title: Tern

text: Terns have a worldwide distribution, breeding on all continents including Antarctica. The northernmost and southernmost breeders are the Arctic tern and Antarctic tern respectively. Many terns breeding in temperate zones are long-distance migrants, and the Arctic tern probably sees more annual daylight than any other animal as it migrates from its northern breeding grounds to Antarctic waters, a return journey of more than . A common tern that hatched in Sweden and was found dead five months later on Stewart Island, New Zealand, must have flown at least . Actual flight distances are, of course, much greater than the shortest possible route. Arctic terns from Greenland were shown by radio geolocation to average on their annual migrations.


title: Tern

text: Most terns breed on open sandy or rocky areas on coasts and islands. The yellow-billed, large-billed, and black-fronted terns breed only on rivers, and common, least and little terns also sometimes use inland locations. The marsh terns, Trudeau's tern and some Forster's terns nest in inland marshes. The black noddy and the white tern nest above ground level on cliffs or in trees. Migratory terns move to the coast after breeding, and most species winter near land, although some marine species, like the Aleutian tern, may wander far from land. The sooty tern is entirely oceanic when not breeding, and healthy young birds are not seen on land for up to five years after fledging until they return to breed. They lack waterproof plumage, so they cannot rest on the sea. Where they spend the years prior to breeding is unknown.


title: Tern

text: The terns are birds of open habitats that typically breed in noisy colonies and lay their eggs on bare ground with little or no nest material. Marsh terns construct floating nests from the vegetation in their wetland habitats, and a few species build simple nests in trees, on cliffs or in crevices. The white tern, uniquely, lays its single egg on a bare tree branch. Depending on the species, one to three eggs make up the clutch. Most species feed on fish caught by diving from flight, but the marsh terns are insect-eaters, and some large terns will supplement their diet with small land vertebrates. Many terns are long-distance migrants, and the Arctic tern may see more daylight in a year than any other animal.


title: Tern

text: Terns are normally monogamous, although trios or female-female pairings have been observed in at least three species. Most terns breed annually and at the same time of year, but some tropical species may nest at intervals shorter than 12 months or asynchronously. Most terns become sexually mature when aged three, although some small species may breed in their second year. Some large sea terns, including the sooty and bridled terns, are four or older when they first breed. Terns normally breed in colonies, and are site-faithful if their habitat is sufficiently stable. A few species nest in small or dispersed groups, but most breed in colonies of up to a few hundred pairs, often alongside other seabirds such as gulls or skimmers. Large tern species tend to form larger colonies, which in the case of the sooty tern can contain up to two million pairs. Large species nest very close together and sit tightly, making it difficult for aerial predators to land among them. Smaller species are less closely packed and mob intruders. Peruvian and Damara terns have small dispersed colonies and rely on the cryptic plumage of the eggs and young for protection.


title: Tern

text: The male selects a territory, which he defends against conspecifics, and re-establishes a pair bond with his mate or attracts a new female if necessary. Courtship involves ritualised flight and ground displays, and the male often presents a fish to his partner. Most species have little or no nest, laying the eggs onto bare ground, but Trudeau's tern, Forster's tern and the marsh terns construct floating nests from the vegetation in their wetland habitats. Black and lesser noddies build nests of twigs, feathers and excreta on tree branches, and brown, blue, and grey noddies make rough platforms of grass and seaweed on cliff ledges, in cavities or on other rocky surfaces. The Inca tern nests in crevices, caves and disused burrows, such as that of a Humboldt penguin. The white tern is unique in that it lays its single egg on a bare tree branch.


title: Tern

text: Tropical species usually lay just one egg, but two or three is typical in cooler regions if there is an adequate food supply. The time taken to complete the clutch varies, but for temperate species incubation takes 21–28 days. The eggs of most gulls and terns are brown


title: Tern

text: with dark splotches, so they are difficult for predators to spot on the beach. The precocial chicks fledge in about four weeks after hatching. Tropical species take longer because of the poorer food supply. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks, although the female does more incubating and less fishing than her partner. Young birds migrate with the adults. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with individuals typically returning for 7–10 breeding seasons. Maximum known ages include 34 for an Arctic tern and 32 for a sooty. Although several other species are known to live in captivity for up to 20 years, their greatest recorded ages are underestimates because the birds can outlive their rings. Interbreeding between tern species is rare, and involves closely related species when it occurs. Hybrids recorded include common tern with roseate, Sandwich with lesser-crested, and black with white-winged.


title: Tern

text: Most terns hunt fish by diving, often hovering first, and the particular approach technique used can help to distinguish similar species at a distance. Sea terns often hunt in association with porpoises or predatory fish, such as bluefish, tuna or bonitos, since these large marine animals drive the prey to the surface. Sooty terns feed at night as the fish rise to the surface, and are believed to sleep on the wing since they become waterlogged easily. Terns of several species will feed on invertebrates, following the plough or hunting on foot on mudflats. The marsh terns normally catch insects in the air or pick them off the surface of fresh water. Other species will sometimes use these techniques if the opportunity arises. An individual tern's foraging efficiency increases with its age.


title: Tern

text: The gull-billed tern is an opportunist predator, taking a wide variety of prey from marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Depending on what is available it will eat small crabs, fish, crayfish, grasshoppers and other large insects, lizards and amphibians. Warm-blooded prey includes mice and the eggs and chicks of other beach-breeding birds; least terns, little terns and members of its own species may be victims. The greater crested tern will also occasionally catch unusual vertebrate species such as agamid lizards and green sea turtle hatchlings, and follows trawlers for discards.


title: Tern

text: The eyes of terns cannot accommodate under water, so they rely on accurate sighting from the air before they plunge-dive. Like other seabirds that feed at the surface or dive for food, terns have red oil droplets in the cones of their retinas; birds that have to look through an air/water interface have more deeply coloured carotenoid pigments in the oil drops than other species. The pigment also improves visual contrast and sharpens distance vision, especially in hazy conditions, and helps terns to locate shoals of fish, although it is uncertain whether they are sighting the phytoplankton on which the fish feed, or other feeding birds. The red colouring reduces ultraviolet sensitivity, which in any case is an adaptation more suited to terrestrial feeders like the gulls, and this protects the eye from UV damage.


title: Tern

text: The inaccessibility of many tern colonies gave them a measure of protection from mammalian predators, especially on islands, but introduced species brought by humans can seriously affect breeding birds. These can be predators such as foxes, raccoons, cats and rats, or animals that destroy the habitat, including rabbits, goats and pigs. Problems arise not only on formerly mammal-free islands, as in New Zealand, but also where an alien carnivore, such as the American mink in Scotland, presents an unfamiliar threat.


title: Tern

text: Adult terns may be hunted by owls and raptors, and their chicks and eggs may be taken by herons, crows or gulls. Less obvious nest predators include ruddy turnstones in the Arctic, and gull-billed terns in little tern colonies. Adults may be robbed of their catch by avian kleptoparasites such as frigatebirds, skuas, other terns or large gulls.


title: Tern

text: External parasites include chewing lice of the genus "Saemundssonia", feather lice and fleas such as "Ceratophyllus borealis". Lice are often host specific, and the closely related common and Arctic terns carry quite different species. Internal parasites include the crustacean "Reighardia sternae", and tapeworms such as "Ligula intestinalis" and members of the genera "Diphyllobothrium" and "Schistocephalus". Terns are normally free of blood parasites, unlike gulls that often carry "Haemoproteus" species. An exception is the brown noddy, which sometimes harbours protozoa of that genus. In 1961 the common tern was the first wild bird species identified as being infected with avian influenza, the H5N3 variant being found in an outbreak involving South African birds. Several species of terns have been implicated as carriers of West Nile virus.


title: Tern

text: Terns and their eggs have long been eaten by humans and island colonies were raided by sailors on long voyages since the eggs or large chicks were an easily obtained source of protein. Eggs are still illegally harvested in southern Europe, and adults of wintering birds are taken as food in West Africa and South America. The roseate tern is significantly affected by this hunting, with adult survival 10% lower than would otherwise be expected. In the West Indies, the eggs of roseate and sooty terns are believed to be aphrodisiacs, and are disproportionately targeted by egg collectors. Tern skins and feathers have long been used for making items of clothing such as capes and hats, and this became a large-scale activity in the second half of the nineteenth century when it became fashionable to use feathers in hatmaking. This trend started in Europe but soon spread to the Americas and Australia. White was the preferred colour, and sometimes wings or entire birds were used.


title: Tern

text: Terns have sometimes benefited from human activities, following the plough or fishing boats for easy food supplies, although some birds get trapped in nets or swallow plastic. Fishermen looked for feeding tern flocks, since the birds could lead them to fish shoals. Overfishing of small fish such as sand eels can lead to steep declines in the colonies relying on these prey items. More generally, the loss or disruption to tern colonies caused by human activities has caused declines in many species. Pollution has been a problem in some areas, and in the 1960s and 1970s DDT caused egg loss through thinning of the shells. In the 1980s, organochlorides caused severe declines in the Great Lakes area of the US. Because of their sensitivity to pollutants, terns are sometimes used as indicators of contamination levels.


title: Tern

text: Habitat enhancements used to increase the breeding success of terns include floating nest platforms for black, common and Caspian terns, and artificial islands created for a number of different species. More specialised interventions include providing nest boxes for roseate terns, which normally nest in the shelter of tallish vegetation, and using artificial eelgrass mats to encourage common terns to nest in areas not vulnerable to flooding.


