title: Moon Jae-in

text: Moon left office on 9 May 2022 and was succeeded the next day by Yoon Suk-yeol, who previously was appointed by Moon to be Prosecutor General of South Korea. Moon also was the final president to occupy the Blue House as the official presidential office and residence after 74 years, as Yoon moved the presidential office to the former Ministry of Defence building at Yongsan District, Seoul upon taking office. Moon now resides at Pyeongsan Village, at Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: Moon left office as the most popular president in the history of the 6th Republic since free and fair elections resumed in 1987. However, critics claimed that these ratings were due to a massive PR campaign aimed at creating and maintaining a good public image, as well as a failure to tackle controversial issues during his presidency.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: OECD and Pew Research Center polls showed that during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which took place during Moon's presidency, South Koreans’ levels of trust in government increased, and the government oversaw a more responsive and effective disaster response to the pandemic compared to previous disasters which took place in South Korea, such as the MERS outbreak and the Sewol ferry disaster. Moon's government reduced the maximum hour work week from 68 hours to 52, which led to an increase in work-life balance, increased the minimum wage, expanded childcare benefits and provision, and also health care coverage. Moon's government also began a transition to green economic growth, introducing a Green New Deal plan and pledged carbon neutrality by 2040.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: However, Moon's government did not act on a new anti-discrimination bill despite having a majority in the National Assembly. It also failed to effectively resolve a housing crisis in the Seoul area and its surroundings (where half of South Korea's population resides). The Seoul housing crisis was said to be enough to swing the 2022 presidential election to the opposition conservatives to succeed Moon.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: For foreign policy, Moon would be remembered for presiding over South Korea's increased stature and prestige in international affairs as a middle power, and pushing forward with trade negotiations with South East Asia and India under his signature New Southern Policy (NSP). NSP aimed to diversify South Korea's economic and strategic relationships due to uncertainty caused by increasing competition between its closest ally, the United States, and the largest trading partner, China. However, Moon's summits with North Korea failed to achieve any significant breakthrough in inter-Korean or US-North Korea relations, and relations between South Korea and Japan fell to further new lows.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: In September 2015, Moon sued former prosecutor Koh Young-ju for libel in response to a statement he had made during Moon's campaign in 2013. Koh had been quoted as calling Moon a "communist." As a public figure, Koh had been noted for his investigation into the Burim incident, where he investigated five alleged communists who were later convicted of violating the anti-Communist National Security Law. On August 23, 2018, Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Kyung-jin. Koh lauded the ruling as a victory for freedom of speech in South Korea. But on June 2, 2020, the case was appealed. The prosecutor representing Moon is seeking one and a half years of jail time for Koh.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: In April 2018, a group of supporters of the South Korean President Moon Jae-in were charged with online opinion rigging. The accused suspects were the members of the ruling Democratic Party (DPK). The main perpetrator, as well as the leader of the pro-Moon group, was a well-known power-blogger called "Druking".


title: Moon Jae-in

text: In 2018, the special prosecutor indicted Gyeongnam Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo in relation to this case. In 2019, he was jailed for two years on charges of online-rigging operations in both the first and second instance. On 21 July 2021, he was sentenced to two years by the Supreme Court for online-rigging operations (crime on 'Interference with Business' by damaging or destroying any data processor, ) and eventually lost his position as governor.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: In 2019, on the Liberation Day August 15, large-scale flag rallies occurred in central Seoul, including Seoul Station, City Hall Plaza, Daehanmun, and the outer ring of Gwanghwamun Plaza, calling to impeach Moon Jae-in.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: In 2020, although a spike in new coronavirus cases in South Korea has prompted authorities to reimpose tighter social distancing curbs in Seoul, there were thousands of demonstrators protesting against Moon Jae-in's policies.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: Police said that they will probe all participants of demonstrations held in downtown Seoul on the day to look into whether they violated a court decision related to COVID-19 and other regulations.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: On October 3 the national foundation day, conservative groups held drive-thru anti-government rallies in southern Seoul, amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: On July 13, 2020, Park Sang-hak, a citizen of South Korea and North Korean defector, wrote an op-ed in "The Washington Post". He contended that the Moon administration was working to silence human rights activists in an effort to placate North Korea. Park wrote, "Ten days ago, a TV station revealed my home address to the world, exposing me to other North Korean assassins and their supporters in the South. My personal bank accounts are under investigation, and the government has forbidden me from leaving the country. On June 30, the government moved to pull the civic licenses of our nongovernmental organization, preventing us from holding charity fundraisers." Park cited other examples of the Moon administration's interference with human rights activists, including a 2018 effort by NIS agents under the Moon administration to block journalists from accessing a speech by Thae Yong-ho, the highest-ranking official known to have defected from North Korea.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: In response to the Moon administration's treatment of Park Sang-hak, the North Korea Freedom Coalition issued a letter to President Moon. It alleged that human rights activists had been "harassed" and urged the Moon administration to "cease these actions of intimidation which seek to silence their freedom of expression." The letter noted that the South Korean government's actions appeared to conflict with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights treaty, which was signed by South Korea in 1990. Signatories included Suzanne Scholte.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: He and Kim both individually revealed in separate Korean talk shows that they met each other when Moon was a student activist protesting the Yushin Constitution.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: Before elected as the president in 2017, they lived with several dogs and cats who were all once abandoned by their previous guardians. Among those, a dog "Maru" (, a Pungsan dog) and a cat "Jjing-jjing" (or "Jjing-Jjing-ee" ) have been confirmed to live with them at the Blue House either by the media or its official social media posts. Jjing-jjing is the country's first-ever "First Cat."


title: Moon Jae-in

text: After settling in at the official presidential residence at the Blue House, a dog "Tory" (, a mixed-breed) was adopted from an animal shelter in contrast with other "First Dogs" who have traditionally been purebred Jindo dogs. In regards to Tory's adoption, Moon stated that "we need to pay more attention to abandoned animals and care for them as a society" and that he wanted to remove the stigma against Tory's dark coat, which contributed to him being virtually un-adoptable for two years after he was rescued in 2015.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: He also received a pair of Pungsan dogs male "Song-gang" () and female "Gom-ee" () from North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un as a gift shortly after meeting in September 2018. Gom-ee later gave birth to six puppies "San-ee, Deul-ee, Gang-ee, Byul-ee, Dal-ee and Hen-nim" () named after Korean words for parts of nature - a mountain, grass field, a river, a star, the Moon and the Sun. On August 30, 2019, six puppies have been sent to Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon and Gwangju leaving their parents at the Blue House.


title: Moon Jae-in

text: Moon is the third Korean president who is a Catholic, after Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun (a lapsed Catholic). Moon's wife, First Lady Kim Jung-sook, is also Catholic. He is the second leader who remains a practicing Catholic while in office; his baptismal (or Christian) name is "Timothy".


title: Moon Jae-in

text: His nickname is the "Dark King" (), after the character Silvers Rayleigh from the Japanese manga series "One Piece".


