title: Fabio Fognini

text: Following his third-round defeat at Wimbledon, to Tennys Sandgren, Fognini was fined $3,000 (£2,396) after he said, during an on-court outburst, that Wimbledon should be bombed.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: Fognini reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, beating Reilly Opelka after coming back from 2 sets to love down, Jordan Thompson, again in 5 sets, and Guido Pella. He lost in the fourth round to Tennys Sandgren.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: Fognini reached the fourth round of the 2021 Australian Open for the fourth time, this time beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets, Salvatore Caruso in a narrow fifth set tiebreak, and home favourite and 21st seed Alex de Minaur. He lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. The Caruso match was notable for an argument the pair had in which Fognini accused Caruso of being lucky.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: Fognini failed to defend his title in Monte Carlo, but still reached the quarterfinals, beating Miomir Kecmanović, Jordan Thompson and Filip Krajinović before losing to Casper Ruud in straight sets.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: At the 2021 Barcelona Open, Fognini was defaulted during his second round match against Bernabé Zapata Miralles for verbal abuse towards a line judge after being called for a foot fault.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: At the 2021 French Open, Fognini reached the third round for the ninth time, where he was beaten in straight sets by Federico Delbonis. At the 2021 Wimbledon Championships he also reached the third round where he lost to 5th seed Andrey Rublev.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: At the 2022 French Open he defeated Alexei Popyrin which put him one win away from his 400th career win. At the 2022 Hamburg European Open he reached the second round defeating Aljaz Bedene to earn his 400th career win. He became only the 14th active player to win 400 matches and the first Italian man in the Open Era with 400 tour-level wins followed by Adriano Panatta with 392 wins, and by Andreas Seppi with 386 wins, who is the second-most among active Italians.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: Fognini guided Italy into the quarterfinals of the 2013 Davis Cup World Group, defeating Ivan Dodig in the fifth and decisive rubber against Croatia. It was the first time Italy had reached that stage since 1998. He also guided Italy past Argentina to the quarterfinals the following year, winning both singles rubbers against Juan Mónaco and Carlos Berlocq, and the doubles rubber (partnering Simone Bolelli). In the quarterfinals in Naples against Great Britain, Fognini equalled the tie at 2–2 after defeating reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in a straight sets win (after defeating James Ward two days previously), proving vital to Italy making the semi-finals with an eventual 3–2 victory. This was only the second time Murray had lost a singles rubber in the Davis Cup (after his first appearance ever in 2005). In the semi-final against Switzerland he lost both his singles rubbers to Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: Fognini currently uses the Babolat Pure Drive Racquet strung with Babolat RPM Blast strings. His grip is Babolat Vs Original.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: In November 2016, he moved from Adidas apparel to Hydrogen, Italian leading luxury sportswear firm. in January 2017, Fognini signed a 3-years shoe supply agreement with ASICS In 2018, Fognini and his wife Flavia Pennetta signed to become ambassadors of the Emporio Armani collection. From January 2019 onwards he wore the bold designs of Emporio Armani EA7 sportswear on-court.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: A clay-court specialist, Fognini is known for his streaky temperament, as well as his flair, speed, and movement on court. He has been known to lose his cool on occasion. He famously lost his cool and blew a 3–0 lead in the final set against Andy Murray at the 2016 Olympics. He was thrown out of the 2017 U.S. Open over obscene remarks made to a female umpire. He has also shown that he is capable of maintaining a strikingly balanced disposition when facing adversity. He holds the record for committing the most foot faults whilst still winning a match: a grand total of 12, including double-faulting due to consecutive foot faults. Fognini's serve is relatively underpowered and hardly a trademark weapon, but he puts emphasis on precision and placement, while also having the ability to hit above 130 mph on occasion. Known for his baseline play and big ground strokes despite his average stature, one of his signature shots is his off forehand, which he uses to great effect. His tactics usually consist of a serve out wide, drawing a weak return, setting Fognini up to hit a clean winner off the forehand side. He also uses the backhand down the line frequently, often in key moments.


title: Fabio Fognini

text: Since 2014, Fognini has been in a relationship with Italian tennis compatriot Flavia Pennetta, from Brindisi, a retired player who won the 2015 US Open singles title. The couple were engaged in 2015 and married in Ostuni on 16 June 2016. Their son was born in 2017.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: Adidas Stan Smith is a tennis shoe made by Adidas, and first launched in 1965. Originally named "Adidas Robert Haillet" after the brand endorsed French prominent player Robert Haillet, in 1978 the sneakers were renamed after Stan Smith, an American tennis player who was active between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: The shoe, usually made with a white leather upper and laces, has a simple design. Unlike most Adidas shoes, it does not have the external three stripes. Instead there are three rows of perforations (or punched ventilation holes) on both sides of each shoe's leather upper. There is sometimes a sketched picture of Stan Smith on the tongue of the shoe. In some sense, the Adidas branding is minimal on the shoe. The design and form of the shoe has basically stayed the same since it was introduced, but several new versions and colorways have appeared during the years.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: In 1963, the first Adidas tennis shoe was produced, which was the first ever leather tennis shoe and marked the beginning of a long line of classic Adidas shoes. The upper part of the shoe is made of white leather, whereas the pimpled outer sole is made of rubber. The inner sole is made of synthetic material. It was Horst Dassler, the son of Adolf "Adi" Dassler – the founder of Adidas, who had the idea of the first leather tennis shoe. In 1965, this tennis shoe model was named the adidas Robert Haillet after the French tennis professional Robert Haillet. When Haillet retired from tennis, Adidas and Horst Dassler decided to find another tennis player that could endorse the tennis shoe model. Donald Dell, an American tennis manager, suggested Stan Smith, who took the offer in order to obtain royalties for the use of his name. For Adidas, the shoe became a market opener in the United States. In 1967, a green foam padding was added at the back of the shoe for Achilles tendon protection.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: In 1973, Stan Smith signed a contract with Adidas. According to "Sneaker Report", this contract is on 13th place of the 50 most influential sneaker sponsorships in sports history. For some reason, Adidas could not decide at first if the model should still be called Robert Haillet or if it should be renamed to Stan Smith, so for several years (1973–1978) the shoe was produced with a tongue that had Stan Smith's portrait and the word Haillet written above it. In 1978, the word "Haillet" was removed from the tongue, and the shoe was endorsed by Stan Smith and officially renamed the Adidas Stan Smith.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: By 1988, about 22 million pairs of adidas Stan Smith shoes had been sold, and the shoe was listed in Guinness World Records.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: At the turn of the 21st century, Adidas re-issued a new version of the shoe – Adidas Stan Smith II. In 2008, a replica of the original Adidas Stan Smith was released in the Adidas Originals line and was named Adidas Stan Smith 80s. In total, the Adidas Stan Smith has sold over 30 million pairs worldwide since 1971.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: There is even a source that claims that Adidas has sold 40 million pairs of the Adidas Stan Smith by 2005.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: During a November 17, 2009 interview that aired on "The Tony Kornheiser Show", former tennis pro and sports agent Donald Dell said the original Stan Smith green-tab shoe has been in production since 1972, and generated more than US$65 million in revenue in 2008. Dell added during the same interview that the shoe is now available in eight versions, and the model is the biggest-selling tennis shoe ever.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: "Complex Sneakers" placed the Stan Smith at number 4 in its list of the 50 greatest tennis sneakers of all time, with the Robert Haillet model in 36th place. "ShortList Magazine" listed it among the 10 greatest sneakers made. Neal Heard, author of the sneaker cultural history "Trainers", placed it 6th in his list of the top 10 sneakers of all time.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: Despite its enormous success, Adidas briefly stopped production of the shoe in 2011. It was put back into production in 2014.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: There are several different versions of the Adidas Stan Smith. Most commonly, they are white with grass-green heel. but there are also other colorings. Since the mid-1990s, some versions come with velcro straps instead of laces.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: The Adidas Stan Smith originally was manufactured in Landersheim in north-eastern France by Adidas France that was initiated by Horst Dassler. However, since the production of the Adidas Stan Smith started, the shoe has been produced in several countries. Among the various countries are Algeria, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, USA and Vietnam.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: Today, the Adidas Stan Smith is not recommended for tennis players, but the shoe continues to be an iconic and stylish model for sneaker fans in general and for old school and retro tennis shoe fans in particular. To non-tennis fans, Stan Smith is probably better known for the shoe than for his past career as a tennis player.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: For some sneaker collectors, the most sought-after vintage Adidas Stan Smith are the early versions of the shoe. The ones made in France are considered to be highly valuable.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: For some time, people have been drawing or painting on their sneakers using ink, markers or spray cans. Young people have made this kind of art with various motifs ranging from simple drawings to more complex graffiti paintings. Probably due to its often white color, the Adidas Stan Smith has been used as an object for sneaker art. For example, many artists and design studios hand-paint Stan Smith sneakers and sell them as art.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: Concerning signed adidas stan smith sneakers, it is possible to find them with Stan Smith's autograph with black marker ink on the white leather upper.