title: Tern

text: A number of terns face serious threats, and the Chinese crested tern is classed as "critically endangered" by BirdLife International. It has a population of fewer than 50 birds and a breeding range of just 9 km (3.5 mi). It is declining due to egg collection, human disturbance and the loss of coastal wetlands in China. Three other species are categorised as "endangered", with declining populations of less than 10,000 birds. The South Asian black-bellied tern is threatened by habitat loss, egg collecting for food, pollution and predation. In New Zealand, the black-fronted tern is facing a rapid fall in numbers due to predation by introduced mammals and Australian magpies. Disturbance by cattle and sheep and by human activities is also a factor. The Peruvian tern was initially damaged by the collapse of anchoveta stocks in 1972, but breeding colonies have subsequently been lost due to building, disturbance and pollution in their coastal wetlands.


title: Tern

text: The Australasian fairy tern is described as "vulnerable". Disturbance by humans, dogs and vehicles, predation by introduced species and inappropriate water level management in South Australia are the main reasons for its decline. Five species are "near threatened", indicating less severe concerns or only potential vulnerability. The elegant tern is so categorised because 95% of the population breeds on one island, Isla Rasa in the Gulf of California, and the Kerguelen tern has a population of less than 5,000 adults breeding on small and often stormy islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Three species, the Inca, Damara, and river terns, are expected to decline in the future due to habitat loss and disturbance. Some tern subspecies are endangered, including the California least tern and the Easter Island race of the grey noddy.


title: Tern

text: Most tern species are declining in numbers due to the loss or disturbance of breeding habitat, pollution and increased predation. Gull populations have increased over the last century because of reduced persecution and the availability of food from human activities, and terns have been forced out of many traditional nesting areas by the larger birds. A few species are defying the trend and showing local increases, including the Arctic tern in Scandinavia, Forster's tern around the Great Lakes, the Sandwich tern in eastern North America and its yellow-billed subspecies, the Cayenne tern, in the Caribbean.


title: Tern

text: Terns are protected by international legislation such as the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the US-Canada Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Parties to the AWEA agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies described in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation. The North American legislation is similar, although there is a greater emphasis on protection.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: Hany Abubakr Mukhtar (born 21 March 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Nashville SC in Major League Soccer.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: Mukhtar began playing football at a very early age, initially for FC Stern Marienfelde. He was recruited into the youth academy of then-Bundesliga club Hertha BSC at the age of only seven. Rising through Hertha's ranks, he captained the club's U-17 squad to a Championship title in 2012. The following season, he joined Hertha's reserves, and was surprisingly called to the first team when Israeli international Ben Sahar missed a match for Yom Kippur. In the final minute of the match against Dynamo Dresden, Mukhtar came on as a substitute for Ronny, making him the second youngest professional debutant in Hertha's history.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 15 January 2015, Mukhtar signed for Portuguese champions Benfica until 2020. The transfer fee was believed to be €500,000 and Hertha BSC would allegedly participate in a potential resale. On 10 April 2015, Mukhtar debuted for the reserve team and scored a goal in a home draw against Chaves (2–2) in Segunda Liga. On 23 May, he played his first match for the first team, as a substitute in a home win against Marítimo (4–1) in their last league match of the season.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 28 August 2015, he joined Austrian Red Bull Salzburg on a season-long loan deal. Salzburg were also granted a subsequent transfer option.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: For the following season he was again loaned, this time to Danish club Brøndby IF. On 24 July 2016, he made his Danish Superliga debut by replacing Andrew Hjulsager for the final fifteen minutes of a 2–0 away win over Silkeborg IF. On 21 August, he scored his first goal for Brøndby in a 7–0 away rout over AGF.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 17 April 2017, Brøndby exercised their option to sign Mukhtar permanently from Benfica. Mukthar penned a four-year contract with Brøndby which tied him to the club until the summer 2021.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 22 April 2018, Mukhtar was awarded the Superliga Player of the Season, with him being named on the Superligaen Team of the Year by newspaper "B.T." On 10 May 2018, Mukhtar played as Brøndby beat Silkeborg IF 3–1 in the Danish Cup final.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 27 August 2019, Mukhtar became the first designated player in Nashville SC franchise history. Although the transfer became official in August 2019, he remained at Brøndby IF until 1 January 2020. On 12 September 2020, Mukhtar scored his first goal for Nashville in a 2–1 win over Atlanta United FC.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 17 July 2021, Mukhtar scored the first hat trick in Nashville SC history over Chicago Fire FC. This was the fastest hat trick from the start of a game in MLS history; Mukhtar scored in the 10th, 13th and 16th minutes.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: On 1 November 2022, Mukhtar was named the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP after receiving 48.03% of total votes. Mukhtar led the league with 34 goal contributions (23 goals, 11 assists) in 2022, tied for the fifth-most in a single MLS season.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: A German youth international, Mukhtar scored the only and winning goal for the Germany U19 national team in the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final against Portugal. On 1 June 2015, he scored a hat-trick for Germany's under-20 in an 8–1 win against Fiji in his first match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.


title: Hany Mukhtar

text: Mukhtar was born in Berlin, Germany, to a German mother (Ursula) and a Sudanese father. He has one elder brother. He is engaged to Ashley Gowder.


title: Macrophilia

text: Macrophilia is a fascination with or a sexual fantasy involving giants, most commonly expressed as giantesses (female giants), as well as giant objects. It is typically believed to be a male fantasy, with the male playing the smaller part, however persons with any background can have it. When the smaller part is male, they may be depicted as entering, being dominated by, or being eaten by the larger woman. Generally, depictions range from sexually explicit actions to non-sexual interactions while still providing sexual stimulation for those with the fantasy.


title: Macrophilia

text: Online communities refer to this subculture as macro fetish or GTS fetish, an abbreviation of "giantess" and sometimes the backronym "giant tiny sex".


title: Macrophilia

text: Although macrophilia literally translates to simply a "lover of large," in the context of a sexual fantasy, it is used to denote attraction to beings larger than themselves. Generally, the interest differs between macrophiles, and depends on gender and sexual orientation. Macrophiles often enjoy feeling small and being abused, degraded, dominated, or eaten, and they often view the much taller being as powerful and dominating.


title: Macrophilia

text: Psychologist Mark Griffiths speculates that the roots of macrophilia may lie in sexual arousal in childhood and early adolescence that is accidentally associated with giants.


title: Macrophilia

text: Speculating on why there are not as many female macrophiles, psychologist Helen Friedman theorized that women who already view men as dominant and powerful have no need to fantasize about it. Still there exists a presence of women who can enjoy both aspects of macrophilia. Women who take on the roles of the giantess within this fetish often find the practice to be empowering and enjoy being worshipped.


title: Macrophilia

text: The internet has played an important role in helping to develop the fetish. The pornography site Pornhub's 2015 annual report showed that compared to 2014, the biggest increase in search topic was giantess, which had a 1091 percent gain in searches. There also existed an exhibit at the Museum of Sex titled "Kink: Geography of the Erotic Imagination" which explored many different fantasies, including macrophilia.


title: Macrophilia

text: Online content creators have also developed homemade media that has helped grow the fetish's reach. In addition to generating content across websites, some content creators have even branded themselves in ways that helped them generate a following and gain revenue for their work. After data was gathered from 4,814,732 videos on clips4sale, an established porn site, it was found that "giantess" was the 34th most popular category.


title: Macrophilia

text: The macro community has produced fiction writing, digital art, and collages on websites such as DeviantArt and Pixiv. Dedicated macrophilia websites include Giantess World and the Giantess City forums. Karbo, Eskoz, and AshkiiWolf are among the more popular artists.


title: Macrophilia

text: Macrophilia video games have also been developed; "Sizebox" is a sandbox game in which players import models and create scenes. "Resize Me!" is an anime VR game in development; the player is gradually shrunken by their childhood friend and toyed with.


title: Macrophilia

text: The popularity of "Resident Evil Village's" antagonist Lady Dimitrescu has been attributed to her giant size.


title: Macrophilia

text: One way macrophiles enjoy their fetish physically is by scheduling private sessions with extraordinarily tall women to engage in non-sexual interactions; trampling, lifting and carrying, foot worshiping, roleplaying and domination.


title: Nina Siemaszko

text: Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko (born July 14, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her film roles in "Little Noises" (1992), "The Saint of Fort Washington" (1993), and for her role as Eleanor Bartlet in "The West Wing" (2001–2006).


title: Nina Siemaszko

text: Siemaszko was born in Chicago. Her father, Konstanty, was a Polish-born Roman Catholic, and a survivor of Polish Underground and Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Her mother, Collette McAllister, was English. One of her brothers is actor Casey Siemaszko. Her other brother, Corky, is a writer for Daily News and a reporter at NBC News. She attended The Theatre School at DePaul University. She played an undercover cop in "Reservoir Dogs" featured in a scene that wound up on the cutting room floor. It was released on DVD. She played Mia Farrow in the CBS miniseries "Sinatra". She played the leading role in "".


title: Apax Partners

text: Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of December 2017, the firm, including its various predecessors, have raised approximately $51 billion (USD) since 1981. Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis, ranked the fifteenth largest private equity firm globally.


title: Apax Partners

text: Apax invests exclusively in certain business sectors including: telecommunications, technology, retail and consumer products, healthcare and financial and business services. Looks for a target Enterprise Value of $1,000mm - $5,000mm.


title: Apax Partners

text: Apax raises capital for its investment funds through institutional investors including corporate and public pension funds, university and college endowments, foundations and fund of funds. One of the firm's co-founders, Alan Patricof, was an early investor in Apple Computer and America Online (AOL).