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: The novel has been adapted into an anime television series adaptation by Madhouse, consisting of four seasons with thirteen episodes each, with the first season airing from July to September 2015. Two compilation anime films recapping the events from the first season were released in Japan in February and March 2017, respectively. The second season ran from January to April 2018, the third season ran from July to October 2018, and the fourth season ran from July to September 2022. An anime film has been announced.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: In 2126, a Full-Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game or DMMORPG called YGGDRASIL was released, standing out among all other DMMORPGs due to its unusually high ability for the player to interact with the game. After an intense twelve-year run, the game servers are about to be shut down. Within the game exists a guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, once consisting of 41 members and credited as one of the strongest guilds in the game. Now only four of the members remain, the other 37 having quit the game, and only one, a skeletal "Overlord" character named Momonga, continues to play as the guild leader, maintaining their headquarters in The Great Tomb of Nazarick. In the minutes before the shutdown he invites the remaining guild members, but of those only one appears and only for a short while before leaving. While saddened by this, he accepts the reality that his friends have their other lives to take care of and decides to stay logged in until the servers shut down.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: When the shut-down time arrives, Momonga discovers that the game hasn't vanished; instead, it appears as if Nazarick has been transported to another world altogether and its various NPCs becoming actual living beings. Momonga has been trapped in the form of his game avatar, leaving him unable to use the normal player functions such as General Message, or even log out. With no other option, Momonga sets out to learn if any players like himself are in this new world. Taking on the name of the guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, as a message to any other remaining players, Momonga begins exploring the world in an attempt to figure out what has happened while searching for anyone or anything that could help him solve this mystery, while ensuring the safety of Nazarick. Ainz Ooal Gown seems to have modifications made to his behavior by in-game mechanics, because he demonstrates no moral qualms with killing and other actions that are taboo in the real world. This is a story about the psychology of a creature with near-limitless power who is beyond ethical concerns.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: The light novel series written by Maruyama, with illustrations by so-bin, began its serialization online in 2010 via the novel publishing website Arcadia. It was also uploaded to the novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in 2012, prior to Enterbrain's acquisition. As of July 29, 2022, the series has been published by Enterbrain in sixteen volumes, with the first volume releasing on July 30, 2012, and the sixteenth volume releasing on July 29, 2022. Yen Press announced its license to the series in October 2015 for North America and began publishing the novels in English, with the first volume releasing on May 24, 2016. Maruyama has stated that the series will end at its seventeenth volume. In the afterword in the second part of the 16th volume it was announced by the author that the series will end at its eighteenth volume.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A manga adaptation by Satoshi Ōshio, with art by Hugin Miyama, began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine "Comp Ace" from November 26, 2014.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Madhouse aired between July 7 and September 29, 2015. The opening theme is "Clattanoia" by OxT, and the ending theme is "L.L.L." by Myth & Roid. Both are bands of the musician Tom-H@ck. The anime adaptation covers light novel volumes 1 to 3. A 30-minute original video animation was bundled with the eleventh limited edition volume of the light novel series, which was released on September 30, 2016. Two compilation films acting as a recap to the anime television series were released in 2017; the first compilation film, titled , was released on February 25, 2017, while the second compilation film, titled , was released on March 11, 2017. The films' theme song, titled "Crazy Scary Holy Fantasy", was performed by Myth & Roid.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A second season was announced at film screenings of the second compilation film. It premiered on January 9, 2018. It ran for a total of 13 episodes. Outside of Asia, Funimation has licensed the second season for a simuldub. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll. In South and Southeast Asia, Medialink holds the rights to the series. The opening theme is "Go Cry Go" by OxT and the ending theme is "Hydra" by Myth & Roid. The second season of the anime adaptation covers light novel volumes 4 to 6.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A third season premiered on July 10, 2018. The opening theme is "VORACITY" by Myth & Roid, and the ending theme song is "Silent Solitude" by OxT. With 13 episodes as with the previous seasons, the third season of the anime adaptation covers light novel volumes 7 to 9.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: On May 8, 2021, a fourth season and an anime film were announced, with the film covering the Holy Kingdom Arc of the series. The staff and cast members returned to reprise their roles for the fourth season, which aired from July 5 to September 27, 2022. The opening theme is "HOLLOW HUNGER" by OxT, and the ending theme is "No Man's Dawn" by Mayu Maeshima. On July 18, 2022, Crunchyroll announced an English dub for the fourth season, which began streaming on July 19. Fourth Season covers light novel volumes 10, 11 and 14, while the movie adapts volumes 12 and 13.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A comedy crossover anime, Isekai Quartet featured characters from "Overlord" in a Chibi style, much like the OVA. It also featured characters from the light novel series "KonoSuba", "", and "The Saga of Tanya the Evil", all published by Kadokawa Corporation. The anime began airing on April 9, 2019.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A mobile game "Mass for the Dead" was launched in late 2019 in Japan, with a global (English) version launched in early 2020. It received poor reviews, with reviewers noting it was rather simple and did not offer anything new compared to many other similar gacha games. The global version has been shut down as of March 31, 2021.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: A Metroidvania game titled "Overlord: Escape from Nazarick" was announced on December 17, 2021, for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and was released on June 16, 2022.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: In June 2015, prior to the release of the anime and manga, the light novel series had about 600,000 copies in print in Japan with eight volumes. By August 1, 2015, the light novel and manga series had a total of 1 million copies in circulation in Japan. On August 4, a 600,000-copy reprint of the novels was announced. As of August 20, 2015, the nine-volume "Overlord" light novel series and two-volume manga series have, together, more than 1.5 million copies in circulation in Japan. As of September 18, 2015, "Overlord" light novel and manga has over 2 million copies in circulation. As of May 2016, the Overlord light novel series had 2.5 million copies in print. Overlord has since been named the top-selling light novel series of 2015. As of April 2018, the light novel and manga combined had over 7 million copies in print.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: The light novel ranked first in 2017 in Takarajimasha's annual light novel guide book "Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!", in the "tankōbon" category. It ranked fourth in 2018.


title: Overlord (novel series)

text: In reviewing the anime adaptation, Kotaku called the "Overlord" anime a "magnificent power fantasy" which "brings up a very relatable theme for anyone who has played an MMORPG before."


title: Wellington

text: Wellington ( or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metro area, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed.


title: Wellington

text: Legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century, with initial settlement by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. The disruptions of the Musket Wars led to them being overwhelmed by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early 19th century.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington's current form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield's New Zealand Company, in 1840. The Wellington urban area, which only includes urbanised areas within Wellington City, has a population of as of . The wider Wellington metropolitan area, including the cities of Lower Hutt, Porirua and Upper Hutt, has a population of as of . The city has served as New Zealand's capital since 1865, a status that is not defined in legislation, but established by convention; the New Zealand Government and Parliament, the Supreme Court and most of the public service are based in the city.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington's economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, government, and the film industry. It is the centre of New Zealand's film and special effects industries, and increasingly a hub for information technology and innovation, with two public research universities. Wellington is one of New Zealand's chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is chiefly served by Wellington International Airport in Rongotai, the country's second-busiest airport. Wellington's transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island.


title: Wellington

text: Often referred to as New Zealand's cultural capital, the culture of Wellington is a diverse and often youth-driven one which has wielded influence across Oceania. One of the world's most liveable cities, the 2021 Global Livability Ranking tied Wellington with Tokyo as fourth in the world. From 2017 to 2018, Deutsche Bank ranked it first in the world for both livability and non-pollution. Cultural precincts such as Cuba Street and Newtown are renowned for creative innovation, "op shops", historic character, and food. Wellington is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region, being ranked 35th in the world by the Global Financial Centres Index for 2021. The global city has grown from a bustling Māori settlement, to a colonial outpost, and from there to an Australasian capital that has experienced a "remarkable creative resurgence".


title: Wellington

text: Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo (1815): his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. It was named in November 1840 by the original settlers of the New Zealand Company on the suggestion of the directors of the same, in recognition of the Duke's strong support for the company's principles of colonisation and his "strenuous and successful defence against its enemies of the measure for colonising South Australia". One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers "took up the views of the directors with great cordiality and the new name was at once adopted".


title: Wellington

text: In the Māori language, Wellington has three names. refers to Wellington Harbour and means "the great harbour of Tara". Another is , commonly held to be a phonetic Māori transliteration of "Port Nick", short for "Port Nicholson". An alternative possible etymology for comes from a shortening of the phrase , meaning "the journey into the night", referring to the exodus of Te Āti Awa after they were displaced from the Wellington area by the first Europeans. The city's central marae, the community supporting it and its group have the pseudo-tribal name of Ngāti Pōneke. is another, meaning 'The Head of the Fish of Māui' (often shortened to "Te Upoko-o-te-Ika"), a traditional name for the southernmost part of the North Island, deriving from the legend of the fishing up of the island by the demi-god Māui. The legendary Maori explorer Kupe, a chief from Hawaiki (the homeland of Polynesian explorers, of unconfirmed geographical location, not to be confused with Hawaii), was said to have stayed in the harbour prior to 1000 CE. Here, it is said he had a notable impact on the area, with local mythology stating he named the two islands in the harbour after his daughters, Matiu (Somes Island), and Mākaro (Ward Island). However, the primary settlement of Wellington is said to have been executed by Tara, the son of Whatonga, a chief from the Māhia Peninsula, who told his son to travel south, to find more fertile lands to settle.


title: Wellington

text: In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a "W", and shaking it slightly from side to side twice.


title: Wellington

text: The city's location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leaves it vulnerable to strong gales, leading to the nickname of "Windy Wellington".


title: Wellington

text: Legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century. Before European colonisation, the area in which the city of Wellington would eventually be founded was seasonally inhabited by indigenous Māori. The earliest date with hard evidence for human activity in New Zealand is about 1280.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington and its environs have been occupied by various Māori groups from the 12th century. The legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, a chief from Hawaiki (the homeland of Polynesian explorers, of unconfirmed geographical location, not to be confused with Hawaii), was said to have stayed in the harbour from . A later Māori explorer, Whatonga, named the harbour "Te Whanganui-a-Tara" after his son Tara. Before the 1820s, most of the inhabitants of the Wellington region were Whatonga's descendants.


title: Wellington

text: At about 1820, the people living there were Ngāti Ira and other groups who traced their descent from the explorer Whatonga, including Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. However, these groups were eventually forced out of "Te Whanganui-a-Tara" by a series of migrations other iwi (Māori tribes) from the north. The migrating groups were Ngāti Toa, which came from Kāwhia, Ngāti Rangatahi, from near Taumarunui, and Te Atiawa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, Taranaki and Ngāti Ruanui from Taranaki. Ngāti Mutunga later moved on to the Chatham Islands. The Waitangi Tribunal has found that at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Te Atiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Tama, and Ngāti Toa held mana whenua interests in the area, through conquest and occupation.


title: Wellington

text: Steps towards Pākehā (European) settlement in the area began in 1839, when Colonel William Wakefield arrived to purchase land for the New Zealand Company to sell to prospective British settlers. Prior to this time, the Māori inhabitants had had contact with Pākehā whalers and traders.


title: Wellington

text: European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship "Tory" on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the "Aurora" on 22 January 1840. Thus the Wellington settlement preceded the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (on 6 February 1840). The 1840 settlers constructed their first homes at Petone (which they called Britannia for a time) on the flat area at the mouth of the Hutt River. Within months that area proved swampy and flood-prone, and most of the newcomers transplanted their settlement across Wellington Harbour to Thorndon in the present-day site of Wellington city.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington was declared a city in 1840, and was chosen to be the capital city of New Zealand in 1865.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington became the capital city in place of Auckland, which William Hobson had made the capital in 1841. The New Zealand Parliament had first met in Wellington on 7 July 1862, on a temporary basis; in November 1863, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Alfred Domett, placed a resolution before Parliament in Auckland that "... it has become necessary that the seat of government ... should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait [region]." There had been some concerns that the more populous South Island (where the goldfields were located) would choose to form a separate colony in the British Empire. Several commissioners (delegates) invited from Australia, chosen for their neutral status, declared that the city was a suitable location because of its central location in New Zealand and its good harbour; it was believed that the whole Royal Navy fleet could fit into the harbour. Wellington's status as capital is a result of constitutional convention rather than statute.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is New Zealand's political centre, housing the nation's major government institutions. The New Zealand Parliament relocated to the new capital city, having spent the first ten years of its existence in Auckland. A session of parliament officially met in the capital for the first time on 26 July 1865. At that time, the population of Wellington was just 4,900.


