 1844 and 1845, the three groups listed above (the Saxons, the Löhe men, and Wyneken and one of his assistants) began to discuss the possibility of forming a new, confessional Lutheran church body. As a result of these discussions, the Löhe missionaries and Wyneken and his assistant (F. W. Husmann) decided to leave the synods they currently belonged to. Two planning meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, in May and July 1846. Then, on April 26, 1847, twelve pastors representing fourteen German Lutheran congregations met in Chicago, Illinois, and officially founded the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.The synod was quickly noted for its conservatism and self-professed orthodoxy. The synod's constitution required all members (both pastors and congregations) to pledge fealty to the entire Book of Concord, to reject unionism and syncretism of every kind, to use only doctrinally pure books in both church and school, and to provide for the Christian education of their children. Among other things, these requirements meant that altar and pulpit fellowship was usually restricted to those Lutheran congregations and synods who were in complete doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod.The LCMS' conservatism soon drew it into conflict with other Lutheran synods, the majority of which were then experimenting with so-called "American Lutheranism". In addition, the LCMS also quickly became embroiled in a dispute with the Buffalo Synod and its leader, Johannes Andreas August Grabau, over the proper understanding of the church and the ministry. Within a few years, this conflict led to a separation between the Missouri Synod and Löhe, as Löhe's views were close to those of Grabau.Despite these conflicts, the Missouri Synod experienced fairly rapid growth in its early years, leading to the subdivision of the synod into four district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) in 1854. This growth was due largely to the synod's efforts, under the leadership of its second president, F. C. D. Wyneken, to care for German immigrants, help them find a home among other Germans, build churches and parochial schools, and train pastors and teachers. The synod continued these outreach efforts throughout the 19th century, becoming the largest Lutheran church body in the United States by 1888. By the synod's fiftieth anniversary in 1897, it had grown to 687,000 members.Between 1856 and 1859, the Missouri Synod hosted a series of four free conferences in order to explore the possibility of entering into fellowship agreements with other conservative Lutheran synods. As a result of these conferences, the LCMS entered into fellowship with the Norwegian Synod in 1857. In 1872, these two synods joined the Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois Synods, other conservative Lutheran bodies, in forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America.In 1876, the constituent synods of the Synodical Conference considered a plan to reorganize into a single unified church body with a single seminary. Some preliminary moves were made in this direction (including the 1880 absorption of the Illinois Synod into the LCMS' Illinois District), but opposition from some synods postponed the complete implementation of this plan, and the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s scuttled the plan entirely. As a result of the controversy, several pastors and congregations withdrew from the Ohio Synod to form the Concordia Synod; this synod merged with the LCMS in 1886.For the first thirty years of its existence, the Missouri Synod focused almost exclusively on meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Lutherans, leaving work among English-speaking Lutherans to other synods, particularly the Tennessee and Ohio synods. In 1872, members of the Tennessee Synod invited representatives from the Missouri, Holston, and Norwegian synods to discuss the promotion of English work among the more "Americanized" Lutherans, resulting in the organization of the "English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri." This conference was reorganized in 1888 as an independent church body, the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, which subsequently merged into the LCMS as the English District in 1911. In its first twenty years, the English Synod founded two colleges, organized dozens of congregations and parochial schools, took over the publication of the "Lutheran Witness" (an English-language newspaper published by LCMS pastors in Cleveland, Ohio), and published several hymnals and other books.English work became more widespread in the LCMS during the first two decades of the twentieth century, with older members of the synod continuing to speak primarily German and younger members increasingly switching to English. As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [Missouri Synod] churches, and particularly their schools ... indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on." The anti-German sentiment during the wars hastened the "Americanization" of the church and caused many churches to add English services and in some cases, drop German services entirely. During the years of language transition, the synod's membership continued to grow, until by 1947, the synod had grown to over 1.5 million members.During this time, the LCMS expanded its missionary efforts through the creation of its own radio station—KFUO (AM) (1923)—and its own international radio program—"The Lutheran Hour" (1930). Several years later, the synod began broadcasting its own TV drama—"This Is the Life" (1952).In 1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States" to its present one, "The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". On January 1, 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS, forming the SELC District.Beginning in the 1950s, the LCMS became somewhat friendlier to the more liberal Lutheran bodies, despite the opposition of the other members of the Synodical Conference. This culminated in the break up of the Synodical Conference in 1963. Six years later, the LCMS formed the Lutheran Council in the United States of America (LCUSA) with several moderate-to-liberal Lutheran bodies.However, with the election of J. A. O. Preus II as its president in 1969, the LCMS began a sharp turn towards a more conservative direction. A dispute over the use of the historical-critical method for Biblical interpretation led to the suspension of John Tietjen as president of Concordia Seminary. In response, many of the faculty and students left the seminary and formed Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile), which took up residence at the nearby Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis. In 1976, about 250 of the congregations supporting Seminex left the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The LCMS restricted its participation with LCUSA shortly after the AELC schism and announced that it would not participate in any merger discussions. In 1988, the AELC and the other LCUSA members merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.In 1900, the LCMS began sending missionaries to Brazil to minister to German-speaking immigrants in that country, and in 1904 created the Brazil District for the administration of the resulting congregations. Work was begun in Argentina in 1905 as part of the Brazil District. A separate Argentina District was established in 1926/1927. Both districts became independent church bodies that retain close relationships with the LCMS: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil in 1980, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina in 1988.The LCMS oversaw an extensive roster of congregations in Canada until 1988, when the Canadian component became a separate and autonomous organization, Lutheran Church-Canada. However, this was an administrative and not theological division and the two groups still share close ties. A small number of Ontario and Quebec churches remain within the LCMS.One of the signature teachings of the Lutheran Reformation is "Sola scriptura"—"Scripture alone." The LCMS believes that the Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged, and holds that Scripture is best explained and interpreted by the "Book of Concord"—a series of confessions of faith adopted by Lutherans in the 16th century. LCMS pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord "because" they believe that it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God, not based on its own authority alone. Since the LCMS is a confessional church body, its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are sworn by their oaths of ordination or installation, or both, to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the "Book of Concord". Its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are asked to honor and uphold other official teachings of the synod, meaning "to abide by, act, and teach in accordance with," but are not sworn to believe, confess and teach them as correct interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures. The Missouri Synod also teaches biblical inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much—if not all—of modern liberal scholarship. The Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, written by Franz August Otto Pieper, was adopted by the synodical convention in 1932 as a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that justification comes from God "by divine grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone." It teaches that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that faith in him alone is the way to eternal salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection.The synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the Sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in the hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. Many Missouri Synod Lutherans define a sacrament as an action instituted by Jesus that combines a promise in God's Word with a physical element, although the synod holds no official definition for sacrament. This means that some may disagree on the number of sacraments. All agree that Baptism and Communion are sacraments. Confession and absolution is called a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it is not tied to a physical element.Unlike Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the "Book of Concord".Regarding the Eucharist, the LCMS rejects both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the sacramental union, Real Presence, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is generally rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS as an attempt to define the holy mystery of Christ's presence.The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millennialism and considers itself amillennialist. This means that it believes there will be no literal 1000-year visible earthly kingdom of Jesus, a view termed as "realized millennialism" in which the "thousand years" of Rev 20:1–10 is taken figuratively as a reference to the time of Christ's reign as king from the day of his ascension. Hence, the millennium is a present reality (Christ's heavenly reign), not a future hope for a rule of Christ on earth after his return (the parousia) (cf. Mt 13:41–42; Mt 28:18; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1–3).The LCMS believes that the Holy Scriptures contain two crucial teachings—Law and Gospel. The Law is all those demands in the Bible which must be obeyed in order to gain salvation. However, because all people are sinners, it is impossible for people to completely obey the Law. Therefore, the Law implies an inevitable consequence of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the promise of free salvation from God to sinners. The Law condemns; the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show people their sinful nature and drive them to the Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The LCMS holds that the Old Testament and the New Testament both contain both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This Lutheran doctrine was summarized by C. F. W. Walther in "The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel".The LCMS holds that all "false teachers who teach contrary to Christ's Word are opponents of Christ" and, insofar as they do so, are anti-Christ. The LCMS does not teach, nor has it ever taught, that any individual pope as a person is to be identified with the Antichrist. However, to the extent that the papacy continues to claim as official dogma the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, the LCMS position is that the office of the papacy is the Antichrist.The LCMS officially supports literal creationism but does not have an official position on the precise age of the earth. An official publication of the synod, the "Brief Statement" of 1932, states under the heading "Of Creation": "We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days." According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To commend preaching and teaching Creation", all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the Biblical perspective." The LCMS website states that an individual's personal views regarding creation do not disqualify a person from being a member of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that the teachings of Freemasonry are in direct conflict with the Gospel and instructs its pastors and laypeople to avoid membership or participation in it.The LCMS practices infant baptism, based on Acts 2:38–39 and other passages of Scripture. It also subscribes to the statement of faith found in the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer to be applicable to daily life. These doctrines are emphasized in "Luther's Small Catechism".The original constitution of the LCMS stated that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while more recent changes to those documents also encourage responsible and doctrinally sound diversity. The synod requires that hymns, songs, liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the Bible and "Book of Concord". Worship in LCMS congregations is generally thought of as orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, and is typically accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The contents of LCMS hymnals from the past, such as "The Lutheran Hymnal" and "Lutheran Worship", and those of its newest hymnal, "Lutheran Service Book", highlight the synod's unwavering stance towards more traditional styles of hymnody and liturgy. More traditional LCMS Lutherans point to the Lutheran Confessions in their defense of liturgical worship.Towards the later parts of the twentieth century and up until present day, many congregations have adopted a more progressive style of worship, employing different styles such as contemporary Christian music with guitars and praise bands and often project song lyrics onto screens instead of using hymnals. While this shift in style challenges the traditionalism of hymnody that the LCMS holds strongly, the LCMS has released a statement on worship stating that, "The best of musical traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the choir."The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion—the policy of sharing the Eucharist ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of its sister churches with which it has formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship (i.e., agreement in all articles of doctrine). Missouri Synod congregations implement closed communion in various ways, requiring conformity to official doctrine in various degrees. Usually, visitors are asked to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time. Most congregations invite those uneducated on the subject of the Eucharist to join in the fellowship and receive a blessing instead of the body and blood of Christ.Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the public ministry. The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope agrees that "ordination was nothing else than such a ratification" of local elections by the people. The LCMS does not believe ordination is divinely instituted or an extension of an episcopal form of apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St. Jerome). The Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call.LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master of Divinity degree, which is usually obtained from one of these institutions: Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the Lutheran Church–Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries but may then be required to take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (Biblical Greek and Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod).The Missouri Synod teaches that the ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of debate within the synod. During the Cooperative Clergy Study Project in the year 2000, 10% out of 652 LCMS pastors surveyed stated that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 82% disagreed. Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the synod's 2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices do not include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office". Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, etc. This is the cause of contention within the LCMS, with some congregations utilizing women in public worship to read lessons and assist in the distribution of holy communion. Other traditional Lutherans reject such practices as unbiblical, with a minority of congregations continuing the historic practice of male suffrage, similar to the Wisconsin Synod.The LCMS bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths, holding "that church fellowship or merger between church bodies in doctrinal disagreement with one another is not in keeping with what the Bible teaches about church fellowship." In practice of this, a Connecticut LCMS pastor was asked to apologize by the president of the denomination, and did so, for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school, and an LCMS pastor in New York was suspended for praying at an interfaith vigil in 2001, 12 days after the September 11 attacks.The National Youth Gathering is held every three years. The most recent gathering took place from July 10–15, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of "Real. Present. God." The theme for the 2016 gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana was "In Christ Alone." The previous gathering took place in 2013 in San Antonio, Texas from July 1–5, 2013. It was based on the theme, "Live Love(d)." The 2010 gathering in New Orleans was based on the theme "We Believe". In both 2007 and 2004, The LCMS National Youth Gatherings were held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The gathering's theme in 2007 was "Chosen." The gathering in 2007 was originally planned to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the location was changed to Orlando, Florida. Around 25,000 youth attend each gathering. Many Christian bands and artists perform at gatherings.The LCMS has a modified form of congregational polity. This is different from some other Lutheran bodies which have maintained episcopal polity; however, this is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure.The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: self-governing local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained synodical president, currently Reverend Matthew C. Harrison. The president is chosen at a synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen and lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various synod positions. The next LCMS convention is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, although a proposal to move that convention to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.The entire synod is divided into 35 districts. Of these, 33 have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas. The other two, the English and the SELC, are non-geographic and were formed when the English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into circuits, each of which is led by a circuit visitor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations. Districts are roughly analogous to dioceses in other Christian communities.Most congregations are served by full-time professional clergy. Some congregations, usually in rural areas, are served by ordained bi-vocational ministers (worker-priests) who maintain secular employment for sustenance and receive a small stipend or none at all. The LCMS is congregationalist with regard to polity.In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates seven universities, known as the Concordia University System.Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including "The Lutheran Hour" radio program; and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes its official magazine, "The Lutheran Witness," and newspaper, "Reporter".Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Council of Churches or the Lutheran World Federation. It is, however, a member of the International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity. However, both LCMS and Evangelicals share the common belief that life begins and should be protected by law since conception.The LCMS is distinguished from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) by three main theological beliefs:Respondents to the Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 2008 included members of LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Membership growth was substantial in the first half of the 20th century. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", the LCMS had 628,695 members in 1925. By 1950 the number of members had grown to over 1.6 million. Membership peaked in 1970 at just under 2.8 million. In 2015 the LCMS reported 2,097,258 members and 6,105 churches, with 6,094 active clergy. LCMS membership continues to be concentrated in the Upper Midwest. The five states with the highest rates of adherence are Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.The Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey in 2014 found that the LCMS was the third-least racially diverse major religious group in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was second and the National Baptist Convention was the least diverse. The 2008 figures were::	[ "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms" ]
Who was the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in 01/01/2001?	January 01, 2001	{ "text": [ "Robert T. Kuhn", "Alvin L. Barry", "Gerald B. Kieschnick" ] }	L2_Q693844_P488_9	Friedrich Pfotenhauer is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1911 to Jan, 1935. J. A. O. Preus II is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1969 to Jan, 1981. C. F. W. Walther is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1864 to Jan, 1878. Heinrich Christian Schwan is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1878 to Jan, 1899. Oliver Raymond Harms is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1962 to Jan, 1969. Alvin L. Barry is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 2001. F. C. D. Wyneken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1850 to Jan, 1864. Robert T. Kuhn is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2001. Gerald B. Kieschnick is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2010. John William Behnken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1935 to Jan, 1962. Ralph Arthur Bohlmann is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992.	Lutheran Church–Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With slightly under 2 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (), a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.The LCMS has congregations in all 50 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, but over half of its members are located in the Midwest. It is a member of the International Lutheran Council and is in altar and pulpit fellowship with most of that group's members. The LCMS is headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, and is divided into 35 districts—33 of which are geographic and two (the English and the SELC) non-geographic. The current president is Matthew C. Harrison, who took office on September 1, 2010.The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A communal emigration from Saxony under Bishop Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.In the 19th-century German Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with Rationalism, Christian ecumenism, and the prospect of a forced unionism of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church. In the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian Union of 1817 put in place what they considered non-Lutheran communion and baptismal doctrine and practice. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the Book of Concord, Stephan and between 600 and 700 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838.Their ships arrived between December 31, 1838, and January 20, 1839, in New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. Most of the remaining immigrants left almost immediately, with the first group arriving in St. Louis on January 19, 1839. The final group, led by Stephan, remained in New Orleans for ten days, possibly to wait for the passengers of the lost ship "Amalia". The immigrants ultimately settled in Perry County, Missouri, and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation and was expelled from the settlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.During this period, there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper status of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church or whether it remained within the Lutheran hierarchy in Germany. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.Beginning in 1841, the parish pastor in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria—Wilhelm Löhe—inspired by appeals for aid to the German immigrants in North America, began to solicit funds for missionary work among them. He also began training men to become pastors and teachers, sending his first two students—Adam Ernst and Georg Burger—to America on August 5, 1842. Löhe ultimately sent over 80 pastors and students of theology to America; these pastors founded and served congregations throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.Löhe also led an early and largely abortive effort to send missionaries to convert the Native Americans. In 1844 and 1845, he solicited colonists to form a German Lutheran settlement in Michigan, with the thought that this settlement would also serve as the base for missionary activity among the Native Americans. The colonists left Germany on April 20, 1845, under the leadership of Pastor August Crämer, and arrived in Saginaw County, Michigan, in August of that year. They founded several villages—Frankenmuth, Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville)—and worked to convert the Native Americans. They had limited success, however, and the villages became nearly exclusively German settlements within a few years.In addition to sending pastors, theological students, and colonists to America, Löhe also played an instrumental role in the formation of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, raising funds for the new institution and sending eleven theological students and a professor from Germany to help found it. The seminary's first president, Wilhelm Sihler, had also been sent by Löhe to America several years before.It was due to Löhe's great zeal and indefatigable labors that the LCMS' first president, C. F. W. Walther, once said of him, "Next to God, it is Pastor Loehe to whom our Synod is indebted for its happy beginning and rapid growth in which it rejoices; it may well honor him as its spiritual father. It would fill the pages of an entire book to recount even briefly what for many years this man, with tireless zeal in the noblest unselfish spirit, has done for our Lutheran Church and our Synod in particular."In 1844 and 1845, the three groups listed above (the Saxons, the Löhe men, and Wyneken and one of his assistants) began to discuss the possibility of forming a new, confessional Lutheran church body. As a result of these discussions, the Löhe missionaries and Wyneken and his assistant (F. W. Husmann) decided to leave the synods they currently belonged to. Two planning meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, in May and July 1846. Then, on April 26, 1847, twelve pastors representing fourteen German Lutheran congregations met in Chicago, Illinois, and officially founded the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.The synod was quickly noted for its conservatism and self-professed orthodoxy. The synod's constitution required all members (both pastors and congregations) to pledge fealty to the entire Book of Concord, to reject unionism and syncretism of every kind, to use only doctrinally pure books in both church and school, and to provide for the Christian education of their children. Among other things, these requirements meant that altar and pulpit fellowship was usually restricted to those Lutheran congregations and synods who were in complete doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod.The LCMS' conservatism soon drew it into conflict with other Lutheran synods, the majority of which were then experimenting with so-called "American Lutheranism". In addition, the LCMS also quickly became embroiled in a dispute with the Buffalo Synod and its leader, Johannes Andreas August Grabau, over the proper understanding of the church and the ministry. Within a few years, this conflict led to a separation between the Missouri Synod and Löhe, as Löhe's views were close to those of Grabau.Despite these conflicts, the Missouri Synod experienced fairly rapid growth in its early years, leading to the subdivision of the synod into four district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) in 1854. This growth was due largely to the synod's efforts, under the leadership of its second president, F. C. D. Wyneken, to care for German immigrants, help them find a home among other Germans, build churches and parochial schools, and train pastors and teachers. The synod continued these outreach efforts throughout the 19th century, becoming the largest Lutheran church body in the United States by 1888. By the synod's fiftieth anniversary in 1897, it had grown to 687,000 members.Between 1856 and 1859, the Missouri Synod hosted a series of four free conferences in order to explore the possibility of entering into fellowship agreements with other conservative Lutheran synods. As a result of these conferences, the LCMS entered into fellowship with the Norwegian Synod in 1857. In 1872, these two synods joined the Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois Synods, other conservative Lutheran bodies, in forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America.In 1876, the constituent synods of the Synodical Conference considered a plan to reorganize into a single unified church body with a single seminary. Some preliminary moves were made in this direction (including the 1880 absorption of the Illinois Synod into the LCMS' Illinois District), but opposition from some synods postponed the complete implementation of this plan, and the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s scuttled the plan entirely. As a result of the controversy, several pastors and congregations withdrew from the Ohio Synod to form the Concordia Synod; this synod merged with the LCMS in 1886.For the first thirty years of its existence, the Missouri Synod focused almost exclusively on meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Lutherans, leaving work among English-speaking Lutherans to other synods, particularly the Tennessee and Ohio synods. In 1872, members of the Tennessee Synod invited representatives from the Missouri, Holston, and Norwegian synods to discuss the promotion of English work among the more "Americanized" Lutherans, resulting in the organization of the "English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri." This conference was reorganized in 1888 as an independent church body, the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, which subsequently merged into the LCMS as the English District in 1911. In its first twenty years, the English Synod founded two colleges, organized dozens of congregations and parochial schools, took over the publication of the "Lutheran Witness" (an English-language newspaper published by LCMS pastors in Cleveland, Ohio), and published several hymnals and other books.English work became more widespread in the LCMS during the first two decades of the twentieth century, with older members of the synod continuing to speak primarily German and younger members increasingly switching to English. As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [Missouri Synod] churches, and particularly their schools ... indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on." The anti-German sentiment during the wars hastened the "Americanization" of the church and caused many churches to add English services and in some cases, drop German services entirely. During the years of language transition, the synod's membership continued to grow, until by 1947, the synod had grown to over 1.5 million members.During this time, the LCMS expanded its missionary efforts through the creation of its own radio station—KFUO (AM) (1923)—and its own international radio program—"The Lutheran Hour" (1930). Several years later, the synod began broadcasting its own TV drama—"This Is the Life" (1952).In 1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States" to its present one, "The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". On January 1, 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS, forming the SELC District.Beginning in the 1950s, the LCMS became somewhat friendlier to the more liberal Lutheran bodies, despite the opposition of the other members of the Synodical Conference. This culminated in the break up of the Synodical Conference in 1963. Six years later, the LCMS formed the Lutheran Council in the United States of America (LCUSA) with several moderate-to-liberal Lutheran bodies.However, with the election of J. A. O. Preus II as its president in 1969, the LCMS began a sharp turn towards a more conservative direction. A dispute over the use of the historical-critical method for Biblical interpretation led to the suspension of John Tietjen as president of Concordia Seminary. In response, many of the faculty and students left the seminary and formed Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile), which took up residence at the nearby Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis. In 1976, about 250 of the congregations supporting Seminex left the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The LCMS restricted its participation with LCUSA shortly after the AELC schism and announced that it would not participate in any merger discussions. In 1988, the AELC and the other LCUSA members merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.In 1900, the LCMS began sending missionaries to Brazil to minister to German-speaking immigrants in that country, and in 1904 created the Brazil District for the administration of the resulting congregations. Work was begun in Argentina in 1905 as part of the Brazil District. A separate Argentina District was established in 1926/1927. Both districts became independent church bodies that retain close relationships with the LCMS: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil in 1980, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina in 1988.The LCMS oversaw an extensive roster of congregations in Canada until 1988, when the Canadian component became a separate and autonomous organization, Lutheran Church-Canada. However, this was an administrative and not theological division and the two groups still share close ties. A small number of Ontario and Quebec churches remain within the LCMS.One of the signature teachings of the Lutheran Reformation is "Sola scriptura"—"Scripture alone." The LCMS believes that the Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged, and holds that Scripture is best explained and interpreted by the "Book of Concord"—a series of confessions of faith adopted by Lutherans in the 16th century. LCMS pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord "because" they believe that it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God, not based on its own authority alone. Since the LCMS is a confessional church body, its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are sworn by their oaths of ordination or installation, or both, to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the "Book of Concord". Its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are asked to honor and uphold other official teachings of the synod, meaning "to abide by, act, and teach in accordance with," but are not sworn to believe, confess and teach them as correct interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures. The Missouri Synod also teaches biblical inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much—if not all—of modern liberal scholarship. The Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, written by Franz August Otto Pieper, was adopted by the synodical convention in 1932 as a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that justification comes from God "by divine grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone." It teaches that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that faith in him alone is the way to eternal salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection.The synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the Sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in the hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. Many Missouri Synod Lutherans define a sacrament as an action instituted by Jesus that combines a promise in God's Word with a physical element, although the synod holds no official definition for sacrament. This means that some may disagree on the number of sacraments. All agree that Baptism and Communion are sacraments. Confession and absolution is called a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it is not tied to a physical element.Unlike Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the "Book of Concord".Regarding the Eucharist, the LCMS rejects both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the sacramental union, Real Presence, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is generally rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS as an attempt to define the holy mystery of Christ's presence.The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millennialism and considers itself amillennialist. This means that it believes there will be no literal 1000-year visible earthly kingdom of Jesus, a view termed as "realized millennialism" in which the "thousand years" of Rev 20:1–10 is taken figuratively as a reference to the time of Christ's reign as king from the day of his ascension. Hence, the millennium is a present reality (Christ's heavenly reign), not a future hope for a rule of Christ on earth after his return (the parousia) (cf. Mt 13:41–42; Mt 28:18; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1–3).The LCMS believes that the Holy Scriptures contain two crucial teachings—Law and Gospel. The Law is all those demands in the Bible which must be obeyed in order to gain salvation. However, because all people are sinners, it is impossible for people to completely obey the Law. Therefore, the Law implies an inevitable consequence of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the promise of free salvation from God to sinners. The Law condemns; the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show people their sinful nature and drive them to the Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The LCMS holds that the Old Testament and the New Testament both contain both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This Lutheran doctrine was summarized by C. F. W. Walther in "The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel".The LCMS holds that all "false teachers who teach contrary to Christ's Word are opponents of Christ" and, insofar as they do so, are anti-Christ. The LCMS does not teach, nor has it ever taught, that any individual pope as a person is to be identified with the Antichrist. However, to the extent that the papacy continues to claim as official dogma the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, the LCMS position is that the office of the papacy is the Antichrist.The LCMS officially supports literal creationism but does not have an official position on the precise age of the earth. An official publication of the synod, the "Brief Statement" of 1932, states under the heading "Of Creation": "We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days." According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To commend preaching and teaching Creation", all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the Biblical perspective." The LCMS website states that an individual's personal views regarding creation do not disqualify a person from being a member of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that the teachings of Freemasonry are in direct conflict with the Gospel and instructs its pastors and laypeople to avoid membership or participation in it.The LCMS practices infant baptism, based on Acts 2:38–39 and other passages of Scripture. It also subscribes to the statement of faith found in the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer to be applicable to daily life. These doctrines are emphasized in "Luther's Small Catechism".The original constitution of the LCMS stated that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while more recent changes to those documents also encourage responsible and doctrinally sound diversity. The synod requires that hymns, songs, liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the Bible and "Book of Concord". Worship in LCMS congregations is generally thought of as orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, and is typically accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The contents of LCMS hymnals from the past, such as "The Lutheran Hymnal" and "Lutheran Worship", and those of its newest hymnal, "Lutheran Service Book", highlight the synod's unwavering stance towards more traditional styles of hymnody and liturgy. More traditional LCMS Lutherans point to the Lutheran Confessions in their defense of liturgical worship.Towards the later parts of the twentieth century and up until present day, many congregations have adopted a more progressive style of worship, employing different styles such as contemporary Christian music with guitars and praise bands and often project song lyrics onto screens instead of using hymnals. While this shift in style challenges the traditionalism of hymnody that the LCMS holds strongly, the LCMS has released a statement on worship stating that, "The best of musical traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the choir."The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion—the policy of sharing the Eucharist ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of its sister churches with which it has formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship (i.e., agreement in all articles of doctrine). Missouri Synod congregations implement closed communion in various ways, requiring conformity to official doctrine in various degrees. Usually, visitors are asked to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time. Most congregations invite those uneducated on the subject of the Eucharist to join in the fellowship and receive a blessing instead of the body and blood of Christ.Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the public ministry. The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope agrees that "ordination was nothing else than such a ratification" of local elections by the people. The LCMS does not believe ordination is divinely instituted or an extension of an episcopal form of apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St. Jerome). The Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call.LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master of Divinity degree, which is usually obtained from one of these institutions: Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the Lutheran Church–Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries but may then be required to take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (Biblical Greek and Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod).The Missouri Synod teaches that the ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of debate within the synod. During the Cooperative Clergy Study Project in the year 2000, 10% out of 652 LCMS pastors surveyed stated that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 82% disagreed. Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the synod's 2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices do not include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office". Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, etc. This is the cause of contention within the LCMS, with some congregations utilizing women in public worship to read lessons and assist in the distribution of holy communion. Other traditional Lutherans reject such practices as unbiblical, with a minority of congregations continuing the historic practice of male suffrage, similar to the Wisconsin Synod.The LCMS bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths, holding "that church fellowship or merger between church bodies in doctrinal disagreement with one another is not in keeping with what the Bible teaches about church fellowship." In practice of this, a Connecticut LCMS pastor was asked to apologize by the president of the denomination, and did so, for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school, and an LCMS pastor in New York was suspended for praying at an interfaith vigil in 2001, 12 days after the September 11 attacks.The National Youth Gathering is held every three years. The most recent gathering took place from July 10–15, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of "Real. Present. God." The theme for the 2016 gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana was "In Christ Alone." The previous gathering took place in 2013 in San Antonio, Texas from July 1–5, 2013. It was based on the theme, "Live Love(d)." The 2010 gathering in New Orleans was based on the theme "We Believe". In both 2007 and 2004, The LCMS National Youth Gatherings were held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The gathering's theme in 2007 was "Chosen." The gathering in 2007 was originally planned to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the location was changed to Orlando, Florida. Around 25,000 youth attend each gathering. Many Christian bands and artists perform at gatherings.The LCMS has a modified form of congregational polity. This is different from some other Lutheran bodies which have maintained episcopal polity; however, this is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure.The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: self-governing local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained synodical president, currently Reverend Matthew C. Harrison. The president is chosen at a synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen and lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various synod positions. The next LCMS convention is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, although a proposal to move that convention to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.The entire synod is divided into 35 districts. Of these, 33 have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas. The other two, the English and the SELC, are non-geographic and were formed when the English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into circuits, each of which is led by a circuit visitor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations. Districts are roughly analogous to dioceses in other Christian communities.Most congregations are served by full-time professional clergy. Some congregations, usually in rural areas, are served by ordained bi-vocational ministers (worker-priests) who maintain secular employment for sustenance and receive a small stipend or none at all. The LCMS is congregationalist with regard to polity.In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates seven universities, known as the Concordia University System.Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including "The Lutheran Hour" radio program; and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes its official magazine, "The Lutheran Witness," and newspaper, "Reporter".Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Council of Churches or the Lutheran World Federation. It is, however, a member of the International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity. However, both LCMS and Evangelicals share the common belief that life begins and should be protected by law since conception.The LCMS is distinguished from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) by three main theological beliefs:Respondents to the Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 2008 included members of LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Membership growth was substantial in the first half of the 20th century. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", the LCMS had 628,695 members in 1925. By 1950 the number of members had grown to over 1.6 million. Membership peaked in 1970 at just under 2.8 million. In 2015 the LCMS reported 2,097,258 members and 6,105 churches, with 6,094 active clergy. LCMS membership continues to be concentrated in the Upper Midwest. The five states with the highest rates of adherence are Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.The Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey in 2014 found that the LCMS was the third-least racially diverse major religious group in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was second and the National Baptist Convention was the least diverse. The 2008 figures were::	[ "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms" ]
Who was the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in Jan 01, 2001?	January 01, 2001	{ "text": [ "Robert T. Kuhn", "Alvin L. Barry", "Gerald B. Kieschnick" ] }	L2_Q693844_P488_9	Friedrich Pfotenhauer is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1911 to Jan, 1935. J. A. O. Preus II is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1969 to Jan, 1981. C. F. W. Walther is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1864 to Jan, 1878. Heinrich Christian Schwan is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1878 to Jan, 1899. Oliver Raymond Harms is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1962 to Jan, 1969. Alvin L. Barry is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 2001. F. C. D. Wyneken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1850 to Jan, 1864. Robert T. Kuhn is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2001. Gerald B. Kieschnick is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2010. John William Behnken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1935 to Jan, 1962. Ralph Arthur Bohlmann is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992.	Lutheran Church–Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With slightly under 2 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (), a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.The LCMS has congregations in all 50 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, but over half of its members are located in the Midwest. It is a member of the International Lutheran Council and is in altar and pulpit fellowship with most of that group's members. The LCMS is headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, and is divided into 35 districts—33 of which are geographic and two (the English and the SELC) non-geographic. The current president is Matthew C. Harrison, who took office on September 1, 2010.The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A communal emigration from Saxony under Bishop Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.In the 19th-century German Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with Rationalism, Christian ecumenism, and the prospect of a forced unionism of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church. In the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian Union of 1817 put in place what they considered non-Lutheran communion and baptismal doctrine and practice. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the Book of Concord, Stephan and between 600 and 700 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838.Their ships arrived between December 31, 1838, and January 20, 1839, in New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. Most of the remaining immigrants left almost immediately, with the first group arriving in St. Louis on January 19, 1839. The final group, led by Stephan, remained in New Orleans for ten days, possibly to wait for the passengers of the lost ship "Amalia". The immigrants ultimately settled in Perry County, Missouri, and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation and was expelled from the settlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.During this period, there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper status of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church or whether it remained within the Lutheran hierarchy in Germany. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.Beginning in 1841, the parish pastor in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria—Wilhelm Löhe—inspired by appeals for aid to the German immigrants in North America, began to solicit funds for missionary work among them. He also began training men to become pastors and teachers, sending his first two students—Adam Ernst and Georg Burger—to America on August 5, 1842. Löhe ultimately sent over 80 pastors and students of theology to America; these pastors founded and served congregations throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.Löhe also led an early and largely abortive effort to send missionaries to convert the Native Americans. In 1844 and 1845, he solicited colonists to form a German Lutheran settlement in Michigan, with the thought that this settlement would also serve as the base for missionary activity among the Native Americans. The colonists left Germany on April 20, 1845, under the leadership of Pastor August Crämer, and arrived in Saginaw County, Michigan, in August of that year. They founded several villages—Frankenmuth, Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville)—and worked to convert the Native Americans. They had limited success, however, and the villages became nearly exclusively German settlements within a few years.In addition to sending pastors, theological students, and colonists to America, Löhe also played an instrumental role in the formation of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, raising funds for the new institution and sending eleven theological students and a professor from Germany to help found it. The seminary's first president, Wilhelm Sihler, had also been sent by Löhe to America several years before.It was due to Löhe's great zeal and indefatigable labors that the LCMS' first president, C. F. W. Walther, once said of him, "Next to God, it is Pastor Loehe to whom our Synod is indebted for its happy beginning and rapid growth in which it rejoices; it may well honor him as its spiritual father. It would fill the pages of an entire book to recount even briefly what for many years this man, with tireless zeal in the noblest unselfish spirit, has done for our Lutheran Church and our Synod in particular."In 1844 and 1845, the three groups listed above (the Saxons, the Löhe men, and Wyneken and one of his assistants) began to discuss the possibility of forming a new, confessional Lutheran church body. As a result of these discussions, the Löhe missionaries and Wyneken and his assistant (F. W. Husmann) decided to leave the synods they currently belonged to. Two planning meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, in May and July 1846. Then, on April 26, 1847, twelve pastors representing fourteen German Lutheran congregations met in Chicago, Illinois, and officially founded the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.The synod was quickly noted for its conservatism and self-professed orthodoxy. The synod's constitution required all members (both pastors and congregations) to pledge fealty to the entire Book of Concord, to reject unionism and syncretism of every kind, to use only doctrinally pure books in both church and school, and to provide for the Christian education of their children. Among other things, these requirements meant that altar and pulpit fellowship was usually restricted to those Lutheran congregations and synods who were in complete doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod.The LCMS' conservatism soon drew it into conflict with other Lutheran synods, the majority of which were then experimenting with so-called "American Lutheranism". In addition, the LCMS also quickly became embroiled in a dispute with the Buffalo Synod and its leader, Johannes Andreas August Grabau, over the proper understanding of the church and the ministry. Within a few years, this conflict led to a separation between the Missouri Synod and Löhe, as Löhe's views were close to those of Grabau.Despite these conflicts, the Missouri Synod experienced fairly rapid growth in its early years, leading to the subdivision of the synod into four district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) in 1854. This growth was due largely to the synod's efforts, under the leadership of its second president, F. C. D. Wyneken, to care for German immigrants, help them find a home among other Germans, build churches and parochial schools, and train pastors and teachers. The synod continued these outreach efforts throughout the 19th century, becoming the largest Lutheran church body in the United States by 1888. By the synod's fiftieth anniversary in 1897, it had grown to 687,000 members.Between 1856 and 1859, the Missouri Synod hosted a series of four free conferences in order to explore the possibility of entering into fellowship agreements with other conservative Lutheran synods. As a result of these conferences, the LCMS entered into fellowship with the Norwegian Synod in 1857. In 1872, these two synods joined the Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois Synods, other conservative Lutheran bodies, in forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America.In 1876, the constituent synods of the Synodical Conference considered a plan to reorganize into a single unified church body with a single seminary. Some preliminary moves were made in this direction (including the 1880 absorption of the Illinois Synod into the LCMS' Illinois District), but opposition from some synods postponed the complete implementation of this plan, and the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s scuttled the plan entirely. As a result of the controversy, several pastors and congregations withdrew from the Ohio Synod to form the Concordia Synod; this synod merged with the LCMS in 1886.For the first thirty years of its existence, the Missouri Synod focused almost exclusively on meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Lutherans, leaving work among English-speaking Lutherans to other synods, particularly the Tennessee and Ohio synods. In 1872, members of the Tennessee Synod invited representatives from the Missouri, Holston, and Norwegian synods to discuss the promotion of English work among the more "Americanized" Lutherans, resulting in the organization of the "English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri." This conference was reorganized in 1888 as an independent church body, the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, which subsequently merged into the LCMS as the English District in 1911. In its first twenty years, the English Synod founded two colleges, organized dozens of congregations and parochial schools, took over the publication of the "Lutheran Witness" (an English-language newspaper published by LCMS pastors in Cleveland, Ohio), and published several hymnals and other books.English work became more widespread in the LCMS during the first two decades of the twentieth century, with older members of the synod continuing to speak primarily German and younger members increasingly switching to English. As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [Missouri Synod] churches, and particularly their schools ... indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on." The anti-German sentiment during the wars hastened the "Americanization" of the church and caused many churches to add English services and in some cases, drop German services entirely. During the years of language transition, the synod's membership continued to grow, until by 1947, the synod had grown to over 1.5 million members.During this time, the LCMS expanded its missionary efforts through the creation of its own radio station—KFUO (AM) (1923)—and its own international radio program—"The Lutheran Hour" (1930). Several years later, the synod began broadcasting its own TV drama—"This Is the Life" (1952).In 1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States" to its present one, "The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". On January 1, 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS, forming the SELC District.Beginning in the 1950s, the LCMS became somewhat friendlier to the more liberal Lutheran bodies, despite the opposition of the other members of the Synodical Conference. This culminated in the break up of the Synodical Conference in 1963. Six years later, the LCMS formed the Lutheran Council in the United States of America (LCUSA) with several moderate-to-liberal Lutheran bodies.However, with the election of J. A. O. Preus II as its president in 1969, the LCMS began a sharp turn towards a more conservative direction. A dispute over the use of the historical-critical method for Biblical interpretation led to the suspension of John Tietjen as president of Concordia Seminary. In response, many of the faculty and students left the seminary and formed Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile), which took up residence at the nearby Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis. In 1976, about 250 of the congregations supporting Seminex left the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The LCMS restricted its participation with LCUSA shortly after the AELC schism and announced that it would not participate in any merger discussions. In 1988, the AELC and the other LCUSA members merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.In 1900, the LCMS began sending missionaries to Brazil to minister to German-speaking immigrants in that country, and in 1904 created the Brazil District for the administration of the resulting congregations. Work was begun in Argentina in 1905 as part of the Brazil District. A separate Argentina District was established in 1926/1927. Both districts became independent church bodies that retain close relationships with the LCMS: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil in 1980, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina in 1988.The LCMS oversaw an extensive roster of congregations in Canada until 1988, when the Canadian component became a separate and autonomous organization, Lutheran Church-Canada. However, this was an administrative and not theological division and the two groups still share close ties. A small number of Ontario and Quebec churches remain within the LCMS.One of the signature teachings of the Lutheran Reformation is "Sola scriptura"—"Scripture alone." The LCMS believes that the Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged, and holds that Scripture is best explained and interpreted by the "Book of Concord"—a series of confessions of faith adopted by Lutherans in the 16th century. LCMS pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord "because" they believe that it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God, not based on its own authority alone. Since the LCMS is a confessional church body, its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are sworn by their oaths of ordination or installation, or both, to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the "Book of Concord". Its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are asked to honor and uphold other official teachings of the synod, meaning "to abide by, act, and teach in accordance with," but are not sworn to believe, confess and teach them as correct interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures. The Missouri Synod also teaches biblical inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much—if not all—of modern liberal scholarship. The Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, written by Franz August Otto Pieper, was adopted by the synodical convention in 1932 as a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that justification comes from God "by divine grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone." It teaches that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that faith in him alone is the way to eternal salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection.The synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the Sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in the hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. Many Missouri Synod Lutherans define a sacrament as an action instituted by Jesus that combines a promise in God's Word with a physical element, although the synod holds no official definition for sacrament. This means that some may disagree on the number of sacraments. All agree that Baptism and Communion are sacraments. Confession and absolution is called a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it is not tied to a physical element.Unlike Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the "Book of Concord".Regarding the Eucharist, the LCMS rejects both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the sacramental union, Real Presence, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is generally rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS as an attempt to define the holy mystery of Christ's presence.The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millennialism and considers itself amillennialist. This means that it believes there will be no literal 1000-year visible earthly kingdom of Jesus, a view termed as "realized millennialism" in which the "thousand years" of Rev 20:1–10 is taken figuratively as a reference to the time of Christ's reign as king from the day of his ascension. Hence, the millennium is a present reality (Christ's heavenly reign), not a future hope for a rule of Christ on earth after his return (the parousia) (cf. Mt 13:41–42; Mt 28:18; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1–3).The LCMS believes that the Holy Scriptures contain two crucial teachings—Law and Gospel. The Law is all those demands in the Bible which must be obeyed in order to gain salvation. However, because all people are sinners, it is impossible for people to completely obey the Law. Therefore, the Law implies an inevitable consequence of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the promise of free salvation from God to sinners. The Law condemns; the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show people their sinful nature and drive them to the Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The LCMS holds that the Old Testament and the New Testament both contain both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This Lutheran doctrine was summarized by C. F. W. Walther in "The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel".The LCMS holds that all "false teachers who teach contrary to Christ's Word are opponents of Christ" and, insofar as they do so, are anti-Christ. The LCMS does not teach, nor has it ever taught, that any individual pope as a person is to be identified with the Antichrist. However, to the extent that the papacy continues to claim as official dogma the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, the LCMS position is that the office of the papacy is the Antichrist.The LCMS officially supports literal creationism but does not have an official position on the precise age of the earth. An official publication of the synod, the "Brief Statement" of 1932, states under the heading "Of Creation": "We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days." According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To commend preaching and teaching Creation", all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the Biblical perspective." The LCMS website states that an individual's personal views regarding creation do not disqualify a person from being a member of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that the teachings of Freemasonry are in direct conflict with the Gospel and instructs its pastors and laypeople to avoid membership or participation in it.The LCMS practices infant baptism, based on Acts 2:38–39 and other passages of Scripture. It also subscribes to the statement of faith found in the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer to be applicable to daily life. These doctrines are emphasized in "Luther's Small Catechism".The original constitution of the LCMS stated that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while more recent changes to those documents also encourage responsible and doctrinally sound diversity. The synod requires that hymns, songs, liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the Bible and "Book of Concord". Worship in LCMS congregations is generally thought of as orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, and is typically accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The contents of LCMS hymnals from the past, such as "The Lutheran Hymnal" and "Lutheran Worship", and those of its newest hymnal, "Lutheran Service Book", highlight the synod's unwavering stance towards more traditional styles of hymnody and liturgy. More traditional LCMS Lutherans point to the Lutheran Confessions in their defense of liturgical worship.Towards the later parts of the twentieth century and up until present day, many congregations have adopted a more progressive style of worship, employing different styles such as contemporary Christian music with guitars and praise bands and often project song lyrics onto screens instead of using hymnals. While this shift in style challenges the traditionalism of hymnody that the LCMS holds strongly, the LCMS has released a statement on worship stating that, "The best of musical traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the choir."The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion—the policy of sharing the Eucharist ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of its sister churches with which it has formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship (i.e., agreement in all articles of doctrine). Missouri Synod congregations implement closed communion in various ways, requiring conformity to official doctrine in various degrees. Usually, visitors are asked to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time. Most congregations invite those uneducated on the subject of the Eucharist to join in the fellowship and receive a blessing instead of the body and blood of Christ.Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the public ministry. The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope agrees that "ordination was nothing else than such a ratification" of local elections by the people. The LCMS does not believe ordination is divinely instituted or an extension of an episcopal form of apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St. Jerome). The Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call.LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master of Divinity degree, which is usually obtained from one of these institutions: Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the Lutheran Church–Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries but may then be required to take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (Biblical Greek and Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod).The Missouri Synod teaches that the ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of debate within the synod. During the Cooperative Clergy Study Project in the year 2000, 10% out of 652 LCMS pastors surveyed stated that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 82% disagreed. Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the synod's 2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices do not include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office". Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, etc. This is the cause of contention within the LCMS, with some congregations utilizing women in public worship to read lessons and assist in the distribution of holy communion. Other traditional Lutherans reject such practices as unbiblical, with a minority of congregations continuing the historic practice of male suffrage, similar to the Wisconsin Synod.The LCMS bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths, holding "that church fellowship or merger between church bodies in doctrinal disagreement with one another is not in keeping with what the Bible teaches about church fellowship." In practice of this, a Connecticut LCMS pastor was asked to apologize by the president of the denomination, and did so, for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school, and an LCMS pastor in New York was suspended for praying at an interfaith vigil in 2001, 12 days after the September 11 attacks.The National Youth Gathering is held every three years. The most recent gathering took place from July 10–15, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of "Real. Present. God." The theme for the 2016 gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana was "In Christ Alone." The previous gathering took place in 2013 in San Antonio, Texas from July 1–5, 2013. It was based on the theme, "Live Love(d)." The 2010 gathering in New Orleans was based on the theme "We Believe". In both 2007 and 2004, The LCMS National Youth Gatherings were held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The gathering's theme in 2007 was "Chosen." The gathering in 2007 was originally planned to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the location was changed to Orlando, Florida. Around 25,000 youth attend each gathering. Many Christian bands and artists perform at gatherings.The LCMS has a modified form of congregational polity. This is different from some other Lutheran bodies which have maintained episcopal polity; however, this is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure.The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: self-governing local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained synodical president, currently Reverend Matthew C. Harrison. The president is chosen at a synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen and lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various synod positions. The next LCMS convention is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, although a proposal to move that convention to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.The entire synod is divided into 35 districts. Of these, 33 have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas. The other two, the English and the SELC, are non-geographic and were formed when the English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into circuits, each of which is led by a circuit visitor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations. Districts are roughly analogous to dioceses in other Christian communities.Most congregations are served by full-time professional clergy. Some congregations, usually in rural areas, are served by ordained bi-vocational ministers (worker-priests) who maintain secular employment for sustenance and receive a small stipend or none at all. The LCMS is congregationalist with regard to polity.In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates seven universities, known as the Concordia University System.Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including "The Lutheran Hour" radio program; and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes its official magazine, "The Lutheran Witness," and newspaper, "Reporter".Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Council of Churches or the Lutheran World Federation. It is, however, a member of the International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity. However, both LCMS and Evangelicals share the common belief that life begins and should be protected by law since conception.The LCMS is distinguished from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) by three main theological beliefs:Respondents to the Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 2008 included members of LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Membership growth was substantial in the first half of the 20th century. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", the LCMS had 628,695 members in 1925. By 1950 the number of members had grown to over 1.6 million. Membership peaked in 1970 at just under 2.8 million. In 2015 the LCMS reported 2,097,258 members and 6,105 churches, with 6,094 active clergy. LCMS membership continues to be concentrated in the Upper Midwest. The five states with the highest rates of adherence are Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.The Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey in 2014 found that the LCMS was the third-least racially diverse major religious group in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was second and the National Baptist Convention was the least diverse. The 2008 figures were::	[ "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms" ]
Who was the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in 01/01/2001?	January 01, 2001	{ "text": [ "Robert T. Kuhn", "Alvin L. Barry", "Gerald B. Kieschnick" ] }	L2_Q693844_P488_9	Friedrich Pfotenhauer is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1911 to Jan, 1935. J. A. O. Preus II is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1969 to Jan, 1981. C. F. W. Walther is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1864 to Jan, 1878. Heinrich Christian Schwan is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1878 to Jan, 1899. Oliver Raymond Harms is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1962 to Jan, 1969. Alvin L. Barry is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 2001. F. C. D. Wyneken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1850 to Jan, 1864. Robert T. Kuhn is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2001. Gerald B. Kieschnick is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2010. John William Behnken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1935 to Jan, 1962. Ralph Arthur Bohlmann is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992.	Lutheran Church–Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With slightly under 2 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (), a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.The LCMS has congregations in all 50 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, but over half of its members are located in the Midwest. It is a member of the International Lutheran Council and is in altar and pulpit fellowship with most of that group's members. The LCMS is headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, and is divided into 35 districts—33 of which are geographic and two (the English and the SELC) non-geographic. The current president is Matthew C. Harrison, who took office on September 1, 2010.The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A communal emigration from Saxony under Bishop Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.In the 19th-century German Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with Rationalism, Christian ecumenism, and the prospect of a forced unionism of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church. In the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian Union of 1817 put in place what they considered non-Lutheran communion and baptismal doctrine and practice. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the Book of Concord, Stephan and between 600 and 700 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838.Their ships arrived between December 31, 1838, and January 20, 1839, in New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. Most of the remaining immigrants left almost immediately, with the first group arriving in St. Louis on January 19, 1839. The final group, led by Stephan, remained in New Orleans for ten days, possibly to wait for the passengers of the lost ship "Amalia". The immigrants ultimately settled in Perry County, Missouri, and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation and was expelled from the settlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.During this period, there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper status of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church or whether it remained within the Lutheran hierarchy in Germany. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.Beginning in 1841, the parish pastor in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria—Wilhelm Löhe—inspired by appeals for aid to the German immigrants in North America, began to solicit funds for missionary work among them. He also began training men to become pastors and teachers, sending his first two students—Adam Ernst and Georg Burger—to America on August 5, 1842. Löhe ultimately sent over 80 pastors and students of theology to America; these pastors founded and served congregations throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.Löhe also led an early and largely abortive effort to send missionaries to convert the Native Americans. In 1844 and 1845, he solicited colonists to form a German Lutheran settlement in Michigan, with the thought that this settlement would also serve as the base for missionary activity among the Native Americans. The colonists left Germany on April 20, 1845, under the leadership of Pastor August Crämer, and arrived in Saginaw County, Michigan, in August of that year. They founded several villages—Frankenmuth, Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville)—and worked to convert the Native Americans. They had limited success, however, and the villages became nearly exclusively German settlements within a few years.In addition to sending pastors, theological students, and colonists to America, Löhe also played an instrumental role in the formation of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, raising funds for the new institution and sending eleven theological students and a professor from Germany to help found it. The seminary's first president, Wilhelm Sihler, had also been sent by Löhe to America several years before.It was due to Löhe's great zeal and indefatigable labors that the LCMS' first president, C. F. W. Walther, once said of him, "Next to God, it is Pastor Loehe to whom our Synod is indebted for its happy beginning and rapid growth in which it rejoices; it may well honor him as its spiritual father. It would fill the pages of an entire book to recount even briefly what for many years this man, with tireless zeal in the noblest unselfish spirit, has done for our Lutheran Church and our Synod in particular."In 1844 and 1845, the three groups listed above (the Saxons, the Löhe men, and Wyneken and one of his assistants) began to discuss the possibility of forming a new, confessional Lutheran church body. As a result of these discussions, the Löhe missionaries and Wyneken and his assistant (F. W. Husmann) decided to leave the synods they currently belonged to. Two planning meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, in May and July 1846. Then, on April 26, 1847, twelve pastors representing fourteen German Lutheran congregations met in Chicago, Illinois, and officially founded the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.The synod was quickly noted for its conservatism and self-professed orthodoxy. The synod's constitution required all members (both pastors and congregations) to pledge fealty to the entire Book of Concord, to reject unionism and syncretism of every kind, to use only doctrinally pure books in both church and school, and to provide for the Christian education of their children. Among other things, these requirements meant that altar and pulpit fellowship was usually restricted to those Lutheran congregations and synods who were in complete doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod.The LCMS' conservatism soon drew it into conflict with other Lutheran synods, the majority of which were then experimenting with so-called "American Lutheranism". In addition, the LCMS also quickly became embroiled in a dispute with the Buffalo Synod and its leader, Johannes Andreas August Grabau, over the proper understanding of the church and the ministry. Within a few years, this conflict led to a separation between the Missouri Synod and Löhe, as Löhe's views were close to those of Grabau.Despite these conflicts, the Missouri Synod experienced fairly rapid growth in its early years, leading to the subdivision of the synod into four district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) in 1854. This growth was due largely to the synod's efforts, under the leadership of its second president, F. C. D. Wyneken, to care for German immigrants, help them find a home among other Germans, build churches and parochial schools, and train pastors and teachers. The synod continued these outreach efforts throughout the 19th century, becoming the largest Lutheran church body in the United States by 1888. By the synod's fiftieth anniversary in 1897, it had grown to 687,000 members.Between 1856 and 1859, the Missouri Synod hosted a series of four free conferences in order to explore the possibility of entering into fellowship agreements with other conservative Lutheran synods. As a result of these conferences, the LCMS entered into fellowship with the Norwegian Synod in 1857. In 1872, these two synods joined the Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois Synods, other conservative Lutheran bodies, in forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America.In 1876, the constituent synods of the Synodical Conference considered a plan to reorganize into a single unified church body with a single seminary. Some preliminary moves were made in this direction (including the 1880 absorption of the Illinois Synod into the LCMS' Illinois District), but opposition from some synods postponed the complete implementation of this plan, and the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s scuttled the plan entirely. As a result of the controversy, several pastors and congregations withdrew from the Ohio Synod to form the Concordia Synod; this synod merged with the LCMS in 1886.For the first thirty years of its existence, the Missouri Synod focused almost exclusively on meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Lutherans, leaving work among English-speaking Lutherans to other synods, particularly the Tennessee and Ohio synods. In 1872, members of the Tennessee Synod invited representatives from the Missouri, Holston, and Norwegian synods to discuss the promotion of English work among the more "Americanized" Lutherans, resulting in the organization of the "English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri." This conference was reorganized in 1888 as an independent church body, the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, which subsequently merged into the LCMS as the English District in 1911. In its first twenty years, the English Synod founded two colleges, organized dozens of congregations and parochial schools, took over the publication of the "Lutheran Witness" (an English-language newspaper published by LCMS pastors in Cleveland, Ohio), and published several hymnals and other books.English work became more widespread in the LCMS during the first two decades of the twentieth century, with older members of the synod continuing to speak primarily German and younger members increasingly switching to English. As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [Missouri Synod] churches, and particularly their schools ... indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on." The anti-German sentiment during the wars hastened the "Americanization" of the church and caused many churches to add English services and in some cases, drop German services entirely. During the years of language transition, the synod's membership continued to grow, until by 1947, the synod had grown to over 1.5 million members.During this time, the LCMS expanded its missionary efforts through the creation of its own radio station—KFUO (AM) (1923)—and its own international radio program—"The Lutheran Hour" (1930). Several years later, the synod began broadcasting its own TV drama—"This Is the Life" (1952).In 1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States" to its present one, "The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". On January 1, 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS, forming the SELC District.Beginning in the 1950s, the LCMS became somewhat friendlier to the more liberal Lutheran bodies, despite the opposition of the other members of the Synodical Conference. This culminated in the break up of the Synodical Conference in 1963. Six years later, the LCMS formed the Lutheran Council in the United States of America (LCUSA) with several moderate-to-liberal Lutheran bodies.However, with the election of J. A. O. Preus II as its president in 1969, the LCMS began a sharp turn towards a more conservative direction. A dispute over the use of the historical-critical method for Biblical interpretation led to the suspension of John Tietjen as president of Concordia Seminary. In response, many of the faculty and students left the seminary and formed Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile), which took up residence at the nearby Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis. In 1976, about 250 of the congregations supporting Seminex left the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The LCMS restricted its participation with LCUSA shortly after the AELC schism and announced that it would not participate in any merger discussions. In 1988, the AELC and the other LCUSA members merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.In 1900, the LCMS began sending missionaries to Brazil to minister to German-speaking immigrants in that country, and in 1904 created the Brazil District for the administration of the resulting congregations. Work was begun in Argentina in 1905 as part of the Brazil District. A separate Argentina District was established in 1926/1927. Both districts became independent church bodies that retain close relationships with the LCMS: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil in 1980, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina in 1988.The LCMS oversaw an extensive roster of congregations in Canada until 1988, when the Canadian component became a separate and autonomous organization, Lutheran Church-Canada. However, this was an administrative and not theological division and the two groups still share close ties. A small number of Ontario and Quebec churches remain within the LCMS.One of the signature teachings of the Lutheran Reformation is "Sola scriptura"—"Scripture alone." The LCMS believes that the Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged, and holds that Scripture is best explained and interpreted by the "Book of Concord"—a series of confessions of faith adopted by Lutherans in the 16th century. LCMS pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord "because" they believe that it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God, not based on its own authority alone. Since the LCMS is a confessional church body, its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are sworn by their oaths of ordination or installation, or both, to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the "Book of Concord". Its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are asked to honor and uphold other official teachings of the synod, meaning "to abide by, act, and teach in accordance with," but are not sworn to believe, confess and teach them as correct interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures. The Missouri Synod also teaches biblical inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much—if not all—of modern liberal scholarship. The Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, written by Franz August Otto Pieper, was adopted by the synodical convention in 1932 as a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that justification comes from God "by divine grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone." It teaches that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that faith in him alone is the way to eternal salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection.The synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the Sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in the hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. Many Missouri Synod Lutherans define a sacrament as an action instituted by Jesus that combines a promise in God's Word with a physical element, although the synod holds no official definition for sacrament. This means that some may disagree on the number of sacraments. All agree that Baptism and Communion are sacraments. Confession and absolution is called a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it is not tied to a physical element.Unlike Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the "Book of Concord".Regarding the Eucharist, the LCMS rejects both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the sacramental union, Real Presence, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is generally rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS as an attempt to define the holy mystery of Christ's presence.The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millennialism and considers itself amillennialist. This means that it believes there will be no literal 1000-year visible earthly kingdom of Jesus, a view termed as "realized millennialism" in which the "thousand years" of Rev 20:1–10 is taken figuratively as a reference to the time of Christ's reign as king from the day of his ascension. Hence, the millennium is a present reality (Christ's heavenly reign), not a future hope for a rule of Christ on earth after his return (the parousia) (cf. Mt 13:41–42; Mt 28:18; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1–3).The LCMS believes that the Holy Scriptures contain two crucial teachings—Law and Gospel. The Law is all those demands in the Bible which must be obeyed in order to gain salvation. However, because all people are sinners, it is impossible for people to completely obey the Law. Therefore, the Law implies an inevitable consequence of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the promise of free salvation from God to sinners. The Law condemns; the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show people their sinful nature and drive them to the Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The LCMS holds that the Old Testament and the New Testament both contain both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This Lutheran doctrine was summarized by C. F. W. Walther in "The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel".The LCMS holds that all "false teachers who teach contrary to Christ's Word are opponents of Christ" and, insofar as they do so, are anti-Christ. The LCMS does not teach, nor has it ever taught, that any individual pope as a person is to be identified with the Antichrist. However, to the extent that the papacy continues to claim as official dogma the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, the LCMS position is that the office of the papacy is the Antichrist.The LCMS officially supports literal creationism but does not have an official position on the precise age of the earth. An official publication of the synod, the "Brief Statement" of 1932, states under the heading "Of Creation": "We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days." According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To commend preaching and teaching Creation", all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the Biblical perspective." The LCMS website states that an individual's personal views regarding creation do not disqualify a person from being a member of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that the teachings of Freemasonry are in direct conflict with the Gospel and instructs its pastors and laypeople to avoid membership or participation in it.The LCMS practices infant baptism, based on Acts 2:38–39 and other passages of Scripture. It also subscribes to the statement of faith found in the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer to be applicable to daily life. These doctrines are emphasized in "Luther's Small Catechism".The original constitution of the LCMS stated that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while more recent changes to those documents also encourage responsible and doctrinally sound diversity. The synod requires that hymns, songs, liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the Bible and "Book of Concord". Worship in LCMS congregations is generally thought of as orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, and is typically accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The contents of LCMS hymnals from the past, such as "The Lutheran Hymnal" and "Lutheran Worship", and those of its newest hymnal, "Lutheran Service Book", highlight the synod's unwavering stance towards more traditional styles of hymnody and liturgy. More traditional LCMS Lutherans point to the Lutheran Confessions in their defense of liturgical worship.Towards the later parts of the twentieth century and up until present day, many congregations have adopted a more progressive style of worship, employing different styles such as contemporary Christian music with guitars and praise bands and often project song lyrics onto screens instead of using hymnals. While this shift in style challenges the traditionalism of hymnody that the LCMS holds strongly, the LCMS has released a statement on worship stating that, "The best of musical traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the choir."The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion—the policy of sharing the Eucharist ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of its sister churches with which it has formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship (i.e., agreement in all articles of doctrine). Missouri Synod congregations implement closed communion in various ways, requiring conformity to official doctrine in various degrees. Usually, visitors are asked to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time. Most congregations invite those uneducated on the subject of the Eucharist to join in the fellowship and receive a blessing instead of the body and blood of Christ.Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the public ministry. The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope agrees that "ordination was nothing else than such a ratification" of local elections by the people. The LCMS does not believe ordination is divinely instituted or an extension of an episcopal form of apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St. Jerome). The Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call.LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master of Divinity degree, which is usually obtained from one of these institutions: Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the Lutheran Church–Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries but may then be required to take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (Biblical Greek and Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod).The Missouri Synod teaches that the ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of debate within the synod. During the Cooperative Clergy Study Project in the year 2000, 10% out of 652 LCMS pastors surveyed stated that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 82% disagreed. Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the synod's 2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices do not include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office". Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, etc. This is the cause of contention within the LCMS, with some congregations utilizing women in public worship to read lessons and assist in the distribution of holy communion. Other traditional Lutherans reject such practices as unbiblical, with a minority of congregations continuing the historic practice of male suffrage, similar to the Wisconsin Synod.The LCMS bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths, holding "that church fellowship or merger between church bodies in doctrinal disagreement with one another is not in keeping with what the Bible teaches about church fellowship." In practice of this, a Connecticut LCMS pastor was asked to apologize by the president of the denomination, and did so, for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school, and an LCMS pastor in New York was suspended for praying at an interfaith vigil in 2001, 12 days after the September 11 attacks.The National Youth Gathering is held every three years. The most recent gathering took place from July 10–15, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of "Real. Present. God." The theme for the 2016 gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana was "In Christ Alone." The previous gathering took place in 2013 in San Antonio, Texas from July 1–5, 2013. It was based on the theme, "Live Love(d)." The 2010 gathering in New Orleans was based on the theme "We Believe". In both 2007 and 2004, The LCMS National Youth Gatherings were held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The gathering's theme in 2007 was "Chosen." The gathering in 2007 was originally planned to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the location was changed to Orlando, Florida. Around 25,000 youth attend each gathering. Many Christian bands and artists perform at gatherings.The LCMS has a modified form of congregational polity. This is different from some other Lutheran bodies which have maintained episcopal polity; however, this is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure.The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: self-governing local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained synodical president, currently Reverend Matthew C. Harrison. The president is chosen at a synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen and lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various synod positions. The next LCMS convention is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, although a proposal to move that convention to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.The entire synod is divided into 35 districts. Of these, 33 have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas. The other two, the English and the SELC, are non-geographic and were formed when the English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into circuits, each of which is led by a circuit visitor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations. Districts are roughly analogous to dioceses in other Christian communities.Most congregations are served by full-time professional clergy. Some congregations, usually in rural areas, are served by ordained bi-vocational ministers (worker-priests) who maintain secular employment for sustenance and receive a small stipend or none at all. The LCMS is congregationalist with regard to polity.In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates seven universities, known as the Concordia University System.Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including "The Lutheran Hour" radio program; and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes its official magazine, "The Lutheran Witness," and newspaper, "Reporter".Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Council of Churches or the Lutheran World Federation. It is, however, a member of the International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity. However, both LCMS and Evangelicals share the common belief that life begins and should be protected by law since conception.The LCMS is distinguished from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) by three main theological beliefs:Respondents to the Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 2008 included members of LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Membership growth was substantial in the first half of the 20th century. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", the LCMS had 628,695 members in 1925. By 1950 the number of members had grown to over 1.6 million. Membership peaked in 1970 at just under 2.8 million. In 2015 the LCMS reported 2,097,258 members and 6,105 churches, with 6,094 active clergy. LCMS membership continues to be concentrated in the Upper Midwest. The five states with the highest rates of adherence are Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.The Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey in 2014 found that the LCMS was the third-least racially diverse major religious group in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was second and the National Baptist Convention was the least diverse. The 2008 figures were::	[ "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms" ]
