Our National Government

iCivcs -- learn more about our government

2011-12-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

This is a wonderful web site to teach civics. This subject has become less popular in our national educational curriculum and I believe this lack of knowledge on how our government works has been responsible for disastrous voting and candidate selection in national and regional elections. Public policy is critical to our future.

I recommend iCivics.org

United States Constitution

2011-11-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is a fine article discussing the Constitution and the structure of the US.

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.

The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the three branches of the national government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court. They also specify the powers and duties of each branch. All powers not enumerated are reserved to the respective states and the people, thereby establishing the federal system of government.
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BILL OF RIGHTS

2011-11-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

First Amendment [Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition (1791)] (see annotations)
Second Amendment [Right to Bear Arms (1791)] (see annotations)
Third Amendment [Quartering of Troops (1791)] (see annotations)
Fourth Amendment [Search and Seizure (1791)] (see annotations)
Fifth Amendment [Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process (1791)] (see annotations)
Sixth Amendment [Criminal Prosecutions - Jury Trial, Right to Confront and to Counsel (1791)] (see annotations)
Seventh Amendment [Common Law Suits - Jury Trial (1791)] (see annotations)
Eighth Amendment [Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1791)] (seeannotations)
Ninth Amendment [Non-Enumerated Rights (1791)] (see annotations)
Tenth Amendment [Rights Reserved to States (1791)] (see annotations)

AMENDMENT I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

AMENDMENT II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

AMENDMENT III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

AMENDMENT IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

AMENDMENT V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

AMENDMENT VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

AMENDMENT VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

AMENDMENT VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

AMENDMENT IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

AMENDMENT X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
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Federal government of the United States

2010-07-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

The federal government of the United States is the central United States governmental body, established by the United States Constitution. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers and the system of "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.[1] The policies of the federal government have a broad impact on both the domestic and foreign affairs of the United States. In addition, the powers of the federal government as a whole are limited by the Constitution, which, per the Tenth Amendment, gives all power not directed to the National government, to the State level, or to the people.
Wikipedia

Articles of Confederation

2010-07-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, customarily referred to as the Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the United States of America and legally established the union of the states. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the Articles in June 1776 and sent the draft to the states for ratification in November 1777. The ratification process was completed in March 1781, legally federating the sovereign and independent states, already cooperating through the Continental Congress, into a new confederation styled the "The United States of America". Under the Articles the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the central government.

The Articles were created by the chosen representatives of the states in the Second Continental Congress out of a perceived need to have "a plan of confederacy for securing the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the United States." Although serving a crucial role in the victory in the American Revolutionary War, a group of reformers,[1] known as "federalists", felt that the Articles lacked the necessary provisions for a sufficiently effective government. Fundamentally, a federation was sought to replace the confederation.
Wikipedia

Government 101: What is the Declaration of Independence?

2009-09-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

If the Constitution is the heart and mind of the United States, then the Declaration of Independence is its soul. As such, the Declaration of Independence is the cornerstone of the United States of America. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights simply could not exist without these words declaring the injustices delivered to the Colonies at the hands of England and George III and why separation was desirable, necessary, and completely justifiable.

As relations between Great Britain and the Colonies became strained and a state of war between the two existed despite a formal declaration, support grew within the Colonies for independence.
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Alexander Hamilton, a major influence

2009-07-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Though the Constitution was drafted in a way that was somewhat ambiguous as to the balance of power between national and state governments, Hamilton consistently took the side of greater federal power at the expense of states. As Secretary of the Treasury, he established—against the intense opposition of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson—the country's first national bank. Hamilton justified the creation of this bank, and other increased federal powers, with Congress's constitutional powers to issue currency, to regulate interstate commerce, and anything else that would be "necessary and proper".

