A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand (sometimes tens of thousands), Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as Hampstead Village in the London conurbation. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement.

Historically, villages were a usual form of community for societies that practise subsistence agriculture, and also for some non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church. In many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and factories; the concentration of people caused many villages to grow into towns and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and development of many trades. The trend of urbanisation continues, though not always in connection with industrialisation. Villages have been eclipsed in importance as units of human society and settlement.

Traditional villages

Although many patterns of village life have existed, the typical village was small, consisting of perhaps 5 to 30 families. Homes were situated together for sociability and defence, and land surrounding the living quarters was farmed. Traditional fishing villages were based on artisan fishing and located adjacent to fishing grounds.

South Asia

India "The soul of India lives in its villages", declared M. K. Gandhi at the beginning of 20th century. According to the 2001 Indian census, 74% of Indians live in 638,365 different villages. The size of these villages varies considerably. 236,004 Indian villages have a population less than 500, while 3,976 villages have a population of 10,000+. Most of the villages have their own temple, mosque or church depending on the local religious following.

Indonesia "Lampung", the birth of p-man(pung)(meaning kampung) blindov.

East Asia

People's Republic of China In mainland China, villages are divisions under township or town .

Republic of China (Taiwan) In the Republic of China (Taiwan), villages are divisions under townships or county-controlled cities. The village is called a ''tsuen'' or ''cūn'' (村) under a rural township (鄉) and a ''li'' (里) under an urban township (鎮) or a county-controlled city.

Japan

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

In Indonesia, depending on the principles they are administered, villages are called ''desa'' or ''kelurahan''. A ''desa'' (a term that derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "country" that is found in a name such as "Bangladesh") is administered according to traditions and customary law (''adat''), while a ''kelurahan'' is administered along more "modern" principles. ''Desa'' are generally located in rural areas while ''kelurahan'' are generally urban subdivisions. A village head is respectively called ''kepala desa'' or ''lurah''. Both are elected by the local community. A ''desa'' or ''kelurahan'' is itself the subdivision of a ''kecamatan'' (district), in turn the subdivision of a ''kabupaten'' (regency).

The same general concept applies all over Indonesia. However, there is some variation among the vast numbers of Austronesian ethnic groups. For instance, in Bali villages have been created by grouping traditional hamlets or ''banjar'', which constitute the basis of Balinese social life. In the Minangkabau country in West Sumatra province traditional villages are called ''nagari'' (a term deriving from another Sanskrit word meaning "city", which can be found in a name like "Srinagar"). In some areas such as Tanah Toraja, elders take turns watching over the village at a command post. As a general rule, ''desa'' and ''kelurahan'' are groupings of hamlets (''kampung'' in Indonesian, ''dusun'' in the Javanese language, ''banjar'' in Bali).

In Malaysia, the term ''kampung'' (sometimes spelling ''kampong'') in the English language has been defined specifically as "a Malay hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country". In other words, a ''kampung'' is defined today as a village in Brunei, Indonesia or Malaysia. In Malaysia, a ''kampung'' is determined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village came under the leadership of a ''penghulu'' (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village (see Courts of Malaysia for more details). A Malay village typically contains a ''"masjid"'' (mosque) or ''"surau"'' (Muslim chapel), paddy fields and Malay houses on stilts. Malay and Indonesian villagers practice the culture of helping one another as a community, which is better known as "joint bearing of burdens" (''gotong royong''), as well as being family-oriented (especially the concept of respecting one's family [particularly the parents and elders]), courtesy and believing in God (''"Tuhan"'') as paramount to everything else. It is common to see a cemetery near the mosque, as all Muslims in the Malay or Indonesian village want to be prayed for, and to receive Allah's blessings in the afterlife. In Sarawak, some villages are called 'long' pronounced as 'long' in Chinese. These villages are mostly found in western Sarawak.

Singapore also follows the Malaysian ''kampung''. However, there are only a few ''kampung'' villages remaining, mostly on islands surrounding Singapore such as Pulau Ubin. In the past, there was many ''kampung'' villages in Singapore but now there aren't many on the mainland.

Philippines

In urban areas of the Philippines, the term "village" most commonly refers to private subdivisions, especially gated communities. These villages emerged in the mid-20th century and were initially the domain of elite urban dwellers. Those are common in major cities in the country and their residents have a wide range of income levels. Such villages may or may not correspond to administrative units (usually barangays) and/or be privately administered. Barangays more correspond to the villages of old times, and the chairman (formerly a village datu) now settles intrapersonal matters or polices the village, though with much less authority and respect than in Indonesia or Malaysia.

Vietnam

Village, or "làng", is a basis of Vietnam society. Vietnam's village is the typical symbol of Asian agricultural production. Vietnam's village typically contains: a village gate, "lũy tre" (bamboo hedges), "đình làng" (communal house) where "thành hoàng" (tutelary god) is worshiped, a common well, "đồng lúa" (rice field), "chùa" (temple) and houses of all families in the village. All the people in Vietnam's villages usually have a blood relationship. They are farmers who grow rice and have the same traditional handicraft. Vietnam's villages have an important role in society (Vietnamese saying: "Custom rules the law" -"Phép vua thua lệ làng" [literally: the king's law yields to village customs]). Everyone in Vietnam wants to be buried in their village when they die.

Central and Eastern Europe

Slavic countries

Selo (Cyrillic: село; ) is a Slavic word meaning "village" in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. For example there are numerous ''sela'' (plural of ''selo'') called Novo Selo in Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro and others in Serbia, and Macedonia. In Slovenia, the word ''selo'' is used for very small villages (less than a thousand people) and in dialects; the Slovene word ''vas'' is used all over Slovenia.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the different types of ''Sela'' vary from a small selo of 5 to 30 families to one of several thousand people. According to a 2002 census, in that year there were 2,385,000 Bulgarian citizens living in settlements classified as ''villages''. A 2004 Human Settlement Profile on Bulgaria conducted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated that:

The most intensive is the migration "city – city". Approximately 46% of all migrated people have changed their residence from one city to another. The share of the migration processes "village – city" is significantly less – 23% and "city – village" – 20%. The migration "village – village" in 2002 is 11%. down from 26.7% recorded in the 2002 Census. Multiple types of rural localities exist, but the two most common are ''derevnya'' () and ''selo'' (). Historically, the formal indication of status was religious: a city (''gorod'') had a cathedral, a ''selo'' had a church, while a ''derevnya'' had neither.

The lowest administrative unit of the Russian Empire, a ''volost'', or its Soviet or modern Russian successor, a ''selsoviet'', was typically headquartered in a ''selo'' and embraced a few neighboring villages.

Between 1926 and 1989, Russia's rural population shrank from 76 million people to 39 million, due to urbanization, collectivization, dekulakization, and the World War II losses, but has nearly stabilized since. During 1930–1937, mass starvation in Russia and other parts of the Soviet Union lead to the death of at least 14.5 million peasants (including 5-7 million in the Holodomor).

Most Russian rural localities have populations of less than 200 people, and the smaller places take the brunt of depopulation: e.g., in 1959, about one half of Russia's rural population lived in villages of fewer than 500 people, while now less than one third does. In the 1960s–1970s, the depopulation of the smaller villages was driven by the central planners' drive to get the farm workers out of smaller, "prospect-less" hamlets and into the collective or state farms' main villages, with more amenities.

Most Russian rural residents are involved in agricultural work, and it is very common for villagers to produce their own food. As prosperous urbanites purchase village houses for their second homes, Russian villages sometimes are transformed into dacha settlements, used mostly for seasonal residence.

