title: Bering Sea

text: The second driver of productivity in the Bering Sea is seasonal sea ice that, in part, triggers the spring phytoplankton bloom. Seasonal melting of sea ice causes an influx of lower salinity water into the middle and other shelf areas, causing stratification and hydrographic effects which influence productivity. In addition to the hydrographic and productivity influence of melting sea ice, the ice itself also provides an attachment substrate for the growth of algae as well as interstitial ice algae.


title: Bering Sea

text: Some evidence suggests that great changes to the Bering Sea ecosystem have already occurred. Warm water conditions in the summer of 1997 resulted in a massive bloom of low energy coccolithophorid phytoplankton (Stockwell et al. 2001). A long record of carbon isotopes, which is reflective of primary production trends of the Bering Sea, exists from historical samples of bowhead whale baleen. Trends in carbon isotope ratios in whale baleen samples suggest that a 30–40% decline in average seasonal primary productivity has occurred over the last 50 years. The implication is that the carrying capacity of the Bering Sea is much lower now than it has been in the past.


title: Bering Sea

text: The sea supports many whale species, including the beluga, humpback whale, bowhead whale, gray whale and blue whale, the vulnerable sperm whale, and the endangered fin whale, sei whale and the rarest in the world, the North Pacific right whale. Other marine mammals include walrus, Steller sea lion, northern fur seal, orca and polar bear.


title: Bering Sea

text: The Bering Sea is very important to the seabirds of the world. Over 30 species of seabirds and approximately 20 million individuals breed in the Bering Sea region. Seabird species include tufted puffins, the endangered short-tailed albatross, spectacled eider, and red-legged kittiwakes. Many of these species are unique to the area, which provides highly productive foraging habitat, particularly along the shelf edge and in other nutrient-rich upwelling regions, such as the Pribilof, Zhemchug, and Pervenets canyons. The Bering Sea is also home to colonies of crested auklets, with upwards of a million individuals.


title: Bering Sea

text: Two Bering Sea species, the Steller's sea cow ("Hydrodamalis gigas") and spectacled cormorant ("Phalacrocorax perspicillatus"), are extinct because of overexploitation by man. In addition, a small subspecies of Canada goose, the Bering Canada goose ("Branta canadensis asiatica") is extinct due to overhunting and the introduction of rats to their breeding islands.


title: Bering Sea

text: The Bering Sea supports many species of fish, some of which support large and valuable commercial fisheries. Commercial fish species include Pacific cod, several species of flatfish, sablefish, Pacific salmon, and Pacific herring. Shellfish include red king crab and snow crab.


title: Bering Sea

text: The Bering Sea is world-renowned for its productive and profitable fisheries, such as king crab, opilio and tanner crabs, Bristol Bay salmon, pollock and other groundfish. These fisheries rely on the productivity of the Bering Sea via a complicated and little understood food web.


title: Bering Sea

text: Commercial fishing is lucrative business in the Bering Sea, which is relied upon by the largest seafood companies in the world to produce fish and shellfish. On the U.S. side, commercial fisheries catch approximately $1 billion worth of seafood annually, while Russian Bering Sea fisheries are worth approximately $600 million annually.


title: Bering Sea

text: The Bering Sea also serves as the central location of the Alaskan king crab and snow crab seasons, which are chronicled on the Discovery Channel television program "Deadliest Catch". Landings from Alaskan waters represents half the U.S. catch of fish and shellfish.


title: Bering Sea

text: Because of the changes going on in the Arctic, the future evolution of the Bering Sea climate and ecosystem is uncertain. Between 1979 and 2012, the region experienced small growth in sea ice extent, standing in contrast to the substantial loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to the north.


title: Bering Sea

text: 'The White Seal', one of many chapters on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, features the Bering Sea as the birthplace and homeland of Kotick, a rare white fur seal.


title: Bering Sea

text: The film "Harbinger Down", which was released on August 7, 2015, was about a group of grad students who booked passage on the crabbing boat Harbinger to study the effects of global warming on a pod of beluga whales in the Bering Sea.


title: Bering Sea

text: One of the central characters in the 1949 film "Down to the Sea in Ships" has the given name "Bering" due to having been born in a ship crossing the Bering Sea.


title: Bering Sea

text: The 2002 supernatural thriller, "Ghost Ship", directed by Steve Beck, follows a marine salvage crew in the Bering Sea who discover the lost Italian ocean liner, "Antonia Graza" that disappeared in 1962.


title: Breda

text: Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from "brede Aa" ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has


title: Breda

text: 185,072 inhabitants on 13 September 2022 and is part of the Brabantse Stedenrij; it is the ninth largest city/municipality in the country, and the third largest in North Brabant after Eindhoven and Tilburg. It is equidistant between Rotterdam and Antwerp.


title: Breda

text: As a fortified city, it was of strategic military and political significance. Although a direct Fiefdom of the Holy Roman Emperor, the city obtained a municipal charter; the acquisition of Breda, through marriage, by the House of Nassau ensured that Breda would be at the centre of political and social life in the Low Countries. Breda had a population of in ; the metropolitan area had a population of .


title: Breda

text: In the 11th century, Breda was a direct fief of the Holy Roman Emperor, its earliest known lord being Henry of Brunesheim (1080–1125). The city of Breda obtained a municipal charter in 1252. After that Breda had the rights to build fortifications. The city constructed brick walls and Roman-style gates.


title: Breda

text: In 1327, Adelheid of Gaveren sold Breda to Duke Johannes III of Brabant. In 1350, the fief was resold to Johannes II of Wassenaar (d. 1377). In 1403, the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen (1392–1445), married Engelbert I of Nassau (1370–1442; his sarcophagus is in the Grote Kerk in Breda). Through her, the city came into the possession of the House of Nassau, where it remained until 1795, passing to William I of Orange (1533–1584), stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht and leader of the Dutch revolt. Thus, the baron of Breda was also Count of Nassau in the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of Orange, and (the main) stadtholder in the Dutch Republic (from 1572 to 1650, 1672–1702, 1747–1795). Breda remained part of the barony of Breda until it was captured by French revolutionary forces in 1795.


title: Breda

text: The acquisition of the city by the House of Orange-Nassau marked its emergence as a "residentiestad" (residence city). The presence of the Orange-Nassau family attracted other nobles, who built palatial residences in the old quarters of the city. The most impressive one, built by the Italian architect Thomas Vincidor de Bologna for the first Dutch prince, was the first renaissance-style palace built north of the Alps. In the 15th century the city's physical, economic and strategic importance expanded rapidly. A great church was built in Brabantine Gothic style with an elegant tower, called "Grote Kerk" (main church) or also "Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk" (Church of Our Lady). In 1534 Henry III of Nassau-Breda rebuilt the modest medieval fortifications in impressive style.


title: Breda

text: In 1534 a fire destroyed over nine tenths of the city, close to 1300 houses, churches, and chapels, and the town hall. Only 150 houses and the main church remained. In July 1581, during the Eighty Years' War, Breda was captured in a surprise attack and siege by Spanish troops then under the command of Claudius van Barlaymont, whose sobriquet was Haultpenne. Although the city had surrendered upon the condition that it would not be plundered, the troops vented their fury upon the inhabitants. In the resulting mayhem, known as "Haultpenne's Fury", over 500 citizens were killed. In March 1590, Breda fell back into the hands of the Dutch and Maurice of Nassau, when a 68 men hand-picked force, concealed under the turf of a peat-boat, had contrived to enter the city in a daring plan devised by Adriaen van Bergen (Siege of Breda (1590)). Around 1610 the construction of the Spanish Gate or "Spanjaardsgat" was started as a remembrance to that successful action.


title: Breda

text: After a ten-month siege in 1624–25, the city again surrendered to the Spaniards, now led by Spinola; the event was immortalized by Diego Velázquez. In the Siege of Breda of 1637 the city was recaptured by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, after a four-month siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the Dutch Republic by the Treaty of Westphalia.


title: Breda

text: In 1646, Frederick Henry founded the Orange College of Breda, modelled on Saumur, Geneva, and Oxford, intending it to train young men of good family for the army and the civil service.


title: Breda

text: The exiled Stuart Charles II of England resided in Breda for a little over a month of his time in exile during the Cromwellian Commonwealth and Protectorate, thanks to the proximity of Charles's sister Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the widow of Prince William II of Orange (died 1650).


title: Breda

text: Based mostly on suggestions by the Parliamentarian General George Monck, Charles II's Declaration of Breda (1660) announced his conditions for accepting the crown of England, which he was to regain a few months later in the year.


title: Breda

text: The Treaty of Breda was signed in the city on 31 July 1667, bringing to an end the Second Anglo-Dutch War in which the Dutch faced the same Charles II who had been their guest. Between 1746 and 1748 it was the site of the Congress of Breda, a series of talks between Britain and France aimed at bringing an end to the War of the Austrian Succession, which ultimately led to the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.


title: Breda

text: During the Second World War, the city was under German occupation for over four years. During Operation Pheasant Breda was liberated following a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by forces of 1st Polish Armoured Division of General Maczek on 28 October 1944. Each year during Liberation Day festivities, Breda is visited by a large Polish contingent and the city of Breda reserves a special portion of the festivities for the fallen Polish soldiers. A museum and a monument honoring Maczek and the Polish 1st Armoured Division stands in the city center. General Maczek and many soldiers of his division are buried in the nearby Polish military cemetery.