Hamilton's policies as Secretary of the Treasury have had an immeasurable effect on the United States Government and still continue to influence it. In 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States Navy was still using intership communication protocols written by Hamilton for the original U.S. Coast Guard. His constitutional interpretation, specifically of the Necessary and Proper Clause, set precedents for federal authority that are still used by the courts and are considered an authority on constitutional interpretation. The prominent French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who spent 1794 in the United States, wrote "I consider Napoleon, Fox, and Hamilton the three greatest men of our epoch, and if I were forced to decide between the three, I would give without hesitation the first place to Hamilton", adding that Hamilton had intuited the problems of European conservatives. Talleyrand, who helped demolish the First French Republic, would have preferred to have a coalition of European monarchies curtail the solitary republicanism of the United States, which would permit the peaceful recreation of the French colonial empire of Louis XIV; he found himself and Hamilton in general agreement.

Opinions of Hamilton have run the gamut: both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson viewed him as unprincipled and dangerously aristocratic. Herbert Croly, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Theodore Roosevelt directed attention to him at the end of the nineteenth century in the interest of an active federal government, whether or not supported by tariffs. Several nineteenth and twentieth century Republicans entered politics by writing laudatory biographies of Hamilton.
Wikipedia
Alaxender Hamilton, Politics and Public Service

Federalist Papers

2009-05-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist; or, The New Constitution, was published in two volumes in 1788 by J. and A. McLean.[1] The series' correct title is The Federalist; the title The Federalist Papers did not emerge until the twentieth century.

The Federalist remains a primary source for interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, as the essays outline a lucid and compelling version of the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government.[2] The authors of The Federalist wanted both to influence the vote in favor of ratification and to shape future interpretations of the Constitution. According to historian Richard B. Morris, they are an "incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer."[3]

At the time of publication, the authorship of the articles was a closely-guarded secret, though astute observers guessed that Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were the likely authors. Following Hamilton's death in 1804, a list that he drew up became public; it claimed fully two-thirds of the essays for Hamilton, including some that seemed more likely the work of Madison (Nos. 49-58, 62, and 63).
Wikipedia

The White House

2009-04-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

For two hundred years, the White House has stood as a symbol of the Presidency, the United States government, and the American people. Its history, and the history of the nation's capital, began when President George Washington signed an Act of Congress in December of 1790 declaring that the federal government would reside in a district "not exceeding ten miles square…on the river Potomac."

Construction began when the first cornerstone was laid in October of 1792. The White House has a unique and fascinating history. It survived a fire at the hands of the British in 1814 (during the war of 1812) and another fire in the West Wing in 1929, while Herbert Hoover was President. Throughout much of Harry S. Truman’s presidency, the interior of the house, with the exception of the third floor, was completely gutted and renovated while the Trumans lived at Blair House, right across Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, the exterior stone walls are those first put in place when the White House was constructed two centuries ago.
The White House

Congressional Budget Office

2009-04-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

CBO's mandate is to provide the Congress with objective, nonpartisan, and timely analyses to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on the wide array of programs covered by the federal budget and information and estimates required for the Congressional budget process. CBO was founded on July 12, 1974, with the enactment of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. The agency began operating on February 24, 1975, with the appointment of Alice Rivlin as the first director.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate jointly appoint the CBO Director, after considering recommendations from the two budget committees. The term of office is four years, with no limit on the number of terms a Director may serve. Either House of Congress, however, may remove the Director by resolution. At the expiration of a term of office, the person serving as Director may continue in the position until his or her successor is appointed.

Congressional Budget Office

The Library of Congress

2009-04-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. Since the earliest days of the Internet, the Library's primary Web site has led the way in making these rich resources and treasures available to the American people. The Library's new, personalized site, myLOC.gov, presents many of these items in compelling online exhibitions that reveal our nation's history, knowledge and creativity through primary sources, engaging activities and materials for teachers and students.
Library of Congress

U.S. Government Printing Office

2009-04-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Government Printing Office's core mission, Keeping America Informed, dates to 1813 when Congress determined the need to make information regarding the work of the three branches of government available to all Americans. This is the inherent function of government which GPO carries out for Federal agencies on behalf of the public. The GPO is the Federal government's primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing and preserving published information in all its forms.

