Hello all, I believe that we have had 54 different prime ministers and 11 monarchs since 1721. 1st PM was Robert Walpole who served a total of 21 years in office. Ministerial portfolios held during tenure First Lord of the Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer Leader of the House of Commons Other long terms in office: Margaret Thatcher served 3 terms in 10 years 4 months and Tony Blair served served 3 terms in 10 years 1 month A term is usually 4 years. I do not know if any more stamps are planned or how or which PMs are chosen. The only criteria I know is that the PM chosen must be deceased. Regards, James.
Britain introduced universal franchise rather late in 1918. Today this is seen as the criteria to call a society a democracy. So Walpole was hardly a democratically elected P.M. The longest serving democratically elected P.M.,I know, is Tage Erlander of Sweden,who served for 23 years (1946-1969). Does anyone know a P.M.,who served longer ?
Hello all, Walpole was not elected, after the succession of King George I in 1714, the arrangement of a commission of Lords of the Treasury as opposed to a single Lord High Treasurer became permanent. For the next three years, the government was headed by Lord Townshend, who was appointed Secretary of State for the Northern Department. Subsequently, Lord Stanhope and Lord Sunderland ran the government jointly, with Stanhope managing foreign affairs and Sunderland managing domestic affairs. Stanhope died in February 1721 and Sunderland resigned two months later; Townshend and Robert Walpole were then invited to form the next government. From that point, the holder of the office of First Lord also unofficially held the status of Prime Minister. It was not until the Edwardian era that the title Prime Minister was constitutionally recognised. With only few exceptions, the Prime Minister still holds the office of First Lord by constitutional convention. Wikipedia Regards, James.
issued July.5th,1975 Stamp shows presidents Park and Omar Bongo from Gabon. Bongo,who converted to Islam in 1973 was president of Gabon from 1967 till his death in 2009.He won his elections in his early rule as the only candidate,later with more or less, depending on necessities,massive election-frauds. He was corrupt and a cleptocrate,who ammassed so much money,that he became one of the richest heads of state worldwide. Bongo had close ties with the US and even more so with France. It is said,that he gave big money to Jaques Chirac in 1981, to get him elected as president of France. After Omar´s death in 2009 the presidency went to his son Ali. Ali´s re-election in 2016 was so obvioiusly fraudulent,that massive demonstrations asked for nullifying the result. More than 1000 demonstraters were killed,but Ali Bongo remained in power and at the source of supply for even more money.France,the US and others still have close ties with Gabon.
Issued April 22nd,1979 the stamp shows president Park and Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal. Senghor was president from independance in 1960 till 1980. As a revered poet and literary figure (negritude), he was one of the most internationally decorated politicians of Africa. He was the first African to become a member of the Académie Francaise. At the age of 95 he died in France 2001,where he had spent most years of his life.
Issued Dec.21st,1979 the stamp shows President Choi Kyu-Hah of South-Korea.However at this date he was put out of the way by a military coup d´ètat already,after less than forty days as acting president.Formally he was forced to resign in August 1980.
issued Sept.1st for the inauguration of president Chun Doo-hwan of South-Korea. Chun,an army-general,took power in a coup on Dec.12th,1979. President Choi remained in office as a figure-head. In May 1980 Chun ordered the crackdown of a revolt in Gwangju. Hundreds of people were killed brutally by soldiers.This gave Chun the nick-name: Butcher of Gwangju. In Aug.1980 he let hold presidential elections,with himself as sole candidate.He received 99.96% of the votes of electoral body. He remained president his full term till 1988,ruling dictatorial. In 1996 he was put on trial for rebellion,murder and other crimes and was condemned to death.Later that year his sentence was commuted to live-long imprisonment.
Here are a couple of pages of stamps depicting presidents of the Philippines. I lack a couple of the stamps, but thought I would post them anyway. The Scott numbers don't help much on identifying these stamps and I relied on the signatures reproduced on the stamps to get the names matched with the stamp. Elpidio Quirino is a little bit of a guess though. Too bad Zararina is not on the Exchange anymore. She could confirm my guess. Don
State visit of president Samuel K.Doe of Liberia in Korea. Issued May 9th,1982. Doe came to power in a military coup in 1980,with a little help or at least with sympathy of a government with a similar country flag. Master Sergeant Doe (soon to be promoted to the rank of a general) first murdered (it is said with his own hands) his predecessor President William R.Tolbert jr..Later most ministers and many other personalities of the former regime were killed as well. His rise to power ended the rule of the American-Liberians,who had monopolized the power since independence in 1847. He was welcomed in Washington,because he ended the opening to communist countries,what had been pursued by the Tolbert government. He came from a rather small people,the Krahn.In later years Krahn were in all important positions of government. The Reagan administration liked his anti-communist stand and gave generously.Till about the mid 80th,when they paid less and less,because the brutality of Doe´s regime became known throughout the world. The end for Doe came in a civil war in 1990,when he was captured by one of his adversaries,Yomie Johnson.He was tortured,both his ears were cut off and he was let bleeding to death.A video of that became widespread entertainment in West-Africa. He was followed in office by Charles Taylor (president 1997-2003), after a civil-war of eight years. Taylor was sentenced in 2012 to 50 years imprisonment by the UN-Tribunal in the Haag and is serving his sentence in a prison in Britain. But back to the above stamp: during his visit in Korea a honorary doctorate of an Korean university was confered on Doe. Back in Liberia he insisted of being called Dr.Doe or....
