Slovenia: Constitutional framework: …the majority party in the National Assembly (lower house of the parliament), with which most legislative authority rests. Of its 90 members, 88 are elected by proportional representation to four-year terms, with the remaining two seats reserved for one representative each from the Italian- and Hungarian-speaking communities. The nonpartisan National…

Côte d’Ivoire: Constitutional framework: …bicameral parliament, consisting of the National Assembly and the Senate. The 255 members of the National Assembly are directly elected for five-year terms. The Senate, which was provided for under the 2016 constitution but was not created until 2018, has 99 members, of which 66 are indirectly elected by local…

Tanzania: Constitutional framework: …most members of the unicameral National Assembly are directly elected. Many seats also are allocated to ex-officio, nominated, and indirectly elected members—including those seats reserved for women, representatives of mass organizations, and the president’s nominees. The National Assembly has a term of five years but can be dissolved by the…

Ecuador: Ecuador from the late 20th century: …the election of the new National Assembly outlined in the constitution. The new constitution was the 20th since the country gained independence in 1830, and it reflected many of Correa’s leftist ideals, including a ban on foreign military bases, the allowance of same-sex marriage, free education through the college level,…

Panama: Constitutional framework: A unicameral National Assembly consists of 71 members, who are elected for five-year terms and are eligible for reelection. The assembly initiates legislation, rules on international treaties, approves the budget, and establishes political divisions. After the 2014 election nearly one-fifth of the seats were held by women.

Lesotho: Challenges in the 21st century: …lower house of parliament, the National Assembly: of 120 seats, 80 would be directly elected, and the remaining 40 would be indirectly elected, allocated to qualifying political parties on the basis of proportional representation. Reaching an agreement took longer than expected, though, and the IPA was not able to establish…

Malawi: Constitutional framework: The legislature, the National Assembly, is unicameral; its members also are elected by universal suffrage and serve five-year terms. The 1995 constitution also provided for the creation of an upper legislative chamber, but it was not established by the target completion date in 1999; a proposal to cancel…

National Assembly, any of various historical French parliaments or houses of parliament. From June 17 to July 9, 1789, it was the name of the revolutionary assembly formed by representatives of the Third Estate; thereafter (until replaced by the Legislative Assembly on Sept. 30, 1791) its formal

Guyana: Constitutional framework: …branch consists of a unicameral National Assembly, with 65 elected members (elected by universal adult suffrage for a term of five years) and three nonelected members plus the speaker. Forty members of the Assembly are elected from national party lists under a system of proportional representation; the remaining 25 members…

Iraq: Postwar policies: The new National Assembly convened 10 days later, and subsequent elections were held in 1984 and 1989. Regardless, the Assembly was vested with little power. Only those supporting the Baʿath revolution were allowed to stand for office, and in disputes between the Assembly and the RCC, the…

Bulgaria: Constitutional framework: In July 1991 the National Assembly adopted a new constitution establishing a parliamentary government and guaranteeing direct presidential elections, separation of powers, and freedom of speech, press, conscience, and religion. New laws allowed for the return of the properties that had been confiscated by the previous communist governments. Other…

Jordan: From the Persian Gulf War to peace with Israel: …(the lower house of the National Assembly) and announced that the election would be conducted on a one-person-one-vote system rather than on the old “slate” system that allowed voters to cast as many votes as there were representatives in their constituency. In the election the number of seats won by…

Serbia: The nascent Serbian state: In 1805 a Skupština (assembly) was summoned, and it submitted a list of proposals to the sultan. The proposals included a number of demands for local autonomy that were unacceptable to the sultan, and a large force was sent to quell the rebellion. The rebels continued to hold…

Czechoslovak history: Stalinism in Czechoslovakia: …May 30, and the new National Assembly elected Gottwald president. Antonín Zápotocký succeeded him as premier, while Rudolf Slánský retained the powerful post of secretary general of the Czechoslovak Communist Party.

