Native name	Canada
Common name	Canada
Alt flag	Vertical triband (red, white, red) with a red maple leaf in the centre of the white
Image coat	Coat of arms of Canada.svg
Alt coat	A shield divided into four rectangles over a triangle. The first rectangle contains three lions passant guardant in gold on a red background; the second, a red lion rampant on a gold background; the third, a gold harp on a blue background; the fourth, three gold fleurs-de-lis on a blue background. The triangle contains three red maple leaves on a white background. A gold helmet sits on top of the shield, upon which is a crowned lion holding a red maple leaf, with a larger crown over its head. On the right is a lion rampant flying the Union Flag. On the left is a unicorn flying a blue flag with three fleurs-de-lis. Both animals hold a red ribbon that goes around the shield, which says "desiderantes meliorem patriam". Below is a blue scroll inscribed "A mari usque ad mare" on a wreath of flowers.
National motto	(Latin)"From Sea to Sea"
National anthem	"O Canada"
Royal anthem	"God Save the Queen"
Alt map	Projection of North America with Canada in green
Map width	220px
Capital	Ottawa
Largest city	Toronto
Official languages	English and French
Regional languages	Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, Cree, , Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun, Slavey and
Demonym	Canadian
Government type	Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Leader title1	Monarch
Leader name1	Elizabeth II
Leader title2	Governor General
Leader name2	David Johnston
Leader title3	Prime Minister
Leader name3	Stephen Harper
Legislature	Parliament
Upper house	Senate
Lower house	House of Commons
Sovereignty type	Establishment
Established event1	British North America Acts
Established date1	July 1, 1867
Established event2	Statute of Westminster
Established date2	December 11, 1931
Established event3	Canada Act
Established date3	April 17, 1982
Area km2	9,984,670
Area sq mi	3,854,085
Area rank	2nd
Area magnitude	1 E12
Percent water	8.92 (891,163 km2/344,080 mi2)
Population estimate	}}

|population_estimate_year = 2011 |population_estimate_rank = 36th |population_census = 32,623,490 |population_census_year = 2006 |population_density_km2 = 3.41 |population_density_sq_mi = 8.3 |population_density_rank = 228th |GDP_PPP_year = 2010 |GDP_PPP = $1.330 trillion |GDP_PPP_rank = |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $39,057 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = |GDP_nominal = $1.574 trillion |GDP_nominal_rank = |GDP_nominal_year = 2010 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $46,215 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = |HDI_year = 2010 |HDI = 0.888 |HDI_rank = 8th |HDI_category = very high |Gini = 32.1 |Gini_category = medium |Gini_year = 2005 |currency = Canadian dollar ($) |currency_code = CAD |time_zone = |utc_offset = −3.5 to −8 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = −2.5 to −7 |date_format = dd-mm-yyyy, mm-dd-yyyy, ''and'' yyyy-mm-dd (CE) |drives_on = Right |cctld = .ca |calling_code = +1 |footnotes = Canada portal }} Canada () is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.

The land that is now Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

Canada is a federal state that is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. One of the world's highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G7, G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, Commonwealth of Nations, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and UN. With the eighth-highest Human Development Index globally, it has one of the highest standards of living in the world.

History

Etymology

The name ''Canada'' comes from a St. Lawrence Iroquoian word, ''kanata'', meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word ''Canada'' to refer not only to that particular village, but also the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this region as ''Canada''.

In the 17th and early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River and the northern shores of the Great Lakes. The area was later split into two British colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada. They were re-unified as the Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, the name ''Canada'' was adopted as the legal name for the new country, and ''Dominion'' (a term from Psalm 72:8) was conferred as the country's title. As Canada asserted its political autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government increasingly used simply ''Canada'' on state documents and treaties, a change that was reflected in the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day in 1982.

Aboriginal peoples

Archaeological and genetic studies support a human presence in the northern Yukon from 26,500 years ago, and in southern Ontario from 9,500 years ago. Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the earliest archaeological sites of human (Paleo-Indians) habitation in Canada. Among the First Nations peoples, there are eight unique creation myths and their adaptations. The characteristics of Canadian Aboriginal societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals (c. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and have been discovered through archaeological investigations.

The aboriginal population is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million in the late 15th century, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Health. Repeated outbreaks of European infectious diseases such as influenza, measles, and smallpox (to which they had no natural immunity), combined with other effects of European contact, resulted in a forty to eighty percent aboriginal population decrease post-contact. Aboriginal peoples in Canada include the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. The Métis are a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nation and Inuit married European settlers. The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during the colonization period.

European colonization

European colonization began when Norsemen settled briefly at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland around 1000. No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when Italian seafarer John Cabot explored Canada's Atlantic coast for England. Basque and Portuguese mariners established seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast. In 1534 Jacques Cartier explored the Saint Lawrence River for France. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed St. John's, Newfoundland as the first North American English colony by royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent European settlements at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608. Among French colonists of New France, ''Canadiens'' extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley and Acadians settled the present-day Maritimes, while fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana. The Beaver Wars broke out over control of the North American fur trade.

The English established additional colonies in Cupids and Ferryland, Newfoundland beginning in 1610 and soon after founded the Thirteen Colonies to the south. A series of four French and Indian Wars erupted between 1689 and 1763. Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); the Treaty of Paris (1763) ceded Canada and most of New France to Britain after the Seven Years' War.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 carved the Province of Quebec out of New France and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia. St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island) became a separate colony in 1769. To avert conflict in Quebec, the British passed the Quebec Act of 1774, expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law there. This angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies and helped to fuel the American Revolution.

The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. New Brunswick was split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes. To accommodate English-speaking Loyalists in Quebec, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario), granting each its own elected legislative assembly.

The Canadas were the main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain. Following the war, large-scale immigration to Canada from Britain and Ireland began in 1815. From 1825 to 1846, 626,628 European immigrants landed at Canadian ports. Between one-quarter and one-third of all Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891 died of infectious diseases.

The desire for responsible government resulted in the aborted Rebellions of 1837. The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union 1840 merged The Canadas into a united Province of Canada. Responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel. This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858).

Confederation and expansion

Following several constitutional conferences, the Constitution Act, 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to form the Northwest Territories, where the Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had united in 1866) and Prince Edward Island joined the Confederation in 1871 and 1873, respectively. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and his Conservative government established a National Policy of tariffs to protect nascent Canadian manufacturing industries.

To open the West, the government sponsored construction of three transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway), opened the prairies to settlement with the Dominion Lands Act, and established the North-West Mounted Police to assert its authority over this territory. In 1898, after the Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories, the Canadian government created the Yukon Territory. Under Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, continental European immigrants settled the prairies, and Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905.

Early 20th century

Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the Confederation Act, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into World War I. Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps. The Corps played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major battles of the war. Out of approximately 625,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 173,000 were wounded. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden brought in compulsory military service over the objection of French-speaking Quebecers. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain and, the Statute of Westminster 1931 affirmed Canada's independence.

The Great Depression brought economic hardship throughout Canada. In response, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Alberta and Saskatchewan enacted many measures of a welfare state (as pioneered by Tommy Douglas) into the 1940s and 1950s. Canada declared war on Germany independently during World War II under Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, three days after Britain. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939.

Canadian troops played important roles in the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid, the Allied invasion of Italy, the Normandy landings, the Battle of Normandy, and the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada provided asylum and protection for the monarchy of the Netherlands while that country was occupied, and is credited by the country for leadership and major contributions to its liberation from Nazi Germany. The Canadian economy boomed as industry manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China, and the Soviet Union. Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec, Canada finished the war with a large army and strong economy.

Modern times

Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) joined Canada in 1949. Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to the emergence of a new Canadian identity, marked by the adoption of the current Maple Leaf Flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and official multiculturalism in 1971. There was also the founding of socially democratic programmes, such as Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans, though provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions. Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in the 1982 patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government.

At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a modern nationalist movement. The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis in 1970. The sovereignist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976 and organized an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West. A second referendum followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of just 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional, and the Clarity Act was passed by parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.

In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and the Oka Crisis in 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between the government and Aboriginal groups. Canada also joined the Gulf War in 1990 as part of a US-led coalition force, and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the late 1990s. It sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001, but declined to send forces to Iraq when the US invaded in 2003.

Geography

Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America, sharing the land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area, Canada ranks fourth.

The country lies between latitudes 41° and 84°N, and longitudes 52° and 141°W. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141°W longitude, but this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—817 kilometres (450 nautical miles, 508 miles) from the North Pole. Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost. Canada also has the longest coastline in the world: .

Since the last glacial period Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield. Canada has more lakes than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water. There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains. Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably Mount Meager, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley, and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. The volcanic eruption of Tseax Cone in 1775 caused a catastrophic disaster, killing 2,000 Nisga'a people and destroying their village in the Nass River valley of northern British Columbia; the eruption produced a lava flow, and according to legend of the Nisga'a people, it blocked the flow of the Nass River.

The population density, , is among the lowest in the world. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, situated in Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario along the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River.

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary according to the location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F) but can drop below with severe wind chills. In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground almost six months of the year (more in the north). Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from , with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding .

Government and politics

Canada has strong democratic traditions upheld through a parliamentary system within the construct of constitutional monarchy; the monarchy of Canada is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II, who also serves as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries and each of Canada's ten provinces and resides predominantly in the United Kingdom. As such, the Queen's representative, the Governor General of Canada (presently David Lloyd Johnston), carries out most of the federal royal duties in Canada.

The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in areas of governance is limited; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons and chosen and headed by the Prime Minister of Canada (presently Stephen Harper), the head of government. To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the person who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is thus one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by the Crown, besides the aforementioned, the governor general, lieutenant governors, senators, federal court judges, and heads of Crown corporations and government agencies. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (presently Nycole Turmel) and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.

Each of the 308 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding. General elections must be called by the governor general, on the advice of the prime minister, within four years of the previous election, or may be triggered by the government losing a confidence vote in the House. The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75. Five parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the 2011 elections: the Conservative Party of Canada (governing party), the New Democratic Party (the Official Opposition), the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party of Canada. The list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial.

Canada's federal structure divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the ten provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons. Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but these are not sovereign and have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces and with some structural differences.

Law

The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of the country, and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act prior to 1982) affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments; the Statute of Westminster 1931 granted full autonomy; and the Constitution Act, 1982, ended all legislative ties to the UK, added a constitutional amending formula, and added the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be overridden by any government—though a notwithstanding clause allows the federal parliament and provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years.

Although not without conflict, European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. Combined with Canada's late economic development in many regions, this peaceful history has allowed Canadian Indigenous peoples to have a relatively strong influence on the national culture while preserving their own identity. The Crown and Aboriginal peoples began interactions during the European colonialization period. Numbered Treaties, the Indian Act, the Constitution Act of 1982, and case laws were established. A series of eleven treaties were signed between Aboriginals in Canada and the reigning Monarch of Canada from 1871 to 1921. These treaties are agreements with the Government of Canada administered by Canadian Aboriginal law and overseen by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The role of the treaties was reaffirmed by Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982, which "recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights". These rights may include provision of services such as health care, and exemption from taxation. The legal and policy framework within which Canada and First Nations operate was further formalized in 2005, through the First Nations–Federal Crown Political Accord.

Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter and has been led by the Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, P.C. (the first female Chief Justice) since 2000. Its nine members are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are appointed after consultation with nongovernmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels.

Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in rural areas of all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, policing is contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Foreign relations and military

Canada and the United States share the world's longest undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each other's largest trading partner. Canada nevertheless has an independent foreign policy, most notably maintaining full relations with Cuba and declining to officially participate in the Iraq War. Canada also maintains historic ties to the United Kingdom and France and to other former British and French colonies through Canada's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the Francophonie. Canada is noted for having a positive relationship with the Netherlands, owing, in part, to its contribution to the Dutch liberation.

Canada currently employs a professional, volunteer military force of over 67,000 regular and approximately 43,000 reserve personnel including supplementary reserves. The unified Canadian Forces (CF) comprise the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force.

Strong attachment to the British Empire and Commonwealth led to major participation in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. Since then, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to resolve global issues in collaboration with other nations. Canada was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and of NATO in 1949. During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN forces in the Korean War and founded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in cooperation with the United States to defend against potential aerial attacks from the Soviet Union.

During the Suez Crisis of 1956, future Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson eased tensions by proposing the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, for which he was awarded the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize. As this was the first UN peacekeeping mission, Pearson is often credited as the inventor of the concept. Canada has since served in 50 peacekeeping missions, including every UN peacekeeping effort until 1989, and has since maintained forces in international missions in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere; Canada has sometimes faced controversy over its involvement in foreign countries, notably in the 1993 Somalia Affair.

Canada joined the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1990 and hosted the OAS General Assembly in Windsor, Ontario, in June 2000 and the third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April 2001. Canada seeks to expand its ties to Pacific Rim economies through membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

In 2001, Canada had troops deployed to Afghanistan as part of the U.S. stabilization force and the UN-authorized, NATO-commanded International Security Assistance Force. Starting in July 2011, Canada began withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. The mission had cost 157 soldiers, one diplomat, two aid workers, and one journalist their lives, with an approximate cost of C$11.3 billion Canada and the U.S. continue to integrate state and provincial agencies to strengthen security along the Canada-United States border through the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

In February 2007, Canada, Italy, Britain, Norway, and Russia announced their funding commitments to launch a $1.5 billion project to help develop vaccines they said could save millions of lives in poor nations, and called on others to join them. In August 2007, Canada's territorial claims in the Arctic were challenged after a Russian underwater expedition to the North Pole; Canada has considered that area to be sovereign territory since 1925. In July 2010 the largest purchase in Canadian military history, totaling C$9 billion for the acquisition of 65 F-35 fighters was announced by the federal government.

Provinces and territories

Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories. In turn, these may be grouped into regions: Western Canada, Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada (Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces have more autonomy than territories. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.

Economy

Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita income. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G8, and is one of the world's top ten trading nations. Canada is a mixed economy, ranking above the U.S. and most western European nations on the Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom. The largest foreign importers of Canadian goods are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to a more industrial and urban one. Like other First World nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of its primary sector, in which the logging and petroleum industries are two of the most important.

Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas, and Alberta has large oil and gas resources. The immense Athabasca oil sands give Canada the world's second-largest oil reserves, behind Saudi Arabia.

Canada is one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important producers of wheat, canola, and other grains. Canada is the largest producer of zinc and uranium, and is a global source of many other natural resources, such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead. Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.

Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II. The Automotive Products Trade Agreement of 1965 opened the borders to trade in the auto manufacturing industry. In the 1970s, concerns over energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors prompted Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government to enact the National Energy Program (NEP) and the Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA).

In the 1980s, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives abolished the NEP and changed the name of FIRA to "Investment Canada" in order to encourage foreign investment. The Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free-trade zone to include Mexico in the 1990s. In the mid-1990s, the Liberal government under Jean Chrétien began to post annual budgetary surpluses and steadily paid down the national debt. The global financial crisis of 2008 caused a recession, which could increase the country's unemployment rate to 10 percent. In 2008, Canada's imported goods were worth over $442.9 billion, of which $280.8 billion was from the United States, $11.7 billion from Japan, and $11.3 billion from the United Kingdom. The country’s 2009 trade deficit totaled C$4.8 billion, compared with a C$46.9 billion surplus in 2008.

As of October 2009, Canada's national unemployment rate was 8.6 percent. Provincial unemployment rates vary from a low of 5.8 percent in Manitoba to a high of 17 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador. Between October 2008, and October 2010, the Canadian labour market lost 162,000 full-time jobs and a total of 224,000 permanent jobs. Canada's federal debt is estimated to be $566.7 billion for 2010–11, up from $463.7 billion in 2008–09. Canada’s net foreign debt rose by $41-billion to $194-billion in the first quarter of 2010.

Science and technology

Canada is an industrial nation with a highly developed science and technology sector. Nearly 1.88 percent of Canada's GDP is allocated to research & development (R&D). The country has ten Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine. Canada ranks twelfth in the world for Internet usage with 28.0 million users, 84.3 percent of the total population.

The Canadian Space Agency conducts space, planetary, and aviation research, and develops rockets and satellites. In 1984, Marc Garneau became Canada's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-41-G. Canada was ranked third among 20 top countries in space sciences. Canada is a participant in the International Space Station and one of the world's pioneers in space robotics with the Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre. Since the 1960s, Canada Aerospace Industries have designed and built 10 satellites, including Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2 and MOST. Canada also produced one of the most successful sounding rockets, the Black Brant; over 1000 have been launched since they were initially produced in 1961. Universities across Canada are working on the first domestic landing spacecraft: the Northern Light, designed to search for life on Mars and investigate Martian electromagnetic radiation environment and atmospheric properties. If the Northern Light is successful, Canada will be the third country to land on another planet.

Demographics

The Canada 2006 Census counted a total population of 31,612,897, an increase of 5.4 percent since 2001. Population growth is from immigration and, to a lesser extent, natural growth. About four-fifths of Canada's population lives within of the United States border. The majority of Canadians (approximately 80%) live in urban areas concentrated in the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, the BC Lower Mainland, and the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor in Alberta. In common with many other developed countries, Canada is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age of the population was 39.5 years.

According to the 2006 census, the largest self-reported ethnic origin is Canadian (32%), followed by English (21%), French (15.8%), Scottish (15.1%), Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%), Italian (4.6%), Chinese (4.3%), First Nations (4.0%), Ukrainian (3.9%), and Dutch (3.3%). There are 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands encompassing 1,172,790 people.

Canada's Aboriginal population is growing at almost twice the national rate, and 3.8 percent of Canada's population claimed aboriginal identity in 2006. Another 16.2 percent of the population belonged to a non-aboriginal visible minority. The largest visible minority groups in Canada are South Asian (4.0%), Chinese (3.9%) and Black (2.5%). Between 2001 and 2006, the visible minority population rose by 27.2 percent. In 1961, less than two percent of Canada's population (about 300,000 people) could be classified as belonging to a visible minority group and less than 1% as aboriginal. As of 2007, almost one in five Canadians (19.8%) were foreign-born. Nearly 60 percent of new immigrants come from Asia (including the Middle East). The leading emigrating countries to Canada were China, Philippines and India. By 2031, one in three Canadians could belong to a visible minority group.

Canada has one of the highest per-capita immigration rates in the world, driven by economic policy and family reunification, and is aiming for between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents in 2011, the same number of immigrants as in recent years. New immigrants settle mostly in major urban areas like Toronto and Vancouver. Canada also accepts large numbers of refugees. The country resettles over one in 10 of the world’s refugees.

According to the 2001 census, 77.1 percent of Canadians identify as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group (43.6% of Canadians). The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada (9.5% of Canadians), followed by the Anglicans (6.8%), Baptists (2.4%), Lutherans (2%), and other Christians (4.4%). About 16.5 percent of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, and the remaining 6.3 percent are affiliated with non-Christian religions, the largest of which is Islam (2.0%), followed by Judaism (1.1%).

Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for education. Each system is similar, while reflecting regional history, culture and geography. The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years, contributing to an adult literacy rate of 99 percent. In 2002, 43 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 51 percent.

Language

Canada's two official languages are English and French. Official bilingualism is defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act, and ''Official Language Regulations''; it is applied by the Commissioner of Official Languages. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. Citizens have the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French, and official-language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.

English and French are the first languages of 59.7 and 23.2 percent of the population respectively. Approximately 98 percent of Canadians speak English or French: 57.8% speak English only, 22.1% speak French only, and 17.4% speak both. English and French Official Language Communities, defined by First Official Language Spoken, constitute 73.0 and 23.6 percent of the population respectively.

The Charter of the French Language makes French the official language in Quebec. Although more than 85 percent of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario, Alberta, and southern Manitoba; Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province, has a French-speaking Acadian minority constituting 33 percent of the population. There are also clusters of Acadians in southwestern Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, and through central and western Prince Edward Island.

Other provinces have no official languages as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and for other government services in addition to English. Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures, and laws are enacted in both languages. In Ontario, French has some legal status but is not fully co-official. There are 11 Aboriginal language groups, made up of more than 65 distinct dialects. Of these, only Cree, Inuktitut and Ojibway have a large enough population of fluent speakers to be considered viable to survive in the long term. Several aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories. Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut, and one of three official languages in the territory.

Over six million people in Canada list a non-official language as their mother tongue. Some of the most common non-official first languages include Chinese (mainly Cantonese; 1,012,065 first-language speakers), Italian (455,040), German (450,570), Punjabi (367,505) and Spanish (345,345). and the languages most spoken at home by 68.3 percent and 22.3 percent of the population respectively.

Culture

Canada has a diverse makeup of nationalities and cultures, and has constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism. In Quebec, cultural identity is strong, and many French-speaking commentators speak of a culture of Quebec as distinguished from English Canadian culture; however, as a whole Canada is a cultural mosaic—a collection of several regional, aboriginal, and ethnic subcultures. Government policies such as publicly-funded health care, higher taxation to distribute wealth, outlawing capital punishment, strong efforts to eliminate poverty, an emphasis on multiculturalism, stricter gun control, and legalization of same-sex marriage are social indicators of how Canada's political and cultural evolution differs from that of the United States. Historically Canada has been influenced by British, French, and aboriginal cultures and traditions. Through their culture, language, art and music, aboriginals continue to influence the Canadian identity. Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canada as being inherently multicultural. American media and entertainment are popular, if not dominant, in English Canada; conversely, many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the United States and worldwide. Many cultural products are marketed toward a unified "North American" or global market. The creation and preservation of distinctly Canadian culture are supported by federal government programs, laws, and institutions such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Canadian visual art has been dominated by Tom Thomson — Canada's most famous painter — and by the Group of Seven. Thomson's brief career painting Canadian landscapes spanned just a decade up to his death in 1917 at age 39. The Group were painters with a nationalistic and idealistic focus, who first exhibited their distinctive works in May 1920. Though referred to as having seven members, five artists — Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley — were responsible for articulating the Group's ideas. They were joined briefly by Frank Johnston, and by commercial artist Franklin Carmichael. A. J. Casson became part of the Group in 1926. Associated with the Group was another prominent Canadian artist, Emily Carr, known for her landscapes and portrayals of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

The Canadian music industry has produced internationally renowned composers, musicians and ensembles. Canada's music broadcasting is regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences administers Canada's music industry awards, the Juno Awards, which commenced in 1970. The national anthem of Canada ''O Canada'' adopted in 1980, was originally commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Honourable Théodore Robitaille, for the 1880 St. Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony. Calixa Lavallée wrote the music, which was a setting of a patriotic poem composed by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The text was originally only in French, before it was translated to English in 1906.

Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Hockey is a national pastime and the most popular spectator sport in the country. It is also the sport most played by Canadians, with 1.65 million participants in 2004. Seven of Canada's eight largest metropolitan areas—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg—have franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL), and there are more Canadian players in the NHL than from all other countries combined. Other popular spectator sports include curling and football; the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Golf, baseball, skiing, soccer, cricket, volleyball, and basketball are widely played at youth and amateur levels, but professional leagues and franchises are not widespread.

Canada has hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada was the host nation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.

Canada's national symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and Aboriginal sources. The use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates to the early 18th century. The maple leaf is depicted on Canada's current and previous flags, on the penny, and on the Arms of Canada. Other prominent symbols include the beaver, Canada Goose, Common Loon, the Crown, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and more recently, the totem pole and Inuksuk.

See also

References

Further reading

; History ISBN 0802050166, ISBN 0802028012 ; Geography and climate ; Government and law ; Foreign relations and military ; Economy ; Demography and statistics ; Culture

External links

Official website of the Government of Canada

Official website of the Governor General of Canada

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canada at UCB Libraries GovPubs

Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources

Canadiana: The National Bibliography of Canada

Category:Countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean Category:Countries bordering the Pacific Ocean Category:Countries bordering the Arctic Ocean Category:Constitutional monarchies Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Federal countries Category:Former British colonies Category:French-speaking countries Category:G8 nations Category:G20 nations Category:Liberal democracies Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Member states of La Francophonie Category:Member states of NATO Category:Northern American countries Category:States and territories established in 1867 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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Name	Brian Joubert
Fullname	Brian Joubert
Country
Birth date	September 20, 1984
Birth place	Poitiers, France
Height
Coach	Veronique Guyon
Formercoach	Laurent Depouilly Jean-Christophe Simond Andrei Berezintsev
Choreographer	David Wilson
Formerchoreographer	Kurt BrowningNikolai MorozovTatiana TarasovaEvgeny Platov Albena Denkova Maxim Staviski Antonio Najarro Romain Haguenauer
Skating club	Club France F.F.S.G.
Currenttraininglocations	Courchevel, Poitiers
Beganskating	1988
Worldranking	10 ('''')
Pbrankings	11 (''2010–2011'') 7 (''2009–2010'') 4 (''2008–2009'')
Combined total	241.74
Combined date	2010 Worlds
Sp score	88.55
Sp date	2010 Europeans
Fs score	160.13
Fs date	2006 Cup of Russia
Medaltemplates	}}

}}

Brian Joubert (born September 20, 1984) is a French figure skater. He is the 2007 World Champion, a three-time (2004, 2007 & 2009) European champion, a seven-time (2003–2008, 2011) French National champion, and the 2006 Grand Prix Final champion. In total, he is a six-time World medalist and ten-time European medalist.

Personal life

Brian Joubert was born in Poitiers, Vienne to Jean-Michel and Raymonde Joubert; he has two older sisters, Sarah and Alexandra. He suffered a life-threatening illness at the age of 11 months, which led to the removal of one kidney.

Joubert has been considered a heartthrob in his native country, France. This reputation has been contributed by media appearances after his first victory at the 2004 European Championships and silver medal at the World Championships and short relationship with former Miss France, Lætitia Bléger. He later brought a lawsuit against Bléger for 40,000 Euros for insinuating that he was homosexual and that their relationship was arranged to hide this. Bléger and two magazines that published her allegations were ordered by a French court to pay a total of 17,000 Euros, and to publish the court ruling in one of the two magazines. He was later involved with Italian figure skater Valentina Marchei, but the relationship eventually ended.

Joubert owns a bulldog named Blade and raises tropical fish; these pets can occasionally be seen in television reports about his home life. He is known as a motorcycle and car racing enthusiast.

In March 2006, Joubert published his biography, ''Brian Joubert: le Feu sur la Glace'' (Brian Joubert: the fire on ice), in French. A second book about him, entitled ''Brian Joubert sur papier glacé''　(Brian Joubert on paper ice), was published in February 2010.

Career

Early career

Brian Joubert began skating at the age of four with his sisters. Although he originally hoped to play hockey, Joubert became fascinated with the jumping aspect of figure skating.

Joubert took part in few international events as a junior. His first major international competition was the 2000 World Junior Championships, where he placed 15th. The following season, he placed 4th at both his junior Grand Prix assignments, and later finished 14th at senior nationals, and failed to qualify for the French team for 2001 Junior Worlds. The president of the French Ice Sports Federation, Didier Gailhaguet, entered Joubert in the 2001 Top Jump competition, where he placed second. Joubert turned senior following the 2000-2001 season.

Senior career

2001–2006

Joubert made his international senior debut at the 2001 Skate America, where he placed 9th. At French Nationals, he won the bronze medal, qualifying him for the 2002 European Championships. At the Europeans, Joubert surprised many by winning the bronze medal, which earned him a spot on the 2002 Olympic team. Joubert was the youngest athlete to represent France at the Salt Lake City games and finished 14th. He rose one spot to 13th at the 2002 World Championships the following month.

Joubert had better results in the 2002-2003 season. Following the withdrawal of Alexei Yagudin from the 2002 Skate America competition due to a hip injury, Joubert rose to the occasion and won the event. Combined with a fifth place finish at the 2002 Trophée Lalique, he qualified for his first Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, where he won the bronze medal. Joubert also won the French national championships that season, the first of six consecutive titles. He was the silver medalist at the 2003 Europeans and placed 6th at the 2003 Worlds.

In the 2003-2004 season, Joubert once again won a medal on the Grand Prix circuit. At the 2004 European Championships, he became the first Frenchman to win the event in 40 years and the first non-Russian to win the event since 1996. He won his first World medal, a silver, at that year's World Championships.

The 2004-2005 season started well for Joubert; he won two Grand Prix medals and was the silver medalist at the 2005 European Championships, but dropped to 6th at the World Championships. Joubert fought back in 2005-2006, but had inconsistent results: he won two Grand Prix medals but did not qualify for the final, and won the bronze medal at the 2006 Europeans. Billed by the French media as a top medal contender for the Olympics, Joubert finished a disappointing sixth at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He had a better showing at the 2006 World Championships, winning the short program and finishing with a silver medal behind Stéphane Lambiel.

2006–2007 season

Joubert won every event he entered in the 2006-2007 season, including his two Grand Prix assignments, the Trophée Eric Bompard and the Cup of Russia, as well as the Grand Prix Final in Saint Petersburg. He then reclaimed his European title at the 2007 European Championships in Warsaw.

Joubert was injured while training in February 2007; the blade of his left skate slashed into his right foot during a triple lutz, an injury that required stitches to his tendon. He returned to the ice only a few days later but the injury did not fully heal until a few days prior to the 2007 World Championships, and he was unable to properly train lutzes and flips. Despite this setback, Joubert skated well enough in Tokyo to earn his first World title. He finished 3rd in the long program, but had built up enough of a lead in the short program to win overall, with a then-personal best score of 240.85. French daily evening newspaper Le Monde and French nationwide daily sports newspaper L'Équipe put him on the front page.

2007–2008 season

Joubert began the 2007-2008 season at Skate Canada, which he won. He was forced to withdraw from the Trophée Eric Bompard, his second Grand Prix event, due to illness. Although he continued to suffer from fatigue for several weeks afterward, Joubert was able to win his sixth consecutive national title; at that point, he had won ten consecutive events over two seasons. At the 2008 European Championships in January 2008, Joubert earned the bronze medal despite a fall on the triple axel in the short program and mistakes in the long program. In March 2008, he competed at the 2008 World Championships, where he was sixth after the short program but rallied to win the silver medal behind Canadian Jeffrey Buttle.

2008–2009 season

In the 2008-2009 ISU Grand Prix season, Joubert finished 4th at the Trophée Eric Bompard, then won the Cup of Russia and qualified for the Grand Prix Final. He withdrew from this event before the long program due to a back injury, and withdrew from the 2009 French Championships prior to the event. He replaced his first long program with a new one, the first time he had made such a change in the middle of a season.

At the 2009 European Championships, Joubert scored a new personal best to take the lead after the short program, and finished second in the long program. His total score was high enough to win his third European title. At the 2009 World Championships, he led after the short program, but had problems on some of his jumps in the long program and finished third overall. He then made a coaching change prior to the season ending event, the inaugural World Team Trophy, where he finished second in the men's event; Team France finished 4th.

2009–2010 Season

In the 2009-2010 ISU Grand Prix season, Joubert again had a disappointing fourth place finish at the Trophée Eric Bompard, before winning the NHK Trophy for the first time in his career. The combined placements enabled him to qualify for the 2009–2010 Grand Prix Final. However, he sustained a serious foot injury in practice in late November 2009. During a triple lutz attempt, his left blade sliced his right foot and cut to the bone – a similar injury to the one he had suffered in February 2007, but more serious than the previous time. Surgery was required to repair tendon and ligament damage, and Joubert consequently withdrew from the Grand Prix Final and from the French Championships in December. He was unable to resume normal training for several weeks. Joubert returned in time for the 2010 European championships, where he set a new personal best score for the short program but faltered in the free skate, finishing third overall.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Joubert, considered by many to be a gold medal contender, skated poorly in the short program and wound up in 16th place at the end of the competition. "It's another disappointment at the Olympic Games. These Games have beaten me," Joubert told reporters. "I just can't do it at the Olympic Games. Every time it goes badly. I don't understand why. I can't explain why." Forced to undergo a selection test in order to be sent to the World Championships, Joubert made an impressive recovery at that event. In the short program, he successfully landed a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination and two additional triples, finishing third in that segment of the competition. He then landed two more quadruple toe loops in the free skate but made mistakes on some of his other jumps, finishing fourth in that segment and winning his fifth consecutive medal at Worlds, a bronze. Joubert later said that he was very proud of his performance; he added that he had been unsure whether he would be able to compete again and had achieved his main goal, which was to regain his confidence.

2010–2011 season

Joubert's assigned events for the 2010-2011 ISU Grand Prix season were the 2010 Cup of China and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. He once again began the season with a fourth place finish at his first Grand Prix. Needing a win at the Trophée Eric Bompard to qualify for the Grand Prix final, Joubert had a difficult short program and withdrew prior to the long program because of gastroenteritis. Joubert recovered in time to compete at the French National Championships, and won his seventh national title.

Only seventh after the short program, Joubert was first in the free skate to win the silver medal at the 2011 European Championships, his tenth medal at the competition. This equaled the record set by Ulrich Salchow and later matched by Karl Schäfer for most medals by a singles skater at the Europeans; both Schäfer and Joubert won their medals consecutively. Joubert later said he feels less pressure with Amodio's emergence, "It's good for me; [the media] are no longer focused on just me.".

Joubert injured his left knee during the season, and by the time of the 2011 Worlds, he was receiving injections in an attempt to manage the pain. A mistake on his quad jump, meant to be part of a jump combination, left Joubert in ninth place after the short program. In the free skating, Joubert cut his hand on his skate blade and required medical attention afterward, but skated well nonetheless to finish fourth in that segment, moving up one spot to eighth. Although it was the first time he'd finished off the podium at Worlds since 2005, Joubert stated that he was very happy with his free skate, referring to it as the most emotional of his career. He added that it felt good to finish his season with such a performance.