Who was the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in 01-Jan-200101-January-2001?	January 01, 2001	{ "text": [ "Robert T. Kuhn", "Alvin L. Barry", "Gerald B. Kieschnick" ] }	L2_Q693844_P488_9	Friedrich Pfotenhauer is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1911 to Jan, 1935. J. A. O. Preus II is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1969 to Jan, 1981. C. F. W. Walther is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1864 to Jan, 1878. Heinrich Christian Schwan is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1878 to Jan, 1899. Oliver Raymond Harms is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1962 to Jan, 1969. Alvin L. Barry is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 2001. F. C. D. Wyneken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1850 to Jan, 1864. Robert T. Kuhn is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2001. Gerald B. Kieschnick is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2010. John William Behnken is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1935 to Jan, 1962. Ralph Arthur Bohlmann is the chair of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992.	Lutheran Church–Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With slightly under 2 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LCMS was organized in 1847 at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (), a name which partially reflected the geographic locations of the founding congregations.The LCMS has congregations in all 50 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, but over half of its members are located in the Midwest. It is a member of the International Lutheran Council and is in altar and pulpit fellowship with most of that group's members. The LCMS is headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, and is divided into 35 districts—33 of which are geographic and two (the English and the SELC) non-geographic. The current president is Matthew C. Harrison, who took office on September 1, 2010.The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A communal emigration from Saxony under Bishop Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.In the 19th-century German Kingdom of Saxony, Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan and many of his followers found themselves increasingly at odds with Rationalism, Christian ecumenism, and the prospect of a forced unionism of the Lutheran church with the Reformed church. In the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia, the Prussian Union of 1817 put in place what they considered non-Lutheran communion and baptismal doctrine and practice. In order to freely practice their Christian faith in accordance with the Lutheran confessions outlined in the Book of Concord, Stephan and between 600 and 700 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838.Their ships arrived between December 31, 1838, and January 20, 1839, in New Orleans, with one ship lost at sea. Most of the remaining immigrants left almost immediately, with the first group arriving in St. Louis on January 19, 1839. The final group, led by Stephan, remained in New Orleans for ten days, possibly to wait for the passengers of the lost ship "Amalia". The immigrants ultimately settled in Perry County, Missouri, and in and around St. Louis. Stephan was initially the bishop of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct with members of the congregation and was expelled from the settlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the leader of the colony.During this period, there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper status of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church or whether it remained within the Lutheran hierarchy in Germany. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed.Beginning in 1841, the parish pastor in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria—Wilhelm Löhe—inspired by appeals for aid to the German immigrants in North America, began to solicit funds for missionary work among them. He also began training men to become pastors and teachers, sending his first two students—Adam Ernst and Georg Burger—to America on August 5, 1842. Löhe ultimately sent over 80 pastors and students of theology to America; these pastors founded and served congregations throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.Löhe also led an early and largely abortive effort to send missionaries to convert the Native Americans. In 1844 and 1845, he solicited colonists to form a German Lutheran settlement in Michigan, with the thought that this settlement would also serve as the base for missionary activity among the Native Americans. The colonists left Germany on April 20, 1845, under the leadership of Pastor August Crämer, and arrived in Saginaw County, Michigan, in August of that year. They founded several villages—Frankenmuth, Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville)—and worked to convert the Native Americans. They had limited success, however, and the villages became nearly exclusively German settlements within a few years.In addition to sending pastors, theological students, and colonists to America, Löhe also played an instrumental role in the formation of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, raising funds for the new institution and sending eleven theological students and a professor from Germany to help found it. The seminary's first president, Wilhelm Sihler, had also been sent by Löhe to America several years before.It was due to Löhe's great zeal and indefatigable labors that the LCMS' first president, C. F. W. Walther, once said of him, "Next to God, it is Pastor Loehe to whom our Synod is indebted for its happy beginning and rapid growth in which it rejoices; it may well honor him as its spiritual father. It would fill the pages of an entire book to recount even briefly what for many years this man, with tireless zeal in the noblest unselfish spirit, has done for our Lutheran Church and our Synod in particular."In 1844 and 1845, the three groups listed above (the Saxons, the Löhe men, and Wyneken and one of his assistants) began to discuss the possibility of forming a new, confessional Lutheran church body. As a result of these discussions, the Löhe missionaries and Wyneken and his assistant (F. W. Husmann) decided to leave the synods they currently belonged to. Two planning meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, in May and July 1846. Then, on April 26, 1847, twelve pastors representing fourteen German Lutheran congregations met in Chicago, Illinois, and officially founded the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Walther became the fledgling denomination's first president.The synod was quickly noted for its conservatism and self-professed orthodoxy. The synod's constitution required all members (both pastors and congregations) to pledge fealty to the entire Book of Concord, to reject unionism and syncretism of every kind, to use only doctrinally pure books in both church and school, and to provide for the Christian education of their children. Among other things, these requirements meant that altar and pulpit fellowship was usually restricted to those Lutheran congregations and synods who were in complete doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod.The LCMS' conservatism soon drew it into conflict with other Lutheran synods, the majority of which were then experimenting with so-called "American Lutheranism". In addition, the LCMS also quickly became embroiled in a dispute with the Buffalo Synod and its leader, Johannes Andreas August Grabau, over the proper understanding of the church and the ministry. Within a few years, this conflict led to a separation between the Missouri Synod and Löhe, as Löhe's views were close to those of Grabau.Despite these conflicts, the Missouri Synod experienced fairly rapid growth in its early years, leading to the subdivision of the synod into four district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) in 1854. This growth was due largely to the synod's efforts, under the leadership of its second president, F. C. D. Wyneken, to care for German immigrants, help them find a home among other Germans, build churches and parochial schools, and train pastors and teachers. The synod continued these outreach efforts throughout the 19th century, becoming the largest Lutheran church body in the United States by 1888. By the synod's fiftieth anniversary in 1897, it had grown to 687,000 members.Between 1856 and 1859, the Missouri Synod hosted a series of four free conferences in order to explore the possibility of entering into fellowship agreements with other conservative Lutheran synods. As a result of these conferences, the LCMS entered into fellowship with the Norwegian Synod in 1857. In 1872, these two synods joined the Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois Synods, other conservative Lutheran bodies, in forming the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America.In 1876, the constituent synods of the Synodical Conference considered a plan to reorganize into a single unified church body with a single seminary. Some preliminary moves were made in this direction (including the 1880 absorption of the Illinois Synod into the LCMS' Illinois District), but opposition from some synods postponed the complete implementation of this plan, and the Predestinarian Controversy of the 1880s scuttled the plan entirely. As a result of the controversy, several pastors and congregations withdrew from the Ohio Synod to form the Concordia Synod; this synod merged with the LCMS in 1886.For the first thirty years of its existence, the Missouri Synod focused almost exclusively on meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Lutherans, leaving work among English-speaking Lutherans to other synods, particularly the Tennessee and Ohio synods. In 1872, members of the Tennessee Synod invited representatives from the Missouri, Holston, and Norwegian synods to discuss the promotion of English work among the more "Americanized" Lutherans, resulting in the organization of the "English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri." This conference was reorganized in 1888 as an independent church body, the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, which subsequently merged into the LCMS as the English District in 1911. In its first twenty years, the English Synod founded two colleges, organized dozens of congregations and parochial schools, took over the publication of the "Lutheran Witness" (an English-language newspaper published by LCMS pastors in Cleveland, Ohio), and published several hymnals and other books.English work became more widespread in the LCMS during the first two decades of the twentieth century, with older members of the synod continuing to speak primarily German and younger members increasingly switching to English. As one scholar has explained, "The overwhelming evidence from internal documents of these [Missouri Synod] churches, and particularly their schools ... indicates that the German-American school was a bilingual one much (perhaps a whole generation or more) earlier than 1917, and that the majority of the pupils may have been English-dominant bilinguals from the early 1880s on." The anti-German sentiment during the wars hastened the "Americanization" of the church and caused many churches to add English services and in some cases, drop German services entirely. During the years of language transition, the synod's membership continued to grow, until by 1947, the synod had grown to over 1.5 million members.During this time, the LCMS expanded its missionary efforts through the creation of its own radio station—KFUO (AM) (1923)—and its own international radio program—"The Lutheran Hour" (1930). Several years later, the synod began broadcasting its own TV drama—"This Is the Life" (1952).In 1947, the church body shortened its name from "The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States" to its present one, "The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod". On January 1, 1964, the National Evangelical Lutheran Church, an historically Finnish-American Lutheran church, merged with the LCMS. In 1971, the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, an historically Slovak-American church, also merged with the LCMS, forming the SELC District.Beginning in the 1950s, the LCMS became somewhat friendlier to the more liberal Lutheran bodies, despite the opposition of the other members of the Synodical Conference. This culminated in the break up of the Synodical Conference in 1963. Six years later, the LCMS formed the Lutheran Council in the United States of America (LCUSA) with several moderate-to-liberal Lutheran bodies.However, with the election of J. A. O. Preus II as its president in 1969, the LCMS began a sharp turn towards a more conservative direction. A dispute over the use of the historical-critical method for Biblical interpretation led to the suspension of John Tietjen as president of Concordia Seminary. In response, many of the faculty and students left the seminary and formed Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile), which took up residence at the nearby Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis. In 1976, about 250 of the congregations supporting Seminex left the LCMS to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC). The LCMS restricted its participation with LCUSA shortly after the AELC schism and announced that it would not participate in any merger discussions. In 1988, the AELC and the other LCUSA members merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.In 1900, the LCMS began sending missionaries to Brazil to minister to German-speaking immigrants in that country, and in 1904 created the Brazil District for the administration of the resulting congregations. Work was begun in Argentina in 1905 as part of the Brazil District. A separate Argentina District was established in 1926/1927. Both districts became independent church bodies that retain close relationships with the LCMS: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil in 1980, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina in 1988.The LCMS oversaw an extensive roster of congregations in Canada until 1988, when the Canadian component became a separate and autonomous organization, Lutheran Church-Canada. However, this was an administrative and not theological division and the two groups still share close ties. A small number of Ontario and Quebec churches remain within the LCMS.One of the signature teachings of the Lutheran Reformation is "Sola scriptura"—"Scripture alone." The LCMS believes that the Bible is the only standard by which church teachings can be judged, and holds that Scripture is best explained and interpreted by the "Book of Concord"—a series of confessions of faith adopted by Lutherans in the 16th century. LCMS pastors and congregations agree to teach in harmony with the Book of Concord "because" they believe that it teaches and faithfully explains the Word of God, not based on its own authority alone. Since the LCMS is a confessional church body, its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are sworn by their oaths of ordination or installation, or both, to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the "Book of Concord". Its ordained and commissioned ministers of religion are asked to honor and uphold other official teachings of the synod, meaning "to abide by, act, and teach in accordance with," but are not sworn to believe, confess and teach them as correct interpretations of the Sacred Scriptures. The Missouri Synod also teaches biblical inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error. For this reason, they reject much—if not all—of modern liberal scholarship. The Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, written by Franz August Otto Pieper, was adopted by the synodical convention in 1932 as a summary of the major beliefs of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that justification comes from God "by divine grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone." It teaches that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible and that faith in him alone is the way to eternal salvation. The synod rejects any attempt to attribute salvation to anything other than Christ's death and resurrection.The synod teaches that the Word of God, both written and preached, and the Sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit gives the gift of God's grace, creates faith in the hearts of individuals, forgives sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross, and grants eternal life and salvation. Many Missouri Synod Lutherans define a sacrament as an action instituted by Jesus that combines a promise in God's Word with a physical element, although the synod holds no official definition for sacrament. This means that some may disagree on the number of sacraments. All agree that Baptism and Communion are sacraments. Confession and absolution is called a sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and so is also considered by many Lutherans to be a sacrament, because it was instituted by Christ and has His promise of grace, even though it is not tied to a physical element.Unlike Calvinists, Lutherans agree that the means of grace are resistible; this belief is based on numerous biblical references as discussed in the "Book of Concord".Regarding the Eucharist, the LCMS rejects both the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Reformed teaching that the true body and blood of Christ are not consumed with the consecrated bread and wine in the Eucharist. Rather, it believes in the doctrine of the sacramental union, Real Presence, that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine. Or, as the Smalcald Articles express this mystery: "Of the Sacrament of the Altar, we hold that the bread and wine in the Supper are Christ's true body and blood." It is occasionally reported that the LCMS and other Lutherans teach the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is generally rejected by Lutherans and is explicitly rejected by the LCMS as an attempt to define the holy mystery of Christ's presence.The Missouri Synod flatly rejects millennialism and considers itself amillennialist. This means that it believes there will be no literal 1000-year visible earthly kingdom of Jesus, a view termed as "realized millennialism" in which the "thousand years" of Rev 20:1–10 is taken figuratively as a reference to the time of Christ's reign as king from the day of his ascension. Hence, the millennium is a present reality (Christ's heavenly reign), not a future hope for a rule of Christ on earth after his return (the parousia) (cf. Mt 13:41–42; Mt 28:18; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1–3).The LCMS believes that the Holy Scriptures contain two crucial teachings—Law and Gospel. The Law is all those demands in the Bible which must be obeyed in order to gain salvation. However, because all people are sinners, it is impossible for people to completely obey the Law. Therefore, the Law implies an inevitable consequence of God's wrath, judgment, and damnation. The Gospel, on the other hand, is the promise of free salvation from God to sinners. The Law condemns; the Gospel saves. Both the Law and the Gospel are gifts from God; both are necessary. The function of the law is to show people their sinful nature and drive them to the Gospel, in which the forgiveness of sin is promised for the sake of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The LCMS holds that the Old Testament and the New Testament both contain both Law and Gospel. The Old Testament, therefore, is valuable to Christians. Its teachings point forward in time to the Cross of Christ in the same way that the New Testament points backward in time to the Cross. This Lutheran doctrine was summarized by C. F. W. Walther in "The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel".The LCMS holds that all "false teachers who teach contrary to Christ's Word are opponents of Christ" and, insofar as they do so, are anti-Christ. The LCMS does not teach, nor has it ever taught, that any individual pope as a person is to be identified with the Antichrist. However, to the extent that the papacy continues to claim as official dogma the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, the LCMS position is that the office of the papacy is the Antichrist.The LCMS officially supports literal creationism but does not have an official position on the precise age of the earth. An official publication of the synod, the "Brief Statement" of 1932, states under the heading "Of Creation": "We teach that God has created heaven and earth, and that in the manner and in the space of time recorded in the Holy Scriptures, especially Gen. 1 and 2, namely, by His almighty creative word, and in six days." According to the recent 2004 LCMS synodical resolution 2-08A "To commend preaching and teaching Creation", all LCMS churches and educational institutions—including preschool through 12th grade, universities, and seminaries—are "to teach creation from the Biblical perspective." The LCMS website states that an individual's personal views regarding creation do not disqualify a person from being a member of the LCMS.The LCMS believes that the teachings of Freemasonry are in direct conflict with the Gospel and instructs its pastors and laypeople to avoid membership or participation in it.The LCMS practices infant baptism, based on Acts 2:38–39 and other passages of Scripture. It also subscribes to the statement of faith found in the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer to be applicable to daily life. These doctrines are emphasized in "Luther's Small Catechism".The original constitution of the LCMS stated that one of its purposes is to strive toward uniformity in practice, while more recent changes to those documents also encourage responsible and doctrinally sound diversity. The synod requires that hymns, songs, liturgies, and practices be in harmony with the Bible and "Book of Concord". Worship in LCMS congregations is generally thought of as orthodox and liturgical, utilizing a printed order of service and hymnal, and is typically accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The contents of LCMS hymnals from the past, such as "The Lutheran Hymnal" and "Lutheran Worship", and those of its newest hymnal, "Lutheran Service Book", highlight the synod's unwavering stance towards more traditional styles of hymnody and liturgy. More traditional LCMS Lutherans point to the Lutheran Confessions in their defense of liturgical worship.Towards the later parts of the twentieth century and up until present day, many congregations have adopted a more progressive style of worship, employing different styles such as contemporary Christian music with guitars and praise bands and often project song lyrics onto screens instead of using hymnals. While this shift in style challenges the traditionalism of hymnody that the LCMS holds strongly, the LCMS has released a statement on worship stating that, "The best of musical traditions, both ancient and modern, are embraced by the Lutheran church in its worship, with an emphasis on congregational singing, reinforced by the choir."The LCMS endorses the doctrine of close or closed communion—the policy of sharing the Eucharist ordinarily only with those who are baptized and confirmed members of one of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod or of a congregation of one of its sister churches with which it has formally declared altar and pulpit fellowship (i.e., agreement in all articles of doctrine). Missouri Synod congregations implement closed communion in various ways, requiring conformity to official doctrine in various degrees. Usually, visitors are asked to speak with the pastor before coming to that congregation's altar for the first time. Most congregations invite those uneducated on the subject of the Eucharist to join in the fellowship and receive a blessing instead of the body and blood of Christ.Ordination is seen as a public ceremony of recognition that a man has received and accepted a divine call, and hence is considered to be in the office of the public ministry. The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope agrees that "ordination was nothing else than such a ratification" of local elections by the people. The LCMS does not believe ordination is divinely instituted or an extension of an episcopal form of apostolic succession but sees the office grounded in the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Gospel, arguing that Scripture makes no distinction between a presbyter (priest) and a bishop (see Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, paragraphs 63,64, citing St. Jerome). The Augsburg Confession (Article XIV) holds that no one is to preach, teach, or administer the sacraments without a regular call.LCMS pastors are generally required to have a four-year bachelor's degree (in any discipline), as well as a four-year Master of Divinity degree, which is usually obtained from one of these institutions: Concordia Seminary in St. Louis or the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana or at the two seminaries run by the Lutheran Church–Canada. Candidates may earn their Master of Divinity degree at other seminaries but may then be required to take colloquy classes at either St. Louis or Ft. Wayne. Seminary training includes classwork in historical theology, Biblical languages (Biblical Greek and Hebrew), practical application (education, preaching, and mission), and doctrine (the basic teachings and beliefs of the synod).The Missouri Synod teaches that the ordination of women as clergy is contrary to scripture. The issue of women's roles in the church body has continued to be a subject of debate within the synod. During the Cooperative Clergy Study Project in the year 2000, 10% out of 652 LCMS pastors surveyed stated that all clergy positions should be open to women, while 82% disagreed. Congregations were permitted to enact female suffrage within Missouri Synod congregations in 1969, and it was affirmed at the synod's 2004 convention that women may also "serve in humanly established offices" as long as those offices do not include any of the "distinctive functions of the pastoral office". Thus in many congregations of the LCMS, women now serve as congregation president or chairperson, etc. This is the cause of contention within the LCMS, with some congregations utilizing women in public worship to read lessons and assist in the distribution of holy communion. Other traditional Lutherans reject such practices as unbiblical, with a minority of congregations continuing the historic practice of male suffrage, similar to the Wisconsin Synod.The LCMS bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths, holding "that church fellowship or merger between church bodies in doctrinal disagreement with one another is not in keeping with what the Bible teaches about church fellowship." In practice of this, a Connecticut LCMS pastor was asked to apologize by the president of the denomination, and did so, for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school, and an LCMS pastor in New York was suspended for praying at an interfaith vigil in 2001, 12 days after the September 11 attacks.The National Youth Gathering is held every three years. The most recent gathering took place from July 10–15, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a theme of "Real. Present. God." The theme for the 2016 gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana was "In Christ Alone." The previous gathering took place in 2013 in San Antonio, Texas from July 1–5, 2013. It was based on the theme, "Live Love(d)." The 2010 gathering in New Orleans was based on the theme "We Believe". In both 2007 and 2004, The LCMS National Youth Gatherings were held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The gathering's theme in 2007 was "Chosen." The gathering in 2007 was originally planned to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the location was changed to Orlando, Florida. Around 25,000 youth attend each gathering. Many Christian bands and artists perform at gatherings.The LCMS has a modified form of congregational polity. This is different from some other Lutheran bodies which have maintained episcopal polity; however, this is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the synod is in fellowship with some Lutheran church bodies in Europe that have an episcopal structure.The corporate LCMS is formally constituted of two types of members: self-governing local congregations that qualify for membership by mutual agreement to adhere to stated principles, and clergymen who qualify by similar means. Congregations hold legal title to their church buildings and other property, and call (hire) and dismiss their own clergy. Much of the practical work of the LCMS structure is as a free employment brokerage to bring the two together; it also allows the congregations to work together on projects too large for even a local consortium of congregations to accomplish, such as foreign mission work.The LCMS as a whole is led by an ordained synodical president, currently Reverend Matthew C. Harrison. The president is chosen at a synodical convention, a gathering of the two membership groups (professional clergymen and lay representatives from the member congregations). The convention is held every three years; discussions of doctrine and policy take place at these events, and elections are held to fill various synod positions. The next LCMS convention is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, although a proposal to move that convention to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being considered. Local conventions within each circuit and district are held in the intervening years.The entire synod is divided into 35 districts. Of these, 33 have jurisdiction over specific geographic areas. The other two, the English and the SELC, are non-geographic and were formed when the English Missouri Synod and the Slovak Synod, respectively, merged with the formerly German-speaking Missouri Synod. Each district is led by an elected district president, who must be an ordained clergyman. Most district presidencies are full-time positions, but there are a few exceptions in which the district president also serves as a parish pastor. The districts are subdivided into circuits, each of which is led by a circuit visitor, who is an ordained pastor from one of the member congregations. Districts are roughly analogous to dioceses in other Christian communities.Most congregations are served by full-time professional clergy. Some congregations, usually in rural areas, are served by ordained bi-vocational ministers (worker-priests) who maintain secular employment for sustenance and receive a small stipend or none at all. The LCMS is congregationalist with regard to polity.In addition to its two seminaries, the LCMS operates seven universities, known as the Concordia University System.Among the LCMS's other auxiliary organizations are the Lutheran Laymen's League (now known as Lutheran Hour Ministries), which conducts outreach ministries including "The Lutheran Hour" radio program; and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. The synod also operates Concordia Publishing House, through which it publishes its official magazine, "The Lutheran Witness," and newspaper, "Reporter".Maintaining its position as a confessional church body emphasizing the importance of full agreement in the teachings of the Bible, the LCMS is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Council of Churches or the Lutheran World Federation. It is, however, a member of the International Lutheran Council, made up of over 30 Lutheran churches worldwide that support the confessional doctrines of the Bible and the Book of Concord. At the 2007 convention, the delegates voted to establish altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).Although its strongly conservative views on theology and ethics might seem to make the LCMS politically compatible with Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists in the U.S., the LCMS largely eschews political activity, partly out of concerns to keep the denomination untainted with potential heresies and also because of its strict understanding of the Lutheran distinction between the Two Kingdoms (see above), which repudiates the primarily Calvinist presuppositions about the totalizing rule of God that informs much, if not most, of U.S. evangelical understanding of politics and Christianity. However, both LCMS and Evangelicals share the common belief that life begins and should be protected by law since conception.The LCMS is distinguished from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) by three main theological beliefs:Respondents to the Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 2008 included members of LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Membership growth was substantial in the first half of the 20th century. According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", the LCMS had 628,695 members in 1925. By 1950 the number of members had grown to over 1.6 million. Membership peaked in 1970 at just under 2.8 million. In 2015 the LCMS reported 2,097,258 members and 6,105 churches, with 6,094 active clergy. LCMS membership continues to be concentrated in the Upper Midwest. The five states with the highest rates of adherence are Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.The Pew Research Center's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey in 2014 found that the LCMS was the third-least racially diverse major religious group in the country. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was second and the National Baptist Convention was the least diverse. The 2008 figures were::	[ "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms", "J. A. O. Preus II", "Ralph Arthur Bohlmann", "F. C. D. Wyneken", "C. F. W. Walther", "Heinrich Christian Schwan", "Friedrich Pfotenhauer", "John William Behnken", "Oliver Raymond Harms" ]
Which team did Marco Piccinni play for in Aug, 2022?	August 21, 2022	{ "text": [ "A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928" ] }	L2_Q6757662_P54_8	Marco Piccinni plays for A.S. Noicattaro Calcio from Jan, 2007 to Jan, 2009. Marco Piccinni plays for F.B. Brindisi 1912 from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Marco Piccinni plays for SSC Bari from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for Piacenza Calcio from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928 from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Barletta 1922 from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2013. Marco Piccinni plays for Vastese Calcio 1902 from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S. Chieti Calcio from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2014.	Marco PiccinniMarco Piccinni (born 19 April 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays for Monopoli.Born in Bari, Italy, Piccinni started his career at hometown club A.S. Bari. After made his debut in the last rounds of 2005–06 Serie B (round 40 of 42 rounds season), he was loaned to Pro Vasto but returned in January 2007 for Bari youth team. He only played for Pro Vasto in 2006–07 Coppa Italia. He then sold to Noicattaro in co-ownership deal. In June 2009 he returned to Bari but in July left for Brindisi.He failed to find a club to borrow him in 2011. He wore no.95 of Bari, which in recent years only players that excluded from the coach plan would wore "large" number in Bari. FIGC only allowed players to wear number from 1 to 99. Along with Conti (93), Langella (94), Statella (96), Rana (97) and Visconti (98), they were not part of the plan of Bari's first team. In January 2012, Piccinni left for Piacenza without a single appearance for Bari in 2011–12 Serie B season.In 2012, he joined Barletta. On 13 August 2013 he joined Chieti.In July 2014 Piccinni signed with the Serie D side Fidelis Andria. After winning the championship, he renewed his contract with Fidelis Andria by signing a 1-year deal, with option for a 2nd year, for the 2015-16 Lega Pro season. At the end of the season, he signed a new 1-year deal for season 2016-17 with Fidelis Andria.On 2 September 2019, he signed a 2-year contract with Monopoli.	[ "Vastese Calcio 1902", "SSC Bari", "F.B. Brindisi 1912", "A.S. Noicattaro Calcio", "S.S. Chieti Calcio", "S.S.D. Lucchese 1905", "Piacenza Calcio", "A.S.D. Barletta 1922" ]
Which team did Marco Piccinni play for in 2022-08-21?	August 21, 2022	{ "text": [ "A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928" ] }	L2_Q6757662_P54_8	Marco Piccinni plays for A.S. Noicattaro Calcio from Jan, 2007 to Jan, 2009. Marco Piccinni plays for F.B. Brindisi 1912 from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Marco Piccinni plays for SSC Bari from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for Piacenza Calcio from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928 from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Barletta 1922 from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2013. Marco Piccinni plays for Vastese Calcio 1902 from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S. Chieti Calcio from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2014.	Marco PiccinniMarco Piccinni (born 19 April 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays for Monopoli.Born in Bari, Italy, Piccinni started his career at hometown club A.S. Bari. After made his debut in the last rounds of 2005–06 Serie B (round 40 of 42 rounds season), he was loaned to Pro Vasto but returned in January 2007 for Bari youth team. He only played for Pro Vasto in 2006–07 Coppa Italia. He then sold to Noicattaro in co-ownership deal. In June 2009 he returned to Bari but in July left for Brindisi.He failed to find a club to borrow him in 2011. He wore no.95 of Bari, which in recent years only players that excluded from the coach plan would wore "large" number in Bari. FIGC only allowed players to wear number from 1 to 99. Along with Conti (93), Langella (94), Statella (96), Rana (97) and Visconti (98), they were not part of the plan of Bari's first team. In January 2012, Piccinni left for Piacenza without a single appearance for Bari in 2011–12 Serie B season.In 2012, he joined Barletta. On 13 August 2013 he joined Chieti.In July 2014 Piccinni signed with the Serie D side Fidelis Andria. After winning the championship, he renewed his contract with Fidelis Andria by signing a 1-year deal, with option for a 2nd year, for the 2015-16 Lega Pro season. At the end of the season, he signed a new 1-year deal for season 2016-17 with Fidelis Andria.On 2 September 2019, he signed a 2-year contract with Monopoli.	[ "Vastese Calcio 1902", "SSC Bari", "F.B. Brindisi 1912", "A.S. Noicattaro Calcio", "S.S. Chieti Calcio", "S.S.D. Lucchese 1905", "Piacenza Calcio", "A.S.D. Barletta 1922" ]
Which team did Marco Piccinni play for in 21/08/2022?	August 21, 2022	{ "text": [ "A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928" ] }	L2_Q6757662_P54_8	Marco Piccinni plays for A.S. Noicattaro Calcio from Jan, 2007 to Jan, 2009. Marco Piccinni plays for F.B. Brindisi 1912 from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Marco Piccinni plays for SSC Bari from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for Piacenza Calcio from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928 from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Barletta 1922 from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2013. Marco Piccinni plays for Vastese Calcio 1902 from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S. Chieti Calcio from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2014.	Marco PiccinniMarco Piccinni (born 19 April 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays for Monopoli.Born in Bari, Italy, Piccinni started his career at hometown club A.S. Bari. After made his debut in the last rounds of 2005–06 Serie B (round 40 of 42 rounds season), he was loaned to Pro Vasto but returned in January 2007 for Bari youth team. He only played for Pro Vasto in 2006–07 Coppa Italia. He then sold to Noicattaro in co-ownership deal. In June 2009 he returned to Bari but in July left for Brindisi.He failed to find a club to borrow him in 2011. He wore no.95 of Bari, which in recent years only players that excluded from the coach plan would wore "large" number in Bari. FIGC only allowed players to wear number from 1 to 99. Along with Conti (93), Langella (94), Statella (96), Rana (97) and Visconti (98), they were not part of the plan of Bari's first team. In January 2012, Piccinni left for Piacenza without a single appearance for Bari in 2011–12 Serie B season.In 2012, he joined Barletta. On 13 August 2013 he joined Chieti.In July 2014 Piccinni signed with the Serie D side Fidelis Andria. After winning the championship, he renewed his contract with Fidelis Andria by signing a 1-year deal, with option for a 2nd year, for the 2015-16 Lega Pro season. At the end of the season, he signed a new 1-year deal for season 2016-17 with Fidelis Andria.On 2 September 2019, he signed a 2-year contract with Monopoli.	[ "Vastese Calcio 1902", "SSC Bari", "F.B. Brindisi 1912", "A.S. Noicattaro Calcio", "S.S. Chieti Calcio", "S.S.D. Lucchese 1905", "Piacenza Calcio", "A.S.D. Barletta 1922" ]
Which team did Marco Piccinni play for in Aug 21, 2022?	August 21, 2022	{ "text": [ "A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928" ] }	L2_Q6757662_P54_8	Marco Piccinni plays for A.S. Noicattaro Calcio from Jan, 2007 to Jan, 2009. Marco Piccinni plays for F.B. Brindisi 1912 from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Marco Piccinni plays for SSC Bari from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for Piacenza Calcio from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928 from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Barletta 1922 from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2013. Marco Piccinni plays for Vastese Calcio 1902 from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S. Chieti Calcio from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2014.	Marco PiccinniMarco Piccinni (born 19 April 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays for Monopoli.Born in Bari, Italy, Piccinni started his career at hometown club A.S. Bari. After made his debut in the last rounds of 2005–06 Serie B (round 40 of 42 rounds season), he was loaned to Pro Vasto but returned in January 2007 for Bari youth team. He only played for Pro Vasto in 2006–07 Coppa Italia. He then sold to Noicattaro in co-ownership deal. In June 2009 he returned to Bari but in July left for Brindisi.He failed to find a club to borrow him in 2011. He wore no.95 of Bari, which in recent years only players that excluded from the coach plan would wore "large" number in Bari. FIGC only allowed players to wear number from 1 to 99. Along with Conti (93), Langella (94), Statella (96), Rana (97) and Visconti (98), they were not part of the plan of Bari's first team. In January 2012, Piccinni left for Piacenza without a single appearance for Bari in 2011–12 Serie B season.In 2012, he joined Barletta. On 13 August 2013 he joined Chieti.In July 2014 Piccinni signed with the Serie D side Fidelis Andria. After winning the championship, he renewed his contract with Fidelis Andria by signing a 1-year deal, with option for a 2nd year, for the 2015-16 Lega Pro season. At the end of the season, he signed a new 1-year deal for season 2016-17 with Fidelis Andria.On 2 September 2019, he signed a 2-year contract with Monopoli.	[ "Vastese Calcio 1902", "SSC Bari", "F.B. Brindisi 1912", "A.S. Noicattaro Calcio", "S.S. Chieti Calcio", "S.S.D. Lucchese 1905", "Piacenza Calcio", "A.S.D. Barletta 1922" ]
Which team did Marco Piccinni play for in 08/21/2022?	August 21, 2022	{ "text": [ "A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928" ] }	L2_Q6757662_P54_8	Marco Piccinni plays for A.S. Noicattaro Calcio from Jan, 2007 to Jan, 2009. Marco Piccinni plays for F.B. Brindisi 1912 from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Marco Piccinni plays for SSC Bari from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for Piacenza Calcio from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928 from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Barletta 1922 from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2013. Marco Piccinni plays for Vastese Calcio 1902 from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S. Chieti Calcio from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2014.	Marco PiccinniMarco Piccinni (born 19 April 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays for Monopoli.Born in Bari, Italy, Piccinni started his career at hometown club A.S. Bari. After made his debut in the last rounds of 2005–06 Serie B (round 40 of 42 rounds season), he was loaned to Pro Vasto but returned in January 2007 for Bari youth team. He only played for Pro Vasto in 2006–07 Coppa Italia. He then sold to Noicattaro in co-ownership deal. In June 2009 he returned to Bari but in July left for Brindisi.He failed to find a club to borrow him in 2011. He wore no.95 of Bari, which in recent years only players that excluded from the coach plan would wore "large" number in Bari. FIGC only allowed players to wear number from 1 to 99. Along with Conti (93), Langella (94), Statella (96), Rana (97) and Visconti (98), they were not part of the plan of Bari's first team. In January 2012, Piccinni left for Piacenza without a single appearance for Bari in 2011–12 Serie B season.In 2012, he joined Barletta. On 13 August 2013 he joined Chieti.In July 2014 Piccinni signed with the Serie D side Fidelis Andria. After winning the championship, he renewed his contract with Fidelis Andria by signing a 1-year deal, with option for a 2nd year, for the 2015-16 Lega Pro season. At the end of the season, he signed a new 1-year deal for season 2016-17 with Fidelis Andria.On 2 September 2019, he signed a 2-year contract with Monopoli.	[ "Vastese Calcio 1902", "SSC Bari", "F.B. Brindisi 1912", "A.S. Noicattaro Calcio", "S.S. Chieti Calcio", "S.S.D. Lucchese 1905", "Piacenza Calcio", "A.S.D. Barletta 1922" ]
Which team did Marco Piccinni play for in 21-Aug-202221-August-2022?	August 21, 2022	{ "text": [ "A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928" ] }	L2_Q6757662_P54_8	Marco Piccinni plays for A.S. Noicattaro Calcio from Jan, 2007 to Jan, 2009. Marco Piccinni plays for F.B. Brindisi 1912 from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Marco Piccinni plays for SSC Bari from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for Piacenza Calcio from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Fidelis Andria 1928 from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Marco Piccinni plays for A.S.D. Barletta 1922 from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2013. Marco Piccinni plays for Vastese Calcio 1902 from Jan, 2006 to Jan, 2007. Marco Piccinni plays for S.S. Chieti Calcio from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2014.	Marco PiccinniMarco Piccinni (born 19 April 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays for Monopoli.Born in Bari, Italy, Piccinni started his career at hometown club A.S. Bari. After made his debut in the last rounds of 2005–06 Serie B (round 40 of 42 rounds season), he was loaned to Pro Vasto but returned in January 2007 for Bari youth team. He only played for Pro Vasto in 2006–07 Coppa Italia. He then sold to Noicattaro in co-ownership deal. In June 2009 he returned to Bari but in July left for Brindisi.He failed to find a club to borrow him in 2011. He wore no.95 of Bari, which in recent years only players that excluded from the coach plan would wore "large" number in Bari. FIGC only allowed players to wear number from 1 to 99. Along with Conti (93), Langella (94), Statella (96), Rana (97) and Visconti (98), they were not part of the plan of Bari's first team. In January 2012, Piccinni left for Piacenza without a single appearance for Bari in 2011–12 Serie B season.In 2012, he joined Barletta. On 13 August 2013 he joined Chieti.In July 2014 Piccinni signed with the Serie D side Fidelis Andria. After winning the championship, he renewed his contract with Fidelis Andria by signing a 1-year deal, with option for a 2nd year, for the 2015-16 Lega Pro season. At the end of the season, he signed a new 1-year deal for season 2016-17 with Fidelis Andria.On 2 September 2019, he signed a 2-year contract with Monopoli.	[ "Vastese Calcio 1902", "SSC Bari", "F.B. Brindisi 1912", "A.S. Noicattaro Calcio", "S.S. Chieti Calcio", "S.S.D. Lucchese 1905", "Piacenza Calcio", "A.S.D. Barletta 1922" ]
Who was the chair of Johns Hopkins University in Oct, 2003?	October 20, 2003	{ "text": [ "William Ralph Brody" ] }	L2_Q193727_P488_12	Steven Muller is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1972 to Jun, 1990. William Ralph Brody is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Aug, 1996 to Mar, 2008. William C. Richardson is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1990 to Jun, 1995. Isaiah Bowman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1935 to Dec, 1948. Daniel Nathans is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1995 to Aug, 1996. Milton Stover Eisenhower is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1956 to Jun, 1967. Ira Remsen is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1901 to Jan, 1913. Detlev Bronk is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 1949 to Aug, 1953. Joseph Sweetman Ames is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1929 to Jun, 1935. Ronald J. Daniels is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 2009 to Dec, 2022. Lowell Reed is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1953 to Jun, 1956. Daniel Coit Gilman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1876 to Aug, 1901. Lincoln Gordon is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1967 to Mar, 1971. Frank Johnson Goodnow is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Oct, 1914 to Jun, 1929.	Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, the university was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins is considered the first research university in the United States. Hopkin's $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time. Daniel Coit Gilman, who was inaugurated as on February 22, 1876, led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research. In 1900, Johns Hopkins became a founding member of the American Association of Universities. The university has since led all U.S. universities in annual research expenditures. Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington, D.C., with international centers in Italy and China. The two undergraduate divisions, the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. The medical school, nursing school, and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore. The university also consists of the Peabody Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, School of Education, Carey Business School, and various other facilities. The university also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C.As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins' faculty and alumni. Founded in 1883, the Blue Jays men's lacrosse team has captured 44 national titles and plays in the Big Ten Conference as an affiliate member.On his death in 1873, Johns Hopkins, a Quaker entrepreneur and childless bachelor, bequeathed $7 million (approximately $ million today adjusted for consumer price inflation) to fund a hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, this donation, generated primarily from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States, and endowment was then the largest in America. Until 2020, Hopkins was assumed to be a fervent abolitionist, until research done by the school into his United States Census records revealed he claimed to own at least five household slaves in the 1840 and 1850 decennial censuses.The first name of philanthropist Johns Hopkins comes from the surname of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who married Gerard Hopkins. They named their son Johns Hopkins, who named his own son Samuel Hopkins. Samuel named one of his sons for his father, and that son became the university's benefactor. Milton Eisenhower, a former university president, once spoke at a convention in Pittsburgh where the master of ceremonies introduced him as "President of "John" Hopkins." Eisenhower retorted that he was "glad to be here in "Pitt"burgh."The original board opted for an entirely novel university model dedicated to the discovery of knowledge at an advanced level, extending that of contemporary Germany. Building on the Humboldtian model of higher education, the German education model of Wilhelm von Humboldt, it became dedicated to research. It was especially Heidelberg University and its long academic research history on which the new institution tried to model itself. Johns Hopkins thereby became the model of the modern research university in the United States. Its success eventually shifted higher education in the United States from a focus on teaching revealed and/or applied knowledge to the scientific discovery of new knowledge. The trustees worked alongside four notable university presidents – Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Andrew D. White of Cornell, Noah Porter of Yale College and James B. Angell of Michigan. They each vouched for Daniel Coit Gilman to lead the new University and he became the university's first president. Gilman, a Yale-educated scholar, had been serving as president of the University of California, Berkeley prior to this appointment. In preparation for the university's founding, Gilman visited University of Freiburg and other German universities.Gilman launched what many at the time considered an audacious and unprecedented academic experiment to merge teaching and research. He dismissed the idea that the two were mutually exclusive: "The best teachers are usually those who are free, competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory," he stated. To implement his plan, Gilman recruited internationally known researchers including the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester; the biologist H. Newell Martin; the physicist Henry A. Rowland (the first president of the American Physical Society), the classical scholars Basil Gildersleeve and Charles D. Morris; the economist Richard T. Ely; and the chemist Ira Remsen, who became the second president of the university in 1901.Gilman focused on the expansion of graduate education and support of faculty research. The new university fused advanced scholarship with such professional schools as medicine and engineering. Hopkins became the national trendsetter in doctoral programs and the host for numerous scholarly journals and associations. The Johns Hopkins University Press, founded in 1878, is the oldest American university press in continuous operation.With the completion of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889 and the medical school in 1893, the university's research-focused mode of instruction soon began attracting world-renowned faculty members who would become major figures in the emerging field of academic medicine, including William Osler, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and William Welch. Students came from all over the world to study at Johns Hopkins and returned to their sending country to serve their nation, including Dr Harry Chung (b. 1872) who served as a diplomat in the Manchu Dynasty and First Secretary to the United States. During this period Hopkins made more history by becoming the first medical school to admit women on an equal basis with men and to require a Bachelor's degree, based on the efforts of Mary E. Garrett, who had endowed the school at Gilman's request. The school of medicine was America's first coeducational, graduate-level medical school, and became a prototype for academic medicine that emphasized bedside learning, research projects, and laboratory training. In his will and in his instructions to the trustees of the university and the hospital, Hopkins requested that both institutions be built upon the vast grounds of his Baltimore estate, Clifton. When Gilman assumed the presidency, he decided that it would be best to use the university's endowment for recruiting faculty and students, deciding to, as it has been paraphrased, "build men, not buildings." In his will Hopkins stipulated that none of his endowment should be used for construction; only interest on the principal could be used for this purpose. Unfortunately, stocks in The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which would have generated most of the interest, became virtually worthless soon after Hopkins's death. The university's first home was thus in Downtown Baltimore delaying plans to site the university in Clifton.In the early 20th century, the university outgrew its buildings and the trustees began to search for a new home. Developing Clifton for the university was too costly, and of the estate had to be sold to the city as public park. A solution was achieved by a team of prominent locals who acquired the estate in north Baltimore known as Homewood. On February 22, 1902, this land was formally transferred to the university. The flagship building, Gilman Hall, was completed in 1915. The School of Engineering relocated in Fall of 1914 and the School of Arts and Sciences followed in 1916. These decades saw the ceding of lands by the university for the public Wyman Park and Wyman Park Dell and the Baltimore Museum of Art, coalescing in the contemporary area of .Prior to becoming the main Johns Hopkins campus, the Homewood estate had initially been the gift of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Maryland planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Carroll Jr. The original structure, the 1801 Homewood House, still stands and serves as an on-campus museum. The brick and marble Federal style of Homewood House became the architectural inspiration for much of the university campus versus the Collegiate Gothic style of other historic American universities.In 1909, the university was among the first to start adult continuing education programs and in 1916 it founded the US' first school of public health.Since the 1910s, Johns Hopkins University has famously been a "fertile cradle" to Arthur Lovejoy's history of ideas.Since 1942, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has served as a major governmental defense contractor. In tandem with on-campus research, Johns Hopkins has every year since 1979 had the highest federal research funding of any American university.Professional schools of international affairs and music were established in 1950 and 1977, respectively, when the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore were incorporated into the university.The early decades of the 21st century saw expansion across the university's institutions in both physical and population sizes. Notably, a planned 88-acre expansion to the medical campus began in 2013. Completed construction on the Homewood campus has included a new biomedical engineering building in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering, a new library, a new biology wing, an extensive renovation of the flagship Gilman Hall, and the reconstruction of the main university entrance.These years also brought about the rapid development of the university's professional schools of education and business. From 1999 until 2007, these disciplines had been joined together within the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), itself a reshuffling of several earlier ventures. The 2007 split, combined with new funding and leadership initiatives, has led to the simultaneous emergence of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Carey Business School.On November 18, 2018, it was announced that Michael Bloomberg would make a donation to his alma mater of $1.8 billion, marking the largest private donation in modern history to an institution of higher education and bringing Bloomberg's total contribution to the school in excess of $3.3 billion. Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift allows the school to practice need-blind admission and meet the full financial need of admitted students.In January 2019, the university announced an agreement to purchase the Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the heart of Washington, D.C., with plans to locate all of its D.C.-based graduate programs there. In an interview with The Atlantic, the president of Johns Hopkins stated that “the purchase is an opportunity to position the university, literally, to better contribute its expertise to national- and international-policy discussions.”In late 2019, the university's Coronavirus Research Center began tracking worldwide cases of the COVID-19 pandemic by compiling data from hundreds of sources around the world. This led to the university becoming one of the most cited sources for data about the pandemic.Hopkins was a prominent abolitionist who supported Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. After his death, reports said his conviction was a decisive factor in enrolling Hopkins' first African-American student, Kelly Miller, a graduate student in physics, astronomy and mathematics. As time passed, the university adopted a "separate but equal" stance more like other Baltimore institutions.The first black undergraduate entered the school in 1945 and graduate students followed in 1967. James Nabwangu, a British-trained Kenyan, was the first black graduate of the medical school. African-American instructor and laboratory supervisor Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing and conducting the first successful blue baby operation in 1944. Despite such cases, racial diversity did not become commonplace at Johns Hopkins institutions until the 1960s and 1970s.Hopkins' most well-known battle for women's rights was the one led by daughters of trustees of the university; Mary E. Garrett, M. Carey Thomas, Mamie Gwinn, Elizabeth King, and Julia Rogers. They donated and raised the funds needed to open the medical school, and required Hopkins' officials to agree to their stipulation that women would be admitted. The nursing school opened in 1889 and accepted women and men as students. Other graduate schools were later opened to women by president Ira Remsen in 1907. Christine Ladd-Franklin was the first woman to earn a PhD at Hopkins, in mathematics in 1882. The trustees denied her the degree for decades and refused to change the policy about admitting women. In 1893, Florence Bascomb became the university's first female PhD. The decision to admit women at undergraduate level was not considered until the late 1960s and was eventually adopted in October 1969. As of 2009–2010, the undergraduate population was 47% female and 53% male. In 2020, the undergraduate population of Hopkins was 53% female.On September 5, 2013, cryptographer and Johns Hopkins university professor Matthew Green posted a blog entitled, "On the NSA", in which he contributed to the ongoing debate regarding the role of NIST and NSA in formulating U.S. cryptography standards. On September 9, 2013, Green received a take-down request for the "On the NSA" blog from interim Dean Andrew Douglas from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. The request cited concerns that the blog had links to sensitive material. The blog linked to already published news articles from "The Guardian", "The New York Times" and ProPublica.org. Douglas subsequently issued a personal on-line apology to Green. The event raised concern over the future of academic freedom of speech within the cryptologic research community.The first campus was located on Howard Street. Eventually, they relocated to Homewood, in northern Baltimore, the estate of Charles Carroll, son of the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's Homewood House is considered one of the finest examples of Federal residential architecture. The estate then came to the Wyman family, which participated in making it the park-like main campus of the schools of arts and sciences and engineering at the start of the 20th century. Most of its architecture was modeled after the Federal style of Homewood House. Homewood House is preserved as a museum. Most undergraduate programs are on this campus.Collectively known as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) campus, the East Baltimore facility occupies several city blocks spreading from the Johns Hopkins Hospital trademark dome.The Washington, D.C. campus is on Massachusetts Avenue, towards the Southeastern end of Embassy Row.In 2019, Hopkins announced its purchase of the Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue, three blocks from the United States Capitol to house its D.C. programs and centers. Akin to the Washington, D.C. campus for the School of Arts & Sciences, the APL also is the primary campus for master's degrees in a variety of STEM fields.The Johns Hopkins entity is structured as two corporations, the university and The Johns Hopkins Health System, formed in 1986. The President is JHU's chief executive officer, and the university is organized into nine academic divisions.JHU's bylaws specify a Board of Trustees of between 18 and 65 voting members. Trustees serve six-year terms subject to a two-term limit. The alumni select 12 trustees. Four recent alumni serve 4-year terms, one per year, typically from the graduating class. The bylaws prohibit students, faculty or administrative staff from serving on the Board, except the President as an ex-officio trustee. The Johns Hopkins Health System has a separate Board of Trustees, many of whom are doctors or health care executives.The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is "most selective" with low transfer-in and a high graduate co-existence. The cost of attendance per year is $60,820; however, the average need met is 99%. The university is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities (AAU); it is also a member of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Universities Research Association (URA).JHU's undergraduate education is ranked 9th among U.S. "national universities" by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2021. For medical research "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2020 for 2nd in the U.S. and the Bloomberg School of Public Health 1st. The School of Nursing was ranked 1st nationally for master's degrees. The "QS Top Universities" ranked Johns Hopkins University No. 5 in the world for medicine. , Hopkins ranked No. 1 nationally in receipt of federal research funds, and was the top recipient of NIH research grants in 2019, both in terms of dollar amount and number of grants. In 2020, the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked the No. 3 hospital in the United States by the "U.S. News & World Report" annual ranking of American hospitals.The School of Education is ranked No. 2 nationally by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2017. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) ranked 2nd in the world in Foreign Policy's "Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations" ranking.The university's undergraduate programs are most selective: in 2021, the Office of Admissions accepted about 4.9% of its 33,236 Regular Decision applicants. In 2019, 98% of admitted students graduated in the top tenth of their high school class with a mean unweighted academic GPA of 3.92. The inter-quartile range on the SAT composite score was 1480–1550. In 2013, 96.8% of freshmen returned after the first year and 88% of students graduated in 4 years. Over time, applications to Johns Hopkins University have risen steadily. As a result, the selectivity of Johns Hopkins University has also increased. Early Decision is an option at Johns Hopkins University for students who wish to demonstrate that the university is their first choice. These students, if admitted, are required to enroll. This application is due November 2. Most students, however, apply Regular Decision, which is a traditional non-binding round. These applications are due January 1 and students are notified in late March. In 2014, Johns Hopkins ended legacy preference in admissions.The Johns Hopkins University Library system houses more than 3.6 million volumes and includes ten main divisions across the university's campuses. The largest segment of this system is the Sheridan Libraries, encompassing the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (the main library of the Homewood campus), the Brody Learning Commons, the Hutzler Reading Room ("The Hut") in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at the Peabody Institute campus.The main library, constructed in the 1960s, was named for Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of the university and brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The university's stacks had previously been housed in Gilman Hall and departmental libraries. Only two of the Eisenhower library's six stories are above ground, though the building was designed so that every level receives natural light. The design accords with campus lore that no structure can be taller than Gilman Hall, the flagship academic building. A four-story expansion to the library, known as the Brody Learning Commons, opened in August 2012. The expansion features an energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and includes study spaces, seminar rooms, and a rare books collection.The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. To date the Press has published more than 6,000 titles and currently publishes 65 scholarly periodicals and over 200 new books each year. Since 1993, the Johns Hopkins University Press has run Project MUSE, an online collection of over 250 full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. The Press also houses the Hopkins Fulfilment Services (HFS), which handles distribution for a number of university presses and publishers. Taken together, the three divisions of the Press—Books, Journals (including MUSE) and HFS—make it one of the largest of America's university presses.The Johns Hopkins University also offers the "Center for Talented Youth" program—a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. As part of the Johns Hopkins University, the "Center for Talented Youth" or CTY helps fulfill the university's mission of preparing students to make significant future contributions to the world. The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center (DMC) is a multimedia lab space as well as an equipment, technology and knowledge resource for students interested in exploring creative uses of emerging media and use of technology.Johns Hopkins offers a number of degrees in various undergraduate majors leading to the BA and BS and various majors leading to the MA, MS and Ph.D. for graduate students. Because Hopkins offers both undergraduate and graduate areas of study, many disciplines have multiple degrees available. Biomedical engineering, perhaps one of Hopkins' best-known programs, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins' undergraduate education. About 80 percent of undergraduates perform independent research, often alongside top researchers. In fiscal year 2016, Johns Hopkins spent nearly $2.5 billion on research—more than any other U.S. university for the 38th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has had seventy-seven members of the Institute of Medicine, forty-three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, seventeen members of the National Academy of Engineering, and sixty-two members of the National Academy of Sciences. As of October 2019, 39 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers, with the most recent winners being Gregg Semenza and William G. Kaelin.Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. It attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and produced 54,022 papers under its name, ranking No. 3 globally (after Harvard University and the Max Planck Society) in the number of "total" citations published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over 22 fields in America.In FY 2000, Johns Hopkins received $95.4 million in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making it the leading recipient of NASA research and development funding. In FY 2002, Hopkins became the first university to cross the $1 billion threshold on either list, recording $1.14 billion in total research and $1.023 billion in federally sponsored research. In FY 2008, Johns Hopkins University performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total R&D spending for the 30th year in a row, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) ranking. These totals include grants and expenditures of JHU's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.In 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program was established by a $250 million gift from Michael Bloomberg. This program enables the university to recruit fifty researchers from around the world to joint appointments throughout the nine divisions and research centers. Each professor must be a leader in interdisciplinary research and be active in undergraduate education. Directed by Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz, there are currently thirty two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors at the university, including three Nobel Laureates, eight fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and thirteen members of the National Academies.Charles Village, the region of North Baltimore surrounding the university, has undergone several restoration projects, and the university has gradually bought the property around the school for additional student housing and dormitories. "The Charles Village Project", completed in 2008, brought new commercial spaces to the neighborhood. The project included Charles Commons, a new, modern residence hall that includes popular retail franchises. In 2015, the University began development of new commercial properties, including a modern upperclassmen apartment complex, restaurants and eateries, and a CVS retail store.Hopkins invested in improving campus life with an arts complex in 2001, the Mattin Center, and a three-story sports facility, the O'Connor Recreation Center. The large on-campus dining facilities at Homewood were renovated in the summer of 2006.Quality of life is enriched by the proximity of neighboring academic institutions, including Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), UMBC, Goucher College, and Towson University, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Hampden, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon.Greek life came to Hopkins in 1876 with the charter of fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which still exists on campus today. Since, Johns Hopkins has become home to nine sororities and 11 fraternities. Of the nine sororities, five belong to the National Panhellenic Conference and four to the Multicultural Greek Council Sororities. Of the fraternities, all 11 belong to the Inter-Fraternity Council. Over 1,000 students participate in Greek life, with 23% of women and 20% of men taking part. Greek life has expanded its reach at Hopkins in recent decades, as only 15% of the student body participated in 1989. Rush for all students occurs in the spring. Most fraternities keep houses in Charles Village while sororities do not.Johns Hopkins Greek life has been largely representative of its increasing diversity with the installment of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, in 1991 and Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity in 1994 among others.Spring Fair has been a Johns Hopkins tradition since 1972 and has since grown to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Popular among Hopkins students and Baltimore inhabitants alike, Spring Fair features carnival rides, vendors, food and a beer garden. Since its beginning, Spring Fair has decreased in size, both in regard to attendance and utilization of space. While one point, the Fair attracted upwards of 100,000 people, it became unruly and, for a variety of reasons including safety concerns and a campus beautification project in the early 2000s, had to be scaled back.While it has been speculated that Johns Hopkins has relatively few traditions for a school of its age and that many past traditions have been forgotten, a handful of myths and customs are ubiquitous knowledge among the community. One such long-standing myth surrounds the university seal that is embedded into the floor of the Gilman Hall foyer. The myth holds that any current student to step on the seal will never graduate. In reverence for this tradition, the seal has been fenced off from the rest of the room.An annual event is the "Lighting of the Quad", a ceremony each winter during which the campus is lit up in holiday lights. Recent years have included singing and fireworks.Living on campus is typically required for first- and second-year undergraduates. Freshman housing is centered around Freshman Quad, which consists of three residence hall complexes: The two Alumni Memorial Residences (AMR I and AMR II) plus Buildings A and B. The AMR dormitories are each divided into "houses", subunits named for figures from the university's early history. Freshmen are also housed in Wolman Hall and in certain wings of McCoy Hall, both located slightly outside the campus. Dorms at Hopkins are generally co-ed with same-gender rooms, though a new policy has allowed students to live in mixed-gender rooms since Fall 2014.Students determine where they will live during sophomore year through a housing lottery. Most juniors and seniors move into nearby apartments or row-houses. Non-freshmen in university housing occupy one of four buildings: McCoy Hall, the Bradford Apartments, the Homewood Apartments, and Charles Commons. All are located in Charles Village within a block from the Homewood campus. Forty-five percent of the student body lives off-campus while 55% lives on campus.Athletic teams are called Blue Jays. Even though sable and gold are used for academic robes, the university's athletic colors are Columbia blue (PMS 284) and black. Hopkins celebrates Homecoming in the spring to coincide with the height of the lacrosse season. The men's and women's lacrosse teams are in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and are affiliate members of the Big Ten Conference. Other teams are in Division III and participate in the Centennial Conference. JHU is also home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame, maintained by US Lacrosse.The school's most prominent team is its men's lacrosse team. The team has won 44 national titles – nine Division I (2007, 2005, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1974), 29 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), and six Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) titles. Hopkins' primary national rivals are Princeton University, Syracuse University, and the University of Virginia; its primary intrastate rivals are Loyola University Maryland (competing in what is called the "Charles Street Massacre"), Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland. The rivalry with Maryland is the oldest. The schools have met 111 times since 1899, three times in playoff matches.On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for men's lacrosse when that league begins sponsoring the sport in the 2015 season (2014–15 school year).The women's team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and a former member of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). The Lady Blue Jays were ranked number 18 in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse Women's DI Media Poll. They ranked number 8 in the 2007 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll Division I. The team finished the 2012 season with a 9–9 record and finished the 2013 season with a 10–7 record. They finished the 2014 season 15–5. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for women's lacrosse in the 2017 season (2016–17 school year).Hopkins has notable Division III Athletic teams. JHU Men's Swimming won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 2009–2010, Hopkins won 8 Centennial Conference titles in Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Football, and Men's and Women's Tennis. The Women's Cross Country team became the first women's team at Hopkins to achieve a #1 National ranking. In 2006–2007 teams won Centennial Conference titles in Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Basketball. Women's soccer won their Centennial Conference title for 7 consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. In the 2013–2014 school year, Hopkins earned 12 Centennial Conference titles, most notably from the cross country and track & field teams, which accounted for six.Hopkins has an acclaimed fencing team, which ranked in the top three Division III teams in the past few years and in both 2008 and 2007 defeated the University of North Carolina, a Division I team. In 2008, they defeated UNC and won the MACFA championship.The swimming team ranked highly in NCAA Division III for the last 10 years, most recently placing second at DIII Nationals in 2008. The water polo team was number one in Division III for several of the past years, playing a full schedule against Division I opponents. Hopkins also has a century-old rivalry with McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), playing the Green Terrors 83 times in football since the first game in 1894. In 2009 the football team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, with three tournament appearances since 2005. In 2008, the baseball team ranked second, losing in the final game of the DIII College World Series to Trinity College.The Johns Hopkins squash team plays in the College Squash Association as a club team along with Division I and III varsity programs. In 2011–12 the squash team finished 30th in the ranking., there have been 39 Nobel Laureates who either attended the university as undergraduate or graduate students, or were faculty members. Woodrow Wilson, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1886, was Hopkins' first affiliated laureate, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Twenty-three laureates were faculty members, five earned PhDs, eight earned M.D.s, and Francis Peyton Rous and Martin Rodbell earned undergraduate degrees.As of October 2019, eighteen Johns Hopkins laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Four Nobel Prizes were shared by Johns Hopkins laureates: George Minot and George Whipple won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Four Johns Hopkins laureates won Nobel Prizes in Physics, including Riccardo Giacconi in 2002 and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess in 2011. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Peter Agre was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation are currently the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for "roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis. A previous suit against the United States government was dismissed in 2011 for the Guatemala syphilis experiments when a judge determined that the U.S. government could not be held liable for actions committed outside of the U.S.	[ "Ira Remsen", "Joseph Sweetman Ames", "Ronald J. Daniels", "Milton Stover Eisenhower", "Daniel Nathans", "Isaiah Bowman", "Daniel Coit Gilman", "William C. Richardson", "Lowell Reed", "Steven Muller", "Lincoln Gordon", "Detlev Bronk", "Frank Johnson Goodnow" ]
Who was the chair of Johns Hopkins University in 2003-10-20?	October 20, 2003	{ "text": [ "William Ralph Brody" ] }	L2_Q193727_P488_12	Steven Muller is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1972 to Jun, 1990. William Ralph Brody is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Aug, 1996 to Mar, 2008. William C. Richardson is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1990 to Jun, 1995. Isaiah Bowman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1935 to Dec, 1948. Daniel Nathans is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1995 to Aug, 1996. Milton Stover Eisenhower is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1956 to Jun, 1967. Ira Remsen is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1901 to Jan, 1913. Detlev Bronk is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 1949 to Aug, 1953. Joseph Sweetman Ames is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1929 to Jun, 1935. Ronald J. Daniels is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 2009 to Dec, 2022. Lowell Reed is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1953 to Jun, 1956. Daniel Coit Gilman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1876 to Aug, 1901. Lincoln Gordon is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1967 to Mar, 1971. Frank Johnson Goodnow is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Oct, 1914 to Jun, 1929.	Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, the university was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins is considered the first research university in the United States. Hopkin's $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time. Daniel Coit Gilman, who was inaugurated as on February 22, 1876, led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research. In 1900, Johns Hopkins became a founding member of the American Association of Universities. The university has since led all U.S. universities in annual research expenditures. Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington, D.C., with international centers in Italy and China. The two undergraduate divisions, the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. The medical school, nursing school, and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore. The university also consists of the Peabody Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, School of Education, Carey Business School, and various other facilities. The university also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C.As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins' faculty and alumni. Founded in 1883, the Blue Jays men's lacrosse team has captured 44 national titles and plays in the Big Ten Conference as an affiliate member.On his death in 1873, Johns Hopkins, a Quaker entrepreneur and childless bachelor, bequeathed $7 million (approximately $ million today adjusted for consumer price inflation) to fund a hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, this donation, generated primarily from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States, and endowment was then the largest in America. Until 2020, Hopkins was assumed to be a fervent abolitionist, until research done by the school into his United States Census records revealed he claimed to own at least five household slaves in the 1840 and 1850 decennial censuses.The first name of philanthropist Johns Hopkins comes from the surname of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who married Gerard Hopkins. They named their son Johns Hopkins, who named his own son Samuel Hopkins. Samuel named one of his sons for his father, and that son became the university's benefactor. Milton Eisenhower, a former university president, once spoke at a convention in Pittsburgh where the master of ceremonies introduced him as "President of "John" Hopkins." Eisenhower retorted that he was "glad to be here in "Pitt"burgh."The original board opted for an entirely novel university model dedicated to the discovery of knowledge at an advanced level, extending that of contemporary Germany. Building on the Humboldtian model of higher education, the German education model of Wilhelm von Humboldt, it became dedicated to research. It was especially Heidelberg University and its long academic research history on which the new institution tried to model itself. Johns Hopkins thereby became the model of the modern research university in the United States. Its success eventually shifted higher education in the United States from a focus on teaching revealed and/or applied knowledge to the scientific discovery of new knowledge. The trustees worked alongside four notable university presidents – Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Andrew D. White of Cornell, Noah Porter of Yale College and James B. Angell of Michigan. They each vouched for Daniel Coit Gilman to lead the new University and he became the university's first president. Gilman, a Yale-educated scholar, had been serving as president of the University of California, Berkeley prior to this appointment. In preparation for the university's founding, Gilman visited University of Freiburg and other German universities.Gilman launched what many at the time considered an audacious and unprecedented academic experiment to merge teaching and research. He dismissed the idea that the two were mutually exclusive: "The best teachers are usually those who are free, competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory," he stated. To implement his plan, Gilman recruited internationally known researchers including the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester; the biologist H. Newell Martin; the physicist Henry A. Rowland (the first president of the American Physical Society), the classical scholars Basil Gildersleeve and Charles D. Morris; the economist Richard T. Ely; and the chemist Ira Remsen, who became the second president of the university in 1901.Gilman focused on the expansion of graduate education and support of faculty research. The new university fused advanced scholarship with such professional schools as medicine and engineering. Hopkins became the national trendsetter in doctoral programs and the host for numerous scholarly journals and associations. The Johns Hopkins University Press, founded in 1878, is the oldest American university press in continuous operation.With the completion of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889 and the medical school in 1893, the university's research-focused mode of instruction soon began attracting world-renowned faculty members who would become major figures in the emerging field of academic medicine, including William Osler, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and William Welch. Students came from all over the world to study at Johns Hopkins and returned to their sending country to serve their nation, including Dr Harry Chung (b. 1872) who served as a diplomat in the Manchu Dynasty and First Secretary to the United States. During this period Hopkins made more history by becoming the first medical school to admit women on an equal basis with men and to require a Bachelor's degree, based on the efforts of Mary E. Garrett, who had endowed the school at Gilman's request. The school of medicine was America's first coeducational, graduate-level medical school, and became a prototype for academic medicine that emphasized bedside learning, research projects, and laboratory training. In his will and in his instructions to the trustees of the university and the hospital, Hopkins requested that both institutions be built upon the vast grounds of his Baltimore estate, Clifton. When Gilman assumed the presidency, he decided that it would be best to use the university's endowment for recruiting faculty and students, deciding to, as it has been paraphrased, "build men, not buildings." In his will Hopkins stipulated that none of his endowment should be used for construction; only interest on the principal could be used for this purpose. Unfortunately, stocks in The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which would have generated most of the interest, became virtually worthless soon after Hopkins's death. The university's first home was thus in Downtown Baltimore delaying plans to site the university in Clifton.In the early 20th century, the university outgrew its buildings and the trustees began to search for a new home. Developing Clifton for the university was too costly, and of the estate had to be sold to the city as public park. A solution was achieved by a team of prominent locals who acquired the estate in north Baltimore known as Homewood. On February 22, 1902, this land was formally transferred to the university. The flagship building, Gilman Hall, was completed in 1915. The School of Engineering relocated in Fall of 1914 and the School of Arts and Sciences followed in 1916. These decades saw the ceding of lands by the university for the public Wyman Park and Wyman Park Dell and the Baltimore Museum of Art, coalescing in the contemporary area of .Prior to becoming the main Johns Hopkins campus, the Homewood estate had initially been the gift of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Maryland planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Carroll Jr. The original structure, the 1801 Homewood House, still stands and serves as an on-campus museum. The brick and marble Federal style of Homewood House became the architectural inspiration for much of the university campus versus the Collegiate Gothic style of other historic American universities.In 1909, the university was among the first to start adult continuing education programs and in 1916 it founded the US' first school of public health.Since the 1910s, Johns Hopkins University has famously been a "fertile cradle" to Arthur Lovejoy's history of ideas.Since 1942, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has served as a major governmental defense contractor. In tandem with on-campus research, Johns Hopkins has every year since 1979 had the highest federal research funding of any American university.Professional schools of international affairs and music were established in 1950 and 1977, respectively, when the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore were incorporated into the university.The early decades of the 21st century saw expansion across the university's institutions in both physical and population sizes. Notably, a planned 88-acre expansion to the medical campus began in 2013. Completed construction on the Homewood campus has included a new biomedical engineering building in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering, a new library, a new biology wing, an extensive renovation of the flagship Gilman Hall, and the reconstruction of the main university entrance.These years also brought about the rapid development of the university's professional schools of education and business. From 1999 until 2007, these disciplines had been joined together within the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), itself a reshuffling of several earlier ventures. The 2007 split, combined with new funding and leadership initiatives, has led to the simultaneous emergence of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Carey Business School.On November 18, 2018, it was announced that Michael Bloomberg would make a donation to his alma mater of $1.8 billion, marking the largest private donation in modern history to an institution of higher education and bringing Bloomberg's total contribution to the school in excess of $3.3 billion. Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift allows the school to practice need-blind admission and meet the full financial need of admitted students.In January 2019, the university announced an agreement to purchase the Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the heart of Washington, D.C., with plans to locate all of its D.C.-based graduate programs there. In an interview with The Atlantic, the president of Johns Hopkins stated that “the purchase is an opportunity to position the university, literally, to better contribute its expertise to national- and international-policy discussions.”In late 2019, the university's Coronavirus Research Center began tracking worldwide cases of the COVID-19 pandemic by compiling data from hundreds of sources around the world. This led to the university becoming one of the most cited sources for data about the pandemic.Hopkins was a prominent abolitionist who supported Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. After his death, reports said his conviction was a decisive factor in enrolling Hopkins' first African-American student, Kelly Miller, a graduate student in physics, astronomy and mathematics. As time passed, the university adopted a "separate but equal" stance more like other Baltimore institutions.The first black undergraduate entered the school in 1945 and graduate students followed in 1967. James Nabwangu, a British-trained Kenyan, was the first black graduate of the medical school. African-American instructor and laboratory supervisor Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing and conducting the first successful blue baby operation in 1944. Despite such cases, racial diversity did not become commonplace at Johns Hopkins institutions until the 1960s and 1970s.Hopkins' most well-known battle for women's rights was the one led by daughters of trustees of the university; Mary E. Garrett, M. Carey Thomas, Mamie Gwinn, Elizabeth King, and Julia Rogers. They donated and raised the funds needed to open the medical school, and required Hopkins' officials to agree to their stipulation that women would be admitted. The nursing school opened in 1889 and accepted women and men as students. Other graduate schools were later opened to women by president Ira Remsen in 1907. Christine Ladd-Franklin was the first woman to earn a PhD at Hopkins, in mathematics in 1882. The trustees denied her the degree for decades and refused to change the policy about admitting women. In 1893, Florence Bascomb became the university's first female PhD. The decision to admit women at undergraduate level was not considered until the late 1960s and was eventually adopted in October 1969. As of 2009–2010, the undergraduate population was 47% female and 53% male. In 2020, the undergraduate population of Hopkins was 53% female.On September 5, 2013, cryptographer and Johns Hopkins university professor Matthew Green posted a blog entitled, "On the NSA", in which he contributed to the ongoing debate regarding the role of NIST and NSA in formulating U.S. cryptography standards. On September 9, 2013, Green received a take-down request for the "On the NSA" blog from interim Dean Andrew Douglas from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. The request cited concerns that the blog had links to sensitive material. The blog linked to already published news articles from "The Guardian", "The New York Times" and ProPublica.org. Douglas subsequently issued a personal on-line apology to Green. The event raised concern over the future of academic freedom of speech within the cryptologic research community.The first campus was located on Howard Street. Eventually, they relocated to Homewood, in northern Baltimore, the estate of Charles Carroll, son of the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's Homewood House is considered one of the finest examples of Federal residential architecture. The estate then came to the Wyman family, which participated in making it the park-like main campus of the schools of arts and sciences and engineering at the start of the 20th century. Most of its architecture was modeled after the Federal style of Homewood House. Homewood House is preserved as a museum. Most undergraduate programs are on this campus.Collectively known as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) campus, the East Baltimore facility occupies several city blocks spreading from the Johns Hopkins Hospital trademark dome.The Washington, D.C. campus is on Massachusetts Avenue, towards the Southeastern end of Embassy Row.In 2019, Hopkins announced its purchase of the Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue, three blocks from the United States Capitol to house its D.C. programs and centers. Akin to the Washington, D.C. campus for the School of Arts & Sciences, the APL also is the primary campus for master's degrees in a variety of STEM fields.The Johns Hopkins entity is structured as two corporations, the university and The Johns Hopkins Health System, formed in 1986. The President is JHU's chief executive officer, and the university is organized into nine academic divisions.JHU's bylaws specify a Board of Trustees of between 18 and 65 voting members. Trustees serve six-year terms subject to a two-term limit. The alumni select 12 trustees. Four recent alumni serve 4-year terms, one per year, typically from the graduating class. The bylaws prohibit students, faculty or administrative staff from serving on the Board, except the President as an ex-officio trustee. The Johns Hopkins Health System has a separate Board of Trustees, many of whom are doctors or health care executives.The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is "most selective" with low transfer-in and a high graduate co-existence. The cost of attendance per year is $60,820; however, the average need met is 99%. The university is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities (AAU); it is also a member of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Universities Research Association (URA).JHU's undergraduate education is ranked 9th among U.S. "national universities" by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2021. For medical research "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2020 for 2nd in the U.S. and the Bloomberg School of Public Health 1st. The School of Nursing was ranked 1st nationally for master's degrees. The "QS Top Universities" ranked Johns Hopkins University No. 5 in the world for medicine. , Hopkins ranked No. 1 nationally in receipt of federal research funds, and was the top recipient of NIH research grants in 2019, both in terms of dollar amount and number of grants. In 2020, the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked the No. 3 hospital in the United States by the "U.S. News & World Report" annual ranking of American hospitals.The School of Education is ranked No. 2 nationally by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2017. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) ranked 2nd in the world in Foreign Policy's "Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations" ranking.The university's undergraduate programs are most selective: in 2021, the Office of Admissions accepted about 4.9% of its 33,236 Regular Decision applicants. In 2019, 98% of admitted students graduated in the top tenth of their high school class with a mean unweighted academic GPA of 3.92. The inter-quartile range on the SAT composite score was 1480–1550. In 2013, 96.8% of freshmen returned after the first year and 88% of students graduated in 4 years. Over time, applications to Johns Hopkins University have risen steadily. As a result, the selectivity of Johns Hopkins University has also increased. Early Decision is an option at Johns Hopkins University for students who wish to demonstrate that the university is their first choice. These students, if admitted, are required to enroll. This application is due November 2. Most students, however, apply Regular Decision, which is a traditional non-binding round. These applications are due January 1 and students are notified in late March. In 2014, Johns Hopkins ended legacy preference in admissions.The Johns Hopkins University Library system houses more than 3.6 million volumes and includes ten main divisions across the university's campuses. The largest segment of this system is the Sheridan Libraries, encompassing the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (the main library of the Homewood campus), the Brody Learning Commons, the Hutzler Reading Room ("The Hut") in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at the Peabody Institute campus.The main library, constructed in the 1960s, was named for Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of the university and brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The university's stacks had previously been housed in Gilman Hall and departmental libraries. Only two of the Eisenhower library's six stories are above ground, though the building was designed so that every level receives natural light. The design accords with campus lore that no structure can be taller than Gilman Hall, the flagship academic building. A four-story expansion to the library, known as the Brody Learning Commons, opened in August 2012. The expansion features an energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and includes study spaces, seminar rooms, and a rare books collection.The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. To date the Press has published more than 6,000 titles and currently publishes 65 scholarly periodicals and over 200 new books each year. Since 1993, the Johns Hopkins University Press has run Project MUSE, an online collection of over 250 full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. The Press also houses the Hopkins Fulfilment Services (HFS), which handles distribution for a number of university presses and publishers. Taken together, the three divisions of the Press—Books, Journals (including MUSE) and HFS—make it one of the largest of America's university presses.The Johns Hopkins University also offers the "Center for Talented Youth" program—a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. As part of the Johns Hopkins University, the "Center for Talented Youth" or CTY helps fulfill the university's mission of preparing students to make significant future contributions to the world. The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center (DMC) is a multimedia lab space as well as an equipment, technology and knowledge resource for students interested in exploring creative uses of emerging media and use of technology.Johns Hopkins offers a number of degrees in various undergraduate majors leading to the BA and BS and various majors leading to the MA, MS and Ph.D. for graduate students. Because Hopkins offers both undergraduate and graduate areas of study, many disciplines have multiple degrees available. Biomedical engineering, perhaps one of Hopkins' best-known programs, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins' undergraduate education. About 80 percent of undergraduates perform independent research, often alongside top researchers. In fiscal year 2016, Johns Hopkins spent nearly $2.5 billion on research—more than any other U.S. university for the 38th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has had seventy-seven members of the Institute of Medicine, forty-three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, seventeen members of the National Academy of Engineering, and sixty-two members of the National Academy of Sciences. As of October 2019, 39 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers, with the most recent winners being Gregg Semenza and William G. Kaelin.Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. It attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and produced 54,022 papers under its name, ranking No. 3 globally (after Harvard University and the Max Planck Society) in the number of "total" citations published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over 22 fields in America.In FY 2000, Johns Hopkins received $95.4 million in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making it the leading recipient of NASA research and development funding. In FY 2002, Hopkins became the first university to cross the $1 billion threshold on either list, recording $1.14 billion in total research and $1.023 billion in federally sponsored research. In FY 2008, Johns Hopkins University performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total R&D spending for the 30th year in a row, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) ranking. These totals include grants and expenditures of JHU's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.In 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program was established by a $250 million gift from Michael Bloomberg. This program enables the university to recruit fifty researchers from around the world to joint appointments throughout the nine divisions and research centers. Each professor must be a leader in interdisciplinary research and be active in undergraduate education. Directed by Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz, there are currently thirty two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors at the university, including three Nobel Laureates, eight fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and thirteen members of the National Academies.Charles Village, the region of North Baltimore surrounding the university, has undergone several restoration projects, and the university has gradually bought the property around the school for additional student housing and dormitories. "The Charles Village Project", completed in 2008, brought new commercial spaces to the neighborhood. The project included Charles Commons, a new, modern residence hall that includes popular retail franchises. In 2015, the University began development of new commercial properties, including a modern upperclassmen apartment complex, restaurants and eateries, and a CVS retail store.Hopkins invested in improving campus life with an arts complex in 2001, the Mattin Center, and a three-story sports facility, the O'Connor Recreation Center. The large on-campus dining facilities at Homewood were renovated in the summer of 2006.Quality of life is enriched by the proximity of neighboring academic institutions, including Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), UMBC, Goucher College, and Towson University, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Hampden, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon.Greek life came to Hopkins in 1876 with the charter of fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which still exists on campus today. Since, Johns Hopkins has become home to nine sororities and 11 fraternities. Of the nine sororities, five belong to the National Panhellenic Conference and four to the Multicultural Greek Council Sororities. Of the fraternities, all 11 belong to the Inter-Fraternity Council. Over 1,000 students participate in Greek life, with 23% of women and 20% of men taking part. Greek life has expanded its reach at Hopkins in recent decades, as only 15% of the student body participated in 1989. Rush for all students occurs in the spring. Most fraternities keep houses in Charles Village while sororities do not.Johns Hopkins Greek life has been largely representative of its increasing diversity with the installment of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, in 1991 and Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity in 1994 among others.Spring Fair has been a Johns Hopkins tradition since 1972 and has since grown to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Popular among Hopkins students and Baltimore inhabitants alike, Spring Fair features carnival rides, vendors, food and a beer garden. Since its beginning, Spring Fair has decreased in size, both in regard to attendance and utilization of space. While one point, the Fair attracted upwards of 100,000 people, it became unruly and, for a variety of reasons including safety concerns and a campus beautification project in the early 2000s, had to be scaled back.While it has been speculated that Johns Hopkins has relatively few traditions for a school of its age and that many past traditions have been forgotten, a handful of myths and customs are ubiquitous knowledge among the community. One such long-standing myth surrounds the university seal that is embedded into the floor of the Gilman Hall foyer. The myth holds that any current student to step on the seal will never graduate. In reverence for this tradition, the seal has been fenced off from the rest of the room.An annual event is the "Lighting of the Quad", a ceremony each winter during which the campus is lit up in holiday lights. Recent years have included singing and fireworks.Living on campus is typically required for first- and second-year undergraduates. Freshman housing is centered around Freshman Quad, which consists of three residence hall complexes: The two Alumni Memorial Residences (AMR I and AMR II) plus Buildings A and B. The AMR dormitories are each divided into "houses", subunits named for figures from the university's early history. Freshmen are also housed in Wolman Hall and in certain wings of McCoy Hall, both located slightly outside the campus. Dorms at Hopkins are generally co-ed with same-gender rooms, though a new policy has allowed students to live in mixed-gender rooms since Fall 2014.Students determine where they will live during sophomore year through a housing lottery. Most juniors and seniors move into nearby apartments or row-houses. Non-freshmen in university housing occupy one of four buildings: McCoy Hall, the Bradford Apartments, the Homewood Apartments, and Charles Commons. All are located in Charles Village within a block from the Homewood campus. Forty-five percent of the student body lives off-campus while 55% lives on campus.Athletic teams are called Blue Jays. Even though sable and gold are used for academic robes, the university's athletic colors are Columbia blue (PMS 284) and black. Hopkins celebrates Homecoming in the spring to coincide with the height of the lacrosse season. The men's and women's lacrosse teams are in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and are affiliate members of the Big Ten Conference. Other teams are in Division III and participate in the Centennial Conference. JHU is also home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame, maintained by US Lacrosse.The school's most prominent team is its men's lacrosse team. The team has won 44 national titles – nine Division I (2007, 2005, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1974), 29 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), and six Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) titles. Hopkins' primary national rivals are Princeton University, Syracuse University, and the University of Virginia; its primary intrastate rivals are Loyola University Maryland (competing in what is called the "Charles Street Massacre"), Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland. The rivalry with Maryland is the oldest. The schools have met 111 times since 1899, three times in playoff matches.On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for men's lacrosse when that league begins sponsoring the sport in the 2015 season (2014–15 school year).The women's team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and a former member of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). The Lady Blue Jays were ranked number 18 in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse Women's DI Media Poll. They ranked number 8 in the 2007 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll Division I. The team finished the 2012 season with a 9–9 record and finished the 2013 season with a 10–7 record. They finished the 2014 season 15–5. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for women's lacrosse in the 2017 season (2016–17 school year).Hopkins has notable Division III Athletic teams. JHU Men's Swimming won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 2009–2010, Hopkins won 8 Centennial Conference titles in Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Football, and Men's and Women's Tennis. The Women's Cross Country team became the first women's team at Hopkins to achieve a #1 National ranking. In 2006–2007 teams won Centennial Conference titles in Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Basketball. Women's soccer won their Centennial Conference title for 7 consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. In the 2013–2014 school year, Hopkins earned 12 Centennial Conference titles, most notably from the cross country and track & field teams, which accounted for six.Hopkins has an acclaimed fencing team, which ranked in the top three Division III teams in the past few years and in both 2008 and 2007 defeated the University of North Carolina, a Division I team. In 2008, they defeated UNC and won the MACFA championship.The swimming team ranked highly in NCAA Division III for the last 10 years, most recently placing second at DIII Nationals in 2008. The water polo team was number one in Division III for several of the past years, playing a full schedule against Division I opponents. Hopkins also has a century-old rivalry with McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), playing the Green Terrors 83 times in football since the first game in 1894. In 2009 the football team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, with three tournament appearances since 2005. In 2008, the baseball team ranked second, losing in the final game of the DIII College World Series to Trinity College.The Johns Hopkins squash team plays in the College Squash Association as a club team along with Division I and III varsity programs. In 2011–12 the squash team finished 30th in the ranking., there have been 39 Nobel Laureates who either attended the university as undergraduate or graduate students, or were faculty members. Woodrow Wilson, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1886, was Hopkins' first affiliated laureate, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Twenty-three laureates were faculty members, five earned PhDs, eight earned M.D.s, and Francis Peyton Rous and Martin Rodbell earned undergraduate degrees.As of October 2019, eighteen Johns Hopkins laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Four Nobel Prizes were shared by Johns Hopkins laureates: George Minot and George Whipple won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Four Johns Hopkins laureates won Nobel Prizes in Physics, including Riccardo Giacconi in 2002 and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess in 2011. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Peter Agre was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation are currently the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for "roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis. A previous suit against the United States government was dismissed in 2011 for the Guatemala syphilis experiments when a judge determined that the U.S. government could not be held liable for actions committed outside of the U.S.	[ "Ira Remsen", "Joseph Sweetman Ames", "Ronald J. Daniels", "Milton Stover Eisenhower", "Daniel Nathans", "Isaiah Bowman", "Daniel Coit Gilman", "William C. Richardson", "Lowell Reed", "Steven Muller", "Lincoln Gordon", "Detlev Bronk", "Frank Johnson Goodnow" ]