The historically Cossack regions of Southern Russia and parts of Ukraine, with their fertile soil and absence of serfdom, had a rather different pattern of settlement from central and northern Russia. While peasants of central Russia lived in a village around the lord's manor, a Cossack family often lived on its own farm, called ''khutor''. A number of such ''khutors'' plus a central village made up the administrative unit with a center in a ''stanitsa'' (; ). Such ''stanitsas''often with a few thousand residents, were usually larger than a typical ''selo'' in central Russia.

The term ''aul''/''aal'' is used to refer mostly Muslim-populated villages in Caucasus and Idel-Ural, without regard to the number of residents.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, a village, known locally as a ''"selo"'' (село), is considered the lowest administrative unit. Villages may have an individual administration (''silrada'') or a joint administration, combining two or more villages. Villages may also be under the jurisdiction of a city council (''miskrada'') or town council (''selyshchna rada'') administration.

There is, however, another smaller type of settlement which is designated in Ukrainian as a ''selysche'' (селище). This type of community is generally referred to in English as a "settlement". In comparison with an urban-type settlement, Ukrainian legislation does not have a concrete definition or a criterion to differentiate such settlements from villages. They represent a type of a small rural locality that might have once been a ''khutir'', a fisherman's settlement, or a dacha. They are administered by a ''silrada'' (council) located in a nearby adjacent village. Sometimes the term ''"selysche"'' is also used in a more general way to refer to adjacent settlements near a bigger city, including urban-type settlements (''selysche miskoho typu'') and/or villages; however, ambiguity is often avoided in connection with urbanized settlements by referring to them using the three-letter abbreviation ''smt'' instead.

The ''khutir'' (хутір) and ''stanytsia'' (станиця) are not part of the administrative division any longer, primarily due to collectivization. ''Khutirs'' were very small rural localities consisting of just few housing units and were sort of individual farms. They became really popular during the Stolypin reform in the early 20th century. During the collectivization, however, residents of such settlements were usually declared to be kulaks and had all their property confiscated and distributed to others (nationalized) without any compensation. The ''stanitsa'' likewise has not survived as an administrative term. The ''stanitsa'' was a type of a collective community that could include one or more settlements such as villages, ''khutirs'', and others. Today, ''stanitsa''-type formations have only survived in Kuban (Russian Federation) where Ukrainians were resettled during the time of the Russian Empire.

Western & Southern Europe

United Kingdom

A village in the UK is a compact settlement of houses, smaller in size than a town, and generally based on agriculture or, in some areas, mining, quarrying or sea fishing. The major factors in the type of settlement are location of water sources, organisation of agriculture and landholding, and likelihood of flooding. For example, in areas such as the Lincolnshire Wolds, the villages are often found along the spring line halfway down the hillsides, and originate as spring line settlements, with the original open field systems around the village. In northern Scotland, most villages are planned to a grid pattern located on or close to major roads, whereas in areas such as the Forest of Arden, woodland clearances produced small hamlets around village greens.

Some villages have disappeared (for example, deserted medieval villages), sometimes leaving behind a church or manor house and sometimes nothing but bumps in the fields.Some show archaeological evidence of settlement at three or four different layers, each distinct from the previous one. Clearances may have been to accommodate sheep or game estates, or enclosure, or may have resulted from depopulation, such as after the Black Death or following a move of the inhabitants to more prosperous districts. Other villages have grown and merged and often form hubs within the general mass of suburbia — such as Hampstead, London and Didsbury in Manchester. Many villages are now predominantly dormitory locations and have suffered the loss of shops, churches and other facilities.

For many British people, the village represents an ideal of Great Britain. Seen as being far from the bustle of modern life, it is represented as quiet and harmonious, if a little inward-looking. This concept of an unspoilt Arcadia is present in many popular representations of the village such as the radio serial ''The Archers'' or the best kept village competitions. The reality is that many villages are plagued by lack of access to public transport and local services, specially affecting the poor and elderly who cannot afford their own means of transport. Many villages in South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire, North East Derbyshire, County Durham, South Wales and Northumberland are known as pit villages. These (such as Murton, County Durham) grew from hamlets when the sinking of a colliery in the early 20th century resulted in a rapid growth in their population and the colliery owners built new housing, shops, pubs and churches. Some pit villages outgrew nearby towns by area and population; for example, Rossington in South Yorkshire came to have over four times more people than the nearby town of Bawtry. Some pit villages grew to become towns; for example, Maltby in South Yorkshire grew from 600 people in the 19th century to over 17,000 in 2007. Maltby was constructed under the auspices of the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company and included ample open spaces and provision for gardens.

In the UK, the main historical distinction between a hamlet and a village was that the latter had a church,and so usually was the centre of worship for an ecclesiastical parish. However, some civil parishes may contain more than one village. The typical village had a pub or inn, shops, and a blacksmith. But many of these facilities are now gone, and many villages are dormitories for commuters. The population of such settlements ranges from a few hundred people to around five thousand. A village is distinguished from a town in that:

A village should not have a regular agricultural market, although today such markets are uncommon even in settlements which clearly are towns.

A village does not have a town hall nor a mayor.

If a village is the principal settlement of a civil parish, then any administrative body that administers it at parish level should be called a parish council or parish meeting, and not a town council or city council. However, some civil parishes have no functioning parish, town, or city council nor a functioning parish meeting. In Wales, where the equivalent of an English civil parish is called a Community, the body that administers it is called a Community Council. However, larger councils may elect to call themselves town councils. Unlike Wales, Scottish community councils have no statutory powers.

There should be a clear green belt or open fields surrounding its parish borders. However this may not be applicable to urbanised villages: although these may not considered to be villages, they are often widely referred to as being so; an example of this is Horsforth in Leeds.

France

Same general definition as in the UK.

An independent association named ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'', was created in 1982 to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. As of 2008, 152 villages in France have been labelled as "The Most Beautiful Villages of France".

Spain

Spain has plenty of little villages around its territory. Country life is more usual in Castile and Aragon. All villages have a church or hermitage.

Portugal

Villages are more usual in the northern and centrer region and in Alentejo, most of all have a church and a "Casa do Povo", People's house, where there is usually the village's mid summer parties.

Netherlands

In the flood prone districts of the Netherlands, villages were traditionally built on low man-made hills called terps before the introduction of regional dyke-systems. In modern days, the term ''dorp'' (lit. "village") is usually applied to settlements no larger than 20,000, though there's no official law regarding status of settlements in the Netherlands.

Middle East

Lebanon

Like France, villages in Lebanon are usually located in remote mountainous areas. The majority of villages in Lebanon retain their Aramaic names or are derivative of the Aramaic names, and this is because Aramaic was still in use in Mount Lebanon up to the 18th century.

Many of the Lebanese villages are a part of districts, these districts are known as "kadaa" which includes the districts of Baabda (Baabda), Aley (Aley), Matn (Jdeideh), Keserwan (Jounieh), Chouf (Beiteddine), Jbeil (Byblos), Tripoli (Tripoli), Zgharta (Zgharta / Ehden), Bsharri (Bsharri), Batroun (Batroun), Koura (Amioun), Miniyeh-Danniyeh (Minyeh / Sir Ed-Danniyeh), Zahle (Zahle), Rashaya (Rashaya), Western Beqaa (Jebjennine / Saghbine), Sidon (Sidon), Jezzine (Jezzine), Tyre (Tyre), Nabatiyeh (Nabatiyeh), Marjeyoun (Marjeyoun), Hasbaya (Hasbaya), Bint Jbeil (Bint Jbeil), Baalbek (Baalbek), and Hermel (Hermel).