In a post-season interview, Joubert said that the 2010-11 season had not turned out as he'd hoped, but that he still had a strong record throughout his career. He added that "perhaps I was burned out after so many years. I was also worried about my left knee. I put pressure on my hips more and more to compensate for the pain I was feeling". Following the season, Joubert consulted different specialists about his knee injury and was told he would be unlikely to fully recover his normal strength if he underwent surgery; he therefore decided on a strict diet and specific exercises to restore his musculature balance.

2011–2012 season

Joubert's assignments for the 2011-12 Grand Prix season are the 2011 Cup of China and the 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard. He is also expected to compete at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy. He will continue working with choreographer David Wilson.

Skating technique

Joubert is known for his strong jumping ability. He has landed the quadruple salchow jump in competition and has a consistent quadruple toe loop jump. Since 2001, he has landed more than 100 quadruple jumps in international competitions. At the 2006 Cup of Russia competition, Joubert landed three quadruple jumps in his free skate: two toe loops (one in combination) and a salchow. Joubert has stated in interviews that he considers quadruple jumps to be important for the future of figure skating as a sport.

Joubert is the only European skater who has performed three quadruple jumps in a free program, and as of 2011, the only skater to have done so under the New Judging System. Although the triple lutz is normally consistent for him in practice, he has twice cut his right foot while picking in for the jump.

According to the Japanese TV program "Miracle Body", Joubert's abdominal muscle is very strong, and he does not lose centrifugal force at the time of a turn. His muscular strength of the foot was compared to that of a track-and-field athlete who can run 100m in ten seconds. A sports science physician of the University of Poitiers said Joubert jumps at the best angle possible for quadruple jumps.

Early in his career, Joubert was criticized for the lack of variety in his spins, but he has since worked on his spins with Swiss skater Lucinda Ruh and he is usually able to receive good levels on his spins.

Coaching changes

Joubert has kept his training base in Poitiers throughout his career, in order to remain close to his family. He trained for 15 years with Veronique Guyon, until she resigned from her position in the summer of 2003 to spend more time with her family. Joubert then started training with Laurent Depouilly, and took on Alexei Yagudin as an 'advisor'. Joubert later parted ways with Yagudin because of Yagudin's dislike for Nikolai Morozov, Joubert's choreographer at the time.

Citing a lack of support from his coach, Joubert fired Depouilly and returned to Guyon for a brief period of time. However, Guyon's demands that Joubert stop working with his mother and that she should receive 10% of his prize money from the 2005-06 season caused their relationship to deteriorate, and they parted ways. Joubert switched to Andrei Berenzitsev until he stopped coaching; Joubert then briefly worked with Annick Dumont but they parted ways because she lived in Paris while he did not wish to leave Poitiers. In September 2006, he began working with Jean-Christophe Simond. Joubert left Simond following the 2009 Worlds, citing lack of trust. He returned to Laurent Depouilly in April 2009 and was coached by him until May 2010. He later returned to his first coach, Veronique Guyon.

Public life and endorsements

Joubert received Francois Lafon Prize (Prize for young hope) 2003, the prize of the City of Paris 2007 from the French Academy of Sport. He also won the special prize of French Senate Trophy for Sports 2007.

Joubert is a sponsor for an association for children with Williams syndrome, the assistance pet association Europe and others. He has also taken part in many local events of Poitiers city and Poitou-Charentes region.

Joubert has toured primarily with the French show ''Stars Sur Glace (Stars on Ice)'' during the off-season in France, but has also performed in Monaco, Italy, the United States, Russia, Japan and South Korea.

Joubert has made many guest appearance on TV, including France 2's television gala ''Tenue de Soiree, figure skating world champion special'' (February 2, 2008), ''Tous ensemble'' (the French version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, February 12, 2011) on TF1, the popular adventure game show ''Fort Boyard'' on France 2 in 2004, 2007 and 2008. He has also appeared in advertisements as a spokesperson for the French Olympic committee, his home city of Poitiers, and sponsor Damart, Risport Skate and is also sponsored by the Eric Bompard company, MK, LPG Systems, Rossignol.

Programs

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center |- ! Season ! Short program ! Free skating ! Exhibition |- ! 2011–2012 | | Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven choreography by David Wilson | |- ! 2010–2011 | Malagueña original soundtrack from Once Upon a Time in Mexico by Robert Rodriguezperformed by Brian Setzer choreography by Antonio Najarro | Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven choreography by David Wilson | Sandstorm by Darude

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Aerodynamic by Daft Punk

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Little Love by AaRON

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C'est bientôt la fin from Mozart, l'opéra rock by Various Artists

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I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas

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Rise (Leave me Alone) by Safri Duo |- ! 2009–2010 | Rise (Leave me Alone) by Safri Duo | Ancient Lands by Ronan Hardiman arranged by Maxime Rodriguez | Infinity 2008 by Guru Josh Project

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Le Patineur by Julien Clerc

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Merci by Grégoire

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L'assasymphonie from Mozart, l'opéra rock by Florent Mothe

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Sandstorm by Darude |- ! 2008–2009 | Rise (Leave me Alone) by Safri Duo | The Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack by Randy Edelman, Trevor Jones and Daniel Lanois

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The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack by Don Davis Requiem for a Dream Soundtrack by Clint Mansell | Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright

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Sandstorm by Darude

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Madeleine by Jacques Brel

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I'm yours by Jason Mraz |- ! 2007–2008 | All For You by :fr:Sébastien Damiani | Enter Sandman Nothing Else Matters Creeping Death Unforgiven by Apocalyptica O Verona from Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack by Nellee Hooper, Craig Armstrong and Marius De Vries | Clocks by Coldplay

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Rise (Leave me alone) by Safri Duo

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Le Patineur by Lââm |- ! 2006–2007 | Die Another Day James Bond Soundtrack by David Arnold | Enter Sandman Nothing Else Matters Creeping Death Unforgiven by Apocalyptica O Verona from Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack by Nellee Hooper, Craig Armstrong and Marius De Vries | You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) by Josh Groban

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Rise (Leave me Alone) by Safri Duo

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Tu aurais du me dire by Tina Arena

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Armonia by :fr:Sébastien Damiani

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Elvis Medley

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Love Is All by Roger Glover |- ! 2005–2006 | Die Another Day James Bond Soundtrack by David Arnold | Lord of the Dance by Ronan Hardiman

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Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan from The Matrix Soundtrack by Don Davis | Daft Punk Medley

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Tant qu'on rêve encore from Le Roi Soleil by Various Artists |- ! 2004–2005 | Music Selection from Blue Men Group | 1492: Conquest of Paradise Soundtrack by Vangelis | Lord of the Dance by Ronan Hardiman

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Caruso by Andrea Bocelli |- ! 2003–2004 | Time by Pink Floyd | Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan from The Matrix Soundtrack by Don Davis | J'ai Demande a La Lune by Indochine

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Love's Divine by Seal

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Lettre à Franceby Michel Polnareff

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Ces soireesby Yannick

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On se retrouvera by Francis Lalanne |- ! 2002–2003 | Time by Pink Floyd | The Untouchables Soundtrack by Nelson Riddle and Ennio Morricone | Le Lacs du Conemara by Michel Sardou

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S.O.S. D'un Terrien En Detresse from Starmania (musical) by Daniel Balavoine

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Quelques Cris? by Johnny Hallyday

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Ma Gueule by Johnny Hallyday

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Nos Différences by Eve Angeli |- ! 2001–2002 | The Mexican Hat | The Mission Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone and London Philharmony Orchestra Robot Fight from Dune Soundtrack by Toto | L'aigle noir by Florent Pagny

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The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi |- ! 2000–2001 | | Excalibur Soundtrack by Trevor Jones | |}

Competitive highlights

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Event ! 1999–00 ! 2000–01 ! 2001–02 ! 2002–03 ! 2003–04 ! 2004–05 ! 2005–06 ! 2006–07 ! 2007–08 ! 2008–09 ! 2009–10 ! 2010–11 |- | Winter Olympic Games || || || align="center" | 14th || || || || align="center" | 6th || || || || align="center" |16th || |- | World Championships || || || align="center" | 13th || align="center" | 6th || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" | 6th || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd ||align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" | 8th |- | European Championships || || || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd |- | World Junior Championships || align="center" | 15th || || || || || || || || || || || |- | French Championships || align="center" | 10th || align="center" | 14th || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || || || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st |- | French Junior Championships || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" | 4th || || || || || || || || || || |- | French Masters || || || || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st |- | Grand Prix Final || || || || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || || align="center" | 5th || || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || || align="center" | WD||align="center" |WD || |- | NHK Trophy || || || || || align="center" | 4th || || || || || ||align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st|| |- | Trophée Eric Bompard || || || || align="center" | 5th || align="center" | 4th || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" | WD || align="center" | 4th || align="center" | 4th|| align="center" |WD |- | Cup of China || || || || || align="center" bgcolor="silver" | 2nd || || || || || || || align="center" | 4th |- | Cup of Russia || || || || || || || || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st|||| |- | Skate Canada International || || || || || || || || || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || || || |- | Skate America || || || align="center" | 9th || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || || align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st || align="center" bgcolor="CC9966" | 3rd || || || |||| |- | Junior Grand Prix, France || || align="center" | 4th || || || || || || || || || || |- | Junior Grand Prix, Poland || || align="center" | 4th || || || || || || || || || || |}

WD = Withdrew

References

External links

Official site Site International Discussion Group Former official site (until 2006)

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:People from Poitiers Category:French male single skaters Category:Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Category:Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic figure skaters of France Category:Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics

bg:Бриан Жубер cs:Brian Joubert de:Brian Joubert et:Brian Joubert el:Μπριάν Ζουμπέρ es:Brian Joubert fr:Brian Joubert gl:Brian Joubert ko:브리앙 주베르 it:Brian Joubert lt:Brian Joubert hu:Brian Joubert nl:Brian Joubert ja:ブライアン・ジュベール pl:Brian Joubert pt:Brian Joubert ru:Жубер, Бриан simple:Brian Joubert sk:Brian Joubert sl:Brian Joubert sr:Brajan Žuber fi:Brian Joubert sv:Brian Joubert tr:Brian Joubert uk:Браян Жубер zh:布萊恩·茹貝爾

360px|right|thumb|A reconstructed Viking Age longhouse (28.5 metres long).In ancient Scandinavia and Germanic Europe a mead hall or feasting hall was initially simply a large building with a single room. From the fifth century to early medieval times such a building was the residence of a lord and his retainers. The mead hall was generally the great hall of the king. As such, it was likely to be the safest place in the kingdom.

Etymology

The old name of such halls may have been ''sal/salr'' and thus be present in old place names such as "Uppsala". The idea or concept may have been preserved in the German word ''Festsaal'' or the Dutch word ''feestzaal'' (feasting hall) or the swedish word ''Festsal'' (also feasting hall or ''partying hall''(in modern meaning)).

Archaeology

The remains of a Viking hall complex were uncovered southwest of Lejre, Denmark in 1986–88 by Tom Christensen of the Roskilde Museum. Wood from the foundation was radiocarbon-dated to about AD 880. It was later found that this hall was built over an older hall which was itself dated to 680. In 2004–05, Christensen excavated a third hall located just north of the other two. This hall was built in the mid-6th century, exactly the time period of Beowulf. All three halls were about 50 meters long.