title: Adidas Stan Smith

text: In fact, in 1983, Adidas launched the concept of Adicolor, where sneakers were sold along with the tools to customize them. The Adicolor sneakers are all white sneakers specifically created for the Adicolor concept. In 2005, Adidas re-launched Adicolor as a replica of the original from 1983. There have been some Adicolor versions of the Stan Smith. The Sport Goofy, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Mr Happy, Trimm Dich, Comfort Betty Boop, Comfort Tron, and Velcro Pack versions of the shoe also belong to the Adicolor series. Besides painting, other sneaker art has been performed with the Adidas Stan Smith. In 2008, Adidas Originals started a collaboration with American fashion designer Jeremy Scott. He has designed a couple of different versions of the Stan Smith such as JS Bowling and JS Slim Glow in the Dark.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste and Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from November 1994 to December 1994, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Industry and Commerce in January 1993, Minister for Finance from 1991 to 1994, Minister for Labour from 1987 to 1991, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence from March 1982 to December 1982 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1986 to 1987. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1994, Ahern was elected the sixth Leader of Fianna Fáil. Under Ahern's leadership, Fianna Fáil led three coalition governments. Ahern is the second-longest serving Taoiseach, after Éamon de Valera. Ahern resigned as Taoiseach on 6 May 2008, in the wake of revelations made in Mahon Tribunal, and was succeeded by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen. In 2012, the Mahon Tribunal found that Ahern, while not judged corrupt, had received money from developers and the Tribunal disbelieved his explanations of those payments. Fianna Fáil proposed to expel politicians censured by the tribunal, but Ahern resigned from the party prior to the expulsion motion being moved.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In November 2016, it was announced that a decision had been made by Fianna Fáil to give Ahern the option of rejoining the party.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern was born in Drumcondra, Dublin, the youngest of five children of Con and Julia (née Hourihane) Ahern, both natives of County Cork, who married in October 1937. They settled at Church Avenue, Drumcondra, where they resided for the rest of their lives. The other four children are Maurice, Kathleen, Noel and Eileen. In Dublin, Ahern's father worked as a farm manager at All Hallows College, Drumcondra. Ahern's brother Noel is also involved in politics and represented Dublin North-West in Dáil Éireann.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's father Con was born into a farming family near Ballyfeard, which is located near Kinsale, County Cork, in 1904. His mother also came from a farming background and was from near Castledonovan, west County Cork. Ahern's father, Con, initially left County Cork and went to Dublin in the early 1930s to train for the priesthood, but did not complete his studies with the Vincentian order. He had fought in the Irish Civil War. He was a supporter of Éamon de Valera and the Anti-Treaty IRA. He was a member of the 3rd Cork Brigade of the IRA. He remained a militant Irish Republican for decades after the War of Independence. Con Ahern died in 1990. Ahern's mother, Julia, died in 1998, aged 87 years.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern was educated at St. Patrick's National School, Drumcondra and at St. Aidan's Christian Brothers, Whitehall.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: He received his third level education at the College of Commerce, Rathmines, part of the Dublin Institute of Technology. Ahern has claimed or it has been claimed by others in circulated biographies that he was educated at University College Dublin and the London School of Economics, but neither university has any records that show Ahern was ever one of their students. He subsequently worked in the Accounts Department of the Mater Hospital, Dublin.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern is an enthusiastic and vocal fan of sport. He is a supporter of Dublin GAA and attends Dublin matches in Croke Park. He also supports Manchester United F.C. and attends matches at Old Trafford and rugby matches at Lansdowne Road. He appeared as a pundit on RTÉ Two's "The Premiership" programme in 2001.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern first became involved in a Fianna Fáil by-election campaign in 1965, climbing lamp posts to hang election posters in Drumcondra. During the campaign, Ahern met his political mentor and future Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. Ahern became a member of Fianna Fáil at the age of 17, and in the 1969 general election he assisted with the election campaign in his constituency.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's first ran for office during the landslide 1977 general election when Fianna Fáil formed the last single-party majority government with a 20-seat Dáil majority, the largest ever. Ahern received 4,000 first preference votes in the newly created Dublin Finglas constituency and was elected with transfers from other candidates. He was elected to Dublin Corporation at the 1979 local elections for the Cabra East–Finglas West local electoral area (LEA). He later switched to the North Inner City LEA before standing down before the 1991 local elections. In subsequent elections Ahern became one of the highest vote-getters in the country. In his Dublin Central constituency Ahern was described as:


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1980, due to the illness of the actual Chief Whip, Seán Moore, he was effectively running the office. Ahern increased his personal vote in all three general elections of 1981 and 1982, even out-polling his running mate, George Colley, previously a candidate for Taoiseach. In the short-lived Fianna Fáil government of 1982, Ahern served as Government Chief Whip. Fianna Fáil were then consigned to the opposition benches for five years. During this period Ahern became Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Labour. In 1986, he became Lord Mayor of Dublin. During his tenure, he organised the Dublin Millennium festival.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1987, Fianna Fáil returned to power as a minority government. Ahern became Minister for Labour, which was not considered an important portfolio. In the following years, the department was important in stimulating Ireland's ailing economy. On behalf of the government Bertie Ahern negotiated the first national wage agreement between unions and employers, The Programme for National Recovery. This and the subsequent national wage agreement came to be known as the 'Irish model' and have been adopted by a number of European countries


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1989, Haughey called an early general election. Fianna Fáil lost seats and was forced into a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats. Ahern retained his position as Minister for Labour in the government of the 26th Dáil. In 1990, Ahern negotiated the Programme for Economic and Social Progress.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1990, Ahern was campaign manager for the presidential bid of his cabinet colleague, Brian Lenihan. It proved to be Ahern's least successful campaign as the apparently unbeatable Lenihan lost to Labour Party candidate Mary Robinson. Ahern was damaged in the short term by being seen as the first Fianna Fáil presidential election campaign manager to lose a presidential election.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1991, the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats programme for government was reviewed. Ahern was a key player in these talks yet again. His involvement prompted Haughey to remark of Ahern:


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In November 1991, Reynolds, then Minister for Finance, launched a leadership challenge to Haughey. Ahern publicly backed Haughey. The challenge failed and Reynolds and his supporters were dismissed from the cabinet. In the reshuffle that followed, Ahern became Minister for Finance. According to statements given by Ahern while serving as Minister for Finance, he did not hold a personal bank account.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In early 1992, Charles Haughey resigned as Taoiseach. Ahern was encouraged by Haughey and others to bid for the position. He was apprehensive, and remained out of the contest, allowing Reynolds to become party leader and Taoiseach. It is believed that Reynolds and Ahern struck a deal in which Ahern would withdraw and thus remain in the cabinet, to succeed subsequently. Ahern and Michael Woods were the only two senior members to remain in the new Reynolds cabinet, with Ahern retaining his Finance portfolio.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Following the 1992 general election, Fianna Fáil formed a coalition government with the Labour Party. This lasted until 1994, when the Labour Party withdrew from government, due to unhappiness with Reynolds's proposed candidate for President of the High Court. Ahern briefly succeeded Labour leader Dick Spring as Tánaiste. However, the government fell after a motion of no confidence, proposed by Fine Gael and Leader of the Opposition John Bruton, seconded by Fianna Fáil's former coalition partners the Labour Party. Reynolds resigned as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: During 1993, while he was Finance Minister, Ahern accepted payments of IR £39,000 from various businessmen: see below for details. These payments did not become public knowledge until 2006.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: He is also under scrutiny from the Mahon Tribunal for this cash payment and subsequent revelations in May 2007, of cash received from businessman Micheál Wall.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern succeeded Reynolds as the leader; the first unopposed candidate since Seán Lemass in 1959. Ahern was elected as the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil on 19 November 1994.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Negotiations for a resumption of government with the Labour Party began immediately. It was expected that the coalition would continue and that Ahern would become Taoiseach. However, due to new revelations, Labour withdrew from the coalition, opting instead to go into coalition with Fine Gael. Ahern found himself as Leader of the Opposition.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In the 1997 general election Fianna Fáil's campaign centred on Ahern's personal popularity. At the election, while Fianna Fáil picked up seats, its preferred coalition partner, the Progressive Democrats, lost more than half their seats. However, Labour suffered even heavier losses, leaving Fine Gael short of the support it needed to stay in office. Ahern quickly formed a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats, with the support of four Independent TDs. On 26 June 1997, aged 45, Ahern became the youngest ever Taoiseach.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's first government saw some teething problems during its first six months. Firstly, Ahern tried to nominate David Andrews as Minister for Defence and as a Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs. This was unconstitutional as one Minister cannot be subordinate to another.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Secondly, in July, Charles Haughey gave evidence to the McCracken Tribunal on corruption confirming that he had received IR£1.3 million (€1.7 million) in gifts from businessman Ben Dunne, which he had previously denied. This damaged Haughey's reputation more than the Government's.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Thirdly, earlier allegations resurfaced about Ahern's Foreign Minister, Ray Burke. Burke eventually admitted to receiving IR£30,000 (€38,000) in a corrupt payment and chose to resign. Arising from those two matters, the government established the Moriarty Tribunal and the Flood Tribunal.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: One of the high points of the first six months was the renewal of the Provisional IRA ceasefire, which paved the way for resumed negotiations in Northern Ireland.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: A significant achievement of Ahern's first term was his part in the negotiation of the Belfast Agreement, commonly called the Good Friday Agreement, in which the British and Irish Governments and most Northern Irish political parties established an "exclusively peaceful and democratic" framework for power-sharing in Northern Ireland. The agreement was signed on 10 April 1998. It was seen as something special, because not only was it endorsed by the political parties, it was endorsed also by the British and Irish governments and the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The agreement, the ceasefires and political structures it created have encouraged peace. The negotiations also led to his friendship with the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. On 26 November 1998, Blair became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas. On 24 September 2003, Ahern and Blair were jointly awarded the Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights for their work on the Good Friday Agreement to promote peace between Britain and Northern Ireland. On 22 May 2008, Ahern and Blair were both awarded honorary doctorates by Queen's University Belfast in recognition of their roles in the peace process. University Chancellor George Mitchell praised Mr Ahern as "a man of peace and a builder of bridges".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's first term in office had been a period of high economic growth in Ireland, known as the Celtic Tiger. This was followed by a property boom which led to the economic crisis of 2008–2010 and culminated in the state requiring an IMF and EU bailout in 2010.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In the first term increased prosperity and a better standard of living were the main results of the Celtic Tiger economy. There were significant deficits in the provision of infrastructure in the health and transport sectors. The good economic conditions allowed Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, to deliver several generous budgets. The 1998 and 1999 Finance Acts included special tax incentives targeted at the area covered by the pilot Rural Renewal Scheme for the Upper Shannon Area. This scheme was later subject to criticism by the Heritage Council for being introduced without a ‘Baseline Audit’ to inform the