title: Wellington

text: The Government Buildings were constructed at Lambton Quay in 1876. The site housed the original government departments in New Zealand. The public service rapidly expanded beyond the capacity of the building, with the first department leaving shortly after it was opened; by 1975 only the Education Department remained, and by 1990 the building was empty. The capital city is also the location of the highest court, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, and the historic former High Court building (opened 1881) has been enlarged and restored for its use. The Governor-General's residence, Government House (the current building completed in 1910) is situated in Newtown, opposite the Basin Reserve. Premier House (built in 1843 for Wellington's first mayor, George Hunter), the official residence of the prime minister, is in Thorndon on Tinakori Road.


title: Wellington

text: Over six months in 1939 and 1940 Wellington hosted the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, celebrating a century since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Held on 55 acres of land at Rongotai it featured three exhibition courts, grand Art Deco-style edifices and a hugely popular three-acre amusement park. Wellington attracted more than 2.5 million visitors at a time when New Zealand's population was 1.6 million.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is at the south-western tip of the North Island on Cook Strait, separating the North and South Islands. On a clear day the snowcapped Kaikoura Ranges are visible to the south across the strait. To the north stretch the golden beaches of the Kapiti Coast. On the east the Remutaka Range divides Wellington from the broad plains of the Wairarapa, a wine region of national notability.


title: Wellington

text: With a latitude of 41° 17' South, Wellington is the southernmost capital city in the world. Wellington ties with Canberra, Australia, as the most remote capital city, apart from each other.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is more densely populated than most other cities in New Zealand due to the restricted amount of land that is available between its harbour and the surrounding hills. It has very few open areas in which to expand, and this has brought about the development of the suburban towns. Because of its location in the Roaring Forties and its exposure to the winds blowing through Cook Strait, Wellington is the world's windiest city, with an average wind speed of .


title: Wellington

text: Wellington's scenic natural harbour and green hillsides adorned with tiered suburbs of colonial villas are popular with tourists. The central business district (CBD) is close to Lambton Harbour, an arm of Wellington Harbour, which lies along an active geological fault, clearly evident on its straight western shore. The land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning that many suburbs sit high above the centre of the city. There is a network of bush walks and reserves maintained by the Wellington City Council and local volunteers. These include Otari-Wilton's Bush, dedicated to the protection and propagation of native plants. The Wellington region has of regional parks and forests. In the east is the Miramar Peninsula, connected to the rest of the city by a low-lying isthmus at Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport. Industry has developed mainly in the Hutt Valley, where there are food-processing plants, engineering industries, vehicle assembly and oil refineries.


title: Wellington

text: The narrow entrance to the harbour is to the east of the Miramar Peninsula, and contains the dangerous shallows of Barrett Reef, where many ships have been wrecked (notably the inter-island ferry in 1968). The harbour has three islands: Matiu/Somes Island, Makaro/Ward Island and Mokopuna Island. Only Matiu/Somes Island is large enough for habitation. It has been used as a quarantine station for people and animals, and was an internment camp during World War I and World War II. It is a conservation island, providing refuge for endangered species, much like Kapiti Island farther up the coast. There is access during daylight hours by the Dominion Post Ferry.


title: Wellington

text: Steep landforms shape and constrain much of Wellington city. Notable hills in and around Wellington include:


title: Wellington

text: Wellington suffered serious damage in a series of earthquakes in 1848 and from another earthquake in 1855. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on the Wairarapa Fault to the north and east of Wellington. It was probably the most powerful earthquake in recorded New Zealand history, with an estimated magnitude of at least 8.2 on the Moment magnitude scale. It caused vertical movements of two to three metres over a large area, including raising land out of the harbour and turning it into a tidal swamp. Much of this land was subsequently reclaimed and is now part of the central business district. For this reason, the street named Lambton Quay is 100 to 200 metres (325 to 650 ft) from the harbour – plaques set into the footpath mark the shoreline in 1840, indicating the extent of reclamation. The 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes caused considerable damage in Wellington.


title: Wellington

text: The area has high seismic activity even by New Zealand standards, with a major fault, the Wellington Fault, running through the centre of the city and several others nearby. Several hundred minor faults lines have been identified within the urban area. Inhabitants, particularly in high-rise buildings, typically notice several earthquakes every year. For many years after the 1855 earthquake, the majority of buildings were made entirely from wood. The 1996-restored Government Buildings near Parliament is the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere. While masonry and structural steel have subsequently been used in building construction, especially for office buildings, timber framing remains the primary structural component of almost all residential construction. Residents place their confidence in good building regulations, which became more stringent in the 20th century. Since the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, earthquake readiness has become even more of an issue, with buildings declared by Wellington City Council to be earthquake-prone, and the costs of meeting new standards.


title: Wellington

text: Every five years a year-long slow quake occurs beneath Wellington, stretching from Kapiti to the Marlborough Sounds. It was first measured in 2003, and reappeared in 2008 and 2013. It releases as much energy as a magnitude 7 quake, but as it happens slowly there is no damage.


title: Wellington

text: During July and August 2013 there were many earthquakes, mostly in Cook Strait near Seddon. The sequence started at 5:09 pm on Sunday 21 July 2013 when the magnitude 6.5 Seddon earthquake hit the city, but no tsunami report was confirmed nor any major damage. At 2:31 pm on Friday 16 August 2013 the Lake Grassmere earthquake struck, this time magnitude 6.6, but again no major damage occurred, though many buildings were evacuated. On Monday 20 January 2014 at 3:52 pm a rolling 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the lower North Island 15 km east of Eketahuna and was felt in Wellington, but little damage was reported initially, except at Wellington Airport where one of the two giant eagle sculptures commemorating The Hobbit became detached from the ceiling.


title: Wellington

text: At two minutes after midnight on Monday 14 November 2016, the 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake, which was centred between Culverden and Kaikoura in the South Island, caused the Wellington CBD, Victoria University of Wellington, and the Wellington suburban rail network to be largely closed for the day to allow inspections. The earthquake damaged a considerable number of buildings, with 65% of the damage being in Wellington. Subsequently, a number of recent buildings were demolished rather than being rebuilt, often a decision made by the insurer. Two of the buildings demolished were about eleven years old – the seven-storey NZDF headquarters and Statistics House at Centreport on the waterfront. The docks were closed for several weeks after the earthquake.


title: Wellington

text: Averaging 2,055 hours of sunshine per year, the climate of Wellington is temperate marine, (Köppen: "Cfb"), generally moderate all year round with warm summers and mild winters, and rarely sees temperatures above or below . The hottest recorded temperature in the city is , while is the coldest. The city is notorious for its southerly blasts in winter, which may make the temperature feel much colder. It is generally very windy all year round with high rainfall; average annual rainfall is , June and July being the wettest months. Frosts are quite common in the hill suburbs and the Hutt Valley between May and September. Snow is very rare at low altitudes, although snow fell on the city and many other parts of the Wellington region during separate events on 25 July 2011 and 15 August 2011. Snow at higher altitudes is more common, with light flurries recorded in higher suburbs every few years.


title: Wellington

text: On 29 January 2019, the suburb of Kelburn reached , the highest temperature since records began in 1927.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington City covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km. This comprises people in the Wellington urban area and people in the surrounding rural areas.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington City had a population of 202,737 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 11,781 people (6.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 23,271 people (13.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 74,841 households. There were 98,823 males and 103,911 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 34.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 32,856 people (16.2%) aged under 15 years, 54,999 (27.1%) aged 15 to 29, 93,669 (46.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 21,213 (10.5%) aged 65 or older.


title: Wellington

text: Of those at least 15 years old, 74,922 (44.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 12,690 (7.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $41,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 48,633 people (28.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 96,453 (56.8%) people were employed full-time, 24,738 (14.6%) were part-time, and 7,719 (4.5%) were unemployed.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington ranks 12th in the world for quality of living, according to a 2014 study by consulting company Mercer; of cities in the Asia–Pacific region, Wellington ranked third behind Auckland and Sydney ().


title: Wellington

text: In 2009, Wellington was ranked as a highly affordable city in terms of cost of living, coming in at 139th most expensive city out of 143 cities in the Mercer worldwide Cost of Living Survey. Between 2009 and 2020 the cost of living in Wellington increased, and it is now ranked 123rd most expensive city out of a total of 209 cities.


title: Wellington

text: In addition to governmental institutions, Wellington accommodates several of the nation's largest and oldest cultural institutions, such as the National Archives, the National Library, New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa and numerous theatres. It plays host to many artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet. Its architectural attractions include the Old Government Buildings – one of the largest wooden buildings in the world – as well as the iconic Beehive, the executive wing of Parliament Buildings as well as internationally renowned Futuna Chapel. The city's art scene includes many art galleries, including the national art collection at Toi Art at Te Papa. Wellington also has many events such as CubaDupa, the Newtown Festival, Diwali Festival of Lights and Gardens Magic at the Botanical Gardens.