In Gudme, Denmark two similar halls were excavated in 1993. Of the so called "Gudme Kongehal" (King's hall) only the post holes were found. The larger of the two was 47 meters long and 8 meters wide. Gold items found near the site have been dated between 200 and 550. The iron age graveyards of Møllegårdsmarken and Brudager are close by. The halls may have been part of a regional religious and political center serving as royal feasting places with Lundeborg serving as harbor.

A similar large hall has been found next to the church of Gamla Uppsala, Sweden on a clay plateau called Kungsgårdsplatån. This was the feasting hall of the Swedish kings. Together with the religious center (Temple at Uppsala), nearby royal estates (husaby/Uppsala öd), and the royal grave mounds, it was part of the religious and political central region of the Swedish people.

From around AD 500 up until the Christianization of Scandinavia (by the 13th century), these large halls were vital parts of the political center. They were superseded by the Medieval banquet halls of later times.

Other such halls may have been found at Högom (Medelpad) and Borg, Norway on the Lofotens. One excavated here from the Iron Age measured 67 meters long and an even later finding (from the Viking era) measured 83 meters long.

Precursor

The mead hall developed from European longhouses:

The unrelated Neolithic long house was introduced with the first farmers of central and western Europe around 5000 BC. Later longhouses did not come into use until more than a thousand years after the neolithic version ceased to be used.

Germanic cattle-farmer longhouses emerged along the southwestern North Sea coast in the third or fourth century BC and are the predecessors of the German and Dutch ''Fachhallenhaus'' or Low German house.

The possibly related medieval longhouse types of Europe of which some examples have survived are among others:

The Scandinavian or Viking ''Langhus'', with the variants of traditional farm house such as excavated in Vorbasse, a garrison/barracks type for warriors such as found at the Viking ring castles and the sophisticated large banquetting halls such as the mead halls.

The southwest England variants in Dartmoor and Wales

The northwest England type in Cumbria

The Scottish Longhouse, "Black house" or ''taighean dubha''

The French ''longère'' or ''maison longue'' (only considering the types similar to the ones described in Dartmoor or Cumbria, possibly of Norman origin)

Legends and history

There are several accounts of large feasting halls constructed for important feasts when Scandinavian royalty was invited. According to a legend recorded by Snorri Sturluson, in the ''Heimskringla'', the late 9th century Värmlandish chieftain Áki invited both the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair and the Swedish king Eric Eymundsson, but had the Norwegian king stay in the newly constructed and sumptuous one, because he was the youngest one of the kings and the one who had the greatest prospects. The older Swedish king, on the other hand, had to stay in the old feasting hall. The Swedish king was so humiliated that he killed Áki.

The construction of new feasting halls could also be the preparation for treacherous murders of royalty. In the ''Ynglinga saga'' part of the ''Heimskringla'', Snorri relates how, in the 8th century, the legendary Swedish king Ingjald constructed a large feasting hall solely for the purpose of burning all his subordinate petty kings late at night when they were asleep. According to ''Yngvars saga víðförla'', the same ruse was done by the Swedish king Eric the Victorious and the Norwegian ruler Sigurd Jarl, when they murdered Áki, a rebellious Swedish subking, at Gamla Uppsala, in the late 10th century.

Mythology

From at least the tenth century onwards in Norse mythology, there are numerous examples of halls where the dead may arrive. The best known example is Valhalla, the hall where Odin receives half of the dead lost in battle. Freyja, in turn, receives the other half at Sessrúmnir.

The story of Beowulf includes a Mead-Hall called Heorot that was so big and had so much laughter in it that a Monster called Grendel broke into it and killed people to stop the laughter.

In fiction

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Meduseld (meaning mead hall in Old English) was the great ''Golden Hall'' built in Rohan. Meduseld was a large hall with a straw roof, which made it appear as if it were made out of gold when seen from far off. Its walls were richly decorated with tapestries depicting the history and legends of the Rohirrim, and it served as a house for the King and his kin, a meeting hall for the King and his advisors, and a gathering hall. Also, a mead hall is the central location of Beorn's home grounds where he serves mead and food to Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarves and Gandalf in The Hobbit.

References

External links

Pictures of the hall on the Lofotr museum homepage.

A picture of the "Gudmekongens" Hall as it appears today. The text is Danish though.

A list(pdf) of twenty large Iron Age Halls. From the book "The Idea of the Good"(OPIA 15.) by Frands Herschend. 1998. Uppsala: Uppsala University Department of Archaeology & Ancient History; 91-506-1276-X ISSN 1100-6358 .

Category:House types Category:History of the Germanic peoples

it:Sala dell'idromele no:Mjødhall ru:Медовый зал

Birthname	James Richard Perry
Order	47th
Office	Governor of Texas
Lieutenant	Bill Ratliff (2000-03)David Dewhurst (since 2003)
Term start	December 21, 2000
Predecessor	George W. Bush
Order2	39th
Office2	Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Term start2	January 19, 1999
Term end2	December 21, 2000
Governor2	George W. Bush
Predecessor2	Bob Bullock
Successor2	Bill Ratliff
Office3	9th Commissioner of Agriculture of Texas
Governor3	Ann RichardsGeorge W. Bush
Term start3	January 15, 1991
Term end3	January 19, 1999
Predecessor3	Jim Hightower
Successor3	Susan Combs
Office4	Member of the House of Representatives of Texasfrom District 64
Term start4	1985
Term end4	1991
Predecessor4	Joe Hanna
Successor4	John Cook
Birth date	March 04, 1950
Birth place	Paint Creek, Texas
Residence	West Austin, Texas(Temporary residence since 2007, during repairs to the Texas Governor's Mansion)
Spouse	Anita Thigpen
Children	GriffinSydney
Alma mater	Texas A&M University
Party	Republican Party (since 1989)Democratic Party (until 1989)
Profession	Military Officer, Farmer, Politician
Religion	Christian (evangelical)
Signature	Rick Perry signature.svg
Branch	United States Air Force
Serviceyears	1972–1977
Rank	Captain
Website	www.governor.state.tx.us }}

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010. With a tenure in office to date of , Perry is the longest continuously serving current U.S. governor, and the second longest serving current U.S. governor after Terry Branstad of Iowa.

Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 (succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia) and again in 2011. Perry is the longest-serving governor in Texas state history. As a result, he is the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every eligible state office, board, or commission position (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as six of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court).

Perry won the Texas 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election, defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina. In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election, Perry won a third term by defeating former Houston mayor Bill White and Kathie Glass.

On August 13, 2011, Perry announced in South Carolina that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election.

Early life and education

A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born in Paint Creek, about north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when his father took him to the funeral of U.S. Representative Sam Rayburn (D-TX), who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House for a short time at the age of 29 and then later for 17 years as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; his son, Griffin, would later become an Eagle Scout as well. The BSA has honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School in 1968. He then attended Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, was elected senior class social secretary, and was also elected as one of A&M's five yell leaders (a popular Texas A&M tradition analogous to male cheerleaders). Perry graduated in 1972 with a 2.5 GPA, earning a bachelor's degree in animal science.

Perry said that the Corps of Cadets gave him the discipline to complete his animal sciences degree and earn a commission in the Air Force. In a 1989 interview he said that "I was probably a bit of a free spirit, not particularly structured real well for life outside of a military regime, I would have not lasted at Texas Tech or the University of Texas. I would have hit the fraternity scene and lasted about one semester." Perry was a prankster in college: he once placed live chickens in the closet of an upperclassman during Christmas break and used M-80 firecrackers to prank students using the toilet.

In the early 1970s, Perry interned during several summers with the Southwestern Company, as a door-to-door book salesman. "I count my time working for Dortch Oldham [President of the Southwestern Company] as one of the most important formative experiences of my life," Perry said in 2010. "There is nothing that tests your commitment to a goal like getting a few doors closed in your face." He said that "Mr. Oldham taught legions of young people to communicate quickly, clearly and with passion, a lesson that has served me well in my life since then."

Upon graduation, Perry was commissioned in the Air Force, completed pilot training, and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas, and went into business farming cotton with his father.

Personal life

In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two grown children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita Perry attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood development. Anita has also helped develop and host the Texas Conference for Women.

Early political career

Texas Legislature

In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from district 64, which included his home county of Haskell. He served on the House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. He befriended fellow freshman state representative Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds.

Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the 1980s. At one point, ''The Dallas Morning News'' named him one of the ten most effective members of the legislature.

In 1987, Perry voted for a $5.7 billion tax increase proposed by Republican governor Bill Clements. Perry supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries and chaired the Gore campaign in Texas. In 1989, Perry announced that he was switching parties, becoming a Republican.

Agriculture Commissioner

In 1990, as a newly minted Republican, Perry challenged Jim Hightower, the incumbent Democratic Agriculture Commissioner. Hightower had worked on behalf of Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee.

During 1990, Hightower's office was embroiled in a FBI investigation into corruption and bribery. Three aides were convicted in 1993 of using public funds for political fundraising, although Hightower himself was not found to be involved in the wrongdoings. Perry narrowly defeated Hightower in November 1990. In that election, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Clayton Williams, lost to Democrat Ann Richards.

As Agriculture Commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations, and for supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.

In 1993, Perry, while serving as Texas agriculture commissioner, expressed support for the Clinton health care reform proposal, describing it as "most commendable." The health care plan was ultimately unsuccessful due to Republican congressional opposition. In 2005, after being questioned on the issue by a potential opponent in the Republican governor primary, Perry said that he expressed his support only in order to get Clinton to pay more attention to rural health care.

In 1994, Perry was reelected Agriculture Commissioner by a large margin, getting 2,546,287 votes (62 percent) to Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 (36 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received the remaining 85,836 votes (2 percent). Gregory, a chicken farmer from Sulphur Springs, Texas, was on the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority with Perry in the early nineties, as a Republican. He became a Democrat before running against Perry in 1994.

Lieutenant Governor

In 1998, Perry chose not to seek a third term as Agriculture Commissioner, running instead for Lieutenant Governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. During this election, Rick Perry had a notable falling out with his previous top political strategist Karl Rove, which began the much-reported rivalry between the Bush and Perry camps. Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who had relinquished the Comptroller's position after two terms to seek the lieutenant governorship. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).. Perry thus became the state's first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction, taking office on January 19, 1999, until he assumed the governorship on December 21, 2000 following the resignation of then-Governor George W. Bush.

Governor of Texas

Perry assumed the office of Governor late in 2000 when George W. Bush resigned as governor of Texas to prepare for his presidential inauguration. Perry became the first Texas A&M graduate to serve as governor.

Perry is a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association. Perry is currently serving as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association; he previously served as its Chairman in 2008.

Early in his term as governor, Perry convinced the state Legislature to increase health funding by $6 billion. Some of these programs have since faced funding reductions, and Perry has refused to resume funding to previous levels because of the additional financial burden he says it would place on the state, even though Federal Matching Funds for Healthcare above and beyond the amount dedicated by the legislature are available. He also increased school funding prior to the 2002 election and created new scholarship programs, including $300 million for the Texas GRANT Scholarship Program. Perry has advocated an emphasis on accountability, raising expectations, and funding programs that work in order to improve the quality of Texas schools.