title: Bertie Ahern

text: level and scale of development to be supported through the scheme, not identifying priority areas suitable for development, not providing any strategic protection for designated areas including the corridor of the River Shannon, nor promoting the use of sustainable design and building materials in any new build or refurbishment project supported by the scheme. This growth changed in 2008, with a difficult budget for 2008, brought forward by 2 months, as Ireland entered recession, with unemployment expected to rise 5.6% in 2008 and the construction industry in decline. Economic growth in 2008, had also slowed to its lowest levels in over a decade. In 2009, Ahern said his decision in 2001, to create the Financial Regulator was one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Irish banking sector and "if I had a chance again I wouldn't do it".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The 28th Dáil served its full term, becoming the second-longest Dáil to complete a full term. The coalition of Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats was re-elected with an increased majority in the 2002 general election on 17 May of that year. Fianna Fáil had hoped for a majority, but ultimately came up three seats short of the 84 required. Fine Gael was decimated, losing much of its front bench. The coalition Government returned to power, comprising Fianna Fáil and the eight Progressive Democrats TDs. It was the first time a Government had been re-elected since Jack Lynch's in 1969.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Controversy arose when it was announced shortly afterwards that financial cutbacks were needed due to the drop in the international and Irish economies. This contradicted Fianna Fáil's promise during the election campaign when Finance Minister McCreevy was quoted several times saying that ""no cutbacks, secret or otherwise, were planned"". The government was accused of lying to the public, particularly concerning the war in Iraq (see below). The Government's rating fell badly in opinion polls and Ahern's popularity dropped to its minimum.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Another issue in the government's agenda for 2002, was the upcoming 2002 Referendum nicknamed "Nice 2", this was a second attempt to pass the Treaty of Nice.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: During 2003, the government was subject to more controversy when it became public that US military aircraft, carrying large numbers of troops, were refuelling at Shannon Airport, despite widespread opposition to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Ireland's policy since the foundation of the State has been to be a neutral party in any conflict. The Government had maintained that troops had not used Shannon but when this was disproved, it then claimed that such permission had been available for 50 years.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The drop in opinion poll ratings for Ahern and his government after the 2002 election, was followed in 2004, by Fianna Fáil's worst local election results in 80 years. Despite speculation, no leadership challenge occurred and Ahern recovered in the polls. His reputation for inaction in changing cabinet Ministers ended with his long-heralded 2004 Cabinet reshuffle in which he failed to sack Séamus Brennan from the cabinet. The reshuffle was not as extensive as some had hoped as only three new members entered government.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The unpopular phase seemed short-lived as the government rearranged its priorities and the economy grew. A notable law enacted by this government was the ban on smoking in workplaces and enclosed areas in March 2004. Improvements had been made in the transport infrastructure with the launch of the Luas light rail system in Dublin, many new motorways being built and the break-up of Aer Rianta, the state-owned Airport Management company.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In November 2004, Ahern celebrated ten years as leader of Fianna Fáil. In April 2006, he became the second longest serving Taoiseach, after Éamon de Valera.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: One of Ahern's achievements in 2004, was his Presidency of the European Council, during which EU leaders agreed a European Constitution, there was recovery in EU-US relations, the EU formally admitted 10 new members, and selected José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission. Briefly, it appeared as if Ahern himself might become President of the European Commission, however, he declined in favour of domestic politics. The treaty was subsequently defeated in referendums in the Netherlands and France.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's government spent €52 million on the Nedap Electronic Voting system. This was challenged as being insecure and could have been tampered with to change results.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: His coalition partners in government, the Progressive Democrats, said that he had questions to answer as details of an £8,000 (€11,800) payment for speaking engagements, in Manchester in 1994, emerged. The continued appearance of details of his appearances in Manchester and the names of those who were present at functions threatened to destabilise his coalition government, especially so when it transpired that one of the businessmen Micheál Wall subsequently sold a house to Ahern. The strains in the coalition eased after Ahern apologised for the second time in the Dáil and agreed to tighten up on ethics legislation.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The Moriarty Tribunal reporting in December 2006, criticised Ahern for having signed blank cheques for the then party leader Charles Haughey, who misappropriated taxpayers' funds for personal use. The disbursement of funds to Fianna Fáil and their investigation by the tribunal have raised questions of the involvement of Ahern in the administration of these funds.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern hoped to win a third general election in 2007. While opinion polls, in April 2007, suggested that this was improbable.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Polls in April 2007, showed his coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats at 35% and 3% respectively against the Fine Gael–Labour Party alternative government figure of 38%. A further poll published 27 April 2007, shows Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats at 34% and 3% respectively compared to Fine Gael and Labour at 31% and 10%. A promise by the Labour Party, at their February 2007 party conference of a cut in the basic rate of income tax, paid by 80% of workers, from 20% to 18% created some excitement in political and media circles. Income tax cuts by the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats government had concentrated on the top rate of tax and Labour were able to portray their proposal as progressive to the discomfiture of Fianna Fáil.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern received staunch support during the campaign from Eoghan Harris, writing in the "Sunday Independent". Harris declared that the anti-Ahern campaign was the most sinister manipulation of the Irish media that he had seen in his lifetime and that Sinn Féin would be the main beneficiaries of a fall in support for Ahern and Fianna Fáil. Harris was nominated to Seanad Éireann as a Senator on 3 August 2007 by Ahern.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern dissolved the Dáil in April 2007 and called an election for 24 May 2007. Unusually, Ahern dissolved the Dáil on a Sunday morning, claiming that President McAleese's foreign trip that week made it necessary despite the trip having been long-planned. There was speculation that the timing was instead motivated by the commencement of the Mahon Tribunal's Quarryvale module scheduled for that week, particularly Tom Gilmartin's evidence - the hearing thus had to be postponed until after the election was over. Ahern's party received 78 seats a loss of three seats from the 2002 election result. This was regarded as a Fianna Fáil 'victory', as questions about Ahern's finances overshadowed the early part of the election campaign, which threatened to cause huge losses for Ahern's party. His partners in the government, the Progressive Democrats suffered a reduction in representation from 8 to 2 seats including the loss of their leader.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Following the general election of 2007 Ahern was elected to a third term as Taoiseach, leading a rainbow coalition of Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, and also supported by several Independent TDs. This was the first Rainbow coalition comprising Fianna Fáil, with all their previous coalitions comprising just one partner.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Requiring 83 seats to return the government, Ahern's options were to attempt to govern with the Progressive Democrats plus two "gene-pool" Independents (Jackie Healy-Rae and Beverley Flynn; both former Fianna Fáil members) and one or more of the other three Independents, Michael Lowry, Finian McGrath or Tony Gregory (both left-wing Independents). The other options were an alliance with the Green Party or the Labour Party. In the event, Fianna Fáil negotiated a programme for government with the Green Party and formed a new rainbow coalition with the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, supported by Healy-Rae, Flynn, Lowry and McGrath.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's reputation was damaged by the accusation of cash gifts received that have transmuted to loans from businessmen. His reputation as the Teflon Taoiseach (no allegation of unethical behaviour had stuck to him until September 2006) was damaged. He was criticised in the foreign press as well as in the Irish media.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: To the surprise of many observers, polls taken during and after the payments' crisis indicated a sharp rise in support for the Ahern government and a corresponding fall in support for the Opposition parties. While 55–64% of the public believed that he was wrong to accept the payments, support for his party rose to 39–42%, while support for the main Opposition parties Fine Gael and the Labour Party fell to 20–26% and 10–11%. Two-thirds believed he should not have resigned. The polls provoked complaints from the media. The "Irish Times" commented they were a "poor reflection of ourselves".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern stated in an interview in the "Village" on 22 May 2007, that he intended to retire from politics when he turned 60 years of age. He stated this would mean standing down as Taoiseach before the end of the Dáil term, which would have ended in 2012 at the latest.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 4 July 2007, Ahern stated at a conference in Donegal, that he did not understand why people sitting on the sidelines, ""cribbing and moaning"" about the economy, did not commit suicide. These comments came at a time when Ireland's economy was beginning to falter, and with property prices falling by up to 10% as part of the Irish property bubble. Ahern later accepted responsibility for the overheating of the property sector but took no responsibility for the failings of the Central Bank of Ireland.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In an opinion poll taken in September 2007, subsequent to Ahern's initial two-day appearance at the Mahon Tribunal, fewer than one-third of voters believed Ahern's accounts of his finances.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Opposition parties had previously been muted in their reaction but in September 2007, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore, called for Ahern to resign in light of his appearance at the Mahon Tribunal and on 23 September 2007, Leader of the Opposition Enda Kenny was heavily critical of the "rambling, incoherent" answers offered by Ahern to the Mahon tribunal in September 2007. Kenny said there was now a situation whereby a witness before a tribunal, testifying under oath, "is continually changing his story". It "create[s] a credibility problem and that's the issue the Taoiseach has got to deal with".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On resumption of the Dáil on 26 September a motion of no confidence in Ahern's government was moved by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and seconded by the Labour Party, based on Ahern's statements to the Mahon Tribunal. The Green Party, PDs and Independent TDs who supported the government voted for Ahern in the motion of no confidence. In a stormy three-hour Dáil debate, Ahern was accused of telling ""lies"" and was called upon to resign.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The no-confidence motion was defeated by 81 votes to 76, with all six Green Party TDs, two PDs and four Independents, Finian McGrath, Beverley Flynn, Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae voting with the Government.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In an opinion poll published in November 2007, some three-quarters of voters indicated that they did not believe that Ahern had given a full disclosure about his personal finances to the Mahon Tribunal. The opinion poll also showed more than half of the electorate believing that the whole episode was by then a serious political issue for Ahern.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: A later opinion poll taken on 22 January 2008, on the issue of Mr Ahern's personal finances and tax liabilities, found that "78% of people do not believe he has given the full picture (up 6%) while just 14% believe he has given the full picture (down 3%)."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The Minister for the Environment and leader of the Green Party, John Gormley said on 22 February 2008, that revelations concerning the Taoiseach at the Mahon Tribunal were distracting from the work of government.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Opposition parties on 22 February 2008, branded the Taoiseach's financial affairs as a "national embarrassment", which should prompt his immediate resignation.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Grainne Carruth's acceptance as a matter of civil probability that she had lodged sterling sums to Ahern's account at the Drumcondra branch of the Irish Permanent Building Society in the 1990s had reportedly sent shock waves through the ranks of Fianna Fáil. On 27 March 2008, the unease at Ahern's declarations at the Mahon Tribunal, as contradicted by his former secretary at the tribunal, were highlighted when Progressive Democrat coalition partner leader Mary Harney, traditionally a stern supporter of her former colleague, called on Ahern to make a statement.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The disquiet within the coalition was further emphasised when Green Party leader John Gormley, said that Ahern should clarify the contradiction between his evidence and that of his former secretary Grainne Carruth.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: An opinion poll published on 25 November 2007, showed that support for Fianna Fáil had dropped by seven percent, "following the announcement of large pay increases for the government and senior public servants against a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty and high-profile failures in the health service."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 2 April 2008, Ahern announced his intention to resign as Taoiseach and as leader of Fianna Fáil on 6 May 2008.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 30 April 2008, in Washington D.C., Ahern became the sixth Irish leader to address the United States Congress. He is also the sixth person who has addressed both the UK Parliament and the United States Congress.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 6 May 2008, he performed his last official duty as Taoiseach in opening the Battle of the Boyne visitors centre with then First Minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In a November 2009, interview with VIP magazine, Ahern spoke of how critics who blame the government for the economic crisis should "dig the garden or grow bluebells or do something useful". He continued, saying that the Irish property bubble was not the fault of his government and that "cynics and knockers, people who always see the glass as half empty. I can't understand people who are always bitching, saying 'It's the Government's fault, it's the doctor's fault, it's the cat's fault.' It's everybody's fault except their own."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: He said in 2009, that since he resigned as Taoiseach the previous year, "life is not as controlled as it was. I'm busy doing different things, some quite important, but it's just not the same. If I want to go to a match, I go to a match; if I want to see some friends tomorrow night, I can do that, so it's a big change."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Commenting on the economic difficulties facing his successor, he said: "Brian has had it rough because of the huge international slowdown. The big trick for him is how we can get out of it quickly."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In January 2010, Ahern has said he would have no difficulties giving evidence to the investigation into banking, nor having his testimony heard in public. Saying he would appear if asked, Ahern defended his record while in government, attributing the crisis in banking to international factors and the banks' over-exposure to borrowing on international markets. "By and large we all know what happened. The banks borrowed money on the open market in the short-term. And as soon as things went, they had to pay that money up but they hadn't got it to pay," he said. "That's what happened. I don't think it will take too long [for an inquiry] to write up what the position is." He continued, saying, "The greater issue was the protection and the regulation of the bank rather than consumers' interests." Mr Ahern also said that people were "jumping over developers" but also "needed to remember" they employed 200,000 people. He said that one of the first things that Brian Cowen had done when he became Minister for Finance was to abolish many of the property tax incentives. He also presided over many of the incentives that benefited property developers. "When they were brought in, the place was in a disastrous way. Look at the quays in Dublin. There were reports around for 40 years that said the quays needed something done about them and nothing happened until we brought in the urban renewal status and gave the tax incentives."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In May 2010, Ahern said of the property-based tax incentives which aggravated the Irish economic collapse that "We probably should have closed those down a good bit earlier but there were always fierce pressures, there was endless pressures to keep them. There was endless pressures to extend them." He stated that the pressure to retain such incentives had come from developers, owners of sites, areas that did not have the developments, community councils, politicians and civic society.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern said that his decision in 2001, to create a new financial regulator was one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Irish banking sector, saying that "if I had a chance again I wouldn't do it." "The banks were irresponsible," he admitted. "But the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator seemed happy. They were never into us saying – ever – 'Listen, we must put legislation and control on the banks.' That never happened."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern was investigated by the Mahon Tribunal, following an allegation by Tom Gilmartin, that Ahern had been paid money by Owen O'Callaghan in return for favours. The Tribunal found that Ahern's explanations for lodgements to his various accounts could not be true, and thus Gilmartin's allegation could not be disproved. One lodgement of IR£30,000, in 1994, took place in the weeks following the circumstances Gilmartin described, with contemporaneous AIB notes confirming Gilmartin's account of Ahern assuring Owen O'Callaghan that a rival development at Blanchardstown would not get tax designation, and on the same day as a meeting with Owen O'Callaghan's bag-man, Frank Dunlop. The Tribunal were, however, unable to conclusively prove that the lodgement was not merely coincidental. The Tribunal also discovered that Ahern, when Taoiseach, had visited Dunlop in the weeks immediately subsequent to Dunlop's admission of corrupt payments on behalf of Owen O'Callaghan, prior to Dunlop resuming the witness stand to elaborate further on his activities.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern was criticised by the Moriarty Tribunal for signing blank cheques for the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey, without asking what those cheques were for. Ahern told the tribunal that a policy of signing blank cheques was used on the Fianna Fáil party leader's account for reasons of "administrative convenience". In September 2006 "The Irish Times" printed claims allegedly leaked from The Mahon Tribunal that Ahern had received money from a millionaire businessman while Minister for Finance in 1993.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The editor of "The Irish Times" defended the publication as being in the public interest at a hearing of the tribunal, saying that it was not a party to the Supreme Court case which restrained the "Sunday Business Post" from publishing leaked documents. This order was directed against the "Sunday Business Post" but its interim order purported to restrain all media outlets from publishing confidential material from the inquiry.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: What I got personally in my life, to be frank with you is none of your business. If I got something from somebody as a present or something like that I can use it.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The public are entitled to have an absolute guarantee of the financial probity and integrity of their elected representatives, their officials and above all of Ministers. They need to know that they are under financial obligations to nobody. (Dáil Éireann transcript, December 1996)