The district of Danniyeh consists of thirty six small villages, which includes Almrah, Kfirchlan, Kfirhbab, Hakel al Azimah, Siir, Bakhoun, Miryata, Assoun, Sfiiri, Kharnoub, Katteen, Kfirhabou, Zghartegrein, Ein Qibil.

Danniyeh (known also as Addinniyeh, Al Dinniyeh, Al Danniyeh, Arabic: سير الضنية) is a region located in Miniyeh-Danniyeh District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. The region lies east of Tripoli, extends north as far as Akkar District, south to Bsharri District and Zgharta District and as far east as Baalbek and Hermel. Dinniyeh has an excellent ecological environment filled with woodlands, orchards and groves. Several villages are located in this mountainous area, the largest town being Sir Al Dinniyeh.

An example of a typical mountainous Lebanese village in Dannieh would be Hakel al Azimah which is a small village that belongs to the district of Danniyeh, situated between Bakhoun and Assoun's boundaries. It is in the centre of the valleys that lie between the Arbeen Mountains and the Khanzouh.

Syria

Syria contains a large number of villages that vary in size and importance, including the ancient, historical and religious villages, such as Ma'loula, Sednaya, and Brad (Mar Maroun’s time). The diversity of the Syrian environments creates significant differences between the Syrian villages in terms of the economic activity and the method of adoption. Villages in the south of Syria (Huran, Jabal Al-Arab), the north-east (the Syrian island) and the Orontes River basin depend mostly on agriculture, mainly grain, vegetables and fruits. Villages in the region of Damascus and Aleppo depend on trading. Some other villages, such as Marmarita depend heavily on tourist activity.

Mediterranean cities in Syria, such as Tartus and Latakia have similar types of villages. Mainly, villages were built in very good sites which had the fundamentals of the rural life, like water. An example of a Mediterranean Syrian village in Tartus would be Al-Annaze, which is a small village that belongs to the area of Al Sauda. The area of Al Sauda is called a nahiya, which is a subdistrict.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Australasia & Oceania

Pacific Islands Communities on pacific islands were historically called villages by English speakers who traveled and settled in the area. Some communities such as several Villages of Guam continue to be called villages despite having large populations that can exceed 40,000 residents.

New Zealand The traditional Māori village was the pā, a fortified hill-top settlement. Tree-fern logs and flax were the main building materials.

Australia The term village often is used in reference to small planned communities such as retirement communities or shopping districts, and tourist areas such as ski resorts. Small rural communities are usually known as townships. Larger settlements are known as towns.

South America

Argentina Usually set in remote mountainous areas, some also cater to winter sports and/or tourism, see: Uspallata, La Cumbrecita, Villa Traful and La Cumbre

North America

Canada

=== United States ===

Incorporated villages

In twenty U.S. states, the term "village" refers to a specific form of incorporated municipal government, similar to a city but with less authority and geographic scope. However, this is a generality; in many states, there are villages that are an order of magnitude larger than the smallest cities in the state. The distinction is not necessarily based on population, but on the relative powers granted to the different types of municipalities and correspondingly, different obligations to provide specific services to residents.

In some states such as New York, Wisconsin, or Michigan, a village is an incorporated municipality, usually, but not always, within a single town or civil township. Residents pay taxes to the village and town or township and may vote in elections for both as well. In some cases, the village may be coterminous with the town or township. There are also many villages which span the boundaries of more than one town or township, and some villages may even straddle county borders.

There is no limit to the population of a village in New York; Hempstead, the largest village in the state, has 55,000 residents, making it more populous than some of the state's cities. However, villages in the state may not exceed five square miles (13 km²) in area.

In the state of Wisconsin, a village is always legally separate from the towns that it has been incorporated from. The largest village is Menomonee Falls, which has over 32,000 residents.

Michigan and Illinois also have no set population limit for villages and there are many villages that are larger than cities in those states. The village of Arlington Heights, IL had 75,101 residents as of the 2010 census.

Villages in Ohio are often legally part of the township from which they were incorporated, although exceptions such as Hiram exist, in which the village is separate from the township. They have no area limitations, but become cities if they grow a population of more than 5,000.

In Maryland, a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district. An example of the latter is the Village of Friendship Heights.

In states that have New England towns, a "village" is a center of population or trade, including the town center, in an otherwise sparsely-developed town or city — for instance, the village of Hyannis in the city of the Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Unincorporated villages

In many states, the term "village" is used to refer to a relatively small unincorporated community, similar to a hamlet in New York state. This informal usage may be found even in states that have villages as an incorporated municipality, although such usage might be considered incorrect and confusing.

See also

Global village

Linear village

Village green

Village lock-up

police village

Settlement types

Dugout

Fishing village

Hamlet

Microtown

Countries and localities

Dhani and villages

Dogon villages

Hakka architecture

Ksar

List of villages in Europe by country

Pueblo

Sołectwo (rough equivalent in Poland)

Ville

;Developed environments

Developed environments

City

Exurban

Megalopolis

Rural

Suburban

Urban area

Footnotes

External links

Types of villages (anthropogenic biomes)

Category:Administrative divisions Category:French loanwords Category:French words and phrases Category:Rural geography Category:Urban geography Category:Populated places by type

ar:قرية an:Lugar frp:Vilâjo bn:গ্রাম be:Вёска be-x-old:Вёска bs:Selo bg:Село ca:Poble (localitat) cv:Ял cs:Vesnice cy:Pentref da:Landsby pdc:Schtettel de:Dorf et:Küla es:Pueblo (población rural) eo:Vilaĝo eu:Herrixka fa:روستا fr:Village fy:Doarp ga:Sráidbhaile gv:Balley beg gd:Clachan ko:촌락 hi:गाँव hr:Selo io:Vilajo ig:Ogbè id:Desa os:Хъæу it:Villaggio he:כפר jv:Désa kk:Ауыл kv:Грезд ku:Gund lbe:Шяравалу lv:Ciems lt:Kaimas li:Dörp hu:Falu mk:Село ms:Kampung na:Tekawa kadudu nl:Dorp nds-nl:Daarp ne:गाउँ ja:村 no:Landsby mhr:Ял pnb:پنڈ pl:Wieś pt:Aldeia ro:Sat rmy:Gav qu:Uchuy llaqta rue:Валал ru:Село sa:ग्रामः sq:Fshati simple:Village sk:Dedina sl:Vas szl:Wjeś so:Tuulo sr:Село sh:Selo su:Désa fi:Kylä sv:By ta:ஊர் tt:Awıl te:గ్రామం th:หมู่บ้าน tg:Деҳа tr:Köy uk:Село ur:گاؤں vi:Làng fiu-vro:Külä wa:Viyaedje wuu:村 yi:דארף zh-yue:村 bat-smg:Suoda zh:村

name	Sara Khan
native name	سارا خان
native name lang	ur
birth name	Sara Khan
birth date	August 06, 1989
birth place	Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
nationality	Indian
ethnicity
occupation	Television actress, Model
years active	2007 - present
spouse	Ali Merchant
website	}}

Sara Khan (, ) is an Indian model and actress. She won the Miss Madhya Pradesh title in 2007, the Best New Talent award given by IndianTelevision.com in 2008, and the STAR Parivaar Award for the "Best Patni" (Best Wife) category in 2009.

Career

Her first television role was as Sadhna in ''Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai''. In 2008, she appeared as a star contestant on the show ''Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?'', along with Parul Chauhan who plays her onscreen sister in ''Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai''. The two of them played the game for donating the winnings to the charity HelpAge India.