Suriname: Constitutional framework: …the popularly elected 51-member unicameral National Assembly, which in turn elects a president and vice president. The president, vice president, and members of the National Assembly serve five-year terms. The president is the chairman of a nonelective, military-influenced Council of State, which ensures that the government’s actions conform to the…

South Korea: Constitutional framework: …and approved by the elected National Assembly (Kuk Hoe).

South Africa: The 1996 constitution: The lower house, or National Assembly, comprises 350 to 400 members who are directly elected to a five-year term through proportional representation. The National Council of Provinces, which replaced the Senate as the upper house, is made up of 10-member delegations (each with six permanent and four special members,…

Seychelles: Constitutional framework and local government: Members of the National Assembly serve five-year terms. A majority of the available National Assembly seats are filled by direct election; a smaller portion are distributed on a proportional basis to those parties that win a minimum of one-tenth of the vote. The president appoints a Council of…

Gabon: Constitutional framework: …1990, after which a new National Assembly adopted the constitution of March 1991; the constitution has since been amended.

Hungary: Political process: …106 members of the 199-seat National Assembly are elected in single-member electoral districts, and 93 members are elected as part of national party lists. Voters express their preference for both a specific candidate running in their electoral district and a national party list. In the former case, candidates must gain…

Chad: Constitutional framework: …the bicameral parliament, comprising the National Assembly and the Senate. Members of the National Assembly are directly elected to five-year terms, which are renewable. Two-thirds of the Senate is indirectly elected by electoral college composed of municipal and provincial councillors, and one-third is appointed by the president. Senators serve six-year…

Netherlands: The Batavian Republic (1795–1806): The representatives elected to the National Assembly (which replaced the historic States General) were not delegates of provincial assemblies by whose decisions they were bound but deputies with full independence of judgment. The ancient system of government, with its medley of assemblies and boards with imperfectly differentiated functions, was replaced…

Zambia: Constitutional framework: …of the legislature, called the National Assembly, the president also appoints a Cabinet that consists of ministers, deputy ministers, and provincial deputy ministers. In 1996 the government enacted constitutional amendments that barred foreign nationals and those with foreign parentage from running for president, a change that generated heated debate.

Plaid Cymru: History: …convened in May 1999, the National Assembly for Wales was responsible for administering public services and implementing regional policies on education, health care, and economic development, among other areas. Plaid was very successful in the first elections to the assembly, winning 30 percent of the votes and 17 seats out…

Nicaragua: Nicaragua from 1990 to 2006: …from the president to the National Assembly, ended conscription, guaranteed private property rights, and prevented close relatives of the president from serving in the cabinet or succeeding the president. Chamorro’s administration replaced Sandinista-era textbooks with new ones paid for by the U.S. Agency for International Development. It also reduced the…

Pakistan: Constitutional framework: The National Assembly has 336 members, each of whom serves a five-year term. Of these, 266 seats are filled by direct popular election in electoral constituencies; 256 are for Muslim candidates, and 10 are for non-Muslims. Of the remaining seats, which are allocated to parties through…

China: The Chinese Revolution (1911–12): …be formally decided by a National Assembly that would be formed. However, this was renounced by Yuan, probably because he hoped to be appointed by the retiring Manchu monarch to organize a new government rather than nominated as chief of state by the National Assembly. (This is a formula of…

Burundi: Constitutional framework: …with power exercised by the National Assembly, which is mandated to comprise 60 percent Hutu and 40 percent Tutsi, and by the Senate, which includes one Hutu and one Tutsi representative from each province, with three seats reserved for former presidents. In addition, three seats in each house are reserved…

United Kingdom: London’s local government, House of Lords reform, and devolution for Scotland and Wales: …in Wales and Scotland, the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament were established in 1999 and granted powers previously reserved for the central government. Yet, with the exception of political devolution to the component states of the United Kingdom, the Labour Party remained reluctant to reform the constitution,…