title: Wellington

text: At the 2018 census, ethnicities were 74.1% European/Pākehā, 8.6% Māori, 5.1% Pacific peoples, 18.3% Asian, and 4.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.


title: Wellington

text: English is the most spoken language (96.0%) followed by French (3.2%), Te Reo Maori (2.2%), Mandarin (2.0%) and German (2.0%). Percentages add up to more than 100% as people may select more than one language.


title: Wellington

text: Although some people objected to giving their religion, 53.2% had no religion, 31.4% were Christian, 3.7% were Hindu, 1.6% were Muslim, 1.7% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions.


title: Wellington

text: At the 2018 Census, 33.4% of Wellington's population was born overseas, compared with 27.1% nationally. The most common overseas birthplace is England, place of origin of 6.2% of the urban area's population. The next most-common countries of origin were India (3.1%), mainland China (2.6%), Australia (2.0%), the Philippines (1.7%), the United States (1.5%) South Africa (1.2%).


title: Wellington

text: Wellington showcases a variety of architectural styles from the past 150 years – 19th-century wooden cottages, such as the Italianate Katherine Mansfield Birthplace in Thorndon; streamlined Art Deco structures such as the old Wellington Free Ambulance headquarters, the Central Fire Station, Fountain Court Apartments, the City Gallery, and the former Post and Telegraph Building; and the curves and vibrant colours of post-modern architecture in the CBD.


title: Wellington

text: The oldest building is the 1858 Nairn Street Cottage in Mount Cook. The tallest building is the Majestic Centre on Willis Street at 116 metres high, the second tallest being the structural expressionist Aon Centre (Wellington) at 103 metres. Futuna Chapel in Karori is an iconic building designed by Māori architect John Scott and is architecturally considered one of the most significant New Zealand buildings of the 20th century.


title: Wellington

text: Old St Paul's is an example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture adapted to colonial conditions and materials, as is St Mary of the Angels. Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Palladian Revival Basilica with the Portico of a Roman or Greek temple. The Museum of Wellington City & Sea in the Bond Store is in the Second French Empire style, and the Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office Building is in a late English Classical style. There are several restored theatre buildings: the St James Theatre, the Opera House and the Embassy Theatre.


title: Wellington

text: Te Ngākau Civic Square is surrounded by the Town Hall and council offices, the Michael Fowler Centre, the Wellington Central Library, the City-to-Sea Bridge, and the City Gallery.


title: Wellington

text: As it is the capital city, there are many notable government buildings. The Executive Wing of New Zealand Parliament Buildings, on the corner of Lambton Quay and Molesworth Street, was constructed between 1969 and 1981 and is commonly referred to as the Beehive. Across the road is the largest wooden building in the Southern Hemisphere, part of the old Government Buildings which now houses part of Victoria University of Wellington's Law Faculty.


title: Wellington

text: A modernist building housing the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa lies on the waterfront, on Cable Street. It is strengthened using base isolation – essentially seating the entire building on supports made from lead, steel and rubber that slow down the effect of an earthquake.


title: Wellington

text: Other notable buildings include Wellington Town Hall, Wellington railway station, Dominion Museum (now Massey University), Aon Centre (Wellington), Wellington Regional Stadium, and Wellington Airport at Rongotai. Leading architects include Frederick Thatcher, Frederick de Jersey Clere, W. Gray Young, Bill Alington, Ian Athfield, Roger Walker.Wellington contains many iconic sculptures and structures, such as the Bucket Fountain in Cuba Street and "Invisible City" by Anton Parsons on Lambton Quay. Kinetic sculptures have been commissioned, such as the Zephyrometer. This 26-metre orange spike built for movement by artist Phil Price has been described as "tall, soaring and elegantly simple", which "reflects the swaying of the yacht masts in the Evans Bay Marina behind it" and "moves like the needle on the dial of a nautical instrument, measuring the speed of the sea or wind or vessel."


title: Wellington

text: Wellington has many different architectural styles, such as classic Painted Ladies in Mount Victoria, Newtown and Oriental Bay, Wooden Art Deco houses spread throughout (especially further north in the Hutt Valley), the classic masonry buildings in Cuba Street, state houses particularly in the Hutt and Wellington's southern suburbs, railway houses in Ngaio and other railway-side suburbs, large modern buildings in the city centre (such as the distinctive skyscraper called the Majestic Centre) and grand Victorian buildings common in the inner city as well.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington experienced a real estate boom in the early 2000s and the effects of the international property bust at the start of 2007. In 2005, the market was described as "robust". By 2008, property values had declined by about 9.3% over a 12-month period, according to one estimate. More expensive properties declined more steeply, sometimes by as much as 20%. "From 2004 to early 2007, rental yields were eroded and positive cash flow property investments disappeared as house values climbed faster than rents. Then that trend reversed and yields slowly began improving," according to two "The New Zealand Herald" reporters writing in May 2009. In the middle of 2009 house prices had dropped, interest rates were low, and buy-to-let property investment was again looking attractive, particularly in the Lambton precinct, according to these two reporters.


title: Wellington

text: Since 2009, house prices in Wellington have increased significantly. In May 2021, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) reported the median house price was $1,057,000 in Wellington City, $930,000 in Porirua, $873,500 in Lower Hutt and $828,000 in Upper Hutt, compared to a national median house price of $820,000.


title: Wellington

text: The substantial increase in house prices has made it difficult for first home buyers to purchase a home in the city and is also credited with pushing up the house prices in neighbouring cities like Porirua. Housing costs have been identified making it difficult for some professions, like nurses, to afford to live in Wellington. The median rent in Wellington has also increased significantly in recent years to $600 per week, higher even than Auckland.


title: Wellington

text: Despite the high cost of housing in the capital, the quality of housing in Wellington has been criticised as being poor. 18.4% of houses in Wellington City are sometimes or always mouldy and 24% are sometimes or always damp. Both of these are higher than the New Zealand average.


title: Wellington

text: A Wellington City Council survey conducted in March 2009 found the typical central city apartment dweller was a New Zealand native aged 24 to 35 with a professional job in the downtown area, with household income higher than surrounding areas. Three-quarters (73%) walked to work or university, 13% travelled by car, 6% by bus, 2% bicycled (although 31% own bicycles), and did not travel very far since 73% worked or studied in the central city. The large majority (88%) did not have children in their apartments; 39% were couples without children; 32% were single-person households; 15% were groups of people flatting together. Most (56%) owned their apartment; 42% rented. The report continued: "The four most important reasons for living in an apartment were given as lifestyle and city living (23%), close to work (20%), close to shops and cafes (11%) and low maintenance (11%) ... City noise and noise from neighbours were the main turnoffs for apartment dwellers (27%), followed by a lack of outdoor space (17%), living close to neighbours (9%) and apartment size and a lack of storage space (8%)."


title: Wellington

text: Households are primarily one-family, making up 66.9% of households, followed by single-person households (24.7%); there were fewer multiperson households and even fewer households containing two or more families. These counts are from the 2013 census for the Wellington region (which includes the surrounding area in addition to the four cities).


title: Wellington

text: Wellington Harbour ranks as one of New Zealand's chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The port handles approximately 10.5 million tonnes of cargo on an annual basis, importing petroleum products, motor vehicles, minerals and exporting meats, wood products, dairy products, wool, and fruit. Many cruise ships also use the port.


title: Wellington

text: The Government sector has long been a mainstay of the economy, which has typically risen and fallen with it. Traditionally, its central location meant it was the location of many head offices of various sectors – particularly finance, technology and heavy industry – many of which have since relocated to Auckland following economic deregulation and privatisation.


title: Wellington

text: In recent years, tourism, arts and culture, film, and ICT have played a bigger role in the economy. Wellington's median income is well above the average in New Zealand, and the highest of all New Zealand cities. It has a much higher proportion of people with tertiary qualifications than the national average. Major companies with their headquarters in Wellington include:


title: Wellington

text: At the 2013 census, the largest employment industries for Wellington residents were professional, scientific and technical services (25,836 people), public administration and safety (24,336 people), health care and social assistance (17,446 people), education and training (16,550 people) and retail trade (16,203 people). In addition, Wellington is an important centre of the New Zealand film and theatre industry, and second to Auckland in terms of numbers of screen industry businesses.


title: Wellington

text: Tourism is a major contributor to the city's economy, injecting approximately NZ$1.3 billion into the region annually and accounting for 9% of total FTE employment. The city is consistently named as New Zealanders' favourite destination in the quarterly FlyBuys Colmar Brunton Mood of the Traveller survey and it was ranked fourth in Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011's Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2011. New Zealanders make up the largest visitor market, with 3.6 million visits each year; New Zealand visitors spend on average NZ$2.4 million a day. There are approximately 540,000 international visitors each year, who spend 3.7 million nights and NZ$436 million. The largest international visitor market is Australia, with over 210,000 visitors spending approximately NZ$334 million annually.