Who was the chair of Johns Hopkins University in 20/10/2003?	October 20, 2003	{ "text": [ "William Ralph Brody" ] }	L2_Q193727_P488_12	Steven Muller is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1972 to Jun, 1990. William Ralph Brody is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Aug, 1996 to Mar, 2008. William C. Richardson is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1990 to Jun, 1995. Isaiah Bowman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1935 to Dec, 1948. Daniel Nathans is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1995 to Aug, 1996. Milton Stover Eisenhower is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1956 to Jun, 1967. Ira Remsen is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1901 to Jan, 1913. Detlev Bronk is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 1949 to Aug, 1953. Joseph Sweetman Ames is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1929 to Jun, 1935. Ronald J. Daniels is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 2009 to Dec, 2022. Lowell Reed is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1953 to Jun, 1956. Daniel Coit Gilman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1876 to Aug, 1901. Lincoln Gordon is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1967 to Mar, 1971. Frank Johnson Goodnow is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Oct, 1914 to Jun, 1929.	Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, the university was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins is considered the first research university in the United States. Hopkin's $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time. Daniel Coit Gilman, who was inaugurated as on February 22, 1876, led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research. In 1900, Johns Hopkins became a founding member of the American Association of Universities. The university has since led all U.S. universities in annual research expenditures. Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington, D.C., with international centers in Italy and China. The two undergraduate divisions, the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. The medical school, nursing school, and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore. The university also consists of the Peabody Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, School of Education, Carey Business School, and various other facilities. The university also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C.As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins' faculty and alumni. Founded in 1883, the Blue Jays men's lacrosse team has captured 44 national titles and plays in the Big Ten Conference as an affiliate member.On his death in 1873, Johns Hopkins, a Quaker entrepreneur and childless bachelor, bequeathed $7 million (approximately $ million today adjusted for consumer price inflation) to fund a hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, this donation, generated primarily from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States, and endowment was then the largest in America. Until 2020, Hopkins was assumed to be a fervent abolitionist, until research done by the school into his United States Census records revealed he claimed to own at least five household slaves in the 1840 and 1850 decennial censuses.The first name of philanthropist Johns Hopkins comes from the surname of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who married Gerard Hopkins. They named their son Johns Hopkins, who named his own son Samuel Hopkins. Samuel named one of his sons for his father, and that son became the university's benefactor. Milton Eisenhower, a former university president, once spoke at a convention in Pittsburgh where the master of ceremonies introduced him as "President of "John" Hopkins." Eisenhower retorted that he was "glad to be here in "Pitt"burgh."The original board opted for an entirely novel university model dedicated to the discovery of knowledge at an advanced level, extending that of contemporary Germany. Building on the Humboldtian model of higher education, the German education model of Wilhelm von Humboldt, it became dedicated to research. It was especially Heidelberg University and its long academic research history on which the new institution tried to model itself. Johns Hopkins thereby became the model of the modern research university in the United States. Its success eventually shifted higher education in the United States from a focus on teaching revealed and/or applied knowledge to the scientific discovery of new knowledge. The trustees worked alongside four notable university presidents – Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Andrew D. White of Cornell, Noah Porter of Yale College and James B. Angell of Michigan. They each vouched for Daniel Coit Gilman to lead the new University and he became the university's first president. Gilman, a Yale-educated scholar, had been serving as president of the University of California, Berkeley prior to this appointment. In preparation for the university's founding, Gilman visited University of Freiburg and other German universities.Gilman launched what many at the time considered an audacious and unprecedented academic experiment to merge teaching and research. He dismissed the idea that the two were mutually exclusive: "The best teachers are usually those who are free, competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory," he stated. To implement his plan, Gilman recruited internationally known researchers including the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester; the biologist H. Newell Martin; the physicist Henry A. Rowland (the first president of the American Physical Society), the classical scholars Basil Gildersleeve and Charles D. Morris; the economist Richard T. Ely; and the chemist Ira Remsen, who became the second president of the university in 1901.Gilman focused on the expansion of graduate education and support of faculty research. The new university fused advanced scholarship with such professional schools as medicine and engineering. Hopkins became the national trendsetter in doctoral programs and the host for numerous scholarly journals and associations. The Johns Hopkins University Press, founded in 1878, is the oldest American university press in continuous operation.With the completion of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889 and the medical school in 1893, the university's research-focused mode of instruction soon began attracting world-renowned faculty members who would become major figures in the emerging field of academic medicine, including William Osler, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and William Welch. Students came from all over the world to study at Johns Hopkins and returned to their sending country to serve their nation, including Dr Harry Chung (b. 1872) who served as a diplomat in the Manchu Dynasty and First Secretary to the United States. During this period Hopkins made more history by becoming the first medical school to admit women on an equal basis with men and to require a Bachelor's degree, based on the efforts of Mary E. Garrett, who had endowed the school at Gilman's request. The school of medicine was America's first coeducational, graduate-level medical school, and became a prototype for academic medicine that emphasized bedside learning, research projects, and laboratory training. In his will and in his instructions to the trustees of the university and the hospital, Hopkins requested that both institutions be built upon the vast grounds of his Baltimore estate, Clifton. When Gilman assumed the presidency, he decided that it would be best to use the university's endowment for recruiting faculty and students, deciding to, as it has been paraphrased, "build men, not buildings." In his will Hopkins stipulated that none of his endowment should be used for construction; only interest on the principal could be used for this purpose. Unfortunately, stocks in The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which would have generated most of the interest, became virtually worthless soon after Hopkins's death. The university's first home was thus in Downtown Baltimore delaying plans to site the university in Clifton.In the early 20th century, the university outgrew its buildings and the trustees began to search for a new home. Developing Clifton for the university was too costly, and of the estate had to be sold to the city as public park. A solution was achieved by a team of prominent locals who acquired the estate in north Baltimore known as Homewood. On February 22, 1902, this land was formally transferred to the university. The flagship building, Gilman Hall, was completed in 1915. The School of Engineering relocated in Fall of 1914 and the School of Arts and Sciences followed in 1916. These decades saw the ceding of lands by the university for the public Wyman Park and Wyman Park Dell and the Baltimore Museum of Art, coalescing in the contemporary area of .Prior to becoming the main Johns Hopkins campus, the Homewood estate had initially been the gift of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Maryland planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Carroll Jr. The original structure, the 1801 Homewood House, still stands and serves as an on-campus museum. The brick and marble Federal style of Homewood House became the architectural inspiration for much of the university campus versus the Collegiate Gothic style of other historic American universities.In 1909, the university was among the first to start adult continuing education programs and in 1916 it founded the US' first school of public health.Since the 1910s, Johns Hopkins University has famously been a "fertile cradle" to Arthur Lovejoy's history of ideas.Since 1942, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has served as a major governmental defense contractor. In tandem with on-campus research, Johns Hopkins has every year since 1979 had the highest federal research funding of any American university.Professional schools of international affairs and music were established in 1950 and 1977, respectively, when the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore were incorporated into the university.The early decades of the 21st century saw expansion across the university's institutions in both physical and population sizes. Notably, a planned 88-acre expansion to the medical campus began in 2013. Completed construction on the Homewood campus has included a new biomedical engineering building in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering, a new library, a new biology wing, an extensive renovation of the flagship Gilman Hall, and the reconstruction of the main university entrance.These years also brought about the rapid development of the university's professional schools of education and business. From 1999 until 2007, these disciplines had been joined together within the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), itself a reshuffling of several earlier ventures. The 2007 split, combined with new funding and leadership initiatives, has led to the simultaneous emergence of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Carey Business School.On November 18, 2018, it was announced that Michael Bloomberg would make a donation to his alma mater of $1.8 billion, marking the largest private donation in modern history to an institution of higher education and bringing Bloomberg's total contribution to the school in excess of $3.3 billion. Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift allows the school to practice need-blind admission and meet the full financial need of admitted students.In January 2019, the university announced an agreement to purchase the Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the heart of Washington, D.C., with plans to locate all of its D.C.-based graduate programs there. In an interview with The Atlantic, the president of Johns Hopkins stated that “the purchase is an opportunity to position the university, literally, to better contribute its expertise to national- and international-policy discussions.”In late 2019, the university's Coronavirus Research Center began tracking worldwide cases of the COVID-19 pandemic by compiling data from hundreds of sources around the world. This led to the university becoming one of the most cited sources for data about the pandemic.Hopkins was a prominent abolitionist who supported Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. After his death, reports said his conviction was a decisive factor in enrolling Hopkins' first African-American student, Kelly Miller, a graduate student in physics, astronomy and mathematics. As time passed, the university adopted a "separate but equal" stance more like other Baltimore institutions.The first black undergraduate entered the school in 1945 and graduate students followed in 1967. James Nabwangu, a British-trained Kenyan, was the first black graduate of the medical school. African-American instructor and laboratory supervisor Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing and conducting the first successful blue baby operation in 1944. Despite such cases, racial diversity did not become commonplace at Johns Hopkins institutions until the 1960s and 1970s.Hopkins' most well-known battle for women's rights was the one led by daughters of trustees of the university; Mary E. Garrett, M. Carey Thomas, Mamie Gwinn, Elizabeth King, and Julia Rogers. They donated and raised the funds needed to open the medical school, and required Hopkins' officials to agree to their stipulation that women would be admitted. The nursing school opened in 1889 and accepted women and men as students. Other graduate schools were later opened to women by president Ira Remsen in 1907. Christine Ladd-Franklin was the first woman to earn a PhD at Hopkins, in mathematics in 1882. The trustees denied her the degree for decades and refused to change the policy about admitting women. In 1893, Florence Bascomb became the university's first female PhD. The decision to admit women at undergraduate level was not considered until the late 1960s and was eventually adopted in October 1969. As of 2009–2010, the undergraduate population was 47% female and 53% male. In 2020, the undergraduate population of Hopkins was 53% female.On September 5, 2013, cryptographer and Johns Hopkins university professor Matthew Green posted a blog entitled, "On the NSA", in which he contributed to the ongoing debate regarding the role of NIST and NSA in formulating U.S. cryptography standards. On September 9, 2013, Green received a take-down request for the "On the NSA" blog from interim Dean Andrew Douglas from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. The request cited concerns that the blog had links to sensitive material. The blog linked to already published news articles from "The Guardian", "The New York Times" and ProPublica.org. Douglas subsequently issued a personal on-line apology to Green. The event raised concern over the future of academic freedom of speech within the cryptologic research community.The first campus was located on Howard Street. Eventually, they relocated to Homewood, in northern Baltimore, the estate of Charles Carroll, son of the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's Homewood House is considered one of the finest examples of Federal residential architecture. The estate then came to the Wyman family, which participated in making it the park-like main campus of the schools of arts and sciences and engineering at the start of the 20th century. Most of its architecture was modeled after the Federal style of Homewood House. Homewood House is preserved as a museum. Most undergraduate programs are on this campus.Collectively known as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) campus, the East Baltimore facility occupies several city blocks spreading from the Johns Hopkins Hospital trademark dome.The Washington, D.C. campus is on Massachusetts Avenue, towards the Southeastern end of Embassy Row.In 2019, Hopkins announced its purchase of the Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue, three blocks from the United States Capitol to house its D.C. programs and centers. Akin to the Washington, D.C. campus for the School of Arts & Sciences, the APL also is the primary campus for master's degrees in a variety of STEM fields.The Johns Hopkins entity is structured as two corporations, the university and The Johns Hopkins Health System, formed in 1986. The President is JHU's chief executive officer, and the university is organized into nine academic divisions.JHU's bylaws specify a Board of Trustees of between 18 and 65 voting members. Trustees serve six-year terms subject to a two-term limit. The alumni select 12 trustees. Four recent alumni serve 4-year terms, one per year, typically from the graduating class. The bylaws prohibit students, faculty or administrative staff from serving on the Board, except the President as an ex-officio trustee. The Johns Hopkins Health System has a separate Board of Trustees, many of whom are doctors or health care executives.The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is "most selective" with low transfer-in and a high graduate co-existence. The cost of attendance per year is $60,820; however, the average need met is 99%. The university is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities (AAU); it is also a member of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Universities Research Association (URA).JHU's undergraduate education is ranked 9th among U.S. "national universities" by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2021. For medical research "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2020 for 2nd in the U.S. and the Bloomberg School of Public Health 1st. The School of Nursing was ranked 1st nationally for master's degrees. The "QS Top Universities" ranked Johns Hopkins University No. 5 in the world for medicine. , Hopkins ranked No. 1 nationally in receipt of federal research funds, and was the top recipient of NIH research grants in 2019, both in terms of dollar amount and number of grants. In 2020, the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked the No. 3 hospital in the United States by the "U.S. News & World Report" annual ranking of American hospitals.The School of Education is ranked No. 2 nationally by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2017. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) ranked 2nd in the world in Foreign Policy's "Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations" ranking.The university's undergraduate programs are most selective: in 2021, the Office of Admissions accepted about 4.9% of its 33,236 Regular Decision applicants. In 2019, 98% of admitted students graduated in the top tenth of their high school class with a mean unweighted academic GPA of 3.92. The inter-quartile range on the SAT composite score was 1480–1550. In 2013, 96.8% of freshmen returned after the first year and 88% of students graduated in 4 years. Over time, applications to Johns Hopkins University have risen steadily. As a result, the selectivity of Johns Hopkins University has also increased. Early Decision is an option at Johns Hopkins University for students who wish to demonstrate that the university is their first choice. These students, if admitted, are required to enroll. This application is due November 2. Most students, however, apply Regular Decision, which is a traditional non-binding round. These applications are due January 1 and students are notified in late March. In 2014, Johns Hopkins ended legacy preference in admissions.The Johns Hopkins University Library system houses more than 3.6 million volumes and includes ten main divisions across the university's campuses. The largest segment of this system is the Sheridan Libraries, encompassing the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (the main library of the Homewood campus), the Brody Learning Commons, the Hutzler Reading Room ("The Hut") in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at the Peabody Institute campus.The main library, constructed in the 1960s, was named for Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of the university and brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The university's stacks had previously been housed in Gilman Hall and departmental libraries. Only two of the Eisenhower library's six stories are above ground, though the building was designed so that every level receives natural light. The design accords with campus lore that no structure can be taller than Gilman Hall, the flagship academic building. A four-story expansion to the library, known as the Brody Learning Commons, opened in August 2012. The expansion features an energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and includes study spaces, seminar rooms, and a rare books collection.The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. To date the Press has published more than 6,000 titles and currently publishes 65 scholarly periodicals and over 200 new books each year. Since 1993, the Johns Hopkins University Press has run Project MUSE, an online collection of over 250 full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. The Press also houses the Hopkins Fulfilment Services (HFS), which handles distribution for a number of university presses and publishers. Taken together, the three divisions of the Press—Books, Journals (including MUSE) and HFS—make it one of the largest of America's university presses.The Johns Hopkins University also offers the "Center for Talented Youth" program—a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. As part of the Johns Hopkins University, the "Center for Talented Youth" or CTY helps fulfill the university's mission of preparing students to make significant future contributions to the world. The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center (DMC) is a multimedia lab space as well as an equipment, technology and knowledge resource for students interested in exploring creative uses of emerging media and use of technology.Johns Hopkins offers a number of degrees in various undergraduate majors leading to the BA and BS and various majors leading to the MA, MS and Ph.D. for graduate students. Because Hopkins offers both undergraduate and graduate areas of study, many disciplines have multiple degrees available. Biomedical engineering, perhaps one of Hopkins' best-known programs, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins' undergraduate education. About 80 percent of undergraduates perform independent research, often alongside top researchers. In fiscal year 2016, Johns Hopkins spent nearly $2.5 billion on research—more than any other U.S. university for the 38th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has had seventy-seven members of the Institute of Medicine, forty-three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, seventeen members of the National Academy of Engineering, and sixty-two members of the National Academy of Sciences. As of October 2019, 39 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers, with the most recent winners being Gregg Semenza and William G. Kaelin.Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. It attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and produced 54,022 papers under its name, ranking No. 3 globally (after Harvard University and the Max Planck Society) in the number of "total" citations published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over 22 fields in America.In FY 2000, Johns Hopkins received $95.4 million in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making it the leading recipient of NASA research and development funding. In FY 2002, Hopkins became the first university to cross the $1 billion threshold on either list, recording $1.14 billion in total research and $1.023 billion in federally sponsored research. In FY 2008, Johns Hopkins University performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total R&D spending for the 30th year in a row, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) ranking. These totals include grants and expenditures of JHU's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.In 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program was established by a $250 million gift from Michael Bloomberg. This program enables the university to recruit fifty researchers from around the world to joint appointments throughout the nine divisions and research centers. Each professor must be a leader in interdisciplinary research and be active in undergraduate education. Directed by Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz, there are currently thirty two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors at the university, including three Nobel Laureates, eight fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and thirteen members of the National Academies.Charles Village, the region of North Baltimore surrounding the university, has undergone several restoration projects, and the university has gradually bought the property around the school for additional student housing and dormitories. "The Charles Village Project", completed in 2008, brought new commercial spaces to the neighborhood. The project included Charles Commons, a new, modern residence hall that includes popular retail franchises. In 2015, the University began development of new commercial properties, including a modern upperclassmen apartment complex, restaurants and eateries, and a CVS retail store.Hopkins invested in improving campus life with an arts complex in 2001, the Mattin Center, and a three-story sports facility, the O'Connor Recreation Center. The large on-campus dining facilities at Homewood were renovated in the summer of 2006.Quality of life is enriched by the proximity of neighboring academic institutions, including Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), UMBC, Goucher College, and Towson University, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Hampden, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon.Greek life came to Hopkins in 1876 with the charter of fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which still exists on campus today. Since, Johns Hopkins has become home to nine sororities and 11 fraternities. Of the nine sororities, five belong to the National Panhellenic Conference and four to the Multicultural Greek Council Sororities. Of the fraternities, all 11 belong to the Inter-Fraternity Council. Over 1,000 students participate in Greek life, with 23% of women and 20% of men taking part. Greek life has expanded its reach at Hopkins in recent decades, as only 15% of the student body participated in 1989. Rush for all students occurs in the spring. Most fraternities keep houses in Charles Village while sororities do not.Johns Hopkins Greek life has been largely representative of its increasing diversity with the installment of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, in 1991 and Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity in 1994 among others.Spring Fair has been a Johns Hopkins tradition since 1972 and has since grown to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Popular among Hopkins students and Baltimore inhabitants alike, Spring Fair features carnival rides, vendors, food and a beer garden. Since its beginning, Spring Fair has decreased in size, both in regard to attendance and utilization of space. While one point, the Fair attracted upwards of 100,000 people, it became unruly and, for a variety of reasons including safety concerns and a campus beautification project in the early 2000s, had to be scaled back.While it has been speculated that Johns Hopkins has relatively few traditions for a school of its age and that many past traditions have been forgotten, a handful of myths and customs are ubiquitous knowledge among the community. One such long-standing myth surrounds the university seal that is embedded into the floor of the Gilman Hall foyer. The myth holds that any current student to step on the seal will never graduate. In reverence for this tradition, the seal has been fenced off from the rest of the room.An annual event is the "Lighting of the Quad", a ceremony each winter during which the campus is lit up in holiday lights. Recent years have included singing and fireworks.Living on campus is typically required for first- and second-year undergraduates. Freshman housing is centered around Freshman Quad, which consists of three residence hall complexes: The two Alumni Memorial Residences (AMR I and AMR II) plus Buildings A and B. The AMR dormitories are each divided into "houses", subunits named for figures from the university's early history. Freshmen are also housed in Wolman Hall and in certain wings of McCoy Hall, both located slightly outside the campus. Dorms at Hopkins are generally co-ed with same-gender rooms, though a new policy has allowed students to live in mixed-gender rooms since Fall 2014.Students determine where they will live during sophomore year through a housing lottery. Most juniors and seniors move into nearby apartments or row-houses. Non-freshmen in university housing occupy one of four buildings: McCoy Hall, the Bradford Apartments, the Homewood Apartments, and Charles Commons. All are located in Charles Village within a block from the Homewood campus. Forty-five percent of the student body lives off-campus while 55% lives on campus.Athletic teams are called Blue Jays. Even though sable and gold are used for academic robes, the university's athletic colors are Columbia blue (PMS 284) and black. Hopkins celebrates Homecoming in the spring to coincide with the height of the lacrosse season. The men's and women's lacrosse teams are in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and are affiliate members of the Big Ten Conference. Other teams are in Division III and participate in the Centennial Conference. JHU is also home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame, maintained by US Lacrosse.The school's most prominent team is its men's lacrosse team. The team has won 44 national titles – nine Division I (2007, 2005, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1974), 29 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), and six Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) titles. Hopkins' primary national rivals are Princeton University, Syracuse University, and the University of Virginia; its primary intrastate rivals are Loyola University Maryland (competing in what is called the "Charles Street Massacre"), Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland. The rivalry with Maryland is the oldest. The schools have met 111 times since 1899, three times in playoff matches.On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for men's lacrosse when that league begins sponsoring the sport in the 2015 season (2014–15 school year).The women's team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and a former member of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). The Lady Blue Jays were ranked number 18 in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse Women's DI Media Poll. They ranked number 8 in the 2007 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll Division I. The team finished the 2012 season with a 9–9 record and finished the 2013 season with a 10–7 record. They finished the 2014 season 15–5. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for women's lacrosse in the 2017 season (2016–17 school year).Hopkins has notable Division III Athletic teams. JHU Men's Swimming won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 2009–2010, Hopkins won 8 Centennial Conference titles in Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Football, and Men's and Women's Tennis. The Women's Cross Country team became the first women's team at Hopkins to achieve a #1 National ranking. In 2006–2007 teams won Centennial Conference titles in Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Basketball. Women's soccer won their Centennial Conference title for 7 consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. In the 2013–2014 school year, Hopkins earned 12 Centennial Conference titles, most notably from the cross country and track & field teams, which accounted for six.Hopkins has an acclaimed fencing team, which ranked in the top three Division III teams in the past few years and in both 2008 and 2007 defeated the University of North Carolina, a Division I team. In 2008, they defeated UNC and won the MACFA championship.The swimming team ranked highly in NCAA Division III for the last 10 years, most recently placing second at DIII Nationals in 2008. The water polo team was number one in Division III for several of the past years, playing a full schedule against Division I opponents. Hopkins also has a century-old rivalry with McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), playing the Green Terrors 83 times in football since the first game in 1894. In 2009 the football team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, with three tournament appearances since 2005. In 2008, the baseball team ranked second, losing in the final game of the DIII College World Series to Trinity College.The Johns Hopkins squash team plays in the College Squash Association as a club team along with Division I and III varsity programs. In 2011–12 the squash team finished 30th in the ranking., there have been 39 Nobel Laureates who either attended the university as undergraduate or graduate students, or were faculty members. Woodrow Wilson, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1886, was Hopkins' first affiliated laureate, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Twenty-three laureates were faculty members, five earned PhDs, eight earned M.D.s, and Francis Peyton Rous and Martin Rodbell earned undergraduate degrees.As of October 2019, eighteen Johns Hopkins laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Four Nobel Prizes were shared by Johns Hopkins laureates: George Minot and George Whipple won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Four Johns Hopkins laureates won Nobel Prizes in Physics, including Riccardo Giacconi in 2002 and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess in 2011. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Peter Agre was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation are currently the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for "roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis. A previous suit against the United States government was dismissed in 2011 for the Guatemala syphilis experiments when a judge determined that the U.S. government could not be held liable for actions committed outside of the U.S.	[ "Ira Remsen", "Joseph Sweetman Ames", "Ronald J. Daniels", "Milton Stover Eisenhower", "Daniel Nathans", "Isaiah Bowman", "Daniel Coit Gilman", "William C. Richardson", "Lowell Reed", "Steven Muller", "Lincoln Gordon", "Detlev Bronk", "Frank Johnson Goodnow" ]
Who was the chair of Johns Hopkins University in Oct 20, 2003?	October 20, 2003	{ "text": [ "William Ralph Brody" ] }	L2_Q193727_P488_12	Steven Muller is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1972 to Jun, 1990. William Ralph Brody is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Aug, 1996 to Mar, 2008. William C. Richardson is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1990 to Jun, 1995. Isaiah Bowman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1935 to Dec, 1948. Daniel Nathans is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1995 to Aug, 1996. Milton Stover Eisenhower is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1956 to Jun, 1967. Ira Remsen is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1901 to Jan, 1913. Detlev Bronk is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 1949 to Aug, 1953. Joseph Sweetman Ames is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1929 to Jun, 1935. Ronald J. Daniels is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 2009 to Dec, 2022. Lowell Reed is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1953 to Jun, 1956. Daniel Coit Gilman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1876 to Aug, 1901. Lincoln Gordon is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1967 to Mar, 1971. Frank Johnson Goodnow is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Oct, 1914 to Jun, 1929.	Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, the university was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins is considered the first research university in the United States. Hopkin's $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time. Daniel Coit Gilman, who was inaugurated as on February 22, 1876, led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research. In 1900, Johns Hopkins became a founding member of the American Association of Universities. The university has since led all U.S. universities in annual research expenditures. Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington, D.C., with international centers in Italy and China. The two undergraduate divisions, the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. The medical school, nursing school, and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore. The university also consists of the Peabody Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, School of Education, Carey Business School, and various other facilities. The university also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C.As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins' faculty and alumni. Founded in 1883, the Blue Jays men's lacrosse team has captured 44 national titles and plays in the Big Ten Conference as an affiliate member.On his death in 1873, Johns Hopkins, a Quaker entrepreneur and childless bachelor, bequeathed $7 million (approximately $ million today adjusted for consumer price inflation) to fund a hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, this donation, generated primarily from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States, and endowment was then the largest in America. Until 2020, Hopkins was assumed to be a fervent abolitionist, until research done by the school into his United States Census records revealed he claimed to own at least five household slaves in the 1840 and 1850 decennial censuses.The first name of philanthropist Johns Hopkins comes from the surname of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who married Gerard Hopkins. They named their son Johns Hopkins, who named his own son Samuel Hopkins. Samuel named one of his sons for his father, and that son became the university's benefactor. Milton Eisenhower, a former university president, once spoke at a convention in Pittsburgh where the master of ceremonies introduced him as "President of "John" Hopkins." Eisenhower retorted that he was "glad to be here in "Pitt"burgh."The original board opted for an entirely novel university model dedicated to the discovery of knowledge at an advanced level, extending that of contemporary Germany. Building on the Humboldtian model of higher education, the German education model of Wilhelm von Humboldt, it became dedicated to research. It was especially Heidelberg University and its long academic research history on which the new institution tried to model itself. Johns Hopkins thereby became the model of the modern research university in the United States. Its success eventually shifted higher education in the United States from a focus on teaching revealed and/or applied knowledge to the scientific discovery of new knowledge. The trustees worked alongside four notable university presidents – Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Andrew D. White of Cornell, Noah Porter of Yale College and James B. Angell of Michigan. They each vouched for Daniel Coit Gilman to lead the new University and he became the university's first president. Gilman, a Yale-educated scholar, had been serving as president of the University of California, Berkeley prior to this appointment. In preparation for the university's founding, Gilman visited University of Freiburg and other German universities.Gilman launched what many at the time considered an audacious and unprecedented academic experiment to merge teaching and research. He dismissed the idea that the two were mutually exclusive: "The best teachers are usually those who are free, competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory," he stated. To implement his plan, Gilman recruited internationally known researchers including the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester; the biologist H. Newell Martin; the physicist Henry A. Rowland (the first president of the American Physical Society), the classical scholars Basil Gildersleeve and Charles D. Morris; the economist Richard T. Ely; and the chemist Ira Remsen, who became the second president of the university in 1901.Gilman focused on the expansion of graduate education and support of faculty research. The new university fused advanced scholarship with such professional schools as medicine and engineering. Hopkins became the national trendsetter in doctoral programs and the host for numerous scholarly journals and associations. The Johns Hopkins University Press, founded in 1878, is the oldest American university press in continuous operation.With the completion of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889 and the medical school in 1893, the university's research-focused mode of instruction soon began attracting world-renowned faculty members who would become major figures in the emerging field of academic medicine, including William Osler, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and William Welch. Students came from all over the world to study at Johns Hopkins and returned to their sending country to serve their nation, including Dr Harry Chung (b. 1872) who served as a diplomat in the Manchu Dynasty and First Secretary to the United States. During this period Hopkins made more history by becoming the first medical school to admit women on an equal basis with men and to require a Bachelor's degree, based on the efforts of Mary E. Garrett, who had endowed the school at Gilman's request. The school of medicine was America's first coeducational, graduate-level medical school, and became a prototype for academic medicine that emphasized bedside learning, research projects, and laboratory training. In his will and in his instructions to the trustees of the university and the hospital, Hopkins requested that both institutions be built upon the vast grounds of his Baltimore estate, Clifton. When Gilman assumed the presidency, he decided that it would be best to use the university's endowment for recruiting faculty and students, deciding to, as it has been paraphrased, "build men, not buildings." In his will Hopkins stipulated that none of his endowment should be used for construction; only interest on the principal could be used for this purpose. Unfortunately, stocks in The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which would have generated most of the interest, became virtually worthless soon after Hopkins's death. The university's first home was thus in Downtown Baltimore delaying plans to site the university in Clifton.In the early 20th century, the university outgrew its buildings and the trustees began to search for a new home. Developing Clifton for the university was too costly, and of the estate had to be sold to the city as public park. A solution was achieved by a team of prominent locals who acquired the estate in north Baltimore known as Homewood. On February 22, 1902, this land was formally transferred to the university. The flagship building, Gilman Hall, was completed in 1915. The School of Engineering relocated in Fall of 1914 and the School of Arts and Sciences followed in 1916. These decades saw the ceding of lands by the university for the public Wyman Park and Wyman Park Dell and the Baltimore Museum of Art, coalescing in the contemporary area of .Prior to becoming the main Johns Hopkins campus, the Homewood estate had initially been the gift of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Maryland planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Carroll Jr. The original structure, the 1801 Homewood House, still stands and serves as an on-campus museum. The brick and marble Federal style of Homewood House became the architectural inspiration for much of the university campus versus the Collegiate Gothic style of other historic American universities.In 1909, the university was among the first to start adult continuing education programs and in 1916 it founded the US' first school of public health.Since the 1910s, Johns Hopkins University has famously been a "fertile cradle" to Arthur Lovejoy's history of ideas.Since 1942, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has served as a major governmental defense contractor. In tandem with on-campus research, Johns Hopkins has every year since 1979 had the highest federal research funding of any American university.Professional schools of international affairs and music were established in 1950 and 1977, respectively, when the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore were incorporated into the university.The early decades of the 21st century saw expansion across the university's institutions in both physical and population sizes. Notably, a planned 88-acre expansion to the medical campus began in 2013. Completed construction on the Homewood campus has included a new biomedical engineering building in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering, a new library, a new biology wing, an extensive renovation of the flagship Gilman Hall, and the reconstruction of the main university entrance.These years also brought about the rapid development of the university's professional schools of education and business. From 1999 until 2007, these disciplines had been joined together within the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), itself a reshuffling of several earlier ventures. The 2007 split, combined with new funding and leadership initiatives, has led to the simultaneous emergence of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Carey Business School.On November 18, 2018, it was announced that Michael Bloomberg would make a donation to his alma mater of $1.8 billion, marking the largest private donation in modern history to an institution of higher education and bringing Bloomberg's total contribution to the school in excess of $3.3 billion. Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift allows the school to practice need-blind admission and meet the full financial need of admitted students.In January 2019, the university announced an agreement to purchase the Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the heart of Washington, D.C., with plans to locate all of its D.C.-based graduate programs there. In an interview with The Atlantic, the president of Johns Hopkins stated that “the purchase is an opportunity to position the university, literally, to better contribute its expertise to national- and international-policy discussions.”In late 2019, the university's Coronavirus Research Center began tracking worldwide cases of the COVID-19 pandemic by compiling data from hundreds of sources around the world. This led to the university becoming one of the most cited sources for data about the pandemic.Hopkins was a prominent abolitionist who supported Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. After his death, reports said his conviction was a decisive factor in enrolling Hopkins' first African-American student, Kelly Miller, a graduate student in physics, astronomy and mathematics. As time passed, the university adopted a "separate but equal" stance more like other Baltimore institutions.The first black undergraduate entered the school in 1945 and graduate students followed in 1967. James Nabwangu, a British-trained Kenyan, was the first black graduate of the medical school. African-American instructor and laboratory supervisor Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing and conducting the first successful blue baby operation in 1944. Despite such cases, racial diversity did not become commonplace at Johns Hopkins institutions until the 1960s and 1970s.Hopkins' most well-known battle for women's rights was the one led by daughters of trustees of the university; Mary E. Garrett, M. Carey Thomas, Mamie Gwinn, Elizabeth King, and Julia Rogers. They donated and raised the funds needed to open the medical school, and required Hopkins' officials to agree to their stipulation that women would be admitted. The nursing school opened in 1889 and accepted women and men as students. Other graduate schools were later opened to women by president Ira Remsen in 1907. Christine Ladd-Franklin was the first woman to earn a PhD at Hopkins, in mathematics in 1882. The trustees denied her the degree for decades and refused to change the policy about admitting women. In 1893, Florence Bascomb became the university's first female PhD. The decision to admit women at undergraduate level was not considered until the late 1960s and was eventually adopted in October 1969. As of 2009–2010, the undergraduate population was 47% female and 53% male. In 2020, the undergraduate population of Hopkins was 53% female.On September 5, 2013, cryptographer and Johns Hopkins university professor Matthew Green posted a blog entitled, "On the NSA", in which he contributed to the ongoing debate regarding the role of NIST and NSA in formulating U.S. cryptography standards. On September 9, 2013, Green received a take-down request for the "On the NSA" blog from interim Dean Andrew Douglas from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. The request cited concerns that the blog had links to sensitive material. The blog linked to already published news articles from "The Guardian", "The New York Times" and ProPublica.org. Douglas subsequently issued a personal on-line apology to Green. The event raised concern over the future of academic freedom of speech within the cryptologic research community.The first campus was located on Howard Street. Eventually, they relocated to Homewood, in northern Baltimore, the estate of Charles Carroll, son of the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's Homewood House is considered one of the finest examples of Federal residential architecture. The estate then came to the Wyman family, which participated in making it the park-like main campus of the schools of arts and sciences and engineering at the start of the 20th century. Most of its architecture was modeled after the Federal style of Homewood House. Homewood House is preserved as a museum. Most undergraduate programs are on this campus.Collectively known as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) campus, the East Baltimore facility occupies several city blocks spreading from the Johns Hopkins Hospital trademark dome.The Washington, D.C. campus is on Massachusetts Avenue, towards the Southeastern end of Embassy Row.In 2019, Hopkins announced its purchase of the Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue, three blocks from the United States Capitol to house its D.C. programs and centers. Akin to the Washington, D.C. campus for the School of Arts & Sciences, the APL also is the primary campus for master's degrees in a variety of STEM fields.The Johns Hopkins entity is structured as two corporations, the university and The Johns Hopkins Health System, formed in 1986. The President is JHU's chief executive officer, and the university is organized into nine academic divisions.JHU's bylaws specify a Board of Trustees of between 18 and 65 voting members. Trustees serve six-year terms subject to a two-term limit. The alumni select 12 trustees. Four recent alumni serve 4-year terms, one per year, typically from the graduating class. The bylaws prohibit students, faculty or administrative staff from serving on the Board, except the President as an ex-officio trustee. The Johns Hopkins Health System has a separate Board of Trustees, many of whom are doctors or health care executives.The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is "most selective" with low transfer-in and a high graduate co-existence. The cost of attendance per year is $60,820; however, the average need met is 99%. The university is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities (AAU); it is also a member of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Universities Research Association (URA).JHU's undergraduate education is ranked 9th among U.S. "national universities" by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2021. For medical research "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2020 for 2nd in the U.S. and the Bloomberg School of Public Health 1st. The School of Nursing was ranked 1st nationally for master's degrees. The "QS Top Universities" ranked Johns Hopkins University No. 5 in the world for medicine. , Hopkins ranked No. 1 nationally in receipt of federal research funds, and was the top recipient of NIH research grants in 2019, both in terms of dollar amount and number of grants. In 2020, the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked the No. 3 hospital in the United States by the "U.S. News & World Report" annual ranking of American hospitals.The School of Education is ranked No. 2 nationally by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2017. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) ranked 2nd in the world in Foreign Policy's "Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations" ranking.The university's undergraduate programs are most selective: in 2021, the Office of Admissions accepted about 4.9% of its 33,236 Regular Decision applicants. In 2019, 98% of admitted students graduated in the top tenth of their high school class with a mean unweighted academic GPA of 3.92. The inter-quartile range on the SAT composite score was 1480–1550. In 2013, 96.8% of freshmen returned after the first year and 88% of students graduated in 4 years. Over time, applications to Johns Hopkins University have risen steadily. As a result, the selectivity of Johns Hopkins University has also increased. Early Decision is an option at Johns Hopkins University for students who wish to demonstrate that the university is their first choice. These students, if admitted, are required to enroll. This application is due November 2. Most students, however, apply Regular Decision, which is a traditional non-binding round. These applications are due January 1 and students are notified in late March. In 2014, Johns Hopkins ended legacy preference in admissions.The Johns Hopkins University Library system houses more than 3.6 million volumes and includes ten main divisions across the university's campuses. The largest segment of this system is the Sheridan Libraries, encompassing the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (the main library of the Homewood campus), the Brody Learning Commons, the Hutzler Reading Room ("The Hut") in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at the Peabody Institute campus.The main library, constructed in the 1960s, was named for Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of the university and brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The university's stacks had previously been housed in Gilman Hall and departmental libraries. Only two of the Eisenhower library's six stories are above ground, though the building was designed so that every level receives natural light. The design accords with campus lore that no structure can be taller than Gilman Hall, the flagship academic building. A four-story expansion to the library, known as the Brody Learning Commons, opened in August 2012. The expansion features an energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and includes study spaces, seminar rooms, and a rare books collection.The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. To date the Press has published more than 6,000 titles and currently publishes 65 scholarly periodicals and over 200 new books each year. Since 1993, the Johns Hopkins University Press has run Project MUSE, an online collection of over 250 full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. The Press also houses the Hopkins Fulfilment Services (HFS), which handles distribution for a number of university presses and publishers. Taken together, the three divisions of the Press—Books, Journals (including MUSE) and HFS—make it one of the largest of America's university presses.The Johns Hopkins University also offers the "Center for Talented Youth" program—a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. As part of the Johns Hopkins University, the "Center for Talented Youth" or CTY helps fulfill the university's mission of preparing students to make significant future contributions to the world. The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center (DMC) is a multimedia lab space as well as an equipment, technology and knowledge resource for students interested in exploring creative uses of emerging media and use of technology.Johns Hopkins offers a number of degrees in various undergraduate majors leading to the BA and BS and various majors leading to the MA, MS and Ph.D. for graduate students. Because Hopkins offers both undergraduate and graduate areas of study, many disciplines have multiple degrees available. Biomedical engineering, perhaps one of Hopkins' best-known programs, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins' undergraduate education. About 80 percent of undergraduates perform independent research, often alongside top researchers. In fiscal year 2016, Johns Hopkins spent nearly $2.5 billion on research—more than any other U.S. university for the 38th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has had seventy-seven members of the Institute of Medicine, forty-three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, seventeen members of the National Academy of Engineering, and sixty-two members of the National Academy of Sciences. As of October 2019, 39 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers, with the most recent winners being Gregg Semenza and William G. Kaelin.Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. It attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and produced 54,022 papers under its name, ranking No. 3 globally (after Harvard University and the Max Planck Society) in the number of "total" citations published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over 22 fields in America.In FY 2000, Johns Hopkins received $95.4 million in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making it the leading recipient of NASA research and development funding. In FY 2002, Hopkins became the first university to cross the $1 billion threshold on either list, recording $1.14 billion in total research and $1.023 billion in federally sponsored research. In FY 2008, Johns Hopkins University performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total R&D spending for the 30th year in a row, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) ranking. These totals include grants and expenditures of JHU's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.In 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program was established by a $250 million gift from Michael Bloomberg. This program enables the university to recruit fifty researchers from around the world to joint appointments throughout the nine divisions and research centers. Each professor must be a leader in interdisciplinary research and be active in undergraduate education. Directed by Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz, there are currently thirty two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors at the university, including three Nobel Laureates, eight fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and thirteen members of the National Academies.Charles Village, the region of North Baltimore surrounding the university, has undergone several restoration projects, and the university has gradually bought the property around the school for additional student housing and dormitories. "The Charles Village Project", completed in 2008, brought new commercial spaces to the neighborhood. The project included Charles Commons, a new, modern residence hall that includes popular retail franchises. In 2015, the University began development of new commercial properties, including a modern upperclassmen apartment complex, restaurants and eateries, and a CVS retail store.Hopkins invested in improving campus life with an arts complex in 2001, the Mattin Center, and a three-story sports facility, the O'Connor Recreation Center. The large on-campus dining facilities at Homewood were renovated in the summer of 2006.Quality of life is enriched by the proximity of neighboring academic institutions, including Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), UMBC, Goucher College, and Towson University, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Hampden, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon.Greek life came to Hopkins in 1876 with the charter of fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which still exists on campus today. Since, Johns Hopkins has become home to nine sororities and 11 fraternities. Of the nine sororities, five belong to the National Panhellenic Conference and four to the Multicultural Greek Council Sororities. Of the fraternities, all 11 belong to the Inter-Fraternity Council. Over 1,000 students participate in Greek life, with 23% of women and 20% of men taking part. Greek life has expanded its reach at Hopkins in recent decades, as only 15% of the student body participated in 1989. Rush for all students occurs in the spring. Most fraternities keep houses in Charles Village while sororities do not.Johns Hopkins Greek life has been largely representative of its increasing diversity with the installment of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, in 1991 and Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity in 1994 among others.Spring Fair has been a Johns Hopkins tradition since 1972 and has since grown to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Popular among Hopkins students and Baltimore inhabitants alike, Spring Fair features carnival rides, vendors, food and a beer garden. Since its beginning, Spring Fair has decreased in size, both in regard to attendance and utilization of space. While one point, the Fair attracted upwards of 100,000 people, it became unruly and, for a variety of reasons including safety concerns and a campus beautification project in the early 2000s, had to be scaled back.While it has been speculated that Johns Hopkins has relatively few traditions for a school of its age and that many past traditions have been forgotten, a handful of myths and customs are ubiquitous knowledge among the community. One such long-standing myth surrounds the university seal that is embedded into the floor of the Gilman Hall foyer. The myth holds that any current student to step on the seal will never graduate. In reverence for this tradition, the seal has been fenced off from the rest of the room.An annual event is the "Lighting of the Quad", a ceremony each winter during which the campus is lit up in holiday lights. Recent years have included singing and fireworks.Living on campus is typically required for first- and second-year undergraduates. Freshman housing is centered around Freshman Quad, which consists of three residence hall complexes: The two Alumni Memorial Residences (AMR I and AMR II) plus Buildings A and B. The AMR dormitories are each divided into "houses", subunits named for figures from the university's early history. Freshmen are also housed in Wolman Hall and in certain wings of McCoy Hall, both located slightly outside the campus. Dorms at Hopkins are generally co-ed with same-gender rooms, though a new policy has allowed students to live in mixed-gender rooms since Fall 2014.Students determine where they will live during sophomore year through a housing lottery. Most juniors and seniors move into nearby apartments or row-houses. Non-freshmen in university housing occupy one of four buildings: McCoy Hall, the Bradford Apartments, the Homewood Apartments, and Charles Commons. All are located in Charles Village within a block from the Homewood campus. Forty-five percent of the student body lives off-campus while 55% lives on campus.Athletic teams are called Blue Jays. Even though sable and gold are used for academic robes, the university's athletic colors are Columbia blue (PMS 284) and black. Hopkins celebrates Homecoming in the spring to coincide with the height of the lacrosse season. The men's and women's lacrosse teams are in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and are affiliate members of the Big Ten Conference. Other teams are in Division III and participate in the Centennial Conference. JHU is also home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame, maintained by US Lacrosse.The school's most prominent team is its men's lacrosse team. The team has won 44 national titles – nine Division I (2007, 2005, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1974), 29 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), and six Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) titles. Hopkins' primary national rivals are Princeton University, Syracuse University, and the University of Virginia; its primary intrastate rivals are Loyola University Maryland (competing in what is called the "Charles Street Massacre"), Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland. The rivalry with Maryland is the oldest. The schools have met 111 times since 1899, three times in playoff matches.On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for men's lacrosse when that league begins sponsoring the sport in the 2015 season (2014–15 school year).The women's team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and a former member of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). The Lady Blue Jays were ranked number 18 in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse Women's DI Media Poll. They ranked number 8 in the 2007 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll Division I. The team finished the 2012 season with a 9–9 record and finished the 2013 season with a 10–7 record. They finished the 2014 season 15–5. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for women's lacrosse in the 2017 season (2016–17 school year).Hopkins has notable Division III Athletic teams. JHU Men's Swimming won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 2009–2010, Hopkins won 8 Centennial Conference titles in Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Football, and Men's and Women's Tennis. The Women's Cross Country team became the first women's team at Hopkins to achieve a #1 National ranking. In 2006–2007 teams won Centennial Conference titles in Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Basketball. Women's soccer won their Centennial Conference title for 7 consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. In the 2013–2014 school year, Hopkins earned 12 Centennial Conference titles, most notably from the cross country and track & field teams, which accounted for six.Hopkins has an acclaimed fencing team, which ranked in the top three Division III teams in the past few years and in both 2008 and 2007 defeated the University of North Carolina, a Division I team. In 2008, they defeated UNC and won the MACFA championship.The swimming team ranked highly in NCAA Division III for the last 10 years, most recently placing second at DIII Nationals in 2008. The water polo team was number one in Division III for several of the past years, playing a full schedule against Division I opponents. Hopkins also has a century-old rivalry with McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), playing the Green Terrors 83 times in football since the first game in 1894. In 2009 the football team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, with three tournament appearances since 2005. In 2008, the baseball team ranked second, losing in the final game of the DIII College World Series to Trinity College.The Johns Hopkins squash team plays in the College Squash Association as a club team along with Division I and III varsity programs. In 2011–12 the squash team finished 30th in the ranking., there have been 39 Nobel Laureates who either attended the university as undergraduate or graduate students, or were faculty members. Woodrow Wilson, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1886, was Hopkins' first affiliated laureate, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Twenty-three laureates were faculty members, five earned PhDs, eight earned M.D.s, and Francis Peyton Rous and Martin Rodbell earned undergraduate degrees.As of October 2019, eighteen Johns Hopkins laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Four Nobel Prizes were shared by Johns Hopkins laureates: George Minot and George Whipple won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Four Johns Hopkins laureates won Nobel Prizes in Physics, including Riccardo Giacconi in 2002 and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess in 2011. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Peter Agre was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation are currently the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for "roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis. A previous suit against the United States government was dismissed in 2011 for the Guatemala syphilis experiments when a judge determined that the U.S. government could not be held liable for actions committed outside of the U.S.	[ "Ira Remsen", "Joseph Sweetman Ames", "Ronald J. Daniels", "Milton Stover Eisenhower", "Daniel Nathans", "Isaiah Bowman", "Daniel Coit Gilman", "William C. Richardson", "Lowell Reed", "Steven Muller", "Lincoln Gordon", "Detlev Bronk", "Frank Johnson Goodnow" ]
Who was the chair of Johns Hopkins University in 10/20/2003?	October 20, 2003	{ "text": [ "William Ralph Brody" ] }	L2_Q193727_P488_12	Steven Muller is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1972 to Jun, 1990. William Ralph Brody is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Aug, 1996 to Mar, 2008. William C. Richardson is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1990 to Jun, 1995. Isaiah Bowman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1935 to Dec, 1948. Daniel Nathans is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1995 to Aug, 1996. Milton Stover Eisenhower is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1956 to Jun, 1967. Ira Remsen is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1901 to Jan, 1913. Detlev Bronk is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 1949 to Aug, 1953. Joseph Sweetman Ames is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1929 to Jun, 1935. Ronald J. Daniels is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 2009 to Dec, 2022. Lowell Reed is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1953 to Jun, 1956. Daniel Coit Gilman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1876 to Aug, 1901. Lincoln Gordon is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1967 to Mar, 1971. Frank Johnson Goodnow is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Oct, 1914 to Jun, 1929.	Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, the university was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins is considered the first research university in the United States. Hopkin's $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time. Daniel Coit Gilman, who was inaugurated as on February 22, 1876, led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research. In 1900, Johns Hopkins became a founding member of the American Association of Universities. The university has since led all U.S. universities in annual research expenditures. Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington, D.C., with international centers in Italy and China. The two undergraduate divisions, the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. The medical school, nursing school, and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore. The university also consists of the Peabody Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, School of Education, Carey Business School, and various other facilities. The university also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C.As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins' faculty and alumni. Founded in 1883, the Blue Jays men's lacrosse team has captured 44 national titles and plays in the Big Ten Conference as an affiliate member.On his death in 1873, Johns Hopkins, a Quaker entrepreneur and childless bachelor, bequeathed $7 million (approximately $ million today adjusted for consumer price inflation) to fund a hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, this donation, generated primarily from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States, and endowment was then the largest in America. Until 2020, Hopkins was assumed to be a fervent abolitionist, until research done by the school into his United States Census records revealed he claimed to own at least five household slaves in the 1840 and 1850 decennial censuses.The first name of philanthropist Johns Hopkins comes from the surname of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who married Gerard Hopkins. They named their son Johns Hopkins, who named his own son Samuel Hopkins. Samuel named one of his sons for his father, and that son became the university's benefactor. Milton Eisenhower, a former university president, once spoke at a convention in Pittsburgh where the master of ceremonies introduced him as "President of "John" Hopkins." Eisenhower retorted that he was "glad to be here in "Pitt"burgh."The original board opted for an entirely novel university model dedicated to the discovery of knowledge at an advanced level, extending that of contemporary Germany. Building on the Humboldtian model of higher education, the German education model of Wilhelm von Humboldt, it became dedicated to research. It was especially Heidelberg University and its long academic research history on which the new institution tried to model itself. Johns Hopkins thereby became the model of the modern research university in the United States. Its success eventually shifted higher education in the United States from a focus on teaching revealed and/or applied knowledge to the scientific discovery of new knowledge. The trustees worked alongside four notable university presidents – Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Andrew D. White of Cornell, Noah Porter of Yale College and James B. Angell of Michigan. They each vouched for Daniel Coit Gilman to lead the new University and he became the university's first president. Gilman, a Yale-educated scholar, had been serving as president of the University of California, Berkeley prior to this appointment. In preparation for the university's founding, Gilman visited University of Freiburg and other German universities.Gilman launched what many at the time considered an audacious and unprecedented academic experiment to merge teaching and research. He dismissed the idea that the two were mutually exclusive: "The best teachers are usually those who are free, competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory," he stated. To implement his plan, Gilman recruited internationally known researchers including the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester; the biologist H. Newell Martin; the physicist Henry A. Rowland (the first president of the American Physical Society), the classical scholars Basil Gildersleeve and Charles D. Morris; the economist Richard T. Ely; and the chemist Ira Remsen, who became the second president of the university in 1901.Gilman focused on the expansion of graduate education and support of faculty research. The new university fused advanced scholarship with such professional schools as medicine and engineering. Hopkins became the national trendsetter in doctoral programs and the host for numerous scholarly journals and associations. The Johns Hopkins University Press, founded in 1878, is the oldest American university press in continuous operation.With the completion of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889 and the medical school in 1893, the university's research-focused mode of instruction soon began attracting world-renowned faculty members who would become major figures in the emerging field of academic medicine, including William Osler, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and William Welch. Students came from all over the world to study at Johns Hopkins and returned to their sending country to serve their nation, including Dr Harry Chung (b. 1872) who served as a diplomat in the Manchu Dynasty and First Secretary to the United States. During this period Hopkins made more history by becoming the first medical school to admit women on an equal basis with men and to require a Bachelor's degree, based on the efforts of Mary E. Garrett, who had endowed the school at Gilman's request. The school of medicine was America's first coeducational, graduate-level medical school, and became a prototype for academic medicine that emphasized bedside learning, research projects, and laboratory training. In his will and in his instructions to the trustees of the university and the hospital, Hopkins requested that both institutions be built upon the vast grounds of his Baltimore estate, Clifton. When Gilman assumed the presidency, he decided that it would be best to use the university's endowment for recruiting faculty and students, deciding to, as it has been paraphrased, "build men, not buildings." In his will Hopkins stipulated that none of his endowment should be used for construction; only interest on the principal could be used for this purpose. Unfortunately, stocks in The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which would have generated most of the interest, became virtually worthless soon after Hopkins's death. The university's first home was thus in Downtown Baltimore delaying plans to site the university in Clifton.In the early 20th century, the university outgrew its buildings and the trustees began to search for a new home. Developing Clifton for the university was too costly, and of the estate had to be sold to the city as public park. A solution was achieved by a team of prominent locals who acquired the estate in north Baltimore known as Homewood. On February 22, 1902, this land was formally transferred to the university. The flagship building, Gilman Hall, was completed in 1915. The School of Engineering relocated in Fall of 1914 and the School of Arts and Sciences followed in 1916. These decades saw the ceding of lands by the university for the public Wyman Park and Wyman Park Dell and the Baltimore Museum of Art, coalescing in the contemporary area of .Prior to becoming the main Johns Hopkins campus, the Homewood estate had initially been the gift of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Maryland planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Carroll Jr. The original structure, the 1801 Homewood House, still stands and serves as an on-campus museum. The brick and marble Federal style of Homewood House became the architectural inspiration for much of the university campus versus the Collegiate Gothic style of other historic American universities.In 1909, the university was among the first to start adult continuing education programs and in 1916 it founded the US' first school of public health.Since the 1910s, Johns Hopkins University has famously been a "fertile cradle" to Arthur Lovejoy's history of ideas.Since 1942, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has served as a major governmental defense contractor. In tandem with on-campus research, Johns Hopkins has every year since 1979 had the highest federal research funding of any American university.Professional schools of international affairs and music were established in 1950 and 1977, respectively, when the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore were incorporated into the university.The early decades of the 21st century saw expansion across the university's institutions in both physical and population sizes. Notably, a planned 88-acre expansion to the medical campus began in 2013. Completed construction on the Homewood campus has included a new biomedical engineering building in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering, a new library, a new biology wing, an extensive renovation of the flagship Gilman Hall, and the reconstruction of the main university entrance.These years also brought about the rapid development of the university's professional schools of education and business. From 1999 until 2007, these disciplines had been joined together within the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), itself a reshuffling of several earlier ventures. The 2007 split, combined with new funding and leadership initiatives, has led to the simultaneous emergence of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Carey Business School.On November 18, 2018, it was announced that Michael Bloomberg would make a donation to his alma mater of $1.8 billion, marking the largest private donation in modern history to an institution of higher education and bringing Bloomberg's total contribution to the school in excess of $3.3 billion. Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift allows the school to practice need-blind admission and meet the full financial need of admitted students.In January 2019, the university announced an agreement to purchase the Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the heart of Washington, D.C., with plans to locate all of its D.C.-based graduate programs there. In an interview with The Atlantic, the president of Johns Hopkins stated that “the purchase is an opportunity to position the university, literally, to better contribute its expertise to national- and international-policy discussions.”In late 2019, the university's Coronavirus Research Center began tracking worldwide cases of the COVID-19 pandemic by compiling data from hundreds of sources around the world. This led to the university becoming one of the most cited sources for data about the pandemic.Hopkins was a prominent abolitionist who supported Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. After his death, reports said his conviction was a decisive factor in enrolling Hopkins' first African-American student, Kelly Miller, a graduate student in physics, astronomy and mathematics. As time passed, the university adopted a "separate but equal" stance more like other Baltimore institutions.The first black undergraduate entered the school in 1945 and graduate students followed in 1967. James Nabwangu, a British-trained Kenyan, was the first black graduate of the medical school. African-American instructor and laboratory supervisor Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing and conducting the first successful blue baby operation in 1944. Despite such cases, racial diversity did not become commonplace at Johns Hopkins institutions until the 1960s and 1970s.Hopkins' most well-known battle for women's rights was the one led by daughters of trustees of the university; Mary E. Garrett, M. Carey Thomas, Mamie Gwinn, Elizabeth King, and Julia Rogers. They donated and raised the funds needed to open the medical school, and required Hopkins' officials to agree to their stipulation that women would be admitted. The nursing school opened in 1889 and accepted women and men as students. Other graduate schools were later opened to women by president Ira Remsen in 1907. Christine Ladd-Franklin was the first woman to earn a PhD at Hopkins, in mathematics in 1882. The trustees denied her the degree for decades and refused to change the policy about admitting women. In 1893, Florence Bascomb became the university's first female PhD. The decision to admit women at undergraduate level was not considered until the late 1960s and was eventually adopted in October 1969. As of 2009–2010, the undergraduate population was 47% female and 53% male. In 2020, the undergraduate population of Hopkins was 53% female.On September 5, 2013, cryptographer and Johns Hopkins university professor Matthew Green posted a blog entitled, "On the NSA", in which he contributed to the ongoing debate regarding the role of NIST and NSA in formulating U.S. cryptography standards. On September 9, 2013, Green received a take-down request for the "On the NSA" blog from interim Dean Andrew Douglas from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. The request cited concerns that the blog had links to sensitive material. The blog linked to already published news articles from "The Guardian", "The New York Times" and ProPublica.org. Douglas subsequently issued a personal on-line apology to Green. The event raised concern over the future of academic freedom of speech within the cryptologic research community.The first campus was located on Howard Street. Eventually, they relocated to Homewood, in northern Baltimore, the estate of Charles Carroll, son of the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's Homewood House is considered one of the finest examples of Federal residential architecture. The estate then came to the Wyman family, which participated in making it the park-like main campus of the schools of arts and sciences and engineering at the start of the 20th century. Most of its architecture was modeled after the Federal style of Homewood House. Homewood House is preserved as a museum. Most undergraduate programs are on this campus.Collectively known as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) campus, the East Baltimore facility occupies several city blocks spreading from the Johns Hopkins Hospital trademark dome.The Washington, D.C. campus is on Massachusetts Avenue, towards the Southeastern end of Embassy Row.In 2019, Hopkins announced its purchase of the Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue, three blocks from the United States Capitol to house its D.C. programs and centers. Akin to the Washington, D.C. campus for the School of Arts & Sciences, the APL also is the primary campus for master's degrees in a variety of STEM fields.The Johns Hopkins entity is structured as two corporations, the university and The Johns Hopkins Health System, formed in 1986. The President is JHU's chief executive officer, and the university is organized into nine academic divisions.JHU's bylaws specify a Board of Trustees of between 18 and 65 voting members. Trustees serve six-year terms subject to a two-term limit. The alumni select 12 trustees. Four recent alumni serve 4-year terms, one per year, typically from the graduating class. The bylaws prohibit students, faculty or administrative staff from serving on the Board, except the President as an ex-officio trustee. The Johns Hopkins Health System has a separate Board of Trustees, many of whom are doctors or health care executives.The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is "most selective" with low transfer-in and a high graduate co-existence. The cost of attendance per year is $60,820; however, the average need met is 99%. The university is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities (AAU); it is also a member of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Universities Research Association (URA).JHU's undergraduate education is ranked 9th among U.S. "national universities" by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2021. For medical research "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2020 for 2nd in the U.S. and the Bloomberg School of Public Health 1st. The School of Nursing was ranked 1st nationally for master's degrees. The "QS Top Universities" ranked Johns Hopkins University No. 5 in the world for medicine. , Hopkins ranked No. 1 nationally in receipt of federal research funds, and was the top recipient of NIH research grants in 2019, both in terms of dollar amount and number of grants. In 2020, the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked the No. 3 hospital in the United States by the "U.S. News & World Report" annual ranking of American hospitals.The School of Education is ranked No. 2 nationally by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2017. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) ranked 2nd in the world in Foreign Policy's "Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations" ranking.The university's undergraduate programs are most selective: in 2021, the Office of Admissions accepted about 4.9% of its 33,236 Regular Decision applicants. In 2019, 98% of admitted students graduated in the top tenth of their high school class with a mean unweighted academic GPA of 3.92. The inter-quartile range on the SAT composite score was 1480–1550. In 2013, 96.8% of freshmen returned after the first year and 88% of students graduated in 4 years. Over time, applications to Johns Hopkins University have risen steadily. As a result, the selectivity of Johns Hopkins University has also increased. Early Decision is an option at Johns Hopkins University for students who wish to demonstrate that the university is their first choice. These students, if admitted, are required to enroll. This application is due November 2. Most students, however, apply Regular Decision, which is a traditional non-binding round. These applications are due January 1 and students are notified in late March. In 2014, Johns Hopkins ended legacy preference in admissions.The Johns Hopkins University Library system houses more than 3.6 million volumes and includes ten main divisions across the university's campuses. The largest segment of this system is the Sheridan Libraries, encompassing the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (the main library of the Homewood campus), the Brody Learning Commons, the Hutzler Reading Room ("The Hut") in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at the Peabody Institute campus.The main library, constructed in the 1960s, was named for Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of the university and brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The university's stacks had previously been housed in Gilman Hall and departmental libraries. Only two of the Eisenhower library's six stories are above ground, though the building was designed so that every level receives natural light. The design accords with campus lore that no structure can be taller than Gilman Hall, the flagship academic building. A four-story expansion to the library, known as the Brody Learning Commons, opened in August 2012. The expansion features an energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and includes study spaces, seminar rooms, and a rare books collection.The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. To date the Press has published more than 6,000 titles and currently publishes 65 scholarly periodicals and over 200 new books each year. Since 1993, the Johns Hopkins University Press has run Project MUSE, an online collection of over 250 full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. The Press also houses the Hopkins Fulfilment Services (HFS), which handles distribution for a number of university presses and publishers. Taken together, the three divisions of the Press—Books, Journals (including MUSE) and HFS—make it one of the largest of America's university presses.The Johns Hopkins University also offers the "Center for Talented Youth" program—a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. As part of the Johns Hopkins University, the "Center for Talented Youth" or CTY helps fulfill the university's mission of preparing students to make significant future contributions to the world. The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center (DMC) is a multimedia lab space as well as an equipment, technology and knowledge resource for students interested in exploring creative uses of emerging media and use of technology.Johns Hopkins offers a number of degrees in various undergraduate majors leading to the BA and BS and various majors leading to the MA, MS and Ph.D. for graduate students. Because Hopkins offers both undergraduate and graduate areas of study, many disciplines have multiple degrees available. Biomedical engineering, perhaps one of Hopkins' best-known programs, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins' undergraduate education. About 80 percent of undergraduates perform independent research, often alongside top researchers. In fiscal year 2016, Johns Hopkins spent nearly $2.5 billion on research—more than any other U.S. university for the 38th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has had seventy-seven members of the Institute of Medicine, forty-three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, seventeen members of the National Academy of Engineering, and sixty-two members of the National Academy of Sciences. As of October 2019, 39 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers, with the most recent winners being Gregg Semenza and William G. Kaelin.Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. It attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and produced 54,022 papers under its name, ranking No. 3 globally (after Harvard University and the Max Planck Society) in the number of "total" citations published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over 22 fields in America.In FY 2000, Johns Hopkins received $95.4 million in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making it the leading recipient of NASA research and development funding. In FY 2002, Hopkins became the first university to cross the $1 billion threshold on either list, recording $1.14 billion in total research and $1.023 billion in federally sponsored research. In FY 2008, Johns Hopkins University performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total R&D spending for the 30th year in a row, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) ranking. These totals include grants and expenditures of JHU's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.In 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program was established by a $250 million gift from Michael Bloomberg. This program enables the university to recruit fifty researchers from around the world to joint appointments throughout the nine divisions and research centers. Each professor must be a leader in interdisciplinary research and be active in undergraduate education. Directed by Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz, there are currently thirty two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors at the university, including three Nobel Laureates, eight fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and thirteen members of the National Academies.Charles Village, the region of North Baltimore surrounding the university, has undergone several restoration projects, and the university has gradually bought the property around the school for additional student housing and dormitories. "The Charles Village Project", completed in 2008, brought new commercial spaces to the neighborhood. The project included Charles Commons, a new, modern residence hall that includes popular retail franchises. In 2015, the University began development of new commercial properties, including a modern upperclassmen apartment complex, restaurants and eateries, and a CVS retail store.Hopkins invested in improving campus life with an arts complex in 2001, the Mattin Center, and a three-story sports facility, the O'Connor Recreation Center. The large on-campus dining facilities at Homewood were renovated in the summer of 2006.Quality of life is enriched by the proximity of neighboring academic institutions, including Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), UMBC, Goucher College, and Towson University, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Hampden, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon.Greek life came to Hopkins in 1876 with the charter of fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which still exists on campus today. Since, Johns Hopkins has become home to nine sororities and 11 fraternities. Of the nine sororities, five belong to the National Panhellenic Conference and four to the Multicultural Greek Council Sororities. Of the fraternities, all 11 belong to the Inter-Fraternity Council. Over 1,000 students participate in Greek life, with 23% of women and 20% of men taking part. Greek life has expanded its reach at Hopkins in recent decades, as only 15% of the student body participated in 1989. Rush for all students occurs in the spring. Most fraternities keep houses in Charles Village while sororities do not.Johns Hopkins Greek life has been largely representative of its increasing diversity with the installment of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, in 1991 and Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity in 1994 among others.Spring Fair has been a Johns Hopkins tradition since 1972 and has since grown to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Popular among Hopkins students and Baltimore inhabitants alike, Spring Fair features carnival rides, vendors, food and a beer garden. Since its beginning, Spring Fair has decreased in size, both in regard to attendance and utilization of space. While one point, the Fair attracted upwards of 100,000 people, it became unruly and, for a variety of reasons including safety concerns and a campus beautification project in the early 2000s, had to be scaled back.While it has been speculated that Johns Hopkins has relatively few traditions for a school of its age and that many past traditions have been forgotten, a handful of myths and customs are ubiquitous knowledge among the community. One such long-standing myth surrounds the university seal that is embedded into the floor of the Gilman Hall foyer. The myth holds that any current student to step on the seal will never graduate. In reverence for this tradition, the seal has been fenced off from the rest of the room.An annual event is the "Lighting of the Quad", a ceremony each winter during which the campus is lit up in holiday lights. Recent years have included singing and fireworks.Living on campus is typically required for first- and second-year undergraduates. Freshman housing is centered around Freshman Quad, which consists of three residence hall complexes: The two Alumni Memorial Residences (AMR I and AMR II) plus Buildings A and B. The AMR dormitories are each divided into "houses", subunits named for figures from the university's early history. Freshmen are also housed in Wolman Hall and in certain wings of McCoy Hall, both located slightly outside the campus. Dorms at Hopkins are generally co-ed with same-gender rooms, though a new policy has allowed students to live in mixed-gender rooms since Fall 2014.Students determine where they will live during sophomore year through a housing lottery. Most juniors and seniors move into nearby apartments or row-houses. Non-freshmen in university housing occupy one of four buildings: McCoy Hall, the Bradford Apartments, the Homewood Apartments, and Charles Commons. All are located in Charles Village within a block from the Homewood campus. Forty-five percent of the student body lives off-campus while 55% lives on campus.Athletic teams are called Blue Jays. Even though sable and gold are used for academic robes, the university's athletic colors are Columbia blue (PMS 284) and black. Hopkins celebrates Homecoming in the spring to coincide with the height of the lacrosse season. The men's and women's lacrosse teams are in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and are affiliate members of the Big Ten Conference. Other teams are in Division III and participate in the Centennial Conference. JHU is also home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame, maintained by US Lacrosse.The school's most prominent team is its men's lacrosse team. The team has won 44 national titles – nine Division I (2007, 2005, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1974), 29 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), and six Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) titles. Hopkins' primary national rivals are Princeton University, Syracuse University, and the University of Virginia; its primary intrastate rivals are Loyola University Maryland (competing in what is called the "Charles Street Massacre"), Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland. The rivalry with Maryland is the oldest. The schools have met 111 times since 1899, three times in playoff matches.On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for men's lacrosse when that league begins sponsoring the sport in the 2015 season (2014–15 school year).The women's team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and a former member of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). The Lady Blue Jays were ranked number 18 in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse Women's DI Media Poll. They ranked number 8 in the 2007 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll Division I. The team finished the 2012 season with a 9–9 record and finished the 2013 season with a 10–7 record. They finished the 2014 season 15–5. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for women's lacrosse in the 2017 season (2016–17 school year).Hopkins has notable Division III Athletic teams. JHU Men's Swimming won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 2009–2010, Hopkins won 8 Centennial Conference titles in Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Football, and Men's and Women's Tennis. The Women's Cross Country team became the first women's team at Hopkins to achieve a #1 National ranking. In 2006–2007 teams won Centennial Conference titles in Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Basketball. Women's soccer won their Centennial Conference title for 7 consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. In the 2013–2014 school year, Hopkins earned 12 Centennial Conference titles, most notably from the cross country and track & field teams, which accounted for six.Hopkins has an acclaimed fencing team, which ranked in the top three Division III teams in the past few years and in both 2008 and 2007 defeated the University of North Carolina, a Division I team. In 2008, they defeated UNC and won the MACFA championship.The swimming team ranked highly in NCAA Division III for the last 10 years, most recently placing second at DIII Nationals in 2008. The water polo team was number one in Division III for several of the past years, playing a full schedule against Division I opponents. Hopkins also has a century-old rivalry with McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), playing the Green Terrors 83 times in football since the first game in 1894. In 2009 the football team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, with three tournament appearances since 2005. In 2008, the baseball team ranked second, losing in the final game of the DIII College World Series to Trinity College.The Johns Hopkins squash team plays in the College Squash Association as a club team along with Division I and III varsity programs. In 2011–12 the squash team finished 30th in the ranking., there have been 39 Nobel Laureates who either attended the university as undergraduate or graduate students, or were faculty members. Woodrow Wilson, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1886, was Hopkins' first affiliated laureate, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Twenty-three laureates were faculty members, five earned PhDs, eight earned M.D.s, and Francis Peyton Rous and Martin Rodbell earned undergraduate degrees.As of October 2019, eighteen Johns Hopkins laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Four Nobel Prizes were shared by Johns Hopkins laureates: George Minot and George Whipple won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Four Johns Hopkins laureates won Nobel Prizes in Physics, including Riccardo Giacconi in 2002 and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess in 2011. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Peter Agre was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation are currently the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for "roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis. A previous suit against the United States government was dismissed in 2011 for the Guatemala syphilis experiments when a judge determined that the U.S. government could not be held liable for actions committed outside of the U.S.	[ "Ira Remsen", "Joseph Sweetman Ames", "Ronald J. Daniels", "Milton Stover Eisenhower", "Daniel Nathans", "Isaiah Bowman", "Daniel Coit Gilman", "William C. Richardson", "Lowell Reed", "Steven Muller", "Lincoln Gordon", "Detlev Bronk", "Frank Johnson Goodnow" ]
Who was the chair of Johns Hopkins University in 20-Oct-200320-October-2003?	October 20, 2003	{ "text": [ "William Ralph Brody" ] }	L2_Q193727_P488_12	Steven Muller is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1972 to Jun, 1990. William Ralph Brody is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Aug, 1996 to Mar, 2008. William C. Richardson is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1990 to Jun, 1995. Isaiah Bowman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1935 to Dec, 1948. Daniel Nathans is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jun, 1995 to Aug, 1996. Milton Stover Eisenhower is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1956 to Jun, 1967. Ira Remsen is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1901 to Jan, 1913. Detlev Bronk is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 1949 to Aug, 1953. Joseph Sweetman Ames is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1929 to Jun, 1935. Ronald J. Daniels is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jan, 2009 to Dec, 2022. Lowell Reed is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Sep, 1953 to Jun, 1956. Daniel Coit Gilman is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Feb, 1876 to Aug, 1901. Lincoln Gordon is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Jul, 1967 to Mar, 1971. Frank Johnson Goodnow is the chair of Johns Hopkins University from Oct, 1914 to Jun, 1929.	Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, the university was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins is considered the first research university in the United States. Hopkin's $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time. Daniel Coit Gilman, who was inaugurated as on February 22, 1876, led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research. In 1900, Johns Hopkins became a founding member of the American Association of Universities. The university has since led all U.S. universities in annual research expenditures. Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington, D.C., with international centers in Italy and China. The two undergraduate divisions, the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering, are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. The medical school, nursing school, and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore. The university also consists of the Peabody Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, School of Education, Carey Business School, and various other facilities. The university also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C.As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins' faculty and alumni. Founded in 1883, the Blue Jays men's lacrosse team has captured 44 national titles and plays in the Big Ten Conference as an affiliate member.On his death in 1873, Johns Hopkins, a Quaker entrepreneur and childless bachelor, bequeathed $7 million (approximately $ million today adjusted for consumer price inflation) to fund a hospital and university in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, this donation, generated primarily from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States, and endowment was then the largest in America. Until 2020, Hopkins was assumed to be a fervent abolitionist, until research done by the school into his United States Census records revealed he claimed to own at least five household slaves in the 1840 and 1850 decennial censuses.The first name of philanthropist Johns Hopkins comes from the surname of his great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who married Gerard Hopkins. They named their son Johns Hopkins, who named his own son Samuel Hopkins. Samuel named one of his sons for his father, and that son became the university's benefactor. Milton Eisenhower, a former university president, once spoke at a convention in Pittsburgh where the master of ceremonies introduced him as "President of "John" Hopkins." Eisenhower retorted that he was "glad to be here in "Pitt"burgh."The original board opted for an entirely novel university model dedicated to the discovery of knowledge at an advanced level, extending that of contemporary Germany. Building on the Humboldtian model of higher education, the German education model of Wilhelm von Humboldt, it became dedicated to research. It was especially Heidelberg University and its long academic research history on which the new institution tried to model itself. Johns Hopkins thereby became the model of the modern research university in the United States. Its success eventually shifted higher education in the United States from a focus on teaching revealed and/or applied knowledge to the scientific discovery of new knowledge. The trustees worked alongside four notable university presidents – Charles W. Eliot of Harvard, Andrew D. White of Cornell, Noah Porter of Yale College and James B. Angell of Michigan. They each vouched for Daniel Coit Gilman to lead the new University and he became the university's first president. Gilman, a Yale-educated scholar, had been serving as president of the University of California, Berkeley prior to this appointment. In preparation for the university's founding, Gilman visited University of Freiburg and other German universities.Gilman launched what many at the time considered an audacious and unprecedented academic experiment to merge teaching and research. He dismissed the idea that the two were mutually exclusive: "The best teachers are usually those who are free, competent and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory," he stated. To implement his plan, Gilman recruited internationally known researchers including the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester; the biologist H. Newell Martin; the physicist Henry A. Rowland (the first president of the American Physical Society), the classical scholars Basil Gildersleeve and Charles D. Morris; the economist Richard T. Ely; and the chemist Ira Remsen, who became the second president of the university in 1901.Gilman focused on the expansion of graduate education and support of faculty research. The new university fused advanced scholarship with such professional schools as medicine and engineering. Hopkins became the national trendsetter in doctoral programs and the host for numerous scholarly journals and associations. The Johns Hopkins University Press, founded in 1878, is the oldest American university press in continuous operation.With the completion of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889 and the medical school in 1893, the university's research-focused mode of instruction soon began attracting world-renowned faculty members who would become major figures in the emerging field of academic medicine, including William Osler, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and William Welch. Students came from all over the world to study at Johns Hopkins and returned to their sending country to serve their nation, including Dr Harry Chung (b. 1872) who served as a diplomat in the Manchu Dynasty and First Secretary to the United States. During this period Hopkins made more history by becoming the first medical school to admit women on an equal basis with men and to require a Bachelor's degree, based on the efforts of Mary E. Garrett, who had endowed the school at Gilman's request. The school of medicine was America's first coeducational, graduate-level medical school, and became a prototype for academic medicine that emphasized bedside learning, research projects, and laboratory training. In his will and in his instructions to the trustees of the university and the hospital, Hopkins requested that both institutions be built upon the vast grounds of his Baltimore estate, Clifton. When Gilman assumed the presidency, he decided that it would be best to use the university's endowment for recruiting faculty and students, deciding to, as it has been paraphrased, "build men, not buildings." In his will Hopkins stipulated that none of his endowment should be used for construction; only interest on the principal could be used for this purpose. Unfortunately, stocks in The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which would have generated most of the interest, became virtually worthless soon after Hopkins's death. The university's first home was thus in Downtown Baltimore delaying plans to site the university in Clifton.In the early 20th century, the university outgrew its buildings and the trustees began to search for a new home. Developing Clifton for the university was too costly, and of the estate had to be sold to the city as public park. A solution was achieved by a team of prominent locals who acquired the estate in north Baltimore known as Homewood. On February 22, 1902, this land was formally transferred to the university. The flagship building, Gilman Hall, was completed in 1915. The School of Engineering relocated in Fall of 1914 and the School of Arts and Sciences followed in 1916. These decades saw the ceding of lands by the university for the public Wyman Park and Wyman Park Dell and the Baltimore Museum of Art, coalescing in the contemporary area of .Prior to becoming the main Johns Hopkins campus, the Homewood estate had initially been the gift of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Maryland planter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Carroll Jr. The original structure, the 1801 Homewood House, still stands and serves as an on-campus museum. The brick and marble Federal style of Homewood House became the architectural inspiration for much of the university campus versus the Collegiate Gothic style of other historic American universities.In 1909, the university was among the first to start adult continuing education programs and in 1916 it founded the US' first school of public health.Since the 1910s, Johns Hopkins University has famously been a "fertile cradle" to Arthur Lovejoy's history of ideas.Since 1942, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has served as a major governmental defense contractor. In tandem with on-campus research, Johns Hopkins has every year since 1979 had the highest federal research funding of any American university.Professional schools of international affairs and music were established in 1950 and 1977, respectively, when the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore were incorporated into the university.The early decades of the 21st century saw expansion across the university's institutions in both physical and population sizes. Notably, a planned 88-acre expansion to the medical campus began in 2013. Completed construction on the Homewood campus has included a new biomedical engineering building in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Biomedical Engineering, a new library, a new biology wing, an extensive renovation of the flagship Gilman Hall, and the reconstruction of the main university entrance.These years also brought about the rapid development of the university's professional schools of education and business. From 1999 until 2007, these disciplines had been joined together within the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), itself a reshuffling of several earlier ventures. The 2007 split, combined with new funding and leadership initiatives, has led to the simultaneous emergence of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Carey Business School.On November 18, 2018, it was announced that Michael Bloomberg would make a donation to his alma mater of $1.8 billion, marking the largest private donation in modern history to an institution of higher education and bringing Bloomberg's total contribution to the school in excess of $3.3 billion. Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift allows the school to practice need-blind admission and meet the full financial need of admitted students.In January 2019, the university announced an agreement to purchase the Newseum, located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in the heart of Washington, D.C., with plans to locate all of its D.C.-based graduate programs there. In an interview with The Atlantic, the president of Johns Hopkins stated that “the purchase is an opportunity to position the university, literally, to better contribute its expertise to national- and international-policy discussions.”In late 2019, the university's Coronavirus Research Center began tracking worldwide cases of the COVID-19 pandemic by compiling data from hundreds of sources around the world. This led to the university becoming one of the most cited sources for data about the pandemic.Hopkins was a prominent abolitionist who supported Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. After his death, reports said his conviction was a decisive factor in enrolling Hopkins' first African-American student, Kelly Miller, a graduate student in physics, astronomy and mathematics. As time passed, the university adopted a "separate but equal" stance more like other Baltimore institutions.The first black undergraduate entered the school in 1945 and graduate students followed in 1967. James Nabwangu, a British-trained Kenyan, was the first black graduate of the medical school. African-American instructor and laboratory supervisor Vivien Thomas was instrumental in developing and conducting the first successful blue baby operation in 1944. Despite such cases, racial diversity did not become commonplace at Johns Hopkins institutions until the 1960s and 1970s.Hopkins' most well-known battle for women's rights was the one led by daughters of trustees of the university; Mary E. Garrett, M. Carey Thomas, Mamie Gwinn, Elizabeth King, and Julia Rogers. They donated and raised the funds needed to open the medical school, and required Hopkins' officials to agree to their stipulation that women would be admitted. The nursing school opened in 1889 and accepted women and men as students. Other graduate schools were later opened to women by president Ira Remsen in 1907. Christine Ladd-Franklin was the first woman to earn a PhD at Hopkins, in mathematics in 1882. The trustees denied her the degree for decades and refused to change the policy about admitting women. In 1893, Florence Bascomb became the university's first female PhD. The decision to admit women at undergraduate level was not considered until the late 1960s and was eventually adopted in October 1969. As of 2009–2010, the undergraduate population was 47% female and 53% male. In 2020, the undergraduate population of Hopkins was 53% female.On September 5, 2013, cryptographer and Johns Hopkins university professor Matthew Green posted a blog entitled, "On the NSA", in which he contributed to the ongoing debate regarding the role of NIST and NSA in formulating U.S. cryptography standards. On September 9, 2013, Green received a take-down request for the "On the NSA" blog from interim Dean Andrew Douglas from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. The request cited concerns that the blog had links to sensitive material. The blog linked to already published news articles from "The Guardian", "The New York Times" and ProPublica.org. Douglas subsequently issued a personal on-line apology to Green. The event raised concern over the future of academic freedom of speech within the cryptologic research community.The first campus was located on Howard Street. Eventually, they relocated to Homewood, in northern Baltimore, the estate of Charles Carroll, son of the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's Homewood House is considered one of the finest examples of Federal residential architecture. The estate then came to the Wyman family, which participated in making it the park-like main campus of the schools of arts and sciences and engineering at the start of the 20th century. Most of its architecture was modeled after the Federal style of Homewood House. Homewood House is preserved as a museum. Most undergraduate programs are on this campus.Collectively known as Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) campus, the East Baltimore facility occupies several city blocks spreading from the Johns Hopkins Hospital trademark dome.The Washington, D.C. campus is on Massachusetts Avenue, towards the Southeastern end of Embassy Row.In 2019, Hopkins announced its purchase of the Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue, three blocks from the United States Capitol to house its D.C. programs and centers. Akin to the Washington, D.C. campus for the School of Arts & Sciences, the APL also is the primary campus for master's degrees in a variety of STEM fields.The Johns Hopkins entity is structured as two corporations, the university and The Johns Hopkins Health System, formed in 1986. The President is JHU's chief executive officer, and the university is organized into nine academic divisions.JHU's bylaws specify a Board of Trustees of between 18 and 65 voting members. Trustees serve six-year terms subject to a two-term limit. The alumni select 12 trustees. Four recent alumni serve 4-year terms, one per year, typically from the graduating class. The bylaws prohibit students, faculty or administrative staff from serving on the Board, except the President as an ex-officio trustee. The Johns Hopkins Health System has a separate Board of Trustees, many of whom are doctors or health care executives.The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is "most selective" with low transfer-in and a high graduate co-existence. The cost of attendance per year is $60,820; however, the average need met is 99%. The university is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities (AAU); it is also a member of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Universities Research Association (URA).JHU's undergraduate education is ranked 9th among U.S. "national universities" by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2021. For medical research "U.S. News & World Report" ranks the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2020 for 2nd in the U.S. and the Bloomberg School of Public Health 1st. The School of Nursing was ranked 1st nationally for master's degrees. The "QS Top Universities" ranked Johns Hopkins University No. 5 in the world for medicine. , Hopkins ranked No. 1 nationally in receipt of federal research funds, and was the top recipient of NIH research grants in 2019, both in terms of dollar amount and number of grants. In 2020, the Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked the No. 3 hospital in the United States by the "U.S. News & World Report" annual ranking of American hospitals.The School of Education is ranked No. 2 nationally by "U.S. News & World Report" for 2017. In 2015, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) ranked 2nd in the world in Foreign Policy's "Top Master's Programs for Policy Career in International Relations" ranking.The university's undergraduate programs are most selective: in 2021, the Office of Admissions accepted about 4.9% of its 33,236 Regular Decision applicants. In 2019, 98% of admitted students graduated in the top tenth of their high school class with a mean unweighted academic GPA of 3.92. The inter-quartile range on the SAT composite score was 1480–1550. In 2013, 96.8% of freshmen returned after the first year and 88% of students graduated in 4 years. Over time, applications to Johns Hopkins University have risen steadily. As a result, the selectivity of Johns Hopkins University has also increased. Early Decision is an option at Johns Hopkins University for students who wish to demonstrate that the university is their first choice. These students, if admitted, are required to enroll. This application is due November 2. Most students, however, apply Regular Decision, which is a traditional non-binding round. These applications are due January 1 and students are notified in late March. In 2014, Johns Hopkins ended legacy preference in admissions.The Johns Hopkins University Library system houses more than 3.6 million volumes and includes ten main divisions across the university's campuses. The largest segment of this system is the Sheridan Libraries, encompassing the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (the main library of the Homewood campus), the Brody Learning Commons, the Hutzler Reading Room ("The Hut") in Gilman Hall, the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen House, and the George Peabody Library at the Peabody Institute campus.The main library, constructed in the 1960s, was named for Milton S. Eisenhower, former president of the university and brother of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. The university's stacks had previously been housed in Gilman Hall and departmental libraries. Only two of the Eisenhower library's six stories are above ground, though the building was designed so that every level receives natural light. The design accords with campus lore that no structure can be taller than Gilman Hall, the flagship academic building. A four-story expansion to the library, known as the Brody Learning Commons, opened in August 2012. The expansion features an energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and includes study spaces, seminar rooms, and a rare books collection.The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. To date the Press has published more than 6,000 titles and currently publishes 65 scholarly periodicals and over 200 new books each year. Since 1993, the Johns Hopkins University Press has run Project MUSE, an online collection of over 250 full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. The Press also houses the Hopkins Fulfilment Services (HFS), which handles distribution for a number of university presses and publishers. Taken together, the three divisions of the Press—Books, Journals (including MUSE) and HFS—make it one of the largest of America's university presses.The Johns Hopkins University also offers the "Center for Talented Youth" program—a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. As part of the Johns Hopkins University, the "Center for Talented Youth" or CTY helps fulfill the university's mission of preparing students to make significant future contributions to the world. The Johns Hopkins Digital Media Center (DMC) is a multimedia lab space as well as an equipment, technology and knowledge resource for students interested in exploring creative uses of emerging media and use of technology.Johns Hopkins offers a number of degrees in various undergraduate majors leading to the BA and BS and various majors leading to the MA, MS and Ph.D. for graduate students. Because Hopkins offers both undergraduate and graduate areas of study, many disciplines have multiple degrees available. Biomedical engineering, perhaps one of Hopkins' best-known programs, offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins' undergraduate education. About 80 percent of undergraduates perform independent research, often alongside top researchers. In fiscal year 2016, Johns Hopkins spent nearly $2.5 billion on research—more than any other U.S. university for the 38th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has had seventy-seven members of the Institute of Medicine, forty-three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, seventeen members of the National Academy of Engineering, and sixty-two members of the National Academy of Sciences. As of October 2019, 39 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers, with the most recent winners being Gregg Semenza and William G. Kaelin.Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. It attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and produced 54,022 papers under its name, ranking No. 3 globally (after Harvard University and the Max Planck Society) in the number of "total" citations published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over 22 fields in America.In FY 2000, Johns Hopkins received $95.4 million in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making it the leading recipient of NASA research and development funding. In FY 2002, Hopkins became the first university to cross the $1 billion threshold on either list, recording $1.14 billion in total research and $1.023 billion in federally sponsored research. In FY 2008, Johns Hopkins University performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total R&D spending for the 30th year in a row, according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) ranking. These totals include grants and expenditures of JHU's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.In 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program was established by a $250 million gift from Michael Bloomberg. This program enables the university to recruit fifty researchers from around the world to joint appointments throughout the nine divisions and research centers. Each professor must be a leader in interdisciplinary research and be active in undergraduate education. Directed by Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz, there are currently thirty two Bloomberg Distinguished Professors at the university, including three Nobel Laureates, eight fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and thirteen members of the National Academies.Charles Village, the region of North Baltimore surrounding the university, has undergone several restoration projects, and the university has gradually bought the property around the school for additional student housing and dormitories. "The Charles Village Project", completed in 2008, brought new commercial spaces to the neighborhood. The project included Charles Commons, a new, modern residence hall that includes popular retail franchises. In 2015, the University began development of new commercial properties, including a modern upperclassmen apartment complex, restaurants and eateries, and a CVS retail store.Hopkins invested in improving campus life with an arts complex in 2001, the Mattin Center, and a three-story sports facility, the O'Connor Recreation Center. The large on-campus dining facilities at Homewood were renovated in the summer of 2006.Quality of life is enriched by the proximity of neighboring academic institutions, including Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), UMBC, Goucher College, and Towson University, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Hampden, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Mount Vernon.Greek life came to Hopkins in 1876 with the charter of fraternity Beta Theta Pi, which still exists on campus today. Since, Johns Hopkins has become home to nine sororities and 11 fraternities. Of the nine sororities, five belong to the National Panhellenic Conference and four to the Multicultural Greek Council Sororities. Of the fraternities, all 11 belong to the Inter-Fraternity Council. Over 1,000 students participate in Greek life, with 23% of women and 20% of men taking part. Greek life has expanded its reach at Hopkins in recent decades, as only 15% of the student body participated in 1989. Rush for all students occurs in the spring. Most fraternities keep houses in Charles Village while sororities do not.Johns Hopkins Greek life has been largely representative of its increasing diversity with the installment of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, in 1991 and Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity in 1994 among others.Spring Fair has been a Johns Hopkins tradition since 1972 and has since grown to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Popular among Hopkins students and Baltimore inhabitants alike, Spring Fair features carnival rides, vendors, food and a beer garden. Since its beginning, Spring Fair has decreased in size, both in regard to attendance and utilization of space. While one point, the Fair attracted upwards of 100,000 people, it became unruly and, for a variety of reasons including safety concerns and a campus beautification project in the early 2000s, had to be scaled back.While it has been speculated that Johns Hopkins has relatively few traditions for a school of its age and that many past traditions have been forgotten, a handful of myths and customs are ubiquitous knowledge among the community. One such long-standing myth surrounds the university seal that is embedded into the floor of the Gilman Hall foyer. The myth holds that any current student to step on the seal will never graduate. In reverence for this tradition, the seal has been fenced off from the rest of the room.An annual event is the "Lighting of the Quad", a ceremony each winter during which the campus is lit up in holiday lights. Recent years have included singing and fireworks.Living on campus is typically required for first- and second-year undergraduates. Freshman housing is centered around Freshman Quad, which consists of three residence hall complexes: The two Alumni Memorial Residences (AMR I and AMR II) plus Buildings A and B. The AMR dormitories are each divided into "houses", subunits named for figures from the university's early history. Freshmen are also housed in Wolman Hall and in certain wings of McCoy Hall, both located slightly outside the campus. Dorms at Hopkins are generally co-ed with same-gender rooms, though a new policy has allowed students to live in mixed-gender rooms since Fall 2014.Students determine where they will live during sophomore year through a housing lottery. Most juniors and seniors move into nearby apartments or row-houses. Non-freshmen in university housing occupy one of four buildings: McCoy Hall, the Bradford Apartments, the Homewood Apartments, and Charles Commons. All are located in Charles Village within a block from the Homewood campus. Forty-five percent of the student body lives off-campus while 55% lives on campus.Athletic teams are called Blue Jays. Even though sable and gold are used for academic robes, the university's athletic colors are Columbia blue (PMS 284) and black. Hopkins celebrates Homecoming in the spring to coincide with the height of the lacrosse season. The men's and women's lacrosse teams are in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and are affiliate members of the Big Ten Conference. Other teams are in Division III and participate in the Centennial Conference. JHU is also home to the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame, maintained by US Lacrosse.The school's most prominent team is its men's lacrosse team. The team has won 44 national titles – nine Division I (2007, 2005, 1987, 1985, 1984, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1974), 29 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), and six Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) titles. Hopkins' primary national rivals are Princeton University, Syracuse University, and the University of Virginia; its primary intrastate rivals are Loyola University Maryland (competing in what is called the "Charles Street Massacre"), Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and the University of Maryland. The rivalry with Maryland is the oldest. The schools have met 111 times since 1899, three times in playoff matches.On June 3, 2013, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for men's lacrosse when that league begins sponsoring the sport in the 2015 season (2014–15 school year).The women's team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and a former member of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). The Lady Blue Jays were ranked number 18 in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse Women's DI Media Poll. They ranked number 8 in the 2007 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll Division I. The team finished the 2012 season with a 9–9 record and finished the 2013 season with a 10–7 record. They finished the 2014 season 15–5. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that the Blue Jays would join the Big Ten Conference for women's lacrosse in the 2017 season (2016–17 school year).Hopkins has notable Division III Athletic teams. JHU Men's Swimming won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 2009–2010, Hopkins won 8 Centennial Conference titles in Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field, Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Football, and Men's and Women's Tennis. The Women's Cross Country team became the first women's team at Hopkins to achieve a #1 National ranking. In 2006–2007 teams won Centennial Conference titles in Baseball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's Basketball. Women's soccer won their Centennial Conference title for 7 consecutive years from 2005 to 2011. In the 2013–2014 school year, Hopkins earned 12 Centennial Conference titles, most notably from the cross country and track & field teams, which accounted for six.Hopkins has an acclaimed fencing team, which ranked in the top three Division III teams in the past few years and in both 2008 and 2007 defeated the University of North Carolina, a Division I team. In 2008, they defeated UNC and won the MACFA championship.The swimming team ranked highly in NCAA Division III for the last 10 years, most recently placing second at DIII Nationals in 2008. The water polo team was number one in Division III for several of the past years, playing a full schedule against Division I opponents. Hopkins also has a century-old rivalry with McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), playing the Green Terrors 83 times in football since the first game in 1894. In 2009 the football team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament, with three tournament appearances since 2005. In 2008, the baseball team ranked second, losing in the final game of the DIII College World Series to Trinity College.The Johns Hopkins squash team plays in the College Squash Association as a club team along with Division I and III varsity programs. In 2011–12 the squash team finished 30th in the ranking., there have been 39 Nobel Laureates who either attended the university as undergraduate or graduate students, or were faculty members. Woodrow Wilson, who received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1886, was Hopkins' first affiliated laureate, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Twenty-three laureates were faculty members, five earned PhDs, eight earned M.D.s, and Francis Peyton Rous and Martin Rodbell earned undergraduate degrees.As of October 2019, eighteen Johns Hopkins laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Four Nobel Prizes were shared by Johns Hopkins laureates: George Minot and George Whipple won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Four Johns Hopkins laureates won Nobel Prizes in Physics, including Riccardo Giacconi in 2002 and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Adam Riess in 2011. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Peter Agre was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University and the Rockefeller Foundation are currently the subject of a $1 billion lawsuit from Guatemala for "roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis. A previous suit against the United States government was dismissed in 2011 for the Guatemala syphilis experiments when a judge determined that the U.S. government could not be held liable for actions committed outside of the U.S.	[ "Ira Remsen", "Joseph Sweetman Ames", "Ronald J. Daniels", "Milton Stover Eisenhower", "Daniel Nathans", "Isaiah Bowman", "Daniel Coit Gilman", "William C. Richardson", "Lowell Reed", "Steven Muller", "Lincoln Gordon", "Detlev Bronk", "Frank Johnson Goodnow" ]