title: Bertie Ahern

text: This contradiction has been criticised in editorials in both the "Irish Independent" and "The Irish Times"


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Six days after the payments were publicised, Ahern admitted in a television interview that he had received two payments totalling IR£39,000 (€50,000) in 1993 and 1994.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern regarded the money as a loan, but he conceded that no repayments had at that time (September 2006) been made and no interest has been paid. He said that he had attempted to repay it, but that his friends would not accept repayment. He claimed that he had "broken no codes – ethical, tax, legal or otherwise".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 28 November 2007, former NCB managing director Padraic O'Connor at the Mahon Tribunal, "directly contradicted Mr Ahern's claims that long-standing friends gave him a loan just after Christmas 1993."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In the same interview, he also claimed that he received a payment of £8,000 from a group of 25 businessmen in Manchester on one occasion. He stated that this money was again unsolicited, that it was a gift and therefore not subject to tax as it had been received when abroad, and that it was paid to him after he gave an after-dinner speech at an "ad hoc" function. He claimed that the money was given to him as a private citizen, not to him in his then role as Minister for Finance, and that no other payments were received by him after speaking at other similar functions. The Irish Times reported on 30 September 2006, that part of this payment was actually a cheque drawn on NCB Stockbrokers, a large Irish company. In its final report, the Mahon tribunal found that, contrary to his sworn evidence, no 'dig-outs' in 1993 and 1994 were arranged to give money to Mr Ahern and that large dollar and sterling cash lodgements were made to his bank accounts in the mid-1990s. A number of his benefactors have received appointments as directors of State boards. Insisting that no favours had been offered or received, Ahern said:


title: Bertie Ahern

text: I might have appointed somebody but I appointed them because they were friends, not because of anything they had given me.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: State appointments should be made on the basis of merit, taking into account the skills, qualifications and experience of the person to be appointed.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: in accordance with the provisions and spirit of the Code of Conduct and ensure that their conduct does not bring the integrity of their office or the Dáil into serious disrepute.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In the face of negative publicity, Ahern has repaid the monies advanced to him, with 5% interest, totalling €90,000.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 3 October 2006, Ahern made a 15-minute statement in Dáil Éireann defending his actions in taking loans totalling IR£39,000 (€50,000) from friends in Ireland and £8,000 (€11,800) as a gift from businessmen in Manchester in 1993 and 1994. In his statement he apologised for the distress his actions had brought saying:


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The bewilderment caused to the public about recent revelations has been deeply upsetting for me and others near and dear to me. To them, to the Irish people and to this house, I offer my apologies.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Previously in her evidence, Carruth, on 19 March 2008 had said, that she had not lodged sterling for Ahern, while she accepted (as a matter of probability), a day later, that she must have lodged sterling on Ahern's behalf based on the paperwork available although her recollection is that she never had sighting of sterling at any time.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern had told the tribunal during his evidence in February 2008, that the lodgements to his and his daughters' accounts had come from his salary as a politician.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Further questions were raised about IR£50,000 (€63,300) which he had lodged to his bank account in 1994. He claimed this was money he had saved over a substantial period of time (1987–1994) when he had had no active bank account. During this period he was Minister for Labour and subsequently Minister for Finance. He was asked by Labour leader Pat Rabbitte whether, in the absence of a bank account, he had kept the money in a "sock in the hot-press" and Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins asked if he had kept the money "in a shoe-box". Ahern replied that he had kept the money "in his own possession".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 5 October 2006, further information emerged in the Dáil that Ahern had bought his house in Dublin, from Manchester-based Irish businessman, Micheál Wall, who was at an event in Manchester in 1994, where the Taoiseach received a payment of GBP£8,000 (€11,800). This caused further tensions within the government coalition parties.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 10 October 2006, the Taoiseach again told the Dáil that it was an "error of judgement" for him to have accepted loans and gifts for personal purposes in the early 1990s.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern expanded on his apology to the Dáil of the previous week, which he described as unqualified. Ahern said there would now be a change in the ethics law requiring office holders offered a gift from friends to consult the Standards in Public Office Commission and to accept their ruling.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Allegations had been made that he had taken IR£50,000 (€63,300) from a property developer, Owen O'Callaghan, in return for favours at this time. Ahern won a libel action against a Cork businessman, Denis "Starry" O'Brien, defending himself against this allegation.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: However, broadcaster Eamon Dunphy, has testified in the Mahon Tribunal that he was told by developer Owen O'Callaghan, that Ahern was "taken care of" to support a shopping centre development in the 1990s. This followed the initial allegations, denied by Ahern and O'Callaghan, by retired developer Tom Gilmartin, that O'Callaghan told him that he had given Ahern a payment of £50,000 in 1989, and a payment of £30,000 in 1993, in connection with a development of lands at Quarryvale, west Dublin. Gilmartin further alleged being told that O'Callaghan had paid Ahern in excess of £20,000 in relation to tax designation of a site in which O'Callaghan had an interest in Athlone, the designation having been Ahern's last act as Finance Minister, before the Fianna Fáil-led Government fell in December 1994.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern was responsible for placing disgraced former Dublin West TD Liam Lawlor, as head of the Dáil Ethics Committee, despite having been told by Tom Gilmartin many years beforehand that Lawlor had corruptly demanded money and had thwarted Gilmartin's plans when Gilmartin refused to comply.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In March 2007, one of Ahern's Manchester benefactors, Paddy "The Plasterer" Reilly, was appointed as the Fianna Fáil director of elections, for Ahern's Dublin Central constituency.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In April 2007, it was alleged in a statement by his former official driver, that Ahern in 1994, while Minister for Finance, took a briefcase full of cash to Manchester. This has been denied by Ahern.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: While the payment details initially seemed to damage Ahern's standing, the result of the 2007 general election, indicated that the damage was minor. In April 2007, an opinion poll found that nearly half of voters believed Ahern still had questions to answer over the payments controversy.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 2 February 2008, it emerged at the Mahon Tribunal that a house was bought by Ahern's former partner Celia Larkin in 1993, with money donated to Ahern's constituency organisation in Drumcondra. There was no documentation to back up this loan to Larkin or to prove around IR£30,000 in other expenditure from this account.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Dublin businessman Tim Collins, has denied that Ahern was joint holder of the so-called BT account from which Larkin was loaned IR£30,000 without documentation to describe the loan agreement. Tim Collins denied that the BT account referred to Bertie and Tim, even though he operated a joint account with Des Richardson known as the DT account.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 13 September 2007, Ahern commenced four days of testimony under oath at the Mahon Tribunal. On 13 September, Ahern admitted that he had not cooperated with the Mahon planning tribunal. On 14 September 2007, inconsistencies in Ahern's statements to the Tribunal emerged, after he changed his story on the infamous IR£25,000 dig-outs.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 21 September 2007, Ahern again changed his story and said he could not remember key events at the centre of the controversy.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Tribunal Chair, Judge Alan Mahon, said there were "significant gaps" in the money trail provided by Mr Ahern which "would have made it impossible for the tribunal to follow the trail".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Judge Gerald Keyes accused Ahern of having no recollection of buying £30,000 of luxury items in the early 1990s.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Judge Mary Faherty, accused Ahern of giving "polar opposite" accounts of why he withdrew IR£50,000 from AIB in January 1995.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: contradictions to his testimony under oath with Ahern agreeing with the assertions of the tribunal that there are inconsistencies and contradictions in his statements compared to bank records and the testimony of Larkin.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Again on 20 and 21 December 2007, Ahern spent two further days under questioning by the Mahon tribunal about his finances in the 1990s. In January 2008, it was revealed that Ahern was in discussion with the Revenue Commissioners about his liability for tax on the sums received in Manchester and on his tax clearance status as declared in 2002, before details of the Manchester payments were revealed. The then opposition leader Enda Kenny said it was not acceptable to have a Taoiseach who could not declare compliance with the tax codes.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 12 February 2008, it emerged that the Mahon tribunal did not have all of the information provided to it, contrary to Ahern's assertion in the Dáil that he had provided all information to the tribunal. Ahern has taken a High Court action to prevent the tribunal from questioning him on the information that he released in the Dáil in 2006.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The total value of lodgements and other transactions involving Ahern was said to exceed £452,800. The lodgements and transactions occurred between 1988 and 1997, although the vast bulk of the money was lodged in the period to 1995.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 4 June 2008, Ahern admitted that he knew about sterling deposits before his secretary's testimony, but said to laughter at his Tribunal appearance on that day that those deposits were winnings from horse racing.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The Standards in Public Office Commission was asked to investigate the Ahern's declaration of tax compliance after the 2002 general election. In mid-January 2008, it emerged in the press, reportedly as leaks from parties to the Mahon tribunal, that Ahern would not be in a position to present a Tax Clearance Certificate to the Dáil, as required under ethics legislation. This certificate is issued by the Revenue Commissioners to persons who have shown themselves to be tax compliant. To meet legal requirements, this certificate should have been presented to a Dáil committee by 31 January 2008, by all those elected to the Dáil. A caveat allowed that in the absence of this, a certificate stating that the Dáil member was in negotiation with the Revenue Commissioners would suffice. An inability to declare tax compliance by a prominent individual such as Ahern would prove highly embarrassing, and could potentially have had more serious repercussions. The Standards in Public Office Act (2001) determines the tax clearance requirements for persons elected to the Oireachtas, and others. The making of a false declaration would also be an offence.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern's inability to furnish a tax clearance certificate led to further calls for his resignation. He was, at the time, the only member of the Oireachtas not to have a tax clearance certificate On 14 January 2008, while on a visit to South Africa, Ahern accused Enda Kenny, Leader of the Opposition of telling