Since its inception, GPO has offered Congress, the courts, and government agencies a set of centralized services to enable them to easily and cost effectively produce printed documents according to a uniform set of Federal government specifications. In addition, GPO has offered these publications for sale to the public and made them widely available at no cost through the Federal Depository Library Program.
Today, the GPO is at the epicenter of technological change as it embraces its historic mission while looking to the digital future. The men and women of the GPO are hard at work transforming the agency into a digital information processing facility that will continue Keeping America Informed into the 21st century and beyond.
Government Printing Office

Structure and Functions of the United States Federal Government

2008-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

So, you want to create a government from scratch? You want it to be a new kind of government in which the people, rather than the "subjects," choose their leaders and determine the course of the new nation. Such was the dilemma faced by our Founding Fathers. As Alexander Hamilton and James Madison summed it up, "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." Government 101 presents the basic structure the Founders gave us in 1787.
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Federal Government of the United States

2008-10-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

The federal government of the United States is the central United States governmental body, established by the United States Constitution. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and judiciary.

Through a system of separation of powers and the system of "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.

The policies of the federal government have a broad impact on both the domestic and foreign affairs of the United States. In addition, the powers of the federal government as a whole are limited by the Constitution, which, per the Tenth Amendment, gives all power not directed to the National government, to the State level.

Wikipedia has many references that provide additional detail.

Encarta has a number of excellent articles.

Seperation of Powers

Electoral College

2008-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Electoral College, the institution through which Americans elect the president and vice president of the United States. Many American voters are unaware of the electoral college’s role, in part because they mistakenly believe that they directly elect the president and vice president. In fact, when they cast their ballots for president and vice president, they are voting for officials called electors who are assigned to each presidential candidate.

Each state is allotted a number of electors equal to the number of its representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress. In addition, the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, adopted in 1961, permits residents of the

District of Columbia to vote for three electors in the same manner as residents of the states. Through its power of apportioning representatives among the states, Congress determines the number of presidential electors to which each state is entitled. At the present time the total of state and District of Columbia electors is 538; a simple majority of 270 is necessary for election to the presidency.

Encarta

Standing Rules of the United States Senate

2008-10-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Standing Rules of the Senate are the rules of order adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The rules are set by the Senate itself, as set down in Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution. The stricter rules are waived by unanimous consent. There are currently 43 rules; the latest version was adopted on April 27, 2000.

Wikipedia Filibuster Cloture

Filibuster

2008-10-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Filibuster, in legislative procedure, term denoting the means employed by members of a legislative assembly to delay or prevent action on a measure to which they are opposed. Such means may include the introduction of dilatory motions, intentional absence from the assembly in order to prevent the existence of a quorum, or the presentation of abnormally long, often meaningless speeches. In the U.S. Senate, filibusters are used when a minority of senators oppose some legislative measure but do not have sufficient votes to defeat the bill. Thus, it has sometimes been argued that filibusters protect minority rights. Lengthy delays in voting in the Senate, however, can be detrimental to the rights of the majority.

The use of the filibuster in the Senate has been somewhat restricted by the adoption of regulations relating to cloture. A cloture rule, adopted by the Senate in 1917, was amended in 1949, 1959, and 1975. The latest ruling requires the vote of three-fifths of the full Senate membership to end debate. Despite these rules, filibusters have occurred on numerous occasions. The longest uninterrupted filibustering speech ever recorded in the Senate was made by Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in August 1957, when he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to a civil rights measure. The longest filibuster since the first cloture rule was adopted by the Senate took place in 1964, when a group of southern senators led by Russell Long of Louisiana managed to extend the debate on the Civil Rights Act for 74 days.