title: Apax Partners

text: In 1969, Alan Patricof founded Patricof & Co. a firm dedicated to making investments in "development capital" later known as "venture capital," primarily in small early-stage companies. Patricof, one of the early venture capitalists, was involved in the development of numerous major companies including America Online, Office Depot, Cadence Design Systems, Apple Computer and FORE Systems. In 1975, Patricof launched 53rd Street Ventures, a $10 million vehicle.


title: Apax Partners

text: Meanwhile, in 1972, Sir Ronald Cohen and Maurice Tchénio, along with two other partners, founded Multinational Management Group (MMG) with offices in London, Paris, and Chicago. MMG initially was established as an advisory firm, working with small emerging companies, rather than an investment firm. However, MMG initially struggled to gain traction amid the negative economic conditions, particularly in the UK in the mid-1970s.


title: Apax Partners

text: By 1977, two of the original four founding partners had left MMG, leaving Cohen and Tchénio in need of a partner to help rejuvenate their firm. In that year, Cohen approached Alan Patricof to join them and run the new firm's investments in the U.S. The new firm would be known as Alan Patricof Associates (APA) and ultimately come to be known as Apax Partners (based on a play on Patricof's name: Alan Patricof Associates Cross (x) Border). Following the merger, MMG abandoned its advising business, and the new APA shifted its focus exclusively to investing in start-up companies.


title: Apax Partners

text: Throughout the 1980s, the firm grew steadily raising capital under a series of separate funds. As the 1980s progressed, the firm introduced its first later stage venture fund in 1984, its first growth capital fund in 1987 and its first dedicated European leveraged buyout fund MMG Patricof European Buy-In Fund in 1989. In response to the changing conditions, in the venture capital industry in the 1980s Apax (and other early venture capital firms including Warburg Pincus and J.H. Whitney & Company) began to transition away from venture capital toward leveraged buyouts and growth capital investments, which were in vogue in that decade. This trend was more prevalent in Europe than the U.S. where Patricof preferred to continue focusing on venture investments.


title: Apax Partners

text: In 1991, Apax Partners became the official name for all of its European operations however the U.S. business still operated under the Patricof & Co. name. By the mid-1990s Apax had become one of the larger private equity firms globally.


title: Apax Partners

text: In 2000, Patricof & Co. adopted the Apax Partners branding and formalized its affiliation with its European business. The U.S. business would operate as Apax Partners, Inc. The following year, Patricof stepped back from day-to-day management of Apax Partners, Inc., the US arm of the firm to return to his original focus on making venture capital investments in small early-stage companies. In 2006, Patricof left Apax to form Greycroft Partners which focuses on small early-stage venture capital investments.


title: Apax Partners

text: Despite the closer relations between the U.S. and European teams, the firm still operated separate fund entities for each geography. The European side of the business began to pull away in terms of capital commitments, raising more than $5 billion for its 2004 vintage European fund but just $1 billion for its 2006 U.S. vintage fund.


title: Apax Partners

text: In 2005, Apax announced it would acquire middle market leveraged buyout firm Saunders Karp & Megrue to augment its buyout business in the United States. Saunders Karp, formerly based in Stamford, Connecticut, was founded in 1989 by Thomas A. Saunders III and Allan W. Karp. John Megrue, who today serves as co-chairman of Bridgewater Associates, had worked as a principal at Patricof & Co. before joining Saunders Karp in 1992. Saunders Karp had received capital commitments from institutional investors including AT&T Corporation, the General Electric Pension Trust, Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group, HarbourVest Partners, JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management, New York State Common Retirement Fund and Verizon, among others.


title: Apax Partners

text: The circumstances surrounding the demerger, transfer of assets and subsequent collapse of the British United Shoe Machinery in 2000 led to questions about Apax's behaviour being raised in Parliament by MPs of both main parties. After calls for an enquiry into the loss of hundreds of pensions were refused, Ros Altmann, the pensions expert and, as of 2015, UK Pensions minister described it "one of the worst cases ..I have seen ..the actions of the former owners - Apax have been immoral." The Member of Parliament Ashok Kumar said, "I think these people needed flogging ..these are greedy, selfish, capitalists who live on the backs of others."


title: Apax Partners

text: Following its sale of Wind Hellas in 2007, Apax and Hellas co-owner TPG were sued by former bondholders of the telecom company, who allege that Apax and TPG unjustifiably enriched themselves from Hellas and misrepresented the true state of its accounts. Apax has countered that some of these bondholders only began their dispute after passing up on the chance of selling prior to the bankruptcy of 2009, and that Apax sold the business in 2007 (almost three years before the bankruptcy) and so was not the legal owner of Hellas during the periods cited in some of the lawsuits. (In 2005 a New York judge awarded $56m to some of these bondholders, made against Hellas Telecommunications Finance and Hellas Finance, rather than Apax or TPG). Other lawsuits related to Apax and TPG's ownership of Hellas are being heard in the USA. In December 2015 a separate legal action brought by the liquidators of Hellas Telecommunications was dismissed by a Luxembourg court. In February 2018 the liquidators abandoned their UK case against Apax and TPG after four days of trial.


title: Habsburg family tree

text: This is a family tree of the Habsburg family. This family tree only includes male scions of the House of Habsburg from 1096 to 1564. Otto II was the first to take the Habsburg Castle name as his own, adding "von Habsburg" to his title and creating the House of Habsburg.


title: Habsburg family tree

text: Fragmentary references (see below) cite the Habsburgs as descendants of the early Germanic Etichonider, probably of Frankish, Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Eticho (also known as Aldarich) who ruled from 662 to 690.


title: Habsburg family tree

text: Family tree of the ancestors of the Habsburg family, largely before becoming Holy Roman Emperors and (Arch)Dukes of Austria. This family tree only includes male scions of the House of Habsburg from 920 to 1308. Otto II was probably the first to take the Habsburg Castle name as his own, adding "von Habsburg" to his title and creating the House of Habsburg. See below for more references.


title: Habsburg family tree

text: Similarly, this family tree only includes male scions of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine who survived to adulthood:


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: Chanakya is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language spy action thriller film directed by Thiru and produced by Rama Brahmam Sunkara under AK Entertainments banner. The film features Gopichand, Zareen Khan and Mehreen Pirzada in the lead roles, is marking Thiru's Telugu debut as director and Khan's acting debut in Telugu films, it also stars Nassar, Rajesh Khattar, Upen Patel, Sunil, Jayaprakash, Raja Chembolu and Adarsh Balakrishna in the supporting roles. The film marks the second collaboration between Gopichand & Mehreen after Pantham. The music of the film is composed by Vishal Chandrasekhar and Sricharan Pakala.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: The film follows an undercover agent named Arjun, who races against time to rescue his teammates after they are kidnapped by a Pakistani terrorist named Sohail. Disavowed by his own agency after his cover gets blown, he sets out on the rescue operation in Karachi and enlists the help of another RAW agent Zubeida to accomplish the mission.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: To catch Abdul Salim, the right hand of India's most wanted terrorist Ibrahim Qureshi, the RAW chief Kulkarni recruits agent Arjun and his team. Once Salim arrives at the spot, Arjun and his teammates eliminate all the guards and manage to take Salim in their custody. In the meanwhile, Arjun resumes his life as a banker named Ramakrishna and learns from Kulkarni that Salim would be shifted to prison as per the orders. Arjun warns him not to do so, fearing that there might be an attempt to rescue him. Nevertheless, Salim is dispatched in a police van accompanied by other vehicles. However, masked shooters from a chopper attack the cars and free Salim. Once he boards the chopper, the attackers are revealed to be Arjun and his teammates. Feeling Salim is not needed since his existence would be a threat to the nation's security, Arjun shoots him.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: Later, when Arjun is on a date with his girlfriend Aishwarya, he is attacked by some goons, and a fight ensues, resulting in Arjun learning about the capture of his teammates. The kidnapper is none other than Sohail, the son of Ibrahim Qureshi. He challenges Arjun to come to Karachi and rescue his teammates, due to which Arjun seeks help from his agency but is disavowed due to his cover getting blown. He uses his resources to get himself into Pakistan, where he meets a RAW agent named Zubeida. Together, they plant CCTV cameras on Sohail's route to learn of his destination. Realizing that there is no signal whenever his vehicles pass, Arjun believes the traffic police commissioner to be getting information about Sohail's destination. Zubeida gets the commissioner engaged at a bar and helps Arjun digitally acquire the officer's fingerprints and voice activation to unlock his laptop. The officer learns of someone sneaking in and rushes back but in vain.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: Arjun and Zubeida learn that Sohail is going to attend a function at a hotel and plan to kidnap him. When all their plans fail, Arjun shows up and manages to kidnap Sohail. However, at their secret location, Arjun and Zubeida realize that they have kidnapped Sohail's body double instead of Sohail himself. An enraged Arjun shoots him and seeing Qureshi's henchmen coming for him, runs away, attacking them. In the ensuing chase, Arjun gets shot, while Ibrahim declares a manhunt for Arjun, who manages to hide and is eventually rescued by Zubeida. Sohail manages to retrieve the CCTV cameras set up by Zubeida and kills Arjun's friend on the camera. However, Arjun tells Zubeida to rewind the footage and learns that his friend had sent him a message through Morse code. They learn that Sohail is planning to flee Arjun's teammates and get the G8 Summit attacked so that they can frame India by showing the footage of Arjun and his teammates in Karachi. This would be seen as India's attempt to disgrace Pakistan, and India would, in turn, be disgraced. To stop this and continue Mission Chanakya, Arjun reunites Kulkarni, who is then revealed to have told him to meet Zubeida. Using the information from other RAW agents in Karachi, Arjun manages to trace Sohail's location and beats him up. He then makes a deal with Ibrahim to arrive at the border with Arjun's teammates in exchange for Sohail's life. Once the deal is done, Ibrahim realizes that Arjun gave him Sohail's body double, who was not killed by the shooting and saved on time. With Sohail now in Indian custody, Ibrahim challenges to free him but is instead himself handed over to India. Arjun is congratulated by the RAW before he shoots the mole dead in front of his officers.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: Gopichand launched his 26th project titled "Chanakya" in February 2019 with Tamil director Thiru, marking his Telugu debut as director and Mehreen Pirzada as leading lady. The filming began in the same month with shooting at Jaipur. Zareen Khan was cast to play a vital role in the film, marking her debut in Telugu films.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: "Chanakya" was theatrically released worldwide on 5 October 2019. The film was also dubbed and released in Hindi on television and YouTube by Wide Angle Media Pvt. Ltd. on 27 December 2020.