Cuba: Constitutional framework: …legislative authority rests with the National Assembly of People’s Power, whose more than 600 members serve five-year terms. The number of seats in the assembly has grown steadily, corresponding to the population of the provinces and municipalities. The National Assembly in its brief, twice-yearly sessions appoints the Council of State,…

Lisbon: City layout: …of Bairro Alto is the Palace of the National Assembly, also known as the Palace of São Bento. Nearby is the official residence of Portugal’s prime minister. Farther west, toward Belém, Necessidades Palace houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ireland: The debt crisis and beyond: …the necessity to establish a National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to bail out the insolvent Irish banks, which had persisted in making grotesquely extravagant and imprudent loans to property developers. The burden of rescuing the banks dramatically escalated the national deficit. So strained were Ireland’s resources that in November 2010—even…

United Kingdom: Labour and the welfare state (1945–51): …old Poor Law, in the National Assistance Act of 1946, and in its most controversial move it established the gigantic framework of the National Health Service, which provided free comprehensive medical care for every citizen, rich or poor. The pugnacious temper of the minister of health, Aneurin Bevan, and the…

United Kingdom: Domestic responses to the American Revolution: …with the idea of a national association, an assembly of reformers from each county in Britain, that would exist parallel to Parliament and be superior to it in constitutional zeal. A third small group, led by Charles James Fox, a Whig MP, and by former Wilkite activists, wanted more extensive…

mental health: National agencies: ) National Association for Mental Health (later renamed Mind). This voluntary national group provides resident facilities for disturbed persons, offers follow-up services, and trains mental health personnel, in addition to carrying on educational programs. The Mental Health Act of 1959 nullified earlier British laws governing policies…

mental health: Developments in the 20th century: …was instrumental in organizing the National Association for Mental Health in 1950.

NASCAR, sanctioning body for stock-car racing in North America, founded in 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida, and responsible for making stock-car racing a widely popular sport in the United States by the turn of the 21st century. Integral to NASCAR’s founding in the late 1940s was Bill France, an

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), interracial American organization created to work for the abolition of segregation and discrimination in housing, education, employment, voting, and transportation; to oppose racism; and to ensure African Americans their

Reproductive Freedom for All, American organization, founded in 1969 to centralize state abortion-rights efforts and continuing its mission thereafter to protect and promote reproductive freedom. In 2023 the organization changed its name from NARAL Pro-Choice America to Reproductive Freedom for

clinic: Public health clinics: …in the founding of the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis in 1904. It was the association’s goal to study and prevent tuberculosis by making clinic facilities available for free examination and treatment in every city and county. Other nationwide, private health agencies in specialized medical fields…

athletics: Modern development: …formation in 1879 of the National Association of Amateur Athletes of America (NAAAA) to conduct national championships. Nine years later the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) took over as national governing body, amid reports that the NAAAA was lax in enforcing amateurism.

National Audubon Society, U.S. organization dedicated to conserving and restoring natural ecosystems. Founded in 1905 and named for John James Audubon, the society has 600,000 members and maintains more than 100 wildlife sanctuaries and nature centres throughout the United States. Its high-priority

baseball: Early years: The National Association of Base Ball Players was organized in 1857, comprising clubs from New York City and vicinity. In 1859 Washington, D.C., organized a club, and in the next year clubs were formed in Lowell, Massachusetts; Allegheny, Pennsylvania; and Hartford, Connecticut. The game continued to…

Phog Allen: …key role in establishing the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1927 and developed the talents of many successful coaches, including Adolph Rupp, Dutch Lonborg, and Dean Smith. He was instrumental in adding basketball to the Olympic Games program in 1936, and in 1952 he coached the American team that…

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), trade association that supports and advances the interests of the commercial broadcasting industry in the United States. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), headquartered in Washington, D.C., represents the interests of thousands of local

podiatry: …in 1912 and became the American Podiatric Medical Association in 1983. The term podiatry was coined by M.J. Lewi of New York in 1917.