title: Wellington

text: It has been argued that the construction of the Te Papa museum helped transform Wellington into a tourist destination. Wellington is marketed as the 'coolest little capital in the world' by Positively Wellington Tourism, an award-winning regional tourism organisation set up as a council controlled organisation by Wellington City Council in 1997. The organisation's council funding comes through the Downtown Levy commercial rate. In the decade to 2010, the city saw growth of over 60% in commercial guest nights. It has been promoted through a variety of campaigns and taglines, starting with the iconic Absolutely Positively Wellington advertisements. The long-term domestic marketing strategy was a finalist in the 2011 CAANZ Media Awards.


title: Wellington

text: Popular tourist attractions include Wellington Museum, Wellington Zoo, Zealandia and Wellington Cable Car. Cruise tourism is experiencing a major boom in line with nationwide development. The 2010/11 season saw 125,000 passengers and crew visit on 60 liners. There were 80 vessels booked for visits in the 2011/12 season – estimated to inject more than NZ$31 million into the economy and representing a 74% increase in the space of two years.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is a popular conference tourism destination due to its compact nature, cultural attractions, award-winning restaurants and access to government agencies. In the year ending March 2011, there were 6,495 conference events involving nearly 800,000 delegate days; this injected approximately NZ$100 million into the economy.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington's culture has been befamed across the world since the 1990s for being notably "cool", incongruous and influential given the city's relatively small size (near half a million). It has been traditionally acclaimed as New Zealand's "cultural and creative capital". The city is known for its coffee scene, with now-globally common foods and drinks such as the flat white perfected here. Wellington has a strong coffee culture – the city has more cafés per capita than New York City – and was pioneered by Italian and Greek immigrants to areas such as Mount Victoria, Island Bay and Miramar. Nascent influence is derived from Ethiopian migrants. Wellington's cultural vibrance and diversity is well-known across the world. It is New Zealand's second most ethnically diverse city, bested only by Auckland, and boasts a "melting pot" culture of significant minorities such as Malaysian, Italian, Dutch, Korean, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Samoan and indigenous Taranaki Whānui communities as a result. In particular, Wellington is noted for is contributions to art, cuisine and international filmmaking (with Avatar and The Lord of the Rings being largely produced in the city) among many other factors listed below. The World of Wearable Arts (WOW) is an annual event that brings lots of visitors to Wellington every year.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is home to many cultural institutions, including Te Papa (the Museum of New Zealand), the National Library of New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Wellington Museum (formerly the Wellington Museum of City and Sea), the Katherine Mansfield House and Garden (formerly Katherine Mansfield Birthplace), Colonial Cottage, the Wellington Cable Car Museum, the Reserve Bank Museum, Old St Paul's, the National War Memorial Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision and the Wellington City Gallery.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is home to many high-profile events and cultural celebrations, including the biennial New Zealand Festival of the Arts, biennial Wellington Jazz Festival, biennial Capital E National Arts Festival for Children and major events such as Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art, TEDxWellington, Cuba Street Carnival, Visa Wellington on a Plate, New Zealand Fringe Festival, New Zealand International Comedy Festival, New Zealand Affordable Art Show, Out In The Square and Homegrown Music Festival.


title: Wellington

text: The annual children's Artsplash Festival brings together hundreds of students from across the region. The week-long festival includes music and dance performances and the presentation of visual arts.


title: Wellington

text: Filmmakers Sir Peter Jackson, Sir Richard Taylor and a growing team of creative professionals have turned the eastern suburb of Miramar into a film-making, post-production and special effects infrastructure centre, giving rise to the moniker 'Wellywood'. Jackson's companies include Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, Camperdown Studios, post-production house Park Road Post, and Stone Street Studios near Wellington Airport. Films shot partly or wholly in Wellington include the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy, "King Kong" and "Avatar". Jackson described Wellington: "Well, it's windy. But it's actually a lovely place, where you're pretty much surrounded by water and the bay. The city itself is quite small, but the surrounding areas are very reminiscent of the hills up in northern California, like Marin County near San Francisco and the Bay Area climate and some of the architecture. Kind of a cross between that and Hawaii."


title: Wellington

text: Sometime Wellington directors Jane Campion and Geoff Murphy have reached the world's screens with their independent spirit. Emerging Kiwi filmmakers, like Robert Sarkies, Taika Waititi, Costa Botes and Jennifer Bush-Daumec, are extending the Wellington-based lineage and cinematic scope. There are agencies to assist film-makers with tasks such as securing permits and scouting locations.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington has a large number of independent cinemas, including the Embassy Theatre, Penthouse, the Roxy and Light House, which participate in film festivals throughout the year. Wellington has one of the country's highest turn-outs for the annual New Zealand International Film Festival. There are a number of other film festivals hosted in Wellington such as Doc Edge (documentary), the Japanese Film Festival and Show Me Shorts (short films).


title: Wellington

text: The music scene has produced bands such as The Warratahs, The Mockers, The Phoenix Foundation, Shihad, Beastwars, Fly My Pretties, Rhian Sheehan, Birchville Cat Motel, Black Boned Angel, Fat Freddy's Drop, The Black Seeds, Fur Patrol, Flight of the Conchords, Connan Mockasin, Rhombus and Module, Weta, Demoniac. The New Zealand School of Music was established in 2005 through a merger of the conservatory and theory programmes at Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Nevine String Quartet and Chamber music New Zealand are based in Wellington. The city is also home to the Rodger Fox Big Band.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is home to BATS Theatre, Circa Theatre, the national kaupapa Māori theatre company Taki Rua, the National Theatre for Children at Capital E, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and contemporary dance company Footnote.


title: Wellington

text: Venues include St James' Theatre on Courtenay Place, The Opera House on Manners Street and the Hannah Playhouse.


title: Wellington

text: Te Whaea National Dance & Drama Centre, houses New Zealand's university-level schools, Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School & the New Zealand School of Dance, these are separate entities that share the building's facilities. The theatre's and studio's are which also are available for hire and used for public presentation and rehearsals by many groups.


title: Wellington

text: Many of New Zealand's prominent comedians have either come from Wellington or got their start there, such as Ginette McDonald ("Lyn of Tawa"), Raybon Kan, Dai Henwood, Ben Hurley, Steve Wrigley, Guy Williams, the Flight of the Conchords and the satirist John Clarke ("Fred Dagg").


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is home to groups that perform improvised theatre and improvisational comedy, including Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT), The Improvisors and youth group Joe Improv. The comedy group Breaking the 5th Wall operated out of Wellington and regularly did shows around the city, performing a mix of sketch comedy and semi-improvised theatre. In 2012 the group disbanded when some of its members moved to Australia.


title: Wellington

text: From 1936 to 1992 Wellington was home to the National Art Gallery of New Zealand, when it was amalgamated into Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Wellington is home to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts and the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. The city's arts centre, Toi Pōneke, is a nexus of creative projects, collaborations, and multi-disciplinary production. Arts Programmes and Services Manager Eric Vaughn Holowacz and a small team based in the Abel Smith Street facility have produced ambitious initiatives such as Opening Notes, Drive by Art, and public art projects. The city is home to experimental arts publication "White Fungus". The Learning Connexion provides art classes. Other visual art galleries include the City Gallery.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is characterised by small dining establishments, and its café culture is internationally recognised, being known for its large number of coffeehouses. There are a few iconic cafes that started the obsession with coffee that Wellington has. One of these is the Deluxe Expresso Bar that opened in 1988. Wellington Restaurants offer cuisines including from Europe, Asia and Polynesia; for dishes that have a distinctly New Zealand style, there are lamb, pork and cervena (venison), salmon, crayfish (lobster), Bluff oysters, pāua (abalone), mussels, scallops, pipis and tuatua (both New Zealand shellfish); kumara (sweet potato); kiwifruit and tamarillo; and pavlova, the national dessert.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington city is administered by the territorial authority of Wellington City Council. The present mayor of the Wellington City Council is Tory Whanau, who was elected in 2022.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is also part of the wider Wellington Region, administered by the Greater Wellington Region Council. The local authorities are responsible for a wide variety of public services, which include management and maintenance of local roads, and land-use planning.


title: Wellington

text: The Wellington City Council has created two local community boards under the provisions of Part 4 of the Local Government Act 2002 for certain parts of the city:


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is covered by four general electorates: Mana, Ōhāriu, Rongotai, and Wellington Central. It is also covered by two Māori electorates: Te Tai Hauāuru, and Te Tai Tonga. Each electorate returns one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. All electorates are held by the governing Labour Party.


title: Wellington

text: Due to Wellington being the capital city of New Zealand, its residents are more likely to participate in politics compared to other cities in New Zealand.


title: Wellington

text: Victoria University of Wellington has four campuses and works with a three-trimester system (beginning March, July, and November). It enrolled 21,380 students in 2008; of these, 16,609 were full-time students. Of all students, 56% were female and 44% male. While the student body was primarily New Zealanders of European descent, 1,713 were Maori, 1,024 were Pacific students, 2,765 were international students. 5,751 degrees, diplomas and certificates were awarded. The university has 1,930 full-time employees.


title: Wellington

text: Massey University has a Wellington campus known as the "creative campus" and offers courses in communication and business, engineering and technology, health and well-being, and creative arts. Its school of design was established in 1886 and has research centres for studying public health, sleep, Maori health, small & medium enterprises, disasters, and tertiary teaching excellence. It combined with Victoria University to create the New Zealand School of Music.