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: "The Hans India" gave the 2.5 stars out of 5 stating, "'Chanakya' is a well-treated story that is presented in an interesting way".


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: Neeshita Nyayapati writing for "The Times of India" gave the 2 stars out of 5, stating that "Chanakya is a meandering drama that seems confused about whether it wants to be a spy-thriller that takes itself way too seriously or a commercial drama that has a little bit of everything".


title: Chanakya (2019 film)

text: Hemanth Kumar writing for "Firstpost" gave the 2 stars out of 5, stating, "When a spy drama is treated as a masala movie where characters openly challenge each other, you know it has landed in a quagmire. And we are sucked into it too".


title: Attic Greek

text: Attic Greek is the Greek dialect of the ancient region of Attica, including the "polis" of Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige dialect of the Greek world for centuries and remains the standard form of the language that is taught to students of ancient Greek. As the basis of the Hellenistic Koine, it is the most similar of the ancient dialects to later Greek. Attic is traditionally classified as a member or sister dialect of the Ionic branch.


title: Attic Greek

text: Greek is the primary member of the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European language family. In ancient times, Greek had already come to exist in several dialects, one of which was Attic. The earliest attestations of Greek, dating from the 16th to 11th centuries BC, are written in Linear B, an archaic writing system used by the Mycenaean Greeks in writing their language; the distinction between Eastern and Western Greek is believed to have arisen by Mycenaean times or before. Mycenaean Greek represents an early form of Eastern Greek, the group to which Attic also belongs. Later Greek literature wrote about three main dialects: Aeolic, Doric, and Ionic; Attic was part of the Ionic dialect group. "Old Attic" is used in reference to the dialect of Thucydides (460–400 BC) and the dramatists of 5th-century Athens whereas "New Attic" is used for the language of later writers following conventionally the accession in 285 BC of Greek-speaking Ptolemy II to the throne of the Kingdom of Egypt. Ruling from Alexandria, Ptolemy launched the Alexandrian period, during which the city of Alexandria and its expatriate Greek-medium scholars flourished.


title: Attic Greek

text: The original range of the spoken Attic dialect included Attica and a number of the Aegean Islands; the closely related Ionic was also spoken along the western and northwestern coasts of Asia Minor in modern Turkey, in Chalcidice, Thrace, Euboea, and in some colonies of Magna Graecia. Eventually, the texts of literary Attic were widely studied far beyond their homeland: first in the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, including in Ancient Rome and the larger Hellenistic world, and later in the Muslim world, Europe, and other parts of the world touched by those civilizations.


title: Attic Greek

text: The earliest Greek literature, which is attributed to Homer and is dated to the eighth or seventh centuries BC, is written in "Old Ionic" rather than Attic. Athens and its dialect remained relatively obscure until the establishment of its democracy following the reforms of Solon in the sixth century BC; so began the classical period, one of great Athenian influence both in Greece and throughout the Mediterranean.


title: Attic Greek

text: The first extensive works of literature in Attic are the plays of dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes dating from the fifth century BC. The military exploits of the Athenians led to some universally read and admired history, as found in the works of Thucydides and Xenophon. Slightly less known because they are more technical and legal are the orations by Antiphon, Demosthenes, Lysias, Isocrates, and many others. The Attic Greek of philosophers Plato (427–347 BC) and his student Aristotle (384–322 BC) dates to the period of transition between Classical Attic and Koine.


title: Attic Greek

text: Students who learn Ancient Greek usually begin with the Attic dialect and continue, depending upon their interests, to the later Koine of the New Testament and other early Christian writings, to the earlier Homeric Greek of Homer and Hesiod, or to the contemporaneous Ionic Greek of Herodotus and Hippocrates.


title: Attic Greek

text: Attic Greek, like other dialects, was originally written in a local variant of the Greek alphabet. According to the classification of archaic Greek alphabets, which was introduced by Adolf Kirchhoff, the old-Attic system belongs to the "eastern" or "blue" type, as it uses the letters and with their classical values ( and ), unlike "western" or "red" alphabets, which used for and expressed with . In other respects, Old Attic shares many features with the neighbouring Euboean alphabet (which is "western" in Kirchhoff's classification). Like the latter, it used an L-shaped variant of lambda () and an S-shaped variant of sigma (). It lacked the consonant symbols xi () for and psi () for , expressing these sound combinations with and , respectively. Moreover, like most other mainland Greek dialects, Attic did not yet use omega () and eta () for the long vowels and . Instead, it expressed the vowel phonemes with the letter (which corresponds with classical , , ) and with the letter (which corresponds with , , and in later classical orthography). Moreover, the letter was used as heta, with the consonantal value of rather than the vocalic value of .


title: Attic Greek

text: In the fifth century, Athenian writing gradually switched from this local system to the more widely used Ionic alphabet, native to the eastern Aegean Islands and Asia Minor. By the late fifth century, the concurrent use of elements of the Ionic system with the traditional local alphabet had become common in private writing, and in 403 BC, it was decreed that public writing would switch to the new Ionic orthography, as part of the reform following the Thirty Tyrants. This new system, also called the "Eucleidian" alphabet, after the name of the archon Eucleides, who oversaw the decision, was to become the Classical Greek alphabet throughout the Greek-speaking world. The classical works of Attic literature were subsequently handed down to posterity in the new Ionic spelling, and it is the classical orthography in which they are read today.


title: Attic Greek

text: Proto-Greek long "ā" → Attic long "ē", but "ā" after "e, i, r". ⁓ Ionic "ē" in all positions. ⁓ Doric and Aeolic "ā" in all positions.


title: Attic Greek

text: Compensatory lengthening of vowel before cluster of sonorant ("r", "l", "n", "m", "w", sometimes "y") and "s", after deletion of "s". ⁓ some Aeolic: compensatory lengthening of sonorant.


title: Attic Greek

text: Proto-Greek and other dialects' (English "food") became Attic (pronounced as German "ü", French "u") and represented by "y" in Latin transliteration of Greek names.


title: Attic Greek

text: PIE "*ky" or "*chy" → Proto-Greek "ts" (palatalization) → Attic and Euboean Ionic "tt" — Cycladean/Anatolian Ionic and Koine "ss".


title: Attic Greek

text: Sometimes, Proto-Greek *ty and *tw → Attic and Euboean Ionic "tt" — Cycladean/Anatolian Ionic and Koine "ss".


title: Attic Greek

text: Attic retained Proto-Greek "h-" (from debuccalization of Proto-Indo-European initial "s-" or "y-"), but some other dialects lost it ("psilosis" "stripping", "de-aspiration").


title: Attic Greek

text: Attic-Ionic places an "n" (movable nu) at the end of some words that would ordinarily end in a vowel, if the next word starts with a vowel, to prevent "hiatus" (two vowels in a row). The movable nu can also be used to turn what would be a short syllable into a long syllable for use in meter.


title: Attic Greek

text: Attic Greek grammar follows Ancient Greek grammar to a large extent. References to Attic Grammar are usually in reference to peculiarities and exceptions from Ancient Greek Grammar. This section mentions only some of these Attic peculiarities.


title: Attic Greek

text: In addition to singular and plural numbers, Attic Greek had the dual number. This was used to refer to two of something and was present as an inflection in nouns, adjectives, pronouns and verbs (any categories inflected for number). Attic Greek was the last dialect to retain it from older forms of Greek, and the dual number had died out by the end of the 5th century BC. In addition to this, in Attic Greek, any plural neuter subjects will only ever take singular conjugation verbs.


title: Attic Greek

text: With regard to declension, the stem is the part of the declined word to which case endings are suffixed. In the alpha or first declension feminines, the stem ends in long "a", which is parallel to the Latin first declension. In Attic-Ionic the stem vowel has changed to "ē" in the singular, except (in Attic only) after "e", "i" or "r". For example, the respective nominative, genitive, dative and accusative singular forms are


title: Attic Greek

text: ἡ γνώμη τῆς γνώμης τῇ γνώμῃ τὴν γνώμην "gnome", "gnomes", "gnome(i)", "gnomen", "opinion" but ἡ θεᾱ́ τῆς θεᾶς τῇ θεᾷ τὴν θεᾱ́ν "thea", "theas", "thea(i)", "thean", "goddess".


title: Attic Greek

text: The plural is the same in both cases, "gnomai" and "theai", but other sound changes were more important in its formation. For example, original "-as" in the nominative plural was replaced by the diphthong "-ai", which did not change from "a" to "e". In the few "a"-stem masculines, the genitive singular follows the second declension: "stratiotēs", "stratiotou", "stratiotēi", etc.


title: Attic Greek

text: In the omicron or second declension, mainly masculines (but with some feminines), the stem ends in "o" or "e", which is composed in turn of a root plus the thematic vowel, an "o" or "e" in Indo-European ablaut series parallel to similar formations of the verb. It is the equivalent of the Latin second declension. The alternation of Greek "-os" and Latin "-us" in the nominative singular is familiar to readers of Greek and Latin.