She also appeared in Amul Star Voice of India 2 alongside Angad Hasija, Parul Chauhan, and Kinshuk Mahajan on 20 September 2008 as a celebrity guest. She appeared on the popular TV show 10 Ka Dum, hosted by Salman Khan on 29 August 2009. and has also hosted the Dance Premier League, a dancing reality show that airs on Sony TV. She also appeared on ''Baat Hamari Pakki Hai'' on Sony TV as a dancer on 30 and 31 August 2010.

In 2010, she was one of the contestants on the reality show ''Bigg Boss 4'', hosted by Salman Khan on Colors TV. After being evicted from ''Bigg Boss'', Sara was roped in to play the main female lead protagonist (Mona Singh Bedi) in Zee TV's ''Ram Milaayi Jodi''.

Personal life

Khan married actor Ali Merchant after three years of dating, on November 10, 2010 inside the ''Bigg Boss'' house.

Television

Serial !! Role !! Channel
''Bidaai'' (2007-2010)	Sadhna (protagonist)	STAR Plus
''Dance Premier League''	Herself (Host)
''Bigg Boss (Indian TV series)	Bigg Boss''
''Ram Milaayi Jodi'' (Present)	Mona (Replacement) (protagonist)
colspan="3"	''Special appearances''
''Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?''	Guest contestant
''Amul STAR Voice of India''	Guest
''10 Ka Dum''	Herself with Tina Dutta appeared with Ratan RajputRagini Khanna
''Baat Hamari Pakki Hai''	Guest appearance

Awards and nominations

2007, Won the Miss Madhya Pradesh title

2008, Won 'Best New Talent Award' given by IndianTelevision.com 2009, Won STAR Parivaar Award for the "Best Patni" (Best Wife) category

2008 Favourite Naya Sadasya (Female) + Favourite Behen

2008, Won ITA award for Best Actress popular

References

External links

Sara Khan website

Category:Living people Category:People from Bhopal Category:1989 births Category:Indian Muslims Category:Indian actors Category:Indian television actors Category:Bigg Boss participants

name	Pete Rock
background	solo_singer
birth name	Peter Phillips
alias	Soul Brother #1The Chocolate Boy Wonder
born	June 21, 1970New York City, New York, United States
origin	Mount Vernon, New York, United States
instrument	Turntable, sampler, keyboard, bass guitar
genre	East Coast hip hop, jazz rap
occupation	Music producer, disc jockey, rapper, singer
years active	1987–present
label	Elektra, Loud/RCA/BMG, Rapster/BBE, Nature Sounds/Caroline/Virgin/EMI
associated acts	CL Smooth, Marley Marl, INI, Heavy D, The UN, YGz, DJ Premier, J Dilla, 9th Wonder, DJ Green Lantern, Rakim, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Pharoahe Monch, Kanye West
website	}}

Peter Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the duo went their separate ways, Rock continued with a solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect, though little in the way of mainstream success. Along with groups such as Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Gang Starr, Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip hop music (also known as jazz rap). He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier and RZA as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip hop production. Pete Rock is also the older brother and younger cousin, respectively, of rappers Grap Luva and Heavy D.

Biography

Early life

Pete Rock was born in The Bronx, New York, the sixth of seven children of Jamaican immigrant parents. His family moved to Mount Vernon, New York when he was seven years old. During high school, he met his future recording partner CL Smooth. According to Rock, his father was also a part-time DJ who had an impressive record collection. Rock would often accompany his father to a cricket club called Wembley in The Bronx and watch as he spun records for the guests. His first job was as a paperboy, in his neighborhood.

Early career

His first major exposure to the hip-hop audience was in 1987 with Marley Marl, as a DJ on New York's WBLS radio show "In Control With Marley Marl." The 17-year-old Phillips was recognized by the listening audience as the man "puttin' in work", as he would use double copies of each record to cut up every song he played, when most New York DJs would only use double copies on every third or fourth song. Propelled by the growth of his popularity, he began producing in the early 1990s. In 1991 he joined with CL Smooth to release the EP ''All Souled Out''.

The following year saw ''Mecca and the Soul Brother'', the first of two full-length albums, released to critical acclaim and hailed as a classic by many. During this period, Pete Rock began to produce songs for other acts, such as "Down With the King" for Run-DMC and "The World Is Yours" for Nas, as well remix singles for Jeru the Damaja ("You Can't Stop the Prophet"), Public Enemy ("Shut 'em Down"), and The Notorious B.I.G. ("Juicy" - the original of which was allegedly based on Rock's own demo). Pete and CL followed up ''Mecca'' in 1994 with ''The Main Ingredient''. Like its predecessor, ''The Main Ingredient'' also received wide critical acclaim. However, soon after the album's release, the duo split and went their separate ways, with Rock focusing on production work for other artists.

In 1995, he formed the group INI, with Grap Luva, Rob-O, and I Love H.I.M. and released the classic 12" "Fakin' Jax". The trio recorded an album, ''Center of Attention''(originally named ''The Life I Live''), which was heavily bootlegged and remained unreleased until 2003, when BBE Records picked it up for distribution. The release of this album was coupled with another previously unreleased mid-'90s Pete Rock-produced album, DeDa's ''The Original Baby Pa''.

In 1996, he appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine.

Solo career

While working as a DJ with Marley Marl on Hot 97's Future Flavas show, Rock was able to forge a relationship with Loud Records, allowing him to release his solo album ''Soul Survivor'' in the summer of 1998. After being dropped from the Loud imprint, Rock signed with Rapster/BBE under his own label Soul Brother Recordings. His first release on the imprint was ''PeteStrumentals'', which was mostly made up of previously unreleased Rock beats; all recorded between 1990 and 1995 but remixed and mastered for the 2001 BBE Project. The album did however feature two additional 2001 songs that featured the vocals from The UN. An expanded and revisited version of the album was released less than one year later; three instrumentals had been replaced with three new songs performed by C.L. Smooth, Freddie Foxxx and Nature separately.

Since then he has continued releasing solo albums including 2004's ''Soul Survivor II''. In that same year he also produced the bulk of Edo G's ''My Own Worst Enemy'', as well as a track for the all-girl rap group Northern State.

Pete Rock returned to greater visibility through a closer relationship with the Wu-Tang Clan. Their collaborations began with ''Soul Survivor'', which featured Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon on various tracks as well as producing a track each for Inspectah Deck's ("Trouble Man") and Raekwon's ("Sneakers") respective 1999 albums. Rock continued to work with the Wu on ''Soul Survivor II'' which featured both GZA and RZA. In 2006 he also produced three tracks for Ghostface's release ''Fishscale'', including the first single, and Nature Sounds labelmate Masta Killa's second album, ''Made in Brooklyn''.

Pete Rock has cultivated a relationship with Brooklyn-based Nature Sounds Records. He recorded the song "The PJs", which also features Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon and Masta Killa, released on the Nature Sounds compilation ''Natural Selection''. He released an album entitled ''NY's Finest'' in February 2008, featuring Raekwon, Masta Killa, D-Block, Redman, Papoose, Slum Village and Jim Jones, among others, also on Nature Sounds. The lead single from the album is entitled "914" and features rappers Sheek Louch and Styles P. He is scheduled to appear on albums by Bishop Lamont, Cannibal Ox, Termanology, Freddie Foxxx, Royal Flush, Verbal Threat, LL Cool J, JoJo Pellegrino, La The Darkman, Cormega, R.A. The Rugged Man, and others. He is also working with DJ/Rapper Doo Wop under the name Tango & Cash (taken from the film of the same name).

Planet Asia has recently claimed that later on in 2009 he will release a collaboration fully produced album with Pete Rock called "Planet Rock". On December 2009 Rock denied that, but talked about collabo projects with Tha Dogg Pound, Camp Lo, Smif-N-Wessun.