title: Wellington

text: Whitireia New Zealand has large campuses in Porirua, Wellington and Kapiti; the Wellington Institute of Technology and New Zealand's National Drama school, Toi Whakaari. The Wellington area has numerous primary and secondary schools.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is served by State Highway 1 in the west and State Highway 2 in the east, meeting at the Ngauranga Interchange north of the city centre, where SH 1 runs through the city to the airport. There are two other state highways in the wider region: State Highway 58 which provides a direct connection between the Hutt Valley and Porirua, and State Highway 59 which follows a coastal route between Linden and Mackays Crossing and was previously part of SH 1. Road access into the capital is constrained by the mountainous terrain – between Wellington and the Kapiti Coast, SH 1 passes through the steep and narrow Wainui Saddle, nearby SH 59 travels along the Centennial Highway, a narrow section of road between the Paekākāriki Escarpment and the Tasman Sea, and between Wellington and Wairarapa SH 2 transverses the Rimutaka Ranges on a similar narrow winding road. Wellington has two motorways: the Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway (largely part of SH 1, with the northernmost section part of SH 59) and the Wellington Urban Motorway (entirely part of SH 1), which in combination with a small non-motorway section in the Ngauranga Gorge connect Porirua with Wellington city. A third motorway in the wider region, the Transmission Gully Motorway forming part of the SH 1 route and officially opened on 30 March 2022, leaves the Johnsonville-Porirua Motorway at the boundary between Wellington and Porirua and provides the main route between Wellington and the wider North Island.


title: Wellington

text: Bus transport in Wellington is supplied by several different operators under the banner of Metlink. Buses serve almost every part of Wellington city, with most of them running along the "Golden Mile" from Wellington railway station to Courtenay Place. Until October 2017 there were nine trolleybus routes, all other buses running on diesel. The trolleybus network was the last public system of its kind in the southern hemisphere.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington lies at the southern end of the North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) and the Wairarapa Line, converging on Wellington railway station at the northern end of central Wellington. One long-distance service leaves from Wellington: the Capital Connection, for commuters from Palmerston North. The Northern Explorer to Auckland was discontinued in December 2021.


title: Wellington

text: Four electrified suburban lines radiate from Wellington railway station to the outer suburbs to the north of Wellington – the Johnsonville Line through the hillside suburbs north of central Wellington; the Kapiti Line along the NIMT to Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast via Porirua and Paraparaumu; the Melling Line to Lower Hutt via Petone; and the Hutt Valley Line along the Wairarapa Line via Waterloo and Taitā to Upper Hutt. A diesel-hauled carriage service, the Wairarapa Connection, connects several times daily to Masterton in the Wairarapa via the Rimutaka Tunnel. Combined, these five services carry 11.64 million passengers per year.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is the North Island port for Cook Strait ferries to Picton in the South Island, provided by state-owned Interislander and private Bluebridge. Local ferries connect Wellington city centre with Eastbourne and Seatoun.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington International Airport is south-east of the city centre. It is serviced by flights from across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore (via Melbourne), and Fiji. Flights to other international destinations require a transfer at another airport, as aircraft range is limited by Wellington's short () runway, which has become an issue in recent years in regards to the Wellington region's economic performance.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington's first public electricity supply was established in 1904, alongside the introduction of electric trams, and was originally supplied at 105 volts 80 hertz. The conversion to the now-standard 230/400 volts 50 hertz began in 1925, the same year the city was connected to the Mangahao hydroelectric scheme. Between 1924 and 1968, the city's supply was supplemented by a coal-fired power station at Evans Bay.


title: Wellington

text: Today, Wellington city is supplied from four Transpower substations: Takapu Road, Kaiwharawhara, Wilton, and Central Park (Mount Cook). Wellington Electricity owns and operates the local distribution network.


title: Wellington

text: The city is home to two large wind farms, West Wind and Mill Creek, which combined contribute up to 213 MW of electricity to the city and the national grid.


title: Wellington

text: While Wellington experiences regular strong winds, and only 63% of Wellington Electricity's network is underground, the city has a very reliable power supply. In the year to March 2018, Wellington Electricity disclosed the average customer spent just 55 minutes without power due to unplanned outages.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington was one of the original nine towns and cities in New Zealand to be supplied with natural gas when the Kapuni gas field entered production in 1970, and a high-pressure pipeline from the field in Taranaki to the city was completed. The high-pressure transmission pipelines supplying Wellington are now owned and operated by First Gas, with Powerco owning and operating the medium- and low-pressure distribution pipelines within the urban area.


title: Wellington

text: The "three waters" – drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater services for the Wellington metropolitan area are provided by five councils: Wellington City, Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua city councils, and the Greater Wellington Regional Council. However, the water assets of these councils are managed by an infrastructure asset management company, Wellington Water.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington's first piped water supply came from a spring in 1867. Greater Wellington Regional Council now supplies Lower Hutt, Porirua, Upper Hutt and Wellington with up to 220 million litres a day. The water comes from Wainuiomata River (since 1884), Hutt River (1914), Ōrongorongo River (1926) and the Lower Hutt aquifer.


title: Wellington

text: The Wellington metropolitan area faces challenges with ageing infrastructure for the three waters, and there have been some significant failures, particularly in wastewater systems. The water supply is vulnerable to severe disruption during a major earthquake, although a wide range of projects are planned to improve resilience of the water supply and allow a limited water supply post-earthquake.


title: Wellington

text: In May 2021, the Wellington City Council approved a 10 year plan that included expenditure of $2.7billion on water pipe maintenance and upgrades in Wellington city, and an additional $147 to $208 million for plant upgrades at the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant.


title: Wellington

text: Wellington is served by 26 full-power radio stations: 17 on FM, four on AM, and five on both FM and AM.


title: Wellington

text: Television broadcasts began in Wellington on 1 July 1961 with the launch of channel WNTV1, becoming the third New Zealand city (after Auckland and Christchurch) to receive regular television broadcasts. WNTV1's main studios were in Waring Taylor Street in central Wellington and broadcast from a transmitter atop Mount Victoria. In 1967, the Mount Victoria transmitter was replaced with a more powerful transmitter at Mount Kaukau. In November 1969, WNTV1 was networked with its counterpart stations in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin to form NZBC TV.


title: Wellington

text: In 1975, the NZBC was broken up with Wellington and Dunedin studios taking over NZBC TV as Television One while Auckland and Christchurch studios launched Television Two. At the same time, the Wellington studios moved to the new purpose-built Avalon Television Centre in Lower Hutt. In 1980, Televisions One and Two merged under a single company, Television New Zealand (TVNZ). The majority of television production moved to Auckland over the 1980s, culminating in the opening of TVNZ's new Auckland television centre in 1989.


title: Wellington

text: Today, digital terrestrial television (Freeview) is available in the city, transmitting from Mount Kaukau plus three infill transmitters at Baxters Knob, Fitzherbert, and Haywards.


title: Wellington

text: The wider metropolitan area for Wellington encompasses areas administered by four local authorities: Wellington City itself, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour; Porirua City on Porirua Harbour to the north, notable for its large Māori and Pasifika communities; and Lower Hutt City and Upper Hutt City, largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley. Depending on the source, the Wellington metro area may include Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Paekākāriki on the Kapiti Coast, and/or Featherston and Greytown in the Wairarapa.


title: Wellington

text: The four cities comprising the Wellington metropolitan area have a total population of with the urban area containing % of that population. The remaining areas are largely mountainous and sparsely farmed or parkland and are outside the urban area boundary. More than most cities, life is dominated by its central business district (CBD). Approximately 62,000 people work in the CBD, only 4,000 fewer than work in Auckland's CBD, despite that city having four times the population.


title: Wellington

text: The Waikanae-Paraparaumu-Paekākāriki combined urban area in the Kapiti Coast district is sometimes included in the Wellington metro area due to its exurban nature and strong transport links with Wellington. If included as part of Wellington metro, Waikanae-Paraparaumu-Paekākāriki would add to the population (as of ).


title: Wellington

text: Featherston and Greytown in the Wairarapa are rarely considered part of the Wellington metropolitan area, being physically separated from the rest of the metropolitan area by the Remutaka Range. However, both have significant proportions of their employed population working in Wellington city and the Hutt Valley (36.1% and 17.1% in 2006 respectively) and are considered part of the Wellington functional urban area by Statistics New Zealand.