title: Attic Greek

text: In Attic Greek, an original genitive singular ending "*-osyo" after losing the "s" (like in the other dialects) lengthens the stem "o" to the spurious diphthong "-ou" (see above under Phonology, Vowels): logos "the word" "logou" from *"logosyo" "of the word". The dative plural of Attic-Ionic had "-oisi", which appears in early Attic but later simplifies to "-ois": "anthropois" "to or for the men".


title: Attic Greek

text: Classical Attic may refer either to the varieties of Attic Greek spoken and written in Greek majuscule in the 5th and 4th centuries BC (Classical-era Attic) or to the Hellenistic and Roman era standardized Attic Greek, mainly on the language of Attic orators and written in Greek uncial.


title: Nena (band)

text: Nena were a German Neue Deutsche Welle band. In 1983 and 1984, their German-language song "99 Luftballons" (and its English version, "99 Red Balloons") reached number one in the singles charts of countries around the world.


title: Nena (band)

text: The band was formed in 1982 when vocalist Gabriele Kerner (Nena) came to West Berlin with drummer , her boyfriend at the time. There they assembled the other members of the band, which took its name from their lead singer's nickname (Spanish for "little girl"), which she had acquired as a toddler during a family holiday to Spain.


title: Nena (band)

text: The band wrote all of their songs themselves, typically working in pairs. They became overnight sensations in Germany when they performed their debut single "Nur geträumt" on German TV in August 1982, Nena herself wearing a distinctive short red miniskirt. The single reached number 2 in the German charts, a position it occupied for 6 weeks, and also climbed high in the Austrian, Belgian, Dutch and Swiss charts. In early 1983 the follow-up single "99 Luftballons" spent a further 7 weeks at number 2 before finally reaching the top slot, a position the debut album matched.


title: Nena (band)

text: By the time the band released its second album "? (Fragezeichen)" in Germany in January 1984, "99 Luftballons" was starting to climb the US charts, where it reached number 2 and became one of the most successful non-English-language tracks in US Billboard chart history. With the English version of the song ("99 Red Balloons") achieving the number 1 position in the UK, the band became internationally famous and in 1984 gave concerts and made TV appearances in Scandinavia, the UK, Spain and France as well as a 7-date tour (on consecutive nights) of Japan. An international album "99 Luftballons" which comprised a combination of English and German versions of tracks from the first two German albums, performed respectably, reaching number 31 in the UK charts in mid-1984.


title: Nena (band)

text: Whilst enjoying international prominence on the back of "99 Luftballons", the band continued to enjoy domestic success in Germany with a string of hits in 1984 and the first half of 1985. The "? (Fragezeichen)" album matched the band's debut album in making it to the top spot and spawned two of the band's best-known and most successful singles (the title track and "Rette mich"). They also had success with a couple of songs which would eventually be included on their third studio album, "Feuer und Flamme", most notably "Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann".


title: Nena (band)

text: The band was unable to follow up the international success of "99 Luftballons". An English version of "Nur geträumt" ("Just a Dream") failed to make the Billboard Hot 100 and only reached number 70 in the UK charts. A second English album ("It's All in the Game", an English version of "Feuer und Flamme") failed to chart.


title: Nena (band)

text: The band's fortunes in its homeland also began to turn in the second half of 1985, with disappointing attendance levels at their concerts and their successful chart run ending when the last two singles from "Feuer und Flamme" failed to chart.


title: Nena (band)

text: The band's fourth and final studio album "Eisbrecher" ("Icebreaker"), apparently so named because it was intended to smash the mounting indifference the band was encountering, was released in late 1986. Relative to its three predecessors it was a commercial failure as were the two last singles released from the album. Without ever formally announcing a breakup, the band discontinued in 1987. In the same year the marriage of Nena's sister to the band's bassist Jürgen Dehmel ended in divorce and Nena's 8-year relationship with the band's drummer, Rolf Brendel, also ended.


title: Nena (band)

text: After a break from the music scene during which she starred in a film and had a baby boy who died at the age of 11 months, Nena launched her solo career in 1989 going on to enjoy considerable success in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, particularly since 2002 when she re-recorded the band's biggest successes, newly arranged and produced by her former band colleague and composer of most of the band's hit songs, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen. Since the birth of her fifth and final child in 1997, she has toured Germany more or less constantly, at least 50% of her concert setlists typically comprising tracks from the Nena band era.


title: Nena (band)

text: Throughout her solo career, Nena has continued to collaborate with former band members. Firstly, Nena's former boyfriend, Rolf Brendel, supported her as a drummer in the "Bongo Girl" tour in 1993. Most enduring has been the link with the band's former keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen who appeared with her on stage during the 2005 tour promoting the triple-gold achieving "Willst du mit mir gehn" album which he had also produced and co-written the singles for. He also collaborated with Nena for the 2009 album "Made in Germany", which also achieved gold status. The band's former guitarist, Carlo Karges, also wrote tracks for some of Nena's solo albums in the 1990s. He died in 2002, just months before all the band's surviving members reunited on stage to perform "Leuchtturm" during Nena's triumphant Frankfurt concert which coincided with the release of the triple-platinum "Nena feat. Nena" album which regalvanised her solo career.


title: Nena (band)

text: The surviving members next publicly reunited in 2017 to perform "Nur geträumt" in a television programme marking the 40th anniversary of Nena's first stage appearance.


title: Nena (band)