Which team did Moumouni Dagano play for in Jan, 1998?	January 01, 1998	{ "text": [ "Stella Club d'Adjamé", "Burkina Faso national football team", "Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso" ] }	L2_Q725452_P54_2	Moumouni Dagano plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2008. Moumouni Dagano plays for Beerschot A.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2001. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Duhail SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for Stella Club d'Adjamé from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1998. Moumouni Dagano plays for Burkina Faso national football team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for Qatar SC from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Shamal Sports Club from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 2000. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Khor Sports Club from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for En Avant de Guingamp from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Sailiya SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for K.R.C. Genk from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Moumouni Dagano plays for Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1999.	Moumouni DaganoBeli Moumouni Dagano (born 1 January 1981) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he represented the Burkina Faso national team.Dagano began his career at Ivorian side Stella Club d'Adjamé, based in Abidjan. In 1999, he moved back to his homeland, with Etoile Filante, before making his move to Europe a year later, with Belgian side Germinal Beerschot. After an impressive season with Germinal, Dagano moved to Genk, where he won the Ebony Shoe and scored 19 goals as the club won the league title for only the second time in its history, before spells in France, with Guingamp and FC Sochaux. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. Dagano scored Sochaux's first goal as they drew 2–2 with Marseille, before winning on penalties. In 2008, he joined Al-Khor. He later left Al Khor for Al Sailiya two years later, but the club was subsequently relegated despite Dagano's impressive goal scoring record.He rejoined his former club Al-Khor and made his league debut on 18 September, scoring two free-kick goals and securing the victory for his team against newly promoted club Al Jaish.On 31 January, following Aruna Dindane's exit to Al-Gharafa, Lekhwiya immediately signed Dagano as Dindane's replacement.On 28 May 2012, Dagano joined newly promoted Qatari club Al-Sailiya for the 2012–13 Qatari season.Dagano made his international debut in 1998. He was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.He was the joint top goalscorer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with 12 goals along with Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau.	[ "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club" ]
Which team did Moumouni Dagano play for in 1998-01-01?	January 01, 1998	{ "text": [ "Stella Club d'Adjamé", "Burkina Faso national football team", "Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso" ] }	L2_Q725452_P54_2	Moumouni Dagano plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2008. Moumouni Dagano plays for Beerschot A.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2001. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Duhail SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for Stella Club d'Adjamé from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1998. Moumouni Dagano plays for Burkina Faso national football team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for Qatar SC from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Shamal Sports Club from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 2000. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Khor Sports Club from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for En Avant de Guingamp from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Sailiya SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for K.R.C. Genk from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Moumouni Dagano plays for Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1999.	Moumouni DaganoBeli Moumouni Dagano (born 1 January 1981) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he represented the Burkina Faso national team.Dagano began his career at Ivorian side Stella Club d'Adjamé, based in Abidjan. In 1999, he moved back to his homeland, with Etoile Filante, before making his move to Europe a year later, with Belgian side Germinal Beerschot. After an impressive season with Germinal, Dagano moved to Genk, where he won the Ebony Shoe and scored 19 goals as the club won the league title for only the second time in its history, before spells in France, with Guingamp and FC Sochaux. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. Dagano scored Sochaux's first goal as they drew 2–2 with Marseille, before winning on penalties. In 2008, he joined Al-Khor. He later left Al Khor for Al Sailiya two years later, but the club was subsequently relegated despite Dagano's impressive goal scoring record.He rejoined his former club Al-Khor and made his league debut on 18 September, scoring two free-kick goals and securing the victory for his team against newly promoted club Al Jaish.On 31 January, following Aruna Dindane's exit to Al-Gharafa, Lekhwiya immediately signed Dagano as Dindane's replacement.On 28 May 2012, Dagano joined newly promoted Qatari club Al-Sailiya for the 2012–13 Qatari season.Dagano made his international debut in 1998. He was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.He was the joint top goalscorer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with 12 goals along with Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau.	[ "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club" ]
Which team did Moumouni Dagano play for in 01/01/1998?	January 01, 1998	{ "text": [ "Stella Club d'Adjamé", "Burkina Faso national football team", "Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso" ] }	L2_Q725452_P54_2	Moumouni Dagano plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2008. Moumouni Dagano plays for Beerschot A.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2001. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Duhail SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for Stella Club d'Adjamé from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1998. Moumouni Dagano plays for Burkina Faso national football team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for Qatar SC from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Shamal Sports Club from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 2000. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Khor Sports Club from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for En Avant de Guingamp from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Sailiya SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for K.R.C. Genk from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Moumouni Dagano plays for Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1999.	Moumouni DaganoBeli Moumouni Dagano (born 1 January 1981) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he represented the Burkina Faso national team.Dagano began his career at Ivorian side Stella Club d'Adjamé, based in Abidjan. In 1999, he moved back to his homeland, with Etoile Filante, before making his move to Europe a year later, with Belgian side Germinal Beerschot. After an impressive season with Germinal, Dagano moved to Genk, where he won the Ebony Shoe and scored 19 goals as the club won the league title for only the second time in its history, before spells in France, with Guingamp and FC Sochaux. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. Dagano scored Sochaux's first goal as they drew 2–2 with Marseille, before winning on penalties. In 2008, he joined Al-Khor. He later left Al Khor for Al Sailiya two years later, but the club was subsequently relegated despite Dagano's impressive goal scoring record.He rejoined his former club Al-Khor and made his league debut on 18 September, scoring two free-kick goals and securing the victory for his team against newly promoted club Al Jaish.On 31 January, following Aruna Dindane's exit to Al-Gharafa, Lekhwiya immediately signed Dagano as Dindane's replacement.On 28 May 2012, Dagano joined newly promoted Qatari club Al-Sailiya for the 2012–13 Qatari season.Dagano made his international debut in 1998. He was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.He was the joint top goalscorer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with 12 goals along with Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau.	[ "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club" ]
Which team did Moumouni Dagano play for in Jan 01, 1998?	January 01, 1998	{ "text": [ "Stella Club d'Adjamé", "Burkina Faso national football team", "Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso" ] }	L2_Q725452_P54_2	Moumouni Dagano plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2008. Moumouni Dagano plays for Beerschot A.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2001. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Duhail SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for Stella Club d'Adjamé from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1998. Moumouni Dagano plays for Burkina Faso national football team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for Qatar SC from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Shamal Sports Club from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 2000. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Khor Sports Club from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for En Avant de Guingamp from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Sailiya SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for K.R.C. Genk from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Moumouni Dagano plays for Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1999.	Moumouni DaganoBeli Moumouni Dagano (born 1 January 1981) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he represented the Burkina Faso national team.Dagano began his career at Ivorian side Stella Club d'Adjamé, based in Abidjan. In 1999, he moved back to his homeland, with Etoile Filante, before making his move to Europe a year later, with Belgian side Germinal Beerschot. After an impressive season with Germinal, Dagano moved to Genk, where he won the Ebony Shoe and scored 19 goals as the club won the league title for only the second time in its history, before spells in France, with Guingamp and FC Sochaux. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. Dagano scored Sochaux's first goal as they drew 2–2 with Marseille, before winning on penalties. In 2008, he joined Al-Khor. He later left Al Khor for Al Sailiya two years later, but the club was subsequently relegated despite Dagano's impressive goal scoring record.He rejoined his former club Al-Khor and made his league debut on 18 September, scoring two free-kick goals and securing the victory for his team against newly promoted club Al Jaish.On 31 January, following Aruna Dindane's exit to Al-Gharafa, Lekhwiya immediately signed Dagano as Dindane's replacement.On 28 May 2012, Dagano joined newly promoted Qatari club Al-Sailiya for the 2012–13 Qatari season.Dagano made his international debut in 1998. He was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.He was the joint top goalscorer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with 12 goals along with Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau.	[ "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club" ]
Which team did Moumouni Dagano play for in 01/01/1998?	January 01, 1998	{ "text": [ "Stella Club d'Adjamé", "Burkina Faso national football team", "Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso" ] }	L2_Q725452_P54_2	Moumouni Dagano plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2008. Moumouni Dagano plays for Beerschot A.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2001. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Duhail SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for Stella Club d'Adjamé from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1998. Moumouni Dagano plays for Burkina Faso national football team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for Qatar SC from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Shamal Sports Club from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 2000. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Khor Sports Club from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for En Avant de Guingamp from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Sailiya SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for K.R.C. Genk from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Moumouni Dagano plays for Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1999.	Moumouni DaganoBeli Moumouni Dagano (born 1 January 1981) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he represented the Burkina Faso national team.Dagano began his career at Ivorian side Stella Club d'Adjamé, based in Abidjan. In 1999, he moved back to his homeland, with Etoile Filante, before making his move to Europe a year later, with Belgian side Germinal Beerschot. After an impressive season with Germinal, Dagano moved to Genk, where he won the Ebony Shoe and scored 19 goals as the club won the league title for only the second time in its history, before spells in France, with Guingamp and FC Sochaux. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. Dagano scored Sochaux's first goal as they drew 2–2 with Marseille, before winning on penalties. In 2008, he joined Al-Khor. He later left Al Khor for Al Sailiya two years later, but the club was subsequently relegated despite Dagano's impressive goal scoring record.He rejoined his former club Al-Khor and made his league debut on 18 September, scoring two free-kick goals and securing the victory for his team against newly promoted club Al Jaish.On 31 January, following Aruna Dindane's exit to Al-Gharafa, Lekhwiya immediately signed Dagano as Dindane's replacement.On 28 May 2012, Dagano joined newly promoted Qatari club Al-Sailiya for the 2012–13 Qatari season.Dagano made his international debut in 1998. He was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.He was the joint top goalscorer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with 12 goals along with Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau.	[ "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club" ]
Which team did Moumouni Dagano play for in 01-Jan-199801-January-1998?	January 01, 1998	{ "text": [ "Stella Club d'Adjamé", "Burkina Faso national football team", "Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso" ] }	L2_Q725452_P54_2	Moumouni Dagano plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2008. Moumouni Dagano plays for Beerschot A.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2001. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Duhail SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for Stella Club d'Adjamé from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1998. Moumouni Dagano plays for Burkina Faso national football team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for Qatar SC from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Shamal Sports Club from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2015. Moumouni Dagano plays for Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 2000. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Khor Sports Club from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2012. Moumouni Dagano plays for En Avant de Guingamp from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Moumouni Dagano plays for Al-Sailiya SC from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2014. Moumouni Dagano plays for K.R.C. Genk from Jan, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Moumouni Dagano plays for Jeunesse Club de Bobo Dioulasso from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 1999.	Moumouni DaganoBeli Moumouni Dagano (born 1 January 1981) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he represented the Burkina Faso national team.Dagano began his career at Ivorian side Stella Club d'Adjamé, based in Abidjan. In 1999, he moved back to his homeland, with Etoile Filante, before making his move to Europe a year later, with Belgian side Germinal Beerschot. After an impressive season with Germinal, Dagano moved to Genk, where he won the Ebony Shoe and scored 19 goals as the club won the league title for only the second time in its history, before spells in France, with Guingamp and FC Sochaux. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. Dagano scored Sochaux's first goal as they drew 2–2 with Marseille, before winning on penalties. In 2008, he joined Al-Khor. He later left Al Khor for Al Sailiya two years later, but the club was subsequently relegated despite Dagano's impressive goal scoring record.He rejoined his former club Al-Khor and made his league debut on 18 September, scoring two free-kick goals and securing the victory for his team against newly promoted club Al Jaish.On 31 January, following Aruna Dindane's exit to Al-Gharafa, Lekhwiya immediately signed Dagano as Dindane's replacement.On 28 May 2012, Dagano joined newly promoted Qatari club Al-Sailiya for the 2012–13 Qatari season.Dagano made his international debut in 1998. He was a member of the Burkinabé 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.He was the joint top goalscorer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with 12 goals along with Fijian striker Osea Vakatalesau.	[ "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club", "Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou", "Al-Duhail SC", "Beerschot A.C.", "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard", "K.R.C. Genk", "Al-Khor Sports Club", "Al-Sailiya SC", "Qatar SC", "En Avant de Guingamp", "Al-Shamal Sports Club" ]
Which team did Ronaldinho play for in Jul, 2008?	July 16, 2008	{ "text": [ "Santos F.C" ] }	L2_Q4118453_P54_0	Ronaldinho plays for Udinese Calcio from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Ronaldinho plays for Figueirense Futebol Clube from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for Varese Calcio from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2011. Ronaldinho plays for Real Madrid Fc from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Guaratinguetá Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Vicenza Calcio from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Atlética Ponte Preta from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2015. Ronaldinho plays for ABC Futebol Clube from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Chapecoense de Futebol from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for E.C. Vitória from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Ronaldinho plays for Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Santos F.C from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2009.	Alemão (footballer, born 1989)José Carlos Tofolo Júnior, commonly known as Alemão (born 2 March 1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Jaraguá. He also holds Italian nationality.Alemão started his career at Santos, and signed a professional contract with club in 2005. He made his first team debut on 31 January 2008, starting in a 1–2 Campeonato Paulista loss against Grêmio Barueri, due to Kléber Pereira's injury. Alemão scored his first goal for "Peixe" four days later, in a 1–1 draw against Paulista FC.In July 2008 he was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a reported free transfer, with performance based fees. However, Alemão was not registered in Lega Calcio as the club did not had an extra non-EU signing quota (Udinese signed Ricardo Chará, Dušan Basta, Alexis Sánchez and Odion Ighalo that season but only the last 2 were officially registered in the League Office). Santos also submitted a new contract to Brazilian Football Confederation BID-E system to document a new contract which last until 2011 on 28 July. Alemão was only officially signed for Udinese in June 2009, and never appeared for Santos neither in 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A nor 2009 Campeonato Paulista, due to a dispute with the club's board.With Udinese, Alemão played for its Primavera under-20 team as an overage player. In July 2010 he was sold to Serie B club Vicenza in co-ownership deal, for €400,000. Alemão made his debut abroad on 20 August 2010, replacing Alain Baclet in the 66th minute of a 0–2 Serie B loss against Atalanta.On 31 January 2011, he was swapped with Marco Cellini of Varese. In June 2011 Udinese gave up the remain 50% registration rights for free.In January 2012 Alemão returned to Brazil, signing a temporary deal with Grêmio Catanduvense. He moved to Guaratinguetá until December in mid-2012. After scoring regularly he moved to neighbouring Ponte Preta.After only appearing sparingly in 2013 Série A, Alemão was loaned to fellow league team Vitória. He subsequently was loaned to Chapecoense and Portuguesa in the following year, he scored 8 goals in total in Serie league and State league.On 12 December 2014 Alemão signed for Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He got 3 goals and 4 assists during 14 games but Figueirense wants him to play in the club In 2015, he returned to Brazil again for Figueirense. He then signed by ABC Futebol Clube and Ribeirão Preto based Botafogo Futebol Clube.In 2016, he moved to Europe again for Dutch club FC Eindhoven.	[ "Real Madrid Fc", "Associação Chapecoense de Futebol", "Figueirense Futebol Clube", "Guaratinguetá Futebol", "Udinese Calcio", "E.C. Vitória", "ABC Futebol Clube", "Associação Atlética Ponte Preta", "Associação Portuguesa de Desportos", "Vicenza Calcio", "Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol", "Varese Calcio" ]
Which team did Ronaldinho play for in 2008-07-16?	July 16, 2008	{ "text": [ "Santos F.C" ] }	L2_Q4118453_P54_0	Ronaldinho plays for Udinese Calcio from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Ronaldinho plays for Figueirense Futebol Clube from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for Varese Calcio from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2011. Ronaldinho plays for Real Madrid Fc from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Guaratinguetá Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Vicenza Calcio from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Atlética Ponte Preta from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2015. Ronaldinho plays for ABC Futebol Clube from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Chapecoense de Futebol from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for E.C. Vitória from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Ronaldinho plays for Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Santos F.C from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2009.	Alemão (footballer, born 1989)José Carlos Tofolo Júnior, commonly known as Alemão (born 2 March 1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Jaraguá. He also holds Italian nationality.Alemão started his career at Santos, and signed a professional contract with club in 2005. He made his first team debut on 31 January 2008, starting in a 1–2 Campeonato Paulista loss against Grêmio Barueri, due to Kléber Pereira's injury. Alemão scored his first goal for "Peixe" four days later, in a 1–1 draw against Paulista FC.In July 2008 he was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a reported free transfer, with performance based fees. However, Alemão was not registered in Lega Calcio as the club did not had an extra non-EU signing quota (Udinese signed Ricardo Chará, Dušan Basta, Alexis Sánchez and Odion Ighalo that season but only the last 2 were officially registered in the League Office). Santos also submitted a new contract to Brazilian Football Confederation BID-E system to document a new contract which last until 2011 on 28 July. Alemão was only officially signed for Udinese in June 2009, and never appeared for Santos neither in 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A nor 2009 Campeonato Paulista, due to a dispute with the club's board.With Udinese, Alemão played for its Primavera under-20 team as an overage player. In July 2010 he was sold to Serie B club Vicenza in co-ownership deal, for €400,000. Alemão made his debut abroad on 20 August 2010, replacing Alain Baclet in the 66th minute of a 0–2 Serie B loss against Atalanta.On 31 January 2011, he was swapped with Marco Cellini of Varese. In June 2011 Udinese gave up the remain 50% registration rights for free.In January 2012 Alemão returned to Brazil, signing a temporary deal with Grêmio Catanduvense. He moved to Guaratinguetá until December in mid-2012. After scoring regularly he moved to neighbouring Ponte Preta.After only appearing sparingly in 2013 Série A, Alemão was loaned to fellow league team Vitória. He subsequently was loaned to Chapecoense and Portuguesa in the following year, he scored 8 goals in total in Serie league and State league.On 12 December 2014 Alemão signed for Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He got 3 goals and 4 assists during 14 games but Figueirense wants him to play in the club In 2015, he returned to Brazil again for Figueirense. He then signed by ABC Futebol Clube and Ribeirão Preto based Botafogo Futebol Clube.In 2016, he moved to Europe again for Dutch club FC Eindhoven.	[ "Real Madrid Fc", "Associação Chapecoense de Futebol", "Figueirense Futebol Clube", "Guaratinguetá Futebol", "Udinese Calcio", "E.C. Vitória", "ABC Futebol Clube", "Associação Atlética Ponte Preta", "Associação Portuguesa de Desportos", "Vicenza Calcio", "Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol", "Varese Calcio" ]
Which team did Ronaldinho play for in 16/07/2008?	July 16, 2008	{ "text": [ "Santos F.C" ] }	L2_Q4118453_P54_0	Ronaldinho plays for Udinese Calcio from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Ronaldinho plays for Figueirense Futebol Clube from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for Varese Calcio from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2011. Ronaldinho plays for Real Madrid Fc from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Guaratinguetá Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Vicenza Calcio from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Atlética Ponte Preta from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2015. Ronaldinho plays for ABC Futebol Clube from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Chapecoense de Futebol from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for E.C. Vitória from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Ronaldinho plays for Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Santos F.C from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2009.	Alemão (footballer, born 1989)José Carlos Tofolo Júnior, commonly known as Alemão (born 2 March 1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Jaraguá. He also holds Italian nationality.Alemão started his career at Santos, and signed a professional contract with club in 2005. He made his first team debut on 31 January 2008, starting in a 1–2 Campeonato Paulista loss against Grêmio Barueri, due to Kléber Pereira's injury. Alemão scored his first goal for "Peixe" four days later, in a 1–1 draw against Paulista FC.In July 2008 he was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a reported free transfer, with performance based fees. However, Alemão was not registered in Lega Calcio as the club did not had an extra non-EU signing quota (Udinese signed Ricardo Chará, Dušan Basta, Alexis Sánchez and Odion Ighalo that season but only the last 2 were officially registered in the League Office). Santos also submitted a new contract to Brazilian Football Confederation BID-E system to document a new contract which last until 2011 on 28 July. Alemão was only officially signed for Udinese in June 2009, and never appeared for Santos neither in 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A nor 2009 Campeonato Paulista, due to a dispute with the club's board.With Udinese, Alemão played for its Primavera under-20 team as an overage player. In July 2010 he was sold to Serie B club Vicenza in co-ownership deal, for €400,000. Alemão made his debut abroad on 20 August 2010, replacing Alain Baclet in the 66th minute of a 0–2 Serie B loss against Atalanta.On 31 January 2011, he was swapped with Marco Cellini of Varese. In June 2011 Udinese gave up the remain 50% registration rights for free.In January 2012 Alemão returned to Brazil, signing a temporary deal with Grêmio Catanduvense. He moved to Guaratinguetá until December in mid-2012. After scoring regularly he moved to neighbouring Ponte Preta.After only appearing sparingly in 2013 Série A, Alemão was loaned to fellow league team Vitória. He subsequently was loaned to Chapecoense and Portuguesa in the following year, he scored 8 goals in total in Serie league and State league.On 12 December 2014 Alemão signed for Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He got 3 goals and 4 assists during 14 games but Figueirense wants him to play in the club In 2015, he returned to Brazil again for Figueirense. He then signed by ABC Futebol Clube and Ribeirão Preto based Botafogo Futebol Clube.In 2016, he moved to Europe again for Dutch club FC Eindhoven.	[ "Real Madrid Fc", "Associação Chapecoense de Futebol", "Figueirense Futebol Clube", "Guaratinguetá Futebol", "Udinese Calcio", "E.C. Vitória", "ABC Futebol Clube", "Associação Atlética Ponte Preta", "Associação Portuguesa de Desportos", "Vicenza Calcio", "Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol", "Varese Calcio" ]
Which team did Ronaldinho play for in Jul 16, 2008?	July 16, 2008	{ "text": [ "Santos F.C" ] }	L2_Q4118453_P54_0	Ronaldinho plays for Udinese Calcio from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Ronaldinho plays for Figueirense Futebol Clube from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for Varese Calcio from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2011. Ronaldinho plays for Real Madrid Fc from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Guaratinguetá Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Vicenza Calcio from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Atlética Ponte Preta from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2015. Ronaldinho plays for ABC Futebol Clube from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Chapecoense de Futebol from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for E.C. Vitória from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Ronaldinho plays for Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Santos F.C from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2009.	Alemão (footballer, born 1989)José Carlos Tofolo Júnior, commonly known as Alemão (born 2 March 1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Jaraguá. He also holds Italian nationality.Alemão started his career at Santos, and signed a professional contract with club in 2005. He made his first team debut on 31 January 2008, starting in a 1–2 Campeonato Paulista loss against Grêmio Barueri, due to Kléber Pereira's injury. Alemão scored his first goal for "Peixe" four days later, in a 1–1 draw against Paulista FC.In July 2008 he was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a reported free transfer, with performance based fees. However, Alemão was not registered in Lega Calcio as the club did not had an extra non-EU signing quota (Udinese signed Ricardo Chará, Dušan Basta, Alexis Sánchez and Odion Ighalo that season but only the last 2 were officially registered in the League Office). Santos also submitted a new contract to Brazilian Football Confederation BID-E system to document a new contract which last until 2011 on 28 July. Alemão was only officially signed for Udinese in June 2009, and never appeared for Santos neither in 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A nor 2009 Campeonato Paulista, due to a dispute with the club's board.With Udinese, Alemão played for its Primavera under-20 team as an overage player. In July 2010 he was sold to Serie B club Vicenza in co-ownership deal, for €400,000. Alemão made his debut abroad on 20 August 2010, replacing Alain Baclet in the 66th minute of a 0–2 Serie B loss against Atalanta.On 31 January 2011, he was swapped with Marco Cellini of Varese. In June 2011 Udinese gave up the remain 50% registration rights for free.In January 2012 Alemão returned to Brazil, signing a temporary deal with Grêmio Catanduvense. He moved to Guaratinguetá until December in mid-2012. After scoring regularly he moved to neighbouring Ponte Preta.After only appearing sparingly in 2013 Série A, Alemão was loaned to fellow league team Vitória. He subsequently was loaned to Chapecoense and Portuguesa in the following year, he scored 8 goals in total in Serie league and State league.On 12 December 2014 Alemão signed for Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He got 3 goals and 4 assists during 14 games but Figueirense wants him to play in the club In 2015, he returned to Brazil again for Figueirense. He then signed by ABC Futebol Clube and Ribeirão Preto based Botafogo Futebol Clube.In 2016, he moved to Europe again for Dutch club FC Eindhoven.	[ "Real Madrid Fc", "Associação Chapecoense de Futebol", "Figueirense Futebol Clube", "Guaratinguetá Futebol", "Udinese Calcio", "E.C. Vitória", "ABC Futebol Clube", "Associação Atlética Ponte Preta", "Associação Portuguesa de Desportos", "Vicenza Calcio", "Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol", "Varese Calcio" ]
Which team did Ronaldinho play for in 07/16/2008?	July 16, 2008	{ "text": [ "Santos F.C" ] }	L2_Q4118453_P54_0	Ronaldinho plays for Udinese Calcio from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Ronaldinho plays for Figueirense Futebol Clube from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for Varese Calcio from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2011. Ronaldinho plays for Real Madrid Fc from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Guaratinguetá Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Vicenza Calcio from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Atlética Ponte Preta from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2015. Ronaldinho plays for ABC Futebol Clube from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Chapecoense de Futebol from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for E.C. Vitória from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Ronaldinho plays for Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Santos F.C from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2009.	Alemão (footballer, born 1989)José Carlos Tofolo Júnior, commonly known as Alemão (born 2 March 1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Jaraguá. He also holds Italian nationality.Alemão started his career at Santos, and signed a professional contract with club in 2005. He made his first team debut on 31 January 2008, starting in a 1–2 Campeonato Paulista loss against Grêmio Barueri, due to Kléber Pereira's injury. Alemão scored his first goal for "Peixe" four days later, in a 1–1 draw against Paulista FC.In July 2008 he was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a reported free transfer, with performance based fees. However, Alemão was not registered in Lega Calcio as the club did not had an extra non-EU signing quota (Udinese signed Ricardo Chará, Dušan Basta, Alexis Sánchez and Odion Ighalo that season but only the last 2 were officially registered in the League Office). Santos also submitted a new contract to Brazilian Football Confederation BID-E system to document a new contract which last until 2011 on 28 July. Alemão was only officially signed for Udinese in June 2009, and never appeared for Santos neither in 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A nor 2009 Campeonato Paulista, due to a dispute with the club's board.With Udinese, Alemão played for its Primavera under-20 team as an overage player. In July 2010 he was sold to Serie B club Vicenza in co-ownership deal, for €400,000. Alemão made his debut abroad on 20 August 2010, replacing Alain Baclet in the 66th minute of a 0–2 Serie B loss against Atalanta.On 31 January 2011, he was swapped with Marco Cellini of Varese. In June 2011 Udinese gave up the remain 50% registration rights for free.In January 2012 Alemão returned to Brazil, signing a temporary deal with Grêmio Catanduvense. He moved to Guaratinguetá until December in mid-2012. After scoring regularly he moved to neighbouring Ponte Preta.After only appearing sparingly in 2013 Série A, Alemão was loaned to fellow league team Vitória. He subsequently was loaned to Chapecoense and Portuguesa in the following year, he scored 8 goals in total in Serie league and State league.On 12 December 2014 Alemão signed for Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He got 3 goals and 4 assists during 14 games but Figueirense wants him to play in the club In 2015, he returned to Brazil again for Figueirense. He then signed by ABC Futebol Clube and Ribeirão Preto based Botafogo Futebol Clube.In 2016, he moved to Europe again for Dutch club FC Eindhoven.	[ "Real Madrid Fc", "Associação Chapecoense de Futebol", "Figueirense Futebol Clube", "Guaratinguetá Futebol", "Udinese Calcio", "E.C. Vitória", "ABC Futebol Clube", "Associação Atlética Ponte Preta", "Associação Portuguesa de Desportos", "Vicenza Calcio", "Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol", "Varese Calcio" ]
Which team did Ronaldinho play for in 16-Jul-200816-July-2008?	July 16, 2008	{ "text": [ "Santos F.C" ] }	L2_Q4118453_P54_0	Ronaldinho plays for Udinese Calcio from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010. Ronaldinho plays for Figueirense Futebol Clube from Jan, 2015 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for Varese Calcio from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2011. Ronaldinho plays for Real Madrid Fc from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2016. Ronaldinho plays for Guaratinguetá Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Vicenza Calcio from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Atlética Ponte Preta from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2015. Ronaldinho plays for ABC Futebol Clube from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Ronaldinho plays for Associação Chapecoense de Futebol from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Ronaldinho plays for E.C. Vitória from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Ronaldinho plays for Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol from Jan, 2012 to Jan, 2012. Ronaldinho plays for Santos F.C from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2009.	Alemão (footballer, born 1989)José Carlos Tofolo Júnior, commonly known as Alemão (born 2 March 1989), is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Jaraguá. He also holds Italian nationality.Alemão started his career at Santos, and signed a professional contract with club in 2005. He made his first team debut on 31 January 2008, starting in a 1–2 Campeonato Paulista loss against Grêmio Barueri, due to Kléber Pereira's injury. Alemão scored his first goal for "Peixe" four days later, in a 1–1 draw against Paulista FC.In July 2008 he was signed by Serie A club Udinese on a reported free transfer, with performance based fees. However, Alemão was not registered in Lega Calcio as the club did not had an extra non-EU signing quota (Udinese signed Ricardo Chará, Dušan Basta, Alexis Sánchez and Odion Ighalo that season but only the last 2 were officially registered in the League Office). Santos also submitted a new contract to Brazilian Football Confederation BID-E system to document a new contract which last until 2011 on 28 July. Alemão was only officially signed for Udinese in June 2009, and never appeared for Santos neither in 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A nor 2009 Campeonato Paulista, due to a dispute with the club's board.With Udinese, Alemão played for its Primavera under-20 team as an overage player. In July 2010 he was sold to Serie B club Vicenza in co-ownership deal, for €400,000. Alemão made his debut abroad on 20 August 2010, replacing Alain Baclet in the 66th minute of a 0–2 Serie B loss against Atalanta.On 31 January 2011, he was swapped with Marco Cellini of Varese. In June 2011 Udinese gave up the remain 50% registration rights for free.In January 2012 Alemão returned to Brazil, signing a temporary deal with Grêmio Catanduvense. He moved to Guaratinguetá until December in mid-2012. After scoring regularly he moved to neighbouring Ponte Preta.After only appearing sparingly in 2013 Série A, Alemão was loaned to fellow league team Vitória. He subsequently was loaned to Chapecoense and Portuguesa in the following year, he scored 8 goals in total in Serie league and State league.On 12 December 2014 Alemão signed for Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He got 3 goals and 4 assists during 14 games but Figueirense wants him to play in the club In 2015, he returned to Brazil again for Figueirense. He then signed by ABC Futebol Clube and Ribeirão Preto based Botafogo Futebol Clube.In 2016, he moved to Europe again for Dutch club FC Eindhoven.	[ "Real Madrid Fc", "Associação Chapecoense de Futebol", "Figueirense Futebol Clube", "Guaratinguetá Futebol", "Udinese Calcio", "E.C. Vitória", "ABC Futebol Clube", "Associação Atlética Ponte Preta", "Associação Portuguesa de Desportos", "Vicenza Calcio", "Grêmio Catanduvense de Futebol", "Varese Calcio" ]
Which team did Graham Pugh play for in Dec, 1980?	December 23, 1980	{ "text": [ "Scunthorpe United F.C." ] }	L2_Q5593158_P54_4	Graham Pugh plays for Scunthorpe United F.C. from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Graham Pugh plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1972. Graham Pugh plays for Barnsley F.C. from Jan, 1977 to Jan, 1980. Graham Pugh plays for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1975. Graham Pugh plays for Chester City F.C. from Jan, 1975 to Jan, 1977.	Graham PughJohn Graham Pugh (born 12 February 1948 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Chester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played in the 1966 FA Cup Final for Sheffield Wednesday, losing to Everton.	[ "Huddersfield Town A.F.C.", "Barnsley F.C.", "Sheffield Wednesday F.C.", "Chester City F.C." ]
Which team did Graham Pugh play for in 1980-12-23?	December 23, 1980	{ "text": [ "Scunthorpe United F.C." ] }	L2_Q5593158_P54_4	Graham Pugh plays for Scunthorpe United F.C. from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Graham Pugh plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1972. Graham Pugh plays for Barnsley F.C. from Jan, 1977 to Jan, 1980. Graham Pugh plays for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1975. Graham Pugh plays for Chester City F.C. from Jan, 1975 to Jan, 1977.	Graham PughJohn Graham Pugh (born 12 February 1948 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Chester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played in the 1966 FA Cup Final for Sheffield Wednesday, losing to Everton.	[ "Huddersfield Town A.F.C.", "Barnsley F.C.", "Sheffield Wednesday F.C.", "Chester City F.C." ]
Which team did Graham Pugh play for in 23/12/1980?	December 23, 1980	{ "text": [ "Scunthorpe United F.C." ] }	L2_Q5593158_P54_4	Graham Pugh plays for Scunthorpe United F.C. from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Graham Pugh plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1972. Graham Pugh plays for Barnsley F.C. from Jan, 1977 to Jan, 1980. Graham Pugh plays for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1975. Graham Pugh plays for Chester City F.C. from Jan, 1975 to Jan, 1977.	Graham PughJohn Graham Pugh (born 12 February 1948 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Chester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played in the 1966 FA Cup Final for Sheffield Wednesday, losing to Everton.	[ "Huddersfield Town A.F.C.", "Barnsley F.C.", "Sheffield Wednesday F.C.", "Chester City F.C." ]
Which team did Graham Pugh play for in Dec 23, 1980?	December 23, 1980	{ "text": [ "Scunthorpe United F.C." ] }	L2_Q5593158_P54_4	Graham Pugh plays for Scunthorpe United F.C. from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Graham Pugh plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1972. Graham Pugh plays for Barnsley F.C. from Jan, 1977 to Jan, 1980. Graham Pugh plays for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1975. Graham Pugh plays for Chester City F.C. from Jan, 1975 to Jan, 1977.	Graham PughJohn Graham Pugh (born 12 February 1948 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Chester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played in the 1966 FA Cup Final for Sheffield Wednesday, losing to Everton.	[ "Huddersfield Town A.F.C.", "Barnsley F.C.", "Sheffield Wednesday F.C.", "Chester City F.C." ]
Which team did Graham Pugh play for in 12/23/1980?	December 23, 1980	{ "text": [ "Scunthorpe United F.C." ] }	L2_Q5593158_P54_4	Graham Pugh plays for Scunthorpe United F.C. from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Graham Pugh plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1972. Graham Pugh plays for Barnsley F.C. from Jan, 1977 to Jan, 1980. Graham Pugh plays for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1975. Graham Pugh plays for Chester City F.C. from Jan, 1975 to Jan, 1977.	Graham PughJohn Graham Pugh (born 12 February 1948 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Chester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played in the 1966 FA Cup Final for Sheffield Wednesday, losing to Everton.	[ "Huddersfield Town A.F.C.", "Barnsley F.C.", "Sheffield Wednesday F.C.", "Chester City F.C." ]
Which team did Graham Pugh play for in 23-Dec-198023-December-1980?	December 23, 1980	{ "text": [ "Scunthorpe United F.C." ] }	L2_Q5593158_P54_4	Graham Pugh plays for Scunthorpe United F.C. from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Graham Pugh plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1972. Graham Pugh plays for Barnsley F.C. from Jan, 1977 to Jan, 1980. Graham Pugh plays for Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1975. Graham Pugh plays for Chester City F.C. from Jan, 1975 to Jan, 1977.	Graham PughJohn Graham Pugh (born 12 February 1948 in Chester, Cheshire) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Chester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played in the 1966 FA Cup Final for Sheffield Wednesday, losing to Everton.	[ "Huddersfield Town A.F.C.", "Barnsley F.C.", "Sheffield Wednesday F.C.", "Chester City F.C." ]
Who was the head of Greenland in Dec, 2013?	December 26, 2013	{ "text": [ "Aleqa Hammond" ] }	L2_Q223_P6_4	Múte Bourup Egede is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2021 to Dec, 2022. Hans Enoksen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2002 to Jun, 2009. Kim Kielsen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Jonathan Motzfeldt is the head of the government of Greenland from Sep, 1997 to Dec, 2002. Lars-Emil Johansen is the head of the government of Greenland from Mar, 1991 to Sep, 1997. Aleqa Hammond is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2013 to Sep, 2014. Kuupik Kleist is the head of the government of Greenland from Jun, 2009 to Apr, 2013.	GreenlandGreenland (, ; , ) is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it "Terra do Lavrador" (later applied to Labrador in Canada).In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park ("Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq"). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.The early Norse settlers named the island as "Greenland." In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it "" (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The "Saga of Erik the Red" states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name."The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named.From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou.From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, no contemporary records or historiography survives from the Norse settlements. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the "Konungs skuggsjá" ("The King's Mirror") describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation.Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the "Skrælings" (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonisation had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.Other theories about the disappearance of the Norse settlement have been proposed;The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The "Cantino" planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted "terra nullius". Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland.During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the , recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States."In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the program's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence."On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than .In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: "Warming Island"), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005.The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island.Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowan ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common juniper ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows.Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") as well as the grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus"). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports.Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle.The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called "Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat" ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "Naalakkersuisoq" ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the "Inatsisartut" ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national ("Inatsisartut"), and kingdom ("Folketing") levels.Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favoured increased self-governance by 21,355 votes to 6,663.In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programs.Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner ("Rigsombudsmand") to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell.The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament ("Folketinget") in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party.Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Muté Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6.In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): "Sermersooq" ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; "Kujalleq" ("South") around Cape Farewell; "Qeqqata" ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; "Qeqertalik" ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and "Avannaata" ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated "Northeast Greenland National Park". "Thule Air Base" is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland).There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways.Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes.Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland.All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.Greenland has a population of 56,081 (January 2020 Estimate). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others.The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2020, 18,326 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates.Both Greenlandic (an Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate.A majority of the population speaks Greenlandic, most of them bilingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined.Kalaallisut is the Greenlandic dialect of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern dialect Inuktun remains spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and the eastern dialect Tunumiisut by around 3,000. Each of these dialects is almost unintelligible to the speakers of the other and are considered by some linguists to be separate languages. A UNESCO report has labelled the other dialects as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialects.About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language, particularly Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is still a large group.English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year.Education is organised in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark.The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%.The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called "tupilak" or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the "Ammassalik". Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums.The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten.Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one.The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps.Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 kilometers northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve the tupilak. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.	[ "Kim Kielsen", "Lars-Emil Johansen", "Hans Enoksen", "Kuupik Kleist", "Múte Bourup Egede", "Jonathan Motzfeldt" ]
Who was the head of Greenland in 2013-12-26?	December 26, 2013	{ "text": [ "Aleqa Hammond" ] }	L2_Q223_P6_4	Múte Bourup Egede is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2021 to Dec, 2022. Hans Enoksen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2002 to Jun, 2009. Kim Kielsen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Jonathan Motzfeldt is the head of the government of Greenland from Sep, 1997 to Dec, 2002. Lars-Emil Johansen is the head of the government of Greenland from Mar, 1991 to Sep, 1997. Aleqa Hammond is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2013 to Sep, 2014. Kuupik Kleist is the head of the government of Greenland from Jun, 2009 to Apr, 2013.	GreenlandGreenland (, ; , ) is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it "Terra do Lavrador" (later applied to Labrador in Canada).In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park ("Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq"). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.The early Norse settlers named the island as "Greenland." In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it "" (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The "Saga of Erik the Red" states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name."The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named.From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou.From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, no contemporary records or historiography survives from the Norse settlements. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the "Konungs skuggsjá" ("The King's Mirror") describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation.Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the "Skrælings" (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonisation had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.Other theories about the disappearance of the Norse settlement have been proposed;The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The "Cantino" planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted "terra nullius". Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland.During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the , recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States."In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the program's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence."On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than .In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: "Warming Island"), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005.The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island.Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowan ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common juniper ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows.Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") as well as the grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus"). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports.Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle.The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called "Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat" ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "Naalakkersuisoq" ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the "Inatsisartut" ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national ("Inatsisartut"), and kingdom ("Folketing") levels.Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favoured increased self-governance by 21,355 votes to 6,663.In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programs.Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner ("Rigsombudsmand") to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell.The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament ("Folketinget") in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party.Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Muté Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6.In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): "Sermersooq" ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; "Kujalleq" ("South") around Cape Farewell; "Qeqqata" ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; "Qeqertalik" ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and "Avannaata" ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated "Northeast Greenland National Park". "Thule Air Base" is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland).There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways.Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes.Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland.All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.Greenland has a population of 56,081 (January 2020 Estimate). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others.The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2020, 18,326 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates.Both Greenlandic (an Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate.A majority of the population speaks Greenlandic, most of them bilingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined.Kalaallisut is the Greenlandic dialect of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern dialect Inuktun remains spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and the eastern dialect Tunumiisut by around 3,000. Each of these dialects is almost unintelligible to the speakers of the other and are considered by some linguists to be separate languages. A UNESCO report has labelled the other dialects as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialects.About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language, particularly Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is still a large group.English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year.Education is organised in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark.The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%.The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called "tupilak" or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the "Ammassalik". Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums.The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten.Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one.The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps.Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 kilometers northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve the tupilak. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.	[ "Kim Kielsen", "Lars-Emil Johansen", "Hans Enoksen", "Kuupik Kleist", "Múte Bourup Egede", "Jonathan Motzfeldt" ]
Who was the head of Greenland in 26/12/2013?	December 26, 2013	{ "text": [ "Aleqa Hammond" ] }	L2_Q223_P6_4	Múte Bourup Egede is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2021 to Dec, 2022. Hans Enoksen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2002 to Jun, 2009. Kim Kielsen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Jonathan Motzfeldt is the head of the government of Greenland from Sep, 1997 to Dec, 2002. Lars-Emil Johansen is the head of the government of Greenland from Mar, 1991 to Sep, 1997. Aleqa Hammond is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2013 to Sep, 2014. Kuupik Kleist is the head of the government of Greenland from Jun, 2009 to Apr, 2013.	GreenlandGreenland (, ; , ) is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it "Terra do Lavrador" (later applied to Labrador in Canada).In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park ("Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq"). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.The early Norse settlers named the island as "Greenland." In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it "" (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The "Saga of Erik the Red" states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name."The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named.From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou.From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, no contemporary records or historiography survives from the Norse settlements. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the "Konungs skuggsjá" ("The King's Mirror") describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation.Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the "Skrælings" (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonisation had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.Other theories about the disappearance of the Norse settlement have been proposed;The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The "Cantino" planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted "terra nullius". Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland.During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the , recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States."In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the program's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence."On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than .In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: "Warming Island"), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005.The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island.Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowan ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common juniper ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows.Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") as well as the grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus"). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports.Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle.The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called "Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat" ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "Naalakkersuisoq" ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the "Inatsisartut" ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national ("Inatsisartut"), and kingdom ("Folketing") levels.Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favoured increased self-governance by 21,355 votes to 6,663.In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programs.Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner ("Rigsombudsmand") to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell.The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament ("Folketinget") in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party.Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Muté Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6.In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): "Sermersooq" ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; "Kujalleq" ("South") around Cape Farewell; "Qeqqata" ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; "Qeqertalik" ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and "Avannaata" ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated "Northeast Greenland National Park". "Thule Air Base" is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland).There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways.Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes.Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland.All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.Greenland has a population of 56,081 (January 2020 Estimate). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others.The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2020, 18,326 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates.Both Greenlandic (an Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate.A majority of the population speaks Greenlandic, most of them bilingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined.Kalaallisut is the Greenlandic dialect of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern dialect Inuktun remains spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and the eastern dialect Tunumiisut by around 3,000. Each of these dialects is almost unintelligible to the speakers of the other and are considered by some linguists to be separate languages. A UNESCO report has labelled the other dialects as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialects.About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language, particularly Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is still a large group.English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year.Education is organised in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark.The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%.The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called "tupilak" or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the "Ammassalik". Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums.The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten.Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one.The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps.Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 kilometers northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve the tupilak. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.	[ "Kim Kielsen", "Lars-Emil Johansen", "Hans Enoksen", "Kuupik Kleist", "Múte Bourup Egede", "Jonathan Motzfeldt" ]
Who was the head of Greenland in Dec 26, 2013?	December 26, 2013	{ "text": [ "Aleqa Hammond" ] }	L2_Q223_P6_4	Múte Bourup Egede is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2021 to Dec, 2022. Hans Enoksen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2002 to Jun, 2009. Kim Kielsen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Jonathan Motzfeldt is the head of the government of Greenland from Sep, 1997 to Dec, 2002. Lars-Emil Johansen is the head of the government of Greenland from Mar, 1991 to Sep, 1997. Aleqa Hammond is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2013 to Sep, 2014. Kuupik Kleist is the head of the government of Greenland from Jun, 2009 to Apr, 2013.	GreenlandGreenland (, ; , ) is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it "Terra do Lavrador" (later applied to Labrador in Canada).In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park ("Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq"). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.The early Norse settlers named the island as "Greenland." In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it "" (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The "Saga of Erik the Red" states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name."The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named.From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou.From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, no contemporary records or historiography survives from the Norse settlements. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the "Konungs skuggsjá" ("The King's Mirror") describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation.Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the "Skrælings" (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonisation had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.Other theories about the disappearance of the Norse settlement have been proposed;The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The "Cantino" planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted "terra nullius". Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland.During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the , recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States."In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the program's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence."On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than .In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: "Warming Island"), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005.The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island.Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowan ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common juniper ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows.Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") as well as the grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus"). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports.Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle.The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called "Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat" ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "Naalakkersuisoq" ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the "Inatsisartut" ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national ("Inatsisartut"), and kingdom ("Folketing") levels.Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favoured increased self-governance by 21,355 votes to 6,663.In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programs.Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner ("Rigsombudsmand") to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell.The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament ("Folketinget") in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party.Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Muté Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6.In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): "Sermersooq" ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; "Kujalleq" ("South") around Cape Farewell; "Qeqqata" ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; "Qeqertalik" ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and "Avannaata" ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated "Northeast Greenland National Park". "Thule Air Base" is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland).There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways.Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes.Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland.All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.Greenland has a population of 56,081 (January 2020 Estimate). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others.The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2020, 18,326 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates.Both Greenlandic (an Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate.A majority of the population speaks Greenlandic, most of them bilingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined.Kalaallisut is the Greenlandic dialect of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern dialect Inuktun remains spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and the eastern dialect Tunumiisut by around 3,000. Each of these dialects is almost unintelligible to the speakers of the other and are considered by some linguists to be separate languages. A UNESCO report has labelled the other dialects as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialects.About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language, particularly Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is still a large group.English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year.Education is organised in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark.The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%.The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called "tupilak" or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the "Ammassalik". Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums.The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten.Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one.The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps.Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 kilometers northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve the tupilak. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.	[ "Kim Kielsen", "Lars-Emil Johansen", "Hans Enoksen", "Kuupik Kleist", "Múte Bourup Egede", "Jonathan Motzfeldt" ]
Who was the head of Greenland in 12/26/2013?	December 26, 2013	{ "text": [ "Aleqa Hammond" ] }	L2_Q223_P6_4	Múte Bourup Egede is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2021 to Dec, 2022. Hans Enoksen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2002 to Jun, 2009. Kim Kielsen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Jonathan Motzfeldt is the head of the government of Greenland from Sep, 1997 to Dec, 2002. Lars-Emil Johansen is the head of the government of Greenland from Mar, 1991 to Sep, 1997. Aleqa Hammond is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2013 to Sep, 2014. Kuupik Kleist is the head of the government of Greenland from Jun, 2009 to Apr, 2013.	GreenlandGreenland (, ; , ) is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it "Terra do Lavrador" (later applied to Labrador in Canada).In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park ("Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq"). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.The early Norse settlers named the island as "Greenland." In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it "" (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The "Saga of Erik the Red" states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name."The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named.From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou.From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, no contemporary records or historiography survives from the Norse settlements. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the "Konungs skuggsjá" ("The King's Mirror") describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation.Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the "Skrælings" (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonisation had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.Other theories about the disappearance of the Norse settlement have been proposed;The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The "Cantino" planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted "terra nullius". Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland.During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the , recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States."In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the program's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence."On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than .In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: "Warming Island"), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005.The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island.Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowan ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common juniper ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows.Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") as well as the grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus"). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports.Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle.The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called "Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat" ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "Naalakkersuisoq" ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the "Inatsisartut" ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national ("Inatsisartut"), and kingdom ("Folketing") levels.Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favoured increased self-governance by 21,355 votes to 6,663.In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programs.Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner ("Rigsombudsmand") to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell.The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament ("Folketinget") in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party.Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Muté Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6.In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): "Sermersooq" ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; "Kujalleq" ("South") around Cape Farewell; "Qeqqata" ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; "Qeqertalik" ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and "Avannaata" ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated "Northeast Greenland National Park". "Thule Air Base" is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland).There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways.Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes.Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland.All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.Greenland has a population of 56,081 (January 2020 Estimate). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others.The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2020, 18,326 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates.Both Greenlandic (an Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate.A majority of the population speaks Greenlandic, most of them bilingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined.Kalaallisut is the Greenlandic dialect of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern dialect Inuktun remains spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and the eastern dialect Tunumiisut by around 3,000. Each of these dialects is almost unintelligible to the speakers of the other and are considered by some linguists to be separate languages. A UNESCO report has labelled the other dialects as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialects.About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language, particularly Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is still a large group.English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year.Education is organised in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark.The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%.The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called "tupilak" or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the "Ammassalik". Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums.The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten.Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one.The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps.Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 kilometers northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve the tupilak. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.	[ "Kim Kielsen", "Lars-Emil Johansen", "Hans Enoksen", "Kuupik Kleist", "Múte Bourup Egede", "Jonathan Motzfeldt" ]
Who was the head of Greenland in 26-Dec-201326-December-2013?	December 26, 2013	{ "text": [ "Aleqa Hammond" ] }	L2_Q223_P6_4	Múte Bourup Egede is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2021 to Dec, 2022. Hans Enoksen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2002 to Jun, 2009. Kim Kielsen is the head of the government of Greenland from Dec, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Jonathan Motzfeldt is the head of the government of Greenland from Sep, 1997 to Dec, 2002. Lars-Emil Johansen is the head of the government of Greenland from Mar, 1991 to Sep, 1997. Aleqa Hammond is the head of the government of Greenland from Apr, 2013 to Sep, 2014. Kuupik Kleist is the head of the government of Greenland from Jun, 2009 to Apr, 2013.	GreenlandGreenland (, ; , ) is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.Today, the population is concentrated mainly on the southwest coast, while the rest of the island is sparsely populated. Greenland is divided into five municipalities – Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Avannaata. It has two unincorporated areas – the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base. The latter, while under Danish control, is administered by the United States Air Force. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. With a population of 56,081 (2020), it is the least densely populated region in the world. About a third of the population lives in Nuuk, the capital and largest city; the second-largest city in terms of population is Sisimiut, north of Nuuk. The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements.Greenland has been inhabited at intervals over at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada. Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland. These Norsemen later set sail from Greenland and Iceland, with Leif Erikson becoming the first known European to reach North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached the Caribbean islands. Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1261. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century after Norway was hit by the Black Death and entered a severe decline. Soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it "Terra do Lavrador" (later applied to Labrador in Canada).In the early 17th century, Danish explorers reached Greenland again. To strengthen trading and power, Denmark–Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Because of Norway's weak status, it lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became Danish in 1814 and was fully integrated in Denmark in 1953 organised in the Danish constitution. With the Constitution of 1953, the people in Greenland became citizens of Denmark. From 1961 Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which Denmark joined as a founding member of the EFTA in 1960, but its membership ceased with effect from 1973 when Denmark joined the European Communities. In 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC. This was effected in 1985, changing Greenland to an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) associated with the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The associated relationship with the EU also means that all Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens.Greenland contains the world's largest and northernmost national park, Northeast Greenland National Park ("Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq"). Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world.In 1979, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, Greenland has gradually assumed responsibility for policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision. The Danish government still retains control of monetary policy and foreign affairs including defence. It also provided an initial annual subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, and to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources. The capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, mostly coming from hydropower.The early Norse settlers named the island as "Greenland." In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his thralls (i.e. slaves or serfs), he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it "" (translated as "Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The "Saga of Erik the Red" states: "In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favorable name."The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is ("land of the Kalaallit"). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country's western region.In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive Paleo-Inuit cultures known today primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Paleo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500 BC. From around 2500 BC to 800 BC, southern and western Greenland were inhabited by the Saqqaq culture. Most finds of Saqqaq-period archaeological remains have been around Disko Bay, including the site of Saqqaq, after which the culture is named.From 2400 BC to 1300 BC, the Independence I culture existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the Arctic small tool tradition. Towns, including Deltaterrasserne, started to appear. Around 800 BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorset culture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture was the first culture to extend throughout the Greenlandic coastal areas, both on the west and east coasts. It lasted until the total onset of the Thule culture in 1500 AD. The Dorset culture population lived primarily from hunting of whales and caribou.From 986, Greenland's west coast was settled by Icelanders and Norwegians, through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements – known as the Eastern Settlement, the Western Settlement and the Middle Settlement – on fjords near the southwesternmost tip of the island. They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with the Thule culture that entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the Kingdom of Norway. Later the Kingdom of Norway entered into a personal union with Denmark in 1380 and from 1397 was a part of the Kalmar Union.The Norse settlements, such as Brattahlíð, thrived for centuries but disappeared sometime in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Apart from some runic inscriptions, no contemporary records or historiography survives from the Norse settlements. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy as well as the bishops of Gardar and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the "Konungs skuggsjá" ("The King's Mirror") describes Norse Greenland's exports and imports as well as grain cultivation.Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and do not constitute primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archeological sites. Interpretation of ice core and clam shell data suggests that between 800 and 1300 AD, the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland experienced a relatively mild climate several degrees Celsius higher than usual in the North Atlantic, with trees and herbaceous plants growing, and livestock being farmed. Barley was grown as a crop up to the 70th parallel. The ice cores indicate Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times over the past 100,000 years. Similarly the Icelandic Book of Settlements records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".These Icelandic settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning in the late 13th century to early 14th century – as much as lower than modern summer temperatures. The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was likely abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during this cold period.Theories drawn from archeological excavations at Herjolfsnes in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of soil erosion resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from pandemic plague; the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the "Skrælings" (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"). Recent archeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonisation had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy. More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as walrus ivory, the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.Other theories about the disappearance of the Norse settlement have been proposed;The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Paleo-Inuit have been found in the present population of Greenland. The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as dog sleds and toggling harpoons.In 1500, King Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real to Greenland in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia which, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, Miguel Corte-Real. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in Labrador and Newfoundland. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The "Cantino" planisphere, made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.In 1605–1607, King Christian IV of Denmark sent a series of expeditions to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell, which is almost inaccessible due to southward drifting ice. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall.After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Danish government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th century, Denmark asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721, a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas. After 15 years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at Godthåb ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the Treaty of Kiel severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land in July 1931, claiming that it constituted "terra nullius". Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the Permanent Court of International Justice, which decided against Norway.Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany. The United States occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling cryolite from the mine at Ivittuut. The major air bases were Bluie West-1 at Narsarsuaq and Bluie West-8 at Søndre Strømfjord (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports. Bluie was the military code name for Greenland.During this war, the system of government changed: Governor Eske Brun ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish Sirius Patrol guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dogsleds. They detected several German weather stations and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, Albert Speer briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the United States Armed Forces.Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The Danish government had maintained a strict monopoly of Greenlandic trade, allowing no more than small scale barter trading with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the , recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern welfare state with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.Following World War II, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland, and in 1946 the United States offered to buy the island from Denmark for $100,000,000. Denmark refused to sell it. Historically this repeated an interest by Secretary of State William H. Seward. In 1867 he worked with former senator Robert J. Walker to explore the possibility of buying Greenland and perhaps Iceland. Opposition in Congress ended this project. In the 21st century, the United States, according to WikiLeaks, remains interested in investing in the resource base of Greenland and in tapping hydrocarbons off the Greenlandic coast. In August 2019, the American president Donald Trump again proposed to buy the country, prompting premier Kim Kielsen to issue the statement, "Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries – including the United States."In 1950, Denmark agreed to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base; it was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO Cold War defense strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret nuclear missile launch sites in the Greenlandic ice cap, named Project Iceworm. According to documents declassified in 1996, this project was managed from Camp Century from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable. The missiles were never fielded and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government did not become aware of the program's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking, in the declassified documents, for records related to the crash of a nuclear equipped B-52 bomber at Thule in 1968.With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended as the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an amt (county). Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation – or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and a number lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s. As a consequence of political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979.This gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, remains Greenland's head of state. In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC) upon achieving self-rule, as it did not agree with the EEC's commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products. Greenland voters approved a referendum on greater autonomy on 25 November 2008. According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence."On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of judicial affairs, policing, and natural resources. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under international law. Denmark maintains control of foreign affairs and defence matters. Denmark upholds the annual block grant of 3.2 billion Danish kroner, but as Greenland begins to collect revenues of its natural resources, the grant will gradually be diminished. This is generally considered to be a step toward eventual full independence from Denmark. Greenlandic was declared the sole official language of Greenland at the historic ceremony.Tourism increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the number of visitors increasing from 460,000 per year to 2 million. Condé Nast Traveler describes that high level as "overtourism". One source estimated that in 2019 the revenue from this aspect of the economy was about 450 million kroner (US$67 million). Like many aspects of the economy, this slowed dramatically in 2020, and into 2021, due to restrictions required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; one source describes it as being the "biggest economic victim of the coronavirus". (The overall economy did not suffer too severely as of mid 2020, thanks to the fisheries "and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen".) Visitors will begin arriving again in late 2020 or early 2021. Greenland's goal is to develop it "right" and to "build a more sustainable tourism for the long run".Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries are Canada, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest dependent territory by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached . In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from The total area of Greenland is (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers (81%) and has a volume of approximately . The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than in elevation.The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than .In 2003, a small island, in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named "Uunartoq Qeqertaq" (English: "Warming Island"), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented: "In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt". Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century.Between 1989 and 1993, US and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences. The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level faster than was previously believed. Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost . Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of each year between 1994 and 2005.The island was part of the very ancient Precambrian continent of Laurentia, the eastern core of which forms the Greenland Shield, while the less exposed coastal strips become a plateau. On these ice-free coastal strips are sediments formed in the Precambrian, overprinted by metamorphism and now formed by glaciers, which continue into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic in parts of the island.In the east and west of Greenland there are remnants of flood basalts. Notable rock provinces (metamorphic igneous rocks, ultramafics and anorthosites) are found on the southwest coast at Qeqertarsuatsiaat. East of Nuuk, the banded iron ore region of Isukasia, over three billion years old, contains the world's oldest rocks, such as greenlandite (a rock composed predominantly of hornblende and hyperthene), formed 3.8 billion years ago, and nuummite. In southern Greenland, the Illimaussaq alkaline complex consists of pegmatites such as nepheline, syenites (especially kakortokite or naujaite) and sodalite (sodalite-foya). In Ivittuut, where cryolite was formerly mined, there are fluoride-bearing pegmatites. To the north of Igaliku, there are the Gardar alkaline pegmatitic intrusions of augite syenite, gabbro, etc.To the west and southwest are Palaeozoic carbonatite complexes at Kangerlussuaq (Gardiner complex) and Safartoq, and basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks at Uiffaq on Disko Island, where there are masses of heavy native iron up to in the basalts.Greenland is home to two ecoregions: Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra. There are approximately 700 known species of insects in Greenland, which is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The sea is rich in fish and invertebrates, especially in the milder West Greenland Current; a large part of the Greenland fauna is associated with marine-based food chains, including large colonies of seabirds. The few native land mammals in Greenland include the polar bear, reindeer (introduced by Europeans), arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, collared lemming, ermine, and arctic wolf. The last four are found naturally only in East Greenland, having immigrated from Ellesmere Island. There are dozens of species of seals and whales along the coast. Land fauna consists predominantly of animals which have spread from North America or, in the case of many birds and insects, from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island.Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small shrubs, which are regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowan ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common juniper ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows.Greenland's flora consists of about 500 species of "higher" plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta. Of the other groups, the lichens are the most diverse, with about 950 species; there are 600–700 species of fungi; mosses and bryophytes are also found. Most of Greenland's higher plants have circumpolar or circumboreal distributions; only a dozen species of saxifrage and hawkweed are endemic. A few plant species were introduced by the Norsemen, such as cow vetch.The terrestrial vertebrates of Greenland include the Greenland dog, which was introduced by the Inuit, as well as European-introduced species such as Greenlandic sheep, goats, cattle, reindeer, horse, chicken and sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Marine mammals include the hooded seal ("Cystophora cristata") as well as the grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus"). Whales frequently pass very close to Greenland's shores in the late summer and early autumn. Whale species include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.As of 2009, 269 species of fish from over 80 different families are known from the waters surrounding Greenland. Almost all are marine species with only a few in freshwater, notably Atlantic salmon and charr. The fishing industry is the primary industry of Greenland's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's total exports.Birds, particularly seabirds, are an important part of Greenland's animal life; breeding populations of auks, puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes are found on steep mountainsides. Greenland's ducks and geese include common eider, long-tailed duck, king eider, white-fronted goose, pink-footed goose and barnacle goose. Breeding migratory birds include the snow bunting, lapland bunting, ringed plover, red-throated loon and red-necked phalarope. Non-migratory land birds include the arctic redpoll, ptarmigan, short-eared owl, snowy owl, gyrfalcon and white-tailed eagle.The Greenlandic government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called "Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat" ("Premier") and serves as head of Greenlandic Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "Naalakkersuisoq" ("Minister"). The Greenlandic parliament – the "Inatsisartut" ("Legislators"). The parliament currently has 31 members.In contemporary times, elections are held at municipal, national ("Inatsisartut"), and kingdom ("Folketing") levels.Greenland is a self-governing entity within the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. The monarch officially retains executive power and presides over the Council of State (privy council). However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. The monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and the monarch's person is sacrosanct.The party system is dominated by the social-democratic Forward Party, and the democratic socialist Inuit Community Party, both of which broadly argue for greater independence from Denmark. While the 2009 election saw the unionist Democrat Party (two MPs) decline greatly, the 2013 election consolidated the power of the two main parties at the expense of the smaller groups, and saw the eco-socialist Inuit Party elected to the Parliament for the first time. The dominance of the Forward and Inuit Community parties began to wane after the snap 2014 and 2018 elections.The non-binding 2008 referendum on self-governance favoured increased self-governance by 21,355 votes to 6,663.In 1985, Greenland left the European Economic Community (EEC), unlike Denmark, which remains a member. The EEC later became the European Union (EU, renamed and expanded in scope in 1992). Greenland retains some ties through its associated relationship with the EU. However, EU law largely does not apply to Greenland except in the area of trade. Greenland is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Greenland can and does receive support from the European Development Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, European Investment Bank and EU Programs.Greenland's head of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The Queen's government in Denmark appoints a high commissioner ("Rigsombudsmand") to represent it on the island. The commissioner is Mikaela Engell.The Greenland constituency elect two MP representatives to the Kingdom Parliament ("Folketinget") in Denmark, out of a total of 179. The current representatives are Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of the Siumut Party and Aaja Chemnitz Larsen of the Inuit Community Party.Greenland has national Parliament that consists of 31 representatives. The government is the Naalakkersuisut whose members are appointed by the premier. The head of government is the premier, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament. The premier is Muté Bourup Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.Several American and Danish military bases are located in Greenland, including Thule Air Base, which is home to the United States Space Force's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Elements of the sensor systems are commanded and controlled variously by Space Delta's 2, 4, and 6.In 1995, a political scandal in Denmark occurred after a report revealed the government had given tacit permission for nuclear weapons to be located in Greenland, in contravention of Denmark's 1957 nuclear-free zone policy. The United States built a secret nuclear powered base, called Camp Century, in the Greenland ice sheet. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G, with four nuclear bombs aboard as part of Operation Chrome Dome, crashed on the ice of the North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. The resulting fire caused extensive radioactive contamination. One of the H-bombs remains lost.Formerly consisting of three counties comprising a total of 18 municipalities, Greenland abolished these in 2009 and has since been divided into large territories known as "municipalities" (, ): "Sermersooq" ("Much Ice") around the capital Nuuk and also including all East Coast communities; "Kujalleq" ("South") around Cape Farewell; "Qeqqata" ("Centre") north of the capital along the Davis Strait; "Qeqertalik" ("The one with islands") surrounding Disko Bay; and "Avannaata" ("Northern") in the northwest; the latter two having come into being as a result of the Qaasuitsup municipality, one of the original four, being partitioned in 2018. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated "Northeast Greenland National Park". "Thule Air Base" is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Air Force. During its construction, there were as many as 12,000 American residents but in recent years the number has been below 1,000.The Greenlandic economy is highly dependent on fishing. Fishing accounts for more than 90% of Greenland's exports. The shrimp and fish industry is by far the largest income earner.Greenland is abundant in minerals. Mining of ruby deposits began in 2007. Other mineral prospects are improving as prices are increasing. These include iron, uranium, aluminium, nickel, platinum, tungsten, titanium, and copper. Despite resumption of several hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before hydrocarbon production can materialize. The state oil company Nunaoil was created to help develop the hydrocarbon industry in Greenland. The state company Nunamineral has been launched on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise more capital to increase the production of gold, started in 2007.Electricity has traditionally been generated by oil or diesel power plants, even if there is a large surplus of potential hydropower. There is a programme to build hydro power plants. The first, and still the largest, is Buksefjord hydroelectric power plant.There are also plans to build a large aluminium smelter, using hydropower to create an exportable product. It is expected that much of the labour needed will be imported.The European Union has urged Greenland to restrict People's Republic of China development of rare-earth projects, as China accounts for 95% of the world's current supply. In early 2013, the Greenland government said that it had no plans to impose such restrictions.The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland's economy. About half the government revenues come from grants from the Danish government, an important supplement to the gross domestic product (GDP). Gross domestic product per capita is equivalent to that of the average economies of Europe.Greenland suffered an economic contraction in the early 1990s. But, since 1993, the economy has improved. The Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a tight fiscal policy since the late 1980s, which has helped create surpluses in the public budget and low inflation. Since 1990, Greenland has registered a foreign-trade deficit following the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine that year. In 2017, new sources of ruby in Greenland have been discovered, promising to bring new industry and a new export from the country. (See Gemstone industry in Greenland).There is air transport both within Greenland and between the island and other nations. There is also scheduled boat traffic, but the long distances lead to long travel times and low frequency. There are virtually no roads between cities because the coast has many fjords that would require ferry service to connect a road network. The only exception is a gravel road of length between Kangilinnguit and the now abandoned former cryolite mining town of Ivittuut. In addition, the lack of agriculture, forestry and similar countryside activities has meant that very few country roads have been built.Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves international and domestic airline operated flight. SFJ is far from the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, to the capital Nuuk, and airline passenger services are available. Greenland has no passenger railways.Nuuk Airport (GOH) is the second-largest airport located just from the centre of the capital. GOH serves general aviation traffic and has daily- or regular domestic flights within Greenland. GOH also serves international flights to Iceland, business and private airplanes.Ilulissat Airport (JAV) is a domestic airport that also serves international flights to Iceland. There are a total of 13 registered civil airports and 47 helipads in Greenland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second longest runway is at Narsarsuaq, a domestic airport with limited international service in south Greenland.All civil aviation matters are handled by the Danish Transport Authority. Most airports including Nuuk Airport have short runways and can only be served by special fairly small aircraft on fairly short flights. Kangerlussuaq Airport around inland from the west coast is the major airport of Greenland and the hub for domestic flights. Intercontinental flights connect mainly to Copenhagen. Travel between international destinations (except Iceland) and any city in Greenland requires a plane change.Icelandair operates flights from Reykjavík to a number of airports in Greenland, and the company promotes the service as a day-trip option from Iceland for tourists.There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.Sea passenger transport is served by several coastal ferries. Arctic Umiaq Line makes a single round trip per week, taking 80 hours each direction.Cargo freight by sea is handled by the shipping company Royal Arctic Line from, to and across Greenland. It provides trade and transport opportunities between Greenland, Europe and North America.Greenland has a population of 56,081 (January 2020 Estimate). In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be of 89.7% Greenlandic (Inuit including European-Inuit multi-ethnic), 7.8% Danish, 1.1% Nordic and 1.4% other. The multi-ethnic population of European-Inuit represent people of Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Dutch (whalers), German (Herrnhuters), Czech (Jednota bratrská) descent and others.The Inuit are indigenous to the Arctic and have traditionally inhabited Greenland, as well as areas in Canada and in Alaska in the United States. A 2015 wide genetic study of Greenlanders found modern-day Inuit in Greenland are direct descendants of the first Inuit pioneers of the Thule culture with ∼25% admixture of the European colonizers from the 16th century. Despite previous speculations, no evidence of Viking settlers predecessors has been found. The majority of the population is Lutheran. Nearly all Greenlanders live along the fjords in the south-west of the main island, which has a relatively mild climate. In 2020, 18,326 people reside in Nuuk, the capital city. Greenland's warmest climates such as the vegetated area around Narsarsuaq are sparsely populated, whereas the majority of the population lives north of 64°N in colder coastal climates.Both Greenlandic (an Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language) and Danish have been used in public affairs since the establishment of home rule in 1979; the majority of the population can speak both languages. Greenlandic became the sole official language in June 2009, In practice, Danish is still widely used in the administration and in higher education, as well as remaining the first or only language for some Danish immigrants in Nuuk and other larger towns. Debate about the roles of Greenlandic and Danish in the country's future is ongoing. The orthography of Greenlandic was established in 1851 and revised in 1973. The country has a 100% literacy rate.A majority of the population speaks Greenlandic, most of them bilingually. It is spoken by about 50,000 people, making it the most populous of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family, spoken by more people than all the other languages of the family combined.Kalaallisut is the Greenlandic dialect of West Greenland, which has long been the most populous area of the island. This has led to its de facto status as the official "Greenlandic" language, although the northern dialect Inuktun remains spoken by 1,000 or so people around Qaanaaq, and the eastern dialect Tunumiisut by around 3,000. Each of these dialects is almost unintelligible to the speakers of the other and are considered by some linguists to be separate languages. A UNESCO report has labelled the other dialects as endangered, and measures are now being considered to protect the East Greenlandic dialects.About 12% of the population speak Danish as a first or sole language, particularly Danish immigrants in Greenland, many of whom fill positions such as administrators, professionals, academics, or skilled tradesmen. While Greenlandic is dominant in all smaller settlements, a part of the population of Inuit or multi-ethnic ancestry, especially in towns, speaks Danish. Most of the Inuit population speaks Danish as a second language. In larger towns, especially Nuuk and in the higher social strata, this is still a large group.English is another important language for Greenland, taught in schools from the first school year.Education is organised in a similar way to Denmark. There is ten year mandatory primary school. There is also a secondary school, with either work education or preparatory for university education. There is one university, the University of Greenland () in Nuuk. Many Greenlanders attend universities in Denmark or elsewhere.The public school system in Greenland is, as in Denmark, under the jurisdiction of the municipalities: they are therefore municipal schools. The legislature specifies the standards allowed for the content in schools, but the municipal governments decide how the schools under their responsibility are run. Education is free and compulsory for children aged seven to 16. The financial effort devoted to education is now very important (11.3% of GDP). Section 1 of the Government Ordinance on Public Schools (as amended on June 6, 1997) requires Greenlandic as the language of instruction.Education is governed by Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990 on primary and lower secondary education. This regulation was amended by Regulation No. 8 of 13 May 1993 and Regulation No. 1 of 1 March 1994. Under Regulation No. 10 of 25 October 1990, linguistic integration in primary and lower secondary schools became compulsory for all students. The aim is to place Greenlandic-speaking and Danish-speaking pupils in the same classes, whereas previously they were placed in separate classes according to their mother tongue. At the same time, the government guarantees that Danish speakers can learn Greenlandic. In this way, the Greenlandic government wants to give the same linguistic, cultural and social education to all students, both those of Greenlandic and Danish origin. A study, which was carried out during a three-year trial period, concluded that this policy had achieved positive results. This bilingualism policy has been in force since 1994.About 100 schools have been established. Greenlandic and Danish are taught there. Normally, Greenlandic is taught from kindergarten to the end of secondary school, but Danish is compulsory from the first cycle of primary school as a second language. As in Denmark with Danish, the school system provides for "Greenlandic 1" and "Greenlandic 2" courses. Language tests allow students to move from one level to the other. Based on the teachers' evaluation of their students, a third level of courses has been added: "Greenlandic 3". Secondary education in Greenland is generally vocational and technical education. The system is governed by Regulation No. 16 of 28 October 1993 on Vocational and Technical Education, Scholarships and Career Guidance. Danish remains the main language of instruction. The capital, Nuuk, has a (bilingual) teacher training college and a (bilingual) university. At the end of their studies, all students must pass a test in the Greenlandic language.Higher education is offered in Greenland: "university education" (regulation no. 3 of May 9, 1989); training of journalists, training of primary and lower secondary school teachers, training of social workers, training of social educators (regulation no. 1 of May 16, 1989); and training of nurses and nursing assistants (regulation no. 9 of May 13, 1990). Greenlandic students can continue their education in Denmark, if they wish and have the financial means to do so. For admission to Danish educational institutions, Greenlandic applicants are placed on an equal footing with Danish applicants. Scholarships are granted to Greenlandic students who are admitted to Danish educational institutions. To be eligible for these scholarships, the applicant must be a Danish citizen and have had permanent residence in Greenland for at least five years. The total period of residence outside Greenland may not exceed three years.The nomadic Inuit people were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with appeasing a vengeful and fingerless sea goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.The first Norse colonists worshipped the Norse gods, but Erik the Red's son Leif was converted to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 999 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.Rediscovering these colonists and spreading ideas of the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements, but no Norse were found, and instead they began preaching to the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, represented mainly by the Church of Denmark, which is Lutheran in orientation. While there are no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimates that 85% of the Greenlandic population are members of her congregation. The Church of Denmark is the established church through the Constitution of Denmark.The Roman Catholic minority is pastorally served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. There are still Christian missionaries on the island, but mainly from charismatic movements proselytizing fellow Christians. According to Operation World, just 4.7% of Greenlanders are Evangelical Christian, although the Evangelical population is growing at an annual rate of 8.4%.The rate of suicide in Greenland is very high. According to a 2010 census, Greenland holds the highest suicide rate in the world. Another significant social issue faced by Greenland is a high rate of alcoholism. Alcohol consumption rates in Greenland reached their height in the 1980s, when it was twice as high as in Denmark, and had by 2010 fallen slightly below the average level of consumption in Denmark (which at the time were 12th highest in the world, but has since fallen). However, at the same time, alcohol prices are far higher, meaning that consumption has a large social impact. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS used to be high in Greenland and peaked in the 1990s when the fatality rate also was relatively high. Through a number of initiatives the prevalence (along with the fatality rate through efficient treatment) has fallen and is now low, 0.13%, below most other countries. In recent decades, the unemployment rates have generally been somewhat above those in Denmark; in 2017, the rate was 6.8% in Greenland, compared to 5.6% in Denmark.Today Greenlandic culture is a blending of traditional Inuit (Kalaallit, Tunumiit, Inughuit) and Scandinavian culture. Inuit, or Kalaallit, culture has a strong artistic tradition, dating back thousands of years. The Kalaallit are known for an art form of figures called "tupilak" or a "spirit object". Traditional art-making practices thrive in the "Ammassalik". Sperm whale ivory remains a valued medium for carving.Greenland also has a successful, albeit small, music culture. Some popular Greenlandic bands and artists include Sume (classic rock), Chilly Friday (rock), Nanook (rock), Siissisoq (rock), Nuuk Posse (hip hop) and Rasmus Lyberth (folk), who performed in the Danish national final for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, performing in Greenlandic. The singer-songwriter Simon Lynge is the first musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and to perform at the UK's Glastonbury Festival. The music culture of Greenland also includes traditional Inuit music, largely revolving around singing and drums.The drum is the traditional Greenlandic instrument. It was used to perform traditional drum dances. For this purpose, a round drum (qilaat) in the form of a frame made of driftwood or walrus ribs covered with a polar bear bladder, polar bear stomach or walrus stomach was used. The drumming was not done on the membrane, but with a stick from underneath the frame. Simple melodies were sung for this purpose.The drum dance used to serve two functions: On the one hand, the drum was used to drive away fear on long, dark winter nights. To do this, the drum dancer would make faces and try to make others laugh until all fear was forgotten.Disputes were also settled with the drum. If someone had misbehaved, he was challenged with the drum. People would gather at certain powerful places and take turns beating the drum and singing to it. They tried to ridicule the other person as much as possible. The spectators expressed with their laughter who was the winner and who was therefore the guilty one.The drum could also be used by shamans for ritual conjurations of spirits.After the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century, the drum dance (still popular among Canadian Inuit today) was banned as pagan and shamanistic and replaced by polyphonic singing of secular and church songs. This choral singing is known today for its special sound. Church hymns are partly of German origin due to the influence of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde. Scandinavian, German and Scottish whalers brought the fiddle, accordion and polka (kalattuut) to Greenland, where they are now played in intricate dance steps.Sport is an important part of Greenlandic culture, as the population is generally quite active. Popular sports include association football, track and field, handball and skiing. Handball is often referred to as the national sport, and Greenland's men's national team was ranked among the top 20 in the world in 2001.Greenland has excellent conditions for skiing, fishing, snowboarding, ice climbing and rock climbing, although mountain climbing and hiking are preferred by the general public. Although the environment is generally ill-suited for golf, there is a golf course in Nuuk.The national dish of Greenland is suaasat, a soup made from seal meat. Meat from marine mammals, game, birds, and fish play a large role in the Greenlandic diet. Due to the glacial landscape, most ingredients come from the ocean. Spices are seldom used besides salt and pepper. Greenlandic coffee is a "flaming" dessert coffee (set alight before serving) made with coffee, whiskey, Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and whipped cream. It is stronger than the familiar Irish dessert coffee.Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) is the public broadcasting company of Greenland. It is an associate member of Eurovision and an associate member of the Nordvision network. Nearly one hundred people are directly employed by this company, which is one of the largest in the territory. The city of Nuuk also has its own radio and television station. The city of Nuuk also has a local television channel, Nanoq Media, which was created on 1 August 2002. It is the largest local television station in Greenland, reaching more than 4,000 households as receiving members, which corresponds to about 75% of all households in the capital.Today only two newspapers are published in Greenland, both of which are distributed nationally. The Greenlandic weekly Sermitsiaq is published every Friday, while the online version is updated several times a day. It was distributed only in Nuuk until the 1980s. It is named after the mountain Sermitsiaq, located about 15 kilometers northeast of Nuuk. The bi-weekly Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten (AG) is the other newspaper in Greenland, published every Tuesday and Thursday in Greenlandic as Atuagagdliutit and in Danish as Grønlandsposten. The articles are all published in both languages.The Inuit have their own arts and crafts tradition; for example, they carve the tupilak. This Kalaallisut word means soul or spirit of a deceased person and today describes an artistic figure, usually no more than 20 centimetres tall, carved mainly from walrus ivory, with a variety of unusual shapes. This sculpture actually represents a mythical or spiritual being; usually, however, it has become a mere collector's item because of its grotesque appearance for Western visual habits. Modern artisans, however, still use indigenous materials such as musk ox and sheep wool, seal fur, shells, soapstone, reindeer antlers or gemstones.The history of Greenlandic painting began with Aron von Kangeq, who depicted the old Greenlandic sagas and myths in his drawings and watercolours in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century, landscape and animal painting developed, as well as printmaking and book illustrations with sometimes expressive colouring. It was mainly through their landscape paintings that Kiistat Lund and Buuti Pedersen became known abroad. Anne-Birthe Hove chose themes from Greenlandic social life. There is a museum of fine arts in Nuuk, the Nuuk Art Museum.	[ "Kim Kielsen", "Lars-Emil Johansen", "Hans Enoksen", "Kuupik Kleist", "Múte Bourup Egede", "Jonathan Motzfeldt" ]
Who was the chair of Economic Community of West African States in Jun, 1998?	June 20, 1998	{ "text": [ "Abdulsalami Abubakar", "Sani Abacha" ] }	L2_Q193272_P488_11	Macky Sall is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 2015 to Jun, 2016. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2008 to Feb, 2010. Blaise Compaoré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2007 to Dec, 2008. Muhammadu Buhari is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 2018 to Jun, 2019. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2016 to Jun, 2017. Nana Akufo-Addo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Siaka Probyn Stevens is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1982. Alassane Dramane Ouattara is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2012 to Feb, 2013. Alpha Oumar Konaré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Dec, 2001. Ahmed Sékou Touré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1983 to Jan, 1984. John Mahama is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2013 to May, 2015. Abdou Diouf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1993. Mamadou Tandja is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2007. Sani Abacha is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 1996 to Jun, 1998. Mathieu Kérékou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1982 to Jan, 1983. Yakubu Gowon is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 1975 to Jul, 1975. John Kufuor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Jerry Rawlings is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1994 to Jul, 1996. Abdulsalami Abubakar is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 1998 to Jan, 1999. Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 1999. Nicéphore Soglo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1993 to Jan, 1994. Olusegun Obasanjo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1977 to Sep, 1979. Mahamadou Issoufou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2019 to Jun, 2020. Abdoulaye Wade is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Goodluck Jonathan is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2010 to Feb, 2012. Lansana Conté is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2017 to Jul, 2018. Léopold Sédar Senghor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1979 to Dec, 1980.	Economic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also known as ( in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, "Vision 2020", and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).As of February 2017, ECOWAS has 15 member states; eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977. The only former member of ECOWAS is Arabic-speaking Mauritania, which was also one of the founding members in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the summit of heads of state in June 2017, but Morocco's bid for membership was stalled.Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.The ECOWAS nations assigned a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981, that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community.The Community Parliament consists of 115 members, distributed based on the population of each member state. This body is headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, who is above the Secretary General.For the third time since its inception in 1975, ECOWAS is undergoing institutional reforms. The first was when it revised its treaty on 24 July 1993; the second was in 2007 when the Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. As of July 2013, ECOWAS now has six new departments (Human Resources Management; Education, Science and Culture; Energy and Mines; Telecommunications and IT; Industry and Private Sector Promotion. Finance and Administration to Sierra Leone has been decoupled, to give the incoming Ghana Commissioner the new portfolio of Administration and Conferences).The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of the Community in 1993. However, the Court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 November 1996. The jurisdiction of the court is outlined in Article 9 and Articles 76 of the Revised Treaty and allows rulings on disputes between states over interpretations of the Revised Treaty. It also provides the ECOWAS Council with advisory opinions on legal issues (Article 10). Like its companion courts, the European Court of Human Rights and East African Court of Justice, it has jurisdiction to rule on fundamental human rights breaches.ECOWAS nations organise a broad array of cultural and sports events under the auspices of the body, including the CEDEAO Cup in football, the 2012 ECOWAS Games and the Miss CEDEAO beauty pageant.The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA from its name in French, "Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine") is an organisation of eight, mainly francophone West African states within the ECOWAS, that were dominated otherwise by anglophone heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organisation's eighth (and only non-francophone) member state.UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include:Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalisation and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA's customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms.Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organisation together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone.In 2019, ECOWAS unveiled its Ecotour Action Plan 2019 – 2029. It focuses on tourism heritage protection and development, and on the development of standards, regulations and control systems.	[ "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade", "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Sani Abacha", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade" ]
Who was the chair of Economic Community of West African States in 1998-06-20?	June 20, 1998	{ "text": [ "Abdulsalami Abubakar", "Sani Abacha" ] }	L2_Q193272_P488_11	Macky Sall is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 2015 to Jun, 2016. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2008 to Feb, 2010. Blaise Compaoré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2007 to Dec, 2008. Muhammadu Buhari is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 2018 to Jun, 2019. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2016 to Jun, 2017. Nana Akufo-Addo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Siaka Probyn Stevens is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1982. Alassane Dramane Ouattara is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2012 to Feb, 2013. Alpha Oumar Konaré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Dec, 2001. Ahmed Sékou Touré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1983 to Jan, 1984. John Mahama is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2013 to May, 2015. Abdou Diouf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1993. Mamadou Tandja is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2007. Sani Abacha is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 1996 to Jun, 1998. Mathieu Kérékou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1982 to Jan, 1983. Yakubu Gowon is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 1975 to Jul, 1975. John Kufuor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Jerry Rawlings is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1994 to Jul, 1996. Abdulsalami Abubakar is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 1998 to Jan, 1999. Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 1999. Nicéphore Soglo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1993 to Jan, 1994. Olusegun Obasanjo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1977 to Sep, 1979. Mahamadou Issoufou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2019 to Jun, 2020. Abdoulaye Wade is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Goodluck Jonathan is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2010 to Feb, 2012. Lansana Conté is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2017 to Jul, 2018. Léopold Sédar Senghor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1979 to Dec, 1980.	Economic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also known as ( in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, "Vision 2020", and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).As of February 2017, ECOWAS has 15 member states; eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977. The only former member of ECOWAS is Arabic-speaking Mauritania, which was also one of the founding members in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the summit of heads of state in June 2017, but Morocco's bid for membership was stalled.Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.The ECOWAS nations assigned a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981, that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community.The Community Parliament consists of 115 members, distributed based on the population of each member state. This body is headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, who is above the Secretary General.For the third time since its inception in 1975, ECOWAS is undergoing institutional reforms. The first was when it revised its treaty on 24 July 1993; the second was in 2007 when the Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. As of July 2013, ECOWAS now has six new departments (Human Resources Management; Education, Science and Culture; Energy and Mines; Telecommunications and IT; Industry and Private Sector Promotion. Finance and Administration to Sierra Leone has been decoupled, to give the incoming Ghana Commissioner the new portfolio of Administration and Conferences).The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of the Community in 1993. However, the Court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 November 1996. The jurisdiction of the court is outlined in Article 9 and Articles 76 of the Revised Treaty and allows rulings on disputes between states over interpretations of the Revised Treaty. It also provides the ECOWAS Council with advisory opinions on legal issues (Article 10). Like its companion courts, the European Court of Human Rights and East African Court of Justice, it has jurisdiction to rule on fundamental human rights breaches.ECOWAS nations organise a broad array of cultural and sports events under the auspices of the body, including the CEDEAO Cup in football, the 2012 ECOWAS Games and the Miss CEDEAO beauty pageant.The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA from its name in French, "Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine") is an organisation of eight, mainly francophone West African states within the ECOWAS, that were dominated otherwise by anglophone heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organisation's eighth (and only non-francophone) member state.UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include:Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalisation and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA's customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms.Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organisation together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone.In 2019, ECOWAS unveiled its Ecotour Action Plan 2019 – 2029. It focuses on tourism heritage protection and development, and on the development of standards, regulations and control systems.	[ "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade", "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Sani Abacha", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade" ]
Who was the chair of Economic Community of West African States in 20/06/1998?	June 20, 1998	{ "text": [ "Abdulsalami Abubakar", "Sani Abacha" ] }	L2_Q193272_P488_11	Macky Sall is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 2015 to Jun, 2016. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2008 to Feb, 2010. Blaise Compaoré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2007 to Dec, 2008. Muhammadu Buhari is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 2018 to Jun, 2019. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2016 to Jun, 2017. Nana Akufo-Addo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Siaka Probyn Stevens is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1982. Alassane Dramane Ouattara is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2012 to Feb, 2013. Alpha Oumar Konaré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Dec, 2001. Ahmed Sékou Touré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1983 to Jan, 1984. John Mahama is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2013 to May, 2015. Abdou Diouf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1993. Mamadou Tandja is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2007. Sani Abacha is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 1996 to Jun, 1998. Mathieu Kérékou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1982 to Jan, 1983. Yakubu Gowon is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 1975 to Jul, 1975. John Kufuor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Jerry Rawlings is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1994 to Jul, 1996. Abdulsalami Abubakar is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 1998 to Jan, 1999. Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 1999. Nicéphore Soglo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1993 to Jan, 1994. Olusegun Obasanjo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1977 to Sep, 1979. Mahamadou Issoufou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2019 to Jun, 2020. Abdoulaye Wade is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Goodluck Jonathan is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2010 to Feb, 2012. Lansana Conté is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2017 to Jul, 2018. Léopold Sédar Senghor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1979 to Dec, 1980.	Economic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also known as ( in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, "Vision 2020", and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).As of February 2017, ECOWAS has 15 member states; eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977. The only former member of ECOWAS is Arabic-speaking Mauritania, which was also one of the founding members in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the summit of heads of state in June 2017, but Morocco's bid for membership was stalled.Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.The ECOWAS nations assigned a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981, that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community.The Community Parliament consists of 115 members, distributed based on the population of each member state. This body is headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, who is above the Secretary General.For the third time since its inception in 1975, ECOWAS is undergoing institutional reforms. The first was when it revised its treaty on 24 July 1993; the second was in 2007 when the Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. As of July 2013, ECOWAS now has six new departments (Human Resources Management; Education, Science and Culture; Energy and Mines; Telecommunications and IT; Industry and Private Sector Promotion. Finance and Administration to Sierra Leone has been decoupled, to give the incoming Ghana Commissioner the new portfolio of Administration and Conferences).The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of the Community in 1993. However, the Court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 November 1996. The jurisdiction of the court is outlined in Article 9 and Articles 76 of the Revised Treaty and allows rulings on disputes between states over interpretations of the Revised Treaty. It also provides the ECOWAS Council with advisory opinions on legal issues (Article 10). Like its companion courts, the European Court of Human Rights and East African Court of Justice, it has jurisdiction to rule on fundamental human rights breaches.ECOWAS nations organise a broad array of cultural and sports events under the auspices of the body, including the CEDEAO Cup in football, the 2012 ECOWAS Games and the Miss CEDEAO beauty pageant.The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA from its name in French, "Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine") is an organisation of eight, mainly francophone West African states within the ECOWAS, that were dominated otherwise by anglophone heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organisation's eighth (and only non-francophone) member state.UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include:Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalisation and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA's customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms.Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organisation together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone.In 2019, ECOWAS unveiled its Ecotour Action Plan 2019 – 2029. It focuses on tourism heritage protection and development, and on the development of standards, regulations and control systems.	[ "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade", "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Sani Abacha", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade" ]
Who was the chair of Economic Community of West African States in Jun 20, 1998?	June 20, 1998	{ "text": [ "Abdulsalami Abubakar", "Sani Abacha" ] }	L2_Q193272_P488_11	Macky Sall is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 2015 to Jun, 2016. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2008 to Feb, 2010. Blaise Compaoré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2007 to Dec, 2008. Muhammadu Buhari is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 2018 to Jun, 2019. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2016 to Jun, 2017. Nana Akufo-Addo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Siaka Probyn Stevens is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1982. Alassane Dramane Ouattara is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2012 to Feb, 2013. Alpha Oumar Konaré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Dec, 2001. Ahmed Sékou Touré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1983 to Jan, 1984. John Mahama is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2013 to May, 2015. Abdou Diouf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1993. Mamadou Tandja is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2007. Sani Abacha is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 1996 to Jun, 1998. Mathieu Kérékou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1982 to Jan, 1983. Yakubu Gowon is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 1975 to Jul, 1975. John Kufuor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Jerry Rawlings is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1994 to Jul, 1996. Abdulsalami Abubakar is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 1998 to Jan, 1999. Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 1999. Nicéphore Soglo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1993 to Jan, 1994. Olusegun Obasanjo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1977 to Sep, 1979. Mahamadou Issoufou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2019 to Jun, 2020. Abdoulaye Wade is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Goodluck Jonathan is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2010 to Feb, 2012. Lansana Conté is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2017 to Jul, 2018. Léopold Sédar Senghor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1979 to Dec, 1980.	Economic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also known as ( in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, "Vision 2020", and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).As of February 2017, ECOWAS has 15 member states; eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977. The only former member of ECOWAS is Arabic-speaking Mauritania, which was also one of the founding members in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the summit of heads of state in June 2017, but Morocco's bid for membership was stalled.Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.The ECOWAS nations assigned a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981, that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community.The Community Parliament consists of 115 members, distributed based on the population of each member state. This body is headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, who is above the Secretary General.For the third time since its inception in 1975, ECOWAS is undergoing institutional reforms. The first was when it revised its treaty on 24 July 1993; the second was in 2007 when the Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. As of July 2013, ECOWAS now has six new departments (Human Resources Management; Education, Science and Culture; Energy and Mines; Telecommunications and IT; Industry and Private Sector Promotion. Finance and Administration to Sierra Leone has been decoupled, to give the incoming Ghana Commissioner the new portfolio of Administration and Conferences).The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of the Community in 1993. However, the Court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 November 1996. The jurisdiction of the court is outlined in Article 9 and Articles 76 of the Revised Treaty and allows rulings on disputes between states over interpretations of the Revised Treaty. It also provides the ECOWAS Council with advisory opinions on legal issues (Article 10). Like its companion courts, the European Court of Human Rights and East African Court of Justice, it has jurisdiction to rule on fundamental human rights breaches.ECOWAS nations organise a broad array of cultural and sports events under the auspices of the body, including the CEDEAO Cup in football, the 2012 ECOWAS Games and the Miss CEDEAO beauty pageant.The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA from its name in French, "Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine") is an organisation of eight, mainly francophone West African states within the ECOWAS, that were dominated otherwise by anglophone heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organisation's eighth (and only non-francophone) member state.UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include:Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalisation and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA's customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms.Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organisation together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone.In 2019, ECOWAS unveiled its Ecotour Action Plan 2019 – 2029. It focuses on tourism heritage protection and development, and on the development of standards, regulations and control systems.	[ "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade", "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Sani Abacha", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade" ]
Who was the chair of Economic Community of West African States in 06/20/1998?	June 20, 1998	{ "text": [ "Abdulsalami Abubakar", "Sani Abacha" ] }	L2_Q193272_P488_11	Macky Sall is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 2015 to Jun, 2016. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2008 to Feb, 2010. Blaise Compaoré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2007 to Dec, 2008. Muhammadu Buhari is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 2018 to Jun, 2019. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2016 to Jun, 2017. Nana Akufo-Addo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Siaka Probyn Stevens is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1982. Alassane Dramane Ouattara is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2012 to Feb, 2013. Alpha Oumar Konaré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Dec, 2001. Ahmed Sékou Touré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1983 to Jan, 1984. John Mahama is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2013 to May, 2015. Abdou Diouf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1993. Mamadou Tandja is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2007. Sani Abacha is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 1996 to Jun, 1998. Mathieu Kérékou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1982 to Jan, 1983. Yakubu Gowon is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 1975 to Jul, 1975. John Kufuor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Jerry Rawlings is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1994 to Jul, 1996. Abdulsalami Abubakar is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 1998 to Jan, 1999. Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 1999. Nicéphore Soglo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1993 to Jan, 1994. Olusegun Obasanjo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1977 to Sep, 1979. Mahamadou Issoufou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2019 to Jun, 2020. Abdoulaye Wade is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Goodluck Jonathan is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2010 to Feb, 2012. Lansana Conté is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2017 to Jul, 2018. Léopold Sédar Senghor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1979 to Dec, 1980.	Economic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also known as ( in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, "Vision 2020", and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).As of February 2017, ECOWAS has 15 member states; eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977. The only former member of ECOWAS is Arabic-speaking Mauritania, which was also one of the founding members in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the summit of heads of state in June 2017, but Morocco's bid for membership was stalled.Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.The ECOWAS nations assigned a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981, that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community.The Community Parliament consists of 115 members, distributed based on the population of each member state. This body is headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, who is above the Secretary General.For the third time since its inception in 1975, ECOWAS is undergoing institutional reforms. The first was when it revised its treaty on 24 July 1993; the second was in 2007 when the Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. As of July 2013, ECOWAS now has six new departments (Human Resources Management; Education, Science and Culture; Energy and Mines; Telecommunications and IT; Industry and Private Sector Promotion. Finance and Administration to Sierra Leone has been decoupled, to give the incoming Ghana Commissioner the new portfolio of Administration and Conferences).The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of the Community in 1993. However, the Court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 November 1996. The jurisdiction of the court is outlined in Article 9 and Articles 76 of the Revised Treaty and allows rulings on disputes between states over interpretations of the Revised Treaty. It also provides the ECOWAS Council with advisory opinions on legal issues (Article 10). Like its companion courts, the European Court of Human Rights and East African Court of Justice, it has jurisdiction to rule on fundamental human rights breaches.ECOWAS nations organise a broad array of cultural and sports events under the auspices of the body, including the CEDEAO Cup in football, the 2012 ECOWAS Games and the Miss CEDEAO beauty pageant.The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA from its name in French, "Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine") is an organisation of eight, mainly francophone West African states within the ECOWAS, that were dominated otherwise by anglophone heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organisation's eighth (and only non-francophone) member state.UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include:Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalisation and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA's customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms.Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organisation together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone.In 2019, ECOWAS unveiled its Ecotour Action Plan 2019 – 2029. It focuses on tourism heritage protection and development, and on the development of standards, regulations and control systems.	[ "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade", "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Sani Abacha", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade" ]
Who was the chair of Economic Community of West African States in 20-Jun-199820-June-1998?	June 20, 1998	{ "text": [ "Abdulsalami Abubakar", "Sani Abacha" ] }	L2_Q193272_P488_11	Macky Sall is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 2015 to Jun, 2016. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2008 to Feb, 2010. Blaise Compaoré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2007 to Dec, 2008. Muhammadu Buhari is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 2018 to Jun, 2019. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2016 to Jun, 2017. Nana Akufo-Addo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Siaka Probyn Stevens is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1982. Alassane Dramane Ouattara is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2012 to Feb, 2013. Alpha Oumar Konaré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Dec, 2001. Ahmed Sékou Touré is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1983 to Jan, 1984. John Mahama is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2013 to May, 2015. Abdou Diouf is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1993. Mamadou Tandja is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2007. Sani Abacha is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jul, 1996 to Jun, 1998. Mathieu Kérékou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1982 to Jan, 1983. Yakubu Gowon is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from May, 1975 to Jul, 1975. John Kufuor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2005. Jerry Rawlings is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1994 to Jul, 1996. Abdulsalami Abubakar is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 1998 to Jan, 1999. Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1999 to Jan, 1999. Nicéphore Soglo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1993 to Jan, 1994. Olusegun Obasanjo is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1977 to Sep, 1979. Mahamadou Issoufou is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2019 to Jun, 2020. Abdoulaye Wade is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Dec, 2001 to Jan, 2003. Goodluck Jonathan is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Feb, 2010 to Feb, 2012. Lansana Conté is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Jun, 2017 to Jul, 2018. Léopold Sédar Senghor is the chair of Economic Community of West African States from Sep, 1979 to Dec, 1980.	Economic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also known as ( in French), is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou. Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.The ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc's member countries at times of political instability and unrest. In recent years these included interventions in Ivory Coast in 2003, Liberia in 2003, Guinea-Bissau in 2012, Mali in 2013, and The Gambia in 2017.ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:In addition, ECOWAS includes the following institutions: ECOWAS Commission, Community Court of Justice, Community Parliament, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).The ECOWAS operates in three co-official languages—French, English, and Portuguese, and consists of two institutions to implement policies: the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. In 1976, Cape Verde joined the ECOWAS, while Mauritania withdrew in December 2000, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.In 2011, the ECOWAS adopted its development blueprint for the next decade, "Vision 2020", and, to accompany it, a Policy on Science and Technology (ECOPOST).As of February 2017, ECOWAS has 15 member states; eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking, and two Portuguese-speaking. All current members joined the community as founding members in May 1975, except Cape Verde which joined in 1977. The only former member of ECOWAS is Arabic-speaking Mauritania, which was also one of the founding members in 1975 and decided to withdraw in December 2000. Mauritania recently signed a new associate-membership agreement in August 2017.Morocco officially requested to join ECOWAS in February 2017. The application was endorsed in principle at the summit of heads of state in June 2017, but Morocco's bid for membership was stalled.Statistics for population, nominal GDP and purchasing power parity GDP listed below are taken from World Bank estimates for 2015, published in December 2016. Area data is taken from a 2012 report compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.The ECOWAS nations assigned a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981, that provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community.The Community Parliament consists of 115 members, distributed based on the population of each member state. This body is headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, who is above the Secretary General.For the third time since its inception in 1975, ECOWAS is undergoing institutional reforms. The first was when it revised its treaty on 24 July 1993; the second was in 2007 when the Secretariat was transformed into a Commission. As of July 2013, ECOWAS now has six new departments (Human Resources Management; Education, Science and Culture; Energy and Mines; Telecommunications and IT; Industry and Private Sector Promotion. Finance and Administration to Sierra Leone has been decoupled, to give the incoming Ghana Commissioner the new portfolio of Administration and Conferences).The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of the Community in 1993. However, the Court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 November 1996. The jurisdiction of the court is outlined in Article 9 and Articles 76 of the Revised Treaty and allows rulings on disputes between states over interpretations of the Revised Treaty. It also provides the ECOWAS Council with advisory opinions on legal issues (Article 10). Like its companion courts, the European Court of Human Rights and East African Court of Justice, it has jurisdiction to rule on fundamental human rights breaches.ECOWAS nations organise a broad array of cultural and sports events under the auspices of the body, including the CEDEAO Cup in football, the 2012 ECOWAS Games and the Miss CEDEAO beauty pageant.The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA from its name in French, "Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine") is an organisation of eight, mainly francophone West African states within the ECOWAS, that were dominated otherwise by anglophone heavyweights like Nigeria and Ghana. It was established to promote economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency. UEMOA was created by a Treaty signed at Dakar, Senegal, on 10 January 1994, by the heads of state and governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. On 2 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, became the organisation's eighth (and only non-francophone) member state.UEMOA is a customs union and currency union between the members of ECOWAS. Its objectives include:Among its achievements, the UEMOA has successfully implemented macro-economic convergence criteria and an effective surveillance mechanism. It has adopted a customs union and common external tariff and has combined indirect taxation regulations, in addition to initiating regional structural and sectoral policies. A September 2002 IMF survey cited the UEMOA as "the furthest along the path toward integration" of all the regional groupings in Africa.ECOWAS and UEMOA have developed a common plan of action on trade liberalisation and macroeconomic policy convergence. The organizations have also agreed on common rules of origin to enhance trade, and ECOWAS has agreed to adopt UEMOA's customs declaration forms and compensation mechanisms.Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco. The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organisation together in 2000 and Liberia who joined on 16 February 2010. Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.A Trans-ECOWAS project, established in 2007, plans to upgrade railways in this zone.In 2019, ECOWAS unveiled its Ecotour Action Plan 2019 – 2029. It focuses on tourism heritage protection and development, and on the development of standards, regulations and control systems.	[ "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade", "Yakubu Gowon", "Jerry Rawlings", "Alpha Oumar Konaré", "Nana Akufo-Addo", "Muhammadu Buhari", "Goodluck Jonathan", "John Kufuor", "Macky Sall", "Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Mathieu Kérékou", "Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma", "Ahmed Sékou Touré", "Abdou Diouf", "Olusegun Obasanjo", "Sani Abacha", "Umaru Musa Yar'Adua", "Mahamadou Issoufou", "Mamadou Tandja", "Siaka Probyn Stevens", "Alassane Dramane Ouattara", "Nicéphore Soglo", "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "Lansana Conté", "Blaise Compaoré", "Léopold Sédar Senghor", "John Mahama", "Abdoulaye Wade" ]
Who was the head of Esch-sur-Alzette in Feb, 1944?	February 27, 1944	{ "text": [ "Hubert Clément" ] }	L2_Q16010_P6_17	François-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1836 to Jan, 1841. Arthur Useldinger is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1970 to Mar, 1978. Johannes-Nepomuk Haas is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1814 to May, 1828. Henri Motté is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1828 to Jan, 1830. Hubert Clément is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1944 to Jan, 1945. Joseph Brebsom is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1978 to Jan, 1990. Léon Metz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1906 to Jan, 1909. Jules Schreiner is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1969. François Schaack is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 2000. Victor Wilhelm is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1921 to Jan, 1934. Pierre Claude is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1861 to Jan, 1878. Jacques Schmit is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1843 to Jan, 1861. Antoine Krier is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1951 to Jan, 1965. Nicolas Biwer is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1917 to Jan, 1919. Vera Spautz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 2013 to Nov, 2017. Josef Kohns is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1944. Armand Spoo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1909 to Jan, 1911. Dominique Stoffel is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1841 to Jan, 1843. Lydia Mutsch is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jun, 2000 to Dec, 2013. Jules Heisten is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1940 to Jan, 1941. Jean-Pierre Michels is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1912 to Feb, 1917. Jean-Pierre Pierrard is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1919 to Jan, 1920. Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1879 to Aug, 1906. Otto Komp is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1942. Theodor Feldhege is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1942 to Jan, 1943. Georges Mischo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Nov, 2017 to Dec, 2022.	Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly to the north-east.For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded. The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997. The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall.The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk. Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E ("tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette", intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by lines 307, 312, 313 and 314 of the R.G.T.R.Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:	[ "Jean-Pierre Michels", "Armand Spoo", "Otto Komp", "Dominique Stoffel", "Johannes-Nepomuk Haas", "Jacques Schmit", "Jules Schreiner", "Georges Mischo", "Henri Motté", "Theodor Feldhege", "Lydia Mutsch", "Victor Wilhelm", "Jean-Pierre Pierrard", "Josef Kohns", "Vera Spautz", "Joseph Brebsom", "Arthur Useldinger", "Antoine Krier", "Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin", "Léon Metz", "François-Joseph Hoferlin", "Nicolas Biwer", "Pierre Claude", "Jules Heisten", "François Schaack" ]
Who was the head of Esch-sur-Alzette in 1944-02-27?	February 27, 1944	{ "text": [ "Hubert Clément" ] }	L2_Q16010_P6_17	François-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1836 to Jan, 1841. Arthur Useldinger is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1970 to Mar, 1978. Johannes-Nepomuk Haas is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1814 to May, 1828. Henri Motté is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1828 to Jan, 1830. Hubert Clément is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1944 to Jan, 1945. Joseph Brebsom is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1978 to Jan, 1990. Léon Metz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1906 to Jan, 1909. Jules Schreiner is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1969. François Schaack is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 2000. Victor Wilhelm is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1921 to Jan, 1934. Pierre Claude is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1861 to Jan, 1878. Jacques Schmit is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1843 to Jan, 1861. Antoine Krier is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1951 to Jan, 1965. Nicolas Biwer is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1917 to Jan, 1919. Vera Spautz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 2013 to Nov, 2017. Josef Kohns is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1944. Armand Spoo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1909 to Jan, 1911. Dominique Stoffel is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1841 to Jan, 1843. Lydia Mutsch is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jun, 2000 to Dec, 2013. Jules Heisten is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1940 to Jan, 1941. Jean-Pierre Michels is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1912 to Feb, 1917. Jean-Pierre Pierrard is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1919 to Jan, 1920. Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1879 to Aug, 1906. Otto Komp is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1942. Theodor Feldhege is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1942 to Jan, 1943. Georges Mischo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Nov, 2017 to Dec, 2022.	Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly to the north-east.For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded. The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997. The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall.The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk. Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E ("tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette", intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by lines 307, 312, 313 and 314 of the R.G.T.R.Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:	[ "Jean-Pierre Michels", "Armand Spoo", "Otto Komp", "Dominique Stoffel", "Johannes-Nepomuk Haas", "Jacques Schmit", "Jules Schreiner", "Georges Mischo", "Henri Motté", "Theodor Feldhege", "Lydia Mutsch", "Victor Wilhelm", "Jean-Pierre Pierrard", "Josef Kohns", "Vera Spautz", "Joseph Brebsom", "Arthur Useldinger", "Antoine Krier", "Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin", "Léon Metz", "François-Joseph Hoferlin", "Nicolas Biwer", "Pierre Claude", "Jules Heisten", "François Schaack" ]
Who was the head of Esch-sur-Alzette in 27/02/1944?	February 27, 1944	{ "text": [ "Hubert Clément" ] }	L2_Q16010_P6_17	François-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1836 to Jan, 1841. Arthur Useldinger is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1970 to Mar, 1978. Johannes-Nepomuk Haas is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1814 to May, 1828. Henri Motté is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1828 to Jan, 1830. Hubert Clément is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1944 to Jan, 1945. Joseph Brebsom is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1978 to Jan, 1990. Léon Metz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1906 to Jan, 1909. Jules Schreiner is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1969. François Schaack is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 2000. Victor Wilhelm is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1921 to Jan, 1934. Pierre Claude is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1861 to Jan, 1878. Jacques Schmit is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1843 to Jan, 1861. Antoine Krier is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1951 to Jan, 1965. Nicolas Biwer is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1917 to Jan, 1919. Vera Spautz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 2013 to Nov, 2017. Josef Kohns is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1944. Armand Spoo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1909 to Jan, 1911. Dominique Stoffel is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1841 to Jan, 1843. Lydia Mutsch is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jun, 2000 to Dec, 2013. Jules Heisten is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1940 to Jan, 1941. Jean-Pierre Michels is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1912 to Feb, 1917. Jean-Pierre Pierrard is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1919 to Jan, 1920. Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1879 to Aug, 1906. Otto Komp is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1942. Theodor Feldhege is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1942 to Jan, 1943. Georges Mischo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Nov, 2017 to Dec, 2022.	Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly to the north-east.For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded. The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997. The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall.The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk. Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E ("tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette", intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by lines 307, 312, 313 and 314 of the R.G.T.R.Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:	[ "Jean-Pierre Michels", "Armand Spoo", "Otto Komp", "Dominique Stoffel", "Johannes-Nepomuk Haas", "Jacques Schmit", "Jules Schreiner", "Georges Mischo", "Henri Motté", "Theodor Feldhege", "Lydia Mutsch", "Victor Wilhelm", "Jean-Pierre Pierrard", "Josef Kohns", "Vera Spautz", "Joseph Brebsom", "Arthur Useldinger", "Antoine Krier", "Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin", "Léon Metz", "François-Joseph Hoferlin", "Nicolas Biwer", "Pierre Claude", "Jules Heisten", "François Schaack" ]
Who was the head of Esch-sur-Alzette in Feb 27, 1944?	February 27, 1944	{ "text": [ "Hubert Clément" ] }	L2_Q16010_P6_17	François-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1836 to Jan, 1841. Arthur Useldinger is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1970 to Mar, 1978. Johannes-Nepomuk Haas is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1814 to May, 1828. Henri Motté is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1828 to Jan, 1830. Hubert Clément is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1944 to Jan, 1945. Joseph Brebsom is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1978 to Jan, 1990. Léon Metz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1906 to Jan, 1909. Jules Schreiner is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1969. François Schaack is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 2000. Victor Wilhelm is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1921 to Jan, 1934. Pierre Claude is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1861 to Jan, 1878. Jacques Schmit is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1843 to Jan, 1861. Antoine Krier is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1951 to Jan, 1965. Nicolas Biwer is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1917 to Jan, 1919. Vera Spautz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 2013 to Nov, 2017. Josef Kohns is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1944. Armand Spoo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1909 to Jan, 1911. Dominique Stoffel is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1841 to Jan, 1843. Lydia Mutsch is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jun, 2000 to Dec, 2013. Jules Heisten is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1940 to Jan, 1941. Jean-Pierre Michels is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1912 to Feb, 1917. Jean-Pierre Pierrard is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1919 to Jan, 1920. Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1879 to Aug, 1906. Otto Komp is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1942. Theodor Feldhege is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1942 to Jan, 1943. Georges Mischo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Nov, 2017 to Dec, 2022.	Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly to the north-east.For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded. The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997. The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall.The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk. Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E ("tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette", intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by lines 307, 312, 313 and 314 of the R.G.T.R.Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:	[ "Jean-Pierre Michels", "Armand Spoo", "Otto Komp", "Dominique Stoffel", "Johannes-Nepomuk Haas", "Jacques Schmit", "Jules Schreiner", "Georges Mischo", "Henri Motté", "Theodor Feldhege", "Lydia Mutsch", "Victor Wilhelm", "Jean-Pierre Pierrard", "Josef Kohns", "Vera Spautz", "Joseph Brebsom", "Arthur Useldinger", "Antoine Krier", "Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin", "Léon Metz", "François-Joseph Hoferlin", "Nicolas Biwer", "Pierre Claude", "Jules Heisten", "François Schaack" ]
Who was the head of Esch-sur-Alzette in 02/27/1944?	February 27, 1944	{ "text": [ "Hubert Clément" ] }	L2_Q16010_P6_17	François-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1836 to Jan, 1841. Arthur Useldinger is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1970 to Mar, 1978. Johannes-Nepomuk Haas is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1814 to May, 1828. Henri Motté is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1828 to Jan, 1830. Hubert Clément is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1944 to Jan, 1945. Joseph Brebsom is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1978 to Jan, 1990. Léon Metz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1906 to Jan, 1909. Jules Schreiner is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1969. François Schaack is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 2000. Victor Wilhelm is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1921 to Jan, 1934. Pierre Claude is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1861 to Jan, 1878. Jacques Schmit is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1843 to Jan, 1861. Antoine Krier is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1951 to Jan, 1965. Nicolas Biwer is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1917 to Jan, 1919. Vera Spautz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 2013 to Nov, 2017. Josef Kohns is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1944. Armand Spoo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1909 to Jan, 1911. Dominique Stoffel is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1841 to Jan, 1843. Lydia Mutsch is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jun, 2000 to Dec, 2013. Jules Heisten is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1940 to Jan, 1941. Jean-Pierre Michels is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1912 to Feb, 1917. Jean-Pierre Pierrard is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1919 to Jan, 1920. Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1879 to Aug, 1906. Otto Komp is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1942. Theodor Feldhege is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1942 to Jan, 1943. Georges Mischo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Nov, 2017 to Dec, 2022.	Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly to the north-east.For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded. The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997. The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall.The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk. Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E ("tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette", intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by lines 307, 312, 313 and 314 of the R.G.T.R.Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:	[ "Jean-Pierre Michels", "Armand Spoo", "Otto Komp", "Dominique Stoffel", "Johannes-Nepomuk Haas", "Jacques Schmit", "Jules Schreiner", "Georges Mischo", "Henri Motté", "Theodor Feldhege", "Lydia Mutsch", "Victor Wilhelm", "Jean-Pierre Pierrard", "Josef Kohns", "Vera Spautz", "Joseph Brebsom", "Arthur Useldinger", "Antoine Krier", "Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin", "Léon Metz", "François-Joseph Hoferlin", "Nicolas Biwer", "Pierre Claude", "Jules Heisten", "François Schaack" ]
Who was the head of Esch-sur-Alzette in 27-Feb-194427-February-1944?	February 27, 1944	{ "text": [ "Hubert Clément" ] }	L2_Q16010_P6_17	François-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1836 to Jan, 1841. Arthur Useldinger is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1970 to Mar, 1978. Johannes-Nepomuk Haas is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1814 to May, 1828. Henri Motté is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1828 to Jan, 1830. Hubert Clément is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1944 to Jan, 1945. Joseph Brebsom is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1978 to Jan, 1990. Léon Metz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1906 to Jan, 1909. Jules Schreiner is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1969. François Schaack is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 2000. Victor Wilhelm is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1921 to Jan, 1934. Pierre Claude is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1861 to Jan, 1878. Jacques Schmit is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1843 to Jan, 1861. Antoine Krier is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1951 to Jan, 1965. Nicolas Biwer is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1917 to Jan, 1919. Vera Spautz is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 2013 to Nov, 2017. Josef Kohns is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1944. Armand Spoo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1909 to Jan, 1911. Dominique Stoffel is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1841 to Jan, 1843. Lydia Mutsch is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jun, 2000 to Dec, 2013. Jules Heisten is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1940 to Jan, 1941. Jean-Pierre Michels is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1912 to Feb, 1917. Jean-Pierre Pierrard is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1919 to Jan, 1920. Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1879 to Aug, 1906. Otto Komp is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1942. Theodor Feldhege is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Jan, 1942 to Jan, 1943. Georges Mischo is the head of the government of Esch-sur-Alzette from Nov, 2017 to Dec, 2022.	Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly to the north-east.For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded. The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997. The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall.The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk. Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E ("tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette", intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by lines 307, 312, 313 and 314 of the R.G.T.R.Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:	[ "Jean-Pierre Michels", "Armand Spoo", "Otto Komp", "Dominique Stoffel", "Johannes-Nepomuk Haas", "Jacques Schmit", "Jules Schreiner", "Georges Mischo", "Henri Motté", "Theodor Feldhege", "Lydia Mutsch", "Victor Wilhelm", "Jean-Pierre Pierrard", "Josef Kohns", "Vera Spautz", "Joseph Brebsom", "Arthur Useldinger", "Antoine Krier", "Dominique-Joseph Hoferlin", "Léon Metz", "François-Joseph Hoferlin", "Nicolas Biwer", "Pierre Claude", "Jules Heisten", "François Schaack" ]
Who was the head coach of the team Sweden men's national ice hockey team in Oct, 1992?	October 29, 1992	{ "text": [ "Curt Lundmark" ] }	L2_Q913643_P286_10	Pär Mårts is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2016. Curt Lundmark is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1995. Peter Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2000. Tommy Sandlin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1986 to Jan, 1990. Ed Reigle is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1957 to Jan, 1960. Anders Parmström is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1984. Bengt Ohlson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Sam Hallam is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Johan Garpenlöv is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2019 to Jan, 2022. Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Feb, 2005 to Jan, 2010. Claes-Göran Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2004 to Feb, 2005. Leif Boork is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Arne Strömberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1960 to Jan, 1971. Anders Hedberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Folke "Masen" Jansson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1956 to Jan, 1957. Rikard Grönborg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2016 to Jan, 2019. Ronald Pettersson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1974 to Jan, 1976. Kjell Svensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1974. Kent Forsberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 1998. Conny Evensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 1992.	Sweden men's national ice hockey teamThe Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.The team's nickname "Tre kronor", meaning "Three Crowns", refers to the emblem on the team jersey, which is found in the lesser national coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first time this emblem was used on the national team's jersey was on 12 February 1938, during the World Championships in Prague.The team has won numerous medals at both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. In 2006, they became the first, and so far only, team to win both tournaments in the same calendar year, by winning the 2006 Winter Olympics in a thrilling final against Finland by 3–2, and the 2006 World Championships by beating Czech Republic in the final, 4–0. In 2013 the team was the first team to win the World Championships at home since the Soviet Union in 1986. In 2018, the Swedish team won its 11th title at the World Championships. In 2021 Sweden failed to reach the playoffs for the first time after the tournament implemented the playoff system, placing 9th, tying their 1937 team for their worst placement in tournament history.Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.Head coach: Johan GarpenlövThe following table shows Sweden's all-time international record in official matches (WC, OG, EC), correct as of 21 May 2015.Teams named in "italics" are no longer active.	[ "Bengt Ohlson", "Kent Forsberg", "Johan Garpenlöv", "Anders Hedberg", "Sam Hallam", "Ronald Pettersson", "Pär Mårts", "Peter Wallin", "Tommy Sandlin", "Folke \"Masen\" Jansson", "Ed Reigle", "Rikard Grönborg", "Conny Evensson", "Anders Parmström", "Arne Strömberg", "Leif Boork", "Kjell Svensson", "Bengt-Åke Gustafsson", "Claes-Göran Wallin" ]
Who was the head coach of the team Sweden men's national ice hockey team in 1992-10-29?	October 29, 1992	{ "text": [ "Curt Lundmark" ] }	L2_Q913643_P286_10	Pär Mårts is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2016. Curt Lundmark is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1995. Peter Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2000. Tommy Sandlin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1986 to Jan, 1990. Ed Reigle is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1957 to Jan, 1960. Anders Parmström is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1984. Bengt Ohlson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Sam Hallam is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Johan Garpenlöv is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2019 to Jan, 2022. Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Feb, 2005 to Jan, 2010. Claes-Göran Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2004 to Feb, 2005. Leif Boork is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Arne Strömberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1960 to Jan, 1971. Anders Hedberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Folke "Masen" Jansson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1956 to Jan, 1957. Rikard Grönborg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2016 to Jan, 2019. Ronald Pettersson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1974 to Jan, 1976. Kjell Svensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1974. Kent Forsberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 1998. Conny Evensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 1992.	Sweden men's national ice hockey teamThe Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.The team's nickname "Tre kronor", meaning "Three Crowns", refers to the emblem on the team jersey, which is found in the lesser national coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first time this emblem was used on the national team's jersey was on 12 February 1938, during the World Championships in Prague.The team has won numerous medals at both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. In 2006, they became the first, and so far only, team to win both tournaments in the same calendar year, by winning the 2006 Winter Olympics in a thrilling final against Finland by 3–2, and the 2006 World Championships by beating Czech Republic in the final, 4–0. In 2013 the team was the first team to win the World Championships at home since the Soviet Union in 1986. In 2018, the Swedish team won its 11th title at the World Championships. In 2021 Sweden failed to reach the playoffs for the first time after the tournament implemented the playoff system, placing 9th, tying their 1937 team for their worst placement in tournament history.Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.Head coach: Johan GarpenlövThe following table shows Sweden's all-time international record in official matches (WC, OG, EC), correct as of 21 May 2015.Teams named in "italics" are no longer active.	[ "Bengt Ohlson", "Kent Forsberg", "Johan Garpenlöv", "Anders Hedberg", "Sam Hallam", "Ronald Pettersson", "Pär Mårts", "Peter Wallin", "Tommy Sandlin", "Folke \"Masen\" Jansson", "Ed Reigle", "Rikard Grönborg", "Conny Evensson", "Anders Parmström", "Arne Strömberg", "Leif Boork", "Kjell Svensson", "Bengt-Åke Gustafsson", "Claes-Göran Wallin" ]
Who was the head coach of the team Sweden men's national ice hockey team in 29/10/1992?	October 29, 1992	{ "text": [ "Curt Lundmark" ] }	L2_Q913643_P286_10	Pär Mårts is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2016. Curt Lundmark is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1995. Peter Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2000. Tommy Sandlin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1986 to Jan, 1990. Ed Reigle is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1957 to Jan, 1960. Anders Parmström is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1984. Bengt Ohlson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Sam Hallam is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Johan Garpenlöv is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2019 to Jan, 2022. Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Feb, 2005 to Jan, 2010. Claes-Göran Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2004 to Feb, 2005. Leif Boork is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Arne Strömberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1960 to Jan, 1971. Anders Hedberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Folke "Masen" Jansson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1956 to Jan, 1957. Rikard Grönborg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2016 to Jan, 2019. Ronald Pettersson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1974 to Jan, 1976. Kjell Svensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1974. Kent Forsberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 1998. Conny Evensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 1992.	Sweden men's national ice hockey teamThe Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.The team's nickname "Tre kronor", meaning "Three Crowns", refers to the emblem on the team jersey, which is found in the lesser national coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first time this emblem was used on the national team's jersey was on 12 February 1938, during the World Championships in Prague.The team has won numerous medals at both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. In 2006, they became the first, and so far only, team to win both tournaments in the same calendar year, by winning the 2006 Winter Olympics in a thrilling final against Finland by 3–2, and the 2006 World Championships by beating Czech Republic in the final, 4–0. In 2013 the team was the first team to win the World Championships at home since the Soviet Union in 1986. In 2018, the Swedish team won its 11th title at the World Championships. In 2021 Sweden failed to reach the playoffs for the first time after the tournament implemented the playoff system, placing 9th, tying their 1937 team for their worst placement in tournament history.Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.Head coach: Johan GarpenlövThe following table shows Sweden's all-time international record in official matches (WC, OG, EC), correct as of 21 May 2015.Teams named in "italics" are no longer active.	[ "Bengt Ohlson", "Kent Forsberg", "Johan Garpenlöv", "Anders Hedberg", "Sam Hallam", "Ronald Pettersson", "Pär Mårts", "Peter Wallin", "Tommy Sandlin", "Folke \"Masen\" Jansson", "Ed Reigle", "Rikard Grönborg", "Conny Evensson", "Anders Parmström", "Arne Strömberg", "Leif Boork", "Kjell Svensson", "Bengt-Åke Gustafsson", "Claes-Göran Wallin" ]
Who was the head coach of the team Sweden men's national ice hockey team in Oct 29, 1992?	October 29, 1992	{ "text": [ "Curt Lundmark" ] }	L2_Q913643_P286_10	Pär Mårts is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2016. Curt Lundmark is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1995. Peter Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2000. Tommy Sandlin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1986 to Jan, 1990. Ed Reigle is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1957 to Jan, 1960. Anders Parmström is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1984. Bengt Ohlson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Sam Hallam is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Johan Garpenlöv is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2019 to Jan, 2022. Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Feb, 2005 to Jan, 2010. Claes-Göran Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2004 to Feb, 2005. Leif Boork is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Arne Strömberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1960 to Jan, 1971. Anders Hedberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Folke "Masen" Jansson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1956 to Jan, 1957. Rikard Grönborg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2016 to Jan, 2019. Ronald Pettersson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1974 to Jan, 1976. Kjell Svensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1974. Kent Forsberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 1998. Conny Evensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 1992.	Sweden men's national ice hockey teamThe Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.The team's nickname "Tre kronor", meaning "Three Crowns", refers to the emblem on the team jersey, which is found in the lesser national coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first time this emblem was used on the national team's jersey was on 12 February 1938, during the World Championships in Prague.The team has won numerous medals at both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. In 2006, they became the first, and so far only, team to win both tournaments in the same calendar year, by winning the 2006 Winter Olympics in a thrilling final against Finland by 3–2, and the 2006 World Championships by beating Czech Republic in the final, 4–0. In 2013 the team was the first team to win the World Championships at home since the Soviet Union in 1986. In 2018, the Swedish team won its 11th title at the World Championships. In 2021 Sweden failed to reach the playoffs for the first time after the tournament implemented the playoff system, placing 9th, tying their 1937 team for their worst placement in tournament history.Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.Head coach: Johan GarpenlövThe following table shows Sweden's all-time international record in official matches (WC, OG, EC), correct as of 21 May 2015.Teams named in "italics" are no longer active.	[ "Bengt Ohlson", "Kent Forsberg", "Johan Garpenlöv", "Anders Hedberg", "Sam Hallam", "Ronald Pettersson", "Pär Mårts", "Peter Wallin", "Tommy Sandlin", "Folke \"Masen\" Jansson", "Ed Reigle", "Rikard Grönborg", "Conny Evensson", "Anders Parmström", "Arne Strömberg", "Leif Boork", "Kjell Svensson", "Bengt-Åke Gustafsson", "Claes-Göran Wallin" ]
Who was the head coach of the team Sweden men's national ice hockey team in 10/29/1992?	October 29, 1992	{ "text": [ "Curt Lundmark" ] }	L2_Q913643_P286_10	Pär Mårts is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2016. Curt Lundmark is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1995. Peter Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2000. Tommy Sandlin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1986 to Jan, 1990. Ed Reigle is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1957 to Jan, 1960. Anders Parmström is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1984. Bengt Ohlson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Sam Hallam is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Johan Garpenlöv is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2019 to Jan, 2022. Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Feb, 2005 to Jan, 2010. Claes-Göran Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2004 to Feb, 2005. Leif Boork is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Arne Strömberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1960 to Jan, 1971. Anders Hedberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Folke "Masen" Jansson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1956 to Jan, 1957. Rikard Grönborg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2016 to Jan, 2019. Ronald Pettersson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1974 to Jan, 1976. Kjell Svensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1974. Kent Forsberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 1998. Conny Evensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 1992.	Sweden men's national ice hockey teamThe Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.The team's nickname "Tre kronor", meaning "Three Crowns", refers to the emblem on the team jersey, which is found in the lesser national coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first time this emblem was used on the national team's jersey was on 12 February 1938, during the World Championships in Prague.The team has won numerous medals at both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. In 2006, they became the first, and so far only, team to win both tournaments in the same calendar year, by winning the 2006 Winter Olympics in a thrilling final against Finland by 3–2, and the 2006 World Championships by beating Czech Republic in the final, 4–0. In 2013 the team was the first team to win the World Championships at home since the Soviet Union in 1986. In 2018, the Swedish team won its 11th title at the World Championships. In 2021 Sweden failed to reach the playoffs for the first time after the tournament implemented the playoff system, placing 9th, tying their 1937 team for their worst placement in tournament history.Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.Head coach: Johan GarpenlövThe following table shows Sweden's all-time international record in official matches (WC, OG, EC), correct as of 21 May 2015.Teams named in "italics" are no longer active.	[ "Bengt Ohlson", "Kent Forsberg", "Johan Garpenlöv", "Anders Hedberg", "Sam Hallam", "Ronald Pettersson", "Pär Mårts", "Peter Wallin", "Tommy Sandlin", "Folke \"Masen\" Jansson", "Ed Reigle", "Rikard Grönborg", "Conny Evensson", "Anders Parmström", "Arne Strömberg", "Leif Boork", "Kjell Svensson", "Bengt-Åke Gustafsson", "Claes-Göran Wallin" ]
Who was the head coach of the team Sweden men's national ice hockey team in 29-Oct-199229-October-1992?	October 29, 1992	{ "text": [ "Curt Lundmark" ] }	L2_Q913643_P286_10	Pär Mårts is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2016. Curt Lundmark is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1992 to Jan, 1995. Peter Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1998 to Jan, 2000. Tommy Sandlin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1986 to Jan, 1990. Ed Reigle is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1957 to Jan, 1960. Anders Parmström is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1984. Bengt Ohlson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1980 to Jan, 1981. Sam Hallam is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Johan Garpenlöv is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2019 to Jan, 2022. Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Feb, 2005 to Jan, 2010. Claes-Göran Wallin is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2004 to Feb, 2005. Leif Boork is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1984 to Jan, 1985. Arne Strömberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1960 to Jan, 1971. Anders Hedberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Folke "Masen" Jansson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1956 to Jan, 1957. Rikard Grönborg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 2016 to Jan, 2019. Ronald Pettersson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1974 to Jan, 1976. Kjell Svensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1974. Kent Forsberg is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 1998. Conny Evensson is the head coach of Sweden men's national ice hockey team from Jan, 1990 to Jan, 1992.	Sweden men's national ice hockey teamThe Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and the United States.The team's nickname "Tre kronor", meaning "Three Crowns", refers to the emblem on the team jersey, which is found in the lesser national coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first time this emblem was used on the national team's jersey was on 12 February 1938, during the World Championships in Prague.The team has won numerous medals at both the World Championships and the Winter Olympics. In 2006, they became the first, and so far only, team to win both tournaments in the same calendar year, by winning the 2006 Winter Olympics in a thrilling final against Finland by 3–2, and the 2006 World Championships by beating Czech Republic in the final, 4–0. In 2013 the team was the first team to win the World Championships at home since the Soviet Union in 1986. In 2018, the Swedish team won its 11th title at the World Championships. In 2021 Sweden failed to reach the playoffs for the first time after the tournament implemented the playoff system, placing 9th, tying their 1937 team for their worst placement in tournament history.Roster for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.Head coach: Johan GarpenlövThe following table shows Sweden's all-time international record in official matches (WC, OG, EC), correct as of 21 May 2015.Teams named in "italics" are no longer active.	[ "Bengt Ohlson", "Kent Forsberg", "Johan Garpenlöv", "Anders Hedberg", "Sam Hallam", "Ronald Pettersson", "Pär Mårts", "Peter Wallin", "Tommy Sandlin", "Folke \"Masen\" Jansson", "Ed Reigle", "Rikard Grönborg", "Conny Evensson", "Anders Parmström", "Arne Strömberg", "Leif Boork", "Kjell Svensson", "Bengt-Åke Gustafsson", "Claes-Göran Wallin" ]
Who was the head of Pakistan in Jul, 2016?	July 23, 2016	{ "text": [ "Nawaz Sharif" ] }	L2_Q843_P6_1	Nasir-ul-Mulk is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2018 to Aug, 2018. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2017 to May, 2018. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is the head of the government of Pakistan from Mar, 2013 to Jun, 2013. Imran Khan is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2018 to Apr, 2022. Shehbaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Apr, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Nawaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2013 to Jul, 2017.	PakistanPakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population exceeding 225.2 million, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, and the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Old World. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahi, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.Pakistan is a middle power, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. However, the country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the British Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.The name "Pakistan" means literally "a land abounding in the pure" or "a land in which the pure abound", in Urdu and Persian. It references the word ("pāk"), meaning "pure" in Persian and Pashto. The suffix (transliterated in English as stân after stem word ending in a vowel; estân or istân after a stem ending in a consonant) is from Persian, and means "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds".The name of the country was coined in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in a pamphlet "Now or Never", using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKISTAN"), and referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: "P"unjab, "A"fghania, "K"ashmir, "S"indh, and Baluchis"tan".Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid but the concept of "Pakistan" arrived in the 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Lahore and Thatta, both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings. In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors. By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance became increasingly blurred.During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts. Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection led the Company to increasingly flex its military muscle, allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors. Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s. Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture. Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS). Traditional "madrasahs"—primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent—were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the "madrasahs" lost their financial endowment.The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia. A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny of Bengal was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to motivated religious violence in British India. The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India. A Muslim intellectual movement, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, envisioned, as well as advocated for the two-nation theory, and led to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In contrast to the Indian National Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society. In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire. The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of British Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan. The perceived neglect of Muslim interests by Congress led British provincial governments during the period of 1937–39 convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan to espouse the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution. In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised the Cabinet Mission plan.As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Rule in 1946–47. Nationalists in British India—including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 , amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India. It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, and Sindh.In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament, but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's first Prime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders, among them Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi "alim" (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the "shariah" in Pakistan.A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the "ulama" was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.Democracy was stalled by the martial law that had been enforced by President Iskander Mirza, who was replaced by the army chief, General Ayub Khan. After adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 that led to an economic downturn and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967. Consolidating control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.In 1970 Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military establishment refused to hand over power. Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, which in West Pakistan was described as a civil war as opposed to a war of liberation.Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977—an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. Accelerated in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program, increasing Islamisation, and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised nuclear testings (See:"Chagai-I" and "Chagai-II"), as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état. Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms, and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari. Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $118 billion, sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time in fourteen years, in a democratic transition. In 2018, Imran Khan (the chairman of PTI) won the 2018 Pakistan general election with 116 general seats and became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in election of National Assembly of Pakistan for Prime Minister by getting 176 votes against Shehbaz Sharif (the chairman of PML (N)) who got 96 votes.Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of an Islamic state by the Muslim League leadership, the ulama (Islamic clergy) and Jinnah. Jinnah had developed a close association with the "ulama" and upon his death was described by one such "alim", Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb and as someone who desired to unite the Muslims of the world under the banner of Islam.The Objectives Resolution in March 1949, which declared God as the sole sovereign over the entire universe, represented the first formal step to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world and assumed that Muslim from other countries would share their views on the relationship between religion and nationality.However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments for a united Islamic bloc called Islamistan were not shared by other Muslim governments, although Islamists such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, became drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed.The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side.After Pakistan's first ever general elections, the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.Pakistan's leftist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced vigorous opposition which coalesced into a movement united under the revivalist banner of "Nizam-e-Mustafa" ("Rule of the Prophet") which aimed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia laws. Bhutto agreed to some Islamist demands before being overthrown in a coup.In 1977, after taking power from Bhutto in a coup d'état, General Zia-ul-Haq, who came from a religious background, committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing "sharia" law. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zia bolstered the influence of the "ulama" (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions and even though most Barelvi ulama and only a few Deobandi scholars had supported Pakistan's creation, Islamic state politics came to be mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/Salafi) institutions instead of Barelvi. Sectarian tensions increased with Zia's anti-Shia policies.According to a Pew Research Center (PEW) opinion poll, a majority of Pakistanis support making Sharia the official law of the land. In a survey of several Muslim countries, PEW also found that Pakistanis tend to identify with their religion more than their nationality in contrast to Muslims in other nations such as Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan.The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of , approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd-largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and land borders of in total: with Afghanistan, with China, with India and with Iran. It shares a marine border with Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor. Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and the largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus.Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over ), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 () and Nanga Parbat (). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in the Punjab and Sindh.The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons in Pakistan: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and "Ephedra" are common. In most of the Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forest as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus. About 2.2% or of Pakistan was forested in 2010.The fauna of Pakistan also reflects the country's varied climate. Around 668 bird species are found there, including crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons, and eagles. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan. Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia, and India.The southern plains are home to mongooses, small Indian civet, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat, and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines, and small rodents in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats, and leopards. The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate, and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), the markhor goat, the ibex goat, the Asian black bear, and the Himalayan brown bear. Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which, along with hunting and pollution, has had adverse effects on the ecosystem. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 41st globally out of 172 countries. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to address these issues.Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain the power they lost to British colonisation. Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion. The first constitution was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, who replaced it with the second constitution in 1962. A complete and comprehensive constitution was adopted in 1973, it was suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985. This constitution is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government. The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history. The periods 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008 saw military coups that resulted in the imposition of martial law and military commanders who governed as de facto presidents. Today Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred on, and dominated by, a homegrown social philosophy comprising a blend of ideas from socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main political parties in the country are: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N; the centre-left socialist PPP; and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations. Pakistan is a strong ally of China, with both countries placing considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive special relationship. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism—a status achieved in 2004. Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on the economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India; three of their four wars were fought over this territory. Due partly to difficulties in relations with its geopolitical rival India, Pakistan maintains close political relations with Turkey and Iran, and both countries have been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy. Saudi Arabia also maintains a respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy.A non-signatory party of the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA. In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically". In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate to maintain a geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. Briefing on the country's foreign policy in 2004, a Pakistani senator reportedly explained: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy." Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the G20 developing nations.Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in the 1950s. During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States. Relations between Pakistan and Russia have greatly improved since 1999, and co-operation in various sectors has increased. Pakistan has had an "on-and-off" relationship with the United States. A close ally of the United States during the Cold war, Pakistan's relationship with the United States soured in the 1990s when the US imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development. Since 9/11, Pakistan has been a close ally of the United States on the issue of counter-terrorism in the regions of the Middle East and South Asia, with the US supporting Pakistan with aid money and weapons. Initially, the United States-led war on terrorism led to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nonetheless, some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas. However, an exchange took place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit. Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia, an Armenian community still resides in Pakistan. Pakistan had warm relations with Bangladesh, despite some initial strains in their relationship.Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the relationship continues to be strong since China's war with India in 1962, forming a special relationship. From the 1960s to 1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate US President Nixon's state visit to China. Despite the change of governments in Pakistan and fluctuations in the regional and global situation, China's policy in Pakistan continues to be a dominant factor at all times. In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner, and economic co-operation has flourished, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion such as the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Friendly Sino-Pakistani relations reached new heights as both countries signed 51 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in 2015 for co-operation in different areas. Both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement in the 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge to the Muslim world. In 2016, China announced that it will set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In December 2018, Pakistan's government defended China's re-education camps for a million Uyghur Muslims.After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan—a pan-Islamic entity.Such developments (along with Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war, and by the 1990s Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran, which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim world is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils, and union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.The Kashmir—the most northwesterly region of South Asia—is a major territorial dispute that has hindered relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years in 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh. Other serious military engagements and skirmishes have included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999). Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India, which also claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen. The claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of the Kashmir region, an area known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession—a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by "Maharaja" Hari Singh, who agreed to cede the area to India. Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. In a resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a "plebiscite" would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 establishing a Line of Control (LoC) that divided Kashmir between the two nations. India, fearful that the Muslim majority populace of Kashmir would secede from India, did not allow a plebiscite to take place in the region. This was confirmed in a statement by India's Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, who said: "Kashmir would vote to join Pakistan and no Indian Government responsible for agreeing to plebiscite would survive."Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement (1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly. In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motorway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital. The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial police service.The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.The armed forces of Pakistan are the sixth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 651,800 personnel on active duty and 291,000 paramilitary personnel, as of tentative estimates in 2021. They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced the national politics ever since. Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, co-ordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ. The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. , the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza alongside chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitary forces in the country. Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence.The United States, Turkey, and China maintain close military relations and regularly export military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan. Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carried out by the militaries of China and Turkey. Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in four conventional wars, the first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; over the issue of Bengali refugees that led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which were kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.Rising tensions with neighbouring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the US resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy. Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. According to UN reports, the Pakistani military is the third largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions after Ethiopia and India.Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles. The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Six-Day War (1967) and in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi (flying a MiG-21), shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government. Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, Pakistan's special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque. For almost two weeks Saudi Special Forces and Pakistani commandos fought the insurgents who had occupied the Grand Mosque's compound. In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.Despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, General Javed Nasir of the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to Bosnian mujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under Nasir's leadership the ISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.Since 2004, the military has been engaged in an insurgency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mainly against the Tehrik-i-Taliban factions. Major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.According to SIPRI, Pakistan was the 9th-largest recipient and importer of arms between 2012–2016.The Economy of Pakistan is the 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as rail transportation and electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion., Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP is US$284.2 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$1.254 trillion. The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,388, the GDP (PPP)/capita is US$6,016 (international dollars), According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan's youth provides the country with both a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment. 21.04% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The unemployment rate among the aged 15 and over population is 5.5%. Pakistan has an estimated 40 million middle class citizens, projected to increase to 100 million by 2050. A 2015 report published by the World Bank ranked Pakistan's economy at 24th-largest in the world by purchasing power and 41st-largest in absolute terms. It is South Asia's second-largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but robust during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed. The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%. The economy cooled again from 2007. Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008, and Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy. A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing. The inflation rate for the fiscal year was 14.1%. Since 2013, as part of an International Monetary Fund program, Pakistan's economic growth has picked up. In 2014 Goldman Sachs predicted that Pakistan's economy would grow 15 times in the next 35 years to become the 18th-largest economy in the world by 2050. In his 2016 book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations", Ruchir Sharma termed Pakistan's economy as at a 'take-off' stage and the future outlook until 2020 has been termed 'Very Good'. Sharma termed it possible to transform Pakistan from a "low-income to a middle-income country during the next five years".Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th-largest in the world. The 7-million–strong Pakistani diaspora contributed US$19.9 billion to the economy in 2015–16. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan are: the UAE; the United States; Saudi Arabia; the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman); Australia; Canada; Japan; the United Kingdom; Norway; and Switzerland. According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.13% in 2007.The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture accounts for only 20.9% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons). Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, is dependent on this sector. It accounts for 43.5% of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings.A large portion of the country's manufactured exports is dependent on raw materials such as cotton and hides that are part of the agriculture sector, while supply shortages and market disruptions in farm products do push up inflationary pressures. The country is also the fifth-largest producer of cotton, with cotton production of 14 million bales from a modest beginning of 1.7 million bales in the early 1950s; is self-sufficient in sugarcane; and is the fourth-largest producer in the world of milk. Land and water resources have not risen proportionately, but the increases have taken place mainly due to gains in labour and agriculture productivity. The major breakthrough in crop production took place in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the Green Revolution that made a significant contribution to land and yield increases of wheat and rice. Private tube wells led to a 50 percent increase in the cropping intensity which was augmented by tractor cultivation. While the tube wells raised crop yields by 50 percent, the High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice led to a 50–60 percent higher yield. Meat industry accounts for 1.4 percent of overall GDP.Industry is the second-largest sector of the economy, accounting for 19.74% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 24 percent of total employment. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), at 12.2% of GDP, dominates the overall sector, accounting for 66% of the sectoral share, followed by small-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 4.9% of total GDP. Pakistan's cement industry is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and from the domestic real estate sector. In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In 2012 and 2013, the cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of the economy.The textile industry has a pivotal position in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In Asia, Pakistan is the eighth-largest exporter of textile products, contributing 9.5% to the GDP and providing employment to around 15 million people (some 30% of the 49 million people in the workforce). Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of cotton with the third-largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, contributing 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike the US, where mostly value-added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of all UK textile imports, 12.4% or $4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 3.0% of all US textile imports ($2,980 million), 1.6% of total German textile imports ($880 million) and 0.7% of total Indian textile imports ($888 million).The services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'., Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan's Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10-billion mark by 2020. The sector employees 12,000 and count's among top five freelancing nations. The country has also improved its export performance in telecom, computer and information services, as the share of their exports surged from 8.2pc in 2005–06 to 12.6pc in 2012–13. This growth is much better than that of China, whose share in services exports was 3pc and 7.7pc for the same period respectively.With its diverse cultures, people, and landscapes, Pakistan attracted around 6.6 million foreign tourists in 2018, which represented a significant decline since the 1970s when the country received unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists due to the popular Hippie trail. The trail attracted thousands of Europeans and Americans in the 1960s and 1970s who travelled via land through Turkey and Iran into India through Pakistan. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi. The numbers following the trail declined after the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet–Afghan War.Pakistan's tourist attractions range from the mangroves in the south to the Himalayan hill stations in the north-east. The country's tourist destinations range from the Buddhist ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Taxila, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over . The northern part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, examples of ancient architecture, and the Hunza and Chitral valleys, home to the small pre-Islamic Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore, contains many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, the Tomb of Jahangir, and the Lahore Fort.In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, "The Guardian" released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, the Karakoram Highway, Karimabad, and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique cultural heritage, the government organizes various festivals throughout the year. In 2015 the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan 125 out of 141 countries.Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.As of May 2021, nuclear power is provided by six licensed commercial nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy. The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electrical energy, compared to 64.2% from fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas), 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and 0.1% from coal. Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.The KANUPP-I, a Candu-type nuclear reactor, was supplied by Canada in 1971—the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. The Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation began in the early 1980s. After a Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation agreement in 1986, China provided Pakistan with a nuclear reactor dubbed CHASNUPP-I for energy and the industrial growth of the country. In 2005 both countries proposed working on a joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generation capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Under its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050, the Pakistani government plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MWe, 8,900 MWe of it by 2030. In June 2008 the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalising the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV reactors at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 325–340 MWe and costing ₨ 129 billion; from which the ₨ 80 billion came from international sources, principally China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US–India agreement that shortly preceded it. The cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of US$1.07 billion. In 2013 Pakistan established a second commercial nuclear complex in Karachi with plans of additional reactors, similar to the one in Chashma. The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy used in Pakistan in addition to gathering revenue nationwide. , Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of ~22,797.The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 20 February 2020, 1882 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1854 km are under construction or planned. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until the 1970s the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Beginning in the 1990s there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is below 8% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. As personal transportation began to be dominated by the automobile, total rail track decreased from in 1990–91 to in 2011. Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran, and Turkey.There are an estimated 151 airports and airfields in Pakistan as of 2013—including both the military and the mostly publicly owned civilian airports. Although Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic.The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which was deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominant air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue and Air Indus, also provide similar services at a low cost.Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port, Port Qasim). Since the 1990s some seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port, Port of Pasni and Gadani Port. Gwadar Port is the deepest sea port of the world. According to the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, quality ratings of Pakistan's port infrastructure increased from 3.7 to 4.1 between 2007 and 2016.Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc.Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about .Developments in science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels.In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the HEU-based gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in condensed and material physics.In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government.The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy. The space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to conduct underground nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica.Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise.As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨ 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.At the time of the establishment of Pakistan as a state, the country had only one university, Punjab University in Lahore. Very soon the Pakistan government established public universities in each of the four provinces, including Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities, which includes collaboration between the universities aimed at providing research and higher education opportunities in the country, although there is concern about the low quality of teaching in many of the newer schools. It is estimated that there are 3,193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan, and there are also "madrassahs" that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. Strong public pressure and popular criticism over extremists' usage of "madrassahs" for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the "madrassahs".Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a network of private schools that constitutes a parallel secondary education system based on a curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council. According to the International Schools Consultancy, Pakistan has 439 international schools.As a result of initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory in all schools across the country. In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for female education, was shot by a Taliban gunman in retaliation for her activism. Yousafzai went on to become the youngest ever Nobel laureate for her global education-related advocacy. Additional reforms enacted in 2013 required all educational institutions in Sindh to begin offering Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and its increasing influence in Pakistan. The literacy rate of the population is 62.3% as of 2018. The rate of male literacy is 72.5% while the rate of female literacy is 51.8%. Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; as one example, in tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. With the advent of computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children. Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the Ministry of Education expected to attain 100% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10. Pakistan is currently spending 2.3 percent of its GDP on education; which according to the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the lowest in South Asia.As of 2020, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and accounts for about 2.8% of the world population. The 2017 Census of Pakistan provisionally estimated the population to be 207.8 million. This figure excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report.The population in 2017 represents a 57% increase from 1998. The annual growth rate in 2016 was reported to be 1.45%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations, though the growth rate has been decreasing in recent years. The population is projected to reach 263 million by 2030.At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.Expenditure on healthcare was ~2.8% of GDP in 2013. Life expectancy at birth was 67 years for females and 65 years for males in 2013. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished. Mortality of the under-fives was 86 per 1,000 live births in 2012.More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu—the "lingua franca" and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity—is the national language understood by over 75% of Pakistanis. It is the main medium of communication in the country but the primary language of only 7% of Pakistan's population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, with English primarily used in official business and government, and in legal contracts; the local variety is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language, the most common in Pakistan and the first language of 38.78% of Pakistan's population, is mostly spoken in the Punjab. Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab, and Hindko is predominant in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindhi language is commonly spoken in Sindh, while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. There are also speakers of Gujarati in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh. Various languages such as Shina, Balti, and Burushaski are spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, whilst languages such as Pahari, Gojri, and Kashmiri are spoken by many in Azad Kashmir.The Arabic language is officially recognised by the constitution of Pakistan. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that ""The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ...""Constitution of Pakistan: "Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life" , Article 31 No. 2, 1973, Retrieved 22 August 2018.Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claims that there are 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are also found in various other areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Large-scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made that city one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 of the city's slums such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, and Godhra Camp.Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989 thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.The major ethnic groups are Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhis (14.1%), Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Since achieving independence as a result of the partition of India, the urbanisation has increased exponentially, with several different causes. The majority of the population in the south resides along the Indus River, with Karachi the most populous commercial city. In the east, west, and north, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During the period 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, more than 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more. Immigration, from both within and outside the country, is regarded as one of the main factors contributing to urbanisation in Pakistan. One analysis of the 1998 national census highlighted the significance of the partition of India in the 1940s as it relates to urban change in Pakistan.During and after the independence period, Urdu speaking Muslims from India migrated in large numbers to Pakistan, especially to the port city of Karachi, which is today the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Migration from other countries, mainly from those nearby, has further accelerated the process of urbanisation in Pakistani cities. Inevitably, the rapid urbanisation caused by these large population movements has also created new political and socio-economic challenges. In addition to immigration, economic trends such as the green revolution and political developments, among a host of other factors, are also important causes of urbanisation. The state religion in Pakistan is Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality.The population of Pakistan follow different religions. Most of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hindus (2.14%) and Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan.Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad.In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population. Secularism and criticism of over-religiosity is not uncommon in well-educated civil society, although in general Pakistan is a highly religious society, and the irreligious generally hide their beliefs due to fear of persecution.Islam is the dominant religion. About 96.47% of Pakistanis are Muslim, according to the 2017 Census. Pakistan has the second-largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. and home for (10.5%) of the world's Muslim population. The majority of them are Sunni and mostly follow Sufism (estimated between 75 and 95%) while Shias represent between 5–25%. As of 2019, Shia population in Pakistan was estimated to be 42 million out of total population of 210 million. Pakistan also has the largest Muslim city in the world (Karachi).The Ahmadis, a small minority representing 0.22–2% of Pakistan's population, are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment. The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques". , 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims. There are also several Quraniyoon communities.Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large following among the Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, at both the academic and popular levels. Popular Sufi culture is centered around gatherings and celebrations at the shrines of saints and annual festivals that feature Sufi music and dance. Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (c. 12th century) and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (c. 12th century).There are two levels of Sufism in Pakistan. The first is the 'populist' Sufism of the rural population. This level of Sufism involves belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines, and forming bonds (Mureed) with a "pir" (saint). Many rural Pakistani Muslims associate with "pirs" and seek their intercession. The second level of Sufism in Pakistan is 'intellectual Sufism', which is growing among the urban and educated population. They are influenced by the writings of Sufis such as the medieval theologian al-Ghazali, the Sufi reformer Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindi, and Shah Wali Allah. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticise Sufism's popular character, which in their view does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of Muhammad and his companions.Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 2017 census. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where they account for 8.73% of the population. , Pakistan had the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world. In the 2017 census, the Hindu (jati) population was found to be 4,444,437 while the Hindu (scheduled castes) numbered an additional 851,504. At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' gained currency. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. Pakistani Hindus faced riots after the Babri Masjid demolition, endured a massacre (in 2005) by security forces in Balochistan, and have experienced other attacks, forced conversions, and abductions.Christians formed the next largest religious minority, after Hindus, with 1.27% of the population following it. They were followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which had a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, each back then claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi that was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during the colonial administration between World War I and World War II. The influence of atheism is very small, with 1.0% of the population identifying as atheist in 2005. However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.Civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the "Shalwar Kameez"; trousers, jeans, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including "Eid-ul-Fitr", "Eid-ul-Azha", "Ramazan", Christmas, Easter, Holi, and Diwali, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.The "Shalwar Kameez" is the national dress of Pakistan and is worn by both men and women in all four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir. Each province has its own style of "Shalwar Kameez". Pakistanis wear clothes in a range of exquisite colours and designs and in type of fabric (silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings.The fashion industry has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in Karachi organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.The private print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour news media and television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption.The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi, and Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, pop music and disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim.Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term "Overseas Pakistani" is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16.The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Cabinet Member Sajid Javid, former UK Conservative Party Chair Baroness Warsi, singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali, MIT Physics Professor Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M Professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale Professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego Professor Farooq Azam, and historian Ayesha Jalal.Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Persian, English, and many other languages. The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.The national poet of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include Josh Malihabadi Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Saadat Hasan Manto. Sadequain and Gulgee are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan. Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Asad, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar.Ideas from British and American philosophy greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as M. M. Sharif and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated Marxism into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by Manzoor Ahmad, Jon Elia, Hasan Askari Rizvi, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream social, political, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by Noam Chomsky have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions. The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the Badshahi Mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Mughal-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of British design can be found in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, "roti", a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the British Raj. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the Olympic Games held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times, held in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.Cricket, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy; as well as the ICC Test Championship. The cricket team (known as "Shaheen") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final.Pakistan Super League is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturer of the official FIFA World Cup ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah, Zesh Rehman, Muhammad Essa, Haroon Yousaf, and Muhammad Adil.Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1989 and 2004 South Asian Games; the 1984, 1993, 1996 and 2003 World Squash Championships; the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup.Pakistan is set to host the 2021 South Asian Games.	[ "Nasir-ul-Mulk", "Mir Hazar Khan Khoso", "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi", "Shehbaz Sharif", "Imran Khan" ]
Who was the head of Pakistan in 2016-07-23?	July 23, 2016	{ "text": [ "Nawaz Sharif" ] }	L2_Q843_P6_1	Nasir-ul-Mulk is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2018 to Aug, 2018. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2017 to May, 2018. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is the head of the government of Pakistan from Mar, 2013 to Jun, 2013. Imran Khan is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2018 to Apr, 2022. Shehbaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Apr, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Nawaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2013 to Jul, 2017.	PakistanPakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population exceeding 225.2 million, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, and the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Old World. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahi, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.Pakistan is a middle power, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. However, the country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the British Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.The name "Pakistan" means literally "a land abounding in the pure" or "a land in which the pure abound", in Urdu and Persian. It references the word ("pāk"), meaning "pure" in Persian and Pashto. The suffix (transliterated in English as stân after stem word ending in a vowel; estân or istân after a stem ending in a consonant) is from Persian, and means "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds".The name of the country was coined in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in a pamphlet "Now or Never", using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKISTAN"), and referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: "P"unjab, "A"fghania, "K"ashmir, "S"indh, and Baluchis"tan".Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid but the concept of "Pakistan" arrived in the 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Lahore and Thatta, both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings. In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors. By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance became increasingly blurred.During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts. Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection led the Company to increasingly flex its military muscle, allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors. Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s. Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture. Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS). Traditional "madrasahs"—primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent—were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the "madrasahs" lost their financial endowment.The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia. A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny of Bengal was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to motivated religious violence in British India. The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India. A Muslim intellectual movement, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, envisioned, as well as advocated for the two-nation theory, and led to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In contrast to the Indian National Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society. In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire. The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of British Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan. The perceived neglect of Muslim interests by Congress led British provincial governments during the period of 1937–39 convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan to espouse the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution. In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised the Cabinet Mission plan.As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Rule in 1946–47. Nationalists in British India—including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 , amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India. It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, and Sindh.In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament, but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's first Prime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders, among them Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi "alim" (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the "shariah" in Pakistan.A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the "ulama" was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.Democracy was stalled by the martial law that had been enforced by President Iskander Mirza, who was replaced by the army chief, General Ayub Khan. After adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 that led to an economic downturn and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967. Consolidating control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.In 1970 Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military establishment refused to hand over power. Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, which in West Pakistan was described as a civil war as opposed to a war of liberation.Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977—an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. Accelerated in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program, increasing Islamisation, and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised nuclear testings (See:"Chagai-I" and "Chagai-II"), as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état. Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms, and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari. Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $118 billion, sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time in fourteen years, in a democratic transition. In 2018, Imran Khan (the chairman of PTI) won the 2018 Pakistan general election with 116 general seats and became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in election of National Assembly of Pakistan for Prime Minister by getting 176 votes against Shehbaz Sharif (the chairman of PML (N)) who got 96 votes.Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of an Islamic state by the Muslim League leadership, the ulama (Islamic clergy) and Jinnah. Jinnah had developed a close association with the "ulama" and upon his death was described by one such "alim", Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb and as someone who desired to unite the Muslims of the world under the banner of Islam.The Objectives Resolution in March 1949, which declared God as the sole sovereign over the entire universe, represented the first formal step to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world and assumed that Muslim from other countries would share their views on the relationship between religion and nationality.However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments for a united Islamic bloc called Islamistan were not shared by other Muslim governments, although Islamists such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, became drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed.The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side.After Pakistan's first ever general elections, the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.Pakistan's leftist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced vigorous opposition which coalesced into a movement united under the revivalist banner of "Nizam-e-Mustafa" ("Rule of the Prophet") which aimed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia laws. Bhutto agreed to some Islamist demands before being overthrown in a coup.In 1977, after taking power from Bhutto in a coup d'état, General Zia-ul-Haq, who came from a religious background, committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing "sharia" law. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zia bolstered the influence of the "ulama" (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions and even though most Barelvi ulama and only a few Deobandi scholars had supported Pakistan's creation, Islamic state politics came to be mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/Salafi) institutions instead of Barelvi. Sectarian tensions increased with Zia's anti-Shia policies.According to a Pew Research Center (PEW) opinion poll, a majority of Pakistanis support making Sharia the official law of the land. In a survey of several Muslim countries, PEW also found that Pakistanis tend to identify with their religion more than their nationality in contrast to Muslims in other nations such as Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan.The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of , approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd-largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and land borders of in total: with Afghanistan, with China, with India and with Iran. It shares a marine border with Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor. Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and the largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus.Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over ), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 () and Nanga Parbat (). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in the Punjab and Sindh.The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons in Pakistan: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and "Ephedra" are common. In most of the Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forest as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus. About 2.2% or of Pakistan was forested in 2010.The fauna of Pakistan also reflects the country's varied climate. Around 668 bird species are found there, including crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons, and eagles. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan. Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia, and India.The southern plains are home to mongooses, small Indian civet, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat, and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines, and small rodents in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats, and leopards. The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate, and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), the markhor goat, the ibex goat, the Asian black bear, and the Himalayan brown bear. Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which, along with hunting and pollution, has had adverse effects on the ecosystem. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 41st globally out of 172 countries. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to address these issues.Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain the power they lost to British colonisation. Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion. The first constitution was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, who replaced it with the second constitution in 1962. A complete and comprehensive constitution was adopted in 1973, it was suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985. This constitution is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government. The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history. The periods 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008 saw military coups that resulted in the imposition of martial law and military commanders who governed as de facto presidents. Today Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred on, and dominated by, a homegrown social philosophy comprising a blend of ideas from socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main political parties in the country are: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N; the centre-left socialist PPP; and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations. Pakistan is a strong ally of China, with both countries placing considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive special relationship. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism—a status achieved in 2004. Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on the economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India; three of their four wars were fought over this territory. Due partly to difficulties in relations with its geopolitical rival India, Pakistan maintains close political relations with Turkey and Iran, and both countries have been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy. Saudi Arabia also maintains a respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy.A non-signatory party of the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA. In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically". In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate to maintain a geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. Briefing on the country's foreign policy in 2004, a Pakistani senator reportedly explained: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy." Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the G20 developing nations.Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in the 1950s. During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States. Relations between Pakistan and Russia have greatly improved since 1999, and co-operation in various sectors has increased. Pakistan has had an "on-and-off" relationship with the United States. A close ally of the United States during the Cold war, Pakistan's relationship with the United States soured in the 1990s when the US imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development. Since 9/11, Pakistan has been a close ally of the United States on the issue of counter-terrorism in the regions of the Middle East and South Asia, with the US supporting Pakistan with aid money and weapons. Initially, the United States-led war on terrorism led to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nonetheless, some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas. However, an exchange took place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit. Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia, an Armenian community still resides in Pakistan. Pakistan had warm relations with Bangladesh, despite some initial strains in their relationship.Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the relationship continues to be strong since China's war with India in 1962, forming a special relationship. From the 1960s to 1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate US President Nixon's state visit to China. Despite the change of governments in Pakistan and fluctuations in the regional and global situation, China's policy in Pakistan continues to be a dominant factor at all times. In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner, and economic co-operation has flourished, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion such as the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Friendly Sino-Pakistani relations reached new heights as both countries signed 51 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in 2015 for co-operation in different areas. Both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement in the 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge to the Muslim world. In 2016, China announced that it will set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In December 2018, Pakistan's government defended China's re-education camps for a million Uyghur Muslims.After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan—a pan-Islamic entity.Such developments (along with Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war, and by the 1990s Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran, which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim world is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils, and union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.The Kashmir—the most northwesterly region of South Asia—is a major territorial dispute that has hindered relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years in 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh. Other serious military engagements and skirmishes have included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999). Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India, which also claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen. The claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of the Kashmir region, an area known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession—a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by "Maharaja" Hari Singh, who agreed to cede the area to India. Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. In a resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a "plebiscite" would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 establishing a Line of Control (LoC) that divided Kashmir between the two nations. India, fearful that the Muslim majority populace of Kashmir would secede from India, did not allow a plebiscite to take place in the region. This was confirmed in a statement by India's Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, who said: "Kashmir would vote to join Pakistan and no Indian Government responsible for agreeing to plebiscite would survive."Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement (1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly. In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motorway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital. The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial police service.The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.The armed forces of Pakistan are the sixth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 651,800 personnel on active duty and 291,000 paramilitary personnel, as of tentative estimates in 2021. They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced the national politics ever since. Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, co-ordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ. The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. , the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza alongside chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitary forces in the country. Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence.The United States, Turkey, and China maintain close military relations and regularly export military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan. Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carried out by the militaries of China and Turkey. Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in four conventional wars, the first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; over the issue of Bengali refugees that led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which were kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.Rising tensions with neighbouring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the US resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy. Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. According to UN reports, the Pakistani military is the third largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions after Ethiopia and India.Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles. The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Six-Day War (1967) and in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi (flying a MiG-21), shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government. Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, Pakistan's special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque. For almost two weeks Saudi Special Forces and Pakistani commandos fought the insurgents who had occupied the Grand Mosque's compound. In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.Despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, General Javed Nasir of the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to Bosnian mujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under Nasir's leadership the ISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.Since 2004, the military has been engaged in an insurgency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mainly against the Tehrik-i-Taliban factions. Major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.According to SIPRI, Pakistan was the 9th-largest recipient and importer of arms between 2012–2016.The Economy of Pakistan is the 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as rail transportation and electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion., Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP is US$284.2 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$1.254 trillion. The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,388, the GDP (PPP)/capita is US$6,016 (international dollars), According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan's youth provides the country with both a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment. 21.04% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The unemployment rate among the aged 15 and over population is 5.5%. Pakistan has an estimated 40 million middle class citizens, projected to increase to 100 million by 2050. A 2015 report published by the World Bank ranked Pakistan's economy at 24th-largest in the world by purchasing power and 41st-largest in absolute terms. It is South Asia's second-largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but robust during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed. The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%. The economy cooled again from 2007. Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008, and Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy. A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing. The inflation rate for the fiscal year was 14.1%. Since 2013, as part of an International Monetary Fund program, Pakistan's economic growth has picked up. In 2014 Goldman Sachs predicted that Pakistan's economy would grow 15 times in the next 35 years to become the 18th-largest economy in the world by 2050. In his 2016 book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations", Ruchir Sharma termed Pakistan's economy as at a 'take-off' stage and the future outlook until 2020 has been termed 'Very Good'. Sharma termed it possible to transform Pakistan from a "low-income to a middle-income country during the next five years".Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th-largest in the world. The 7-million–strong Pakistani diaspora contributed US$19.9 billion to the economy in 2015–16. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan are: the UAE; the United States; Saudi Arabia; the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman); Australia; Canada; Japan; the United Kingdom; Norway; and Switzerland. According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.13% in 2007.The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture accounts for only 20.9% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons). Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, is dependent on this sector. It accounts for 43.5% of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings.A large portion of the country's manufactured exports is dependent on raw materials such as cotton and hides that are part of the agriculture sector, while supply shortages and market disruptions in farm products do push up inflationary pressures. The country is also the fifth-largest producer of cotton, with cotton production of 14 million bales from a modest beginning of 1.7 million bales in the early 1950s; is self-sufficient in sugarcane; and is the fourth-largest producer in the world of milk. Land and water resources have not risen proportionately, but the increases have taken place mainly due to gains in labour and agriculture productivity. The major breakthrough in crop production took place in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the Green Revolution that made a significant contribution to land and yield increases of wheat and rice. Private tube wells led to a 50 percent increase in the cropping intensity which was augmented by tractor cultivation. While the tube wells raised crop yields by 50 percent, the High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice led to a 50–60 percent higher yield. Meat industry accounts for 1.4 percent of overall GDP.Industry is the second-largest sector of the economy, accounting for 19.74% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 24 percent of total employment. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), at 12.2% of GDP, dominates the overall sector, accounting for 66% of the sectoral share, followed by small-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 4.9% of total GDP. Pakistan's cement industry is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and from the domestic real estate sector. In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In 2012 and 2013, the cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of the economy.The textile industry has a pivotal position in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In Asia, Pakistan is the eighth-largest exporter of textile products, contributing 9.5% to the GDP and providing employment to around 15 million people (some 30% of the 49 million people in the workforce). Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of cotton with the third-largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, contributing 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike the US, where mostly value-added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of all UK textile imports, 12.4% or $4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 3.0% of all US textile imports ($2,980 million), 1.6% of total German textile imports ($880 million) and 0.7% of total Indian textile imports ($888 million).The services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'., Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan's Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10-billion mark by 2020. The sector employees 12,000 and count's among top five freelancing nations. The country has also improved its export performance in telecom, computer and information services, as the share of their exports surged from 8.2pc in 2005–06 to 12.6pc in 2012–13. This growth is much better than that of China, whose share in services exports was 3pc and 7.7pc for the same period respectively.With its diverse cultures, people, and landscapes, Pakistan attracted around 6.6 million foreign tourists in 2018, which represented a significant decline since the 1970s when the country received unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists due to the popular Hippie trail. The trail attracted thousands of Europeans and Americans in the 1960s and 1970s who travelled via land through Turkey and Iran into India through Pakistan. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi. The numbers following the trail declined after the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet–Afghan War.Pakistan's tourist attractions range from the mangroves in the south to the Himalayan hill stations in the north-east. The country's tourist destinations range from the Buddhist ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Taxila, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over . The northern part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, examples of ancient architecture, and the Hunza and Chitral valleys, home to the small pre-Islamic Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore, contains many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, the Tomb of Jahangir, and the Lahore Fort.In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, "The Guardian" released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, the Karakoram Highway, Karimabad, and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique cultural heritage, the government organizes various festivals throughout the year. In 2015 the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan 125 out of 141 countries.Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.As of May 2021, nuclear power is provided by six licensed commercial nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy. The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electrical energy, compared to 64.2% from fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas), 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and 0.1% from coal. Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.The KANUPP-I, a Candu-type nuclear reactor, was supplied by Canada in 1971—the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. The Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation began in the early 1980s. After a Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation agreement in 1986, China provided Pakistan with a nuclear reactor dubbed CHASNUPP-I for energy and the industrial growth of the country. In 2005 both countries proposed working on a joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generation capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Under its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050, the Pakistani government plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MWe, 8,900 MWe of it by 2030. In June 2008 the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalising the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV reactors at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 325–340 MWe and costing ₨ 129 billion; from which the ₨ 80 billion came from international sources, principally China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US–India agreement that shortly preceded it. The cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of US$1.07 billion. In 2013 Pakistan established a second commercial nuclear complex in Karachi with plans of additional reactors, similar to the one in Chashma. The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy used in Pakistan in addition to gathering revenue nationwide. , Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of ~22,797.The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 20 February 2020, 1882 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1854 km are under construction or planned. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until the 1970s the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Beginning in the 1990s there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is below 8% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. As personal transportation began to be dominated by the automobile, total rail track decreased from in 1990–91 to in 2011. Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran, and Turkey.There are an estimated 151 airports and airfields in Pakistan as of 2013—including both the military and the mostly publicly owned civilian airports. Although Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic.The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which was deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominant air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue and Air Indus, also provide similar services at a low cost.Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port, Port Qasim). Since the 1990s some seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port, Port of Pasni and Gadani Port. Gwadar Port is the deepest sea port of the world. According to the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, quality ratings of Pakistan's port infrastructure increased from 3.7 to 4.1 between 2007 and 2016.Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc.Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about .Developments in science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels.In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the HEU-based gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in condensed and material physics.In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government.The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy. The space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to conduct underground nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica.Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise.As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨ 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.At the time of the establishment of Pakistan as a state, the country had only one university, Punjab University in Lahore. Very soon the Pakistan government established public universities in each of the four provinces, including Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities, which includes collaboration between the universities aimed at providing research and higher education opportunities in the country, although there is concern about the low quality of teaching in many of the newer schools. It is estimated that there are 3,193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan, and there are also "madrassahs" that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. Strong public pressure and popular criticism over extremists' usage of "madrassahs" for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the "madrassahs".Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a network of private schools that constitutes a parallel secondary education system based on a curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council. According to the International Schools Consultancy, Pakistan has 439 international schools.As a result of initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory in all schools across the country. In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for female education, was shot by a Taliban gunman in retaliation for her activism. Yousafzai went on to become the youngest ever Nobel laureate for her global education-related advocacy. Additional reforms enacted in 2013 required all educational institutions in Sindh to begin offering Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and its increasing influence in Pakistan. The literacy rate of the population is 62.3% as of 2018. The rate of male literacy is 72.5% while the rate of female literacy is 51.8%. Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; as one example, in tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. With the advent of computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children. Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the Ministry of Education expected to attain 100% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10. Pakistan is currently spending 2.3 percent of its GDP on education; which according to the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the lowest in South Asia.As of 2020, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and accounts for about 2.8% of the world population. The 2017 Census of Pakistan provisionally estimated the population to be 207.8 million. This figure excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report.The population in 2017 represents a 57% increase from 1998. The annual growth rate in 2016 was reported to be 1.45%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations, though the growth rate has been decreasing in recent years. The population is projected to reach 263 million by 2030.At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.Expenditure on healthcare was ~2.8% of GDP in 2013. Life expectancy at birth was 67 years for females and 65 years for males in 2013. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished. Mortality of the under-fives was 86 per 1,000 live births in 2012.More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu—the "lingua franca" and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity—is the national language understood by over 75% of Pakistanis. It is the main medium of communication in the country but the primary language of only 7% of Pakistan's population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, with English primarily used in official business and government, and in legal contracts; the local variety is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language, the most common in Pakistan and the first language of 38.78% of Pakistan's population, is mostly spoken in the Punjab. Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab, and Hindko is predominant in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindhi language is commonly spoken in Sindh, while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. There are also speakers of Gujarati in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh. Various languages such as Shina, Balti, and Burushaski are spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, whilst languages such as Pahari, Gojri, and Kashmiri are spoken by many in Azad Kashmir.The Arabic language is officially recognised by the constitution of Pakistan. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that ""The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ...""Constitution of Pakistan: "Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life" , Article 31 No. 2, 1973, Retrieved 22 August 2018.Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claims that there are 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are also found in various other areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Large-scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made that city one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 of the city's slums such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, and Godhra Camp.Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989 thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.The major ethnic groups are Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhis (14.1%), Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Since achieving independence as a result of the partition of India, the urbanisation has increased exponentially, with several different causes. The majority of the population in the south resides along the Indus River, with Karachi the most populous commercial city. In the east, west, and north, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During the period 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, more than 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more. Immigration, from both within and outside the country, is regarded as one of the main factors contributing to urbanisation in Pakistan. One analysis of the 1998 national census highlighted the significance of the partition of India in the 1940s as it relates to urban change in Pakistan.During and after the independence period, Urdu speaking Muslims from India migrated in large numbers to Pakistan, especially to the port city of Karachi, which is today the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Migration from other countries, mainly from those nearby, has further accelerated the process of urbanisation in Pakistani cities. Inevitably, the rapid urbanisation caused by these large population movements has also created new political and socio-economic challenges. In addition to immigration, economic trends such as the green revolution and political developments, among a host of other factors, are also important causes of urbanisation. The state religion in Pakistan is Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality.The population of Pakistan follow different religions. Most of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hindus (2.14%) and Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan.Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad.In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population. Secularism and criticism of over-religiosity is not uncommon in well-educated civil society, although in general Pakistan is a highly religious society, and the irreligious generally hide their beliefs due to fear of persecution.Islam is the dominant religion. About 96.47% of Pakistanis are Muslim, according to the 2017 Census. Pakistan has the second-largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. and home for (10.5%) of the world's Muslim population. The majority of them are Sunni and mostly follow Sufism (estimated between 75 and 95%) while Shias represent between 5–25%. As of 2019, Shia population in Pakistan was estimated to be 42 million out of total population of 210 million. Pakistan also has the largest Muslim city in the world (Karachi).The Ahmadis, a small minority representing 0.22–2% of Pakistan's population, are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment. The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques". , 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims. There are also several Quraniyoon communities.Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large following among the Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, at both the academic and popular levels. Popular Sufi culture is centered around gatherings and celebrations at the shrines of saints and annual festivals that feature Sufi music and dance. Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (c. 12th century) and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (c. 12th century).There are two levels of Sufism in Pakistan. The first is the 'populist' Sufism of the rural population. This level of Sufism involves belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines, and forming bonds (Mureed) with a "pir" (saint). Many rural Pakistani Muslims associate with "pirs" and seek their intercession. The second level of Sufism in Pakistan is 'intellectual Sufism', which is growing among the urban and educated population. They are influenced by the writings of Sufis such as the medieval theologian al-Ghazali, the Sufi reformer Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindi, and Shah Wali Allah. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticise Sufism's popular character, which in their view does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of Muhammad and his companions.Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 2017 census. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where they account for 8.73% of the population. , Pakistan had the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world. In the 2017 census, the Hindu (jati) population was found to be 4,444,437 while the Hindu (scheduled castes) numbered an additional 851,504. At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' gained currency. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. Pakistani Hindus faced riots after the Babri Masjid demolition, endured a massacre (in 2005) by security forces in Balochistan, and have experienced other attacks, forced conversions, and abductions.Christians formed the next largest religious minority, after Hindus, with 1.27% of the population following it. They were followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which had a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, each back then claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi that was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during the colonial administration between World War I and World War II. The influence of atheism is very small, with 1.0% of the population identifying as atheist in 2005. However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.Civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the "Shalwar Kameez"; trousers, jeans, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including "Eid-ul-Fitr", "Eid-ul-Azha", "Ramazan", Christmas, Easter, Holi, and Diwali, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.The "Shalwar Kameez" is the national dress of Pakistan and is worn by both men and women in all four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir. Each province has its own style of "Shalwar Kameez". Pakistanis wear clothes in a range of exquisite colours and designs and in type of fabric (silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings.The fashion industry has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in Karachi organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.The private print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour news media and television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption.The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi, and Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, pop music and disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim.Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term "Overseas Pakistani" is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16.The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Cabinet Member Sajid Javid, former UK Conservative Party Chair Baroness Warsi, singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali, MIT Physics Professor Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M Professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale Professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego Professor Farooq Azam, and historian Ayesha Jalal.Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Persian, English, and many other languages. The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.The national poet of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include Josh Malihabadi Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Saadat Hasan Manto. Sadequain and Gulgee are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan. Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Asad, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar.Ideas from British and American philosophy greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as M. M. Sharif and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated Marxism into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by Manzoor Ahmad, Jon Elia, Hasan Askari Rizvi, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream social, political, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by Noam Chomsky have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions. The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the Badshahi Mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Mughal-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of British design can be found in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, "roti", a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the British Raj. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the Olympic Games held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times, held in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.Cricket, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy; as well as the ICC Test Championship. The cricket team (known as "Shaheen") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final.Pakistan Super League is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturer of the official FIFA World Cup ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah, Zesh Rehman, Muhammad Essa, Haroon Yousaf, and Muhammad Adil.Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1989 and 2004 South Asian Games; the 1984, 1993, 1996 and 2003 World Squash Championships; the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup.Pakistan is set to host the 2021 South Asian Games.	[ "Nasir-ul-Mulk", "Mir Hazar Khan Khoso", "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi", "Shehbaz Sharif", "Imran Khan" ]
Who was the head of Pakistan in 23/07/2016?	July 23, 2016	{ "text": [ "Nawaz Sharif" ] }	L2_Q843_P6_1	Nasir-ul-Mulk is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2018 to Aug, 2018. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2017 to May, 2018. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is the head of the government of Pakistan from Mar, 2013 to Jun, 2013. Imran Khan is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2018 to Apr, 2022. Shehbaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Apr, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Nawaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2013 to Jul, 2017.	PakistanPakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population exceeding 225.2 million, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, and the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Old World. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahi, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.Pakistan is a middle power, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. However, the country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the British Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.The name "Pakistan" means literally "a land abounding in the pure" or "a land in which the pure abound", in Urdu and Persian. It references the word ("pāk"), meaning "pure" in Persian and Pashto. The suffix (transliterated in English as stân after stem word ending in a vowel; estân or istân after a stem ending in a consonant) is from Persian, and means "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds".The name of the country was coined in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in a pamphlet "Now or Never", using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKISTAN"), and referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: "P"unjab, "A"fghania, "K"ashmir, "S"indh, and Baluchis"tan".Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid but the concept of "Pakistan" arrived in the 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Lahore and Thatta, both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings. In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors. By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance became increasingly blurred.During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts. Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection led the Company to increasingly flex its military muscle, allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors. Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s. Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture. Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS). Traditional "madrasahs"—primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent—were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the "madrasahs" lost their financial endowment.The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia. A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny of Bengal was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to motivated religious violence in British India. The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India. A Muslim intellectual movement, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, envisioned, as well as advocated for the two-nation theory, and led to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In contrast to the Indian National Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society. In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire. The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of British Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan. The perceived neglect of Muslim interests by Congress led British provincial governments during the period of 1937–39 convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan to espouse the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution. In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised the Cabinet Mission plan.As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Rule in 1946–47. Nationalists in British India—including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 , amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India. It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, and Sindh.In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament, but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's first Prime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders, among them Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi "alim" (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the "shariah" in Pakistan.A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the "ulama" was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.Democracy was stalled by the martial law that had been enforced by President Iskander Mirza, who was replaced by the army chief, General Ayub Khan. After adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 that led to an economic downturn and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967. Consolidating control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.In 1970 Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military establishment refused to hand over power. Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, which in West Pakistan was described as a civil war as opposed to a war of liberation.Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977—an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. Accelerated in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program, increasing Islamisation, and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised nuclear testings (See:"Chagai-I" and "Chagai-II"), as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état. Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms, and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari. Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $118 billion, sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time in fourteen years, in a democratic transition. In 2018, Imran Khan (the chairman of PTI) won the 2018 Pakistan general election with 116 general seats and became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in election of National Assembly of Pakistan for Prime Minister by getting 176 votes against Shehbaz Sharif (the chairman of PML (N)) who got 96 votes.Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of an Islamic state by the Muslim League leadership, the ulama (Islamic clergy) and Jinnah. Jinnah had developed a close association with the "ulama" and upon his death was described by one such "alim", Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb and as someone who desired to unite the Muslims of the world under the banner of Islam.The Objectives Resolution in March 1949, which declared God as the sole sovereign over the entire universe, represented the first formal step to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world and assumed that Muslim from other countries would share their views on the relationship between religion and nationality.However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments for a united Islamic bloc called Islamistan were not shared by other Muslim governments, although Islamists such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, became drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed.The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side.After Pakistan's first ever general elections, the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.Pakistan's leftist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced vigorous opposition which coalesced into a movement united under the revivalist banner of "Nizam-e-Mustafa" ("Rule of the Prophet") which aimed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia laws. Bhutto agreed to some Islamist demands before being overthrown in a coup.In 1977, after taking power from Bhutto in a coup d'état, General Zia-ul-Haq, who came from a religious background, committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing "sharia" law. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zia bolstered the influence of the "ulama" (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions and even though most Barelvi ulama and only a few Deobandi scholars had supported Pakistan's creation, Islamic state politics came to be mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/Salafi) institutions instead of Barelvi. Sectarian tensions increased with Zia's anti-Shia policies.According to a Pew Research Center (PEW) opinion poll, a majority of Pakistanis support making Sharia the official law of the land. In a survey of several Muslim countries, PEW also found that Pakistanis tend to identify with their religion more than their nationality in contrast to Muslims in other nations such as Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan.The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of , approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd-largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and land borders of in total: with Afghanistan, with China, with India and with Iran. It shares a marine border with Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor. Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and the largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus.Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over ), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 () and Nanga Parbat (). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in the Punjab and Sindh.The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons in Pakistan: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and "Ephedra" are common. In most of the Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forest as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus. About 2.2% or of Pakistan was forested in 2010.The fauna of Pakistan also reflects the country's varied climate. Around 668 bird species are found there, including crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons, and eagles. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan. Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia, and India.The southern plains are home to mongooses, small Indian civet, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat, and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines, and small rodents in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats, and leopards. The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate, and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), the markhor goat, the ibex goat, the Asian black bear, and the Himalayan brown bear. Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which, along with hunting and pollution, has had adverse effects on the ecosystem. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 41st globally out of 172 countries. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to address these issues.Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain the power they lost to British colonisation. Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion. The first constitution was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, who replaced it with the second constitution in 1962. A complete and comprehensive constitution was adopted in 1973, it was suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985. This constitution is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government. The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history. The periods 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008 saw military coups that resulted in the imposition of martial law and military commanders who governed as de facto presidents. Today Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred on, and dominated by, a homegrown social philosophy comprising a blend of ideas from socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main political parties in the country are: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N; the centre-left socialist PPP; and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations. Pakistan is a strong ally of China, with both countries placing considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive special relationship. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism—a status achieved in 2004. Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on the economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India; three of their four wars were fought over this territory. Due partly to difficulties in relations with its geopolitical rival India, Pakistan maintains close political relations with Turkey and Iran, and both countries have been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy. Saudi Arabia also maintains a respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy.A non-signatory party of the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA. In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically". In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate to maintain a geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. Briefing on the country's foreign policy in 2004, a Pakistani senator reportedly explained: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy." Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the G20 developing nations.Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in the 1950s. During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States. Relations between Pakistan and Russia have greatly improved since 1999, and co-operation in various sectors has increased. Pakistan has had an "on-and-off" relationship with the United States. A close ally of the United States during the Cold war, Pakistan's relationship with the United States soured in the 1990s when the US imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development. Since 9/11, Pakistan has been a close ally of the United States on the issue of counter-terrorism in the regions of the Middle East and South Asia, with the US supporting Pakistan with aid money and weapons. Initially, the United States-led war on terrorism led to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nonetheless, some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas. However, an exchange took place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit. Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia, an Armenian community still resides in Pakistan. Pakistan had warm relations with Bangladesh, despite some initial strains in their relationship.Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the relationship continues to be strong since China's war with India in 1962, forming a special relationship. From the 1960s to 1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate US President Nixon's state visit to China. Despite the change of governments in Pakistan and fluctuations in the regional and global situation, China's policy in Pakistan continues to be a dominant factor at all times. In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner, and economic co-operation has flourished, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion such as the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Friendly Sino-Pakistani relations reached new heights as both countries signed 51 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in 2015 for co-operation in different areas. Both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement in the 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge to the Muslim world. In 2016, China announced that it will set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In December 2018, Pakistan's government defended China's re-education camps for a million Uyghur Muslims.After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan—a pan-Islamic entity.Such developments (along with Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war, and by the 1990s Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran, which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim world is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils, and union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.The Kashmir—the most northwesterly region of South Asia—is a major territorial dispute that has hindered relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years in 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh. Other serious military engagements and skirmishes have included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999). Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India, which also claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen. The claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of the Kashmir region, an area known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession—a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by "Maharaja" Hari Singh, who agreed to cede the area to India. Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. In a resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a "plebiscite" would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 establishing a Line of Control (LoC) that divided Kashmir between the two nations. India, fearful that the Muslim majority populace of Kashmir would secede from India, did not allow a plebiscite to take place in the region. This was confirmed in a statement by India's Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, who said: "Kashmir would vote to join Pakistan and no Indian Government responsible for agreeing to plebiscite would survive."Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement (1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly. In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motorway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital. The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial police service.The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.The armed forces of Pakistan are the sixth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 651,800 personnel on active duty and 291,000 paramilitary personnel, as of tentative estimates in 2021. They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced the national politics ever since. Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, co-ordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ. The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. , the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza alongside chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitary forces in the country. Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence.The United States, Turkey, and China maintain close military relations and regularly export military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan. Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carried out by the militaries of China and Turkey. Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in four conventional wars, the first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; over the issue of Bengali refugees that led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which were kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.Rising tensions with neighbouring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the US resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy. Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. According to UN reports, the Pakistani military is the third largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions after Ethiopia and India.Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles. The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Six-Day War (1967) and in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi (flying a MiG-21), shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government. Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, Pakistan's special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque. For almost two weeks Saudi Special Forces and Pakistani commandos fought the insurgents who had occupied the Grand Mosque's compound. In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.Despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, General Javed Nasir of the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to Bosnian mujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under Nasir's leadership the ISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.Since 2004, the military has been engaged in an insurgency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mainly against the Tehrik-i-Taliban factions. Major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.According to SIPRI, Pakistan was the 9th-largest recipient and importer of arms between 2012–2016.The Economy of Pakistan is the 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as rail transportation and electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion., Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP is US$284.2 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$1.254 trillion. The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,388, the GDP (PPP)/capita is US$6,016 (international dollars), According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan's youth provides the country with both a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment. 21.04% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The unemployment rate among the aged 15 and over population is 5.5%. Pakistan has an estimated 40 million middle class citizens, projected to increase to 100 million by 2050. A 2015 report published by the World Bank ranked Pakistan's economy at 24th-largest in the world by purchasing power and 41st-largest in absolute terms. It is South Asia's second-largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but robust during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed. The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%. The economy cooled again from 2007. Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008, and Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy. A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing. The inflation rate for the fiscal year was 14.1%. Since 2013, as part of an International Monetary Fund program, Pakistan's economic growth has picked up. In 2014 Goldman Sachs predicted that Pakistan's economy would grow 15 times in the next 35 years to become the 18th-largest economy in the world by 2050. In his 2016 book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations", Ruchir Sharma termed Pakistan's economy as at a 'take-off' stage and the future outlook until 2020 has been termed 'Very Good'. Sharma termed it possible to transform Pakistan from a "low-income to a middle-income country during the next five years".Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th-largest in the world. The 7-million–strong Pakistani diaspora contributed US$19.9 billion to the economy in 2015–16. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan are: the UAE; the United States; Saudi Arabia; the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman); Australia; Canada; Japan; the United Kingdom; Norway; and Switzerland. According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.13% in 2007.The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture accounts for only 20.9% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons). Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, is dependent on this sector. It accounts for 43.5% of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings.A large portion of the country's manufactured exports is dependent on raw materials such as cotton and hides that are part of the agriculture sector, while supply shortages and market disruptions in farm products do push up inflationary pressures. The country is also the fifth-largest producer of cotton, with cotton production of 14 million bales from a modest beginning of 1.7 million bales in the early 1950s; is self-sufficient in sugarcane; and is the fourth-largest producer in the world of milk. Land and water resources have not risen proportionately, but the increases have taken place mainly due to gains in labour and agriculture productivity. The major breakthrough in crop production took place in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the Green Revolution that made a significant contribution to land and yield increases of wheat and rice. Private tube wells led to a 50 percent increase in the cropping intensity which was augmented by tractor cultivation. While the tube wells raised crop yields by 50 percent, the High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice led to a 50–60 percent higher yield. Meat industry accounts for 1.4 percent of overall GDP.Industry is the second-largest sector of the economy, accounting for 19.74% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 24 percent of total employment. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), at 12.2% of GDP, dominates the overall sector, accounting for 66% of the sectoral share, followed by small-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 4.9% of total GDP. Pakistan's cement industry is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and from the domestic real estate sector. In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In 2012 and 2013, the cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of the economy.The textile industry has a pivotal position in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In Asia, Pakistan is the eighth-largest exporter of textile products, contributing 9.5% to the GDP and providing employment to around 15 million people (some 30% of the 49 million people in the workforce). Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of cotton with the third-largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, contributing 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike the US, where mostly value-added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of all UK textile imports, 12.4% or $4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 3.0% of all US textile imports ($2,980 million), 1.6% of total German textile imports ($880 million) and 0.7% of total Indian textile imports ($888 million).The services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'., Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan's Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10-billion mark by 2020. The sector employees 12,000 and count's among top five freelancing nations. The country has also improved its export performance in telecom, computer and information services, as the share of their exports surged from 8.2pc in 2005–06 to 12.6pc in 2012–13. This growth is much better than that of China, whose share in services exports was 3pc and 7.7pc for the same period respectively.With its diverse cultures, people, and landscapes, Pakistan attracted around 6.6 million foreign tourists in 2018, which represented a significant decline since the 1970s when the country received unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists due to the popular Hippie trail. The trail attracted thousands of Europeans and Americans in the 1960s and 1970s who travelled via land through Turkey and Iran into India through Pakistan. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi. The numbers following the trail declined after the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet–Afghan War.Pakistan's tourist attractions range from the mangroves in the south to the Himalayan hill stations in the north-east. The country's tourist destinations range from the Buddhist ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Taxila, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over . The northern part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, examples of ancient architecture, and the Hunza and Chitral valleys, home to the small pre-Islamic Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore, contains many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, the Tomb of Jahangir, and the Lahore Fort.In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, "The Guardian" released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, the Karakoram Highway, Karimabad, and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique cultural heritage, the government organizes various festivals throughout the year. In 2015 the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan 125 out of 141 countries.Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.As of May 2021, nuclear power is provided by six licensed commercial nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy. The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electrical energy, compared to 64.2% from fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas), 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and 0.1% from coal. Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.The KANUPP-I, a Candu-type nuclear reactor, was supplied by Canada in 1971—the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. The Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation began in the early 1980s. After a Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation agreement in 1986, China provided Pakistan with a nuclear reactor dubbed CHASNUPP-I for energy and the industrial growth of the country. In 2005 both countries proposed working on a joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generation capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Under its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050, the Pakistani government plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MWe, 8,900 MWe of it by 2030. In June 2008 the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalising the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV reactors at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 325–340 MWe and costing ₨ 129 billion; from which the ₨ 80 billion came from international sources, principally China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US–India agreement that shortly preceded it. The cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of US$1.07 billion. In 2013 Pakistan established a second commercial nuclear complex in Karachi with plans of additional reactors, similar to the one in Chashma. The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy used in Pakistan in addition to gathering revenue nationwide. , Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of ~22,797.The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 20 February 2020, 1882 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1854 km are under construction or planned. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until the 1970s the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Beginning in the 1990s there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is below 8% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. As personal transportation began to be dominated by the automobile, total rail track decreased from in 1990–91 to in 2011. Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran, and Turkey.There are an estimated 151 airports and airfields in Pakistan as of 2013—including both the military and the mostly publicly owned civilian airports. Although Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic.The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which was deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominant air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue and Air Indus, also provide similar services at a low cost.Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port, Port Qasim). Since the 1990s some seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port, Port of Pasni and Gadani Port. Gwadar Port is the deepest sea port of the world. According to the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, quality ratings of Pakistan's port infrastructure increased from 3.7 to 4.1 between 2007 and 2016.Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc.Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about .Developments in science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels.In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the HEU-based gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in condensed and material physics.In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government.The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy. The space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to conduct underground nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica.Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise.As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨ 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.At the time of the establishment of Pakistan as a state, the country had only one university, Punjab University in Lahore. Very soon the Pakistan government established public universities in each of the four provinces, including Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities, which includes collaboration between the universities aimed at providing research and higher education opportunities in the country, although there is concern about the low quality of teaching in many of the newer schools. It is estimated that there are 3,193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan, and there are also "madrassahs" that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. Strong public pressure and popular criticism over extremists' usage of "madrassahs" for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the "madrassahs".Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a network of private schools that constitutes a parallel secondary education system based on a curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council. According to the International Schools Consultancy, Pakistan has 439 international schools.As a result of initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory in all schools across the country. In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for female education, was shot by a Taliban gunman in retaliation for her activism. Yousafzai went on to become the youngest ever Nobel laureate for her global education-related advocacy. Additional reforms enacted in 2013 required all educational institutions in Sindh to begin offering Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and its increasing influence in Pakistan. The literacy rate of the population is 62.3% as of 2018. The rate of male literacy is 72.5% while the rate of female literacy is 51.8%. Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; as one example, in tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. With the advent of computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children. Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the Ministry of Education expected to attain 100% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10. Pakistan is currently spending 2.3 percent of its GDP on education; which according to the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the lowest in South Asia.As of 2020, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and accounts for about 2.8% of the world population. The 2017 Census of Pakistan provisionally estimated the population to be 207.8 million. This figure excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report.The population in 2017 represents a 57% increase from 1998. The annual growth rate in 2016 was reported to be 1.45%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations, though the growth rate has been decreasing in recent years. The population is projected to reach 263 million by 2030.At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.Expenditure on healthcare was ~2.8% of GDP in 2013. Life expectancy at birth was 67 years for females and 65 years for males in 2013. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished. Mortality of the under-fives was 86 per 1,000 live births in 2012.More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu—the "lingua franca" and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity—is the national language understood by over 75% of Pakistanis. It is the main medium of communication in the country but the primary language of only 7% of Pakistan's population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, with English primarily used in official business and government, and in legal contracts; the local variety is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language, the most common in Pakistan and the first language of 38.78% of Pakistan's population, is mostly spoken in the Punjab. Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab, and Hindko is predominant in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindhi language is commonly spoken in Sindh, while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. There are also speakers of Gujarati in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh. Various languages such as Shina, Balti, and Burushaski are spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, whilst languages such as Pahari, Gojri, and Kashmiri are spoken by many in Azad Kashmir.The Arabic language is officially recognised by the constitution of Pakistan. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that ""The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ...""Constitution of Pakistan: "Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life" , Article 31 No. 2, 1973, Retrieved 22 August 2018.Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claims that there are 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are also found in various other areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Large-scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made that city one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 of the city's slums such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, and Godhra Camp.Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989 thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.The major ethnic groups are Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhis (14.1%), Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Since achieving independence as a result of the partition of India, the urbanisation has increased exponentially, with several different causes. The majority of the population in the south resides along the Indus River, with Karachi the most populous commercial city. In the east, west, and north, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During the period 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, more than 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more. Immigration, from both within and outside the country, is regarded as one of the main factors contributing to urbanisation in Pakistan. One analysis of the 1998 national census highlighted the significance of the partition of India in the 1940s as it relates to urban change in Pakistan.During and after the independence period, Urdu speaking Muslims from India migrated in large numbers to Pakistan, especially to the port city of Karachi, which is today the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Migration from other countries, mainly from those nearby, has further accelerated the process of urbanisation in Pakistani cities. Inevitably, the rapid urbanisation caused by these large population movements has also created new political and socio-economic challenges. In addition to immigration, economic trends such as the green revolution and political developments, among a host of other factors, are also important causes of urbanisation. The state religion in Pakistan is Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality.The population of Pakistan follow different religions. Most of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hindus (2.14%) and Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan.Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad.In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population. Secularism and criticism of over-religiosity is not uncommon in well-educated civil society, although in general Pakistan is a highly religious society, and the irreligious generally hide their beliefs due to fear of persecution.Islam is the dominant religion. About 96.47% of Pakistanis are Muslim, according to the 2017 Census. Pakistan has the second-largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. and home for (10.5%) of the world's Muslim population. The majority of them are Sunni and mostly follow Sufism (estimated between 75 and 95%) while Shias represent between 5–25%. As of 2019, Shia population in Pakistan was estimated to be 42 million out of total population of 210 million. Pakistan also has the largest Muslim city in the world (Karachi).The Ahmadis, a small minority representing 0.22–2% of Pakistan's population, are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment. The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques". , 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims. There are also several Quraniyoon communities.Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large following among the Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, at both the academic and popular levels. Popular Sufi culture is centered around gatherings and celebrations at the shrines of saints and annual festivals that feature Sufi music and dance. Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (c. 12th century) and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (c. 12th century).There are two levels of Sufism in Pakistan. The first is the 'populist' Sufism of the rural population. This level of Sufism involves belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines, and forming bonds (Mureed) with a "pir" (saint). Many rural Pakistani Muslims associate with "pirs" and seek their intercession. The second level of Sufism in Pakistan is 'intellectual Sufism', which is growing among the urban and educated population. They are influenced by the writings of Sufis such as the medieval theologian al-Ghazali, the Sufi reformer Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindi, and Shah Wali Allah. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticise Sufism's popular character, which in their view does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of Muhammad and his companions.Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 2017 census. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where they account for 8.73% of the population. , Pakistan had the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world. In the 2017 census, the Hindu (jati) population was found to be 4,444,437 while the Hindu (scheduled castes) numbered an additional 851,504. At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' gained currency. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. Pakistani Hindus faced riots after the Babri Masjid demolition, endured a massacre (in 2005) by security forces in Balochistan, and have experienced other attacks, forced conversions, and abductions.Christians formed the next largest religious minority, after Hindus, with 1.27% of the population following it. They were followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which had a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, each back then claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi that was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during the colonial administration between World War I and World War II. The influence of atheism is very small, with 1.0% of the population identifying as atheist in 2005. However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.Civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the "Shalwar Kameez"; trousers, jeans, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including "Eid-ul-Fitr", "Eid-ul-Azha", "Ramazan", Christmas, Easter, Holi, and Diwali, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.The "Shalwar Kameez" is the national dress of Pakistan and is worn by both men and women in all four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir. Each province has its own style of "Shalwar Kameez". Pakistanis wear clothes in a range of exquisite colours and designs and in type of fabric (silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings.The fashion industry has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in Karachi organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.The private print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour news media and television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption.The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi, and Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, pop music and disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim.Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term "Overseas Pakistani" is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16.The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Cabinet Member Sajid Javid, former UK Conservative Party Chair Baroness Warsi, singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali, MIT Physics Professor Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M Professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale Professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego Professor Farooq Azam, and historian Ayesha Jalal.Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Persian, English, and many other languages. The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.The national poet of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include Josh Malihabadi Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Saadat Hasan Manto. Sadequain and Gulgee are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan. Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Asad, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar.Ideas from British and American philosophy greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as M. M. Sharif and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated Marxism into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by Manzoor Ahmad, Jon Elia, Hasan Askari Rizvi, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream social, political, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by Noam Chomsky have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions. The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the Badshahi Mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Mughal-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of British design can be found in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, "roti", a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the British Raj. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the Olympic Games held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times, held in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.Cricket, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy; as well as the ICC Test Championship. The cricket team (known as "Shaheen") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final.Pakistan Super League is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturer of the official FIFA World Cup ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah, Zesh Rehman, Muhammad Essa, Haroon Yousaf, and Muhammad Adil.Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1989 and 2004 South Asian Games; the 1984, 1993, 1996 and 2003 World Squash Championships; the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup.Pakistan is set to host the 2021 South Asian Games.	[ "Nasir-ul-Mulk", "Mir Hazar Khan Khoso", "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi", "Shehbaz Sharif", "Imran Khan" ]