title: Wellington

text: The four urban areas combined had a usual resident population of 401,850 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 26,307 people (7.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 42,726 people (11.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 196,911 males and 204,936 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.961 males per female. Of the total population, 74,892 people (18.6%) were aged up to 15 years, 93,966 (23.4%) were 15 to 29, 185,052 (46.1%) were 30 to 64, and 47,952 (11.9%) were 65 or older.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politician. Shevchenko played as a striker for Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team. He was head coach of Serie A club Genoa. Shevchenko became the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine on the 17th of November 2022.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko is considered one of the most lethal strikers to ever play the game. He is ranked as the seventh top goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, he is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time top scorer of the "Derby della Madonnina" (the derby between Milan and their local rivals Inter Milan) with 14 goals. Furthermore, he is the all-time top scorer for the Ukrainian national team with 48 goals.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko's career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon d'Or in 2004 (becoming the third Ukrainian, after Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov, to receive it). He won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and he has also won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy and England. He was also a Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008. He was named in the FIFA World XI for 2005. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 100 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In his international career, the striker led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, and also took part at UEFA Euro 2012 on home soil.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: On 28 July 2012, Shevchenko announced that he was quitting football for politics. He stood for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but his party failed to win parliamentary representation.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: He returned to football in 2016, as assistant coach of the Ukraine national team February to July, at the time led by Mykhaylo Fomenko. In July 2016, Shevchenko was appointed Ukraine's head coach, and led the nation to the quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 2020.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko was born in Dvirkivshchyna, Ukrainian SSR. He was born in the family of "Praporshchik" Mykola Hryhorovych Shevchenko. In 1979, his family moved to the newly built neighbourhood in Kyiv – Obolon (Minsk District was created in 1975). In Kyiv, Shevchenko went to the 216th City School and in 1986 (aged 9) enrolled into the football section coached by Oleksandr Shpakov. Because of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, together with his sport group he was evacuated temporarily from the city. At an early age, he also was a competitive boxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league, but eventually he elected to move on to football.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In 1986, Shevchenko failed a dribbling test for entrance to a specialist sports school in Kyiv, but happened to catch the eye of a Dynamo Kyiv scout while playing in a youth tournament, and was thus brought to the club. Four years later, Shevchenko was on the Dynamo under-14 team for the Ian Rush Cup (now the Welsh Super Cup); he finished as the tournament's top scorer and was awarded a pair of Rush's boots as a prize by the then-Liverpool player.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko started out his professional career at age 16 when he came on for only 12 minutes as a substitute in a 0–2 home loss to the Odessa second team Chornomorets-2 Odesa on 5 May 1993. He was a substitute for the last six home games of the 1992–93 Ukrainian First League and did not score any goals. The next 1993–94 season at the second tier, Shevchenko was the top goal scorer for Dynamo-2 with 12 goals, and he made his first appearance in the starting XI. Shevchenko scored his first goal against Krystal Chortkiv at the home 1–1 draw on 7 October 1993. During the same season, he recorded his first hat-trick in a home game against Artania Ochakiv on 21 November 1993 which Dynamo-2 won 4–1. Shevchenko stayed with Dynamo-2 until the end of 1994 and once again he was called up for one game in late 1996.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: He made his Vyshcha Liha debut for Dynamo squad on 8 November 1994 in an away game against Shakhtar Donetsk when he was 18. It was actually his second game for the senior squad overall after he played a home game of National Cup competition on 5 November 1994 against Skala Stryi. That year Shevchenko became a national champion and became a cup holder with Dynamo. He won his second league title the next season, scoring 6 goals in 20 matches. He scored a hat-trick in the first half of a 1997–98 UEFA Champions League away match against Barcelona, which Dynamo won 4–0; no other visitor to the Camp Nou scored a Champions League treble until 2021. His 19 goals in 23 league matches and six goals in ten Champions League matches (including a hat-trick over two legs against Real Madrid) were followed by 28 total goals in all competitions in 1998–99. He won the domestic league title with Dynamo in each of his five seasons with the club.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In 1999, Shevchenko joined Italian club AC Milan for a then-record transfer fee of $25 million. He made his league debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2–2 draw with Lecce. Alongside five other players – Michel Platini, John Charles, Gunnar Nordahl, István Nyers, and Ferenc Hirzer – he managed, as a foreign player, to win the Serie A scoring title in his debut season, finishing with 24 goals in 32 matches. Shevchenko maintained his excellent form into the 2000–01 season, scoring 24 goals in 34 matches, including nine goals in 14 Champions League games. During the same season, he also reunited with Kakha Kaladze as teammates when Milan signed the Georgian defender from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2001.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Despite netting only five times in 24 matches, mainly due to injuries, Shevchenko became the first Ukrainian-born player to win the Champions League after Milan lifted their sixth trophy in 2002–03. He scored the crucial away goal against rivals Inter Milan in the semi-final, and then scored the winning penalty in the shoot out against Juventus in the final, which had ended goalless after extra time. Following Milan winning the Champions League, Shevchenko flew to Kyiv to put his medal by the grave of Valeriy Lobanovskyi (who he was managed by when he was at Dynamo), who died in 2002. He finished top goalscorer in Serie A in 2003–04 for the second time in his career, scoring 24 goals in 32 matches as Milan won the "Scudetto" for the first time in five years. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Super Cup victory over Porto, leading to Milan's second trophy of the season. In August 2004, he scored three goals against Lazio as Milan won the Supercoppa Italiana. Shevchenko capped off the year by being awarded the 2004 Ballon d'Or, becoming the third Ukrainian player ever to win the award after Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov. In the same year, Shevchenko was also inducted into the FIFA 100.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: He scored 17 goals in the 2004–05 season after missing several games with a fractured cheekbone. Shevchenko made Champions League history the following season; on 23 November 2005, he scored all four goals in Milan's 4–0 group stage drubbing of Fenerbahçe, becoming only the fifth player to accomplish this feat; his company includes Marco van Basten, Simone Inzaghi, Dado Pršo and Ruud van Nistelrooy (while Lionel Messi joined that group in the 2009–10 season and Robert Lewandowski in 2012–13 and 2019–20), and Shevchenko was the only player to have done it in an away game until Olivier Giroud did so for Chelsea, away to Sevilla, in the 2020-21 season. Milan eventually lost the tournament when Shevchenko missed the crucial penalty in the final against Liverpool. In the 2005–06 Champions League, he scored his last Milan goal in the second leg of the quarter-final as they eliminated Lyon after a last-minute comeback in a 3–1 victory. In the semi-final, Milan lost to eventual winners Barcelona 1–0, a match where Shevchenko controversially had a last minute equaliser denied by the referee. Despite this, he still ended up being the top scorer of the whole competition with 9 goals in 12 games.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: On 8 February 2006, Shevchenko became Milan's second highest all-time goalscorer, behind Gunnar Nordahl, after netting against Treviso. He finished the season as joint fourth-top scorer with 19 goals in 28 games. Shevchenko ended his seven-year stint with Milan with 175 goals in 296 games.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: During the summer of 2005, there were persistent reports that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich offered a record sum €73 million and striker Hernán Crespo to Milan in exchange for Shevchenko. Milan refused the monetary offer but took Crespo on loan. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was quoted as saying, "I think Shevchenko is the type of player we would like. At the end of the day to improve what we have got, it has to be a great player and Shevchenko certainly comes into that class." Shevchenko cited that the persistence of Abramovich was a key factor in his move. Milan, desperate to keep the striker, offered Shevchenko a six-year contract extension.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: On 28 May 2006, Shevchenko left Milan for Chelsea for £30.8 million (€43.875million), topping Michael Essien's transfer fee from the previous year and also breaking the record for a player signed by an English club. He received the number seven shirt, as Chelsea manager José Mourinho said that Shevchenko could continue wearing it.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko was handed his first start of the 2007–08 season against Blackburn Rovers at home to cover for the injured Didier Drogba, but the game finished goalless. His first goal of the season came three days later, equalising for Chelsea in a match against Rosenborg, which turned out to be José Mourinho's last game as manager of Chelsea. Throughout the season, Shevchenko was in and out of the starting line-up because of injuries and the appointment of Avram Grant following the departure of Mourinho. During the Christmas period, however, Shevchenko enjoyed a good run of form. He scored the first goal in Chelsea's 2–0 win over Sunderland, and he was named man of the match in Chelsea's 4–4 draw against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, scoring twice (including a stunning 25-yard shot into the top left hand corner) and assisting Alex to make the score 3–2 in Chelsea's favour. Shevchenko scored his last goal in the 2007–08 season in a 1–1 draw with Bolton Wanderers. He finished the season with five league goals in 17 games. Shevchenko also played a part in a pre-season match which was against his former team, Milan.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko was not used very often in the starting line-up at Chelsea, and with the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari, he was deemed surplus to requirements. Due to this, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani offered to take Shevchenko back to the San Siro and Shevchenko was loaned back to his old club for the 2008–09 season.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko's failed to score any league goals and only scored 2 goals in 26 appearances, starting only nine of those games. He returned to Chelsea for the final year of his four-year contract, where he was joined by his former Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko was not even on the bench for Chelsea's penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United at Wembley at the weekend in the season-opening Community Shield. After making a late appearance for Chelsea in their second game of the 2009–10 season, Ancelotti announced that Shevchenko would be likely to leave Chelsea before the summer transfer window closed. Despite this, Ancelotti said it had nothing to do with his decision to leave Shevchenko out of Chelsea's 2009–10 Champions League squad, but just to continue playing first-team football.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: On 28 August 2009, Shevchenko signed a two-year deal at his former club Dynamo Kyiv and scored a penalty-goal in his first game upon returning to his former club against Metalurh Donetsk in Dynamo's 3–1 victory on 31 August. He was mostly used as a left winger and central mid-fielder, and was named left winger in the 2009 team of the season. On 16 September, Shevchenko played his first Champions League match after returning to Dynamo, against Rubin Kazan, in Dynamo's first game of the 2009–10 season. In October, he was named the best player of the Ukrainian Premier League. On 4 November, he scored a goal in the game against Inter, cross-city rivals of his former club Milan, in the fourth game of the Champions League season. It was the 15th goal he had scored against Inter in his career.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko achieved 111 caps and scored 48 goals for the Ukrainian national team, whom he represented at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He earned his first cap in 1995 and scored his first international goal in May 1996 in a friendly against Turkey.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: During qualification for the 1998 World Cup, Shevchenko scored three times as Ukraine finished second in Group G to earn a place in the play-offs. Ukraine were knocked out 3–1 on aggregate by Croatia, the team who would go on to finish third in the finals, with Shevchenko scoring Ukraine's goal in the home leg.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Ukraine performed similarly impressively in UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, again making the play-offs after finishing one point behind World Champions France in Group 4. However, the team again failed at the play-off stage, losing to underdogs Slovenia. Overall, Shevchenko scored four times for Ukraine during their Euro 2000 qualifying campaign.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In March 2000, Dynamo manager Valeri Lobanovsky became Ukraine's coach, with the aim to qualify for the 2002 World Cup finals. Shevchenko scored ten goals in the qualifiers, but Ukraine again failed to qualify after losing a play-off, this time against Germany. He then scored a total of three goals in Ukraine's Euro 2004 qualifying round, but the team failed to qualify for the play-offs, finishing below Greece and Spain in third place in Group 6.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko scored six goals in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, to take his country to its first ever major tournament. He captained the team at the finals and scored in Ukraine's first ever World Cup win, a 4–0 defeat of Saudi Arabia. He then scored the winning goal from a penalty kick as Ukraine beat Tunisia 1–0 to qualify for the second round where, despite Shevchenko failing with their first kick, Ukraine knocked out Switzerland on penalties. Ukraine were then beaten 3–0 by eventual champions Italy at the quarter-final stage.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: After only playing two games for Milan in the 2008–09 season, Shevcehnko was still the first choice for Ukraine, and he scored an equaliser in an 2010 World Cup qualifying match against England at Wembley Stadium. Ukraine, however, went on to lose the game 2–1 after his former Chelsea teammate John Terry scored from a free kick delivered by David Beckham.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In a 21 December 2009 interview with UEFA, Shevchenko declared that he was keen to play in his home country at Euro 2012. "After a disappointing 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, that is my new challenge, or even dream. I will do everything to achieve that." In May 2012, Shevchenko was named in the Ukrainian squad for Euro 2012. In Ukraine's opening game, Shevchenko scored two headers to beat Sweden 2–1 in Group D. After his country was eliminated from the group, Shevchenko announced he would retire from international football, having been Ukraine's youngest and oldest goalscorer and record marksman with 48 goals in 111 appearances.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: A fast, hardworking, energetic, and well-rounded striker, Shevchenko was a prolific and highly opportunistic goalscorer, who was usually deployed as an out-and-out striker in a centre-forward role, although he was capable of operating anywhere along the front line, and often played in a free role, in which he could attack from the left wing, and get past opposing defenders with his runs into the penalty area, courtesy of his pace and movement off the ball. He also occupied a wider position as an outright winger on the left flank at times, in particular at the beginning of his career, and also during his second stint with Dynamo Kyiv during his later years; he was also capable of playing on the right. Shevchenko was also effective from set-pieces, and was an accurate penalty taker. A strong and physical striker with an eye for goal, he was primarily known for his excellent positional sense, movement off the ball, and finishing ability inside the box, as well as his composure in front of goal; moreover, he possessed a powerful and accurate shot with either foot, from both inside and outside the area. Although he was not known to take part in aerial duels frequently, he was also good in the air, due to his heading ability. Often compared by pundits to fellow former Milan striker Marco van Basten, although he was not as elegant as the Dutch forward, he also possessed good technique; furthermore, despite mainly being a goalscorer, he was capable of playing off of his teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself, due to his link-up play.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In November 2012, Shevchenko initially refused to accept Football Federation of Ukraine's proposal to become head coach of the Ukraine national team.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: From 16 February to 15 July 2016, Shevchenko served as the assistant manager of the Ukraine national team. On 15 July 2016, Shevchenko was appointed as manager of the Ukraine national team. The 39-year-old replaced Mykhaylo Fomenko, whose four-year spell ended with elimination at the group stage of Euro 2016. He signed a two-year contract with the possibility of another two-year extension. Former Italy and Milan defender Mauro Tassotti, who was assistant coach when Shevchenko was at Milan, joined his coaching staff, as did former Dynamo coach Raúl Riancho, and former AC Milan Youth System coach Andrea Maldera. On 14 October 2019, Shevchenko led Ukraine to qualify for Euro 2020 with a 2–1 home win over reigning European champions Portugal.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: At UEFA Euro 2020, Shevchenko led Ukraine to reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in their history. His side finished as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group stage, then beating Sweden in extra time in the round of 16 and suffering an exit to England in the next round. Despite Ukraine’s successful tournament, on 1 August 2021, he announced his departure from the post.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: On 7 November 2021, Shevchenko was announced as the new head coach of Serie A side Genoa, following the club's takeover by US investment firm 777 Partners, replacing Davide Ballardini. He signed a contract until 2024 for the 18th-placed team who had won once in 12 games. Two weeks later, he lost 2–0 on his debut at home to Roma, managed by his former Chelsea boss José Mourinho. On 15 January 2022, Shevchenko was sacked after two months having won just one match and lost seven during the time.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In the late 1990s, Shevchenko and other teammates of Dynamo Kyiv publicly backed the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united), whose members were the club's then-owner and president Hryhoriy Surkis and then-vice president Viktor Medvedchuk.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: After his retirement in June 2012, Shevchenko immediately joined Ukraine – Forward! (formerly known as Ukrainian Social Democratic Party) and took second place on the party list for the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election. This was in spite of him stating a month earlier that he wanted to coach after his playing career: "This is the world I understand, the world I want to stay in." In the election his party won 1.58% of the national votes and no constituencies and thus failed to win parliamentary representation.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko's first name ( in Ukrainian) has multiple ways of being transliterated from its original spelling in the Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet; "Andriy" is the spelling used throughout the player's official web site. It has also been adopted by UEFA and FIFA and is the preferred spelling in most English publications.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko is married to American model Kristen Pazik. The couple met at a Giorgio Armani afterparty in 2002, and married on 14 July 2004 in a private ceremony on a golf course in Washington, D.C. As of 2006, the couple communicated in Italian as he spoke no English and she spoke no Ukrainian. After his return to Dynamo Kyiv in August 2009, the couple declared that they want their children to learn Ukrainian.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: The couple have four sons: Jordan, born on 29 October 2004, Kristian, born on 10 November 2006, Alexander, born on 1 October 2012 and Rider Gabriel, born on 6 April 2014. Shevchenko commemorated Jordan's birth by scoring against Sampdoria the following day (Milan won 1–0). Milan owner and former Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is the godfather of Shevchenko's first son, Jordan. The day after Kristian's birth, Shevchenko scored in a 4–0 Chelsea victory over Watford and he and several of his teammates gathered and performed the popular "rock-the-baby" goal celebration as a tribute.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko is a close friend of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, and has modelled for Armani and opened two boutiques with him in Kyiv. With his wife, he has started an e-commerce Web site called Ikkon.com, dedicated to men's fashion and lifestyle.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: In June 2005, he became an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages charity. Shevchenko also has a foundation to support orphaned children.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko, an avid golfer, participated in his first professional golf tournament, the Kharkov Superior Cup, in September 2013.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Besides his native Russian, Shevchenko also speaks English, Italian and to some extent Ukrainian. He has said that he is working to improve his Ukrainian.