encarta

Cloture

2008-10-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Cloture or Closure, in parliamentary practice, rule of procedure for bringing a protracted debate to a close. In Britain a rule of closure was first adopted by Parliament in 1882, when members of the Irish Home Rule Party made it a policy to obstruct legislation. It was then decided that, at the request of 40 members, the speaker might declare debate closed and call for a vote on the question under discussion. As modified in 1887, the rule permitted the speaker to cut off discussion at the request of 200 members, or at the request of 100 if fewer than 40 members voted against.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, and in the state legislatures, a protracted debate may be brought to an end by moving the previous question. This was the method used in the U.S. Senate until 1917, when a small group of senators conducted a lengthy filibuster to prevent the passage of the armed-ship bill. On March 8, 1917, a special session of the Senate adopted a cloture rule. The rule was amended on March 17, 1949, and again on January 12, 1959. The rule, as amended in 1959, provided that if 16 senators signed and presented to the Senate a motion to end debate on any pending measure, motion, or other matter, the presiding officer had to submit that pending business to the Senate for a vote two days later. If two-thirds of the senators present and voting cast their votes for the motion, the matter pending had to be disposed of before other business was considered, with no senator speaking on it for more than one hour. The original Senate cloture rule referred only to pending measures (that is, legislative bills).

On March 7, 1975, the Senate adopted a new cloture rule, setting three-fifths of the body's full membership as the minimum number needed to vote for limited debate on any measure except a proposed rule change (which still required the votes of two-thirds of the senators present and voting).

encarta

Federal Reserve Education

2008-10-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

Here you can find links to instructional materials and tools that can increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve, economics and financial education. All of the Fed web sites, curriculum, newsletters, booklets and other resources are free.

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Government of Canada

2008-10-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia

Encarta

Canadian Government web site

Ben's Guide to Government

2008-10-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Ben's guide by the Government Printing Office provides an interesting presentation on the federal government for any age.

Ben's Guide

references

Explore the Election: How Government Works

2008-10-06T15:45:00.001-07:00

Resources to assist you in teaching how the United States Government works. Interactive games and online activities bring the U.S. Constitution and the branches of government to life for students. Includes two printables, "We the Students," and "What's Your Constitution IQ?

Scholastic

Elections in the United States

2008-10-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

The United States has a federal government, with elected officials at federal (national), state and local level. On a national level, the head of state, the President, is elected indirectly by the people, through electors of an electoral college. In modern times, the electors virtually always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, Congress, are directly elected. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at local level, in counties and cities. It is estimated that across the whole country, over one million elected offices are filled in every electoral cycle.

Wikipedia

Signing statement (United States)

2008-10-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law. There is an ongoing controversy concerning the extensive use of signing statements by President George W. Bush to modify the meaning of laws. In July 2006, a task force of the American Bar Association described the use of signing statements to modify the meaning of duly enacted laws as "contrary to the and our constitutional system of separation of powers". While it is in theory possible for other executives to issue signing statements, there is no record of notable signing statements by anyone other than an American president.

Wikipedia

Rights of Man (1791), by Thomas Paine

2008-10-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Rights of Man (1791), by Thomas Paine, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard its people, their natural rights, and their national interests. It defends the French Revolutionagainst Edmund Burke's anti-democratic attack upon popular government in Reflections on the Revolution in France(1790). ^[1]

Rights of Man concludes in proposing practical reformations of English government: a written Constitution composed by a national assembly, in the American mould; the elimination of aristocratic titles, because democracy is incompatible with primogeniture, which leads to the despotism of the family; a national budget without allotted military and war expenses; lower taxes for the poor, and subsidised education for them; and a progressive income tax weighted against wealthy estates to prevent the emergence of an hereditary aristocracy.

Wikipedia

Common Sense (177), by Thomas Paine

2008-10-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

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Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

2008-10-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) is the finding tool for electronic and print publications from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. These publications make up the National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications. The CGP contains descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online.

More than 500,000 records generated since July 1976 are contained in the CGP and it is updated daily. The catalog will grow to include records for publications dating back to the late 1800s, making the CGP the central point for locating new and historical Government publications.

The CGP is the online counterpart of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications , which dates from the passage of the Printing Act of 1895. At present the Monthly Catalog should be consulted for pre-1976 indexing. The Monthly Catalog and many of the publications indexed in it were distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

U.S. Government Depository Library

2008-10-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

Distribution of government information to libraries is one of the nation's oldest traditions, first established by statute in 1813. Beginning in 1858, Members of Congress were authorized to designate individual libraries to receive government publications, and the Federal Depository Library Program was created.