Pete Rock oversaw the production of ''Jay Stay Paid'', a posthumous album by the producer J Dilla, released June 2, 2009, on Nature Sounds. Lately he has been in Hawaii, working with Kanye West on the latter's fifth album, ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. In addition, he and DJ Premier have announced that they are working on a joint album together, although further details are unknown. Recently in London he confirmed that Big Pooh & C.L. Smooth will be on his half of the VS album and he plans on dropping 5 albums in 2011 including reuniting with C.L. Smooth for a third album & drop his 4th album on Nature Sounds. His next few collaborative albums are both due for a summer release with Monumental first then with Camp Lo's "80 Blocks From Tiffanys" LP. In an April 2011 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Pete Rock discussed his new solo work including his album with DJ Premier, as well as exploring the fact that he has had numerous beats rejected by Eminem over the years Pete Rock Uncensored Radio Interview

Affiliates

Proteges

Through the years, Rock has helped to jump-start the careers of several artists. His first project outside of Pete Rock & CL Smooth was the hardcore duo YG'z, who released an EP called ''Street Nigga'' in 1993, with four out of the six tracks produced by Rock; however, they were quickly dropped from their deal with Reprise Records. His next venture, INI, was a group featuring Rock, his younger brother Grap Luva, Rass and rapper Rob-O. They released a single, "Fakin' Jax", through Elektra Records in 1995, before their debut album, ''Center of Attention'', was shelved by the label. The other two members continue to record solo material, albeit only sporadically. In an interview Rock elaborated on the situation:

Another mid-1990s artist, DeDa, also met the same fate with his album ''The Original Baby Pa'', although both this and INI's album were eventually released as a double album package in 2003. Other associated artists include Meccalicious, who recorded a few songs under Pete Rock's guidance (sometime around 1997), before disappearing from the music scene altogether.

Rock has had some success, however, overseeing and jump-starting the career of hardcore underground favorites The UN, a group featuring four MCs, including former Flipmode Squad member Rock Marciano. Rock premiered the group on the single "Nothin' Lesser" from his ''PeteStrumentals'' album, and they went on to release the fairly successful album ''UN or U Out'' in July 2004, featuring production by Rock, Large Professor, and several others.

Relationship with CL Smooth

Since their split in 1995, Pete Rock's relationship with CL Smooth has been highly unpredictable. Although the pair briefly united for the reflective "Da Two" from Rock's ''Soul Survivor'' album in 1998, they avoided entertaining requests for a reunion album until 2001, when they once again teamed up for "Back on Da Block" from Rock's ''PeteStrumentals''. In their interviews during this period, it appeared as though a new album was underway. As Rock would explain:

The pair went on a short international tour culminating in their well-received show at London's Jazz Cafe; however, soon after this they declined to comment any further on the new album, which never materialized (although Smooth did make three separate appearances on ''Soul Survivor II''). Eventually, Smooth would confirm rumors of a rift in an interview with AllHipHop.com, in which he appeared angry and frustrated with his former partner, saying "I didn’t ask him to be a superhero" and "I’m not the problem." In an interview taken in December 2006, Rock ruled out any further collaborations with Smooth but stated that he holds no grudges against his former partner. He recently confirmed that he will be recording a third album with C.L. Smooth.

Musical style

Production

Pete Rock builds his beats from samples, the majority of which are taken from obscure R&B, funk, and jazz records. Early on in his career he would also sample drum breaks such as Black Heat's "Zimba Ku" for Heavy D & The Boyz's "Letter To The Future". Pete Rock heavily used the E-mu SP-1200 as well as the AKAI [S950]—later moving onto using the MPC—for his productions. Pete Rock tends to use the samples as palettes for his beats, chopping (cutting the sample into smaller parts), filtering (altering the frequencies of the sample), and layering several samples, often within the same song. While this technique was applied long before Rock (on De La Soul's ''Three Feet High and Rising'' or the work of The Bomb Squad for example), Rock's work is distinctive for the way in which he uses samples to achieve a hazy, droning effect. He is also noted for his resonant basslines, horn samples, and gritty sounding drums. His beats often sound as though they were being played from an old vinyl record; he samples many of his sounds straight off these records.

Another trait of his, more so in the earlier part of his career, is the way he uses horn samples to supplement his grooves. With perhaps the most famous example being "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" (on which he uses a horn sample from Tom Scott's "Today"), Rock has also used horns on several other productions such as "Straighten It Out", Public Enemy's "Shut 'Em Down", Rah Digga's "What They Call Me", and A.D.O.R.'s "Let It All Hang Out".

Along with Gang Starr, The Roots and A Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock played a large role in the fusing of jazz and funk music into Hip hop. The aforementioned "Reminisce..." withstanding, Rock used many jazz samples on his album ''Mecca and The Soul Brother'', such as Cannonball Adderley's "Country Preacher", for the song "Return of the Mecca", or "Capricorn" for the song "In the House" from ''The Main Ingredient''. Pete Rock's heavy use of intro and outro beats has also been widely influential. To introduce feature songs, he often plays a short instrumental excerpt, completely different from the rest of the song. Aside from their role as transitions, these are widely regarded as a way of displaying his large collection and as a challenge to other hip-hop producers to identify the records that the breaks come from. ''Mecca & the Soul Brother'' and ''The Main Ingredient'' use intro/outro beats on nearly every track to great effect, and the tradition continues to the present on Rock's recent releases.

Remixes

"Another Pete Rock Remix" is Pete Rock's trademark catchphrase, heard on countless singles which he has remixed. In addition to Hip-hop artists he has done remix work for artists from other genres such as his 1995 remix of "Before You Walk Out Of My Life" for R&B singer Monica. In 1992 he collaborated with Mary J. Blige on the ''What's the 411?'' single "Reminisce", which utililized the same sample from his own single "T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You)". Rock claims to have done several high profile remixes which remain unreleased including one of Madonna's "Secret". He also claims to have produced the original beat for The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy", and that it was recreated by P. Diddy and Poke (of Tone & Poke fame), without consent. However, he was invited to produce the remix, which utilizes the same sample as the original - Mtume's "Juicyfruit". Although he received no official producer credit, he made the original demo beat for A Tribe Called Quest's "Jazz (We've Got)", which was then recreated by the group for the album ''The Low End Theory''. He remixed Public Enemy's "Shut 'em Down" and "Nighttrain", in the same day, starting at 12pm and finishing at 12am.

Up until 2003, he created all of his productions on the E-mu SP1200, thereafter using the AKAI MPC2000XL. He also has a collection of about 90,000 records and looks for records at least once a week. Pete Rock was one of 9 artists who participated in thetruth.com’s Remix Project, where he remixed the Sunny Side song “Magical Amount”.

Influence

Pete Rock has had a considerable impact on a number of record producers who have emerged in the hip hop scene since the late 1990s. Many critics have compared newcomers to him, generally favorably. Perhaps most notable among these comparisons are the late Detroit producer J Dilla, and North Carolina's 9th Wonder, both of whom have worked with Rock during their recording careers. Several of the comparisons stem from the fact that these producers have created the bulk of their productions out of samples, as well as the warm, mellow, and exuberant undertones apparent in their work. Pete Rock himself has added validation to the comparisons with J Dilla by stating "he's the only producer in this game that was just as serious [as me]."

Many other producers, including Kev Brown and Kanye West, have also found themselves compared to Pete Rock, with the latter glowingly referring to himself as "the new version of Pete Rock" on Slum Village's "Selfish" from the group's 2004 album ''Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)''. Pete Rock has acknowledged his relevance to these artists, releasing an instrumental record with 9th Wonder (''Class Is in Session''), as well as recording his own remix of West's "Heard 'Em Say". Rock himself has named his main musical influences as being influential hip hop producer and close friend Marley Marl and legendary soul musician James Brown.