title: Breda

text: Breda was the site of one of the first panopticon prison establishments, Koepelgevangenis. This prison housed the only German war criminals ever to be imprisoned in the Netherlands for their war crimes during the Second World War. Known as "", or "Vier von Breda", they were Willy Paul Franz Lages, who was released in 1966 due to serious illness, Joseph Johann Kotälla, who died in prison in 1979, and Ferdinand aus der Fünten and Franz Fischer, who were both released in 1989 and died later the same year.


title: Breda

text: Historically, economic activities were mainly industrial. Breda was a center of the food- and drink industry. Companies like Hero (lemonade), Van Melle (Mentos), De Faam (liquorice) and Kwatta (chocolate) are famous throughout Western Europe. Breda also had a sugar factory, supplying its best-known products.


title: Breda

text: Breda formerly housed the largest brewery in the Netherlands (Oranjeboom). The multinational Interbrew took over the brewery in 1995 and then closed it in 2004. Production of the "Breda" brand was moved to both Bremen and Leuven until 2008, when Randalls Brewery (in Guernsey) acquired the licence. Guernsey is now the only place in the world where draught Breda is brewed.


title: Breda

text: However, the decline of industrial activity did not harm the city's economy. Nowadays, Breda is a service oriented economy based on business, trade and logistics. A growing number of international companies choose to establish their head office for Benelux operations and manufacturing in Breda. Examples of these companies are 3M Abbott Laboratories, Alfa Laval, Amgen, Dockwise, ExxonMobil, General Electric, General Motors, Krohne Oil & Gas, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Scania, Texaco, and Toshiba. Also, the food industry is still largely represented by companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, Hero Group, Perfetti Van Melle and . Furthermore, the city is host to the headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Because of its central location between the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, the city also attracts logistics companies. Koch Media has its Benelux office in Breda.


title: Breda

text: The main shopping areas of Breda are the city centre and the southern part of Breda. Known shopping centres are De Barones and 't Sas. Major shopping streets are the Eindstraat, , Wilhelminastraat and Ginnekenweg. A market is held on the Grote Markt every Tuesday and Friday from 09:00 to 13:00. A book and antique market is held on Wednesday from 09:00 to 17:00.


title: Breda

text: The city center contains old buildings and portions of the "singels" (moats) and the harbour. Focal point is the Grote Markt, the main square with pubs and sidewalk cafes.


title: Breda

text: Park Valkenberg is a major public park, halfway between the main railway station Breda and the Grote Markt.


title: Breda

text: Redhead Day was a festival that took place each first weekend of September. The two-day festival is a gathering of people with natural red hair, but is also focused on art related to the colour red. Activities during the festival are lectures, workshops and demonstrations. The festival attracts attendance from 20 countries and was free due to sponsorship of the local government. Furthermore, some people referred to Breda as the opposite of burning man. As the festival grew bigger they needed a new spot to host the ever growing event. Since 2019 the festival relocated to Tilburg.


title: Breda

text: As of 2014, the largest religion in Breda is Christianity, comprising 50.4% of its population, the second one being Islam comprising 3.6% of the population. Unaffiliated people comprised 44.9% of the population.


title: Breda

text: Breda has two railway stations, Breda and Breda-Prinsenbeek, providing connections north to (Dordrecht, Rotterdam, Den Haag) and Amsterdam; east to Tilburg, Eindhoven, Den Bosch, Nijmegen and Zwolle; west to Roosendaal and Vlissingen and south to Antwerp and Brussels (via the HSL-Zuid high-speed line). Breda Oost railway station will open after 2020.


title: Breda

text: The A16 is a motorway to the north to Rotterdam and towards the south to the Belgian border to Antwerp. The A27 is also a motorway to the north; It connects Breda with Utrecht. Furthermore, The A58 connects Breda with Tilburg and Eindhoven.


title: Breda

text: Buses are operated by Arriva. There are four kinds of buses in Breda: citybuses, regional, Volans and long-distance. Citybuses drive only within Breda (sub-12 numbers), regional buses provide connections to nearby towns and cities, Volans buses are more luxurious buses driving to Etten-Leur and Oosterhout (31x and 32x-buses), and long-distance 'Brabantliners' connecting both Gorinchem and Utrecht with Breda (401, 402). There is also one Zeelandish busline (19) which connects Breda with Hulst and Antwerp, operated by Connexxion.


title: Breda

text: The small airport Breda International Airport is located west of the city. The airport was opened in 1949 and is in limited use for civil aviation. The departures from the airport are mostly business trips, sightseeing trips and teaching activities.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati Province (, "Bagmati Pradesh") is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. The province is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. Bagmati is bordered by Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, Gandaki Province to the west, Province No. 1 to the east, Madhesh Province and the Indian state of Bihar to the south. With Hetauda as its provincial headquarters, the province is also the home to the country's capital Kathmandu, is mostly hilly and mountainous, and hosts mountain peaks including Gaurishankar, Langtang, Jugal, and Ganesh.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Being the most populous province of Nepal, it possesses rich cultural diversity with resident communities and castes including Newar, Tamang, Madhesis, Sherpa, Tharu, Chepang, Jirel, Brahmin, Chhetri , Marwari and more. It hosted the highest number of voters in the last election for the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly, which took place in 2017.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati is named after the Bagmati River which runs through the Kathmandu valley. The river is considered the source of the Newar civilization and urbanization. The river has been mentioned as "Vaggumuda" () in Vinaya Pitaka and Nandabagga. It has also been mentioned as Bahumati () in "Battha Suttanta" of Majjhima Nikaya. An inscription dated 477 A.D. describes the river as "Bagvati Parpradeshe" () and subsequently in the Gopalraj Vanshavali.


title: Bagmati Province

text: A provincial assembly meeting on 12 January 2020 endorsed the proposal to name the province as Bagmati by a majority vote. Hetauda was declared as the permanent state capital on January 12, 2020.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati Province has an area of 20,300 km which is about 13.79% of the total area of Nepal. The elevation of the province ranges from 141 m at Golaghat in Chitwan District to 7,422m at Ganesh Himal. The province has an altitude low enough to support deciduous, coniferous, and alpine forests and woodlands. 27.29% land is covered by forest Temperature varies with altitude. There are 10 sub-basins and 33 major rivers flowing through the province. The longest river is Sunkoshi measuring 160.19 km.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati province has climatic variations, which is associated with the diverse nature of its topography and altitude. Climatic zone of Bagmati province starts from High Himalaya in the north, above 5000 m with tundra and arctic climate to Siwalik region in the south, 500–1000 m with sub-tropical climatic zone. The annual precipitation also varies from 150 to 200 mm in the high Himalayas to 1100–3000 mm in the southern plains. Similarly, average annual temperature of the province varies from 30 °C to -10 °C. Rainfall takes place mainly during the summer.


title: Bagmati Province

text: During the Lichhavi and Malla period, this region was known as Nepalmandal and was ruled by Newar kings. Historically the area of Bagmati province known as "Kathmandu Kshetra", which was established in 1956. Kathmandu Kshetra was composed by grouping the then five districts. Those five districts are now divided into many districts. Kathmandu Kshetra had a total area of and total population was 17.93 Lakhs (1.7 million).


title: Bagmati Province

text: In 1962, administrative system restructured and the "Kshetras" system cancelled and the country restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped into zones. In 1972, the region was named to Central Development Region. It had 3 zones and 19 districts.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Makwanpurgadhi is located about 17 kilometers northeast of Hetauda, the district headquarters of Makwanpur district. Makwanpur Fort is a place of historical and tourist importance in Makwanpur district.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Sindhuli Gadhi is an important place in terms of natural beauty and history. This place is about 150 kilometers east of Kathmandu. Sindhuligadi Nepal is a living document of the British War.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Rasuwa Fort on the Nepal-China border is considered to be an important security fort between Nepal and China. The historical fortress is about a century and a half old.


title: Bagmati Province

text: According to the 2011 Nepal Census, Bagmati Province has a population of 5,433,818 comprising 2,761,224 females and 2,672,594 males. The province has the highest population in the country having 20.87% of the population. The population density of the province is 270 people per square kilometre which is the second highest in the country.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Tamang is the largest ethnic group in the province making up around 20.54% of the population. Hill Brahmans are the next largest group making up around 18.32% if the population followed by Chhetris (17.13%) and Newars (17.07%) respectively. Similarly Magar, Kami and Gurung make up 4.87%, 2.52% and 2.22% of the population respectively. Tharu (1.63%), Rai (1.52%), Damai (1.36%), Sarki (1.33%) and Chepang (1.16%) are other smaller ethnic groups in the province.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Nepali is the most common mother tongue in the province with 56.23% of the population speaking Nepali as their mother tongues. Tamang language is spoken by 18.16% and Nepal Bhasa is spoken by 12.23% of the population as their mother tongue. Magar (1.79%), Tharu (1.31%), Maithili (1.17%), Gurung (0.92%) and Chepang (0.83%) are other languages spoken in the province.


title: Bagmati Province

text: The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Nepal Bhasa and Tamang as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Magar, Tharu and Maithili to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province, with 71.78% of the population identifying as Hindus. Buddhists are the largest minority population with 23.28% of the population following Buddhism and Christianity is followed by 2.87% of the population in the province.


title: Bagmati Province

text: There are total 119 local administrative units in the province which include 3 metropolitan cities, 1 sub-metropolitan city, 41 urban municipalities and 74 rural municipalities.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati is divided into 13 districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Bagmati Province is divided into 13 districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided to municipalities or rural municipalities.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Cities and villages are governed by municipalities in Nepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Bagmati has two types of municipalities.