title: Bertie Ahern

text: a "bare-faced lie" about Ahern's tax situation. Ahern and Fianna Fáil's response has not addressed the issue, but has attacked the leaking of Ahern's tax affairs so as to attempt to enable the non-compliance issue to be ignored.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern admitted to the Mahon Tribunal on 21 February 2008, for the first time, that he did not pay tax on substantial payments that he received when Minister for Finance in the 1990s.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: The Mahon Tribunal report was made public on 22 March 2012. It found that "much of the explanations provided by Ahern, as to the source of the substantial funds available to him, were deemed by the Tribunal to be 'untrue'". While the report did not accuse Ahern of corruption, it stated that it totally rejected his evidence and that of related witnesses about the sources of monies in his own and related bank accounts, and that Ahern failed to truthfully account for a total of IR£165,214.25 passing through accounts connected with him.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 1993, the then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and Ahern, who was then Minister for Finance, wrote to developer Owen O'Callaghan seeking a substantial donation. At the time O'Callaghan was heavily involved in lobbying for state support for a stadium project at Neilstown, County Dublin. According to the report, O'Callaghan felt compelled to donate a sum of IR£80,000 to Fianna Fáil to get funding for the stadium. The Mahon Tribunal said it did not find the payment to be corrupt. However, the report said pressurising a businessman to donate money when he was seeking support for a commercial project was "entirely inappropriate, and was an abuse of political power and government authority".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 25 October 2007, Ahern was criticised after the government accepted a recommendation from the Review Body on Higher Remuneration that senior civil servants and ministers receive pay increases. The pay-rise for his position (up €38,000 to €310,000 per annum), would have made it higher paying than that of the US President and made him the highest paid Head of government in the European Union.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Criticism from opposition parties concentrated on the timing of the announcement (following highly publicised budgetary concerns at the Health Service Executive) and the fact that Ahern's increase alone would amount to about four times the basic social welfare payment. On 12 December 2007, it was announced that the first part of the pay-rises would be deferred by a year, with the remainder paid in 2009 and 2010.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Independent TD Maureen O'Sullivan, accused Ahern of attempting in his autobiography to take credit for the Gregory deal by claiming he was present in negotiations between Charles Haughey and Tony Gregory and that he had provided Haughey with estimates from Dublin City Council. The Gregory deal was an agreement negotiated between the independent socialist TD Tony Gregory and Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey in the aftermath of the February 1982 general election, which resulted in a hung Dáil. In return for supporting Haughey, Gregory was promised a deal worth 100 million pounds at the time, which was to be used to redevelop North Inner City Dublin and to provide a greater number of houses and employment in an area which was considered Ireland's poorest and most disadvantaged. Ahern had gone with Haughey to the negotiations with Gregory; he was immediately asked to leave by Gregory and was forced to wait publicly in his car outside for three and a half hours. Although both had been elected to the same constituency, they were fierce rivals and the relationship between them was often sour. O'Sullivan was an election agent for Tony Gregory and successor as a TD.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: "It is not correct, and if I said so, I was not correct – I cannot recall if I said it, but I did not say, or if I did, I did not mean to say it – that these issues could not be dealt with until the end of the Mahon Tribunal."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In October 2010, he and some other "News of the World" columnists appeared in a TV advertisement for the newspaper where they were seen sitting inside kitchen fittings. In his section of the advertisement he was seen sitting inside a kitchen cupboard, with tea and gingernut biscuits. Opposition parties described the skit as "terrible" for the country. Miriam Lord of "The Irish Times" described him in this incarnation as "looking and sounding like Drumcondra's answer to Rodney Dangerfield", while Lise Hand of the "Irish Independent" commented that he was "surrounded by vegetables, ginger nuts and the disintegrated remnants of the dignity of his former office". When asked for an explanation by the "Sunday World", Ahern replied that it was "just a bit of craic" and that "you [journalists] get paid more [than columnists]".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In September 2011, Ahern said he believed that he would have "done all right" in the presidential election but for the decline in the popularity of Fianna Fáil. Ahern confirmed he considered running in the election. "I still would have done all right. I mean they have done some figures and I would probably sit in around 30 per cent, which you haven’t a hope with as the party is on 20 per cent." He added that "the party popularity is the thing that snookers it, because if your party isn't winnable..." Ahern said: "If there was no downturn and if it wasn't all the hassle of the tribunals and everything else, then you could have had a good run at it." He predicted that "nobody is going to win it outright – like Mary McAleese had it won on the first count". Asked about a possible future candidacy in the following presidential election, he said: "Normally what happens in this country, if a president does a good job they stay on, so that's 14 years, so that ends any chance that I'll have." He also rejected suggestions that the Mahon tribunal would reject the evidence he gave on his personal finances. "The only thing that is important to me is the central allegations. And what the tribunal says about the other trash is irrelevant."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Micheál Martin said the former taoiseach was "out of touch with reality" if he believed he could have won the presidency for Fianna Fáil. Martin also said expenses paid to Ahern in his capacity as a former Taoiseach were too high and should be reduced. He was commenting on reports that Ahern had claimed €265,000 for "secretarial services" and €7,500 on mobile phone bills since he stepped down in May 2008. Under the current expenses regime, a former Taoiseach may employ two secretarial assistants for up to five years after leaving office and one indefinitely after that.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In September 2011, Ahern was criticised by his party, Fianna Fáil, with a senior party figure saying "Every public utterance he makes digs it deeper every time. From the day he left the Dail, it's been one thing after another. The party members are very pissed off. It's coming up right across the country."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On 30 December 2010, in a speech to his party cumann in the Dublin Central constituency, he announced that he would not be contesting the 2011 general election.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern said he had made it clear as far back as 2002, that it was always his plan to step down as a TD before he was 60.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Asked if he had any regrets, he said: "If I had seen the banking crisis coming. Nobody advised me, no economist, all those people now writing books saying 'I told you so' – none of them."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: On Anglo Irish Bank, he said: "I can honestly say that not once did anyone or any delegation that came in to see me ever say, 'Watch out for Anglo' ... I wish they had have."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Referring to the "great economic storm" currently under way in Ireland, he warned against excessive pessimism: "Some gains have been lost, but in truth many remain. I dearly wish there was no crisis. I realise that it would have been better if some things had been done differently, but I will not denigrate the good that has been done."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: However an independent review of the operation of the Department of Finance during Ahern's tenure in government and its performance over the course of a decade, by Canadian expert Rob Wright, revealed how repeated warnings to the government of the dangers of the budgetary policies pursued during the boom years were repeatedly ignored. Ahern declined to comment on the report.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Shortly after announcing his retirement from politics, Ahern attacked his successor Brian Cowen, over Cowen's failure to communicate with the public and criticised the government's handling of the EU/IMF bailout. This attack broke the convention that former Taoisigh should not publicly criticise their successors.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern said in January 2011, there was no hope of Fianna Fáil retaining two seats in his Dublin Central constituency. None of his party candidates were subsequently elected in his former constituency.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern said in April 2018 that he is considering running for President in 2025 as an independent candidate.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In April 2018, he walked out of an interview with DW News after being questioned on the findings of the Mahon Tribunal.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In October 2018, Ahern was appointed to chair the Bougainville Referendum Commission, which is responsible for preparing an independence referendum in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, which took place in December 2019.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Historian John A. Murphy said: "Did Ahern, in his 11 years of power, make the most of this unprecedented prosperity for the public benefit? The answer can hardly be positive, given the present state of health, education and infrastructure, generally."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Historian Diarmaid Ferriter said: "There'll be broad consensus around what Bertie did in Northern Ireland, the social partnership and the unity he brought to his own party. Also, he made Fianna Fáil the permanent party of government. They used to have all of the power most of the time, but now they have most of the power all of the time. All of that takes skill. But I wonder will people talk about 'Ahernism'? Is there any such thing? What does he actually stand for? In some ways Bertie's lack of vision was a positive, it made him flexible and willing to compromise, and he was certainly outstanding in that regard. But I dissent from the universal plaudits going around at the moment. He had no social or economic vision for the state he led. There was no fire in his belly. He didn't really want to change society for the better. He was the ward boss writ large. But at the moment it seems it's unfashionable to say anything adverse about Bertie."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Stephen Collins noted that: "None of his colleagues is really sure whether he is possessed of all the deviousness and cunning attributed to him by Haughey or whether he simply suffers from chronic indecision disguised as political shrewdness".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary noted in a radio interview that "Bertie squandered the wealth of a generation and I think in time it will be proven he was a useless wastrel."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: A documentary series – "Bertie" – on RTÉ television in November 2008 examined the life and career of Ahern.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Colm Keena in a biography of Ahern described how "his desire for power and an almost complete absence of political conviction, left him open to the influence of those with strong opinions, whose interests precipitated his mismanagement of the Irish economy."


title: Bertie Ahern

text: While still a TD but having resigned as Taoiseach, Ahern was appointed to an international advisory group on conflict resolution on 14 July 2008. In addition Ahern serves as a board member of the peace and reconciliation charity Co-operation Ireland.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern was appointed to an advisory board of an Irish company Parker Green International. He was appointed Chairman of the International Forestry Fund on 1 January 2010.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: He wrote a sports column in the now-closed Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday newspaper "News of the World".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In 2009, he earned around €467,200, from his speaking arrangements alone. He is registered with the Washington Speakers Bureau which charged $40,000 (€29,200) per speech—and he gave 16 speeches in 2009. He also enjoyed in that period, a €92,672 TD's salary and expenses.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Between his resignation in 2008 and May 2010, he ran up a €5,682 bill for VIP airport facilities and a mobile phone bill of €8,331. This amount claimed by Ahern, was the largest of any former Taoiseach.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Since resigning as Taoiseach in 2008, Ahern has been a regular visitor to China. In November 2014, he gave a lecture on cyberspace security at the three-day World Internet Conference in Wuzhen. His handshake with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang while there got pictured on the front page of the "South China Morning Post" above a story about "internet big hitters".