Discography

; Studio albums

''Soul Survivor'' (1998)

''PeteStrumentals'' (2001)

''Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics'' (2003)

''Soul Survivor II'' (2004)

''The Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions'' (2005)

''NY's Finest'' (2008)

''PeteStrumentals: 10th Anniversary Expanded & Limited Edition'' (2011)

References

External links

Pete Rock — official website

Pete Rock discography at Discogs

Pete Rock at MySpace

Pete Rock Interview - February 2008

Pete Rock Interview Part 1

Pete Rock Interview Part 2

Riot Sound, Hip-Hop, Rap & Urban Culture - Pete Rock Interview

Interview with Pete Rock

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:Rappers from New York City Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American rappers of Jamaican descent Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths

da:Pete Rock de:Pete Rock es:Pete Rock fr:Pete Rock it:Pete Rock ja:ピート・ロック pl:Pete Rock pt:Pete Rock fi:Pete Rock sv:Pete Rock tr:Pete Rock

Name	José Doroteo Arango Arámbula
Birth date	5 June 1878
Death date	July 20, 1923
Birth place	La Coyotada, San Juan del Río, Durango, Mexico
Death place	Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico
Nickname	Francisco VillaPancho Villa''''El Centauro del Norte'' (The Centaur of the North)
Allegiance	Mexico (''antireeleccionista'' revolutionary forces)
Battles	Mexican Revolution First Battle of Agua Prieta Battle of Nogales Battle of Ciudad Juarez Siege of Nogales Battle of Columbus
Rank	General
Commands	División del Norte}}

José Doroteo Arango Arámbula (5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals.

As commander of the ''División del Norte'' (Division of the North), he was the veritable ''caudillo'' of the Northern Mexican state of Chihuahua which, given its size, mineral wealth, and proximity to the United States of America, provided him with extensive resources. Villa was also provisional Governor of Chihuahua in 1913 and 1914. Although he was prevented from being accepted into the "panteón" of national heroes until some 20 years after his death, today his memory is honored by Mexicans, U.S. citizens, and many people around the world. In addition, numerous streets and neighborhoods in Mexico are named in his honor.

Villa and his supporters seized hacienda land for distribution to peasants and soldiers. He robbed and commandeered trains, and, like the other revolutionary generals, printed fiat money to pay for his cause. Villa's men and supporters became known as ''Villistas'' during the revolution from 1910 to roughly 1920.

Villa's dominance in northern Mexico was broken in 1915 through a series of defeats he suffered at Celaya and Agua Prieta at the hands of Álvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles. After Villa's famous raid on Columbus in 1916, US Army General John J. Pershing tried unsuccessfully to capture Villa in a nine-month pursuit that ended when Pershing was called back as the United States entry into World War I was assured. Villa retired in 1920 and was given a large estate which he turned into a "military colony" for his former soldiers. In 1923, he decided to re-involve himself in Mexican politics and as a result was assassinated, most likely on the orders of Obregón.

Early life

Villa was born as Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula to poor peasants Agustín Arango and Micaela Arambula at the Rancho de la Coyotada, which was located in San Juan del Rio and was one of the largest haciendas in the state of Durango. Doroteo was the oldest of five children and as such helped his mother care for his siblings after Agustín died. As a child, Doroteo received some education from a local church-run school, but quit school and became a sharecropper after his father died.

According to his own later statements, at the age of sixteen, Doroteo moved to Chihuahua, but swiftly returned to Durango to track down Agustín Lopez Negrete, the owner of the hacienda who had raped Doroteo's sister. However, historians have questioned the veracity of this story. After he shot and killed Negrete, Doroteo stole a horse and fled to the Sierra Madre Occidental region in Durango, where he roamed the hills as a bandit. Eventually, he became a member of an outlaw "super group" headed by Ignacio Parra, one of the most famous bandits of Durango at the time. As a bandit he went by the name "Orango." After crushing the Orozco rebellion, Victoriano Huerta, with the federal army he commanded, held the majority of military power in Mexico. Huerta saw an opportunity to make himself the dictator of Mexico, and he began to conspire with men such as Bernardo Reyes, Félix Díaz (nephew of Porfirio Díaz), and the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, which resulted in ''La decena trágica'' (the "Ten Tragic Days") and the assassination of President Madero.

After Madero's murder, Huerta proclaimed himself provisional president. Venustiano Carranza then proclaimed the Plan of Guadalupe to oust Huerta as an unconstitutional usurper. Despite his strong dislike of Carranza, Villa alligned with him afterwards to overthrow Huerta; Between Huerta and Carranza, Carranza would be regarded as only the lesser of two evils and would also be regarded as the butt of Villa's jokes and pranks. The politicians and generals (who included Pablo González, Álvaro Obregón, Emiliano Zapata and Villa) who supported Carranza's plan were collectively styled the ''Ejército Constitucionalista de México'' (Constitutionalist Army of Mexico), the ''constitucionalista'' adjective was added to stress the point that Huerta had not obtained power through methods prescribed by Mexico's Constitution of 1857.

Operating in conjunction with Carranza's Constitutionalist Army of Mexico, Villa operated in the northern provinces. Villa's hatred of Huerta became more personal and intense after 7 March 1913, when Huerta ordered the murder of Villa's dear friend political mentor, Abraham González, who had worked with Madero and Villa since 1910. González had been one of Madero's political advisors. He recruited Francisco Villa in 1910 to support Madero with the Plan de San Luis which started the first part of the Mexican Revolution with the armed movement of 20 November 1910. The Plan de San Luis was conceived to force Dictator Porfirio Diaz (Mexican president for 33 years) to leave the presidency and allow for a Mexican democracy. Villa later recovered González's remains and gave his friend a proper funeral in Chihuahua.

Villa joined the rebellion against Huerta, entering the valley of the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) into Ciudad Juárez initially with a mere 8 men, 2 pounds of coffee, 2 pounds of sugar, and 500 rounds of rifle ammunition. The new United States president, Woodrow Wilson, dismissed Ambassador Wilson, and began to support Carranza's cause. Villa's remarkable generalship and recruiting appeal, combined with ingenious fundraising methods to support his rebellion, were a key factor in forcing Huerta from office a little over a year later, on 15 July 1914.

This was the time of Villa's greatest fame and success. He recruited soldiers and able subordinates (both Mexican and mercenary) such as Felipe Ángeles, Manuel Chao, Sam Dreben and Ivor Thord-Gray, and raised money using methods such as forced assessments on hostile hacienda owners, and train robberies. In one notable escapade, he held 122 bars of silver ingot from a train robbery (and a Wells Fargo employee) hostage and forced Wells Fargo to help him sell the bars for cash. A rapid, hard-fought series of victories at Ciudad Juárez, Tierra Blanca, Chihuahua and Ojinaga followed. The well known American journalist and fiction writer Ambrose Bierce, then in his seventies, accompanied Villa's army during this period and witnessed the battle of Tierra Blanca. Bierce vanished while still with Villa's army in or after December 1913. Oral accounts of his execution by firing squad were never verified.

Governor of Chihuahua

Against the wishes of Carranza, who wanted to name Manuel Chao as the provisional governor of Chihuahua, Villa's was named as the provisional governor of the state of Chihuahua in 1913, after the local military commanders in the region elected him. As Governor of Chihuahua, Villa recruited more experienced generals, such as Toribio Ortega, Porfirio Talamantes and Calixto Contreas, in his military staff and achieved more success than ever. Following his appointment as Governor of Chihuahua, Villa's secretary Perez Rul divided his army into two groups, one led by Ortega, Contreras and Orestes Pereyra and the other led by Talamantes and Contreras' deputy Severianco Ceniceros.