title: Bagmati Province

text: The government of Nepal has set out a minimum criteria to meet city and towns. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure and revenues.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati provincial assembly is the unicameral legislative assembly consisting of 110 members. Candidates for each constituency are chosen by the political parties or stand as independents. Each constituency elects one member under the first past the post (FPTP) system of election. The current constitution specifies that sixty percent of the members should be elected from the first past the post system and forty percent through the party-list proportional representation (PR) system. Women should account for one-third of total members elected from each party. If one-third percentage are not elected, the party that fails to ensure so shall have to elect one-third of the total number as women through the party-list proportional representation. The Governor acts as the head of the province, while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Patan High Court is the head of the judiciary.


title: Bagmati Province

text: The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Yadav Chandra Sharma, Astha Laxmi Sakya and Tek Bahadur Moktan respectively. The provincial assembly has 110 members while the province has 33 House of Representative constituencies. The term length of provincial assembly is five years. The Provincial Assembly is currently housed at the Regional Education Directorate in Hetauda.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati Province is the most industrialized province and has maintained the leading position in the economic sector in Nepal. With GDP of NPR 1.43 Trillion (as of 2019), Bagmati alone is the single largest contributor to the national economy with a share of 37.7% in the country's GDP.


title: Bagmati Province

text: According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2016, the Province's Neonatal Mortality (per 1000 live births) stands at 17 and Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) stands at 29, both of which are below the national average of 21 and 32,respectively.


title: Bagmati Province

text: According to the Annual report of Department of Health Services (DoHS) 2018/19, Bagmati Province has 35 public hospitals, 41 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCCs), 641 Health posts and 1417 Non-public facilities.


title: Bagmati Province

text: There are various education levels in Bagmati Province. They are: Primary Level (31%), Lower Secondary Level (18%), Secondary Level (11%), SLC (12%), Intermediate Level (11%), Beginner (3%), Non-formal (5%), Graduate (6%), Postgraduate and above (2%).


title: Bagmati Province

text: In Bagmati province, 58.6% have radio access, followed by 54.0% have access to TV, and only 10.0% have access to the internet. Similarly, 16.7% have access to landline telephones, while 76.1% have access to mobile phones. There are a total of 51 radio stations. Some of the radio stations are Radio Chitwan, Radio Upathyaka, and Radio Lalitpur. There are a total of 405 newspaper channels in Bagmati Province with national, Provincial and local outreach. As per the classification, some of the top-ranking newspapers are Gorkhapatra Dainik, Himalayan Times.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Bagmati Province has the second highest level of electrification with 94.44 percent electrification among the provinces. Districts like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Nuwakot are fully electrified. Sindhuli district has the lowest electrification rate with the coverage of 69.51% so far.


title: Bagmati Province

text: Roads connect all 13 districts of Bagmati Province. However, people living in the high-altitude regions of Rasuwa, Sindhuplachok and Dolakha experience difficulty accessing roadways perennially. Major highways of the province are as follows:


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan Salvatore is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists from L. J. Smith's novel series "The Vampire Diaries". He is portrayed by Paul Wesley in the television series CW's "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals". Stefan grew up in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. He grew up next to his brother, Damon Salvatore, his father, Giuseppe Salvatore and at the start of his life grew up with his mother, Lillian Salvatore before she died from consumption when Stefan was just 10 years old. As Stefan grew up, he was known as the good child in the family, unlike his brother, Damon Salvatore, who had a knack for trouble. As Stefan and Damon grew up, both boys grew to not like their father because of his abusive ways. Damon Salvatore joined the army, and stefan was left to live with his father for a couple of months. Once Damon came back, the two were turned into vampires in 1864, in the town of Mystic Falls at the age of 17, by Katerina Petrova, who both brothers loved immensely.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: On March 27, 2009, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that Paul Wesley had joined the cast of "The Vampire Diaries" as Stefan. He was the last main cast member whose casting was announced. Wesley has become popular with viewers. Carina MacKenzie of the "Los Angeles Times" noted that he spent "10 years as a successful but under-the-radar TV actor" but shortly after the show premiered, he was "everywhere". MacKenzie wrote: "Last summer his face was on more than 30 "Vampire Diaries" posters at the Century City/Westfield mall alone, not to mention billboards over seemingly every major boulevard in Hollywood". In November 2011, Wesley's ex-wife Torrey DeVitto joined the cast of "The Vampire Diaries" in the recurring role of Dr. Meredith Fell, who is "intrigued by" Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis).


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan was described as a "beautiful young man" who turns out to be a Vampire 171 years old, who develops a "strong connection" with "tragic heroine" Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev). Wesley described the young Stefan as "naive and willing to ride whatever wave life threw" him, because he was "easily manipulated" and "innocent" with a "beautiful young soul". However, Stefan at the age of 160 years has more wisdom in him. Stefan consumes animal blood, refusing to kill humans due to the guilt that he killed his own father. Damon on the other hand, does feed on humans.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan has a love-hate relationship with his brother, Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). Wesley "adores" Somerhalder, who he said he has "natural chemistry" with. Wesley stated: "The dynamic of the characters is so interesting because they love each other, but they hate each other [...] There's always this thing in Stefan's head where he hopes that one day Damon can just be as normal and functioning as possible". However, he also described their relationship as "beautiful" in their flashbacks from the past, because they "loved each other so much back then". Stefan begins a romance with Elena on the show's first episode, without telling her he was a vampire. She was later shocked to find out that he was a vampire, and briefly ended their relationship before getting back together. As the show progressed, Elena began developing feelings for Damon as well. Wesley described Damon and Stefan as having a "silent understanding of the fact that they both are in love with the same girl", and "that was Stefan's girl, and now Damon is suddenly a real factor, he's really in the picture". Wesley's favorite episode of "The Vampire Diaries" is "The Turning Point" because it was "really beautiful" for Stefan and Elena as a couple. In the episode, Stefan turns around "because he's ashamed of his face" with blood rushing through his eyes and his veins popping out. Wesley said "he's terrified, and he hates himself for it. He runs from that part of himself, but she turns him around and tells him not to be afraid. She touches his face, and she thinks he's beautiful. It's so intimate, that moment, because she accepts the darkest part of him."


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: When the original vampire Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) is feared dead, it is revealed that everyone in his bloodline will die, including Stefan and Damon. In what "International Business Times" called "the moment Vampire Diaries fans have been waiting for", Elena had to pick to say goodbye to Stefan or Damon. She ended up choosing Stefan. When Elena became a vampire, her feelings for Damon heightened, and it was later revealed that she had a sired bond to him. Elena and Stefan broke up, and she began a romance with Damon. Stefan became heartbroken, feeling angry and betrayed, and lashed out at Damon and Elena. Wesley urged fans of Stefan and Elena not to lose hope, stating: "The fans should definitely maintain some hope. The thing to remember is that Stefan and Elena have this love that is so strong, and it was sort of the core of Season 1 — you can’t entirely disregard that". The show's head writer, Julie Plec, said "They love each other as deeply as two people can love each other, but that doesn’t mean that their relationship is infallible".


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: In 1864, Stefan "hadn't yet learned the careful control that rules his life now" and was an avid consumer of human blood, which was considered a "dark past" by Zap2it. Of his blood addiction, Wesley said: "It's awesome. It's a drug. He's a drug addict. I get to play a drug addict, which I love. I'm going back to his days of usage, heavy usage. When I'm in my lustful state, it's so much fun. I felt like I got to play a role that I'd never played before. I felt like I was doing something different. I just love it, and I hope it comes out the way that I envisioned." The show's executive producer Kevin Williamson revealed that he was "looking forward to Stefan eventually falling off the wagon and drinking human blood again" after spending decades of consuming only animal blood. Wesley said "everybody has a dark side, especially a vampire, and it'd be unrealistic not to explore that". Stefan became addicted to human blood again, but got it under control with the help of Elena, who began letting him feed off her in small amounts to build up discipline.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: However, in the show's third season, Stefan's addiction returned. His humanity was taken away by Klaus, and the audience met "The Ripper", his "bloodthirsty, ruthless alter-ego who had previously only been legend" according to Zap2it, who found "this sociopath version of our hero far more compelling than his usual compassionate martyr self". Wesley, who enjoyed "Ripper Stefan" more, said it "bums me out" when Stefan quit human blood again. He said "Good Stefan doesn't feel as natural in terms of what I want to be doing on screen, and what I want to be saying. I feel a little stifled, myself, whenever he's resisting the urge to do vampiresque things."