Who was the head of Pakistan in Jul 23, 2016?	July 23, 2016	{ "text": [ "Nawaz Sharif" ] }	L2_Q843_P6_1	Nasir-ul-Mulk is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2018 to Aug, 2018. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2017 to May, 2018. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is the head of the government of Pakistan from Mar, 2013 to Jun, 2013. Imran Khan is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2018 to Apr, 2022. Shehbaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Apr, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Nawaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2013 to Jul, 2017.	PakistanPakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population exceeding 225.2 million, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, and the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Old World. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahi, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.Pakistan is a middle power, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. However, the country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the British Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.The name "Pakistan" means literally "a land abounding in the pure" or "a land in which the pure abound", in Urdu and Persian. It references the word ("pāk"), meaning "pure" in Persian and Pashto. The suffix (transliterated in English as stân after stem word ending in a vowel; estân or istân after a stem ending in a consonant) is from Persian, and means "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds".The name of the country was coined in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in a pamphlet "Now or Never", using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKISTAN"), and referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: "P"unjab, "A"fghania, "K"ashmir, "S"indh, and Baluchis"tan".Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid but the concept of "Pakistan" arrived in the 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Lahore and Thatta, both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings. In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors. By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance became increasingly blurred.During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts. Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection led the Company to increasingly flex its military muscle, allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors. Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s. Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture. Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS). Traditional "madrasahs"—primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent—were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the "madrasahs" lost their financial endowment.The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia. A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny of Bengal was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to motivated religious violence in British India. The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India. A Muslim intellectual movement, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, envisioned, as well as advocated for the two-nation theory, and led to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In contrast to the Indian National Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society. In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire. The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of British Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan. The perceived neglect of Muslim interests by Congress led British provincial governments during the period of 1937–39 convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan to espouse the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution. In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised the Cabinet Mission plan.As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Rule in 1946–47. Nationalists in British India—including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 , amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India. It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, and Sindh.In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament, but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's first Prime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders, among them Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi "alim" (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the "shariah" in Pakistan.A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the "ulama" was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.Democracy was stalled by the martial law that had been enforced by President Iskander Mirza, who was replaced by the army chief, General Ayub Khan. After adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 that led to an economic downturn and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967. Consolidating control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.In 1970 Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military establishment refused to hand over power. Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, which in West Pakistan was described as a civil war as opposed to a war of liberation.Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977—an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. Accelerated in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program, increasing Islamisation, and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised nuclear testings (See:"Chagai-I" and "Chagai-II"), as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état. Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms, and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari. Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $118 billion, sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time in fourteen years, in a democratic transition. In 2018, Imran Khan (the chairman of PTI) won the 2018 Pakistan general election with 116 general seats and became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in election of National Assembly of Pakistan for Prime Minister by getting 176 votes against Shehbaz Sharif (the chairman of PML (N)) who got 96 votes.Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of an Islamic state by the Muslim League leadership, the ulama (Islamic clergy) and Jinnah. Jinnah had developed a close association with the "ulama" and upon his death was described by one such "alim", Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb and as someone who desired to unite the Muslims of the world under the banner of Islam.The Objectives Resolution in March 1949, which declared God as the sole sovereign over the entire universe, represented the first formal step to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world and assumed that Muslim from other countries would share their views on the relationship between religion and nationality.However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments for a united Islamic bloc called Islamistan were not shared by other Muslim governments, although Islamists such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, became drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed.The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side.After Pakistan's first ever general elections, the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.Pakistan's leftist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced vigorous opposition which coalesced into a movement united under the revivalist banner of "Nizam-e-Mustafa" ("Rule of the Prophet") which aimed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia laws. Bhutto agreed to some Islamist demands before being overthrown in a coup.In 1977, after taking power from Bhutto in a coup d'état, General Zia-ul-Haq, who came from a religious background, committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing "sharia" law. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zia bolstered the influence of the "ulama" (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions and even though most Barelvi ulama and only a few Deobandi scholars had supported Pakistan's creation, Islamic state politics came to be mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/Salafi) institutions instead of Barelvi. Sectarian tensions increased with Zia's anti-Shia policies.According to a Pew Research Center (PEW) opinion poll, a majority of Pakistanis support making Sharia the official law of the land. In a survey of several Muslim countries, PEW also found that Pakistanis tend to identify with their religion more than their nationality in contrast to Muslims in other nations such as Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan.The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of , approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd-largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and land borders of in total: with Afghanistan, with China, with India and with Iran. It shares a marine border with Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor. Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and the largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus.Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over ), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 () and Nanga Parbat (). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in the Punjab and Sindh.The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons in Pakistan: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and "Ephedra" are common. In most of the Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forest as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus. About 2.2% or of Pakistan was forested in 2010.The fauna of Pakistan also reflects the country's varied climate. Around 668 bird species are found there, including crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons, and eagles. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan. Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia, and India.The southern plains are home to mongooses, small Indian civet, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat, and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines, and small rodents in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats, and leopards. The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate, and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), the markhor goat, the ibex goat, the Asian black bear, and the Himalayan brown bear. Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which, along with hunting and pollution, has had adverse effects on the ecosystem. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 41st globally out of 172 countries. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to address these issues.Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain the power they lost to British colonisation. Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion. The first constitution was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, who replaced it with the second constitution in 1962. A complete and comprehensive constitution was adopted in 1973, it was suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985. This constitution is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government. The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history. The periods 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008 saw military coups that resulted in the imposition of martial law and military commanders who governed as de facto presidents. Today Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred on, and dominated by, a homegrown social philosophy comprising a blend of ideas from socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main political parties in the country are: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N; the centre-left socialist PPP; and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations. Pakistan is a strong ally of China, with both countries placing considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive special relationship. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism—a status achieved in 2004. Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on the economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India; three of their four wars were fought over this territory. Due partly to difficulties in relations with its geopolitical rival India, Pakistan maintains close political relations with Turkey and Iran, and both countries have been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy. Saudi Arabia also maintains a respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy.A non-signatory party of the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA. In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically". In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate to maintain a geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. Briefing on the country's foreign policy in 2004, a Pakistani senator reportedly explained: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy." Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the G20 developing nations.Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in the 1950s. During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States. Relations between Pakistan and Russia have greatly improved since 1999, and co-operation in various sectors has increased. Pakistan has had an "on-and-off" relationship with the United States. A close ally of the United States during the Cold war, Pakistan's relationship with the United States soured in the 1990s when the US imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development. Since 9/11, Pakistan has been a close ally of the United States on the issue of counter-terrorism in the regions of the Middle East and South Asia, with the US supporting Pakistan with aid money and weapons. Initially, the United States-led war on terrorism led to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nonetheless, some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas. However, an exchange took place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit. Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia, an Armenian community still resides in Pakistan. Pakistan had warm relations with Bangladesh, despite some initial strains in their relationship.Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the relationship continues to be strong since China's war with India in 1962, forming a special relationship. From the 1960s to 1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate US President Nixon's state visit to China. Despite the change of governments in Pakistan and fluctuations in the regional and global situation, China's policy in Pakistan continues to be a dominant factor at all times. In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner, and economic co-operation has flourished, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion such as the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Friendly Sino-Pakistani relations reached new heights as both countries signed 51 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in 2015 for co-operation in different areas. Both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement in the 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge to the Muslim world. In 2016, China announced that it will set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In December 2018, Pakistan's government defended China's re-education camps for a million Uyghur Muslims.After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan—a pan-Islamic entity.Such developments (along with Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war, and by the 1990s Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran, which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim world is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils, and union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.The Kashmir—the most northwesterly region of South Asia—is a major territorial dispute that has hindered relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years in 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh. Other serious military engagements and skirmishes have included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999). Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India, which also claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen. The claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of the Kashmir region, an area known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession—a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by "Maharaja" Hari Singh, who agreed to cede the area to India. Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. In a resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a "plebiscite" would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 establishing a Line of Control (LoC) that divided Kashmir between the two nations. India, fearful that the Muslim majority populace of Kashmir would secede from India, did not allow a plebiscite to take place in the region. This was confirmed in a statement by India's Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, who said: "Kashmir would vote to join Pakistan and no Indian Government responsible for agreeing to plebiscite would survive."Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement (1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly. In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motorway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital. The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial police service.The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.The armed forces of Pakistan are the sixth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 651,800 personnel on active duty and 291,000 paramilitary personnel, as of tentative estimates in 2021. They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced the national politics ever since. Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, co-ordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ. The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. , the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza alongside chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitary forces in the country. Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence.The United States, Turkey, and China maintain close military relations and regularly export military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan. Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carried out by the militaries of China and Turkey. Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in four conventional wars, the first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; over the issue of Bengali refugees that led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which were kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.Rising tensions with neighbouring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the US resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy. Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. According to UN reports, the Pakistani military is the third largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions after Ethiopia and India.Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles. The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Six-Day War (1967) and in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi (flying a MiG-21), shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government. Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, Pakistan's special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque. For almost two weeks Saudi Special Forces and Pakistani commandos fought the insurgents who had occupied the Grand Mosque's compound. In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.Despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, General Javed Nasir of the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to Bosnian mujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under Nasir's leadership the ISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.Since 2004, the military has been engaged in an insurgency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mainly against the Tehrik-i-Taliban factions. Major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.According to SIPRI, Pakistan was the 9th-largest recipient and importer of arms between 2012–2016.The Economy of Pakistan is the 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as rail transportation and electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion., Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP is US$284.2 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$1.254 trillion. The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,388, the GDP (PPP)/capita is US$6,016 (international dollars), According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan's youth provides the country with both a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment. 21.04% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The unemployment rate among the aged 15 and over population is 5.5%. Pakistan has an estimated 40 million middle class citizens, projected to increase to 100 million by 2050. A 2015 report published by the World Bank ranked Pakistan's economy at 24th-largest in the world by purchasing power and 41st-largest in absolute terms. It is South Asia's second-largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but robust during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed. The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%. The economy cooled again from 2007. Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008, and Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy. A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing. The inflation rate for the fiscal year was 14.1%. Since 2013, as part of an International Monetary Fund program, Pakistan's economic growth has picked up. In 2014 Goldman Sachs predicted that Pakistan's economy would grow 15 times in the next 35 years to become the 18th-largest economy in the world by 2050. In his 2016 book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations", Ruchir Sharma termed Pakistan's economy as at a 'take-off' stage and the future outlook until 2020 has been termed 'Very Good'. Sharma termed it possible to transform Pakistan from a "low-income to a middle-income country during the next five years".Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th-largest in the world. The 7-million–strong Pakistani diaspora contributed US$19.9 billion to the economy in 2015–16. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan are: the UAE; the United States; Saudi Arabia; the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman); Australia; Canada; Japan; the United Kingdom; Norway; and Switzerland. According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.13% in 2007.The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture accounts for only 20.9% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons). Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, is dependent on this sector. It accounts for 43.5% of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings.A large portion of the country's manufactured exports is dependent on raw materials such as cotton and hides that are part of the agriculture sector, while supply shortages and market disruptions in farm products do push up inflationary pressures. The country is also the fifth-largest producer of cotton, with cotton production of 14 million bales from a modest beginning of 1.7 million bales in the early 1950s; is self-sufficient in sugarcane; and is the fourth-largest producer in the world of milk. Land and water resources have not risen proportionately, but the increases have taken place mainly due to gains in labour and agriculture productivity. The major breakthrough in crop production took place in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the Green Revolution that made a significant contribution to land and yield increases of wheat and rice. Private tube wells led to a 50 percent increase in the cropping intensity which was augmented by tractor cultivation. While the tube wells raised crop yields by 50 percent, the High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice led to a 50–60 percent higher yield. Meat industry accounts for 1.4 percent of overall GDP.Industry is the second-largest sector of the economy, accounting for 19.74% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 24 percent of total employment. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), at 12.2% of GDP, dominates the overall sector, accounting for 66% of the sectoral share, followed by small-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 4.9% of total GDP. Pakistan's cement industry is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and from the domestic real estate sector. In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In 2012 and 2013, the cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of the economy.The textile industry has a pivotal position in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In Asia, Pakistan is the eighth-largest exporter of textile products, contributing 9.5% to the GDP and providing employment to around 15 million people (some 30% of the 49 million people in the workforce). Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of cotton with the third-largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, contributing 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike the US, where mostly value-added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of all UK textile imports, 12.4% or $4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 3.0% of all US textile imports ($2,980 million), 1.6% of total German textile imports ($880 million) and 0.7% of total Indian textile imports ($888 million).The services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'., Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan's Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10-billion mark by 2020. The sector employees 12,000 and count's among top five freelancing nations. The country has also improved its export performance in telecom, computer and information services, as the share of their exports surged from 8.2pc in 2005–06 to 12.6pc in 2012–13. This growth is much better than that of China, whose share in services exports was 3pc and 7.7pc for the same period respectively.With its diverse cultures, people, and landscapes, Pakistan attracted around 6.6 million foreign tourists in 2018, which represented a significant decline since the 1970s when the country received unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists due to the popular Hippie trail. The trail attracted thousands of Europeans and Americans in the 1960s and 1970s who travelled via land through Turkey and Iran into India through Pakistan. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi. The numbers following the trail declined after the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet–Afghan War.Pakistan's tourist attractions range from the mangroves in the south to the Himalayan hill stations in the north-east. The country's tourist destinations range from the Buddhist ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Taxila, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over . The northern part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, examples of ancient architecture, and the Hunza and Chitral valleys, home to the small pre-Islamic Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore, contains many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, the Tomb of Jahangir, and the Lahore Fort.In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, "The Guardian" released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, the Karakoram Highway, Karimabad, and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique cultural heritage, the government organizes various festivals throughout the year. In 2015 the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan 125 out of 141 countries.Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.As of May 2021, nuclear power is provided by six licensed commercial nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy. The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electrical energy, compared to 64.2% from fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas), 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and 0.1% from coal. Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.The KANUPP-I, a Candu-type nuclear reactor, was supplied by Canada in 1971—the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. The Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation began in the early 1980s. After a Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation agreement in 1986, China provided Pakistan with a nuclear reactor dubbed CHASNUPP-I for energy and the industrial growth of the country. In 2005 both countries proposed working on a joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generation capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Under its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050, the Pakistani government plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MWe, 8,900 MWe of it by 2030. In June 2008 the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalising the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV reactors at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 325–340 MWe and costing ₨ 129 billion; from which the ₨ 80 billion came from international sources, principally China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US–India agreement that shortly preceded it. The cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of US$1.07 billion. In 2013 Pakistan established a second commercial nuclear complex in Karachi with plans of additional reactors, similar to the one in Chashma. The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy used in Pakistan in addition to gathering revenue nationwide. , Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of ~22,797.The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 20 February 2020, 1882 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1854 km are under construction or planned. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until the 1970s the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Beginning in the 1990s there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is below 8% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. As personal transportation began to be dominated by the automobile, total rail track decreased from in 1990–91 to in 2011. Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran, and Turkey.There are an estimated 151 airports and airfields in Pakistan as of 2013—including both the military and the mostly publicly owned civilian airports. Although Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic.The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which was deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominant air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue and Air Indus, also provide similar services at a low cost.Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port, Port Qasim). Since the 1990s some seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port, Port of Pasni and Gadani Port. Gwadar Port is the deepest sea port of the world. According to the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, quality ratings of Pakistan's port infrastructure increased from 3.7 to 4.1 between 2007 and 2016.Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc.Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about .Developments in science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels.In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the HEU-based gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in condensed and material physics.In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government.The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy. The space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to conduct underground nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica.Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise.As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨ 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.At the time of the establishment of Pakistan as a state, the country had only one university, Punjab University in Lahore. Very soon the Pakistan government established public universities in each of the four provinces, including Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities, which includes collaboration between the universities aimed at providing research and higher education opportunities in the country, although there is concern about the low quality of teaching in many of the newer schools. It is estimated that there are 3,193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan, and there are also "madrassahs" that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. Strong public pressure and popular criticism over extremists' usage of "madrassahs" for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the "madrassahs".Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a network of private schools that constitutes a parallel secondary education system based on a curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council. According to the International Schools Consultancy, Pakistan has 439 international schools.As a result of initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory in all schools across the country. In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for female education, was shot by a Taliban gunman in retaliation for her activism. Yousafzai went on to become the youngest ever Nobel laureate for her global education-related advocacy. Additional reforms enacted in 2013 required all educational institutions in Sindh to begin offering Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and its increasing influence in Pakistan. The literacy rate of the population is 62.3% as of 2018. The rate of male literacy is 72.5% while the rate of female literacy is 51.8%. Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; as one example, in tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. With the advent of computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children. Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the Ministry of Education expected to attain 100% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10. Pakistan is currently spending 2.3 percent of its GDP on education; which according to the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the lowest in South Asia.As of 2020, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and accounts for about 2.8% of the world population. The 2017 Census of Pakistan provisionally estimated the population to be 207.8 million. This figure excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report.The population in 2017 represents a 57% increase from 1998. The annual growth rate in 2016 was reported to be 1.45%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations, though the growth rate has been decreasing in recent years. The population is projected to reach 263 million by 2030.At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.Expenditure on healthcare was ~2.8% of GDP in 2013. Life expectancy at birth was 67 years for females and 65 years for males in 2013. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished. Mortality of the under-fives was 86 per 1,000 live births in 2012.More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu—the "lingua franca" and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity—is the national language understood by over 75% of Pakistanis. It is the main medium of communication in the country but the primary language of only 7% of Pakistan's population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, with English primarily used in official business and government, and in legal contracts; the local variety is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language, the most common in Pakistan and the first language of 38.78% of Pakistan's population, is mostly spoken in the Punjab. Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab, and Hindko is predominant in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindhi language is commonly spoken in Sindh, while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. There are also speakers of Gujarati in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh. Various languages such as Shina, Balti, and Burushaski are spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, whilst languages such as Pahari, Gojri, and Kashmiri are spoken by many in Azad Kashmir.The Arabic language is officially recognised by the constitution of Pakistan. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that ""The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ...""Constitution of Pakistan: "Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life" , Article 31 No. 2, 1973, Retrieved 22 August 2018.Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claims that there are 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are also found in various other areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Large-scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made that city one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 of the city's slums such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, and Godhra Camp.Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989 thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.The major ethnic groups are Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhis (14.1%), Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Since achieving independence as a result of the partition of India, the urbanisation has increased exponentially, with several different causes. The majority of the population in the south resides along the Indus River, with Karachi the most populous commercial city. In the east, west, and north, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During the period 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, more than 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more. Immigration, from both within and outside the country, is regarded as one of the main factors contributing to urbanisation in Pakistan. One analysis of the 1998 national census highlighted the significance of the partition of India in the 1940s as it relates to urban change in Pakistan.During and after the independence period, Urdu speaking Muslims from India migrated in large numbers to Pakistan, especially to the port city of Karachi, which is today the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Migration from other countries, mainly from those nearby, has further accelerated the process of urbanisation in Pakistani cities. Inevitably, the rapid urbanisation caused by these large population movements has also created new political and socio-economic challenges. In addition to immigration, economic trends such as the green revolution and political developments, among a host of other factors, are also important causes of urbanisation. The state religion in Pakistan is Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality.The population of Pakistan follow different religions. Most of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hindus (2.14%) and Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan.Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad.In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population. Secularism and criticism of over-religiosity is not uncommon in well-educated civil society, although in general Pakistan is a highly religious society, and the irreligious generally hide their beliefs due to fear of persecution.Islam is the dominant religion. About 96.47% of Pakistanis are Muslim, according to the 2017 Census. Pakistan has the second-largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. and home for (10.5%) of the world's Muslim population. The majority of them are Sunni and mostly follow Sufism (estimated between 75 and 95%) while Shias represent between 5–25%. As of 2019, Shia population in Pakistan was estimated to be 42 million out of total population of 210 million. Pakistan also has the largest Muslim city in the world (Karachi).The Ahmadis, a small minority representing 0.22–2% of Pakistan's population, are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment. The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques". , 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims. There are also several Quraniyoon communities.Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large following among the Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, at both the academic and popular levels. Popular Sufi culture is centered around gatherings and celebrations at the shrines of saints and annual festivals that feature Sufi music and dance. Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (c. 12th century) and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (c. 12th century).There are two levels of Sufism in Pakistan. The first is the 'populist' Sufism of the rural population. This level of Sufism involves belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines, and forming bonds (Mureed) with a "pir" (saint). Many rural Pakistani Muslims associate with "pirs" and seek their intercession. The second level of Sufism in Pakistan is 'intellectual Sufism', which is growing among the urban and educated population. They are influenced by the writings of Sufis such as the medieval theologian al-Ghazali, the Sufi reformer Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindi, and Shah Wali Allah. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticise Sufism's popular character, which in their view does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of Muhammad and his companions.Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 2017 census. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where they account for 8.73% of the population. , Pakistan had the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world. In the 2017 census, the Hindu (jati) population was found to be 4,444,437 while the Hindu (scheduled castes) numbered an additional 851,504. At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' gained currency. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. Pakistani Hindus faced riots after the Babri Masjid demolition, endured a massacre (in 2005) by security forces in Balochistan, and have experienced other attacks, forced conversions, and abductions.Christians formed the next largest religious minority, after Hindus, with 1.27% of the population following it. They were followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which had a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, each back then claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi that was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during the colonial administration between World War I and World War II. The influence of atheism is very small, with 1.0% of the population identifying as atheist in 2005. However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.Civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the "Shalwar Kameez"; trousers, jeans, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including "Eid-ul-Fitr", "Eid-ul-Azha", "Ramazan", Christmas, Easter, Holi, and Diwali, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.The "Shalwar Kameez" is the national dress of Pakistan and is worn by both men and women in all four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir. Each province has its own style of "Shalwar Kameez". Pakistanis wear clothes in a range of exquisite colours and designs and in type of fabric (silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings.The fashion industry has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in Karachi organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.The private print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour news media and television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption.The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi, and Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, pop music and disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim.Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term "Overseas Pakistani" is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16.The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Cabinet Member Sajid Javid, former UK Conservative Party Chair Baroness Warsi, singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali, MIT Physics Professor Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M Professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale Professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego Professor Farooq Azam, and historian Ayesha Jalal.Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Persian, English, and many other languages. The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.The national poet of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include Josh Malihabadi Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Saadat Hasan Manto. Sadequain and Gulgee are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan. Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Asad, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar.Ideas from British and American philosophy greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as M. M. Sharif and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated Marxism into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by Manzoor Ahmad, Jon Elia, Hasan Askari Rizvi, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream social, political, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by Noam Chomsky have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions. The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the Badshahi Mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Mughal-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of British design can be found in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, "roti", a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the British Raj. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the Olympic Games held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times, held in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.Cricket, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy; as well as the ICC Test Championship. The cricket team (known as "Shaheen") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final.Pakistan Super League is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturer of the official FIFA World Cup ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah, Zesh Rehman, Muhammad Essa, Haroon Yousaf, and Muhammad Adil.Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1989 and 2004 South Asian Games; the 1984, 1993, 1996 and 2003 World Squash Championships; the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup.Pakistan is set to host the 2021 South Asian Games.	[ "Nasir-ul-Mulk", "Mir Hazar Khan Khoso", "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi", "Shehbaz Sharif", "Imran Khan" ]
Who was the head of Pakistan in 07/23/2016?	July 23, 2016	{ "text": [ "Nawaz Sharif" ] }	L2_Q843_P6_1	Nasir-ul-Mulk is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2018 to Aug, 2018. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2017 to May, 2018. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is the head of the government of Pakistan from Mar, 2013 to Jun, 2013. Imran Khan is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2018 to Apr, 2022. Shehbaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Apr, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Nawaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2013 to Jul, 2017.	PakistanPakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population exceeding 225.2 million, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, and the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Old World. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahi, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.Pakistan is a middle power, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. However, the country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the British Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.The name "Pakistan" means literally "a land abounding in the pure" or "a land in which the pure abound", in Urdu and Persian. It references the word ("pāk"), meaning "pure" in Persian and Pashto. The suffix (transliterated in English as stân after stem word ending in a vowel; estân or istân after a stem ending in a consonant) is from Persian, and means "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds".The name of the country was coined in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in a pamphlet "Now or Never", using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKISTAN"), and referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: "P"unjab, "A"fghania, "K"ashmir, "S"indh, and Baluchis"tan".Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid but the concept of "Pakistan" arrived in the 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Lahore and Thatta, both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings. In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors. By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance became increasingly blurred.During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts. Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection led the Company to increasingly flex its military muscle, allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors. Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s. Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture. Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS). Traditional "madrasahs"—primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent—were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the "madrasahs" lost their financial endowment.The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia. A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny of Bengal was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to motivated religious violence in British India. The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India. A Muslim intellectual movement, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, envisioned, as well as advocated for the two-nation theory, and led to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In contrast to the Indian National Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society. In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire. The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of British Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan. The perceived neglect of Muslim interests by Congress led British provincial governments during the period of 1937–39 convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan to espouse the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution. In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised the Cabinet Mission plan.As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Rule in 1946–47. Nationalists in British India—including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 , amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India. It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, and Sindh.In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament, but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's first Prime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders, among them Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi "alim" (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the "shariah" in Pakistan.A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the "ulama" was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.Democracy was stalled by the martial law that had been enforced by President Iskander Mirza, who was replaced by the army chief, General Ayub Khan. After adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 that led to an economic downturn and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967. Consolidating control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.In 1970 Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military establishment refused to hand over power. Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, which in West Pakistan was described as a civil war as opposed to a war of liberation.Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977—an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. Accelerated in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program, increasing Islamisation, and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised nuclear testings (See:"Chagai-I" and "Chagai-II"), as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état. Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms, and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari. Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $118 billion, sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time in fourteen years, in a democratic transition. In 2018, Imran Khan (the chairman of PTI) won the 2018 Pakistan general election with 116 general seats and became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in election of National Assembly of Pakistan for Prime Minister by getting 176 votes against Shehbaz Sharif (the chairman of PML (N)) who got 96 votes.Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of an Islamic state by the Muslim League leadership, the ulama (Islamic clergy) and Jinnah. Jinnah had developed a close association with the "ulama" and upon his death was described by one such "alim", Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb and as someone who desired to unite the Muslims of the world under the banner of Islam.The Objectives Resolution in March 1949, which declared God as the sole sovereign over the entire universe, represented the first formal step to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world and assumed that Muslim from other countries would share their views on the relationship between religion and nationality.However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments for a united Islamic bloc called Islamistan were not shared by other Muslim governments, although Islamists such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, became drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed.The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side.After Pakistan's first ever general elections, the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.Pakistan's leftist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced vigorous opposition which coalesced into a movement united under the revivalist banner of "Nizam-e-Mustafa" ("Rule of the Prophet") which aimed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia laws. Bhutto agreed to some Islamist demands before being overthrown in a coup.In 1977, after taking power from Bhutto in a coup d'état, General Zia-ul-Haq, who came from a religious background, committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing "sharia" law. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zia bolstered the influence of the "ulama" (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions and even though most Barelvi ulama and only a few Deobandi scholars had supported Pakistan's creation, Islamic state politics came to be mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/Salafi) institutions instead of Barelvi. Sectarian tensions increased with Zia's anti-Shia policies.According to a Pew Research Center (PEW) opinion poll, a majority of Pakistanis support making Sharia the official law of the land. In a survey of several Muslim countries, PEW also found that Pakistanis tend to identify with their religion more than their nationality in contrast to Muslims in other nations such as Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan.The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of , approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd-largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and land borders of in total: with Afghanistan, with China, with India and with Iran. It shares a marine border with Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor. Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and the largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus.Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over ), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 () and Nanga Parbat (). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in the Punjab and Sindh.The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons in Pakistan: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and "Ephedra" are common. In most of the Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forest as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus. About 2.2% or of Pakistan was forested in 2010.The fauna of Pakistan also reflects the country's varied climate. Around 668 bird species are found there, including crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons, and eagles. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan. Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia, and India.The southern plains are home to mongooses, small Indian civet, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat, and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines, and small rodents in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats, and leopards. The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate, and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), the markhor goat, the ibex goat, the Asian black bear, and the Himalayan brown bear. Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which, along with hunting and pollution, has had adverse effects on the ecosystem. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 41st globally out of 172 countries. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to address these issues.Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain the power they lost to British colonisation. Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion. The first constitution was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, who replaced it with the second constitution in 1962. A complete and comprehensive constitution was adopted in 1973, it was suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985. This constitution is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government. The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history. The periods 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008 saw military coups that resulted in the imposition of martial law and military commanders who governed as de facto presidents. Today Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred on, and dominated by, a homegrown social philosophy comprising a blend of ideas from socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main political parties in the country are: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N; the centre-left socialist PPP; and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations. Pakistan is a strong ally of China, with both countries placing considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive special relationship. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism—a status achieved in 2004. Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on the economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India; three of their four wars were fought over this territory. Due partly to difficulties in relations with its geopolitical rival India, Pakistan maintains close political relations with Turkey and Iran, and both countries have been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy. Saudi Arabia also maintains a respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy.A non-signatory party of the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA. In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically". In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate to maintain a geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. Briefing on the country's foreign policy in 2004, a Pakistani senator reportedly explained: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy." Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the G20 developing nations.Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in the 1950s. During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States. Relations between Pakistan and Russia have greatly improved since 1999, and co-operation in various sectors has increased. Pakistan has had an "on-and-off" relationship with the United States. A close ally of the United States during the Cold war, Pakistan's relationship with the United States soured in the 1990s when the US imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development. Since 9/11, Pakistan has been a close ally of the United States on the issue of counter-terrorism in the regions of the Middle East and South Asia, with the US supporting Pakistan with aid money and weapons. Initially, the United States-led war on terrorism led to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nonetheless, some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas. However, an exchange took place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit. Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia, an Armenian community still resides in Pakistan. Pakistan had warm relations with Bangladesh, despite some initial strains in their relationship.Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the relationship continues to be strong since China's war with India in 1962, forming a special relationship. From the 1960s to 1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate US President Nixon's state visit to China. Despite the change of governments in Pakistan and fluctuations in the regional and global situation, China's policy in Pakistan continues to be a dominant factor at all times. In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner, and economic co-operation has flourished, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion such as the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Friendly Sino-Pakistani relations reached new heights as both countries signed 51 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in 2015 for co-operation in different areas. Both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement in the 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge to the Muslim world. In 2016, China announced that it will set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In December 2018, Pakistan's government defended China's re-education camps for a million Uyghur Muslims.After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan—a pan-Islamic entity.Such developments (along with Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war, and by the 1990s Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran, which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim world is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils, and union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.The Kashmir—the most northwesterly region of South Asia—is a major territorial dispute that has hindered relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years in 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh. Other serious military engagements and skirmishes have included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999). Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India, which also claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen. The claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of the Kashmir region, an area known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession—a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by "Maharaja" Hari Singh, who agreed to cede the area to India. Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. In a resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a "plebiscite" would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 establishing a Line of Control (LoC) that divided Kashmir between the two nations. India, fearful that the Muslim majority populace of Kashmir would secede from India, did not allow a plebiscite to take place in the region. This was confirmed in a statement by India's Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, who said: "Kashmir would vote to join Pakistan and no Indian Government responsible for agreeing to plebiscite would survive."Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement (1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly. In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motorway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital. The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial police service.The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.The armed forces of Pakistan are the sixth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 651,800 personnel on active duty and 291,000 paramilitary personnel, as of tentative estimates in 2021. They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced the national politics ever since. Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, co-ordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ. The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. , the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza alongside chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitary forces in the country. Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence.The United States, Turkey, and China maintain close military relations and regularly export military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan. Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carried out by the militaries of China and Turkey. Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in four conventional wars, the first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; over the issue of Bengali refugees that led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which were kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.Rising tensions with neighbouring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the US resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy. Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. According to UN reports, the Pakistani military is the third largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions after Ethiopia and India.Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles. The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Six-Day War (1967) and in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi (flying a MiG-21), shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government. Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, Pakistan's special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque. For almost two weeks Saudi Special Forces and Pakistani commandos fought the insurgents who had occupied the Grand Mosque's compound. In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.Despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, General Javed Nasir of the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to Bosnian mujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under Nasir's leadership the ISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.Since 2004, the military has been engaged in an insurgency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mainly against the Tehrik-i-Taliban factions. Major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.According to SIPRI, Pakistan was the 9th-largest recipient and importer of arms between 2012–2016.The Economy of Pakistan is the 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as rail transportation and electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion., Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP is US$284.2 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$1.254 trillion. The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,388, the GDP (PPP)/capita is US$6,016 (international dollars), According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan's youth provides the country with both a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment. 21.04% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The unemployment rate among the aged 15 and over population is 5.5%. Pakistan has an estimated 40 million middle class citizens, projected to increase to 100 million by 2050. A 2015 report published by the World Bank ranked Pakistan's economy at 24th-largest in the world by purchasing power and 41st-largest in absolute terms. It is South Asia's second-largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but robust during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed. The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%. The economy cooled again from 2007. Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008, and Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy. A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing. The inflation rate for the fiscal year was 14.1%. Since 2013, as part of an International Monetary Fund program, Pakistan's economic growth has picked up. In 2014 Goldman Sachs predicted that Pakistan's economy would grow 15 times in the next 35 years to become the 18th-largest economy in the world by 2050. In his 2016 book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations", Ruchir Sharma termed Pakistan's economy as at a 'take-off' stage and the future outlook until 2020 has been termed 'Very Good'. Sharma termed it possible to transform Pakistan from a "low-income to a middle-income country during the next five years".Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th-largest in the world. The 7-million–strong Pakistani diaspora contributed US$19.9 billion to the economy in 2015–16. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan are: the UAE; the United States; Saudi Arabia; the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman); Australia; Canada; Japan; the United Kingdom; Norway; and Switzerland. According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.13% in 2007.The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture accounts for only 20.9% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons). Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, is dependent on this sector. It accounts for 43.5% of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings.A large portion of the country's manufactured exports is dependent on raw materials such as cotton and hides that are part of the agriculture sector, while supply shortages and market disruptions in farm products do push up inflationary pressures. The country is also the fifth-largest producer of cotton, with cotton production of 14 million bales from a modest beginning of 1.7 million bales in the early 1950s; is self-sufficient in sugarcane; and is the fourth-largest producer in the world of milk. Land and water resources have not risen proportionately, but the increases have taken place mainly due to gains in labour and agriculture productivity. The major breakthrough in crop production took place in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the Green Revolution that made a significant contribution to land and yield increases of wheat and rice. Private tube wells led to a 50 percent increase in the cropping intensity which was augmented by tractor cultivation. While the tube wells raised crop yields by 50 percent, the High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice led to a 50–60 percent higher yield. Meat industry accounts for 1.4 percent of overall GDP.Industry is the second-largest sector of the economy, accounting for 19.74% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 24 percent of total employment. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), at 12.2% of GDP, dominates the overall sector, accounting for 66% of the sectoral share, followed by small-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 4.9% of total GDP. Pakistan's cement industry is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and from the domestic real estate sector. In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In 2012 and 2013, the cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of the economy.The textile industry has a pivotal position in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In Asia, Pakistan is the eighth-largest exporter of textile products, contributing 9.5% to the GDP and providing employment to around 15 million people (some 30% of the 49 million people in the workforce). Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of cotton with the third-largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, contributing 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike the US, where mostly value-added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of all UK textile imports, 12.4% or $4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 3.0% of all US textile imports ($2,980 million), 1.6% of total German textile imports ($880 million) and 0.7% of total Indian textile imports ($888 million).The services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'., Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan's Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10-billion mark by 2020. The sector employees 12,000 and count's among top five freelancing nations. The country has also improved its export performance in telecom, computer and information services, as the share of their exports surged from 8.2pc in 2005–06 to 12.6pc in 2012–13. This growth is much better than that of China, whose share in services exports was 3pc and 7.7pc for the same period respectively.With its diverse cultures, people, and landscapes, Pakistan attracted around 6.6 million foreign tourists in 2018, which represented a significant decline since the 1970s when the country received unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists due to the popular Hippie trail. The trail attracted thousands of Europeans and Americans in the 1960s and 1970s who travelled via land through Turkey and Iran into India through Pakistan. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi. The numbers following the trail declined after the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet–Afghan War.Pakistan's tourist attractions range from the mangroves in the south to the Himalayan hill stations in the north-east. The country's tourist destinations range from the Buddhist ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Taxila, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over . The northern part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, examples of ancient architecture, and the Hunza and Chitral valleys, home to the small pre-Islamic Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore, contains many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, the Tomb of Jahangir, and the Lahore Fort.In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, "The Guardian" released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, the Karakoram Highway, Karimabad, and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique cultural heritage, the government organizes various festivals throughout the year. In 2015 the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan 125 out of 141 countries.Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.As of May 2021, nuclear power is provided by six licensed commercial nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy. The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electrical energy, compared to 64.2% from fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas), 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and 0.1% from coal. Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.The KANUPP-I, a Candu-type nuclear reactor, was supplied by Canada in 1971—the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. The Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation began in the early 1980s. After a Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation agreement in 1986, China provided Pakistan with a nuclear reactor dubbed CHASNUPP-I for energy and the industrial growth of the country. In 2005 both countries proposed working on a joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generation capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Under its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050, the Pakistani government plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MWe, 8,900 MWe of it by 2030. In June 2008 the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalising the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV reactors at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 325–340 MWe and costing ₨ 129 billion; from which the ₨ 80 billion came from international sources, principally China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US–India agreement that shortly preceded it. The cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of US$1.07 billion. In 2013 Pakistan established a second commercial nuclear complex in Karachi with plans of additional reactors, similar to the one in Chashma. The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy used in Pakistan in addition to gathering revenue nationwide. , Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of ~22,797.The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 20 February 2020, 1882 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1854 km are under construction or planned. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until the 1970s the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Beginning in the 1990s there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is below 8% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. As personal transportation began to be dominated by the automobile, total rail track decreased from in 1990–91 to in 2011. Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran, and Turkey.There are an estimated 151 airports and airfields in Pakistan as of 2013—including both the military and the mostly publicly owned civilian airports. Although Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic.The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which was deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominant air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue and Air Indus, also provide similar services at a low cost.Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port, Port Qasim). Since the 1990s some seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port, Port of Pasni and Gadani Port. Gwadar Port is the deepest sea port of the world. According to the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, quality ratings of Pakistan's port infrastructure increased from 3.7 to 4.1 between 2007 and 2016.Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc.Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about .Developments in science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels.In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the HEU-based gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in condensed and material physics.In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government.The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy. The space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to conduct underground nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica.Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise.As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨ 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.At the time of the establishment of Pakistan as a state, the country had only one university, Punjab University in Lahore. Very soon the Pakistan government established public universities in each of the four provinces, including Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities, which includes collaboration between the universities aimed at providing research and higher education opportunities in the country, although there is concern about the low quality of teaching in many of the newer schools. It is estimated that there are 3,193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan, and there are also "madrassahs" that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. Strong public pressure and popular criticism over extremists' usage of "madrassahs" for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the "madrassahs".Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a network of private schools that constitutes a parallel secondary education system based on a curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council. According to the International Schools Consultancy, Pakistan has 439 international schools.As a result of initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory in all schools across the country. In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for female education, was shot by a Taliban gunman in retaliation for her activism. Yousafzai went on to become the youngest ever Nobel laureate for her global education-related advocacy. Additional reforms enacted in 2013 required all educational institutions in Sindh to begin offering Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and its increasing influence in Pakistan. The literacy rate of the population is 62.3% as of 2018. The rate of male literacy is 72.5% while the rate of female literacy is 51.8%. Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; as one example, in tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. With the advent of computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children. Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the Ministry of Education expected to attain 100% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10. Pakistan is currently spending 2.3 percent of its GDP on education; which according to the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the lowest in South Asia.As of 2020, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and accounts for about 2.8% of the world population. The 2017 Census of Pakistan provisionally estimated the population to be 207.8 million. This figure excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report.The population in 2017 represents a 57% increase from 1998. The annual growth rate in 2016 was reported to be 1.45%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations, though the growth rate has been decreasing in recent years. The population is projected to reach 263 million by 2030.At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.Expenditure on healthcare was ~2.8% of GDP in 2013. Life expectancy at birth was 67 years for females and 65 years for males in 2013. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished. Mortality of the under-fives was 86 per 1,000 live births in 2012.More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu—the "lingua franca" and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity—is the national language understood by over 75% of Pakistanis. It is the main medium of communication in the country but the primary language of only 7% of Pakistan's population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, with English primarily used in official business and government, and in legal contracts; the local variety is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language, the most common in Pakistan and the first language of 38.78% of Pakistan's population, is mostly spoken in the Punjab. Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab, and Hindko is predominant in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindhi language is commonly spoken in Sindh, while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. There are also speakers of Gujarati in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh. Various languages such as Shina, Balti, and Burushaski are spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, whilst languages such as Pahari, Gojri, and Kashmiri are spoken by many in Azad Kashmir.The Arabic language is officially recognised by the constitution of Pakistan. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that ""The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ...""Constitution of Pakistan: "Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life" , Article 31 No. 2, 1973, Retrieved 22 August 2018.Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claims that there are 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are also found in various other areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Large-scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made that city one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 of the city's slums such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, and Godhra Camp.Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989 thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.The major ethnic groups are Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhis (14.1%), Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Since achieving independence as a result of the partition of India, the urbanisation has increased exponentially, with several different causes. The majority of the population in the south resides along the Indus River, with Karachi the most populous commercial city. In the east, west, and north, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During the period 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, more than 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more. Immigration, from both within and outside the country, is regarded as one of the main factors contributing to urbanisation in Pakistan. One analysis of the 1998 national census highlighted the significance of the partition of India in the 1940s as it relates to urban change in Pakistan.During and after the independence period, Urdu speaking Muslims from India migrated in large numbers to Pakistan, especially to the port city of Karachi, which is today the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Migration from other countries, mainly from those nearby, has further accelerated the process of urbanisation in Pakistani cities. Inevitably, the rapid urbanisation caused by these large population movements has also created new political and socio-economic challenges. In addition to immigration, economic trends such as the green revolution and political developments, among a host of other factors, are also important causes of urbanisation. The state religion in Pakistan is Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality.The population of Pakistan follow different religions. Most of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hindus (2.14%) and Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan.Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad.In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population. Secularism and criticism of over-religiosity is not uncommon in well-educated civil society, although in general Pakistan is a highly religious society, and the irreligious generally hide their beliefs due to fear of persecution.Islam is the dominant religion. About 96.47% of Pakistanis are Muslim, according to the 2017 Census. Pakistan has the second-largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. and home for (10.5%) of the world's Muslim population. The majority of them are Sunni and mostly follow Sufism (estimated between 75 and 95%) while Shias represent between 5–25%. As of 2019, Shia population in Pakistan was estimated to be 42 million out of total population of 210 million. Pakistan also has the largest Muslim city in the world (Karachi).The Ahmadis, a small minority representing 0.22–2% of Pakistan's population, are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment. The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques". , 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims. There are also several Quraniyoon communities.Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large following among the Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, at both the academic and popular levels. Popular Sufi culture is centered around gatherings and celebrations at the shrines of saints and annual festivals that feature Sufi music and dance. Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (c. 12th century) and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (c. 12th century).There are two levels of Sufism in Pakistan. The first is the 'populist' Sufism of the rural population. This level of Sufism involves belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines, and forming bonds (Mureed) with a "pir" (saint). Many rural Pakistani Muslims associate with "pirs" and seek their intercession. The second level of Sufism in Pakistan is 'intellectual Sufism', which is growing among the urban and educated population. They are influenced by the writings of Sufis such as the medieval theologian al-Ghazali, the Sufi reformer Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindi, and Shah Wali Allah. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticise Sufism's popular character, which in their view does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of Muhammad and his companions.Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 2017 census. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where they account for 8.73% of the population. , Pakistan had the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world. In the 2017 census, the Hindu (jati) population was found to be 4,444,437 while the Hindu (scheduled castes) numbered an additional 851,504. At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' gained currency. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. Pakistani Hindus faced riots after the Babri Masjid demolition, endured a massacre (in 2005) by security forces in Balochistan, and have experienced other attacks, forced conversions, and abductions.Christians formed the next largest religious minority, after Hindus, with 1.27% of the population following it. They were followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which had a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, each back then claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi that was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during the colonial administration between World War I and World War II. The influence of atheism is very small, with 1.0% of the population identifying as atheist in 2005. However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.Civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the "Shalwar Kameez"; trousers, jeans, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including "Eid-ul-Fitr", "Eid-ul-Azha", "Ramazan", Christmas, Easter, Holi, and Diwali, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.The "Shalwar Kameez" is the national dress of Pakistan and is worn by both men and women in all four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir. Each province has its own style of "Shalwar Kameez". Pakistanis wear clothes in a range of exquisite colours and designs and in type of fabric (silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings.The fashion industry has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in Karachi organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.The private print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour news media and television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption.The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi, and Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, pop music and disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim.Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term "Overseas Pakistani" is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16.The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Cabinet Member Sajid Javid, former UK Conservative Party Chair Baroness Warsi, singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali, MIT Physics Professor Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M Professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale Professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego Professor Farooq Azam, and historian Ayesha Jalal.Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Persian, English, and many other languages. The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.The national poet of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include Josh Malihabadi Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Saadat Hasan Manto. Sadequain and Gulgee are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan. Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Asad, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar.Ideas from British and American philosophy greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as M. M. Sharif and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated Marxism into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by Manzoor Ahmad, Jon Elia, Hasan Askari Rizvi, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream social, political, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by Noam Chomsky have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions. The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the Badshahi Mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Mughal-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of British design can be found in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, "roti", a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the British Raj. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the Olympic Games held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times, held in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.Cricket, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy; as well as the ICC Test Championship. The cricket team (known as "Shaheen") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final.Pakistan Super League is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturer of the official FIFA World Cup ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah, Zesh Rehman, Muhammad Essa, Haroon Yousaf, and Muhammad Adil.Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1989 and 2004 South Asian Games; the 1984, 1993, 1996 and 2003 World Squash Championships; the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup.Pakistan is set to host the 2021 South Asian Games.	[ "Nasir-ul-Mulk", "Mir Hazar Khan Khoso", "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi", "Shehbaz Sharif", "Imran Khan" ]