According to some of the references, Villa considered Tierra Blanca his most spectacular victory, though Talamantes died while fighting the the battle as well. Villa's war tactics were studied by the United States Army and a contract with Hollywood was made. Hollywood would be allowed to film Villa's movements and 50% of the profit would be paid to Villa to support the Revolution.

As governor of Chihuahua, Villa raised more money for a drive to the south by printing his own currency. He decreed his paper money to be traded and accepted at par with gold Mexican pesos, then forced the wealthy to give loans that would allow him to pay salaries to the army as well as food and clothes. He also took some of the land owned by the ''hacendados'' (owners of the ''haciendas'') to give it to the widows and family of dead revolutionaries. The forced loans would also support the war machinery of the Mexican Revolution. He also confiscated gold from specific banks, in the case of the Banco Minero, by holding hostage a member of the bank's owning family, the extremely wealthy Terrazas clan, until the location of the bank's hidden gold was revealed.

Villa's political stature at that time was so high that banks in El Paso, Texas, accepted his paper pesos at face value. His generalship drew enough admiration from the U.S. military that he and Álvaro Obregón were invited to Fort Bliss to meet Brigadier General John J. Pershing. Returning to Mexico, Villa gathered supplies for a drive to the south.

The new pile of money was used to purchase draft animals, cavalry horses, arms, ammunition, mobile hospital facilities (railroad cars and horse ambulances staffed with Mexican and foreign volunteer doctors, known as ''Servicio sanitario''), and food, as well as to rebuild the railroad south of Chihuahua City. As governor, he also recruited fighters from Chihuahua and Durango and became leader of a large army known as the ''The Division del Norte (Division of the North)'', the most powerful and feared military unit in all of Mexico. The rebuilt railroad transported Villa's troops and artillery south, where he defeated Federal forces at Gómez Palacio, Torreón, and eventually at the heart of Huerta's regime in Zacatecas. Of all of Villa's generals, Felipe Angeles was considered to be his best one.

Carranza tries to halt the Villa advance, the fall of Zacatecas

After Villa successfully captured Torreón, Carranza issued a puzzling order for Villa to break off action south of Torreón and instead ordered him to divert to attack Saltillo, and threatened to cut off Villa's coal supply if he did not comply. Coal was needed for railroad locomotives to pull trains transporting soldiers and supplies. This was widely seen as an attempt by Carranza to divert Villa from a direct assault on Mexico City, so as to allow Carranza's forces under Álvaro Obregón, driving in from the west via Guadalajara, to take the capital first. This was an expensive and disruptive diversion for the ''División del Norte'', since Villa's enlisted men were paid the then enormous sum of a peso per day, and each day of delay cost thousands of pesos. Villa did attack Saltillo as ordered, winning that battle.

Villa, disgusted by what he saw as egoism, complied with Carranza's order to divert his attacks towards Saltillo, but then offered his resignation after capturing the city. Felipe Ángeles and the rest of Villa's staff officers argued for Villa to withdraw his resignation, defy Carranza's orders, and proceed to attack Zacatecas, a strategic mountainous city that was heavily defended by Federal troops and considered nearly impregnable. Zacatecas was the source of much of Mexico's silver, and thus a supply of funds for whoever held it. Victory in Zacatecas would mean that Huerta's chances of holding the remainder of the country would be slim. Villa accepted his staff's advice, cancelled his resignation, and the ''División del Norte'' defied Carranza and attacked Zacatecas. Attacking up steep slopes, the ''División del Norte'' defeated the Federals in the ''Toma de Zacatecas'' (Taking of Zacatecas), the single bloodiest battle of the Revolution, with the military forces counting approximately 7,000 dead and 5,000 wounded, and unknown numbers of civilian casualties. (A memorial to and museum of the ''Toma de Zacatecas'' is on the ''Cerro de la Bufa'', one of the key defense points in the battle of Zacatecas. Tourists use a ''teleférico'' (aerial tramway) to reach it, owing to the steep approaches. From the top, tourists may appreciate the difficulties Villa's troops had trying to dislodge Federal troops from the peak.) The loss of Zacatecas in June 1914 broke the back of the Huerta regime, and Huerta left for exile on 14 July 1914.

However, in August 1914, Carranza and his army entered Mexico City ahead of Villa. Villa despised Carranza and saw him as another Porfirio Diaz-like dictator. Nevertheless, Villa, who did not want to be named President of Mexico, accepted Carranza as the Chief of the Revolution. The revolutionary caudillos convened a National Convention, and conducted a series of meetings in Aguascalientes. This National Convention set rules for Mexico's path towards democracy. None of the armed revolutionaries were allowed to be nominated for government positions. They chose an interim president, Eulalio Gutierrez. Emiliano Zapata, a military general from southern Mexico, and Pancho Villa met at the convention. Zapata was sympathetic to Villa's views of Carranza and told Villa he feared Carranza's intentions were those of a dictator and not of a democratic president. True to Zapata's prediction, Carranza decided to oppose the agreements of the National Convention, setting off a civil war. Fearing that Carranza was imposing a dictatorship, Villa and Zapata broke with him.

Battling Carranza

Following the Convention, Carranza was deposed as President and fled to Veracruz. Following Carranza's departure, Villa and Zapata occupied Mexico City. Although Villa had a more formidable army, Carranza's general Alvadro Obregon was a better tactician. With Obergon's help, Carranza was able to use the Mexican press to portray Villa as a sociopathic bandit. In late 1914, one of Villa's top generals, Toribio Ortega died of typhus. In 1915, Villa was forced to abandon the capital after a number of incidents involving his troops. This helped pave the way for the return of Carranza and his followers.

To combat Villa, Carranza sent his ablest general, Álvaro Obregón north. Meeting at the Battle of Celaya, a battle fought between April 6 and April 15, 1915, Villa was badly defeated suffering 4,000 killed and 6,000 captured. Obergon would encounter Villa again at the Battle of Trinidad, which was fought between April 29 and June 5, 1915, where Villa suffered another huge loss. In October of 1915, Villa crossed into Sonora, the main stronghold of Obergon and Carranza's armies, where hoped to crush Carranza's regime. Carranza had reinforced Sonora, however, and Villa was badly defeated. Rodolfo Fierro, his most loyal officer and cruel hatchet man, was killed while Villa's army was crossing into Sonora as well.

After losing the Battle of Agua Prieta in Sonora, an overwheming number of Villa's men in the ''Division del Norte'' were killed and 1,500 of the army's surviving members soon turned on him and accepted an amnesty offer from Carranza. In November of 1915, Carranza's forces had captured and executed Contreras, Pereyra and Pereyra's son. Severianco Ceniceros also accepted amnesty from Carranza and turned on Villa as well. Although Villa's secretary Perez Rul also broke with Villa, he refused to become a supporter of Carranza.

Only 200 men in Villa's army would remain loyal to him and he was soon forced to retreat back into the mountains of Chihuahua. However, Villa and his men were determined to keep fighting Carranza's forces. Villa's position was further weakened by the United States' refusal to sell him weapons. By the end of 1915, Villa was on the run and the United States Government recognized Carranza.