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan Salvatore was born on November 1, 1846 and raised in Mystic Falls, Virginia to Giuseppe Salvatore and Lily Salvatore. Stefan is the younger brother of Damon. The Salvatore brothers, Stefan and Damon, were human. They were very close and were best friends in life. Damon always confided and trusted in Stefan and they always defended each other, especially in front of their father. Stefan was fiercely loyal to Damon. Although Stefan was only 17 years old, he displayed maturity,responsibility and had wisdom beyond his years. Because of this, Stefan always seemed to be much older than his actual age. However, this all seemed to change when Stefan and Damon fell in love with the same girl, Katherine Pierce, who turned out to be a vampire. Stefan fell deeply in love with Katherine before finding out she was a vampire. Katherine, however, compelled Stefan to not be afraid, to keep her secret and go on as they were. It was also revealed that Katherine compelled Stefan to drink her vampire blood against his will. Damon, on the other hand, drank Katherine's blood willingly, wanting and desiring the immortal life in order to spend an eternity with Katherine. In 1864, Stefan was turned into a vampire after being shot by his father, Giuseppe, along with his brother, Damon with Katherine's blood in his system, before accidentally killing his father during a visit to tell him that he was going to let himself die. Damon, who turned into a vampire as well, promised Stefan an eternity of misery as he was angry that Stefan had forced him to turn and jealous that Katherine had also turned Stefan. A newborn vampire with uncontrollable blood lust, Stefan was unable to resist the temptations of human blood and became severely out of control and addicted (later on known as the Ripper) to the blood, killing many people because of his lack of control and extreme bloodlust. However, Stefan learned to change his ways when he was taught to control it by a vampire named Alexia "Lexi" Branson, who later on became Stefan's best friend and companion. In 1942, Stefan enlisted in the Army to fight in World War II (4x08 "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street"). After decades of absence from the town he called home, Stefan returned to Mystic Falls to visit his home and Zach. On May 23, 2009, Stefan heard the Gilberts' car accident at Wickery Bridge. It was then and there that Stefan fatefully encountered Elena Gilbert for the first time. After only being able to save Elena, Stefan noticed that she looked exactly like Katherine. He would later find out that Elena was Katherine's doppelgänger.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan is a Scorpio despite Caroline saying in season one episode one "he's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue."


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan and Elena begin a relationship and he revealed to her that he is a vampire. However, Damon returns to Mystic Falls, too, and also falls in love with Elena. Further on in the series, Damon and Stefan start to bond as brothers again and it becomes apparent that they do love each other. Because of his addiction to human blood, Stefan only drank animal blood in the beginning of the series, which made him weaker than other vampires. In season two, Stefan starts to take small amounts of Elena's blood each day to mitigate its effect on him and to increase his strength. When Katherine returns it is discovered that she had always loved Stefan and not Damon; however, Stefan is in love with Elena and not interested in Katherine. Stefan starts to build a friendship with Caroline Forbes after she is turned into a vampire. After Klaus gives Stefan his blood to save Damon from a werewolf bit if he turns into a Ripper again which he does from his brothers sake.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan starts working for him as he agreed to do to save Damon, and hopes it might also protect Elena by making sure Klaus never returns to Mystic Falls, since he believes her to be dead. Klaus later finds out and compels Stefan to kill her, but when he is able to resist the compulsion, Klaus makes him turn his humanity and emotions off. However, he is later able to get his humanity back, which is seen when he saves Klaus's life to protect Damon, but yet he pretends not to care about Elena anymore. He then takes it upon himself to kill Klaus. He steals Klaus's family as retaliation, and uses them as blackmail, when that fails (the witches give Klaus the coffins when he threatens to end the Bennett line), Stefan threatens to drive Elena off Wickery Bridge with vampire blood in her system if Klaus does not get his hybrids out of town, Klaus agrees at the last minute. He and Elena get into a fight. In the season three finale, he kisses Elena. In the end, Elena chooses Stefan over Damon, but when Rebekah causes Matt's truck to drive off Wickery Bridge, she is trapped underwater. Stefan barely gets there in time, but Elena makes him save Matt first and she drowns. It is later revealed Dr. Fell gave Elena vampire blood, meaning she died with vampire blood in her system. Then she became a vampire.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: In the season four premiere, Stefan tries to get Bonnie to save her from becoming a full vampire, however, she along with several other vampires are captured by the Founder's Council. As Elena begins to die and out of desperation to keep Elena alive, Stefan kills a guard and uses his blood to allow Elena to feed and to complete her transition into a vampire. Stefan gives Elena a daylight ring, which was made by Bonnie, in order to protect Elena from the sun. Stefan tries to assure Elena that everything will be okay and that they'll take Elena's newborn vampirism one day at a time. During the second episode of season 4, Stefan tries to help Elena cope with her hunger for human blood. After his "bunny diet" disagrees with Elena stomach she seeks help from Damon to find an alternative blood source. When blood bags and Damon's own blood fails too, she ends up feeding on Matt under extreme circumstances. Stefan then discovers from Klaus and Rebekah that there is a possible cure for vampirism. Stefan "teams" up with Klaus in order to find the possible cure, so that Stefan can give Elena the choice of becoming human again.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Unfortunately, Klaus needs the vampire hunter Connor to stay alive because he holds the map to the cure in his tattoo, and Stefan must keep him alive at all costs when everyone else wants him dead. When Connor kidnaps Jeremy, April, and Matt, and keeps them hostage at the Grill, Stefan must stop Damon from rashly walking in and killing his chance at curing Elena. After tranquilizing Damon with vervain and taking his daylight ring, Stefan tries to take matters into his own hands and infiltrates the Grille by himself. With Jeremy at gunpoint, Elena comes in and takes Connor by surprise. Stefan manages to get Connor out, but Elena later kills him and is consumed with grief at being a murderer.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: When Elena begins to hallucinate because of Connor's death, Klaus informs Stefan and Damon that she must be locked away to keep from killing herself, and kidnaps her before they can say no. Later, Stefan works with one of Klaus's hybrids, Chris, to free Elena who stabs him in the neck and runs away. Stefan sends Damon to find her and goes with Bonnie to see if the Professor Shane knows how to end the hallucinations. He informs them that a potential hunter must kill a vampire so he may take the place of that dead hunter, which is virtually impossible. Luckily, Stefan realizes that Jeremy is a potential hunter, and tells him that to save his sister, he must kill a vampire. Jeremy kills the hybrid Chris who originally helped them free Elena, and in turn her hallucinations end, and she is safe, but only barely.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Later then, Stefan breaks up with Elena because of her feelings for Damon. Stefan goes to Caroline for support since she loathes Damon, and they become closer. During the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, Stefan Turns a criminal in the hospital and convinces Jeremy to kill him to make the hunter's mark on his arm grow. Afterward, Jeremy becomes anti-vampire and attempts to kill Elena. Stefan is there and saves her, but has to apologize for making him crazy. Elena tries to tell him that she does not need the cure if it means it hurts Jeremy.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: That night Elena comes to stay at the Salvatore house, and Stefan leaves to crash at Caroline's. While there, he and Caroline realize that Elena is sired to Damon. When Stefan informs Damon of this, they go to New Orleans to find the witch that broke a sire bond years ago that Damon had. Stefan and Damon find that in order to break the bond, Damon has to convince Elena not to care about him, and leave her, which Damon agrees to do for Stefan. Post Jeremy's death, Damon convinces Elena to switch off her humanity leading to her becoming brutal and ruthless. Stefan and Damon try constantly to make her feel something again. Later after Elena's humanity comes back, she chooses Damon, leaving Stefan heartbroken. Then Stefan tries to dump Silas body in the river only to find that Silas is still alive. Silas then reveals that Stefan is his doppelganger. Silas was the one who created the immortality spell 2000 years ago however, as nature creates a balance for everything, it created a version of Silas that could be killed, a shadow-self which ends up being Stefan. Silas then locks Stefan into a vault and drowns him in the river. This incident tempts Stefan to turn his humanity off in order to escape.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: In season 5, Damon and Elena manage to figure out that Silas has taken Stefan's place and that Stefan is in that safe. When they go to rescue him, Stefan is not there. Instead, a very powerful witch (Qyetsiyah) had opened the safe for him and fried his brain due to which he suffers from amnesia. Qyetsiyah (or Tessa) loved Silas but on the day of their marriage, he cheated on her and took the immortality spell for the women he actually loved, Amara, the original doppelgänger of Elena. Stefan returns to his old ways but when he saves Elena from Tessa, she wants revenge so he gives Stefan his memories back which gives Stefan Hallucinations of the safe. Caroline tries to help him but when that does not work, Katherine comes back in the picture and manages to cure Stefan but they have a one-night stand, which leads Katherine to believe that Stefan still loves her, however he rejects her. Later on, Katherine takes over Elena's body and breaks up with Damon so that she can get Stefan. After trying to woo him and failing, Stefan realises that Katherine is pretending to be Elena and Elena is with Nadia, Katherine's daughter. They rescue her somehow by killing Katherine and sending her to some sort of hell. Then Stefan volunteers himself to the travellers to give his blood as they needed doppelganger blood. Caroline and Enzo try to find and kill Tom Avery, Stefan's last doppelganger in order to save Stefan and they succeed due to which Stefan and Caroline grow even closer. Near the end of the season, Stefan and Elena keep seeing dreams of the two being together and of them as humans. They work out that the travellers planted those dreams there as it was always meant to be Stefan and Elena not Damon and Elena. Through the fight, Stefan and Elena are kidnapped by the travellers as they need their blood to finish their spell. However, Enzo and Caroline save them by killing Tom Avery, Stefan's doppelgänger. In 5x21, Stefan tries to save Caroline's life from Tyler (while a passenger, Julian, is in his body), during which Tyler kills him, sending him to the disintegrating Other Side. In the episode 'Home' he is Resseructed because Liv did a spell due to which he and his other friends can get back but Damon and Bonnie are left there leaving everyone broken.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: In season 6, Stefan moves away from Mystic Falls because of Damon's death and finds a new girlfriend called Ivy. However, Enzo and Caroline, find him and Caroline tells Stefan that he's a coward and the worst friend ever. She starts crying so Enzo goes and kills Ivy. Stefan vows revenge. He comes back to Whitmore, and uses Elena's help to find Enzo leaving him to be killed by a vampire hunter. However, Enzo survives. Ivy returns as a vampire and it is revealed that Enzo had fed her vampire blood against her will before killing her. Damon, then returns to Mystic Falls and meets Stefan first which brings Stefan back to his friends. To make things worse, Enzo tells the other vampire hunter about Ivy and all the other vampires and the vampire hunter kills Ivy but is killed by Damon before the vampire hunter would kill anyone else. Enzo, figures out that Stefan's niece, Sarah is alive and that Damon had thought that he had killed Sarah before she was born but Sarah was born before her mother died however, Stefan kept this from Damon and Enzo uses this against Stefan. Meanwhile, the vampires have another threat, a psycho killer, Kai. Added on top of that, Sheriff Liz Forbes (Caroline's mother) is diagnosed with cancer. Stefan supports Caroline through this in which they bond even more and share a passionate kiss however just then Liz dies. At the funeral, Stefan realises that he has fallen in love with Caroline but before he can confess, Caroline switches off her humanity switch after the funeral. Stefan and Elena try to bring Caroline back but it fails and Caroline vows revenge for them not giving her the year she wanted without any feelings. She kidnaps Stefan and Damon's niece, Sarah Salvatore, and blackmails Stefan to turn off his humanity to save her. At the end of the episode 'The Downward Spiral', he does and joins Caroline.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: Stefan decides to ruin Caroline's life because she has done the same to him. He wants her to lose control and become a Ripper. He eventually is able to and they sleep together for the first time.