Who was the head of Pakistan in 23-Jul-201623-July-2016?	July 23, 2016	{ "text": [ "Nawaz Sharif" ] }	L2_Q843_P6_1	Nasir-ul-Mulk is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2018 to Aug, 2018. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2017 to May, 2018. Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is the head of the government of Pakistan from Mar, 2013 to Jun, 2013. Imran Khan is the head of the government of Pakistan from Aug, 2018 to Apr, 2022. Shehbaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Apr, 2022 to Dec, 2022. Nawaz Sharif is the head of the government of Pakistan from Jun, 2013 to Jul, 2017.	PakistanPakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population exceeding 225.2 million, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning . It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, and the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Old World. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahi, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.Pakistan is a middle power, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. However, the country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the British Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.The name "Pakistan" means literally "a land abounding in the pure" or "a land in which the pure abound", in Urdu and Persian. It references the word ("pāk"), meaning "pure" in Persian and Pashto. The suffix (transliterated in English as stân after stem word ending in a vowel; estân or istân after a stem ending in a consonant) is from Persian, and means "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds".The name of the country was coined in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in a pamphlet "Now or Never", using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKISTAN"), and referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: "P"unjab, "A"fghania, "K"ashmir, "S"indh, and Baluchis"tan".Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid but the concept of "Pakistan" arrived in the 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Lahore and Thatta, both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings. In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors. By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance became increasingly blurred.During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts. Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection led the Company to increasingly flex its military muscle, allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors. Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s. Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period. By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture. Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS). Traditional "madrasahs"—primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent—were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the "madrasahs" lost their financial endowment.The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia. A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny of Bengal was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to motivated religious violence in British India. The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India. A Muslim intellectual movement, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, envisioned, as well as advocated for the two-nation theory, and led to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In contrast to the Indian National Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society. In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire. The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of British Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan. The perceived neglect of Muslim interests by Congress led British provincial governments during the period of 1937–39 convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan to espouse the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution. In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised the Cabinet Mission plan.As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Rule in 1946–47. Nationalists in British India—including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 , amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India. It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, and Sindh.In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament, but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's first Prime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders, among them Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi "alim" (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the "shariah" in Pakistan.A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the "ulama" was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.Democracy was stalled by the martial law that had been enforced by President Iskander Mirza, who was replaced by the army chief, General Ayub Khan. After adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 that led to an economic downturn and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967. Consolidating control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.In 1970 Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military establishment refused to hand over power. Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, which in West Pakistan was described as a civil war as opposed to a war of liberation.Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977—an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. Accelerated in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program, increasing Islamisation, and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised nuclear testings (See:"Chagai-I" and "Chagai-II"), as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état. Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms, and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari. Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $118 billion, sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time in fourteen years, in a democratic transition. In 2018, Imran Khan (the chairman of PTI) won the 2018 Pakistan general election with 116 general seats and became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in election of National Assembly of Pakistan for Prime Minister by getting 176 votes against Shehbaz Sharif (the chairman of PML (N)) who got 96 votes.Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of an Islamic state by the Muslim League leadership, the ulama (Islamic clergy) and Jinnah. Jinnah had developed a close association with the "ulama" and upon his death was described by one such "alim", Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb and as someone who desired to unite the Muslims of the world under the banner of Islam.The Objectives Resolution in March 1949, which declared God as the sole sovereign over the entire universe, represented the first formal step to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world and assumed that Muslim from other countries would share their views on the relationship between religion and nationality.However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments for a united Islamic bloc called Islamistan were not shared by other Muslim governments, although Islamists such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, became drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed.The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side.After Pakistan's first ever general elections, the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The Constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and Islam as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.Pakistan's leftist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced vigorous opposition which coalesced into a movement united under the revivalist banner of "Nizam-e-Mustafa" ("Rule of the Prophet") which aimed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia laws. Bhutto agreed to some Islamist demands before being overthrown in a coup.In 1977, after taking power from Bhutto in a coup d'état, General Zia-ul-Haq, who came from a religious background, committed himself to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing "sharia" law. Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine. Zia bolstered the influence of the "ulama" (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties. Zia-ul-Haq forged a strong alliance between the military and Deobandi institutions and even though most Barelvi ulama and only a few Deobandi scholars had supported Pakistan's creation, Islamic state politics came to be mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/Salafi) institutions instead of Barelvi. Sectarian tensions increased with Zia's anti-Shia policies.According to a Pew Research Center (PEW) opinion poll, a majority of Pakistanis support making Sharia the official law of the land. In a survey of several Muslim countries, PEW also found that Pakistanis tend to identify with their religion more than their nationality in contrast to Muslims in other nations such as Egypt, Indonesia and Jordan.The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of , approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd-largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and land borders of in total: with Afghanistan, with China, with India and with Iran. It shares a marine border with Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor. Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and the largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus.Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over ), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 () and Nanga Parbat (). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in the Punjab and Sindh.The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons in Pakistan: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and "Ephedra" are common. In most of the Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forest as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus. About 2.2% or of Pakistan was forested in 2010.The fauna of Pakistan also reflects the country's varied climate. Around 668 bird species are found there, including crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons, and eagles. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan. Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia, and India.The southern plains are home to mongooses, small Indian civet, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat, and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines, and small rodents in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats, and leopards. The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate, and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), the markhor goat, the ibex goat, the Asian black bear, and the Himalayan brown bear. Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which, along with hunting and pollution, has had adverse effects on the ecosystem. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 41st globally out of 172 countries. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to address these issues.Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain the power they lost to British colonisation. Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion. The first constitution was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, who replaced it with the second constitution in 1962. A complete and comprehensive constitution was adopted in 1973, it was suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985. This constitution is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government. The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history. The periods 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008 saw military coups that resulted in the imposition of martial law and military commanders who governed as de facto presidents. Today Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred on, and dominated by, a homegrown social philosophy comprising a blend of ideas from socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main political parties in the country are: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N; the centre-left socialist PPP; and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations. Pakistan is a strong ally of China, with both countries placing considerable importance on the maintenance of an extremely close and supportive special relationship. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism—a status achieved in 2004. Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on the economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India; three of their four wars were fought over this territory. Due partly to difficulties in relations with its geopolitical rival India, Pakistan maintains close political relations with Turkey and Iran, and both countries have been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy. Saudi Arabia also maintains a respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy.A non-signatory party of the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA. In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically". In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate to maintain a geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. Briefing on the country's foreign policy in 2004, a Pakistani senator reportedly explained: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy." Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the G20 developing nations.Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in the 1950s. During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States. Relations between Pakistan and Russia have greatly improved since 1999, and co-operation in various sectors has increased. Pakistan has had an "on-and-off" relationship with the United States. A close ally of the United States during the Cold war, Pakistan's relationship with the United States soured in the 1990s when the US imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development. Since 9/11, Pakistan has been a close ally of the United States on the issue of counter-terrorism in the regions of the Middle East and South Asia, with the US supporting Pakistan with aid money and weapons. Initially, the United States-led war on terrorism led to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; nonetheless, some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas. However, an exchange took place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit. Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia, an Armenian community still resides in Pakistan. Pakistan had warm relations with Bangladesh, despite some initial strains in their relationship.Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the relationship continues to be strong since China's war with India in 1962, forming a special relationship. From the 1960s to 1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate US President Nixon's state visit to China. Despite the change of governments in Pakistan and fluctuations in the regional and global situation, China's policy in Pakistan continues to be a dominant factor at all times. In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner, and economic co-operation has flourished, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion such as the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar. Friendly Sino-Pakistani relations reached new heights as both countries signed 51 agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in 2015 for co-operation in different areas. Both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement in the 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge to the Muslim world. In 2016, China announced that it will set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In December 2018, Pakistan's government defended China's re-education camps for a million Uyghur Muslims.After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan—a pan-Islamic entity.Such developments (along with Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war, and by the 1990s Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran, which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim world is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils, and union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.The Kashmir—the most northwesterly region of South Asia—is a major territorial dispute that has hindered relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years in 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh. Other serious military engagements and skirmishes have included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999). Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India, which also claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen. The claim is contested by Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of the Kashmir region, an area known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession—a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by "Maharaja" Hari Singh, who agreed to cede the area to India. Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. In a resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a "plebiscite" would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 establishing a Line of Control (LoC) that divided Kashmir between the two nations. India, fearful that the Muslim majority populace of Kashmir would secede from India, did not allow a plebiscite to take place in the region. This was confirmed in a statement by India's Defense Minister, Krishna Menon, who said: "Kashmir would vote to join Pakistan and no Indian Government responsible for agreeing to plebiscite would survive."Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement (1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly. In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motorway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital. The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial police service.The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.The armed forces of Pakistan are the sixth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 651,800 personnel on active duty and 291,000 paramilitary personnel, as of tentative estimates in 2021. They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced the national politics ever since. Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, co-ordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ. The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. , the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza alongside chief of army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitary forces in the country. Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence.The United States, Turkey, and China maintain close military relations and regularly export military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan. Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carried out by the militaries of China and Turkey. Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in four conventional wars, the first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; over the issue of Bengali refugees that led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which were kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.Rising tensions with neighbouring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the US resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict; one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy. Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent. According to UN reports, the Pakistani military is the third largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions after Ethiopia and India.Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles. The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations' militaries against Israel in the Six-Day War (1967) and in the Yom Kippur War (1973). Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. In the 1973 war one of the PAF pilots, Flt. Lt. Sattar Alvi (flying a MiG-21), shot down an Israeli Air Force Mirage and was honoured by the Syrian government. Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, Pakistan's special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque. For almost two weeks Saudi Special Forces and Pakistani commandos fought the insurgents who had occupied the Grand Mosque's compound. In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.Despite the UN arms embargo on Bosnia, General Javed Nasir of the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to Bosnian mujahideen which turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under Nasir's leadership the ISI was also involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.Since 2004, the military has been engaged in an insurgency in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mainly against the Tehrik-i-Taliban factions. Major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Black Thunderstorm, Operation Rah-e-Nijat and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.According to SIPRI, Pakistan was the 9th-largest recipient and importer of arms between 2012–2016.The Economy of Pakistan is the 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as rail transportation and electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion., Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP is US$284.2 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$1.254 trillion. The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,388, the GDP (PPP)/capita is US$6,016 (international dollars), According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan's youth provides the country with both a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment. 21.04% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The unemployment rate among the aged 15 and over population is 5.5%. Pakistan has an estimated 40 million middle class citizens, projected to increase to 100 million by 2050. A 2015 report published by the World Bank ranked Pakistan's economy at 24th-largest in the world by purchasing power and 41st-largest in absolute terms. It is South Asia's second-largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but robust during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed. The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%. The economy cooled again from 2007. Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008, and Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy. A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing. The inflation rate for the fiscal year was 14.1%. Since 2013, as part of an International Monetary Fund program, Pakistan's economic growth has picked up. In 2014 Goldman Sachs predicted that Pakistan's economy would grow 15 times in the next 35 years to become the 18th-largest economy in the world by 2050. In his 2016 book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations", Ruchir Sharma termed Pakistan's economy as at a 'take-off' stage and the future outlook until 2020 has been termed 'Very Good'. Sharma termed it possible to transform Pakistan from a "low-income to a middle-income country during the next five years".Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th-largest in the world. The 7-million–strong Pakistani diaspora contributed US$19.9 billion to the economy in 2015–16. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan are: the UAE; the United States; Saudi Arabia; the Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman); Australia; Canada; Japan; the United Kingdom; Norway; and Switzerland. According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.13% in 2007.The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture accounts for only 20.9% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons). Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, is dependent on this sector. It accounts for 43.5% of employed labour force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings.A large portion of the country's manufactured exports is dependent on raw materials such as cotton and hides that are part of the agriculture sector, while supply shortages and market disruptions in farm products do push up inflationary pressures. The country is also the fifth-largest producer of cotton, with cotton production of 14 million bales from a modest beginning of 1.7 million bales in the early 1950s; is self-sufficient in sugarcane; and is the fourth-largest producer in the world of milk. Land and water resources have not risen proportionately, but the increases have taken place mainly due to gains in labour and agriculture productivity. The major breakthrough in crop production took place in the late 1960s and 1970s due to the Green Revolution that made a significant contribution to land and yield increases of wheat and rice. Private tube wells led to a 50 percent increase in the cropping intensity which was augmented by tractor cultivation. While the tube wells raised crop yields by 50 percent, the High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of wheat and rice led to a 50–60 percent higher yield. Meat industry accounts for 1.4 percent of overall GDP.Industry is the second-largest sector of the economy, accounting for 19.74% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 24 percent of total employment. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), at 12.2% of GDP, dominates the overall sector, accounting for 66% of the sectoral share, followed by small-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 4.9% of total GDP. Pakistan's cement industry is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and from the domestic real estate sector. In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In 2012 and 2013, the cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of the economy.The textile industry has a pivotal position in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In Asia, Pakistan is the eighth-largest exporter of textile products, contributing 9.5% to the GDP and providing employment to around 15 million people (some 30% of the 49 million people in the workforce). Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of cotton with the third-largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, contributing 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike the US, where mostly value-added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of all UK textile imports, 12.4% or $4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 3.0% of all US textile imports ($2,980 million), 1.6% of total German textile imports ($880 million) and 0.7% of total Indian textile imports ($888 million).The services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'., Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan's Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10-billion mark by 2020. The sector employees 12,000 and count's among top five freelancing nations. The country has also improved its export performance in telecom, computer and information services, as the share of their exports surged from 8.2pc in 2005–06 to 12.6pc in 2012–13. This growth is much better than that of China, whose share in services exports was 3pc and 7.7pc for the same period respectively.With its diverse cultures, people, and landscapes, Pakistan attracted around 6.6 million foreign tourists in 2018, which represented a significant decline since the 1970s when the country received unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists due to the popular Hippie trail. The trail attracted thousands of Europeans and Americans in the 1960s and 1970s who travelled via land through Turkey and Iran into India through Pakistan. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi. The numbers following the trail declined after the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet–Afghan War.Pakistan's tourist attractions range from the mangroves in the south to the Himalayan hill stations in the north-east. The country's tourist destinations range from the Buddhist ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Taxila, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over . The northern part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, examples of ancient architecture, and the Hunza and Chitral valleys, home to the small pre-Islamic Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore, contains many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalimar Gardens, the Tomb of Jahangir, and the Lahore Fort.In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, "The Guardian" released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, the Karakoram Highway, Karimabad, and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique cultural heritage, the government organizes various festivals throughout the year. In 2015 the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan 125 out of 141 countries.Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.As of May 2021, nuclear power is provided by six licensed commercial nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy. The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electrical energy, compared to 64.2% from fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas), 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and 0.1% from coal. Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.The KANUPP-I, a Candu-type nuclear reactor, was supplied by Canada in 1971—the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. The Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation began in the early 1980s. After a Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation agreement in 1986, China provided Pakistan with a nuclear reactor dubbed CHASNUPP-I for energy and the industrial growth of the country. In 2005 both countries proposed working on a joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generation capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Under its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050, the Pakistani government plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity to 40,000 MWe, 8,900 MWe of it by 2030. In June 2008 the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalising the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV reactors at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 325–340 MWe and costing ₨ 129 billion; from which the ₨ 80 billion came from international sources, principally China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US–India agreement that shortly preceded it. The cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of US$1.07 billion. In 2013 Pakistan established a second commercial nuclear complex in Karachi with plans of additional reactors, similar to the one in Chashma. The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy used in Pakistan in addition to gathering revenue nationwide. , Pakistan has an installed electricity generation capacity of ~22,797.The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 20 February 2020, 1882 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1854 km are under construction or planned. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until the 1970s the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Beginning in the 1990s there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is below 8% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. As personal transportation began to be dominated by the automobile, total rail track decreased from in 1990–91 to in 2011. Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran, and Turkey.There are an estimated 151 airports and airfields in Pakistan as of 2013—including both the military and the mostly publicly owned civilian airports. Although Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic.The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which was deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominant air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue and Air Indus, also provide similar services at a low cost.Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port, Port Qasim). Since the 1990s some seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port, Port of Pasni and Gadani Port. Gwadar Port is the deepest sea port of the world. According to the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, quality ratings of Pakistan's port infrastructure increased from 3.7 to 4.1 between 2007 and 2016.Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc.Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about .Developments in science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels.In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the HEU-based gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in condensed and material physics.In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government.The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy. The space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to conduct underground nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica.Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise.As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨ 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.At the time of the establishment of Pakistan as a state, the country had only one university, Punjab University in Lahore. Very soon the Pakistan government established public universities in each of the four provinces, including Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities, which includes collaboration between the universities aimed at providing research and higher education opportunities in the country, although there is concern about the low quality of teaching in many of the newer schools. It is estimated that there are 3,193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan, and there are also "madrassahs" that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. Strong public pressure and popular criticism over extremists' usage of "madrassahs" for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the "madrassahs".Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate degrees. There is a network of private schools that constitutes a parallel secondary education system based on a curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council. According to the International Schools Consultancy, Pakistan has 439 international schools.As a result of initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory in all schools across the country. In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for female education, was shot by a Taliban gunman in retaliation for her activism. Yousafzai went on to become the youngest ever Nobel laureate for her global education-related advocacy. Additional reforms enacted in 2013 required all educational institutions in Sindh to begin offering Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and its increasing influence in Pakistan. The literacy rate of the population is 62.3% as of 2018. The rate of male literacy is 72.5% while the rate of female literacy is 51.8%. Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; as one example, in tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. With the advent of computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children. Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the Ministry of Education expected to attain 100% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10. Pakistan is currently spending 2.3 percent of its GDP on education; which according to the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the lowest in South Asia.As of 2020, Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world and accounts for about 2.8% of the world population. The 2017 Census of Pakistan provisionally estimated the population to be 207.8 million. This figure excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is likely to be included in the final report.The population in 2017 represents a 57% increase from 1998. The annual growth rate in 2016 was reported to be 1.45%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations, though the growth rate has been decreasing in recent years. The population is projected to reach 263 million by 2030.At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.Expenditure on healthcare was ~2.8% of GDP in 2013. Life expectancy at birth was 67 years for females and 65 years for males in 2013. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished. Mortality of the under-fives was 86 per 1,000 live births in 2012.More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu—the "lingua franca" and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity—is the national language understood by over 75% of Pakistanis. It is the main medium of communication in the country but the primary language of only 7% of Pakistan's population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, with English primarily used in official business and government, and in legal contracts; the local variety is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language, the most common in Pakistan and the first language of 38.78% of Pakistan's population, is mostly spoken in the Punjab. Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab, and Hindko is predominant in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindhi language is commonly spoken in Sindh, while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. There are also speakers of Gujarati in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh. Various languages such as Shina, Balti, and Burushaski are spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, whilst languages such as Pahari, Gojri, and Kashmiri are spoken by many in Azad Kashmir.The Arabic language is officially recognised by the constitution of Pakistan. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that ""The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ...""Constitution of Pakistan: "Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 – Article: 31 Islamic way of life" , Article 31 No. 2, 1973, Retrieved 22 August 2018.Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claims that there are 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are also found in various other areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, and Lahore. Large-scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made that city one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 of the city's slums such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, and Godhra Camp.Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989 thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.The major ethnic groups are Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhis (14.1%), Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Since achieving independence as a result of the partition of India, the urbanisation has increased exponentially, with several different causes. The majority of the population in the south resides along the Indus River, with Karachi the most populous commercial city. In the east, west, and north, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During the period 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, more than 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more. Immigration, from both within and outside the country, is regarded as one of the main factors contributing to urbanisation in Pakistan. One analysis of the 1998 national census highlighted the significance of the partition of India in the 1940s as it relates to urban change in Pakistan.During and after the independence period, Urdu speaking Muslims from India migrated in large numbers to Pakistan, especially to the port city of Karachi, which is today the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Migration from other countries, mainly from those nearby, has further accelerated the process of urbanisation in Pakistani cities. Inevitably, the rapid urbanisation caused by these large population movements has also created new political and socio-economic challenges. In addition to immigration, economic trends such as the green revolution and political developments, among a host of other factors, are also important causes of urbanisation. The state religion in Pakistan is Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality.The population of Pakistan follow different religions. Most of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hindus (2.14%) and Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan.Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad.In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population. Secularism and criticism of over-religiosity is not uncommon in well-educated civil society, although in general Pakistan is a highly religious society, and the irreligious generally hide their beliefs due to fear of persecution.Islam is the dominant religion. About 96.47% of Pakistanis are Muslim, according to the 2017 Census. Pakistan has the second-largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. and home for (10.5%) of the world's Muslim population. The majority of them are Sunni and mostly follow Sufism (estimated between 75 and 95%) while Shias represent between 5–25%. As of 2019, Shia population in Pakistan was estimated to be 42 million out of total population of 210 million. Pakistan also has the largest Muslim city in the world (Karachi).The Ahmadis, a small minority representing 0.22–2% of Pakistan's population, are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment. The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques". , 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims. There are also several Quraniyoon communities.Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large following among the Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, at both the academic and popular levels. Popular Sufi culture is centered around gatherings and celebrations at the shrines of saints and annual festivals that feature Sufi music and dance. Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (c. 12th century) and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (c. 12th century).There are two levels of Sufism in Pakistan. The first is the 'populist' Sufism of the rural population. This level of Sufism involves belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines, and forming bonds (Mureed) with a "pir" (saint). Many rural Pakistani Muslims associate with "pirs" and seek their intercession. The second level of Sufism in Pakistan is 'intellectual Sufism', which is growing among the urban and educated population. They are influenced by the writings of Sufis such as the medieval theologian al-Ghazali, the Sufi reformer Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindi, and Shah Wali Allah. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticise Sufism's popular character, which in their view does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of Muhammad and his companions.Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 2017 census. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where they account for 8.73% of the population. , Pakistan had the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world. In the 2017 census, the Hindu (jati) population was found to be 4,444,437 while the Hindu (scheduled castes) numbered an additional 851,504. At the time of Pakistan's creation, the 'hostage theory' gained currency. According to this theory, the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. Pakistani Hindus faced riots after the Babri Masjid demolition, endured a massacre (in 2005) by security forces in Balochistan, and have experienced other attacks, forced conversions, and abductions.Christians formed the next largest religious minority, after Hindus, with 1.27% of the population following it. They were followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which had a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, each back then claiming 20,000 adherents, and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi that was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during the colonial administration between World War I and World War II. The influence of atheism is very small, with 1.0% of the population identifying as atheist in 2005. However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.Civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the "Shalwar Kameez"; trousers, jeans, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including "Eid-ul-Fitr", "Eid-ul-Azha", "Ramazan", Christmas, Easter, Holi, and Diwali, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.The "Shalwar Kameez" is the national dress of Pakistan and is worn by both men and women in all four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir. Each province has its own style of "Shalwar Kameez". Pakistanis wear clothes in a range of exquisite colours and designs and in type of fabric (silk, chiffon, cotton, etc.). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings.The fashion industry has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in Lahore organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in Karachi organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.The private print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour news media and television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption.The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi, and Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, pop music and disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim.Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term "Overseas Pakistani" is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16.The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Cabinet Member Sajid Javid, former UK Conservative Party Chair Baroness Warsi, singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali, MIT Physics Professor Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M Professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale Professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego Professor Farooq Azam, and historian Ayesha Jalal.Pakistan has literature in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Persian, English, and many other languages. The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The National Library publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western literary realism and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular.The national poet of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include Josh Malihabadi Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Saadat Hasan Manto. Sadequain and Gulgee are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan. Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Asad, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar.Ideas from British and American philosophy greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as M. M. Sharif and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated Marxism into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by Manzoor Ahmad, Jon Elia, Hasan Askari Rizvi, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream social, political, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by Noam Chomsky have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, and Kot Diji are among the pre-Islamic settlements that are now tourist attractions. The rise of Buddhism and the influence of Greek civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the Badshahi Mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, Mughal-style Wazir Khan Mosque, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the Shahjahan Mosque in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of British design can be found in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British, Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, "roti", a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the British Raj. Field hockey is the national sport of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the Olympic Games held in 1960, 1968, and 1984. Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times, held in 1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994.Cricket, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy; as well as the ICC Test Championship. The cricket team (known as "Shaheen") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final.Pakistan Super League is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturer of the official FIFA World Cup ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah, Zesh Rehman, Muhammad Essa, Haroon Yousaf, and Muhammad Adil.Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the 1989 and 2004 South Asian Games; the 1984, 1993, 1996 and 2003 World Squash Championships; the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup.Pakistan is set to host the 2021 South Asian Games.	[ "Nasir-ul-Mulk", "Mir Hazar Khan Khoso", "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi", "Shehbaz Sharif", "Imran Khan" ]
Which employer did Manuel Estiarte work for in Mar, 2019?	March 26, 2019	{ "text": [ "Manchester City F.C" ] }	L2_Q962176_P108_2	Manuel Estiarte works for Manchester City F.C from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Bayern Munich from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2016. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Barcelona from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2012.	Manuel EstiarteManel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa) is a Spanish former water polo player born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Manchester City FC. He is usually considered as one of the two greatest water poloists of all time.Estiarte played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Estiarte was chosen by his fellow athletes in the Olympic Village to represent them in the Commission of Active Athletes. He was also a member of the International Olympics Committee from 2000 to 2006. From July 2008 until June 2012, he was involved in external relations at FC Barcelona.He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and holds the same position with Guardiola at Manchester City FC. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club is Head of Player Support and Protocol.Estiarte was one of three born to parents in Manresa, Spain, with a brother named Albert and a sister named Rosa. All three siblings were involved in high-profile athletics. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled "All My Siblings", in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still an FC Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.The two have been close friends and colleagues since, with Estiarte working with Guardiola for the entirety of his career in management, even assisting Guardiola in obtaining a lawyer when he was accused of doping in 2001.Guardiola wrote the foreword to Estiarte's autobiography "All My Siblings", saying this about the six-time Olympian: “I don't know if angels exist and, if they do, if they help us. Much less if guardian angels exist. But, if they do exist, I believe you are one of them.”In reference to Estiarte's influence on him as a manager, Guardiola has stated that “he helped me a lot in terms of the significance of understanding sport by seeing it from above.” Guardiola maintains that Estiarte is a crucial element to his managerial endeavors.Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.	[ "FC Barcelona", "FC Bayern Munich" ]
Which employer did Manuel Estiarte work for in 2019-03-26?	March 26, 2019	{ "text": [ "Manchester City F.C" ] }	L2_Q962176_P108_2	Manuel Estiarte works for Manchester City F.C from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Bayern Munich from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2016. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Barcelona from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2012.	Manuel EstiarteManel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa) is a Spanish former water polo player born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Manchester City FC. He is usually considered as one of the two greatest water poloists of all time.Estiarte played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Estiarte was chosen by his fellow athletes in the Olympic Village to represent them in the Commission of Active Athletes. He was also a member of the International Olympics Committee from 2000 to 2006. From July 2008 until June 2012, he was involved in external relations at FC Barcelona.He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and holds the same position with Guardiola at Manchester City FC. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club is Head of Player Support and Protocol.Estiarte was one of three born to parents in Manresa, Spain, with a brother named Albert and a sister named Rosa. All three siblings were involved in high-profile athletics. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled "All My Siblings", in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still an FC Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.The two have been close friends and colleagues since, with Estiarte working with Guardiola for the entirety of his career in management, even assisting Guardiola in obtaining a lawyer when he was accused of doping in 2001.Guardiola wrote the foreword to Estiarte's autobiography "All My Siblings", saying this about the six-time Olympian: “I don't know if angels exist and, if they do, if they help us. Much less if guardian angels exist. But, if they do exist, I believe you are one of them.”In reference to Estiarte's influence on him as a manager, Guardiola has stated that “he helped me a lot in terms of the significance of understanding sport by seeing it from above.” Guardiola maintains that Estiarte is a crucial element to his managerial endeavors.Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.	[ "FC Barcelona", "FC Bayern Munich" ]
Which employer did Manuel Estiarte work for in 26/03/2019?	March 26, 2019	{ "text": [ "Manchester City F.C" ] }	L2_Q962176_P108_2	Manuel Estiarte works for Manchester City F.C from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Bayern Munich from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2016. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Barcelona from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2012.	Manuel EstiarteManel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa) is a Spanish former water polo player born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Manchester City FC. He is usually considered as one of the two greatest water poloists of all time.Estiarte played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Estiarte was chosen by his fellow athletes in the Olympic Village to represent them in the Commission of Active Athletes. He was also a member of the International Olympics Committee from 2000 to 2006. From July 2008 until June 2012, he was involved in external relations at FC Barcelona.He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and holds the same position with Guardiola at Manchester City FC. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club is Head of Player Support and Protocol.Estiarte was one of three born to parents in Manresa, Spain, with a brother named Albert and a sister named Rosa. All three siblings were involved in high-profile athletics. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled "All My Siblings", in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still an FC Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.The two have been close friends and colleagues since, with Estiarte working with Guardiola for the entirety of his career in management, even assisting Guardiola in obtaining a lawyer when he was accused of doping in 2001.Guardiola wrote the foreword to Estiarte's autobiography "All My Siblings", saying this about the six-time Olympian: “I don't know if angels exist and, if they do, if they help us. Much less if guardian angels exist. But, if they do exist, I believe you are one of them.”In reference to Estiarte's influence on him as a manager, Guardiola has stated that “he helped me a lot in terms of the significance of understanding sport by seeing it from above.” Guardiola maintains that Estiarte is a crucial element to his managerial endeavors.Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.	[ "FC Barcelona", "FC Bayern Munich" ]
Which employer did Manuel Estiarte work for in Mar 26, 2019?	March 26, 2019	{ "text": [ "Manchester City F.C" ] }	L2_Q962176_P108_2	Manuel Estiarte works for Manchester City F.C from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Bayern Munich from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2016. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Barcelona from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2012.	Manuel EstiarteManel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa) is a Spanish former water polo player born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Manchester City FC. He is usually considered as one of the two greatest water poloists of all time.Estiarte played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Estiarte was chosen by his fellow athletes in the Olympic Village to represent them in the Commission of Active Athletes. He was also a member of the International Olympics Committee from 2000 to 2006. From July 2008 until June 2012, he was involved in external relations at FC Barcelona.He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and holds the same position with Guardiola at Manchester City FC. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club is Head of Player Support and Protocol.Estiarte was one of three born to parents in Manresa, Spain, with a brother named Albert and a sister named Rosa. All three siblings were involved in high-profile athletics. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled "All My Siblings", in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still an FC Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.The two have been close friends and colleagues since, with Estiarte working with Guardiola for the entirety of his career in management, even assisting Guardiola in obtaining a lawyer when he was accused of doping in 2001.Guardiola wrote the foreword to Estiarte's autobiography "All My Siblings", saying this about the six-time Olympian: “I don't know if angels exist and, if they do, if they help us. Much less if guardian angels exist. But, if they do exist, I believe you are one of them.”In reference to Estiarte's influence on him as a manager, Guardiola has stated that “he helped me a lot in terms of the significance of understanding sport by seeing it from above.” Guardiola maintains that Estiarte is a crucial element to his managerial endeavors.Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.	[ "FC Barcelona", "FC Bayern Munich" ]
Which employer did Manuel Estiarte work for in 03/26/2019?	March 26, 2019	{ "text": [ "Manchester City F.C" ] }	L2_Q962176_P108_2	Manuel Estiarte works for Manchester City F.C from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Bayern Munich from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2016. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Barcelona from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2012.	Manuel EstiarteManel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa) is a Spanish former water polo player born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Manchester City FC. He is usually considered as one of the two greatest water poloists of all time.Estiarte played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Estiarte was chosen by his fellow athletes in the Olympic Village to represent them in the Commission of Active Athletes. He was also a member of the International Olympics Committee from 2000 to 2006. From July 2008 until June 2012, he was involved in external relations at FC Barcelona.He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and holds the same position with Guardiola at Manchester City FC. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club is Head of Player Support and Protocol.Estiarte was one of three born to parents in Manresa, Spain, with a brother named Albert and a sister named Rosa. All three siblings were involved in high-profile athletics. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled "All My Siblings", in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still an FC Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.The two have been close friends and colleagues since, with Estiarte working with Guardiola for the entirety of his career in management, even assisting Guardiola in obtaining a lawyer when he was accused of doping in 2001.Guardiola wrote the foreword to Estiarte's autobiography "All My Siblings", saying this about the six-time Olympian: “I don't know if angels exist and, if they do, if they help us. Much less if guardian angels exist. But, if they do exist, I believe you are one of them.”In reference to Estiarte's influence on him as a manager, Guardiola has stated that “he helped me a lot in terms of the significance of understanding sport by seeing it from above.” Guardiola maintains that Estiarte is a crucial element to his managerial endeavors.Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.	[ "FC Barcelona", "FC Bayern Munich" ]
Which employer did Manuel Estiarte work for in 26-Mar-201926-March-2019?	March 26, 2019	{ "text": [ "Manchester City F.C" ] }	L2_Q962176_P108_2	Manuel Estiarte works for Manchester City F.C from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2022. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Bayern Munich from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2016. Manuel Estiarte works for FC Barcelona from Jan, 2008 to Jan, 2012.	Manuel EstiarteManel Estiarte Duocastella (born October 26, 1961 in Manresa) is a Spanish former water polo player born in Manresa, a municipality in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a member of Pep Guardiola's technical staff at Manchester City FC. He is usually considered as one of the two greatest water poloists of all time.Estiarte played for the national team for 23 years (between 1977 and 2000) and captained the side for 20 years. He made 580 appearances, and scored 1,561 goals.His first international appearance was as a 15-year-old at the 1977 European Aquatics Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. At 18 years old, he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Moscow Games, where he was the leading goalscorer - a feat he repeated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and (jointly with Tibor Benedek) at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, with 21, 34, 27 and 22 goals, respectively. Estiarte holds the record for the most goals scored by a water polo player in Olympic history, with 127 goals.He has participated in six Olympic Games, all consecutively (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000). Estiarte is the second Spaniard to compete at six Olympic Games, after equestrian Luis Álvarez de Cervera. As of 2012, no other Spaniards have competed in six Olympics.Estiarte is the first water polo player to compete at six Olympic Games. (While there is a case for Welshman Paul Radmilovic to be recognized as such, one of his appearances was the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are not considered 'official'.)With the national squad he reached the finals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on home soil. Estiarte converted a penalty 42 seconds from full-time to put Spain ahead, but nine seconds later Italy equalised and went on to win 9-8 in extra time.Four years later, he was part of the team that made up for this painful loss by winning gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, defeating Croatia 7-5 in the final.He won the World Championship at Perth 1998 after finishing in second place at Perth 1991 and Rome 1994.At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he was given the honour to carry the national flag of Spain during the opening ceremony, becoming the 19th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Later he announced his retirement from the sport.During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Estiarte was chosen by his fellow athletes in the Olympic Village to represent them in the Commission of Active Athletes. He was also a member of the International Olympics Committee from 2000 to 2006. From July 2008 until June 2012, he was involved in external relations at FC Barcelona.He was also Pep Guardiola's personal assistant at Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016, and holds the same position with Guardiola at Manchester City FC. Estiarte's official title at the Premier League club is Head of Player Support and Protocol.Estiarte was one of three born to parents in Manresa, Spain, with a brother named Albert and a sister named Rosa. All three siblings were involved in high-profile athletics. Rosa Estiarte committed suicide in 1985 by jumping out of a window in their fourth-floor family home, which Manel witnessed. Manel is married and has two children, including a daughter named Rebecca.In 2009, Estiarte released his autobiography, entitled "All My Siblings", in which he recounts his personal and professional life, including the death of his sister Rosa.Estiarte and Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC, have known each other since the early 1990s. The pair met on the final day of the 1991-1992 La Liga season, when Guardiola, still an FC Barcelona player at the time, won the title, and Estiarte, a passionate Barcelona supporter, went to congratulate him. The pair remained in contact throughout both of their careers as athletes, and in 2008, Guardiola asked Estiarte if he could accompany him to Barcelona to assist him as head coach.The two have been close friends and colleagues since, with Estiarte working with Guardiola for the entirety of his career in management, even assisting Guardiola in obtaining a lawyer when he was accused of doping in 2001.Guardiola wrote the foreword to Estiarte's autobiography "All My Siblings", saying this about the six-time Olympian: “I don't know if angels exist and, if they do, if they help us. Much less if guardian angels exist. But, if they do exist, I believe you are one of them.”In reference to Estiarte's influence on him as a manager, Guardiola has stated that “he helped me a lot in terms of the significance of understanding sport by seeing it from above.” Guardiola maintains that Estiarte is a crucial element to his managerial endeavors.Manel Estiarte was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1993, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1996, the highest distinction of sporting merit in Spain. Additionally, he was granted the most prestigious domestic/international sports award in Spain, the Prince of Asturias Sports Award in 2001.	[ "FC Barcelona", "FC Bayern Munich" ]
Which position did Trygve Bratteli hold in Oct, 1973?	October 17, 1973	{ "text": [ "Prime Minister of Norway", "party leader" ] }	L2_Q326587_P39_4	Trygve Bratteli holds the position of member of the Parliament of Norway from Oct, 1977 to Sep, 1981. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of President of the Nordic Council from Jan, 1978 to Dec, 1978. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Transport and Communications from Sep, 1963 to Jan, 1964. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party secretary from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1945. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party leader from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1975. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Prime Minister of Norway from Oct, 1973 to Jan, 1976. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Finance of Norway from Nov, 1951 to Jan, 1955.	Trygve BratteliBratteli was born on the island of Nøtterøy at Færder in Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Terje Hansen Bratteli (1879–1967) and Martha Barmen (1881–1937). He attended school locally, having many jobs including: work in fishing, as a coal miner and on a building site. Over a 9- to 10-month period, Bratteli travelled with whalers to Antarctica, where he worked in a guano factory at South Georgia Island. He was a student at the socialist school at Malmøya in 1933. Oscar Torp, chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party, asked him to become editor of "Folkets Frihet" in Kirkenes and later editor of "Arbeiderungdommen" which was published by the Socialist Youth League of Norway. For a period during 1940, he also served as Secretary of the Norwegian Labour Party.Following the Nazi invasion of Norway, the daily newspaper "Arbeiderbladet" was closed down during 1940 by Nazi officials. Bratteli subsequently participated in the Norwegian resistance movement. He was arrested by agents of Nazi Germany in 1942, and was a Nacht und Nebel prisoner of various German concentration camps; including Natzweiler-Struthof, from 1943 to 1945. He was liberated from Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp on 5 April 1945, by the Swedish Red Cross White Buses along with fifteen other Norwegians who had survived.After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Bratteli was appointed as Secretary of the Labour Party. He became chairman of the Workers' Youth League, vice chairman of the party, served on the newly formed "defence commission", and in 1965; was made Chairman of the Labour Party. Bratteli was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1950, and was re-elected on seven occasions.He was appointed as Minister of Finance in Oscar Torp's cabinet, and from 1956-60 in the third cabinet of Einar Gerhardsen. From 1960 to 1963, during Gerhardsen's third period as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also acting Minister of Finance from January-February 1962. In September 1963, when Gerhardsen's fourth cabinet was formed, Bratteli was again made Minister of Transport and Communications, a post he held until 1964.The centre-right cabinet of Borten held office from 1965 to 1971, but when it collapsed, Bratteli became Prime Minister. In social policy, Bratteli's premiership saw the passage of a law in June 1972 that lowered the pension age to 67. Central to his political career was the question of Norway's membership of the European Community. Following the close rejection of membership in the 1972 referendum, his cabinet resigned. However, the successor cabinet Korvald only lasted one year, and the second cabinet Bratteli was formed following the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. Bratteli resigned as prime minister in January 1976 on the grounds of ill health. He was succeeded by fellow Labour member Odvar Nordli. Trygve Bratteli was married to Randi Helene Larssen (1924–2002). They had three children: two daughters, Tone and Marianne and one son, professor Ola Bratteli (1946–2015). Bratteli's memoirs of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps was published in 1980. He died in 1984 and was buried at Vestre gravlund in Oslo.Trygve Bratteli was a member of Friends of Israel within the Norwegian Labour Movement ("Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse") which planted a forest to his memory in Israel.	[ "member of the Parliament of Norway", "Minister of Transport and Communications", "Minister of Finance of Norway", "President of the Nordic Council", "party secretary" ]
Which position did Trygve Bratteli hold in 1973-10-17?	October 17, 1973	{ "text": [ "Prime Minister of Norway", "party leader" ] }	L2_Q326587_P39_4	Trygve Bratteli holds the position of member of the Parliament of Norway from Oct, 1977 to Sep, 1981. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of President of the Nordic Council from Jan, 1978 to Dec, 1978. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Transport and Communications from Sep, 1963 to Jan, 1964. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party secretary from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1945. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party leader from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1975. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Prime Minister of Norway from Oct, 1973 to Jan, 1976. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Finance of Norway from Nov, 1951 to Jan, 1955.	Trygve BratteliBratteli was born on the island of Nøtterøy at Færder in Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Terje Hansen Bratteli (1879–1967) and Martha Barmen (1881–1937). He attended school locally, having many jobs including: work in fishing, as a coal miner and on a building site. Over a 9- to 10-month period, Bratteli travelled with whalers to Antarctica, where he worked in a guano factory at South Georgia Island. He was a student at the socialist school at Malmøya in 1933. Oscar Torp, chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party, asked him to become editor of "Folkets Frihet" in Kirkenes and later editor of "Arbeiderungdommen" which was published by the Socialist Youth League of Norway. For a period during 1940, he also served as Secretary of the Norwegian Labour Party.Following the Nazi invasion of Norway, the daily newspaper "Arbeiderbladet" was closed down during 1940 by Nazi officials. Bratteli subsequently participated in the Norwegian resistance movement. He was arrested by agents of Nazi Germany in 1942, and was a Nacht und Nebel prisoner of various German concentration camps; including Natzweiler-Struthof, from 1943 to 1945. He was liberated from Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp on 5 April 1945, by the Swedish Red Cross White Buses along with fifteen other Norwegians who had survived.After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Bratteli was appointed as Secretary of the Labour Party. He became chairman of the Workers' Youth League, vice chairman of the party, served on the newly formed "defence commission", and in 1965; was made Chairman of the Labour Party. Bratteli was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1950, and was re-elected on seven occasions.He was appointed as Minister of Finance in Oscar Torp's cabinet, and from 1956-60 in the third cabinet of Einar Gerhardsen. From 1960 to 1963, during Gerhardsen's third period as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also acting Minister of Finance from January-February 1962. In September 1963, when Gerhardsen's fourth cabinet was formed, Bratteli was again made Minister of Transport and Communications, a post he held until 1964.The centre-right cabinet of Borten held office from 1965 to 1971, but when it collapsed, Bratteli became Prime Minister. In social policy, Bratteli's premiership saw the passage of a law in June 1972 that lowered the pension age to 67. Central to his political career was the question of Norway's membership of the European Community. Following the close rejection of membership in the 1972 referendum, his cabinet resigned. However, the successor cabinet Korvald only lasted one year, and the second cabinet Bratteli was formed following the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. Bratteli resigned as prime minister in January 1976 on the grounds of ill health. He was succeeded by fellow Labour member Odvar Nordli. Trygve Bratteli was married to Randi Helene Larssen (1924–2002). They had three children: two daughters, Tone and Marianne and one son, professor Ola Bratteli (1946–2015). Bratteli's memoirs of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps was published in 1980. He died in 1984 and was buried at Vestre gravlund in Oslo.Trygve Bratteli was a member of Friends of Israel within the Norwegian Labour Movement ("Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse") which planted a forest to his memory in Israel.	[ "member of the Parliament of Norway", "Minister of Transport and Communications", "Minister of Finance of Norway", "President of the Nordic Council", "party secretary" ]
Which position did Trygve Bratteli hold in 17/10/1973?	October 17, 1973	{ "text": [ "Prime Minister of Norway", "party leader" ] }	L2_Q326587_P39_4	Trygve Bratteli holds the position of member of the Parliament of Norway from Oct, 1977 to Sep, 1981. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of President of the Nordic Council from Jan, 1978 to Dec, 1978. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Transport and Communications from Sep, 1963 to Jan, 1964. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party secretary from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1945. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party leader from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1975. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Prime Minister of Norway from Oct, 1973 to Jan, 1976. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Finance of Norway from Nov, 1951 to Jan, 1955.	Trygve BratteliBratteli was born on the island of Nøtterøy at Færder in Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Terje Hansen Bratteli (1879–1967) and Martha Barmen (1881–1937). He attended school locally, having many jobs including: work in fishing, as a coal miner and on a building site. Over a 9- to 10-month period, Bratteli travelled with whalers to Antarctica, where he worked in a guano factory at South Georgia Island. He was a student at the socialist school at Malmøya in 1933. Oscar Torp, chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party, asked him to become editor of "Folkets Frihet" in Kirkenes and later editor of "Arbeiderungdommen" which was published by the Socialist Youth League of Norway. For a period during 1940, he also served as Secretary of the Norwegian Labour Party.Following the Nazi invasion of Norway, the daily newspaper "Arbeiderbladet" was closed down during 1940 by Nazi officials. Bratteli subsequently participated in the Norwegian resistance movement. He was arrested by agents of Nazi Germany in 1942, and was a Nacht und Nebel prisoner of various German concentration camps; including Natzweiler-Struthof, from 1943 to 1945. He was liberated from Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp on 5 April 1945, by the Swedish Red Cross White Buses along with fifteen other Norwegians who had survived.After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Bratteli was appointed as Secretary of the Labour Party. He became chairman of the Workers' Youth League, vice chairman of the party, served on the newly formed "defence commission", and in 1965; was made Chairman of the Labour Party. Bratteli was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1950, and was re-elected on seven occasions.He was appointed as Minister of Finance in Oscar Torp's cabinet, and from 1956-60 in the third cabinet of Einar Gerhardsen. From 1960 to 1963, during Gerhardsen's third period as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also acting Minister of Finance from January-February 1962. In September 1963, when Gerhardsen's fourth cabinet was formed, Bratteli was again made Minister of Transport and Communications, a post he held until 1964.The centre-right cabinet of Borten held office from 1965 to 1971, but when it collapsed, Bratteli became Prime Minister. In social policy, Bratteli's premiership saw the passage of a law in June 1972 that lowered the pension age to 67. Central to his political career was the question of Norway's membership of the European Community. Following the close rejection of membership in the 1972 referendum, his cabinet resigned. However, the successor cabinet Korvald only lasted one year, and the second cabinet Bratteli was formed following the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. Bratteli resigned as prime minister in January 1976 on the grounds of ill health. He was succeeded by fellow Labour member Odvar Nordli. Trygve Bratteli was married to Randi Helene Larssen (1924–2002). They had three children: two daughters, Tone and Marianne and one son, professor Ola Bratteli (1946–2015). Bratteli's memoirs of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps was published in 1980. He died in 1984 and was buried at Vestre gravlund in Oslo.Trygve Bratteli was a member of Friends of Israel within the Norwegian Labour Movement ("Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse") which planted a forest to his memory in Israel.	[ "member of the Parliament of Norway", "Minister of Transport and Communications", "Minister of Finance of Norway", "President of the Nordic Council", "party secretary" ]
Which position did Trygve Bratteli hold in Oct 17, 1973?	October 17, 1973	{ "text": [ "Prime Minister of Norway", "party leader" ] }	L2_Q326587_P39_4	Trygve Bratteli holds the position of member of the Parliament of Norway from Oct, 1977 to Sep, 1981. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of President of the Nordic Council from Jan, 1978 to Dec, 1978. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Transport and Communications from Sep, 1963 to Jan, 1964. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party secretary from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1945. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party leader from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1975. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Prime Minister of Norway from Oct, 1973 to Jan, 1976. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Finance of Norway from Nov, 1951 to Jan, 1955.	Trygve BratteliBratteli was born on the island of Nøtterøy at Færder in Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Terje Hansen Bratteli (1879–1967) and Martha Barmen (1881–1937). He attended school locally, having many jobs including: work in fishing, as a coal miner and on a building site. Over a 9- to 10-month period, Bratteli travelled with whalers to Antarctica, where he worked in a guano factory at South Georgia Island. He was a student at the socialist school at Malmøya in 1933. Oscar Torp, chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party, asked him to become editor of "Folkets Frihet" in Kirkenes and later editor of "Arbeiderungdommen" which was published by the Socialist Youth League of Norway. For a period during 1940, he also served as Secretary of the Norwegian Labour Party.Following the Nazi invasion of Norway, the daily newspaper "Arbeiderbladet" was closed down during 1940 by Nazi officials. Bratteli subsequently participated in the Norwegian resistance movement. He was arrested by agents of Nazi Germany in 1942, and was a Nacht und Nebel prisoner of various German concentration camps; including Natzweiler-Struthof, from 1943 to 1945. He was liberated from Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp on 5 April 1945, by the Swedish Red Cross White Buses along with fifteen other Norwegians who had survived.After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Bratteli was appointed as Secretary of the Labour Party. He became chairman of the Workers' Youth League, vice chairman of the party, served on the newly formed "defence commission", and in 1965; was made Chairman of the Labour Party. Bratteli was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1950, and was re-elected on seven occasions.He was appointed as Minister of Finance in Oscar Torp's cabinet, and from 1956-60 in the third cabinet of Einar Gerhardsen. From 1960 to 1963, during Gerhardsen's third period as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also acting Minister of Finance from January-February 1962. In September 1963, when Gerhardsen's fourth cabinet was formed, Bratteli was again made Minister of Transport and Communications, a post he held until 1964.The centre-right cabinet of Borten held office from 1965 to 1971, but when it collapsed, Bratteli became Prime Minister. In social policy, Bratteli's premiership saw the passage of a law in June 1972 that lowered the pension age to 67. Central to his political career was the question of Norway's membership of the European Community. Following the close rejection of membership in the 1972 referendum, his cabinet resigned. However, the successor cabinet Korvald only lasted one year, and the second cabinet Bratteli was formed following the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. Bratteli resigned as prime minister in January 1976 on the grounds of ill health. He was succeeded by fellow Labour member Odvar Nordli. Trygve Bratteli was married to Randi Helene Larssen (1924–2002). They had three children: two daughters, Tone and Marianne and one son, professor Ola Bratteli (1946–2015). Bratteli's memoirs of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps was published in 1980. He died in 1984 and was buried at Vestre gravlund in Oslo.Trygve Bratteli was a member of Friends of Israel within the Norwegian Labour Movement ("Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse") which planted a forest to his memory in Israel.	[ "member of the Parliament of Norway", "Minister of Transport and Communications", "Minister of Finance of Norway", "President of the Nordic Council", "party secretary" ]
Which position did Trygve Bratteli hold in 10/17/1973?	October 17, 1973	{ "text": [ "Prime Minister of Norway", "party leader" ] }	L2_Q326587_P39_4	Trygve Bratteli holds the position of member of the Parliament of Norway from Oct, 1977 to Sep, 1981. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of President of the Nordic Council from Jan, 1978 to Dec, 1978. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Transport and Communications from Sep, 1963 to Jan, 1964. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party secretary from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1945. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party leader from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1975. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Prime Minister of Norway from Oct, 1973 to Jan, 1976. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Finance of Norway from Nov, 1951 to Jan, 1955.	Trygve BratteliBratteli was born on the island of Nøtterøy at Færder in Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Terje Hansen Bratteli (1879–1967) and Martha Barmen (1881–1937). He attended school locally, having many jobs including: work in fishing, as a coal miner and on a building site. Over a 9- to 10-month period, Bratteli travelled with whalers to Antarctica, where he worked in a guano factory at South Georgia Island. He was a student at the socialist school at Malmøya in 1933. Oscar Torp, chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party, asked him to become editor of "Folkets Frihet" in Kirkenes and later editor of "Arbeiderungdommen" which was published by the Socialist Youth League of Norway. For a period during 1940, he also served as Secretary of the Norwegian Labour Party.Following the Nazi invasion of Norway, the daily newspaper "Arbeiderbladet" was closed down during 1940 by Nazi officials. Bratteli subsequently participated in the Norwegian resistance movement. He was arrested by agents of Nazi Germany in 1942, and was a Nacht und Nebel prisoner of various German concentration camps; including Natzweiler-Struthof, from 1943 to 1945. He was liberated from Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp on 5 April 1945, by the Swedish Red Cross White Buses along with fifteen other Norwegians who had survived.After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Bratteli was appointed as Secretary of the Labour Party. He became chairman of the Workers' Youth League, vice chairman of the party, served on the newly formed "defence commission", and in 1965; was made Chairman of the Labour Party. Bratteli was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1950, and was re-elected on seven occasions.He was appointed as Minister of Finance in Oscar Torp's cabinet, and from 1956-60 in the third cabinet of Einar Gerhardsen. From 1960 to 1963, during Gerhardsen's third period as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also acting Minister of Finance from January-February 1962. In September 1963, when Gerhardsen's fourth cabinet was formed, Bratteli was again made Minister of Transport and Communications, a post he held until 1964.The centre-right cabinet of Borten held office from 1965 to 1971, but when it collapsed, Bratteli became Prime Minister. In social policy, Bratteli's premiership saw the passage of a law in June 1972 that lowered the pension age to 67. Central to his political career was the question of Norway's membership of the European Community. Following the close rejection of membership in the 1972 referendum, his cabinet resigned. However, the successor cabinet Korvald only lasted one year, and the second cabinet Bratteli was formed following the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. Bratteli resigned as prime minister in January 1976 on the grounds of ill health. He was succeeded by fellow Labour member Odvar Nordli. Trygve Bratteli was married to Randi Helene Larssen (1924–2002). They had three children: two daughters, Tone and Marianne and one son, professor Ola Bratteli (1946–2015). Bratteli's memoirs of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps was published in 1980. He died in 1984 and was buried at Vestre gravlund in Oslo.Trygve Bratteli was a member of Friends of Israel within the Norwegian Labour Movement ("Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse") which planted a forest to his memory in Israel.	[ "member of the Parliament of Norway", "Minister of Transport and Communications", "Minister of Finance of Norway", "President of the Nordic Council", "party secretary" ]
Which position did Trygve Bratteli hold in 17-Oct-197317-October-1973?	October 17, 1973	{ "text": [ "Prime Minister of Norway", "party leader" ] }	L2_Q326587_P39_4	Trygve Bratteli holds the position of member of the Parliament of Norway from Oct, 1977 to Sep, 1981. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of President of the Nordic Council from Jan, 1978 to Dec, 1978. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Transport and Communications from Sep, 1963 to Jan, 1964. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party secretary from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1945. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of party leader from Jan, 1965 to Jan, 1975. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Prime Minister of Norway from Oct, 1973 to Jan, 1976. Trygve Bratteli holds the position of Minister of Finance of Norway from Nov, 1951 to Jan, 1955.	Trygve BratteliBratteli was born on the island of Nøtterøy at Færder in Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Terje Hansen Bratteli (1879–1967) and Martha Barmen (1881–1937). He attended school locally, having many jobs including: work in fishing, as a coal miner and on a building site. Over a 9- to 10-month period, Bratteli travelled with whalers to Antarctica, where he worked in a guano factory at South Georgia Island. He was a student at the socialist school at Malmøya in 1933. Oscar Torp, chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party, asked him to become editor of "Folkets Frihet" in Kirkenes and later editor of "Arbeiderungdommen" which was published by the Socialist Youth League of Norway. For a period during 1940, he also served as Secretary of the Norwegian Labour Party.Following the Nazi invasion of Norway, the daily newspaper "Arbeiderbladet" was closed down during 1940 by Nazi officials. Bratteli subsequently participated in the Norwegian resistance movement. He was arrested by agents of Nazi Germany in 1942, and was a Nacht und Nebel prisoner of various German concentration camps; including Natzweiler-Struthof, from 1943 to 1945. He was liberated from Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp on 5 April 1945, by the Swedish Red Cross White Buses along with fifteen other Norwegians who had survived.After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Bratteli was appointed as Secretary of the Labour Party. He became chairman of the Workers' Youth League, vice chairman of the party, served on the newly formed "defence commission", and in 1965; was made Chairman of the Labour Party. Bratteli was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1950, and was re-elected on seven occasions.He was appointed as Minister of Finance in Oscar Torp's cabinet, and from 1956-60 in the third cabinet of Einar Gerhardsen. From 1960 to 1963, during Gerhardsen's third period as Prime Minister, he was Minister of Transport and Communications. He was also acting Minister of Finance from January-February 1962. In September 1963, when Gerhardsen's fourth cabinet was formed, Bratteli was again made Minister of Transport and Communications, a post he held until 1964.The centre-right cabinet of Borten held office from 1965 to 1971, but when it collapsed, Bratteli became Prime Minister. In social policy, Bratteli's premiership saw the passage of a law in June 1972 that lowered the pension age to 67. Central to his political career was the question of Norway's membership of the European Community. Following the close rejection of membership in the 1972 referendum, his cabinet resigned. However, the successor cabinet Korvald only lasted one year, and the second cabinet Bratteli was formed following the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. Bratteli resigned as prime minister in January 1976 on the grounds of ill health. He was succeeded by fellow Labour member Odvar Nordli. Trygve Bratteli was married to Randi Helene Larssen (1924–2002). They had three children: two daughters, Tone and Marianne and one son, professor Ola Bratteli (1946–2015). Bratteli's memoirs of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps was published in 1980. He died in 1984 and was buried at Vestre gravlund in Oslo.Trygve Bratteli was a member of Friends of Israel within the Norwegian Labour Movement ("Venner av Israel i Norsk Arbeiderbevegelse") which planted a forest to his memory in Israel.	[ "member of the Parliament of Norway", "Minister of Transport and Communications", "Minister of Finance of Norway", "President of the Nordic Council", "party secretary" ]
Which employer did Ernst Peschl work for in Jul, 1970?	July 09, 1970	{ "text": [ "University of Bonn" ] }	L2_Q103198_P108_6	Ernst Peschl works for Luftfahrtforschungsansalt from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1945. Ernst Peschl works for University of Bonn from Jan, 1948 to Jan, 1974. Ernst Peschl works for University of Jena from Jan, 1934 to Jan, 1937. Ernst Peschl works for Frederick William University from Jan, 1937 to Jan, 1941. Ernst Peschl works for Technical University of Braunschweig from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1948. Ernst Peschl works for University of Münster from Jan, 1933 to Jan, 1934. Ernst Peschl works for Wehrmacht from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1943.	Ernst PeschlErnst Peschl came from a family of brewery owners. He was born to Eduard Ferdinand Peschl and his wife, Ulla (née Adler) in 1906.After finishing secondary school in 1925 in Passau, Peschl started studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Munich under the supervision of Constantin Carathéodory with a dissertation titled "Über die Krümmung von Niveaukurven bei der konformen Abbildung einfachzusammenhängender Gebiete auf das Innere eines Kreises; eine Verallgemeinerung eines Satzes von E. Study" ("On the curvature of level curves of the conformal mapping of simply connected domains to the interior of a circle: A generalization of a theorem of Eduard Study"). This was followed by some years spent working as an assistant with Robert König in Jena and Heinrich Behnke in Münster. He habilitated in 1935 at the University of Jena. Peschl took up a visiting professorship at the University of Bonn in 1938, and was subsequently promoted to extraordinary professor there.Under pressure Peschl became a member of the Nazi Party and the paramilitary "Sturmabteilung", but he avoided any activity within either organization and ended SA service after a year. From 1941 to 1943 he was drafted as a French interpreter for the "Wehrmacht". From 1943 to 1945 he worked at the German Aviation Research Institute in Brunswick, which exempted him from further military service during World War II.After the war Peschl became the director of the Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, and in 1948 he became a full professor there. He promoted applied mathematics and established the Institute for Instrumental Mathematics in Bonn which evolved into the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing. He led the Society with Heinz Unger from 1969 to 1974.Ernst Peschl's main areas of research were geometric complex analysis, partial differential equations, and the theory of functions of several complex variables.Peschl was the doctoral advisor of Claus Müller, Friedhelm Erwe, Karl Wilhelm Bauer, Bernhard Korte, Stephan Ruscheweyh, and Karl-Joachim Wirths, among others.Peschl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in 1969 and another honorary doctorate from the University of Graz in 1982. For his fruitful collaboration with French mathematicians, the French government awarded him an "Officier des Palmes Académiques" in 1975.Peschl was a regular member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, the Bavarian and Austrian Academies of Sciences and a corresponding member of the "Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres" in Toulouse. He was awarded the Pierre Fermat Medal and the Medal of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1965.Peschl married Maria Stein, a physician, in 1940, and had one daughter, Gisela.	[ "Technical University of Braunschweig", "Wehrmacht", "University of Münster", "Frederick William University", "University of Jena", "Luftfahrtforschungsansalt" ]
Which employer did Ernst Peschl work for in 1970-07-09?	July 09, 1970	{ "text": [ "University of Bonn" ] }	L2_Q103198_P108_6	Ernst Peschl works for Luftfahrtforschungsansalt from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1945. Ernst Peschl works for University of Bonn from Jan, 1948 to Jan, 1974. Ernst Peschl works for University of Jena from Jan, 1934 to Jan, 1937. Ernst Peschl works for Frederick William University from Jan, 1937 to Jan, 1941. Ernst Peschl works for Technical University of Braunschweig from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1948. Ernst Peschl works for University of Münster from Jan, 1933 to Jan, 1934. Ernst Peschl works for Wehrmacht from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1943.	Ernst PeschlErnst Peschl came from a family of brewery owners. He was born to Eduard Ferdinand Peschl and his wife, Ulla (née Adler) in 1906.After finishing secondary school in 1925 in Passau, Peschl started studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Munich under the supervision of Constantin Carathéodory with a dissertation titled "Über die Krümmung von Niveaukurven bei der konformen Abbildung einfachzusammenhängender Gebiete auf das Innere eines Kreises; eine Verallgemeinerung eines Satzes von E. Study" ("On the curvature of level curves of the conformal mapping of simply connected domains to the interior of a circle: A generalization of a theorem of Eduard Study"). This was followed by some years spent working as an assistant with Robert König in Jena and Heinrich Behnke in Münster. He habilitated in 1935 at the University of Jena. Peschl took up a visiting professorship at the University of Bonn in 1938, and was subsequently promoted to extraordinary professor there.Under pressure Peschl became a member of the Nazi Party and the paramilitary "Sturmabteilung", but he avoided any activity within either organization and ended SA service after a year. From 1941 to 1943 he was drafted as a French interpreter for the "Wehrmacht". From 1943 to 1945 he worked at the German Aviation Research Institute in Brunswick, which exempted him from further military service during World War II.After the war Peschl became the director of the Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, and in 1948 he became a full professor there. He promoted applied mathematics and established the Institute for Instrumental Mathematics in Bonn which evolved into the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing. He led the Society with Heinz Unger from 1969 to 1974.Ernst Peschl's main areas of research were geometric complex analysis, partial differential equations, and the theory of functions of several complex variables.Peschl was the doctoral advisor of Claus Müller, Friedhelm Erwe, Karl Wilhelm Bauer, Bernhard Korte, Stephan Ruscheweyh, and Karl-Joachim Wirths, among others.Peschl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in 1969 and another honorary doctorate from the University of Graz in 1982. For his fruitful collaboration with French mathematicians, the French government awarded him an "Officier des Palmes Académiques" in 1975.Peschl was a regular member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, the Bavarian and Austrian Academies of Sciences and a corresponding member of the "Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres" in Toulouse. He was awarded the Pierre Fermat Medal and the Medal of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1965.Peschl married Maria Stein, a physician, in 1940, and had one daughter, Gisela.	[ "Technical University of Braunschweig", "Wehrmacht", "University of Münster", "Frederick William University", "University of Jena", "Luftfahrtforschungsansalt" ]
Which employer did Ernst Peschl work for in 09/07/1970?	July 09, 1970	{ "text": [ "University of Bonn" ] }	L2_Q103198_P108_6	Ernst Peschl works for Luftfahrtforschungsansalt from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1945. Ernst Peschl works for University of Bonn from Jan, 1948 to Jan, 1974. Ernst Peschl works for University of Jena from Jan, 1934 to Jan, 1937. Ernst Peschl works for Frederick William University from Jan, 1937 to Jan, 1941. Ernst Peschl works for Technical University of Braunschweig from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1948. Ernst Peschl works for University of Münster from Jan, 1933 to Jan, 1934. Ernst Peschl works for Wehrmacht from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1943.	Ernst PeschlErnst Peschl came from a family of brewery owners. He was born to Eduard Ferdinand Peschl and his wife, Ulla (née Adler) in 1906.After finishing secondary school in 1925 in Passau, Peschl started studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Munich under the supervision of Constantin Carathéodory with a dissertation titled "Über die Krümmung von Niveaukurven bei der konformen Abbildung einfachzusammenhängender Gebiete auf das Innere eines Kreises; eine Verallgemeinerung eines Satzes von E. Study" ("On the curvature of level curves of the conformal mapping of simply connected domains to the interior of a circle: A generalization of a theorem of Eduard Study"). This was followed by some years spent working as an assistant with Robert König in Jena and Heinrich Behnke in Münster. He habilitated in 1935 at the University of Jena. Peschl took up a visiting professorship at the University of Bonn in 1938, and was subsequently promoted to extraordinary professor there.Under pressure Peschl became a member of the Nazi Party and the paramilitary "Sturmabteilung", but he avoided any activity within either organization and ended SA service after a year. From 1941 to 1943 he was drafted as a French interpreter for the "Wehrmacht". From 1943 to 1945 he worked at the German Aviation Research Institute in Brunswick, which exempted him from further military service during World War II.After the war Peschl became the director of the Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, and in 1948 he became a full professor there. He promoted applied mathematics and established the Institute for Instrumental Mathematics in Bonn which evolved into the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing. He led the Society with Heinz Unger from 1969 to 1974.Ernst Peschl's main areas of research were geometric complex analysis, partial differential equations, and the theory of functions of several complex variables.Peschl was the doctoral advisor of Claus Müller, Friedhelm Erwe, Karl Wilhelm Bauer, Bernhard Korte, Stephan Ruscheweyh, and Karl-Joachim Wirths, among others.Peschl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in 1969 and another honorary doctorate from the University of Graz in 1982. For his fruitful collaboration with French mathematicians, the French government awarded him an "Officier des Palmes Académiques" in 1975.Peschl was a regular member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, the Bavarian and Austrian Academies of Sciences and a corresponding member of the "Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres" in Toulouse. He was awarded the Pierre Fermat Medal and the Medal of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1965.Peschl married Maria Stein, a physician, in 1940, and had one daughter, Gisela.	[ "Technical University of Braunschweig", "Wehrmacht", "University of Münster", "Frederick William University", "University of Jena", "Luftfahrtforschungsansalt" ]
Which employer did Ernst Peschl work for in Jul 09, 1970?	July 09, 1970	{ "text": [ "University of Bonn" ] }	L2_Q103198_P108_6	Ernst Peschl works for Luftfahrtforschungsansalt from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1945. Ernst Peschl works for University of Bonn from Jan, 1948 to Jan, 1974. Ernst Peschl works for University of Jena from Jan, 1934 to Jan, 1937. Ernst Peschl works for Frederick William University from Jan, 1937 to Jan, 1941. Ernst Peschl works for Technical University of Braunschweig from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1948. Ernst Peschl works for University of Münster from Jan, 1933 to Jan, 1934. Ernst Peschl works for Wehrmacht from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1943.	Ernst PeschlErnst Peschl came from a family of brewery owners. He was born to Eduard Ferdinand Peschl and his wife, Ulla (née Adler) in 1906.After finishing secondary school in 1925 in Passau, Peschl started studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Munich under the supervision of Constantin Carathéodory with a dissertation titled "Über die Krümmung von Niveaukurven bei der konformen Abbildung einfachzusammenhängender Gebiete auf das Innere eines Kreises; eine Verallgemeinerung eines Satzes von E. Study" ("On the curvature of level curves of the conformal mapping of simply connected domains to the interior of a circle: A generalization of a theorem of Eduard Study"). This was followed by some years spent working as an assistant with Robert König in Jena and Heinrich Behnke in Münster. He habilitated in 1935 at the University of Jena. Peschl took up a visiting professorship at the University of Bonn in 1938, and was subsequently promoted to extraordinary professor there.Under pressure Peschl became a member of the Nazi Party and the paramilitary "Sturmabteilung", but he avoided any activity within either organization and ended SA service after a year. From 1941 to 1943 he was drafted as a French interpreter for the "Wehrmacht". From 1943 to 1945 he worked at the German Aviation Research Institute in Brunswick, which exempted him from further military service during World War II.After the war Peschl became the director of the Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, and in 1948 he became a full professor there. He promoted applied mathematics and established the Institute for Instrumental Mathematics in Bonn which evolved into the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing. He led the Society with Heinz Unger from 1969 to 1974.Ernst Peschl's main areas of research were geometric complex analysis, partial differential equations, and the theory of functions of several complex variables.Peschl was the doctoral advisor of Claus Müller, Friedhelm Erwe, Karl Wilhelm Bauer, Bernhard Korte, Stephan Ruscheweyh, and Karl-Joachim Wirths, among others.Peschl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in 1969 and another honorary doctorate from the University of Graz in 1982. For his fruitful collaboration with French mathematicians, the French government awarded him an "Officier des Palmes Académiques" in 1975.Peschl was a regular member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, the Bavarian and Austrian Academies of Sciences and a corresponding member of the "Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres" in Toulouse. He was awarded the Pierre Fermat Medal and the Medal of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1965.Peschl married Maria Stein, a physician, in 1940, and had one daughter, Gisela.	[ "Technical University of Braunschweig", "Wehrmacht", "University of Münster", "Frederick William University", "University of Jena", "Luftfahrtforschungsansalt" ]
Which employer did Ernst Peschl work for in 07/09/1970?	July 09, 1970	{ "text": [ "University of Bonn" ] }	L2_Q103198_P108_6	Ernst Peschl works for Luftfahrtforschungsansalt from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1945. Ernst Peschl works for University of Bonn from Jan, 1948 to Jan, 1974. Ernst Peschl works for University of Jena from Jan, 1934 to Jan, 1937. Ernst Peschl works for Frederick William University from Jan, 1937 to Jan, 1941. Ernst Peschl works for Technical University of Braunschweig from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1948. Ernst Peschl works for University of Münster from Jan, 1933 to Jan, 1934. Ernst Peschl works for Wehrmacht from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1943.	Ernst PeschlErnst Peschl came from a family of brewery owners. He was born to Eduard Ferdinand Peschl and his wife, Ulla (née Adler) in 1906.After finishing secondary school in 1925 in Passau, Peschl started studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Munich under the supervision of Constantin Carathéodory with a dissertation titled "Über die Krümmung von Niveaukurven bei der konformen Abbildung einfachzusammenhängender Gebiete auf das Innere eines Kreises; eine Verallgemeinerung eines Satzes von E. Study" ("On the curvature of level curves of the conformal mapping of simply connected domains to the interior of a circle: A generalization of a theorem of Eduard Study"). This was followed by some years spent working as an assistant with Robert König in Jena and Heinrich Behnke in Münster. He habilitated in 1935 at the University of Jena. Peschl took up a visiting professorship at the University of Bonn in 1938, and was subsequently promoted to extraordinary professor there.Under pressure Peschl became a member of the Nazi Party and the paramilitary "Sturmabteilung", but he avoided any activity within either organization and ended SA service after a year. From 1941 to 1943 he was drafted as a French interpreter for the "Wehrmacht". From 1943 to 1945 he worked at the German Aviation Research Institute in Brunswick, which exempted him from further military service during World War II.After the war Peschl became the director of the Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, and in 1948 he became a full professor there. He promoted applied mathematics and established the Institute for Instrumental Mathematics in Bonn which evolved into the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing. He led the Society with Heinz Unger from 1969 to 1974.Ernst Peschl's main areas of research were geometric complex analysis, partial differential equations, and the theory of functions of several complex variables.Peschl was the doctoral advisor of Claus Müller, Friedhelm Erwe, Karl Wilhelm Bauer, Bernhard Korte, Stephan Ruscheweyh, and Karl-Joachim Wirths, among others.Peschl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in 1969 and another honorary doctorate from the University of Graz in 1982. For his fruitful collaboration with French mathematicians, the French government awarded him an "Officier des Palmes Académiques" in 1975.Peschl was a regular member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, the Bavarian and Austrian Academies of Sciences and a corresponding member of the "Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres" in Toulouse. He was awarded the Pierre Fermat Medal and the Medal of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1965.Peschl married Maria Stein, a physician, in 1940, and had one daughter, Gisela.	[ "Technical University of Braunschweig", "Wehrmacht", "University of Münster", "Frederick William University", "University of Jena", "Luftfahrtforschungsansalt" ]
Which employer did Ernst Peschl work for in 09-Jul-197009-July-1970?	July 09, 1970	{ "text": [ "University of Bonn" ] }	L2_Q103198_P108_6	Ernst Peschl works for Luftfahrtforschungsansalt from Jan, 1943 to Jan, 1945. Ernst Peschl works for University of Bonn from Jan, 1948 to Jan, 1974. Ernst Peschl works for University of Jena from Jan, 1934 to Jan, 1937. Ernst Peschl works for Frederick William University from Jan, 1937 to Jan, 1941. Ernst Peschl works for Technical University of Braunschweig from Jan, 1945 to Jan, 1948. Ernst Peschl works for University of Münster from Jan, 1933 to Jan, 1934. Ernst Peschl works for Wehrmacht from Jan, 1941 to Jan, 1943.	Ernst PeschlErnst Peschl came from a family of brewery owners. He was born to Eduard Ferdinand Peschl and his wife, Ulla (née Adler) in 1906.After finishing secondary school in 1925 in Passau, Peschl started studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1931 from the University of Munich under the supervision of Constantin Carathéodory with a dissertation titled "Über die Krümmung von Niveaukurven bei der konformen Abbildung einfachzusammenhängender Gebiete auf das Innere eines Kreises; eine Verallgemeinerung eines Satzes von E. Study" ("On the curvature of level curves of the conformal mapping of simply connected domains to the interior of a circle: A generalization of a theorem of Eduard Study"). This was followed by some years spent working as an assistant with Robert König in Jena and Heinrich Behnke in Münster. He habilitated in 1935 at the University of Jena. Peschl took up a visiting professorship at the University of Bonn in 1938, and was subsequently promoted to extraordinary professor there.Under pressure Peschl became a member of the Nazi Party and the paramilitary "Sturmabteilung", but he avoided any activity within either organization and ended SA service after a year. From 1941 to 1943 he was drafted as a French interpreter for the "Wehrmacht". From 1943 to 1945 he worked at the German Aviation Research Institute in Brunswick, which exempted him from further military service during World War II.After the war Peschl became the director of the Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, and in 1948 he became a full professor there. He promoted applied mathematics and established the Institute for Instrumental Mathematics in Bonn which evolved into the Society for Mathematics and Data Processing. He led the Society with Heinz Unger from 1969 to 1974.Ernst Peschl's main areas of research were geometric complex analysis, partial differential equations, and the theory of functions of several complex variables.Peschl was the doctoral advisor of Claus Müller, Friedhelm Erwe, Karl Wilhelm Bauer, Bernhard Korte, Stephan Ruscheweyh, and Karl-Joachim Wirths, among others.Peschl received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toulouse in 1969 and another honorary doctorate from the University of Graz in 1982. For his fruitful collaboration with French mathematicians, the French government awarded him an "Officier des Palmes Académiques" in 1975.Peschl was a regular member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, the Bavarian and Austrian Academies of Sciences and a corresponding member of the "Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres" in Toulouse. He was awarded the Pierre Fermat Medal and the Medal of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1965.Peschl married Maria Stein, a physician, in 1940, and had one daughter, Gisela.	[ "Technical University of Braunschweig", "Wehrmacht", "University of Münster", "Frederick William University", "University of Jena", "Luftfahrtforschungsansalt" ]
Which team did Markos Maragoudakis play for in Jan, 2014?	January 01, 2014	{ "text": [ "Aris Limassol F.C.", "Chania F.C." ] }	L2_Q20744522_P54_9	Markos Maragoudakis plays for PAS Giannina F.C. from Jan, 2002 to Jan, 2003. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Aris Limassol F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rodos F.C. from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Platanias F.C. from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Akratitos F.C. from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2004. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Panachaiki F.C. from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Chania F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Fostiras F.C. from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2009. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rouf F.C. from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010.	Markos MaragoudakisMarkos Maragoudakis (; born 28 January 1982) is a Greek-Congolese professional footballer who plays for Football League club Ialysos.	[ "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C.", "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C." ]
Which team did Markos Maragoudakis play for in 2014-01-01?	January 01, 2014	{ "text": [ "Aris Limassol F.C.", "Chania F.C." ] }	L2_Q20744522_P54_9	Markos Maragoudakis plays for PAS Giannina F.C. from Jan, 2002 to Jan, 2003. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Aris Limassol F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rodos F.C. from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Platanias F.C. from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Akratitos F.C. from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2004. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Panachaiki F.C. from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Chania F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Fostiras F.C. from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2009. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rouf F.C. from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010.	Markos MaragoudakisMarkos Maragoudakis (; born 28 January 1982) is a Greek-Congolese professional footballer who plays for Football League club Ialysos.	[ "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C.", "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C." ]
Which team did Markos Maragoudakis play for in 01/01/2014?	January 01, 2014	{ "text": [ "Aris Limassol F.C.", "Chania F.C." ] }	L2_Q20744522_P54_9	Markos Maragoudakis plays for PAS Giannina F.C. from Jan, 2002 to Jan, 2003. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Aris Limassol F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rodos F.C. from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Platanias F.C. from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Akratitos F.C. from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2004. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Panachaiki F.C. from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Chania F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Fostiras F.C. from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2009. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rouf F.C. from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010.	Markos MaragoudakisMarkos Maragoudakis (; born 28 January 1982) is a Greek-Congolese professional footballer who plays for Football League club Ialysos.	[ "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C.", "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C." ]
Which team did Markos Maragoudakis play for in Jan 01, 2014?	January 01, 2014	{ "text": [ "Aris Limassol F.C.", "Chania F.C." ] }	L2_Q20744522_P54_9	Markos Maragoudakis plays for PAS Giannina F.C. from Jan, 2002 to Jan, 2003. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Aris Limassol F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rodos F.C. from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Platanias F.C. from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Akratitos F.C. from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2004. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Panachaiki F.C. from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Chania F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Fostiras F.C. from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2009. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rouf F.C. from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010.	Markos MaragoudakisMarkos Maragoudakis (; born 28 January 1982) is a Greek-Congolese professional footballer who plays for Football League club Ialysos.	[ "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C.", "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C." ]
Which team did Markos Maragoudakis play for in 01/01/2014?	January 01, 2014	{ "text": [ "Aris Limassol F.C.", "Chania F.C." ] }	L2_Q20744522_P54_9	Markos Maragoudakis plays for PAS Giannina F.C. from Jan, 2002 to Jan, 2003. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Aris Limassol F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rodos F.C. from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Platanias F.C. from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Akratitos F.C. from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2004. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Panachaiki F.C. from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Chania F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Fostiras F.C. from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2009. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rouf F.C. from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010.	Markos MaragoudakisMarkos Maragoudakis (; born 28 January 1982) is a Greek-Congolese professional footballer who plays for Football League club Ialysos.	[ "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C.", "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C." ]
Which team did Markos Maragoudakis play for in 01-Jan-201401-January-2014?	January 01, 2014	{ "text": [ "Aris Limassol F.C.", "Chania F.C." ] }	L2_Q20744522_P54_9	Markos Maragoudakis plays for PAS Giannina F.C. from Jan, 2002 to Jan, 2003. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Aris Limassol F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Dec, 2022. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rodos F.C. from Jan, 2010 to Jan, 2011. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Platanias F.C. from Jan, 2011 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. from Jan, 2000 to Jan, 2002. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Akratitos F.C. from Jan, 2003 to Jan, 2004. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Panachaiki F.C. from Jan, 2013 to Jan, 2013. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Chania F.C. from Jan, 2014 to Jan, 2014. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Fostiras F.C. from Jan, 2005 to Jan, 2009. Markos Maragoudakis plays for Rouf F.C. from Jan, 2009 to Jan, 2010.	Markos MaragoudakisMarkos Maragoudakis (; born 28 January 1982) is a Greek-Congolese professional footballer who plays for Football League club Ialysos.	[ "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C.", "Panachaiki F.C.", "Rodos F.C.", "Rouf F.C.", "Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.", "Platanias F.C.", "PAS Giannina F.C.", "Akratitos F.C.", "Fostiras F.C." ]
Which political party did Kōichirō Genba belong to in Oct, 1993?	October 10, 1993	{ "text": [ "independent politician" ] }	L2_Q58213_P102_1	Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 1996 to Jan, 2015. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Jan, 1991 to Jan, 1993. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the New Party Sakigake from Dec, 1993 to Sep, 1996. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party from Mar, 2016 to Apr, 2018. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Group of Independents from Apr, 2018 to Jan, 2019. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy from Jan, 2019 to Sep, 2020. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the independent politician from Jan, 1993 to Nov, 1993.	Kōichirō Genba	[ "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan", "Group of Independents", "Democratic Party of Japan", "Democratic Party", "New Party Sakigake", "Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy", "Liberal Democratic Party" ]
Which political party did Kōichirō Genba belong to in 1993-10-10?	October 10, 1993	{ "text": [ "independent politician" ] }	L2_Q58213_P102_1	Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 1996 to Jan, 2015. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Jan, 1991 to Jan, 1993. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the New Party Sakigake from Dec, 1993 to Sep, 1996. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party from Mar, 2016 to Apr, 2018. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Group of Independents from Apr, 2018 to Jan, 2019. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy from Jan, 2019 to Sep, 2020. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the independent politician from Jan, 1993 to Nov, 1993.	Kōichirō Genba	[ "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan", "Group of Independents", "Democratic Party of Japan", "Democratic Party", "New Party Sakigake", "Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy", "Liberal Democratic Party" ]
Which political party did Kōichirō Genba belong to in 10/10/1993?	October 10, 1993	{ "text": [ "independent politician" ] }	L2_Q58213_P102_1	Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 1996 to Jan, 2015. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Jan, 1991 to Jan, 1993. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the New Party Sakigake from Dec, 1993 to Sep, 1996. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party from Mar, 2016 to Apr, 2018. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Group of Independents from Apr, 2018 to Jan, 2019. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy from Jan, 2019 to Sep, 2020. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the independent politician from Jan, 1993 to Nov, 1993.	Kōichirō Genba	[ "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan", "Group of Independents", "Democratic Party of Japan", "Democratic Party", "New Party Sakigake", "Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy", "Liberal Democratic Party" ]
Which political party did Kōichirō Genba belong to in Oct 10, 1993?	October 10, 1993	{ "text": [ "independent politician" ] }	L2_Q58213_P102_1	Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 1996 to Jan, 2015. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Jan, 1991 to Jan, 1993. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the New Party Sakigake from Dec, 1993 to Sep, 1996. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party from Mar, 2016 to Apr, 2018. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Group of Independents from Apr, 2018 to Jan, 2019. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy from Jan, 2019 to Sep, 2020. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the independent politician from Jan, 1993 to Nov, 1993.	Kōichirō Genba	[ "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan", "Group of Independents", "Democratic Party of Japan", "Democratic Party", "New Party Sakigake", "Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy", "Liberal Democratic Party" ]
Which political party did Kōichirō Genba belong to in 10/10/1993?	October 10, 1993	{ "text": [ "independent politician" ] }	L2_Q58213_P102_1	Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 1996 to Jan, 2015. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Jan, 1991 to Jan, 1993. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the New Party Sakigake from Dec, 1993 to Sep, 1996. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party from Mar, 2016 to Apr, 2018. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Group of Independents from Apr, 2018 to Jan, 2019. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy from Jan, 2019 to Sep, 2020. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the independent politician from Jan, 1993 to Nov, 1993.	Kōichirō Genba	[ "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan", "Group of Independents", "Democratic Party of Japan", "Democratic Party", "New Party Sakigake", "Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy", "Liberal Democratic Party" ]
Which political party did Kōichirō Genba belong to in 10-Oct-199310-October-1993?	October 10, 1993	{ "text": [ "independent politician" ] }	L2_Q58213_P102_1	Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 1996 to Jan, 2015. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Jan, 1991 to Jan, 1993. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the New Party Sakigake from Dec, 1993 to Sep, 1996. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from Sep, 2020 to Dec, 2022. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Democratic Party from Mar, 2016 to Apr, 2018. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Group of Independents from Apr, 2018 to Jan, 2019. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy from Jan, 2019 to Sep, 2020. Kōichirō Genba is a member of the independent politician from Jan, 1993 to Nov, 1993.	Kōichirō Genba	[ "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan", "Group of Independents", "Democratic Party of Japan", "Democratic Party", "New Party Sakigake", "Reviewing Group on Social Security Policy", "Liberal Democratic Party" ]
Which employer did Mordechai Ben-Ari work for in Mar, 2011?	March 06, 2011	{ "text": [ "Weizmann Institute of Science" ] }	L2_Q6909646_P108_2	Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Weizmann Institute of Science from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 2018. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Tel Aviv University from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1981.	Mordechai Ben-AriMordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari () is a professor of computer science educated at the Weizmann Institute of Science.Ben-Ari has published numerous textbooks in computer science, developed software tools for teaching Computer Science, and written influential papers in computer science education. His primary focus has been on books and tools for learning theoretical concepts in computer science, such as concurrency and mathematical logic.In collaboration with the University of Joensuu in Finland, his group has developed the Jeliot program animation system for teaching elementary computer science and programming.Ben-Ari received the 2004 ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions for Computer Science Education and was named an ACM Distinguished Educator in 2009.	[ "Tel Aviv University", "Rafael Advanced Defense Systems" ]
Which employer did Mordechai Ben-Ari work for in 2011-03-06?	March 06, 2011	{ "text": [ "Weizmann Institute of Science" ] }	L2_Q6909646_P108_2	Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Weizmann Institute of Science from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 2018. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Tel Aviv University from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1981.	Mordechai Ben-AriMordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari () is a professor of computer science educated at the Weizmann Institute of Science.Ben-Ari has published numerous textbooks in computer science, developed software tools for teaching Computer Science, and written influential papers in computer science education. His primary focus has been on books and tools for learning theoretical concepts in computer science, such as concurrency and mathematical logic.In collaboration with the University of Joensuu in Finland, his group has developed the Jeliot program animation system for teaching elementary computer science and programming.Ben-Ari received the 2004 ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions for Computer Science Education and was named an ACM Distinguished Educator in 2009.	[ "Tel Aviv University", "Rafael Advanced Defense Systems" ]
Which employer did Mordechai Ben-Ari work for in 06/03/2011?	March 06, 2011	{ "text": [ "Weizmann Institute of Science" ] }	L2_Q6909646_P108_2	Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Weizmann Institute of Science from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 2018. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Tel Aviv University from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1981.	Mordechai Ben-AriMordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari () is a professor of computer science educated at the Weizmann Institute of Science.Ben-Ari has published numerous textbooks in computer science, developed software tools for teaching Computer Science, and written influential papers in computer science education. His primary focus has been on books and tools for learning theoretical concepts in computer science, such as concurrency and mathematical logic.In collaboration with the University of Joensuu in Finland, his group has developed the Jeliot program animation system for teaching elementary computer science and programming.Ben-Ari received the 2004 ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions for Computer Science Education and was named an ACM Distinguished Educator in 2009.	[ "Tel Aviv University", "Rafael Advanced Defense Systems" ]
Which employer did Mordechai Ben-Ari work for in Mar 06, 2011?	March 06, 2011	{ "text": [ "Weizmann Institute of Science" ] }	L2_Q6909646_P108_2	Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems from Jan, 1981 to Jan, 1992. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Weizmann Institute of Science from Jan, 1995 to Jan, 2018. Mordechai Ben-Ari works for Tel Aviv University from Jan, 1972 to Jan, 1981.	Mordechai Ben-AriMordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari () is a professor of computer science educated at the Weizmann Institute of Science.Ben-Ari has published numerous textbooks in computer science, developed software tools for teaching Computer Science, and written influential papers in computer science education. His primary focus has been on books and tools for learning theoretical concepts in computer science, such as concurrency and mathematical logic.In collaboration with the University of Joensuu in Finland, his group has developed the Jeliot program animation system for teaching elementary computer science and programming.Ben-Ari received the 2004 ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions for Computer Science Education and was named an ACM Distinguished Educator in 2009.	[ "Tel Aviv University", "Rafael Advanced Defense Systems" ]

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