text: Following the international success of the single "99 Luftballons", the band released "99 Luftballons", a compilation of tracks from its first two albums, with five of the songs in new English-language versions. "It's All in the Game" is the English-language version of "Feuer und Flamme", with lyrics by Canadian singer Lisa Dalbello.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay (21 June 1887 – 17 December 1965), was a diplomat and general in the British Indian Army who was the first Secretary General of NATO. He also was Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during the Second World War.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay was born in Nainital, India, in 1887, and educated in the United Kingdom at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After Sandhurst, he joined the Indian Army as an officer of the 21st Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry. During the First World War, he served with the Camel Corps in British Somaliland, where he joined in the British fight against the "Mad Mullah", Mohammed Abdullah Hassan. In 1925, Ismay became an Assistant Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID). After being promoted to the rank of colonel, he served as the military secretary for Lord Willingdon, the Viceroy of India, then returned to the CID as Deputy Secretary in 1936.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: On 1 August 1938, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Ismay became the Committee's Secretary and began planning for the impending war. In May 1940, when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he selected Ismay as his chief military assistant and staff officer. In that capacity, Ismay served as the principal link between Churchill and the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Ismay also accompanied Churchill to many of the Allied war conferences. For Ismay's advice and aid, "Churchill owed more, and admitted that he owed more" to him "than to anybody else, military or civilian, in the whole of the war."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: After the end of the war, Ismay remained in the army for another year, and helped to reorganise the Ministry of Defence. He then retired from the military and served as Lord Mountbatten of Burma's Chief of Staff in India, helping to oversee its partition. From 1948 to 1951, he served as chairman of the council of the Festival of Britain, helping to organise and promote the event. Then, in 1951, when Churchill again became Prime Minister, he appointed Ismay Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay accepted the position, but resigned after only six months to become the first Secretary General of NATO in 1952. While Secretary General, Ismay is also credited as having been the first person to say that the purpose of NATO was "to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down," a saying that has since become a common way to describe the dynamics of NATO. He served in this role until 1957, and helped establish and define the position. After retiring from NATO, Ismay wrote his memoirs, "The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay", served on a variety of corporate boards, and co-chaired the Ismay–Jacob Committee, which reorganised the Ministry of Defence once again. He died on 17 December 1965, at his home, Wormington Grange, Gloucestershire.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay was born in Nainital, Kumaon, India, on 21 June 1887. His father, Sir Stanley Ismay, was a member of the Viceroy's Legislative Council, and his mother, Beatrice Ellen, was the daughter of an Army colonel. Ismay began his education in Britain at the Charterhouse School, and his parents hoped that after completing his education there he would attend Cambridge and enter the civil service.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay, however, "had a sneaking desire to be a cavalry soldier", and after doing poorly on his final examinations at Charterhouse, he was not eligible to attend Cambridge. As a result, he entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1904. Ismay would later write: "Sandhurst never meant nearly so much to me as Charterhouse had", but he enjoyed his time at the college and studied alongside many men who went on to become important military officers, including Lord Gort, Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt and Cyril Newall.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: After completing the course at Sandhurst, Ismay was placed fourth overall in its examinations and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Indian Army. Ismay was then attached to the Gloucestershire Regiment of the British Army in Ambala, where he served a one year mandatory apprenticeship. After leaving the regiment, Ismay did not immediately find a place in the Indian cavalry, so he spent nine months floating among positions with various British and Indian units.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In 1907, Ismay found a permanent position in the Indian cavalry, joining the 21st Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry, based at Risalpur. Ismay thoroughly enjoyed his time with the regiment, describing it as "blissful." In 1908, he saw his first action with the regiment, when it was sent into Afghanistan, pursuing Mohmand raiders who had taken several Hindu women as hostages. Immediately after Ismay's regiment returned from action, he was hospitalised in Peshawar due to heat stroke, but he recovered quickly and, along with the rest of his regiment, received the India General Service Medal.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In 1910, after a reorganisation of the Indian Army, Ismay's regiment moved from Risalpur to Jhelum, further from the frontier. Shortly thereafter, Ismay was appointed the adjutant of his regiment, a position which he held for four years, during which time he also read voraciously and developed a great admiration for Winston Churchill, whom he sought to emulate.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In early 1914, just before Ismay's appointment as adjutant was set to expire, he met C. A. L Howard, another British officer serving in India, who told him about an opportunity to serve with the King's African Rifles in British Somaliland. Ismay decided that this was "just the sort of job that [he] wanted," and applied immediately. Due to his reputation "as a thorough and dependable officer of sound judgement," Ismay was appointed second in command of the Somaliland Camel Corps, a cavalry unit led by Thomas Cubitt.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay left India for Somaliland in late July 1914, and arrived on 9 August, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in Europe. Like other officers in Somaliland, Ismay was "unhappy at being left out of the great war" and repeatedly asked for a transfer to the European front. In the end, however, Ismay's superiors decided that he was "so indispensable that, despite his longing for action in Europe, he was retained in Somaliland until 1920."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In Somaliland, the Camel Corps and other British soldiers were ordered to subdue an uprising by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, known by the British as the "Mad Mullah", who had been fighting against them for more than twenty years. Ismay's commander, Thomas Cubitt, was determined to end the rebellion forcefully and quickly, so on 17 November 1914, he launched a major assault against Hassan's fortress at Shimber Berris. In the attack, Ismay fought closely alongside Adrian Carton de Wiart, later an important British officer in both World Wars. Not long after the attack on Shimber Berris, however, the Camel Corps received orders from London "forbidding all offensive operations in Somaliland", due to the misfortunes of the Army elsewhere. As a result of this order, British operations were limited for the duration of the First World War, and Ismay's unit undertook no further major offensives.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Despite limited British activity, a few operations combined with the effort of local forces led to "a drastic weakening" of Hassan's forces by 1918. Thus, after the armistice ending the First World War, the government sent Major General Arthur Hoskins to take control of the forces in Somaliland and defeat Hassan conclusively in battle. After Hoskins arrived, his initial plan for dealing with Hassan focussed on the use of the newly formed Royal Air Force, so Ismay and the Camel Corps were consigned to a minor role. Hoskins's plans, however, were found "overscaled and far too costly", so they were shelved throughout most of 1918 and 1919.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In October 1919, plans for Hoskins's operation were finally approved, and on 21 January 1920, the attack against Hassan commenced. After several days of bombing, Ismay was ordered to lead an assault by the Camel Corps against Hassan's fortress at Jid Ali. On , Ismay's forces first attempted the attack and were repulsed by strong resistance. That night, however, Hassan and his forces fled Jid Ali to take refuge in the countryside. Ismay was assigned to track down and capture Hassan, but he "had no idea of where he was", and was forced to begin a large search.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay pursued Hassan for nearly two weeks, and managed to capture many members of his family and people close to him, including seven of his sons. Hassan himself managed to evade Ismay and on , the effort to capture him was called off. Though Hassan was never captured, his power was broken, and he died in December 1920 of influenza. For his service in the effort against Hassan, Ismay received the Distinguished Service Order and was twice mentioned in despatches.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In April 1920, Ismay left Somaliland for England. While en route, he received word that he had been nominated for a place at the Indian Army's Staff College, Quetta. Depressed by the loss of life and destruction of the First World War, Ismay turned down the nomination, and "was even seriously thinking of resigning [his] commission" in the Army. After arriving in London, Ismay was given twelve months of medical leave, and decided to stay in the army. He then attempted to reclaim his seat at the Staff College, but was told that it had already been given to someone else.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: While on medical leave, Ismay met Laura Kathleen Clegg, with whom he quickly fell in love. The two were engaged only three weeks after meeting. After four months, however, Ismay was proclaimed fit for duty, despite his remaining eight months of leave, and ordered back to India, where he rejoined his old regiment. His time back in India was relatively quiet, as there was "no serious fighting" in the area of his regiment at the time. In February 1921, Ismay took the qualifying exam for the Staff College in Rawalpindi, and passed, earning himself a seat for the next year.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In April, Ismay returned to London on leave, and married Clegg, with whom he eventually had three daughters. Ismay remained in London until February 1922, when he entered the Staff College at Quetta. Ismay excelled at the Staff College, and its commandant called him "one of the two best, if not the best, of the students who have passed through my hands." In his final thesis at the Staff College, Ismay correctly predicted that the next European war would be a total war, but he incorrectly predicted that cavalry would continue to play a role in future warfare.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: After the Staff College, Ismay became Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of the Indian Army. In that position, he worked closely with Claude Auchinleck, beginning a long-standing personal and professional relationship between the two. Ismay found that his work as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General "was a valuable experience", but did not enjoy it.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In 1924, Air Vice-Marshal Philip Game suggested to Ismay that he apply for a seat at the RAF Staff College, Andover. Although Ismay "had no desire to learn to be a pilot", he was happy for the opportunity to return to England, and went to study at the college. After completing the programme, he was approached about the possibility of serving as an Assistant Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) under Maurice Hankey. Ismay gladly accepted the position, starting work in December 1925. In the six months between finishing the Staff College and beginning at the CID, Ismay returned to India and held a staff position at the headquarters of the Indian Army in Simla.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As Assistant Secretary, Ismay directed several of the CID's subcommittees, including those for Censorship and War Emergency Legislation, Principal Supply Officers, and Co-ordination of Departmental Action. As the Secretary of the Committee for the Co-ordination of Departmental Action, Ismay "was responsible for seeing that all plans and preparations made by Government Departments or sub-committees of the CID to meet the eventuality of war, were incorporated under appropriate headings in a document known as the War Book." This task ended up consuming most of Ismay's time as Assistant Secretary, and gave him "exceptional insight into the ways of Whitehall."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: While serving as Assistant Secretary, Ismay made important friends and gained the backing of Hankey, by whom he was "greatly valued". Largely through Hankey's influence, Ismay was nominated as a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Civil Division, an honour which he received in 1931.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In December 1930, after five years, Ismay left his position at the CID. He was promoted colonel and hoped to take command of the 12th Cavalry. Instead, he became the military secretary for Lord Willingdon, the newly appointed Viceroy of India.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In this role, Ismay served as the "unofficial link" between Willingdon and the Indian Army. He also led Willingdon's personal staff, and organised his many trips throughout India. Ismay was also responsible for Willingdon's safety, and took precautions after he was threatened by assassins. In December 1932, Ismay was informed that his service with Willingdon was over and that he was expected to take up a position in the War Office during the next year.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: At the War Office, Ismay served as an intelligence officer with responsibility for the Middle East, Far East, the Americas, the Soviet Union, Poland and the Baltic States. Ismay enjoyed his work, and wrote that "intelligence is perhaps the most interesting of all Staff work." During his three years in the position, Ismay worked directly under Sir John Dill, who would later serve as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In 1936, Maurice Hankey became determined to "bring Ismay in as his deputy and eventual successor" at the CID. Hoping that the appointment would "strengthen the organization of the CID" and enhance its influence, Hankey offered Ismay the position of Deputy Secretary. Although the appointment meant that Ismay would probably never command troops again, he viewed it as an important opportunity and "accepted with scarcely a moment's hesitation." A week thereafter, Ismay received a letter offering him the command of a cavalry brigade in India, but declined, solidifying his choice to remain a staff officer.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Ismay had broad responsibilities, and was "concerned with every aspect of planning and preparation for a war which seemed imminent." Ismay dealt extensively with a variety of matters and focussed much of his attention on the preparation of anti-aircraft defences and co-ordination among the military services. As the crisis in Europe escalated, however, Hankey announced his intention to retire in June 1938. Hankey hoped that one person, preferably Ismay, would inherit all of the positions he had occupied, including Secretary of the CID, clerk of the Privy Council, and Secretary to the Cabinet, but the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, decided that the positions should be split and assigned to different people.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In the end, Ismay was named only to the position of Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence, effective 1 August 1938. Ismay assumed the position scarcely more than a year before the outbreak of the Second World War, and the war totally dominated his time in office. Soon after Ismay took office, Hitler initiated a crisis over the Sudetenland. While Chamberlain was at the Munich Conference attempting to resolve the crisis, Ismay ordered the digging of trenches in London as protection against air attacks, should war occur. Ismay later said that he thought Britain should have gone to war at Munich instead of waiting, but said nothing at the time. As it became increasingly clear that war was inevitable in 1939, Ismay also prepared for a "smooth, simple and practically instantaneous" transition from the Committee of Imperial Defence to the War Cabinet, or whatever other wartime authority the government might choose.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: With the outbreak of the Second World War, the CID was immediately absorbed into the War Cabinet as Ismay had planned. In the midst of the turmoil, Ismay was promoted to Major-General, and began to work closely with Chamberlain, accompanying him on a visit to France in December 1939. Ismay disagreed with several Allied strategic choices, including the decision to try to stop the German advance in Belgium, but kept his doubts to himself.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In April 1940, Winston Churchill took control of the Military Co-ordination Committee, charged with overseeing all of the military services. He selected Ismay as his chief staff officer, which also gave Ismay the additional responsibility of serving on the Chiefs of Staff Committee. While serving under Churchill had been a life-long dream for Ismay, he was initially sceptical about the duties of his new position, which seemed unclear and poorly defined.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: On 10 May, after the beginning of the Battle of France, Chamberlain resigned, and Churchill became both Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. Ismay, who later called Churchill "the greatest War Prime Minister in our history", was "thrilled" by this development, and continued to act as Churchill's chief staff officer and military adviser. According to Churchill, the two developed a close "personal and official connection [that] was preserved unbroken and unweakened" throughout the war.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As part of this relationship, not long after Churchill became Prime Minister, he arranged for Ismay to be appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in June 1940. From the very moment he became Prime Minister, Churchill "relied heavily on General Pug Ismay," who provided a crucial bridge to the military establishment. Ismay served as the "principal assistant to Mr. Churchill in his capacity as Minister of Defence", continued to serve as the Secretary of the Imperial Defence Chiefs of Staff Committee, and became Deputy Secretary of the War Cabinet.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay was crucial to running the war effort, as he was able to effectively link the military and civilian leadership. Jock Colville, Churchill's private secretary, wrote that Ismay had the "tact, patience, and skill in promoting compromise" needed to keep the war running smoothly." Ismay had the additional advantage of being admired by the Service Chiefs for his long and distinguished record as a soldier.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In his role, Ismay handled "nearly all military messages" from Churchill to the Service Chiefs. Ismay also gave Churchill advice on military matters, and often "begged him to be reasonable" when he contemplated foolish actions, believing that Churchill's greatest fault was his "impetuous nature and impatience with opposition." When the Chiefs of Staff found Churchill's demands unfeasible, Ismay took the role of "converting the Prime Minister" to their viewpoint.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As Churchill's chief military adviser, Ismay frequently attended wartime conferences and meetings of the Allies and accompanied other British leaders, such as Foreign Minister Anthony Eden, on their travels. Ismay's travel to the conferences began in 1941, when he went with Lord Beaverbrook to the first Moscow Conference. Because British participation in the conference was a secret, Ismay faked influenza to explain his absence from London while it was taking place. The Conference was also the first time that Ismay worked closely with the Americans, whom he found "quite congenial."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay would continue to work closely with the Americans throughout the remainder of the war, and he accompanied Churchill on his 1942 trip to the United States. Shortly after their return, US General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Britain to command the American forces. He established close relations with Ismay, who liked him greatly, and assisted him in co-ordinating with both British forces and the Cabinet. Eisenhower thought highly of Ismay, remembering him for his "stalwart support", and noting, "He was one of those men whose great ability condemned him throughout the war to a staff position. Consequently his name may be forgotten; but the contributions he made to the winning of the war were equal to those of many whose names became household words."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Not long after Eisenhower arrived, on 16 August 1942, Ismay was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General. Around the same time, his good relations with the Americans were recognised by others in the government. Thus, in November 1942, when Eleanor Roosevelt visited Britain, Lady Ismay was chosen to host her for one night of her stay.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In January 1943, Ismay accompanied Churchill to the Casablanca Conference. Ismay attended nearly all of the proceedings of the Conference, and helped work towards consensus where the Americans and British disagreed on issues. Ismay was also appointed to the committee which wrote the formal report of the conference. After the conference, Ismay visited the American headquarters in Algiers to meet with Eisenhower, and helped resolve some differences of opinion between Eisenhower and his British colleagues.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: After Casablanca, Ismay accompanied Churchill to the third Washington Conference in May 1943. At the conference, Ismay first met the American Admiral William D. Leahy, who is often described as his American counterpart. The two developed a friendly relationship, and Leahy wrote in his memoirs: "General Sir Hastings Ismay became my favorite, perhaps because his position closely paralleled my own".