title: Stefan Salvatore

text: When Lily, Stefan and Damon's mother, is rescued from the 1903 prison world and turns out to be a vampire, she manages to turn on Stefan's humanity again. However, it later is revealed that Lily lied to get him back and does not love her sons any more and only wants her travelling companions back. Stefan then pretends to still have his emotions off to get Caroline back and somehow succeeds, but Caroline tries to avoid him as she feels guilty for everything she had done. Stefan then also tries to talk Damon out of being a human again only to be with Elena but Damon decides to take the cure.


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: Danielle Anne Brisebois (born June 28, 1969) is an American producer, singer-songwriter and former child actress. She is best known for her role as Stephanie Mills on the Norman Lear-produced sitcoms "All in the Family" and its spin-off "Archie Bunker's Place" (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award), as well as playing Molly in the original Broadway production of the musical "Annie".


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: After she retired from acting in the late 1980s, Brisebois pursued a music career. She was one of the two permanent members of the short-lived rock band New Radicals, along with her longtime songwriting partner Gregg Alexander, and served as the group's keyboardist, percussionist and backing vocalist. She has also recorded two solo albums, "Arrive All Over You" and "Portable Life", both of which were produced by Alexander. She has written or co-written a number of songs, including Natasha Bedingfield's hit singles "Unwritten", and "Pocketful of Sunshine".


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: In January 2015, Brisebois and Alexander were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "Lost Stars" from the film "Begin Again".


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: Brisebois was born on June 28, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Mary and Frank Brisebois, a computer instructor. She is of French-Canadian and Italian descent. She began her career as a child actress appearing in her first movie, "The Premonition" (1976), at the age of seven. In 1977, she appeared in an episode of "Kojak" and began starring in the original Broadway cast of "Annie" as the youngest of the orphans, Molly. (Jay-Z later sampled a clip of Brisebois from "Annie" for his song "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)".) In the late 1970s, she joined the cast of "All in the Family", then co-starred in its continuation "Archie Bunker's Place" from 1979 to 1983. She was nominated for six Young Artist Awards from 1980 to 1984, winning two; in 1981 as Best Young Actress in a TV Special for "Mom, the Wolfman and Me", and in 1982 as Best Young Actress in a Television Series for "Archie Bunker's Place". In 1982, she was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, again for "Archie Bunker's Place".


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: Brisebois appeared in several episodes of "Battle of the Network Stars" and "Circus of the Stars" in the early 1980s, and played the daughter of William Devane's character on "Knots Landing" in the series' fifth season. In the late 1980s, she made several single-episode appearances in various TV series, including "Hotel", "Mr. Belvedere", "Murder, She Wrote", "Tales from the Darkside", and "Days of Our Lives". In 2005, she ranked number 50 of VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: Brisebois began her career as a recording artist in the early 1990s by providing backing vocals on "Intoxifornication", the 1992 album by rock singer Gregg Alexander; this marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration with Alexander, who co-wrote, produced and sang on her first solo album "Arrive All Over You" in 1994. Despite a disappointing commercial performance in the U.S, the album became a minor hit in Europe. "Arrive All Over You" performed well critically and continues to maintain a cult following. Mackenzie Wilson of Allmusic described the album as "an earnest and impressive effort ... [that] went largely unnoticed during the reign of gangsta rap and grunge," and compared it favorably to Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill". Her cover of "Gimme Little Sign" was a minor hit in Europe.


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: In 1998, Brisebois became a member of Alexander's New Radicals group, who scored their greatest successes with the hit single "You Get What You Give", and the million-selling album "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too". She provided distinctive female vocals to the group's sound on tracks such as "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough" and "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You". Alexander disbanded the group in 1999, but went on to produce and co-write Brisebois' second solo album "Portable Life", which was originally scheduled to be released on October 26, 1999. Promotional copies of the album and the single "I've Had It" were distributed, reviews appeared in the press, and an "I've Had It" video was even shot, but for unknown reasons RCA Records cancelled the release at the last minute. The album was delayed until September 30, 2008, when it was released as a digital download via iTunes and Amazon.com. A compilation album of "Arrive All Over You"-era tracks, titled "Just Missed the Train", was later released through Sony BMG on September 26, 2006.


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: Brisebois has written and produced numerous songs for various other artists, including Carly Smithson, Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Paula Abdul, and Kylie Minogue. She co-wrote Natasha Bedingfield's Top 10 hits "Unwritten" and "Pocketful of Sunshine", and "Stamp Your Feet" for Donna Summer. In November 2008 she reunited with Alexander, former New Radicals guitarist Rusty Anderson, and producer Rick Nowels as The Not So Silent Majority. She sang lead vocals on their song "Obama Rock", supporting the election of Barack Obama. In 2009 she contributed two songs to the Leona Lewis album "Echo", including "Alive" and "Let It Rain". Later that year, Danielle won big at the BMI Awards, both in the US and UK, with "Pocketful of Sunshine", including two of the top awards, the Robert S. Musel award for Song of the Year, and the College Song of the Year, as well as a third award for Film and Television for "Unwritten".


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: In 2012, Brisebois co-wrote the Halestorm song "Here's to Us", which was featured in a season three episode of "Glee".


title: Danielle Brisebois

text: She also co-wrote songs for the feature film "Begin Again" (2013), including "Lost Stars", which was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2015 Academy Awards.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film "Nabi" (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller "Oldboy". A rising star early in her career, she gained acting awards for Han Jae-rim's relationship drama "Rules of Dating" (2005), and Park Kwang-hyun's Korean War comedy "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (2005).


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Following roles as a developmentally disabled daughter in "Herb" (2007), a suicidal woman in "Kill Me" (2009), as well as her marriage to Tablo in 2009, Kang began starring in more conventional melodramas in TV and film such as "Girlfriends" (2009), "Miss Ripley" (2011), "The Wedding Scheme" (2012), "Lucid Dream" (2017) and "Jugglers" (2017–2018). Her major theatre stints include Korean stage adaptations of "Proof" (2010) and "Educating Rita" (2014–2015).


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Throughout the late 1990s she appeared in small roles in TV dramas and sitcoms such as "Jump" and "Nonstop 3". Her first film role was in Moon Seung-wook's arthouse/sci-fi film "Nabi", for which she won a Best Actress award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. Following this she appeared in a short film by Song Il-gon titled "Flush" as well as an internet film "Naebang-nebang".


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Kang's first major hit film was opposite Choi Min-sik in the modern-day classic "Oldboy" by Park Chan-wook. Her portrayal of the character Mi-do won her considerable attention both domestically and abroad, and she also picked up acting honors from the Grand Bell Awards and Pusan Film Critics Association. The following year she also appeared in "Cut", Park's 30-minute contribution to the omnibus horror film "Three... Extremes".


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: It was in 2005, however, that Kang established herself as a star outside of her appearance in "Oldboy". The sharp-edged relationship drama "Rules of Dating", in which she starred opposite Park Hae-il, proved to be an unexpected hit, and then two months later she took a small but central role in box office megahit "Welcome to Dongmakgol". In a 2005 survey of influential movie producers, she was ranked among the top ten most bankable stars.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: In 2006, she starred in "Love Phobia" opposite then-boyfriend Cho Seung-woo, as well as the Thai film "Invisible Waves" by rising directorial star Pen-ek Ratanaruang.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: After playing the developmentally disabled daughter to veteran actress Bae Jong-ok in the 2007 melodrama "Herb", in 2009 Kang starred in two unconventional romantic comedies with roles she imbued with her trademark quirkiness. She said she chose "Why Did You Come to My House?" hoping to "expand the realms" of her lovelorn stalker character; the director said she had written the script with Kang in mind from the beginning. In "Kill Me", she played a woman who, after several suicide attempts, hires a professional assassin (Shin Hyun-joon) to kill her, but he falls in love with her instead.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Known for taking risky roles, Kang gradually started going off the predictable path that the public expected her to take. In the 2009 film "Girlfriends", she played an ordinary twenty-something girl who goes through growing pains and lovelife troubles when she discovers that her boyfriend is also involved with two other women. Kang said that this career shift reflects the limited number of interesting scripts that she receives, as well as her calmer, softer state of mind after settling down.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: In 2010, Kang appeared in her first stage play "Proof", portraying the role of Catherine, who worries whether she has inherited all of her mathematician father's genius and lunacy.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: After making the little-seen 2007 KBS drama "Flowers for My Life" with Cha Tae-hyun, Kang returned to television in 2011 in MBC's "Miss Ripley", a tale of one woman (Lee Da-hae) who spins a web of love, ambition and lies. Originally touted as a drama with four lead roles, Kang later expressed dismay and disappointment with her drastically reduced screen time.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Kang made her English-language debut in the culture-clash romantic comedy "Wedding Palace". Director Christine Yoo reportedly cast Kang after her distinctly Korean beauty in "Oldboy" and "Welcome to Dongmakgol" grabbed Yoo's attention. Shot over a one-year period between October 2008 through November 2009, the US-Korea co-production premiered at the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and received the Independent Feature Filmmakers Award at the 2011 Cine Gear Expo.