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In February 2015, Ahern received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In a December 2015 interview with BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme Ahern said low pay workers had brought country to its knees because they got "cocky" and insisted on "second, third and even fourth homes". The former Taoiseach said that the availability of cheap credit through Ireland's involvement in the eurozone created "a huge problem". "Anyone could walk into any institution and seem to get any amount of money and this is where the cocky bit came in. “Unfortunately… Joe Soap and Mary Soap, who never had a lot, got the loans for the second house and leveraged the third house off the second house and the fourth on the third, and you know, what are you having yourself." This drew criticism on radio and on social media for being exaggerated and for blaming the financial crisis on low-income families.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: In December 2019 Ahern acted as chairman of the referendum commission for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in a non-binding vote with regards to independence from Papua New Guinea.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: By 1972, Ahern had met his future wife, Miriam Kelly, a bank official who lived near the Aherns' family home. They married in St. Columba's Church, Iona Road in 1975. Ahern has two daughters from his marriage: Georgina and Cecelia. Georgina is the wife of Westlife member Nicky Byrne. Cecelia is a best-selling author.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern and his wife separated in 1992. Until 2003, Ahern maintained a relationship with Celia Larkin. Ahern was the first, and is the only, Taoiseach to have a legal separation from his wife.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Larkin was appointed to the board of the National Consumer Agency in July 2005, on the recommendation of the Department of the Taoiseach.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern is an enthusiastic and vocal fan of sport. He is a supporter of Dublin GAA and attends inter-county matches in Croke Park. He also supports English soccer outfit Manchester United Football Club and attends matches at Old Trafford, as well as Scottish soccer outfit Celtic Football Club and rugby matches at the Aviva Stadium. He appeared as a pundit on RTÉ Two's "The Premiership" programme in 2001.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern is a practising Roman Catholic. He attends Mass every Saturday evening in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. However, he was publicly criticised by Cardinal Desmond Connell, then Archbishop of Dublin, for his public relationship with Larkin.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: Ahern has said that he lives by the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes and his own conscience, and hopes to get to heaven when he dies. Speaking to Gay Byrne in RTÉ's "The Meaning of Life" series, Ahern described himself as a regular Mass-goer, but said he had not been to Confession for 40 years. In a lengthy interview, Ahern said that he and the former DUP leader Ian Paisley, bonded over their shared faith when they had their first formal meeting together. The meeting took place in January 2004, at the Irish Embassy in London. He recalled how Paisley began a prayer in the Irish Embassy and he joined in with him. He said the prayer was "like our Confiteor" and officials had wondered why they had spent so much time alone. The pair started discussing their values and the rules by which they lived. His government came under severe criticism for the deal they made with the religious orders, capping their contribution to the redress board at €128 million while taxpayers will have to pay out €1 billion.


title: Bertie Ahern

text: As a Catholic, Ahern said he wanted the church "to do well" but that it could not retreat behind canon law. "There was one time when the church tried to put up the defence of canon law and my colleagues just looked up to the sky and thought they were joking. Unfortunately, they weren't joking, they made bad decisions." Ahern said he was convinced that life "did not end at the graveyard" and he often prayed to dead relatives for guidance. He used Mass as an opportunity to pray for people in trouble and stayed off alcohol in November and at Lent. He rationalised inexplicable events, such as the death of a young person, by stating that God "cannot influence every single thing". He said he received a "fair amount of hate mail" about "living in sin", but it upset other people more than it did him and he admitted that he had not lived up to his parents' "stereotype" of married life.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Jamie Lynn Bochert (born December 4, 1978), also known by her stage name Francis Wolf, is an American former fashion model and musician, best known for her work in independent fashion magazines and for being a Marc Jacobs muse. She has garnered a dedicated cult following since her debut in 2002. She is currently ranked as an "Industry Icon" by models.com.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Jamie Lynn Bochert was born on December 4, 1978 to Mary Lillian Bochert (née Swarbrick, born 1951) and James Howard Bochert (born 1946). She has an older sister, Anne-Marie (born May 19, 1971). Bochert is of primarily English descent. She lived in Louisiana for a few years as a child, and studied ballet as a teenager after failing her cheerleading audition. She began playing the piano at 10 years old. While living in Brea, California, Bochert attended Brea Olinda High School, where she studied dance. She graduated from Los Alamitos High School.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: The model debuted on the catwalks of Paris for Ann Demeulemeester in March 2002 and was immediately noticed for her androgynous looks, which—in September of the same year—led to an appearance on the cover of British magazine i-D.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: In May 2003, Bochert starred in the documentary Models: The Real Skinny. Despite her modeling success, in 2004, Bochert purportedly announced her withdrawal from the catwalks, to focus on her music. However, in 2008, she returned to work, signing new contracts with Women Management and Elite Model Management.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Bochert has appeared in editorials for Italian and German "Vogue", "Elle", "W", "V", and "i-D". She has appeared on the covers of Italian and Japanese "Vogue", "i-D", and French "Numéro". She has walked the runways for Bottega Veneta, Versace, Dries Van Noten, Tom Ford, Prada, Loewe, Givenchy, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Sonia Rykiel, Alexandre Vauthier, Anna Sui, Michael Kors, Missoni, Dior, Thierry Mugler, Lanvin, Prabal Gurung, Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, DSquared2, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Vera Wang, Rodarte, Max Mara, Balenciaga, Viktor & Rolf, Salvatore Ferragamo, Diesel, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jean Paul Gaultier, Roberto Cavalli, Jeremy Scott, Alexander McQueen, Zac Posen, and Céline.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Bochert has appeared in advertising campaigns for Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Calvin Klein, Valentino, Phillip Lim, Bvlgari, Lanvin, Diesel, H&M, Christopher Kane, Maison Margiela, Jimmy Choo, Karen Millen, Furla, and Gucci.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Although she has maintained a career in modeling, Bochert has cited music—namely, her band, Francis Wolf—as her "top priority." In 2016, she said she was working on an album. Her musical influences include Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Lou Reed, and David Bowie.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: In 2005, Bochert appeared in musician Kim Gordon's film Perfect Partner. In 2013, she appeared in the short film "The Return", which starred Geraldine Chaplin as Coco Chanel. In 2015, Bochert appeared in Karl Lagerfeld's short film "Once and Forever".


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Bochert was in a relationship with Michael Pitt from 2004 to 2014. Pitt revealed the two had been engaged "for a long time now" in 2005. They resided in Brooklyn together, and owned a cat named Crackhead. After their relationship ended, Bochert dated Argentine photographer Sofia Malamute from 2014 to 2016.


title: Jamie Bochert

text: Bochert is claustrophobic and germophobic. She currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her cat Sid, who she has owned for 23 years.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: Emmanuel Yarbrough (September 5, 1964 – December 21, 2015) was an American martial artist, professional wrestler, football player and actor. He was particularly known for his career in amateur sumo, and held the Guinness World Record for the heaviest living athlete.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: Yarbrough started his sports career at Morgan State University, where he became an offensive tackle for the college football team before joining the college wrestling team. He was given the ironic nickname "Tiny" due to his large size. He achieved NCAA All-American Division II wrestler status in 1983 and 1985, the university later ascending to Division I in 1986, while in football he was a Division I athlete in 1982 and 1983. After college, Yarbrough trained in judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka, who coached him to a silver medal victory at the US Nationals tournament at brown belt level. This experience would lead him to take a further interest in martial arts, exploring amateur sumo and mixed martial arts.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: Yarbrough started competing in amateur sumo in 1992. He won silver medals in the Sumo World Championships in 1992 and 1994, as well as a bronze medal in 1993. Two years later, after his appearance in Ultimate Fighting Championship, Yarbrough increased his previous weight by 282 lbs. Eventually, Yarbrough reached 704 lbs, which gave him the Guinness World Record for the heaviest living athlete. He quickly became the World Amateur Sumo Champion, leading him to be one of the most famous sumo wrestlers outside Japan.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: In 2007, he intended to drop from 750 to 550 lbs in order to improve his health, still hoping to participate in the next Sumo World Championships and the US Olympic judo tryouts.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: In 1994, Yarbrough applied to mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship and took part in the event UFC 3 representing sumo. He was pitted against the much smaller Keith Hackney, a kempo representative, who opened the match by immediately knocking Yarborough down with a palm strike. Emmanuel recovered, pulled Hackney towards his chest and unloaded strikes on his neck, and then literally pushed him out the cage through the door in spectacular fashion. However, when the match was restarted, Hackney knocked Yarbrough again and followed with hand strikes for the TKO. Keith since took the nickname "The Giant Killer" for this victory.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: Emmanuel's second MMA fight would be in Japan for the promotion Shooto. He faced Tatsuo Nakano, a former shoot-style professional wrestler whom Yarbrough outsized greatly. This time, the sumo wrestler got advantage of fighting in a ring and cornered Nakano against the turnbuckle, taking dominant position over him. When the contenders were relocated on the center of the ring, Yarbrough just shifted his abdomen over Nakano's head. Unable to get out from under his opponent and being smothered by the weight, the Japanese fighter tapped out, giving Yarbrough his first and only victory.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: Only months later, Emmanuel fought his third and last bout, for the Japanese promotion Pride Fighting Championships, facing his smallest opponent in the form of Japanese grappler Daiju Takase. Takase avoided engaging Yarbrough and earned a yellow card for inactivity in the second round. Eventually, Takase attempted a takedown, which Yarbrough was able to deny and gain dominant position; however, Takase managed to escape and landed numerous punches to Yarbrough’s head and body, forcing him to submit.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: From 1996 to 1997, Yarbrough competed in professional wrestling for Catch Wrestling Association in Germany, where he had gimmick matches based around his sumo career. He took part in a sumo tournament against the entire staff of the promotion, being declared winner after beating everybody except August Smisl and Terminator Mastino. He later won another tournament, beating the likes of Osamu Nishimura and Jason Neidhart, Jim Neidhart's storyline cousin.