Perry's campaigns for lieutenant governor and governor focused on a tough stance on crime. In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates. He has also supported block grants for crime programs.

Perry has also supported tort reform to limit malpractice lawsuits against doctors, and as lieutenant governor he had tried and failed to limit class action awards and allowing plaintiffs to allocate liability awards among several defendants. In 2003, Perry sponsored a controversial state constitutional amendment to cap medical malpractice awards, which was narrowly approved by voters. According to a tort reform advocate, this legislation has resulted in a 21.3 percent decrease in malpractice insurance rates. According to the Texas Medical Board, there has also been a significant increase in the number of doctors seeking to practice in the state.

Perry has drawn attention for his criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the recession, and for turning down approximately $555 million in stimulus money for unemployment insurance. Perry was lauded by the Texas Public Policy Foundation for this decision and his justification—that the funds and the mandatory changes to state law would have placed an enduring tax burden on employers. In September 2009, Perry declared that Texas was recession-proof: "As a matter of fact ... someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is going to be the state of Texas ... I said, 'We're in one? Paul Burka, senior executive editor of ''Texas Monthly'', criticized Perry's remarks, saying "You cannot be callous and cavalier when people are losing their jobs and their homes."

The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported on August 16, 2011, that Perry received $37 million over 10 years from just 150 donors, which adds up to over a third of the $102 million he had raised as governor through December 2010, according to the group Texans for Public Justice. Almost half of those donors received big contracts, tax breaks or appointments during Perry's tenure.

Elections

2002

Perry won the office in his own right in the 2002 gubernatorial election when he defeated Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, polling 2,632,591 votes (57.80 percent) to Sanchez's 1,819,798 (39.96 percent). Four minor party candidates shared 2.21 percent of the vote.

2006

The 2006 gubernatorial election proved to be a stiffer challenge for Perry than his 2002 campaign. Though he easily defeated token opposition in the primary election, Perry faced three major opponents: former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell, as well as two major independent candidates – outgoing Republican state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn ) and well-known Texas country music singer Kinky Friedman. Perry won the race in a plurality, polling 1,714,618 votes (39 percent) to Bell's 1,309,774 (29.8 percent), Strayhorn's 789,432 (18 percent), Friedman's 553,327 (12.6 percent), with a Libertarian candidate and a write-in independent garnering another 27,444 votes (0.6 percent). Perry became only the third governor in state history to have been elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast (the 1853 and 1861 races also featured plurality winners carrying under 40 percent).

Late in the 2006 campaign, the Republican Governors Association received one million dollars from Houston businessman Bob Perry (no relation), and the association thereafter contributed the same amount to Rick Perry. Bell brought suit, contending that the Bob Perry donations had been improperly channeled through the association to conceal their source. In 2010, the Rick Perry campaign paid Bell $426,000 to settle the suit.

2010

In April 2008, Perry announced his intent to run for re-election. Perry defeated Senator Hutchison and Debra Medina in the March 2, 2010, primary election, becoming the Republican nominee. He faced Democratic nominee William Howard "Bill" White, the former mayor of Houston. During the general election campaign, Perry refused to debate White until White released his tax returns from 1995, his last year as deputy energy secretary in the Clinton administration. White released his tax returns for his six years as mayor of Houston. According to his spokesperson, White had taxes withheld from his $133,000 salary in 1995, the amount of which was offset by losses in the starting of an energy business.

On November 2, 2010, Perry handily won re-election to an unprecedented third four-year term in the general election. He carried 226 out of 254 counties and polled 2,733,784 votes (54.97 percent) to White's 2,102,606 votes (42.28 percent). Perry made history by becoming the first Texas governor to be elected to three four-year terms and the fourth to serve three terms since Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally; his third term began on January 18, 2011.

Economy

Since the beginning of his presidential campaign, Perry has made what he calls the economic success of Texas the centerpiece of his campaign. According to Perry and his supporters, the state economy has improved as a result of his policy, including the lack of an income tax and predictable regulation. Others, meanwhile, have questioned whether the Texan economy is truly as successful as Perry claims.

As of August 2011, Texas has an 8.2% unemployment rate. In comparison, the national unemployment rate was 9.1% in August 2011. 25 states have a lower unemployment rate than Texas, and 25 states (including the District of Columbia) have a higher unemployment rate, meaning that Texas has median unemployment among U.S. states. Between June 2009 and August 2011, 237,000 jobs were created in Texas.

According to a March 28 2011 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9.54% of hourly-paid workers in Texas are paid at or below minimum wage. In comparison, the national percentage is 6.0%. Among the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Texas has the highest percentage of workers paid at or below minimum wage; the state with the second-highest percentage is Mississippi, with 9.50%.

As of 2011, 26% of the Texan population does not have health insurance. In comparison, the statistic among the entire U.S. is 17%.

Paul Krugman, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, attributed Texas' job growth to its growing population, which he said decreased wages and attracted businesses to the state. According to Krugman, the high population growth in the state was due to a high birth rate, immigration from Mexico, and internal migration of other Americans, due to the warm weather and low cost of living - especially the low housing prices from less restrictive zoning policies, which he described as the "one area where Texas does in fact do something right."

Perry's defenders responded by stating that the median hourly wage is 93% of the national average, and wages have increased at 3.4% in 2010

Several of the business leaders who moved to Texas have ascribed their decision partly to business-friendly policies (including the lack of income tax, low regulation, anti-union laws, and financial incentives), and partly to the convenient Texas geography in the middle of the country with transportation hubs, a large bilingual population, mild winters and abundant space.

Fiscal policy

Perry, a proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, has often campaigned on tax reform and job growth. Perry opposed creating a Texas state income tax and increasing sales tax rates, choosing instead to increase user fees and debt, adding $2 billion for road bonds, borrowing from the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund and adding surcharges to various traffic offenses, protected the state's "Rainy Day fund", balanced the state budget as required by state law, and was reelected on a platform to reduce property taxes that rose with the inflation of property values in the late 1990s and the 21st century.

Tax policy

In 2002, although his Democratic opponent pledged to never raise taxes, Perry refused to make such a promise. In 2009, however, Perry signed Grover Norquist's pledge to "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes".

In early 2006, Perry signed legislation that delivered a $15.7 billion reduction in property taxes while raising other taxes such as a state franchise tax. The tax was condemned as a "back door" state income tax by many organizations. Perry claimed that the bill would save the average taxpayer $2,000 in property taxes. Critics contended that Perry inflated these numbers; the actual tax savings, some sources said, would average only $150 per family in the first year, and $1,350 over a three-year period.

In 2004, Perry proposed a number of tax increases to pay for public schools, including a tax on strip clubs. The "pole tax" idea went nowhere until 2007, when the Legislature approved a $5 per patron fee. The measure subsequently became tied up in litigation as the adult entertainment industry sued citing performers' First Amendment rights.

Industrial policy

In 2003, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund to enhance the development of the Texas economy. In 2004, he authorized the fund to grant $20 million to Countrywide Financial in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." Critics argue those jobs would have been created with or without tax payer money. The grant (all of which are approved by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House) is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide assured Perry's office that the company "believed" it would meet its 2010 commitment only to be acquired in a fire sale two months later by Bank of America. Thanks to the "claw-back" provisions in the program, grantees return funds to the state for jobs not created.

The Texas Enterprise Fund has given $435 million in grants to businesses since 2003. The Texas Emerging Technology Fund has given nearly $200 million to businesses since 2005. The New York Times reported that more than a quarter of the companies that have received grants from the enterprise fund in the most recent fiscal year, or their chief executives, made contributions to either Mr. Perry’s campaign dating back to 2001 or to the Republican Governors Association since 2008. For example, John McHale, Austin, Texas, gave millions of dollars to Democratic candidates and causes, but 2 years ago wrote a $50,000 check to Perry, then seeking a third term as governor, and in September 2010, wrote another $50,000 check. In May 2010 an economic development fund administered by the governor’s office gave $3 million to G-Con, a pharmaceutical start-up that Mr. McHale helped start. At least two other executives with connections to G-Con had also given Mr. Perry tens of thousands of dollars.

Perry has appointed at least four top donors or fund-raisers to the board of the Teacher Retirement System, a $110 billion pension fund. Perry’s trustees encouraged the fund to invest more money with hedge funds and private equity firms whose investors, officers, or partners were Perry donors.

Staff expenses

In June 2010, Perry went on a 12-day trade mission to East Asia. The security detail for the trip cost $129,000 in state money. The Texas Government attempted to block the media's scrutiny of the use of the funds as they contained information that could compromise the future security of the state's senior executive. A member of White's gubernatorial campaign stated that Perry should, "stop hiding the facts on fiscal issues like what he's charging taxpayers for travel". Perry's campaign countered that the trip led to greater exposure for Texas business opportunities in Asia. In all, Perry made 23 foreign trips from 2004 to 2010, including a vacation on Grand Cayman and an education policy retreat in The Bahamas. The state paid only 1% of the travel expenses for these excursions, but security details for all trips combined cost over $1 million in state money. Perry's chief of staff remarked that the trips were "good business sense" as they enhanced the profile of Texan goods and services in foreign markets. White's campaign, however, accused Perry of staging the trips for self-promotion.

Social policy

Perry is pro-life and opposes government funding for elective abortions. In 2003, Perry signed the Prenatal Protection Act, which explicitly included fetuses in its definition of human life.

In 2005, Perry, a social conservative, signed a bill that limited late-term abortions and required girls under the age of 18 who procure abortions to notify their parents. Perry signed the bill in the gymnasium of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, an evangelical Christian school. In 2005, Gov. Perry signed a parental consent bill into law. Perry has signed legislation prohibiting abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy, and has also signed into law a bill that required abortion providers to offer informational brochures to women considering abortion.

In May 2011, Perry signed a "Mandatory Ultrasound Bill" which stipulates that, prior to every abortion, the abortion practitioner or a certified sonographer must perform a sonogram before any sedative or anesthesia is administered. Before every abortion, the abortion practitioner must give an explanation of the sonogram images of the unborn child. The woman has the right to waive the explanation only in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality, and judicial bypass for a minor. The abortion practitioner must also allow the woman to see the sonogram images of the unborn child and hear the heartbeat along with a verbal explanation of the heartbeat before an abortion can be administered. Critics stated that the law was "government intrusion", pointing out that in the first trimester, only transvaginal sonograms (in which a probe is inserted up the woman's vagina) can be performed, and stated that such a procedure would be inappropriate for victims of incest or rape, which the law does not exempt.

Also in 2011, Perry signed a bill that prohibited taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, along with a bill that created a “Choose Life” license plate to promote infant adoption in Texas.

Christian religious beliefs

Perry grew up in the Methodist church, and he and his family had been members of Tarrytown United Methodist Church since the 1990s, the same church that President George W. Bush attended in Austin. In 2010, Perry began attending Lake Hills Church in Austin. Perry's former deputy director of communications and principal speechwriter of four years, Andrew Barlow, was pastor of creative development at Lake Hills Church for seven years. Lake Hills was originally named Lake Hills Baptist Church, but pastor Mack Richard dropped "Baptist" from the name in 1999 to remove what he regarded as a barrier to people of other denominations. Perry says that as governor he regularly attends numerous churches to speak. As for why he ultimately chooses to go to one place and not another, he said he administers a simple test: "If I remember on Wednesday what the message was on Sunday, it was a good message."