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Kang was next seen in rom-com cable TV series "The Wedding Scheme", about a kimchi factory president so determined to marry off her four daughters that she embarks on a grand marriage project by getting her girls to cohabitate with prospective groom candidates. Of her role as the second eldest daughter, a strong and smart career woman, she said, "I've played a lot of nice or innocent characters before, so I think of this as a chance to take on a new challenge."


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Kang left her previous management agency YG Entertainment (which is also her husband's label) in 2013, and signed with C-JeS Entertainment. She then played a small role in E J-yong's mockumentary "Behind the Camera", and wrote the lyrics to "Good Thing," one of the songs on Bobby Kim's album "Mirror".


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: Kang starred in her second stage play "Educating Rita" in late 2014, about the relationship between a hairdresser and a middle-aged university lecturer. She also played a supporting role in the film "How to Steal a Dog".


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: In 2017, Kang played a psychiatrist in the sci-fi thriller "Lucid Dream". She made her return to television in December 2017 with office comedy series "Jugglers".


title: Kang Hye-jung

text: On October 26, 2009, Kang married Tablo of hip hop group Epik High while she was three months pregnant. The couple's daughter, Haru, was born on May 2, 2010. Their family was featured in the variety "The Return of Superman".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples. The Gospel of Luke () states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. A chronology of Jesus typically has the date of the start of his ministry, 11 September 26 AD, others have estimated at around AD 27–29 and the end in the range AD 30–36.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Jesus' early Galilean ministry begins when after his baptism, he goes back to Galilee from his temptation in the Judaean Desert. In this early period, he preaches around Galilee and recruits his first disciples who begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church as it is believed that the Apostles dispersed from Jerusalem to found the apostolic sees. The major Galilean ministry which begins in Matthew 8 includes the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, and covers most of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. The final Galilean ministry begins after the beheading of John the Baptist as Jesus prepares to go to Jerusalem.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In the later Judean ministry Jesus starts his final journey to Jerusalem through Judea. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, in the later Perean ministry, about one third the way down from the Sea of Galilee (actually a freshwater lake) along the River Jordan, he returns to the area where he was baptized.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The final ministry in Jerusalem is sometimes called the Passion week and begins with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The gospels provide more details about the final ministry than the other periods, devoting about one third of their text to the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The gospel accounts place the beginning of Jesus' ministry in the countryside of Roman Judea, near the River Jordan.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The gospels present John the Baptist's ministry as the precursor to that of Jesus and the baptism of Jesus as marking the beginning of Jesus' ministry, after which Jesus travels, preaches and performs miracles. Jesus's baptism is generally considered the beginning and the Last Supper with his disciples in Jerusalem as the end of his ministry. However, some authors also consider the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension part of the ministry of Jesus.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Luke states that Jesus was "about 30 years of age" at the start of his ministry. There have been different approaches to estimating the date of the start of the ministry of Jesus. One approach, based on combining information from the Gospel of Luke with historical data about Emperor Tiberius yields a date around 28–29 AD/CE, while a second independent approach based on statements in the Gospel of John along with historical information from Josephus about the Temple in Jerusalem leads to a date around AD 27–29.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In the New Testament, the date of the Last Supper is very close before the date of the crucifixion of Jesus (hence its name). Scholarly estimates for the date of the crucifixion generally fall in the range AD 30–36.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The three Synoptic Gospels refer to just one passover, specifically the Passover at the end of Jesus's ministry when he is crucified. While the Gospel of John refers to two actual passovers, one at the beginning of Jesus's ministry and the second at the end of Jesus's ministry. There is a third reference to passover that many claim is a third actual festival, but this can not be supported, it is more likely to be a forecasting of the second Passover in the Gospel of John. This third reference to a passover in the Gospel of John is why many suggest that Jesus's ministry was a period of about three years. Scholars that support a three-year ministry, such as Köstenberger state that the Gospel of John simply provides a more detailed account.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: During the ministry of Jesus, the tetrarch ruling over Galilee and Perea in this period was Herod Antipas, who obtained the position upon the division of the territories following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The gospels present John the Baptist's ministry as the precursor to that of Jesus and the Baptism of Jesus as marking the beginning of Jesus' ministry.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In his sermon in , delivered in the house of Cornelius the centurion, Apostle Peter gives an overview of the ministry of Jesus, and refers to what had happened "throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached" and that Jesus whom "God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power" had gone about "doing good".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The "Early Galilean ministry" begins when, according to Matthew, Jesus goes back to Galilee from the Judean desert, after rebuffing the temptation of Satan. In this early period, Jesus preaches around Galilee and, in , his first disciples encounter him, begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The Gospel of John includes the Wedding at Cana as the first miracle of Jesus taking place in this early period of ministry, with his return to Galilee. A few villages in Galilee (e.g. Kafr Kanna) have been suggested as the location of Cana.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The return of Jesus to Galilee follows the arrest of John the Baptist. The early teachings of Jesus result in his rejection at his hometown when in Jesus says in a Synagogue: "No prophet is acceptable in his own country" and the people reject him.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In this early period, Jesus' reputation begins to spread throughout Galilee. In and , Jesus goes to Capernaum, where people are "astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority", in the Exorcism at the Synagogue in Capernaum episode, which is followed by healing the mother of Peter's wife.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: This period includes the Sermon on the Mount, one of the major discourses of Jesus in Matthew, and the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke. The "Sermon on the Mount", which covers chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew, is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew and is the longest piece of teaching from Jesus in the New Testament. It encapsulates many of the moral teachings of Jesus and includes the Beatitudes and the widely recited Lord's Prayer.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The "Beatitudes" are expressed as eight blessings in the "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew, and four similar blessings appear in the "Sermon on the Plain" in Luke, where they are followed by four woes that mirror the blessings. The Beatitudes present the highest ideals of the teachings of Jesus on mercy, spirituality and compassion.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The "Major Galilean ministry", also called the "Great Galilean ministry", begins in Matthew 8, after the Sermon on the Mount and refers to activities up to the death of John the Baptist.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The beginnings of this period include The Centurion's Servant () and Calming the storm (), both dealing with the theme of faith and fear. When the Centurion shows faith in Jesus by requesting a "healing at a distance", Jesus commends him for his exceptional faith. On the other hand, when his own disciples show fear of a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus instructs them to have more faith, after he orders the storm to stop.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In this period, Jesus is still gathering the twelve apostles, and the Calling of Matthew takes place in . The conflicts and criticism between Jesus and the Pharisees continue, e.g. they criticize Jesus for associating with "publicans and sinners", whereby Jesus responds: "It is not healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Commissioning the twelve Apostles relates the initial selection of the twelve Apostles among the disciples of Jesus. Jesus goes out to a mountainside to pray, and after spending the night praying to God, in the morning he calls his disciples and chooses twelve of them.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In the Mission Discourse, Jesus instructs the twelve apostles who are named in to carry no belongings as they travel from city to city and preach. Separately, relates the Seventy Disciples, where Jesus appoints a larger number of disciples and sends them out in pairs with the "Missionary's Mandate" to go into villages before Jesus' arrival there.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In two messengers from John the Baptist arrive to ask Jesus if he is the expected Messiah, or "shall we wait for another?" Jesus replies, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk". Following this, Jesus begins to speak to the crowds about the Baptist.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: This period is rich in parables and teachings and includes the "Parabolic discourse", which provides many of the parables for the Kingdom of Heaven, beginning in . These include the parables of The Sower, The Tares, The Mustard Seed and The Leaven, addressed to the public at large, as well as The Hidden Treasure, The Pearl and Drawing in the Net.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: At the end of the Major Galilean ministry, Jesus returns to his hometown, Nazareth. His wisdom is recognised there, questioned, and rejected.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The "Final Galilean ministry" begins after the death of John the Baptist, and includes the Feeding the 5000 and Walking on water episodes, both in . After hearing of the Baptist's death, Jesus withdraws by boat privately to a solitary place near Bethsaida, where he addresses the crowds who had followed him on foot from the towns, and feeds them all with "five loaves and two fish" supplied by a boy.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Following this, the gospels present the "Walking on water" episode in , and as an important step in developing the relationship between Jesus and his disciples, at this stage of his ministry. The episode emphasizes the importance of faith by stating that, when he attempted to walk on water, Peter began to sink when he lost faith and became afraid. At the end of the episode, the disciples increase their faith in Jesus, and, in Matthew 14:33, they say: "Of a truth thou art the Son of God".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Major teachings in this period include the Discourse on Defilement in and where, in response to a complaint from the Pharisees, Jesus states: "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Following this episode, Jesus withdraws into the "parts of Tyre and Sidon" near the Mediterranean Sea, where the Canaanite woman's daughter episode takes place in and . This episode is an example of how Jesus emphasizes the value of faith, telling the woman: "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." The importance of faith is also emphasized in the Cleansing ten lepers episode in .