Today nearly 1,350 depository libraries serve the American public by providing local, no-fee access to Federal Government information. Depository libraries are located in all 50 states, nearly every congressional district, six territories, and the District of Columbia. Each day people with diverse informational needs utilize depository collections housed in many types of libraries: public, academic, state, law, and Federal agency.

Any member of the public can visit any depository library and use the Federal depository collections. Depository libraries collect Government information in a variety of formats and they are filled with information on careers, business opportunities, consumer information, health and nutrition, legal and regulatory information, demographics, and countless other subjects.

Find the depository library nearest you.

English Government

2008-10-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

England itself does not have a formal government or constitution, and a specifically English role in contemporary government and politics is hard to identify in any formal sense, for these operate on a nationwide British basis. Historically, the English may be credited with the evolution of Parliament, which, in its medieval form, was related to the Anglo-Saxon practice of regular gatherings of notables.

The English may also be credited with the glory of the Revolution of 1688, which affirmed the rule of law, parliamentary control of taxation and of the army, freedom of speech, and religious toleration. Freedom of speech and opinion with proper opportunities for reasonable debate form part of the English tradition, but the development of party and parliamentary government in its modern forms took place after the Act of Union of 1707, when, in politics, the history of England became the history of Britain. Unlike Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, each of which has its own assembly or parliament, regional government does not exist in England.

Britanica

French Government

2008-10-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

The French system is characterized by the strong role of the president of the republic. The office of the president is unique in that it has the authority to bypass the parliament by submitting referenda directly to the people and even to dissolve the parliament altogether. The president presides over the Council of Ministers and other high councils, signs the more important decrees, appoints high civil servants and judges, negotiates and ratifies treaties, and is commander in chief of the armed forces. Under exceptional circumstances, Article 16 allows for the concentration of all the powers of the state in the presidency. This article, enforced from April to September 1961 during the Algerian crisis, has received sharp criticism, having proved to be of limited practical value because of the stringent conditions attached to its operation.

Britanica

Chinese Government

2008-10-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

The CCP and government bureaucracies themselves are organized along territorial and functional lines. The territorial organization is based on a number of administrative divisions, with both a CCP committee and a “people’s government” in charge of each. These territorial divisions include the national level in Beijing (the Centre), 33 provincial-level units (4 directly administered cities, 5 autonomous regions, the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, and 22 provinces, excluding Taiwan), some 330 prefectural bodies, more than 2,850 county-level entities, and numerous cities, towns, and townships. Some larger cities are themselves divided into urban wards and counties. This territorial basis of organization is intended to coordinate and lend coherence to the myriad policies from the Centre that may affect any given locale.

Britanica

Government in Iran

2008-10-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

Iran is one of the world's few theocratic republics, meaning that its political system is under significant control by the dominant religious system of the country. Iran's leadership consists of three main elements: the religious leadership under the "faqih" or spiritual leader; the executive, consisting of the office of the President; and the legislative, consisting of the Majlis and Council of Guardians.

Where before the Revolution Iran was ruled by the Shah and an appointed Prime Minister, after the Revolution, the faqih became the primary figure of the state government. During the first several years of the post-Revolution era, until 1989, power was solely concentrated in the hands of the faqih, the Ayatollah Khomeini. After the death of Khomeini in 1989, Ali Khamenei was elected by the religious council to succeed him. Khamenei has preferred a less public role than Khomeini took, but he remains the central figure of the nation's politics.

PBS article

International Monetary Fund

2008-10-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

The International Monetary Fund was created in 1944, with a goal to stabilize exchange rates and supervise the reconstruction of the world's international payment system. Countries contributed to a pool which could be borrowed from, on a temporary basis, by countries with payment imbalances.

The IMF describes itself as "an organization of 185 countries (Montenegro being the 185th, as of January 18, 2007), working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty". With the exception of North Korea, Cuba, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Tuvalu, and Nauru, all UN member states participate directly in the IMF. Most are represented by other member states on a 24-member Executive Board but all member countries belong to the IMF's Board of Governors.

Wikipedia