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: After the Washington Conference came the Quebec Conference in August 1943. Once again, Ismay attended along with Churchill. The Quebec Conference was the first time that the Allied leaders discussed the full details of Operation Overlord, so Ismay spent much of his time explaining details of the operation to Churchill and other leaders. During the conference, Ismay also observed that Dudley Pound "had had a breakdown". He took the information to Churchill who demanded Pound's resignation a week later.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Shortly after returning from Quebec, Ismay participated in his next conference, travelling with Anthony Eden to the Moscow Conference in October and November, where he served as Eden's top military adviser. At the conference, Ismay handled all of the Soviet questions about the planning for Operation Overlord, and met Joseph Stalin personally for the first time. After the conference, Ismay wrote that he "was optimistic about [sic] post-war relations with Russia", showing his belief that the meeting had gone well.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Only four days after returning from the Moscow Conference, Ismay left England again for the Cairo Conference and Teheran Conference with Churchill. One major source of conflict at the Cairo Conference was an American proposal to appoint an overall commander for the strategic bombing of Germany. Ismay and the British were strongly opposed, and Ismay wrote a long paper against the idea, which became the basis of British policy on the subject. At Teheran, Ismay helped to argue the case for Operation Overlord, but immediately after the conference he developed bronchitis and returned to England by ship, scrapping his other plans for the trip.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In the first several months of 1944, Ismay spent almost all of his time planning for the Normandy Landings. As part of the planning, Ismay personally coordinated the plans for Operation Bodyguard and Operation Fortitude, which were designed to deceive the Germans about the planned Normandy landings. In March, Duncan Sandys, Churchill's son-in-law, told Ismay that Basil Liddell Hart, a noted strategist and historian, had somehow discovered the secret plans for the Normandy landings. This development had the potential to compromise the entire operation, so Ismay personally interviewed Liddell Hart, who claimed to have simply "worked it all out for himself" without any access to secret information. After their interview, Ismay directed the matter to the MI5, who never found evidence of wrongdoing, although it is suspected that Liddell Hart may in fact have received information from military planners.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: On 20 May 1944, less than a month before the Normandy Landings were scheduled to take place, Ismay was promoted to the rank of full general. After the successful D-Day landings, King George VI decided to visit the troops in Normandy, and selected Ismay to accompany him on the visit. In September, Ismay accompanied Churchill to the Second Quebec Conference. Ismay also accompanied Churchill on his visits to Moscow and Paris in late 1944.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In February 1945, Ismay attended the Yalta Conference. He found the conference different from the previous ones where "the military element had been the prima donna, occupying the centre of the stage." Instead, at Yalta, political issues took precedence, leaving Ismay and other military advisers "waiting for calls that never came".


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: On VE Day, Ismay found it "quite impossible to be completely happy about the future," due to the lingering Japanese threat, and the rising threat of the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, he was happy to be one of only three men to hold the same high government position throughout the war in Europe, along with Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges and the King.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: After VE Day, Ismay accompanied Churchill to the Potsdam Conference. Like Yalta, the conference focussed primarily on political issues, so there was little for Ismay to do. After Clement Attlee defeated Churchill in the 1945 election, becoming Prime Minister, Ismay kept his position, working with Attlee at the conference, but remained loyal to Churchill. Ismay and Churchill remained friends for the remainder of their lives, and Ismay even helped Churchill write his memoirs, reviewing and commenting on each chapter of his manuscript.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Shortly after the Potsdam Conference, the war in Asia ended on VJ Day. After this victory, Ismay "would have liked to retire at once", but at Attlee's request he remained in the military for another year. Before continuing work, however, Ismay travelled to New York on 6 September, for a six-week vacation; he received a warm welcome.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Over the next year, Ismay worked largely on the issue of reform for the Ministry of Defence. From December 1945 to February 1946, Ismay worked with a small committee to draft the "Statement Relating to Defence", which formed the basis of reforms implemented by Attlee later that year. For his role, Ismay became known as the "'chief architect' of the post-war Ministry of Defence."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: During the year following the war, Ismay received many honours for his service. In August 1945, as part of Churchill's resignation honours, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour, an honour rarely bestowed on soldiers. The next January, he received the Legion of Merit from the United States. He was promoted Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in June. Finally, he was named the Chairman of the Council of the Royal National Institute for the Blind.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In November 1946, Ismay announced his intention to retire. Attlee accepted his retirement, effective on 31 December 1946. Immediately after retiring, in the 1947 New Year Honours, Ismay was created a baron taking the title Baron Ismay, of Wormington in the County of Gloucester. He accepted the barony and took his seat in the House of Lords in February.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Shortly after Ismay's retirement, Lord Mountbatten of Burma was appointed as the last British Viceroy of India and Ismay offered to serve as his chief of staff. Thus, in March 1947, Ismay left with Mountbatten for India to help preside over its transition to independence. After arriving in India, Ismay soon came to the conclusion that the situation there was dire, heading for civil war, and told Mountbatten that "India was a ship on fire in mid-ocean with ammunition in her hold."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: When Ismay and Mountbatten arrived, they were committed to preserving a unified India, but Ismay soon realised "that the Moslem League would not agree to any plan which did not provide for the creation of Pakistan as an independent sovereign state." In April, after several unsuccessful meetings with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mountbatten came to the same conclusion and began drawing up plans for the partition.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Over the next month Mountbatten finalised his partition plan, and on , he sent Ismay back to London to present it to the British government. Ismay presented the plan to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, casting partition as a Hobson's choice. Ismay stayed in England for the next month, and helped to alter the plan based on the cabinet's suggestions, before returning to India on .