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In the Gospel of Mark, after passing through Sidon, Jesus enters the region of the Decapolis, a group of ten cities south-east of Galilee, where the Healing the deaf mute miracle is reported in . After the healing, the disciples say: "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." The episode is the last in a series of narrated miracles which builds up to Peter's proclamation of Jesus as Christ in .


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In this period, Jesus starts his final journey to Jerusalem by going around Samaria, through Perea and on through Judea to Jerusalem. At the beginning of this period, Jesus predicts his death for the first time, and this prediction then builds up to the other two episodes, the final prediction being just before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time, the week of his crucifixion. In and , Jesus teaches his disciples that "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Later in this period, at about the middle of each of the three Synoptic Gospels, two related episodes mark a turning point in the ministry of Jesus: the Confession of Peter and the Transfiguration of Jesus. These episodes begin in Caesarea Philippi, just north of the Sea of Galilee, at the beginning of the final journey to Jerusalem which ends in the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. These episodes mark the beginnings of the gradual disclosure of the identity of Jesus as the Messiah to his disciples; and his prediction of his own suffering and death.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Peter's Confession begins as a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples in , and . Jesus asks his disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answers him: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". In , Jesus blesses Peter for his answer, and states: "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." In blessing Peter, Jesus not only accepts the titles "Christ" and "Son of God", which Peter attributes to him, but declares the proclamation a divine revelation by stating that his Father in Heaven had revealed it to Peter. In this assertion, by endorsing both titles as divine revelation, Jesus unequivocally declares himself to be both Christ and the Son of God.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In the Gospel of Matthew, following this episode, Jesus also selects Peter as the leader of the Apostles, and states that "upon this rock, I will build my church".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church". The word "church" ("ekklesia" in Greek) as used here, appears in the Gospels only once more, in , and refers to the community of believers at the time.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Following the proclamation by Peter, the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus is the next major event and appears in , and . Jesus takes Peter and two other apostles with him and goes up to a mountain, which is not named. Once on the mountain, states that Jesus "was transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." At that point, the prophets Elijah and Moses appear and Jesus begins to talk to them. Luke is specific in describing Jesus in a state of glory, with referring to "they saw his glory". A bright cloud appears around them, and a voice from the cloud states: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The Transfiguration not only supports the identity of Jesus as the Son of God, (as in his Baptism), but the statement "listen to him" identifies him as the messenger and mouth-piece of God. The significance is enhanced by the presence of Elijah and Moses, for it indicates to the apostles that Jesus is the voice of God, and, instead of Elijah or Moses, he should be listened to, by virtue of his filial relationship with God. echoes the same message: at the Transfiguration, God assigns to Jesus a special "honor and glory" and it is the turning point at which God exalts Jesus above all other powers in creation.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Many of the episodes in the Later Judean ministry are from the Gospel of Luke but, in general, these sequence of episodes in Luke do not provide enough geographical information to determine Perea, though scholars generally assume that the route Jesus followed from Galilee to Jerusalem passed through Perea. However, the Gospel of John does state that he returned to the area where he was baptized, and states that "many people believed in him beyond the Jordan", saying "all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true". The area where Jesus was baptised is inferred as the vicinity of the Perea area, given the activities of the Baptist in Bethabara and Ænon in John and .


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: This period of ministry includes the Discourse on the Church, in which Jesus anticipates a future community of followers and explains the role of his apostles in leading it. It includes the parables of The Lost Sheep and The Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18, which also refer to the Kingdom of Heaven. The general theme of the discourse is the anticipation of a future community of followers, and the role of his apostles in leading it.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Addressing his apostles in , Jesus states: "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". The discourse emphasizes the importance of humility and self-sacrifice as the high virtues within the anticipated community. It teaches that in the Kingdom of God, it is personal humility that matters, not social prominence and clout.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: At the end of this period, the Gospel of John includes the Raising of Lazarus episode in , in which Jesus brings Lazarus of Bethany back to life four days after his burial. In the Gospel of John, the raising of Lazarus is the climax of the "seven signs" which gradually confirm the identity of Jesus as the Son of God and the expected Messiah. It is also a "pivotal episode" which starts the chain of events that leads to the crowds seeking Jesus on his Triumphal entry into Jerusalem—leading to the decision of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to plan to kill Jesus (Crucifixion of Jesus).


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: The final ministry in Jerusalem is traditionally called the Passion and begins with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem early in the week that includes the Last Supper and is liturgically marked as Holy Week. The gospels pay special attention to the account of the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem, and the narrative amounts to about one third of the text of the four gospels, showing its theological significance in Christian thought in the Early Church.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: Before arriving in Jerusalem, in , after raising Lazarus from the dead, crowds gather around Jesus and believe in him, and the next day the multitudes that had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem welcome Jesus as he descends from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem in


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: , , and . In as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, he looks at the city and weeps over it, foretelling the suffering that awaits the city.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In the three Synoptic Gospels, entry into Jerusalem is followed by the Cleansing of the Temple episode, in which Jesus expels the money changers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple to a den of thieves through their commercial activities. This is the only account of Jesus using physical force in any of the Gospels. The synoptics include a number of well known parables and sermons such as the Widow's mite and the Second Coming Prophecy during the week that follows.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In that week, the synoptics also narrate conflicts between Jesus and the elders of the Jews, in episodes such as the Authority of Jesus Questioned and the Woes of the Pharisees, in which Jesus criticizes their hypocrisy. Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, approaches the Jewish elders and performs the "Bargain of Judas" in which he accepts to betray Jesus and hand him over to the elders. Matthew specifies the price as thirty silver coins.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus provides a "Discourse on the End Times", which is also called the Olivet Discourse because it was given on the Mount of Olives. The discourse is mostly about judgment and the expected conduct of the followers of Jesus, and the need for vigilance by the followers in view of the coming judgment. The discourse is generally viewed as referring both to the coming destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the End Times and Second Coming of Christ, but the many scholarly opinions about which verses refer to which event remain divided.


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: A key episode in the final part of the ministry of Jesus is the Last Supper, which includes the "Institution of the Eucharist". In , , during the last supper, Jesus takes bread, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, saying: "This is my body which is given for you". He also gives them "the cup" to drink, saying this is his blood. While it may have been fermented, none of the biblical accounts refer to it as wine, but rather as "the fruit of the vine" or "the cup".


title: Ministry of Jesus

text: In , Paul the Apostle refers to the Last Supper. concludes the Last Supper with a long, three chapter sermon known as the "Farewell discourse" which prepares the disciples for the departure of Jesus.


title: NatWest

text: National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it became part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was re-named NatWest Group in 2020. Following ringfencing of the group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of NatWest Holdings; NatWest Markets comprises the non-ringfenced investment banking arm. The British government currently owns around 48.1%, previously 54.7% of NatWest Group after spending £45 billion ($61.87 billion) bailing out the lender in 2008.


title: NatWest

text: NatWest is considered one of the Big Four clearing banks in the UK, and it has a large network of over 960 branches and 3,400 cash machines across Great Britain and offers 24-hour "Actionline" telephone and online banking services. Today, it has more than 7.5 million personal customers and 850,000 small business accounts. In Northern Ireland, it operates through its Ulster Bank brand. In 2017, NatWest was awarded Best Banking App in the British Bank Awards.


title: NatWest

text: The bank's origins date back to 1658 with the foundation of Smith's Bank of Nottingham. Its oldest direct corporate ancestor, National Provincial Bank, was formed in 1833 as the National Provincial Bank of England. It merged with Union of London and Smith's Bank in 1918 to become National Provincial and Union Bank, shortening its name in 1924. District Bank (formed in 1829 as the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company) was acquired by National Provincial in 1962 and allowed to operate under its own name. Westminster Bank was formed in 1834 as London and Westminster Bank. It merged with London and County Bank in 1909 to become London County and Westminster Bank and with Parr's Bank in 1918 to become London County Westminster and Parrs Bank, shortening its name in 1923.


title: NatWest

text: The creation of the modern bank was announced in 1968 and commenced trading on 1 January 1970 after the statutory process of integration had been completed in 1969. The three arrowheads device was adopted as the new bank's logo; it is said to symbolise either the circulation of money in the financial system or the bank's three constituents. The District, National Provincial and Westminster banks were fully integrated in the new firm's structure, but private bankers Coutts & Co (a 1920 National Provincial acquisition, established 1692), Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland (a 1917 Westminster acquisition, established 1836) and the Isle of Man Bank (a 1961 National Provincial acquisition, established 1865) continued as separate operations. Westminster Foreign Bank (established 1913) was restyled International Westminster Bank in 1973. Duncan Stirling, outgoing chairman of Westminster Bank, became first chairman of the fifth largest bank in the world. In 1969 David Robarts, former chairman of National Provincial, assumed Stirling's position. In 1975 it was one of the first London banks to open a representative office in Scotland. It was a founder member of the Joint Credit Card Company (with Lloyds Bank, Midland Bank and Williams & Glyn's Bank) which launched the Access credit card (now part of Mastercard) in 1972 and in 1976 it introduced the "Servicetill" cash machine. The same banks, excluding Lloyds, were later responsible for the introduction of the Switch debit card (later branded Maestro) in 1988.