Mary Mahoney: …ANA), she later joined the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) and addressed its first annual convention in Boston (1909). The association awarded her life membership in 1911 and elected her its national chaplain.

National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC), American organization founded as the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in Washington, D.C., as the product of the merger in 1896 of the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the National League of Colored Women—organizations

National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC), American organization founded as the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in Washington, D.C., as the product of the merger in 1896 of the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the National League of Colored Women—organizations

National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, association of churches organized in Detroit, Mich., in 1955 by ministers and laymen of Congregational Christian Churches who did not wish to take part in the merger of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed

National Association of Evangelicals, fellowship of Evangelical Protestant groups in the United States, founded in 1942 by 147 Evangelical leaders. It embraces some 50 denominations, many independent religious organizations, local churches, groups of churches, and individual Christians. All members

National Association of Free Will Baptists, association of Baptist churches organized in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., in 1935. It traces its history back to Free Will, or Arminian, Baptists in the 18th century. These Baptists believed in free will, free grace, and free salvation, in contrast to most

American football: The era of television: …in that sport, became the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 1952 and first sponsored a national championship in football in 1956.

baseball: Professional baseball: The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was formed in 1871. The founding teams were the Philadelphia Athletics; the Chicago White Stockings (who would also play as the Chicago Colts and the Chicago Orphans before becoming the Cubs—the American League Chicago White Sox were not…

Nasdaq, an American stock market that handles electronic securities trading around the world. It was developed by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and is monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange began in 1971. In 1992 it

NYSE Amex Equities: …Amex was part of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) from 1998 to 2004, when ownership of the Amex returned to private hands. Unlike many other exchanges around the world, it did not relinquish floor trading in favour of computer trading, and, at the beginning of the 21st century,…

National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), trade association of Indian information technology (IT) and computer software and services companies, established in 1988. NASSCOM’s membership also includes Indian branch offices of foreign companies. It is headquartered in New

National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS), organization formed in New York City in 1911 during a convention of state antisuffrage groups. Led by Josephine Dodge, the founder and first president, the NAOWS believed that woman suffrage would decrease women’s work in communities and their

Atacama Large Millimeter Array: European Southern Observatory, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The radio signals received by the individual dishes can be integrated to give a resolving power equal to that of a single dish as large as 16 km (10 miles) in diameter. Its high angular resolution and large collecting area…

Arecibo Observatory, astronomical observatory located 16 km (10 miles) south of the town of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It was the site of the world’s largest single-unit radio telescope until FAST in China began observations in 2016. This instrument, built in the early 1960s, employed a 305-metre

map: Types of maps and charts available: The National Atlas of the United States of America, published by the Geological Survey in 1970, contains contributions from all of that country’s mapping agencies. Summaries are provided of all thematic and economic data of interest. The atlas also indicates where more detailed information or large-scale…

environmental law: Levels of environmental law: Significant local decisions included National Audubon Society v. Superior Court (1976), in which the California Supreme Court dramatically limited the ability of the Los Angeles to divert water that might otherwise fill Mono Lake in California’s eastern desert.

Argentina: The conservative regime, 1880–1916: …was now dominated by the National Autonomist Party, which had originally supported Avellaneda’s candidacy and was now an alliance of the various groups supporting Roca. These included many of the big ranchers, as well as commercial and business interests who were more than happy with Roca’s formula of “peace and…

Honduras: Education: …education is centred at the National Autonomous University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa (founded 1847).

Indian Airlines: …with Air India, forming the National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (NACIL).