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Once the partition plan had been accepted, Ismay worked on implementing the details. In particular, Ismay dealt with the issue of dividing the Indian Army. Based on his own experiences and love of the Indian Army, Ismay did his "utmost to persuade" the leaders of the new Indian and Pakistani states not to separate the army immediately. His efforts failed due to the opposition of Jinnah.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay also travelled to Kashmir to ask Hari Singh to hold an immediate referendum over whether his territory would join India or Pakistan. Once again, Ismay was unsuccessful and Singh "changed the subject" each time that Ismay tried to discuss the referendum. Throughout the period immediately following independence, Ismay also tried to ensure that stories printed in the Indian and Pakistani press about the partition were accurate, but once again he was largely unsuccessful.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: The situation in India continued to deteriorate throughout the summer and autumn of 1947. Nevertheless, Ismay and Mountbatten had agreed that Ismay would remain in his position for only three to four months after partition. In December 1947, he left India to return to England. Shortly after his return, Ismay served briefly on the British delegation to the United Nations to deal with the Kashmir issue. Ismay played only a limited role, as the Pakistanis suspected him of pro-Indian sympathies.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Shortly after Ismay returned from the United Nations, Prime Minister Attlee asked him to become the Chairman of the Council of the Festival of Britain, scheduled to take place in 1951. Ismay accepted the offer, and on 10 March 1948, he officially took the position of chairman. The appointment was largely symbolic, and Ismay "was at least partly appointed to forestall potential criticism by his friend Winston Churchill." The Council, however, wielded "slight, but not insignificant influence" and Ismay took his duties seriously.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay helped to ensure that the festival would be truly national in character, rather than just confined to London. As such, in June 1949, he called together all of the mayors in Britain to discuss the festival; this was the first meeting of all British mayors since 1916. Ismay also publicly defended the large cost of the festival, and emphasised its historic nature, saying, "We are consciously and deliberately determined to make history." Once the festival opened, Ismay hosted various notable guests, including Margaret Truman, the daughter of US President Harry Truman.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In the 1951 general election held shortly after the conclusion of the Festival of Britain, Churchill's Conservative Party once again won a majority in Parliament, making Churchill Prime Minister for a second time. The day after the election, Churchill asked Ismay to become the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations in his cabinet. Ismay "was overjoyed at the prospect of serving under Churchill again" and accepted the post immediately. Although not a politician, Ismay was well-suited for the position because of his close relationships with the leaders of the commonwealth countries, largely the result of his work during the war.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As a result of his military background and experience, Ismay became "more closely involved in defence matters than is usual for a Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations," and often served as de facto Minister of Defence and serving as temporary Minister of Defence until the permanent appointee, Harold Alexander, was able to take office. Through his close involvement in defence matters, Ismay began to be involved with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In January 1952, he accompanied Churchill to a meeting in Ottawa about the alliance, and in February 1952 he attended the NATO Lisbon Conference as the British Ministry of Defence representative. When leaving the conference, Ismay remarked to Alfred Gruenther, "this is the first that I have seen of NATO, and thank heaven it's the last."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: At the Lisbon Conference, the members of NATO agreed to appoint a Secretary General who would direct the organisation's staff and serve as Vice-Chairman of the North Atlantic Council. The position was initially offered to Sir Oliver Franks, but he declined. As such, the allies scrambled to find someone else to take the position. Two weeks later, the countries agreed to ask Ismay to become Secretary General at the suggestion of Churchill and Anthony Eden.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Eden asked Ismay to accept the position, but his response "was an immediate and emphatic negative," as he saw NATO as an overly bureaucratic and inefficient organisation and complained that the position of Secretary General was "divided and ill-defined." Churchill then personally asked Ismay to accept the position, telling him that "NATO provided the best, if not the only, hope of peace in our time." After further urging, Ismay reluctantly agreed to take the job. On , the Atlantic Council officially passed a resolution appointing Ismay Secretary General, and he started work on .


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay's appointment to the position was well-received, enjoying the unanimous support of all the NATO members. The press and public also responded favourably. "The Times" wrote: "of all the candidates whose names have been mentioned, Lord Ismay would seem to have the strongest qualifications for the post." "The New York Times" applauded his "vast experience in military planning, strategy, and administration," and "The Washington Post" wrote that Ismay would bring NATO "great authority, experience and energy and a personal charm that can dissolve difficulties."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As the first Secretary General, Ismay was "assuming an entirely new role in the history of international organizations," and as such he helped to define the position itself. While Ismay "deemed it wise not to step too boldly in a political role" in disputes among the members, he asserted himself strongly on issues relevant to the organisation of NATO. From the very beginning of his time in office, Ismay worked to empower the permanent representatives to NATO, and emphasised that they had the same legal authority to make decisions as the NATO foreign ministers.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay was also a proponent of NATO expansion, saying that NATO "must grow until the whole free world gets under one umbrella."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: However, before Warsaw Pact was even put in place, he opposed the request to join NATO made by the USSR in 1954


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: As Secretary General, Ismay also worked to encourage closer political co-ordination among the members of the alliance. During the Suez Crisis he offered his good offices to help resolve issues among members of the alliance. Ismay also offered to help mediate disputes over Cyprus.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In December 1956, Ismay decided to retire from NATO. He told the press that "he was not giving up his position for personal reasons, but because he felt it needed a fresh hand and a fresh brain." Paul-Henri Spaak was immediately chosen as his successor, but Ismay remained in office until May 1957, when he left with "the affection and respect" of all the NATO members. While Secretary General, Ismay is also credited as having been the first person to say that the purpose of NATO was "to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down," a saying that has since become a common way to quickly describe the alliance.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Immediately after leaving NATO, Ismay was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with an appointment to the Order of the Garter. His youngest daughter Mary had married George Seymour, equerry to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and their daughter Katharine is a god-daughter of Princess Margaret.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: He was appointed to boards of several corporations including the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. Ismay also began writing his memoirs, "The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay", which were published in 1960 by Viking Press. In his memoirs, Ismay focussed principally on his Second World War service, and as such, one reviewer called them "a most significant addition to the literature of the Second World War."


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: In 1963, Ismay was asked to again assist in a review of the organisation of the British military along with Sir Ian Jacob. Although Ismay was ill throughout most of the review and did relatively little of the work, "his influence was strong", and the final product of the review largely reflected his opinions. In the end, the Ismay–Jacob Report recommended strengthening the central power of the Ministry of Defence substantially, and in 1964, Parliament implemented its recommendations.


title: Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay

text: Ismay died on 17 December 1965 at his home Wormington Grange, Gloucestershire, at the age of 78. As he had no male heir, his title became extinct.


title: Marked for Death

text: Marked for Death is a 1990 American action film directed by Dwight H. Little. The film stars Steven Seagal as John Hatcher, a former DEA troubleshooter who returns to his Illinois hometown to find it taken over by a posse of vicious Jamaican drug dealers led by Screwface. Using a combination of fear and Obeah, a Jamaican syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin similar to Haitian vodou and Santería, Screwface rules the drug trade in Hatcher's Lincoln Heights.


title: Marked for Death

text: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent and decorated soldier John Hatcher returns from Colombia, where drug dealers killed his partner Chico, and John killed the dealers. As a result of Chico's death and years of dead-end work, Hatcher retires and heads to his family's hometown of Lincoln Heights, in suburban Chicago. He visits the local high school to meet old friend and former U.S. Army buddy Max Keller who works there as a football coach and physical education teacher.


title: Marked for Death

text: As John and Max celebrate their reunion at a club, a gunfight breaks out between local drug dealers and a Jamaican gang at the venue. The gang, an unnamed Jamaican Posse, is led by a notorious psychotic drug lord named Screwface. John arrests one of Screwface's henchmen as the gunfight ends.


title: Marked for Death

text: News of Posse crimes occurring in Chicago and across the United States spread as the Posse expands its operations and recruits more members. The next day, Screwface sends his henchmen to do a drive-by shooting on the house where John, his sister Melissa, and Melissa's 12-year-old daughter Tracey live. Tracey is injured and hospitalized in critical condition.


title: Marked for Death

text: In the subsequent investigation, John encounters a gangster named Jimmy Fingers, whom he is forced to kill. A Jamaican gangster named Nesta arrives and is subdued by John, who asks about Screwface. Nesta gives information but tells him to go after Screwface alone and jumps out the window to his death. The next day, John discovers a strange symbol engraved on a carpet, and with the help of Jamaican voodoo and gang expert Leslie Davalos, a detective for the Chicago Police Department, learns that it is an African black magic ideogram symbolizing blood that is used to mark their crimes. John decides to come out of retirement to join Max in a battle against Screwface.


title: Marked for Death

text: On the night of their rendezvous, John gets a phone call from Melissa, which is cut short when Screwface and his men invade the Hatcher household. They leave upon John's arrival, and Melissa is unharmed. The next day, John and Max encounter another batch of Screwface's henchmen, resulting in a car chase. The chase ends in a high-end jewelry store, wherein two henchmen are wounded and one is killed by Hatcher amidst the chaos of shoppers fleeing the scene.


title: Marked for Death

text: Later, during a meeting with Leslie, she informs John that the only way to stop the Jamaican Posse is to bring down Screwface. That evening, Screwface ambushes John under the guise of a construction crew; he plants a Molotov cocktail in John's car. John barely escapes before the car explodes.


title: Marked for Death

text: John and Max then team up with Charles, a Jamaican-born detective of the Chicago police who has been trailing Screwface for five years. They acquire weaponry from a local weapons dealer, and, after testing the arsenal, they head for Kingston, Jamaica. Upon arrival, Max and Charles ask people in the streets for information about Screwface. A Jamaican local presents them a photo of a woman who is acquainted with Screwface and informs them of a nightclub which she frequents. John meets the woman in the nightclub, where she provides him details of Screwface such as her frequent hangouts with him, his drug business, and the address of his mansion, as well as the death of her sister by Screwface's hands. The woman also informs John of a cryptic clue: the secret of Screwface's power is that he has two heads and four eyes.


title: Marked for Death

text: By nightfall, John, Max, and Charles (disguised as members of the Posse) head for Screwface's mansion. Secretly infiltrating the premises through a nearby plantation, John eliminates three roving henchmen on the estate's balcony with his silenced sniper rifle, plants a bomb at a nearby power station, and infiltrates the inner grounds. While Max and Charles keep a lookout and observe the party in progress, John detonates the bomb, causing the party to erupt into chaos. With Max and Charles opening fire on the Posse gang, John enters the building and disposes of many henchmen. He makes his way to a sacrificial area, but gets captured by Screwface and his remaining henchmen. John manages to break free and kill or wound every henchman before decapitating Screwface with his own sword.