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: He appeared in a 1997 Bollywood film "Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi" which features Bollywood action hero Akshay Kumar and has appeared on several talk shows, as well as in a commercial for Motorola. He has also appeared on the HBO drama "Oz" as an inmate named Clarence Seroy. In 2000, he played himself in the German wrestling film "Sumo Bruno".


title: Emmanuel Yarbrough

text: On December 21, 2015, Yarbrough died at the age of 51, from a heart attack. His manager said that he had battled all his life with food addiction and "he always said, 'I am a prisoner in my own body.'" By the age of 14 he already weighed 320 pounds, which he attributed to a poor diet of fried foods. In 2007, he was hospitalized for a week due to heart failure, and after seeing an obesity specialist and changing his diet he reduced his weight from over 800 to around 670 pounds.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: The National University of Bangladesh () is a public university of Bangladesh that was established by an Act of Parliament as an affiliating University of the country to impart graduate and post-graduate level education to the students through its affiliated colleges and professional institutions throughout the country. It is the fourth largest university in the world according to enrollment. The headquarters is in Gazipur, on the outskirts of Dhaka.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: It is a postgraduate teaching and research university as well as an affiliating university. It is state-run and public. The university has a school and a centre. It has established institutes that provide courses leading to MPhil and PhD degrees.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: The Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (IHS) was introduced in 1997 to offer two-year M.Phil. following modern American credit hour and semester system including course work, two-month internship and thesis guided by a supervisor. The M.Phil. is an interdisciplinary degree which is intensive enough to help the students to pursue PhD courses. The course is open to faculty members who are employed at universities and colleges.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: Four more institutes – the Institute of Liberation and Bangladesh Studies (ILBS), Institute of National Science (INS), Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), and Institute of Business and Management Studies (IBMS) – have all the formalities complete toward their constitutions and are soon to provide higher courses related to science, needs of life, and national heritage.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: Very few of the teachers teaching at honours and masters level have higher training. The training programme of the university is designed to augment the knowledge of the college teachers, enhance their skill in teaching and get them an exposure to higher ideas. Eminent educationists and scholars of the country are associated with the academic programmes provided on campus.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: The school and centres organise education in colleges and improve the standard. The university provides bachelor's, honours and master's degrees in ten disciplines: languages, humanities, social science, commerce and business administration, physical sciences, mathematical sciences, biological science, education, law and computer technology.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: Apart from the units providing campus teaching at Board Bazar, Gazipur, the university has about 2,254 component/affiliated colleges. These colleges under its academic control cater for courses leading to Pass, Honours and master's degrees. The university exercises academic control over the colleges according to the National University Act 1992 mandated by the National Parliament of Bangladesh and the statutes of the university. It provides the curricula and syllabi, arranges admission test, gives guidelines for admission, arranges inspection, holds examination, publishes results, and awards certificates.


title: National University, Bangladesh

text: The National University of Bangladesh is now the fifth largest university in the world after its 17-year history by its number of registered students at affiliated colleges. It is also one of the largest universities in the world by number of affiliated colleges and number of expanding subjects and courses.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: The Warsaw Radio Mast (Polish: "Maszt radiowy w Konstantynowie") was a radio mast located near Gąbin, Poland, and the world's tallest structure at from 1974 until its collapse on 8 August 1991. Designed by Jan Polak, and one of the last radio masts built under Communist rule, the mast was conceived for height and ability to broadcast the "propaganda of the successes" to remote areas such as Antarctica. It was the third tallest structure ever built, being surpassed as the tallest by the Burj Khalifa tower in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and Merdeka 118 tower in Malaysia in 2022.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: Designed by Jan Polak, its construction started in July 1970, was completed on 18 May 1974, and its transmitter entered regular service on 22 July of that year. The opening of the mast was met with extensive celebration and news coverage by the Polish Film Chronicle. The tower was used by Warsaw Radio-Television (Centrum Radiowo-Telewizyjne) for longwave radio broadcasting on a frequency of AM-LW (long wave) 227 kHz before 1 February 1988 and 225 kHz afterwards. Its base was above sea level. Because a voltage of 120 kV existed between the mast and ground, it stood on a -high insulator. It operated as a mast radiator (half-wave radiator), so its height was chosen in order to function as a half-wavelength antenna at its broadcasting frequency. The signals from its 2 MW transmitters could be received across essentially the entire globe. The Warsaw Radio Mast's weight was debated; Polish sources claimed .


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: The mast was designed for national pride, mainly because of the height of the mast, which made it the tallest structure in the world, surpassing the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota. It was also designed to broadcast the "propaganda of the successes." However, an unintended effect of the mast's height was that the "officially non-existent Poles of the east" could tune in to Polish radio broadcasts, including those in remote places such as Antarctica. The mast was so powerful that the waves of Polish Radio Programme 1 were received in areas far from the Polish mainland such as Canada and the United States.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: The Mast's location, which was finalized to be in Gąbin, was chosen because of the high soil conductivity and the need for a position in the centre of Poland. A large amount of research was utilized to decide where to build the mast, which included factors such as soil resistance, ownership of property, and the quality of infrastructure (especially roads). Construction began in 1969.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: The mast was initially constructed to replace the Raszyn radio transmitter, which had been constructed in 1949. The Raszyn mast had been prioritized to cover the Eastern Borderlands, and so Polish authorities did not consider reception in the Recovered Territories. When it became evident that Raszyn could not provide coverage to the entire country, the station received an increase of power to 500 kW, but this too failed. In the late 1960s it was decided to construct a new central transmitter at the geographical centre of Poland. Gąbin was chosen not only due to its central position, but also its high soil conductivity. During storms, when the mast could not operate, the signal would be temporarily switched to Raszyn, a process that was eased thanks to direct phone lines from RCN Konstantynów to both Raszyn and the energy sector.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: The Warsaw radio mast was a guyed steel lattice mast of equilateral triangular cross section, with a face width of . The vertical steel tubes forming the structures of the mast had a diameter of 245 millimetres (10 in); the thickness of the walls of these tubes varied between 8–34 mm (0.31–1.33 in) depending on height. The mast consisted of 86 elements, each of which had a length of . The mast had 3 arrays of guy wires, each array attached to the mast at 5 levels: , , , , and above ground. Each guy was fixed on a separate anchor block at the ground and was in diameter. To prevent the guy wires from interfering with the radio transmissions, the guys were insulated at regular intervals. The weight of guys and insulators used to anchor the mast was . An elevator and separate protected ladders were installed in the interior of the mast to facilitate access to the various mast components, including the aircraft warning lamps. The elevator was designed by Alimak, a Swedish company, and took 45 minutes to reach the top. The lift was nicknamed "Alimak", as a nod to the company that designed it. Safety was a priority, so "Alimak" had a safety procedure, where it could be stopped, but this precaution never had to be used. A maximum of 3 people could ride up the elevator, although sources claim it would be crowded. The elevator was powered by an internal combustion engine. An area for maintenance supplies was present, in order to transport materials such as lightbulbs for the aircraft warning lights. Inspection crews travelled up it once per month to replace light bulbs, and watch for cracks in the steel. If a crack was found, the transmitters were turned off and the Raszyn radio mast took over the broadcast. Any cracks were then fixed by welders from Mostostal Zabrze by making patches out of sheet metal.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: In the lower half of the mast, there was a vertical steel tube, attached to the mast's outer structure with large insulators. This tube was grounded at the bottom, and connected electrically to the mast structure by an adjustable metal bar at a height of when the tower transmitted on 227 kHz longwave and at a height of when it switched to 225 kHz on 1 February 1988. This technique allowed adjusting the impedance of the mast for the transmitter and worked by applying a direct current ground at a point of low radio frequency voltage, to conduct static charge to ground without diminishing the radio energy. Static electrical charge can build up to high values, even at times of no thunderstorm activity, when such tall structures are insulated from ground. Use of this technique provides better lightning protection than using just a spark gap at the mast base, as it is standard at most mast radiators insulated against ground.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: The mast was equipped in 16 levels with arrays of six air traffic warning lights with 200 W power. At the top there was a flashing beacon consisting of two lamps of 1,000 W.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: A long special overhead radio frequency transmission line of 120 ohms was used to transfer the signal from the transmitter building to the mast. Featuring an asymmetrical coaxial power supply, it consisted of the inner "hot" core of 24 copper wires connected to a small ring at each post, and each was connected by three insulated cables to the outer ring. The outer ring served as the support of another set of 24 wires, known as the "outer braid." The transmission line was monitored whenever the mast was in operation; at night the line was illuminated with street lights, to avoid trespassers from electrocuting themselves. The transmitter building had a volume of and was approximately from the mast. The transmitter consisted of two 1,000 kW units built by Brown, Boveri & Cie. An atomic clock was used to generate the transmission frequency in order to provide a very accurate, stable signal source which could be used as a frequency standard by anyone within signal range. The transmitters had the ability for each component to be turned on manually or all be started with one button. The transmitters also had functionality of receiving remote input, but the devices needed to utilize this were not implemented in Konstanynów. When high voltage power was switched on, the transmitter was protected by two locked doors and crews were informed by way of illuminating a red lightbulb. This lightbulb was controlled by a photodiode that would additionally flash the lightbulb if a short-circuit in the transmitter was detected. The station, which had an area of 65 hectares (161 acres), also had a lattice tower of rectangular cross-section close to the transmitter building. This tower was used to provide a radio link for programme feeds from the studio, which ran from the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw via a radio relay tower at Wiejca. At Konstantynów, the signal was focused on a parabolic dish at 30 dB and was captured in a horn antenna at the focal point of the dish. Upon reaching the transmitters, a dehydrator ensured that no condensation occurred. The transmission building used a NEC radio set and the TN60 multiple telephony system. This allowed for 60 telephone lines to be run off the station but the full possibilities of this system were not used.


title: Warsaw radio mast

text: To supply power to the station, a 110 kV substation was built. The substation was over-engineered due to the strategic importance of the station as Poland's central transmitter. Although the power consumption of the transmitting station was large (estimated 6,000 kW), the substation was capable of supplying much more than was required. Six small towers were erected around the periphery of the station's grounds in order to support aircraft warning lamps where the guy ropes were located.