In May 2011, at a meeting in East Texas with business leaders, Perry stated that at age 27, he felt "called to the ministry".

On June 6, 2011, Perry proclaimed Saturday, August 6, as a Day of Prayer and Fasting. He invited governors across the country to join him on that day to participate in The Response, which was presented as a non-denominational, apolitical, Christian prayer meeting hosted by the American Family Association at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Perry also urged fellow governors to issue similar proclamations encouraging their constituents to pray that day for "unity and righteousness". Major roles in The Response were played by members of the New Apostolic Reformation, a religious movement that also engages in political activism. The event was criticized as going beyond prayer and fasting to include launching Perry's presidential campaign.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Perry attended a student assembly at a public middle school in East Texas. During the assembly, a Baptist minister offered a prayer, concluding with the words "in Jesus' name." Perry, like many of the students standing in bleachers, responded with "Amen." Perry said he had no problem ignoring the Supreme Court's 1962 ruling that barred organized prayer in public schools.

In his first book, ''On My Honor'', published in February 2008, Perry expressed his views on the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. "Let's be clear: I don't believe government, which taxes people regardless of their faith, should espouse a specific faith. I also don't think we should allow a small minority of atheists to sanitize our civil dialogue on religious references." In August 2011, at a Houston prayer and fasting event, Perry noted "God is wise enough not to be affiliated with any political party."

Intelligent design

Perry has called himself "a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect", and has expressed support for its teaching alongside evolution in Texas schools but also that "educators and local school officials, not the governor, should determine science curriculum." When asked about evolution, Perry responded: "Well, God is how we got here. God may have done it in the blink of the eye or he may have done it over this long period of time, I don't know. But I know how it got started."

In August 2011, Perry stated that Texas taught both creationism and evolution in public schools. PolitiFact.com researched the issue and labeled the statement as false, saying: "No doubt, some Texas teachers address the subject of creationism. But it's not state law or policy to intermix instruction on creationism and evolution." Politifact.com also received a clarification from Perry's spokesperson stating: "It is required that students evaluate and analyze the theory of evolution, and creationism very likely comes up and is discussed in that process. Teachers are also permitted to discuss it with students in that context." In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion. It also held that "teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind to school children might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction."

HPV vaccine controversy

On February 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls receive HPV vaccine that protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus, a contributing factor to some forms of cervical cancer. The order provided vaccination free of charge to those who were not covered by insurance, and included an opt-out provision for parents. At the time of the order, Gardasil, a newly approved drug manufactured by Merck, was the only HPV vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The move made national headlines, and apparent financial connections between Merck and Perry were reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution and Merck's hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobbying work and Perry's "current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi [as] state director for Women in Government".

Perry's decision was criticized by some social conservatives and parents due to concerns about possible moral implications of the vaccine and safety concerns. On February 22, 2007, a group of families sued in an attempt to block Perry's executive order.

In May 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a bill to undo Perry's executive order. Perry did not veto it, saying the Legislature would have sufficient time and votes to override his veto.

Gun ownership

Perry has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association. He possesses a Concealed Handgun License (CHL), and in 2005, he signed a number of bills that, among other things, reduced CHL fees for military veterans and senior citizens, reduced the CHL age requirement from 21 to 18 for members of the military, exempted military veterans from taking the range portion of the CHL licensing process (if they had been weapons certified in the military within the past five years), and extended the renewal period for a CHL from four to five years. In 2007, Perry signed castle doctrine legislation, enhancing a person's legal right to use deadly force in self defense against an intruder within one's place of residence.

In 2011, Perry criticized the U.S. Department of Justice's creation of a reporting requirement for purchases of semi-automatic rifles within the four states bordering Mexico, saying "...the Obama administration should target actual criminals rather than law-abiding citizens and immediately secure our southern border against the northbound and southbound illegal smuggling of drugs, humans, cash, guns, fugitives and stolen vehicles."

Vetoes

Perry set a record in the 2001 legislative session for the use of the veto: he rejected legislation a total of 82 times, more than any other governor in any single legislative session in the history of the state since Reconstruction. Perry's use of the veto drew criticism from some in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, having used the veto only nine fewer times than preceding Governor George W. Bush had during three legislative sessions and 22 times more than Ann Richards cast in two sessions. In the two legislative sessions following the 2001 session, Perry was more conservative in his use of the veto, employing it 51 times. As of 2011, he had used the veto 273 times, more than any other Texas governor.

Trans-Texas Corridor

In January 2001, Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would build multi-lane highways, rail lines and data lines from Oklahoma to Mexico, and from east to west in southern Texas. Instead of paying for the project with taxes, Perry proposed that it be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors who, in exchange for a multi-billion dollar investment, would receive all toll proceeds, notably Cintra, a Spanish-owned company, and its minority partner, San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation, one of Texas' largest road construction companies. Some of the more controversial aspects of the project include tolls, private operation of toll collections (at rates set by local municipalities), and extensive use of eminent domain (or the option for landowners to maintain a lucrative equity stake in the project) to acquire property.

Opponents portrayed the proposal as a "land grab", and criticized Perry for opposing the public release of the actual terms of the 50-year deal with Cintra to the public for fear they would chill the possibility of the company's investment; Perry's former liaison to the legislature, former State Senator Dan Shelly, returned to his consulting/lobbying work with Cintra after securing the TTC deal while on the state payroll. All of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project, as did the 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republicans parties. After much contentious debate between supporters and opponents, an official decision of "no action" was issued by the Federal Highway Administration on July 20, 2010, formally ending the project.

In 2001, Perry appointed Ric Williamson of Weatherford, an old friend and former legislative colleague, to the Texas Transportation Commission. Williamson became the commission chairman in 2004 and worked for the improvement of the state's transportation infrastructure until his sudden death of a heart attack on December 30, 2007.

Death penalty

Perry supports the death penalty. On June 2, 2009, Texas carried out the 200th execution since Perry assumed the office of governor. As of August 10, 2011, Texas has carried out 234 executions since Rick Perry became governor.

Under the Texas Constitution, the governor is not permitted to grant pardon, parole, or to commute a death penalty sentence to life imprisonment on his own initiative (the Constitution was changed in 1936 due to concerns that pardons were being sold for cash under the administrations of former Governor James E. Ferguson and later his wife and Texas' first female Governor Miriam A. Ferguson). Instead, all requests for pardon, parole, and commutation are channelled through the Board of Pardons and Paroles who then reviews each application and makes a recommendation to the governor. Although the Governor can accept or reject a positive recommendation of commutation or pardon from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, he has no power to override a negative recommendation. The only unilateral action which the Governor can take is to grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve to the defendant.

Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham

Cameron Todd Willingham was a Texas man whose three young children died in a 1991 fire at the family home in Corsicana, Texas. Willingham, accused of having set the fire, was convicted of murder and was executed in 2004. Shortly before the execution and after several years of unsuccessful appeals, an arson expert, Gerald Hurst, filed a report advising the 7-member Board of Pardons and Paroles that the investigation of the case had not been based on good science and that there was no proof of arson, but the Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency to the governor. Perry did not use his authority to grant a one-time, 30 day reprieve to Willingham. Willingham's case gained renewed attention in 2009 after ''The New Yorker'' published a story that drew upon the investigations of Hurst and anti-death penalty advocate Elizabeth Gilbert.

In 2005, Texas established a nine-member Texas Forensic Science Commission (TFSC). As part of the Commission's inquiry into the Willingham case, another fire scientist wrote a report that agreed with Gerald Hurst that the charge of arson could not be sustained given the available evidence. Two days before the Commission was to hold a hearing on this report, Perry replaced three of members of the TFSC. Perry's newly appointed Chairman promptly canceled the hearing. Perry denied that the dismissals were related to the case, noting that the terms of the replaced persons were expiring.

In July 2011, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled that the commission did not have jurisdiction to investigate evidence in cases that occurred before the panel was created in 2005, thus implying that a Commission conclusion regarding the forensic science used in the Willingham case would not be forthcoming.

Execution of Mexican nationals

Two Mexican nationals have been executed under the Perry administration – José Medellín in 2008 for the 1993 murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña, and Humberto Leal Garcia in 2011 for the 1994 rape, torture, and murder of Adria Sauceda. At the time of their arrests in the early 1990s, neither had been informed that as Mexican nationals they have the right to inform the Mexican Consulate of the charges and ask for legal assistance. A 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the U.S. had violated the rights of 51 Mexican nationals, including Medellin and Garcia, under the terms of a treaty the U.S. had signed. In response to the ruling, the Bush administration issued an instruction that states comply, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he had exceeded his authority. The Supreme Court also ruled in ''Medellin v. Texas'' that the treaty was not binding on states until Congress enacted statutes to implement it, and in ''Leal Garcia v. Texas'' declined to place a stay on the executions in order to allow Congress additional time to enact such a statute. A 2008 ruling by the International Court of Justice asked the United States to place a stay on the executions, but Texas officials stated that they were not bound by international law.

Garcia supporters complained about the use of controversial techniques such as bite mark analysis and luminol in determining his guilt. Garcia however, confessed responsibility for his crimes, and apologized before his execution.

Regarding the Garcia execution, Perry stated that "If you commit the most heinous of crimes in Texas, you can expect to face the ultimate penalty under our laws."

Pardons and commutations

In 2005, Frances Newton's appeal for a commutation of her death penalty was declined. Her attorney had argued Newton was incapable of standing trial. The Board of Pardon and Parole did not recommend a commutation, and Perry did not grant the one-time reprieve. Newton was executed on September 14, 2005.

In 1990, Tyrone Brown was sentenced to life in a Texas maximum security prison for smoking marijuana while on probation. Texas Judge Keith Dean had originally placed Brown on probation, but changed the sentence after Brown tested positive for marijuana. After being defeated in the last Dallas election, Dean requested the governor pardon Brown. On March 9, 2007, Perry granted Brown a conditional pardon after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

On August 30, 2007, Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, an accomplice in a 1996 murder, doing so three hours before Foster was to die by lethal injection. Evidence had shown that while Foster was present at the scene of the crime (transporting the individual who actually committed the crime away from the scene in his car), he had nothing to do with the actual commission of the murder, and may not have even been aware that it had been taking place, as he was outside in his car at the time. The Board of Pardon and Parole recommended commutation, and Perry accepted the recommendation, converting the sentence to life in prison with a possibility of parole in 2037.

Education

As lieutenant governor, Perry initially sponsored a controversial school voucher bill as an alternative to the "Robin Hood" school finance proposal. In 2004, Perry attacked the same "Robin Hood" plan as detrimental to the educational system and attempted to get the legislature to replace it with one that he said would encourage greater equity, cost less, hold down property and sales taxes, and foster job growth. Perry supported the legalization of video lottery terminals at racetracks and on Indian reservations as well as increases in cigarette taxes.

A special session of the legislature was convened on June 21, 2005, to address education issues, but resistance developed from House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Republican from Midland. Perry's proposal was attacked by members from property-poor districts and was rejected. During the session, Perry became involved in a heated debate with Comptroller Carole Strayhorn about the merits of his school finance proposal. Strayhorn initially planned to oppose Perry in the 2006 Republican primary, but she instead ran as an independent in the general election. Another special session was convened on July 21, 2005, after Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007–2008 biennium. He vowed not to "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."