title: Andriy Shevchenko

text: Shevchenko features in EA Sports' "FIFA" video game series; he was on the cover of "FIFA 2005", and was introduced as one of the Ultimate Team Legends in "FIFA 14" and has been an Ultimate Team Legend in every FIFA game since.


title: Konstantin Chernenko

text: Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He briefly led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death on 10 March 1985.


title: Konstantin Chernenko

text: Born to a poor family from Siberia, Chernenko joined the Komsomol (the Communist Party's youth league) in 1929 and became a full member of the party in 1931. After holding a series of propaganda posts, in 1948 he became the head of the propaganda department in Moldavia, serving under Leonid Brezhnev. After Brezhnev took over as First Secretary of the CPSU in 1964, Chernenko rose to head the General Department of the Central Committee, responsible for setting the agenda for the Politburo and drafting Central Committee decrees. In 1971 Chernenko became a full member of the Central Committee, and in 1978 he was made a full member of the Politburo.


title: Konstantin Chernenko

text: After the death of Brezhnev and his successor Yuri Andropov, Chernenko was elected General Secretary in February 1984 and made Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in April 1984. Due to his rapidly failing health, he was often unable to fulfill his official duties. He died in March 1985 after leading the country for only 13 months, and was succeeded as General Secretary by Mikhail Gorbachev.


title: Konstantin Chernenko

text: Chernenko was born to a poor family in the Siberian village of Bolshaya Tes (now in Novosyolovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai) on 24 September 1911.


title: Konstantin Chernenko

text: Chernenko joined the Komsomol (Communist Youth League) in 1929. By 1931, he became a full member of the ruling Communist Party. From 1930 to 1933, he served in the Soviet frontier guards on the Soviet–Chinese border. After completing his military service, he returned to Krasnoyarsk as a propagandist. In 1933 he worked in the Propaganda Department of the Novosyolovsky District Party Committee. A few years later he was promoted to head of the same department in Uyarsk Raykom.


title: Konstantin Chernenko

text: Chernenko steadily rose through the Party ranks, becoming the Director of the Krasnoyarsk House of Party Enlightenment before being named Deputy Head of the Agitprop Department of Krasnoyarsk's Territorial Committee in 1939. In the early 1940s, he began a close relationship with Fyodor Kulakov and was named Secretary of the Territorial Party Committee for Propaganda. By 1945, he acquired a diploma from a party training school in Moscow then later finished a correspondence course for schoolteachers in 1953.