National Awakening Party, moderate Islamic political party in Indonesia. The PKB was formed in 1998 by Abdurrahman Wahid—a Muslim cleric and head of the Council of Scholars (Nahdlatul-ʿUlama), the country’s largest Muslim organization— and his supporters. Its opposition to an Islamic government,

ballet: Ballet in the cultural milieu: …other Canadian ballet companies, the National Ballet of Canada (founded 1951) has carefully nurtured the classical tradition and has also supported contemporary works by Canadian choreographers that address Canadian issues. The company’s “You dance” campaign introduces Canadian middle-school students to classical and modern ballet. The Ballet Nacional de Cuba was…

ballet: Ballet in the cultural milieu: The Ballet Nacional de Cuba was founded in 1948 by Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso, who also headed the National School of Ballet Alicia Alonso (founded 1950). It provides a good model of how a western European tradition is taken up and reinterpreted to suit national and…

national bank, in the United States, any commercial bank chartered and supervised by the federal government and operated by private individuals. The first Bank of the United States (1791–1811) and the second Bank of the United States (1816–36) had functioned as agents of the U.S. Treasury and

wildcat bank: …after the passage of the National Bank Act of 1863, which provided for the incorporation of national banks under federal law and the issue of bank notes on the security of government bonds. The term wildcat bank was subsequently applied to any unstable bank.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), leading development bank in India, established in July 1982 to promote rural and agricultural development primarily through financial assistance, credit planning, supervision of financial institutions, and policy support. In the 1970s

Angola: Finance: The National Bank of Angola, which issues Angola’s currency, the kwanza, acts as the central bank. Banks were nationalized after independence, but in 1985 foreign banks reentered the country, and in 1995 the government allowed the formation of private banks. Most savings are held in informal…

Belarus: Finance: …two-tier system consisting of the National Bank of Belarus and a growing number of commercial banks, most of which are either joint-stock or limited-liability companies. The republic introduced its own currency, the Belarusian rubel, in 1992. A securities market and stock exchange were also established that year.

Denmark: Finance: ) The National Bank of Denmark (Danmarks Nationalbank) is responsible for issuing the currency and enjoys a special status as a self-governing institution under government supervision. Profits revert to the state treasury. The national stock exchange, established in 1861, is located in Copenhagen. In the early 21st…

Petrobras scandal: …of state-owned companies, and the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES). The latter had provided billions of dollars in subsidized financing to Petrobras and other “national champions,” such as billionaire Eike Batista, whose wealth plummeted spectacularly in 2013.

Egypt: Finance: From its inception the National Bank of Egypt assumed the main functions of a central bank, a status that was confirmed by law in 1951. In 1957 all English and French banks and insurance companies were nationalized and taken over by various Egyptian joint-stock companies; thereafter, all shareholders, directors,…

Poland: Finance of Poland: The National Bank of Poland (Narodowy Bank Polski) acted as the main agent of the government’s financial policy, managing everything from the currency and money supply to wages and prices, credit, investment, and the detailed business of all state enterprises. In the late 1980s and early…

Romania: Finance: The National Bank of Romania, founded in 1880, implements the monetary policy of the Ministry of Finance, managing budgetary cash resources and issuing currency. The Bucharest Stock Exchange opened in 1995, and by 1999 hundreds of companies were being traded. By 1998 there were dozens of…

Slovakia: Finance: The National Bank of Slovakia succeeded the Czech and Slovak central bank on January 1, 1993, as the republic’s principal financial institution. The bank’s first major accomplishment was its conversion to the new republican monetary system, with the koruna as the national currency (replaced in 2009…

Vietnam: Finance: The State Bank of Vietnam, the central bank, issues the national currency, the dong, and oversees the country’s banking system. Known until 1975 as the National Bank of Vietnam in the north, the State Bank of Vietnam formerly functioned as a government monopoly in the banking…

National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., association of Black Baptist churches formed in 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia, from the merger of the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention (established 1880), the American National Baptist Convention (1886), and the Baptist National Education

National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., association of Black Baptist churches formed in 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia, from the merger of the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention (established 1880), the American National Baptist Convention (1886), and the Baptist National Education

National Baptist Convention of the United States of America, Inc., the larger of two associations of Black Baptist churches that formed after a schism in 1915 in the National Baptist Convention. It is the largest Black church in the United States and claimed a membership of about 7,500,000 in

National Baptist Convention of the United States of America, Inc., the larger of two associations of Black Baptist churches that formed after a schism in 1915 in the National Baptist Convention. It is the largest Black church in the United States and claimed a membership of about 7,500,000 in

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: …national secretary (1943) of the National Bar Association, an association chiefly composed of black attorneys.