Perry's campaign office in 2006 declared that without the special session, some "$2 billion that had been intended for teacher pay raises, education reforms, and other school priorities would have gone unused because House Bill 2 [the public school reform package] didn’t pass." The bill failed to pass in the first session, and was refiled in a second session, in which the bill was defeated 62-79, after 50 amendments were added without discussion or debate.

Late in 2005, to maximize the impact of a bipartisan education plan, Perry asked his former rival in the race for lieutenant governor, John Sharp—a former Texas State Comptroller and a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives—to head an education task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan. Sharp accepted Perry's offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006. The task force issued its final plan several months later, and the legislature adopted it. For his successful efforts, Sharp was later nominated by ''The Dallas Morning News'' for the "Texan of the Year" award.

In 2007, Perry vetoed government provided health insurance for community college faculty due to revelations that schools had been using state funds to pay benefits for non-state employees. Funding for state-employed school personnel was restored in a joint agreement and funding re-allocation later that same year.

In June 2011, Perry signed into law Senate Bill 1736, which establishes the "College Credit for Heroes" program. The new law is intended to help veterans get college credit for military training.

As of 2011, Texas still ranks at the bottom of many educational indicators. Texas has the fewest percentage of adults with high school diplomas, compared to the other U.S. states. Texas is also ranked low in high school graduation rate, though the exact ranking depends on how the statistic is defined. . Texas is 49th in verbal SAT scores in the nation and 46th in average math SAT scores. Texas Democrats, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and other detractors of Perry have criticized him regarding Texas schools' performance and class size. Pay increases for Texas's teachers have not kept up with the national average.

Inauguration concert controversy

Perry invited his friend, rock musician Ted Nugent, to perform at a black-tie gala hours after Perry's second inauguration ceremony on January 16, 2007. Nugent appeared onstage during the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting derogatory remarks about non-English speakers, according to press reports. The NAACP condemned Nugent's wearing the Confederate flag. Perry's spokesman, Robert Black, downplayed the Tuesday-night incident. "Ted Nugent is a good friend of the governor's. He (Perry) asked him (Nugent) if he would play at the inaugural. He didn't put any stipulation of what he would play."

Redistricting

In 2003, Perry called three consecutive special legislative sessions to procure a congressional redistricting plan he said would be more reflective of the state's population. The plan finally adopted—supported by then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land—brought about a five-seat Republican gain in the delegation. In 2006, however, the five-seat edge was reduced to three seats. Thereafter, Republicans gained one seat in 2008 and an additional three seats in the 2010 election; they now hold a 23-9 majority.

Texas and states' rights

In April 2009, Perry endorsed a resolution in support of states' rights under Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, reaffirming that power that is not delegated to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States. In his speech, Perry stated "A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government. ". On April 9, 2009, Perry said, "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our State. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the States' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our State from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union." Similar legislation has been passed by other states.

After a Tea Party rally held on April 15, 2009, Perry told a group of reporters:

Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that... My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that.

Perry’s statement was widely interpreted as raising the possibility of the secession of Texas from the union, and was criticized on that basis. A spokesperson for Perry said that Perry "never advocated seceding". Perry's statement that Texas, in joining the union, had reserved the right to leave was also widely disputed.

Immigration

In 2001, Perry expressed his pride in the enactment of the statute extending in-state tuition to children of undocumented workers. He said:

We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, “we don’t care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.” And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate.

Perry has opposed the creation of the Mexico – United States barrier, which is meant to keep out illegal aliens. Instead of barricading the border completely with a fence, Perry believes that the federal government should fulfill its responsibility to its citizens by securing the borders with "boots on the ground" and technology to improve safety while not harming trade with the state's biggest trading partner, Mexico. Perry said the Arizona immigration law SB 1070 “would not be the right direction for Texas” and would distract law enforcement from fighting other crimes.

Response to 2011 drought and wildfires

On April 21, 2011, Perry proclaimed a three-day period, from April 22 to April 24, as "Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas" in response to the wildfires then covering much of the state.

By late July, 75% of the state was experiencing exceptional drought conditions, as opposed to 10-20% in April.

Presidential campaign

Until 2011, Perry persistently denied aspirations to higher office; he was originally included on the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his own request. In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's ''Kudlow & Company'', he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as governor of Texas. Further, during a Republican gubernatorial debate in January 2010, when asked if he would commit to serving out his term if re-elected, he replied that "the place hasn't been made yet" where he would rather serve than the governor of Texas. In December 2010, when asked if he was a "definite maybe" to run for President in 2012, he replied, "a definite no, brother".

On May 27, 2011, he said he is "going to think about" running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination after the close of the Texas legislative session. Perry said in a response to a question from a reporter, "but I think about a lot of things," he added with a grin.

On August 11, a Perry spokesman said that he will be running for President in 2012, with plans to announce his formal entry into the race the next day, August 12. Perry himself confirmed it on a visit to KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin. As the Associated Press bulletin announcing his entry into the race came across the wire, Perry signed and dated a printed copy of the bulletin.

On August 13, Perry officially announced that he will be running for president.

Political views

Constitutional issues

Some of Perry's views are in opposition to Constitutional amendments already adopted. In his 2010 book ''Fed Up!'', he takes issue with the Federal government's right to collect income tax, saying "if you want to know when Washington really got off the track, the 16th Amendment, giving them the opportunity to take your money with a personal income tax." He also criticizes the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of U.S. Senators. According to Perry, the 16th and 17th Amendments caused states to "[hand] over significant chunks of their sovereignty and wealth to the federal government. Congress was free to tax and spend to its heart's content."

Perry has expressed support for amending the Constitution to set a nationwide policy on social issues, by prohibiting abortion and same-sex marriage. He also supports abolishing life tenure for judges, empowering Congress to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a two-thirds vote, requirement of a balanced budget, and placing a limit on federal expenditures.

Criticism of Federal Reserve

On August 16, 2011, Perry sharply criticized the Federal Reserve, stating that it would be "almost treacherous – or treasonous in my opinion" to be "printing money to play politics". Many prominent Republicans criticized Perry for his statements. For instance, Tony Fratto, a Republican who had worked in the Treasury and White House under the Bush administration, described Perry's remarks as "inappropriate and unpresidential". Perry also suggested that if Chairman Ben Bernanke visited Texas, "we would treat him pretty ugly", a remark criticized by the White House as threatening.

Same-sex marriage

Perry opposes the legal recognition of same-sex marriages, and supported the 2005 ballot proposition which amended the Texas constitution by defining marriage as "only a union between a man and a woman" and prohibiting the state from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage". In 2011, after New York legalized same-sex marriage, Perry stated that it was their right to do so under the principle of state's rights delineated in the 10th Amendment. A spokesman later reiterated Perry's support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, saying that position was not inconsistent since an amendment would require approval by three-fourths of the states.

In his first book, ''On My Honor'', published in 2008, Perry drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism regarding a choice to engage in the lifestyle, and writing that he is “no expert on the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate,” but that gays should simply choose abstinence. In 2002, Perry had described the Texas same-sex anti-sodomy law as "appropriate". The United States Supreme Court decision in ''Lawrence v. Texas'' struck down the law the following year.

Israel

While visiting Israel in August 2009, Perry gave an interview to the ''Jerusalem Post'' in which he affirmed his support for Israel from his religious background, "I'm a big believer that this country was given to the people of Israel a long time ago, by God, and that's ordained."

Environmental issues

Perry has been a skeptic on human contributions to climate change. In Perry's book, ''Fed Up!'', he called climate science a "contrived phony mess" and later stated that he thinks there are "a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling in to their projects". Perry has said that "Virtually every day another scientist leaves the global warming bandwagon. ... But you won't read about that in the press because they have already invested in one side of the story." Perry's views have been criticized, with fact-checkers stating that surveys showed that more that 97% of climate scientists believed that global warming is anthropogenic and arguing that the ranks of dissenters don’t appear to be swelling.

Texas-based TXU had been planning a $10 billion investment in 11 new coal-fired power plants over the next several years, but drastically reduced those plans in 2007 under the terms of a buyout by a consortium of private equity firms. The Governor's Clean Coal Technology Council continues to explore ways to generate clean energy with coal. After the 2009 legislative session, Perry signed House Bill 469 which includes incentives for clean coal technology breakthroughs.

Perry opposes regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he says it would have "devastating implications" for the Texas economy and energy industry. He has stated that he supports an "all of the above" energy strategy including oil, coal, nuclear, biofuels, hydroelectric, solar, and wind energy. Perry has collaborated with T. Boone Pickens, who has advocated reduced use of oil, primarily through replacing it with natural gas.

Entitlements

In Perry's book, ''Fed Up!'', published in the fall of 2010, he said that Social Security was "a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal.” He likened the program to "an illegal Ponzi scheme" and also suggested that it was unconstitutional, having been enacted "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government." During the promotion of the book he said that the Federal government should leave health care to the states and focus on putting Social Security on "better and more solid footing".

In 2011, after he announced his candidacy for the presidency, a spokesman for Perry said that the book was written “as a review and critique of 50 years of federal excesses, not in any way as a 2012 campaign blueprint or manifesto”. However, shortly after, Perry stated in a campaign appearance that he still believed the views in his book, and that he "[hadn't] backed off anything in [his] book." Perry has continued to sharply criticize Social Security, describing it as a "monstrous lie" and a "Ponzi Scheme".

Defense

Perry has said that under President Bush's defense secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon vastly underestimated China's defense modernization.

2008 presidential endorsements

In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President... I'm not talking about any mayor, I'm talking about America's Mayor," Perry said. Some conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new president's cabinet, or perhaps the vice presidency. However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008, after failing to gain support in early primaries.

Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President. Shortly after Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the race in early February, Perry reportedly called McCain rival Mike Huckabee and suggested that he withdraw as well to clear the way for McCain to secure the nomination. Huckabee declined this request and made it clear publicly that he would abandon his presidential bid only if McCain secured enough delegates. Huckabee withdrew his presidential bid on March 5, 2008, after John McCain won the Texas and Ohio primaries.

Publications

Rick Perry has written two books: ''On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For'' was published in February 2008. In his book, Perry celebrates the positive impact of the organization on the youth of America and criticizes the ACLU for its legal actions against the Boy Scouts of America. His second book, ''Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington'' was published in November 2010. Perry's second book discusses his support for limited central government.

Perry has also written a lecture about the role of the federal government and the military in disaster management titled ''Federalizing Disaster Response''.

Electoral history

References

External links

Governor Rick Perry ''official state site''

Rick Perry for President ''official presidential campaign site''

Meet Rick Perry ''opposition site by the Texas Democratic Party''

;2012 Presidential campaign related links

;National and International media coverage

Rick Perry category at ''CNN

Rick Perry page at ''Fox News''

Rick Perry category at ''The New York Times''

Rick Perry section at ''The Wall Street Journal''

Rick Perry index at ''The Economist

Rick Perry collection at '' The (London) Guardian

Rick Perry directory at ''The Open Directory Project''

Our Guide to the Best Coverage on Gov. Rick Perry and His Record at ProPublica

;Local media coverage

The Perry Trap at ''The Austin Chronicle''

Perry Watch at ''The Dallas Morning News''

Rick Perry 2012 at the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''

Rick Perry at the ''Houston Chronicle''

The Perry Trove at the ''Texas Monthly''

The Perry Trail at ''The Texas Observer''

Rick Perry at ''The Texas Tribune''

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