title: NatWest

text: Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in the Big Bang in 1986, also encouraged the bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, its merchant banking subsidiary formed in 1965, acquired various stockbroking and jobbing firms to create the investment banking arm County NatWest. National Westminster Home Loans was established in 1980 and other initiatives included the launch of the Piggy Account for children in 1983, the Credit Zone, a flexible overdraft facility on which customers only pay interest (now commonplace, this so-called "pink" debt was innovative when launched) and the development of the Mondex electronic purse (later sold to MasterCard Worldwide) in 1990. "The Action Bank" advertising campaign spearheaded a new marketing-led approach to business development. Under the direction of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, who became chairman in 1977, the bank also expanded internationally, forming National Westminster Bancorp in the United States of America with a network of 340 branches across two states, National Westminster Bank of Canada and NatWest Australia Bank; and opening branches on the European continent and in the Far East. In 1982, the Frankfurt office of International Westminster Bank merged with Global Bank AG to form Deutsche Westminster Bank. In 1985, Banco NatWest España was formed and National Westminster Bank SA was incorporated in 1988, taking over the bank's six branches in France and Monaco. In 1989, International Westminster Bank was merged into National Westminster Bank by Act of Parliament.


title: NatWest

text: Completed in 1980, the bank built the National Westminster Tower (now known as Tower 42) in London to serve as its international headquarters. At a height of 600 feet (183 m) it was the tallest building in the UK until the topping-out of Canary Wharf Tower 10 years later; its footprint loosely approximating the bank's logo when viewed from the air, although the architect claimed the similarity was coincidence. Also worthy of note is National Westminster House (since renamed as 103 Colmore Row) in Birmingham: the building was sold to British Land in 2007 and demolished in 2015.


title: NatWest

text: The bank was hit by the stock market crash of 1987 and involvement in the collapse of Blue Arrow. The Department of Trade and Industry report on the affair was critical of the bank's management and resulted in the resignation of several members of the board, including then-chairman Lord Boardman. Later, the bank would divest its overseas subsidiaries. The North American operations were sold to Fleet Bank and Hong Kong Bank of Canada, and the Australian and New Zealand branches were sold to Salomon Smith Barney and the National Australia Bank. Thereafter the bank concentrated on its core domestic business as the restyled NatWest Group, reflecting its modern positioning as a portfolio of businesses. In 1993, the NatWest Tower was devastated by a Provisional IRA bomb and the bank vacated the building and later sold it. Then, in 1997, NatWest Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm formed in 1992, revealed that a £50m loss had been discovered, revised to £90.5m after further investigations. Investor and shareholder confidence was so badly shaken that the Bank of England had to instruct the board of directors to resist calls for the resignation of its most senior executives in an effort to draw a line under the affair. The bank's internal controls and risk management were severely criticised in 2000 and its aggressive push into investment banking questioned, after a lengthy investigation by the Securities and Futures Authority. The bank's move into complicated derivative products that it did not fully understand seemed to indicate poor management. By the end of 1997 parts of NatWest Markets had been sold, others becoming Greenwich NatWest in 1998.


title: NatWest

text: In 1999, the chairman, Lord Alexander of Weedon, announced a merger with Legal & General in a friendly £10.7 billion deal, the first between a bank and an insurance company in UK history. The move was poorly received in the London financial markets and NatWest's share price fell substantially. Seen as a driver of the ill-advised investment banking expansion, Derek Wanless was forced to resign as chief executive following the appointment of Sir David Rowland (who became executive chairman). Also in 1999, in response to the much reduced NatWest market capitalisation, the much smaller Bank of Scotland made a hostile takeover bid for NatWest. The Bank of Scotland's aim was to break up the NatWest Group and dispose of its non-retail assets. NatWest was forced to abandon its merger, but refused to agree to a takeover by a rival bank. The Royal Bank of Scotland tabled another hostile offer and trumped the Bank of Scotland with a £21 billion bid. The takeover of NatWest in early 2000 was the biggest in UK history. Once Britain's most profitable bank, it was delisted from the London Stock Exchange and became, with its subsidiaries, component parts of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The outcome of this bitter struggle set the tone for a round of consolidation in the financial sector as it prepared for a new age of fierce global competition. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group became the second largest bank in the UK and Europe (after HSBC) and the fifth largest in the world by market capitalisation. According to Forbes Global 2000, it was then the 13th largest company in the world. NatWest was retained as a distinct brand with its own banking licence, but many back office functions were merged with those of the Royal Bank, leading to over 18,000 job losses.


title: NatWest

text: In 2008, it was announced that HM Government would take a stake of up to 58% in the Royal Bank of Scotland in a move aimed at recapitalising the group. HM Treasury subscribed for £5 billion in preference shares and underwrote the issuance of £15bn of new ordinary shares offered to RBS shareholders and new institutional shareholders at the fixed price of 65.5p. As a consequence of the mismanagement which necessitated this rescue, the chief executive, Fred Goodwin (who secured the takeover of NatWest), offered his resignation, which was duly accepted. Chairman Tom McKillop also confirmed he would stand down from that role when his contract expired in 2009. Goodwin was replaced by Stephen Hester, previously chief executive of British Land.


title: NatWest

text: In 2009, the RBS Group announced that it would divest all 311 RBS branches in England and Wales (known as Williams & Glyn's until 1985) together with the seven NatWest branches in Scotland as a standalone business, to comply with European Commission state aid requirements. In August 2010, it was announced that the branches would be sold to Santander UK, along with the accounts of 1.8 million personal customers and 244,000 SME customers. Santander withdrew from the sale in October 2012. On 27 September 2013, the RBS Group confirmed it had agreed to sell 308 RBS branches in England and Wales and 6 NatWest branches in Scotland to the Corsair consortium. This figure was reduced to 307 by May 2015. The branches were to have been separated from the group in 2016 as a standalone business operating under the previously dormant Williams & Glyn's brand.


title: NatWest

text: In August 2016, RBS cancelled its plan to spin off Williams & Glyn as a separate business, stating that the new bank could not survive independently. It revealed it would instead seek to sell the division to another bank. In February 2017, HM Treasury and the European Commission reached a provisional agreement in which RBS would be able to retain the Williams & Glyn assets in return for investing £750 million into a fund aimed at increasing SME lending by challenger banks and for RBS agreeing to allow SME customers of challenger banks to use its branch network for cash and cheque handling. The European Commission confirmed in April 2017 that it would scrutinise the proposal.


title: NatWest

text: On 20 March 2017, the British paper "The Guardian" reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder KGB-related funds out of Russia, as uncovered by an investigation named Global Laundromat. NatWest was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were “facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers,” as the bank processed $1.1 million in Laundromat cash. Other banks facing scrutiny under the investigation included HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank, Barclays and Coutts.


title: NatWest

text: On 3 May 2021, the business of Ulster Bank Limited in Northern Ireland was transferred to National Westminster Bank as part of a court-approved Banking Business Transfer Scheme.


title: NatWest

text: NatWest Group operates internationally through its four principal subsidiaries: NatWest Holdings which owns The Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC; NatWest Markets; NatWest Markets N.V.; and The Royal Bank of Scotland International. The NatWest sub-group of companies comprises National Westminster Bank and its subsidiary and associated undertakings. , the principal subsidiary undertakings of NatWest are:


title: NatWest

text: Structurally, National Westminster Bank was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group until 2003, when ownership of the bank's entire issued ordinary share capital was transferred to The Royal Bank of Scotland as holding company, with RBS Group functioning as ultimate holding company. At the same time the entire issued share capital of Lombard North Central was transferred by the bank to the holding company, transferring back to NatWest in 2017. Ownership of National Westminster Home Loans was passed to the holding company in 2005; however, the mortgage portfolio and related funding were also transferred back to NatWest in 2012. In 2000, the bank transferred National Westminster Life Assurance to RBS Life Investments, effectively establishing the business as a joint venture between the Group and Norwich Union. In 2018, ownership of both NatWest and the Royal Bank transferred to NatWest Holdings and NatWest became the main provider of shared services and Treasury activities for the RBS Group. On 14 February 2020, it was announced that RBS Group would be renamed NatWest Group later that year, taking the brand under which the majority of its business was delivered. The change became effective on 22 July.


title: NatWest

text: NatWest provide a full range of banking and insurance services to personal, business and commercial customers, including the first dedicated bank account in Britain to be delivered and supported entirely in the Polish language. The bank has won Your Mortgage Magazine's Best Bank for Mortgages award 13 times in the last 17 years, more than any other lender.


title: NatWest

text: Operating under the name Esme Loans, NatWest provides a digital lending platform for SMEs also available to customers not banking with NatWest or RBS. Esme Loans commenced trading on 17 February 2017, after being founded out of the bank's new product development programme NatWest Innovation Cell by Richard Kerton, Veronika Lovett, and Lucy Hasson.


title: NatWest

text: The bank operates "mobile branches" using converted vans to serve rural areas around St Austell, Swansea, Carlisle, Devon and North Wales. The service allows to customers to carry out banking transactions in remote areas where there is no branch. NatWest reintroduced the mobile service in Cornwall in 2005, after HSBC ended its own version due to costs.


title: NatWest

text: In 2006, the then RBS Group undertook the first trial of PayPass contactless debit and credit cards in Europe. In 2019, a NatWest pilot project was the first in the UK to trial debit cards containing fingerprint authentication technology developed by Dutch company, Gemalto.


title: NatWest

text: The bank participates fully in the Faster Payments Service, an initiative to speed up certain payments, launched in 2008. The bank established credit and debit card payment handling company Streamline in 1989, which was merged into Worldpay Group in 2009. The NatWest Mobile Banking app is available to personal account holders over the age of 11 with online banking, a debit card and UK mobile telephone number (beginning 07). The Emergency Cash service gives access to cash without a debit card from NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank cash machines.