Gene Autry: …to a position on the National Barn Dance radio program on WLS in Chicago, which made him nationally popular. In his film debut he sang a song in the Ken Maynard vehicle In Old Santa Fe (1934), and it launched his career as a cowboy actor. His first starring role…

Baseball Hall of Fame, museum and honorary society, Cooperstown, New York, U.S. The origins of the hall can be traced to 1935, when plans were first put forward for the 1939 celebration of the supposed centennial of baseball (it was then believed that the American army officer Abner Doubleday had

National Basketball Association (NBA), professional basketball league formed in the United States in 1949 by the merger of two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (founded 1937) and the Basketball Association of America (founded 1946). In 1976 the NBA absorbed four teams from the

National Basketball Association (NBA) champions, winners of the annual playoff basketball tournament that takes place after every National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The NBA playoffs consist of a 16-team bracket wherein the teams play consecutive best-of-seven-games series in each round.

basketball: The early years: This group was renamed the National Basketball Committee (NBC) of the United States and Canada in 1936 and until 1979 served as the game’s sole amateur rule-making body. In that year, however, the colleges broke away to form their own rules committee, and during the same year the National Federation…

basketball: U.S. professional basketball: …2001 the NBA launched the National Basketball Development League (NBDL; now called the NBA G League). The league serves as a kind of “farm system” for the NBA. Through its first 50 years the NBA did not have an official system of player development or a true minor league system…

basketball: U.S. professional basketball: …first professional league was the National Basketball League (NBL), formed in 1898. Its game differed from the college game in that a chicken-wire cage typically surrounded the court, separating players from often hostile fans. (Basketball players were long referred to as cagers.) The chicken wire was soon replaced with a…

library: Criteria for selection: …or aim to have, a national bibliography based on the acquisitions of the national library. The British National Bibliography, begun in 1950 at the British Museum, is a leading example: it is published weekly, with regular cumulations for easy access over long periods. It is a tool for subject inquiry…

Nabisco, former U.S. snack food and bakery product company. The National Biscuit Company was formed in 1898 when the American Biscuit Company merged with the New York Biscuit Company. Better known as Nabisco, it went on to introduce a number of popular consumer brands such as Oreo cookies (1912)

Combahee River Collective: Founding: …a breakaway group from the National Black Feminist Organization. After some disagreements with that organization’s failure to address class struggles faced by Black women, the group quickly became a coalition in its own right in 1974. According to Smith, the Combahee River Collective formed out of a desire to synthesize…

National Black Political Convention, three-day conference of African American politicians, civil rights leaders, and delegates held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972. It was the largest Black political gathering in U.S. history up to that point, with a crowd of at least 8,000 attendees. It represented an

pro-choice movement: …Project in 1983 (renamed the Black Women’s Health Imperative in 2002) and eventually to a broader move away from the personal-liberty approach.

National Bloc, a coalition of Syrian nationalist parties that opposed the French mandate and demanded independence, dominating Syrian politics throughout the years of its existence, 1925–49. The Bloc was a powerful minority in the first Constituent Assembly of 1928 and in the same year was

medical education: Requirements for practice: The National Board of Medical Examiners holds examinations leading to a degree that is acceptable to most state boards. National laws regulating professional practice cannot be enacted in the United States. In Canada the Medical Council of Canada conducts examinations and enrolls successful candidates on the…

National Book Awards, annual awards given to books of the highest quality written by Americans and published by American publishers. The awards were founded in 1950 by the American Book Publishers Council, American Booksellers Association, and Book Manufacturers Institute. From 1976 to 1979 they