July 14, 2016

Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom on July 13, 2016. Credit: UK Home Office (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Yesterday, July 13, British politician Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom. May, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party earlier this month, replaced Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron’s resignation yesterday followed through on a promise he made to step down after last month’s contentious “Brexit” referendum that will remove the United Kingdom from the European Union. May—who, like Cameron, did not support Brexit—faces a difficult transition period as the United Kingdom begins dealing with the many complications created by the referendum. May is the second woman (after Margaret Thatcher) to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

After being formally invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, freshly minted Prime Minister May addressed the media outside No. 10 Downing Street, her new official London residence. May vowed to fight injustice and improve the lives of working-class families. She said her government’s mission was to work with the people to “build a better Britain,” and create a union “between all of our citizens.” She also said she would follow Cameron’s “one nation” example, praising him as a “great, modern prime minister.”

Theresa Mary Brasier was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, on Oct. 1, 1956. Raised in Oxfordshire, she later studied at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, and married banker Philip May. She worked at the Bank of England before serving as a local councillor in Merton, south London. After unsuccessful election bids in 1992 and 1994, May entered Parliament in 1997 as representative for Maidenhead in the House of Commons. She was appointed the first woman chairman of the Conservative Party in 2002 and named home secretary in 2010.

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned from office on July 13, 2016, following his failure to stop passage of the “Brexit” referendum in late June. Credit: © Getty Images/Thinkstock

May 29, 2014

Leaders of the 28-member nations of the European Union (EU) met in Brussels this week in response to recent European Parliament elections that gave a boost to a number of Eurosceptic (anti-EU) parties. Both the president of France and the prime minister of the United Kingdom called for major EU reforms. French President Francois Hollande warned Europe to “pay attention” to the election results in France, where his Socialist party lost to the far-right National Front. The National Front—which some have called a neo-Nazi party—collected fully 24.95 percent of the vote, winning a nationwide election for the first time. France’s Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls characterized the results as “more than a warning. It is a shock, an earthquake.”

(© Stephen Hird, Reuters)

French President Francois Hollande (above) and British Prime Minister David Cameron (right) both called for EU reforms in the face of strong showings by far-right parties in European elections (© Balint Porneczi, Bloomberg/Getty Images).

Populist and far-right parties gained ground across the EU, including in Austria, Denmark, Greece, and the United Kingdom. In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party lost to the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). UKIP campaigned to slash the EU’s powers and return decision-making to individual nations. In Greece, Golden Dawn, an openly neo-Nazi organization, also picked up seats.

Despite the unprecedented gains made by such extremist parties, the pro-EU bloc retains a safe majority in the parliament. Nevertheless, the current president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, noted: “This is a bad day for the European Union when the party [the National Front] with such an openly racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic program gets 25 or 24 percent of the vote in France. . . . The reasons behind such a vote for a party like this party in France is not that people are hard-core extremists. . . .They are disappointed. They have lost trust and hope [in the EU].” International affairs experts note that much of the lost trust and hope stems from years of recession and the necessity of granting massive financial bailouts to various eurozone countries to keep them from defaulting on their national debts. (The eurozone consists of the 18 EU nations that adopted the euro, the common European currency.)

Additional World Book articles:

• Crisis in the Eurozone (a special report)
• Eurozone Crisis: No End in Sight (a special report)

March 18, 2014

President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders, meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, signed a treaty this morning in which the Russian Federation annexed the strategically important Black Sea peninsula. In a televised speech before both houses of the Russian parliament, President Putin stated, “In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia.” Putin then declared that he had corrected a “historical injustice.” (Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev transferred Crimea to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine in 1954.) Putin went on to speak of the humiliations Russia has suffered with one superpower–the United States–dominating the world. He specifically pointed to the NATO air war in Kosovo in 1999 and the toppling of Libyan leader Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. Putin described NATO bombing in Libya as carried out under the false pretense of humanitarian intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders meeting in the Kremlin signed a treaty this morning that made Crimea part of the Russian Federation. (Superstock)

In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the foreign ministry responded to the annexation with the following statement: “We do not recognize and never will recognize the so-called independence or the so-called agreement on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.” France, Germany, and the United States also condemned the Russia-Crimea treaty. In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron stated, “It is completely unacceptable for Russia to use force to change borders on the basis of a sham referendum held at the barrel of a Russian gun.”

Pro-Russian forces took over Crimea late last month after Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted. International affairs experts note that the pretense was to protect Crimea’s Russian-speaking majority, that is, “humanitarian intervention.” The crisis in Ukraine began in November 2013 when Yanukovych abandoned a European Union trade agreement in favor of closer ties to Russia, triggering massive protests in the capital and other cities.

For additional information on the Ukrainian revolution, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Kosovo 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Kosovo 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Libya 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

December 9, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II attended her very first Cabinet meeting yesterday on a historic visit to Downing Street, the official place of residence of the British prime minister and the chancellor of the exchequer. The queen is believed to be  the first British monarch to attend a Cabinet meeting since 1781, when George III met his ministers during the American War of Independence. Her presence as an observer marked the official end of her Diamond Jubilee, the year-long celebration of  her 60 years on the throne. During those 60 years, she has had 12 prime ministers, beginning with Sir Winston Churchill.

After the queen and Prime Minister David Cameron adjoined  to the Foreign Office, the queen was informed that a part of Antarctica is to be named Queen Elizabeth Land in her honor. Queen Elizabeth Land is part of  the British Antarctic Territory, a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom. (Seven nations maintain claims on eight Antarctic territories.)

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 60 years on the throne in 2012. (AP/Wide World)

Queen Elizabeth Land, a desolate area of vast mountain peaks and massive glaciers, covers 169,000 square miles (438,000 square kilometers), more than twice the size of the United Kingdom. Its coasts are inhabited by a profusion of wildlife, including great numbers of penguins and elephant seals.

Additional World Book articles:

• American Revolution
• The Queen Mother: Creator of the Modern Monarchy
• United Kingdom 1952 (a Back in Time article)
• United Kingdom 1953 (a Back in Time aticle)

March 20, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom continued the commemoration of her diamond jubilee with a speech before a rare joint session of both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall. The Queen is celebrating her 60-year reign, which began in 1952 upon the death of her father, George VI. The only other British monarch to have achieved a diamond jubilee was Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. Queen Elizabeth is the head of state of the United Kingdom as well as of 15 other countries that belong to the Commonwealth of Nations, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Elizabeth II has been the queen of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1952. (Courtesy of AP/Wide Wide)

During her speech, the Queen promised to “rededicate” herself  to serving the United Kingdom and its people. She also particularly thanked her husband, Prince Philip, whom she married in 1947,  for being her “constant strength and guide.” Her speech was greeted with a standing ovation by hundreds of dignitaries, including Prime Minister David Cameron and other members of the Cabinet.

In honor of the occasion, the Queen was presented with a stained glass window featuring her Royal Arms. The window, which was designed by British artist John Reyntiens, is to be installed above the north door of Westminster Hall and is a gift from members of both Houses of Parliament.

Additional World Book articles:

• Kings and queens of the United Kingdom
• Royal Family of the United Kingdom
• United Kingdom, History of (The Victorian Age–1840′s-about 1900)