State visit of president Mobuto of Zaire (Kongo/Kinshasa) in Korea. Issued June 7th,1982. Mobuto,another darling of the US,came with friendly help of the CIA to power in a coup d´etat in 1965. He ruled and pilfered Zaire till 1997,when he had to flee the country.He found asylum in Morocco,where he died the same year. He was in the absolute top-league of the most kelptocratic and corrupt presidents of all times.Of course he was brutal and cruel as well.But he was also a firm anti-communist,what made him liked by several US-administrations.When the threat of communism diminished in the early 1990´s the US withdraw her support and left him to his own fate.
Stamp issued Aug 17th,1982. Daniel Arap Moi followed Jomo Kenyatta as president of Kenya in 1978.Born in 1924 he ruled Kenya till 2002.He was reelected in 1992 and 1997 in multi-candidate elections.Before that Kenya was a one-party-state,with unopposed "elections". Moi was corrupt,but not on an excessive scale. Due to a new constitution,he could not run once more for the presidency and resigned in 2002 after 24 years in office. In 2017 he was diagnosed as a severe case of dementia.
issued Aug.17th,1982 President Chun and president Shehu Shagari of Nigeria. Shagari was president from Oct.1st 1979 till Dec.31st,1983,when he was deposed in a military coup. He was ousted by general Muhammudu Buhari,who himself was ousted in another coup in 1985. They never come back ? Sometimes they do.Buhari was elected for president again in 2015,thirty years after he was ousted and is the current president of Nigeria.
issued Aug.17th,1982 President Chun and president Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon. Bongo was president of Gabon from 1967-2009. Due to his hard self-sacrificing work for the people of Gabon he became on of the richest heads of state worlwide. Elections were not a big problem,because till 1990 he always was the only candidate.Later,due to international preasures,he had to allow other parties and candidates,but managed somehow to win all further elections. After his death in 2009 his son Ali-Ben Bongo Ondimba became his successor and remained president till today.
issued Aug.17th,1982 Abdou Diouf,born 1935,right of Chun Doo Hwan,was president of Senegal till 2000. He was primeminister for ten years,when he followed Leopold Senghor in 1981 as president.Diouf was one of the few african leaders who,after being re-elected twice,resigned peacefully,when he lost the 2000 presidental elections.
Suharto (1921 - 2008) (right of Chun Doo Hwan) was president of Indonesia from 1967 - 1998.He came to power after an (alleged) communist coup. A brutal persecution of communists and other opposition members followed. Many were incarcerated with or without being trialed,often for decades. Estimated 400.000 to 1.000.000 were killed.A big percentage of them ethnic Chinese. He ruled dictatorial till he had to resign in 1998 after massive protests. He was put on trial for corruption.Allegedly he had taken more than 500 millions US-$.However the trial was called off,because of Suharto´s old age.
issued Oct.8th,1983 President San Yu of Birma,right of president Chun. San Yu (1918 - 1996),a general and close ally of Ne Win,followed Ne Win as president of Burma in 1981.He remained in that position till 1988. However the real power laid all the time in the hands of Ne Win.In 1988, San Yu and Ne Win retired from all official positions.But while Ne Win still remained Burma´s strong man for another ten years,Sun Yu lived a life of privacy,practicing Buddhism. The stamp from a series of 5,was issued for Chun´s visit of South-Asia and Australia.In Rangoon agents of North-Korea bombed the South-Korean delegation on Oct.9th,1983. Four ministers and many more officials were killed,but Chun remained unharmed. The stamp series and the souvenir sheets going with it,were removed from sale on Oct.10th,1983.
issued Oct.8th,1983 Junius Richard Jayewardene´s (1906-1996) Uninted National Party won the 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka.He became prime minister and had a majority in parliament to change to a presidental system,similar to that of France.He became president in 1978 and remained in that office till 1989. In his presidency the conflict with the Tamils of Sri Lanka escalated,when he banned all tamil MPs from parliament.This let to the rise of radical tamil organisations,namley the "Tamil Tigers of Eelam" and let to a long civil war.