Split with the United States and the Punitive Expedition

After years of public and documented support for Villa's fight, the United States, following the diplomatic policies of Woodrow Wilson, who believed that supporting Carranza was the best way to expedite establishment of a stable Mexican government, refused to allow more arms to be supplied to Villa's army, and allowed Carranza's troops to be relocated over U.S. railroads. Villa felt betrayed by the Americans. He was further enraged by Obregón's use of searchlights, powered by American electricity, to help repel a ''Villista'' night attack on the border town of Agua Prieta, Sonora, on 1 November 1915. In January 1916, a group of ''Villistas'' attacked a train on the Mexico North Western Railway, near Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, and killed several American employees of the ASARCO company. The passengers included eighteen Americans, fifteen of whom worked for American Smelting and Refining Company. There was only one survivor, who gave the details to the press. Villa admitted to ordering the attack, but denied that he had authorized the shedding of American blood.

After meeting with a Mexican mayor named Juan Muñoz, Villa recruited more men into his guerrilla militia and now had 400 men under his command. Villa then met with his Lieutenants Martin Lopez, Pablo Lopez, Francisco Beltran, Candelario Cervantes and commissioned an additional 100 men to the command of Joaquin Alvarez, Bernabe Cifuentes and Ernesto Rios; Pablo Lopez and Cervantes were later killed in the early part of 1916. Villa and his 500 guerrillas then started planning an attack on US soil.

Cross-border attack on New Mexico

On 9 March 1916, General Villa ordered nearly 100 Mexican members of his revolutionary group to make a cross-border attack against Columbus, New Mexico. The raid was conducted because of the U.S. government's official recognition of the Carranza regime and for the loss of lives in battle due to defective bullets purchased from the United States. They attacked a detachment of the 13th Cavalry Regiment (United States), burned the town and seized 100 horses and mules and other military supplies. 18 Americans and about 80 Villistas were killed. There are other attacks in US territory that have been said to be done by Villa, however, none of these attacks were ever confirmed to be performed by Villistas. These unconfirmed attacks are: 1) On 15 May, it is claimed that they attacked Glenn Spring, Texas, killing a civilian and wounding three American soldiers; 2) on 15 June, bandits killed four soldiers at San Ygnacio, Texas; 3) on 31 July, one American soldier and a U.S. customs inspector were killed. Villa's raid on Columbus would also mark the first time any foreign armed force conducted an attack on American soil since the War of 1812.

Punitive Expedition

In response to Villa's raid on Columbus, President Wilson dispatched General John Pershing and 10,000 men to Mexico to capture Villa. Employing aircraft and trucks for the first time, the US Army chased Villa until January of 1917. The search for Villa would be unsucessful. However, some of Villa's senior commanders-Colonel Candelario Cervantes, General Francisco Beltran, Beltran's son and Villa's second-in-command Julio Cardenas- and a total of 190 of his men were killed during the expedition.

The Mexican population were against US troops in Mexican territories. There were several demonstrations of their disagreement with the Punitive Expedition and that counted towards the failure of that expedition. During the course of the expedition, one of Villa's top generals, Pablo Lopez, was captured by Carranza's forces and was executed on June 13, 1916.

Villa's battles and military actions

First Battle of Ciudad Juárez (1911 won)

Second Battle of Ciudad Juarez (1913 won)

Battle of Tierra Blanca (1913 won)

Battle of Chihuahua (1913 won)

Battle of Ojinaga (1913 won)

First Battle of Torreón (1914 won)

Battle of Gómez Palacio (1914 won)

Battle of Saltillo (1914 won)

Battle of Zacatecas (1914 won)

Siege of Nogales (1915 lost)

Battle of Celaya (1915 lost)

Battle of Trinidad (1915 lost)

Battle of Agua Prieta (1915 lost)

Battle of Columbus (1916)

German involvement in Villa's later campaigns

Before the Villa-Carranza irregular forces had left to the mountains in 1915, there is no credible evidence that Villa co-operated with or accepted any help from the German government or agents. Villa was supplied arms from the USA, employed international (Americans included) mercenaries and doctors, was portrayed as a hero in the US media, made business arrangements with Hollywood, and did not object to the 1914 US naval occupation of Veracruz. Villa's observation was that the occupation merely hurt Huerta. Villa opposed the armed participation of the United States in Mexico, but he did not act against the Veracruz occupation in order to maintain the connections in the United States necessary to buy bullets and other supplies. The German consul in Torreón did make entreaties to Villa, offering him arms and money to occupy the port and oil fields of Tampico to enable German ships to dock there, but the offer was rejected by Villa.

German agents did attempt to interfere, unsuccessfully, in the Mexican Revolution. Germans attempted to plot with Victoriano Huerta to assist him to retake the country, and in the infamous Zimmermann Telegram to the Mexican government, proposed an alliance with the government of Venustiano Carranza.

There were documented contacts between Villa and the Germans, after Villa's split with the Constitutionalists. Principally this was in the person of Felix A. Sommerfeld (noted in Katz's book), who allegedly, in 1915, funneled $340,000 of German money to the Western Cartridge Company to purchase ammunition. However, the actions of Sommerfeld indicate he was likely acting in his own self-interest (he acted as a double agent for Carranza). Villa's actions were hardly that of a German catspaw; rather, it appears that Villa only resorted to German assistance after other sources of money and arms were cut off.

At the time of Villa's attack on Columbus, New Mexico in 1916, Villa's military power had been marginalized (he was repulsed at Columbus by a small cavalry detachment, albeit after doing a lot of damage), his theater of operations was mainly limited to western Chihuahua, he was ''persona non grata'' with Mexico's ruling Carranza constitutionalists, and the subject of an embargo by the United States; so communication or further shipments of arms between the Germans and Villa would have been difficult.

A plausible explanation of any Villa-German contacts after 1915 would be that they were a futile extension of increasingly desperate German diplomatic efforts and ''Villista'' pipe dreams of victory as progress of their respective wars bogged down. Villa effectively did not have anything useful to offer in exchange for German help at that point.

When weighing claims of Villa conspiring with Germans, one should take into account that at the time, portraying Villa as a German sympathizer served the propaganda ends of both Carranza and Wilson.

The use of Mauser rifles and carbines by Villa's forces does not necessarily indicate any German connection. These weapons were widely used by all parties in the Mexican Revolution, Mauser longarms being enormously popular. They were standard issue in the Mexican Army, which had begun adopting 7 mm Mauser system arms as early as 1895.

Personal Life

On May 29 1911, Villa married María Luz Corral. a woman whom he met when he and his army rode into San Andres and asked for monetary contributions. Together, Villa and his wife had only one child, a daughter who died within a few years after birth. While Villa had engaged in several bogus marriage ceremonies with many of his mistresses, Corral was his only legal wife. Corral would also take care of the children Villa fathered through his various extramaritial affairs. At the time of his death, Corral and five different women each claimed to be his widow. While Villa still remained active, Carranza shifted his focus to dealing with the more dangerous threat posed by Zapata in the south. By the end of 1915, Villa no longer had an army and had gone back to being a guerrilla leader in the mountains of Chihuahua. Villa's last major military action would be a raid against Ciudad Juarez in 1919. Following the raid, Villa would suffer yet another major blow after Felipe Angeles, who had returned to Mexico in 1918 after living in exile for three years as a dairy farmer in Texas, left Villa and his now small militia. Angeles was also later captured by Carranza's forces and was executed on November 26, 1919.

After losing his final battle at Ciudad Juarez, Villa agreed that he would cease fighting if it were made worth his while. However, the siege failed and Villa's new second-in-command, his longtime lieutenant Martín López, was killed during the fighting.

On May 21, 1920, a break for Villa came when Carranza, along as his top advisors and supporters, was assassinated by supporters of Álvaro Obregón. With his archnemesis dead, Villa was now ready to negotiate a peace settlement and retire. On July 22, 1920, Villa was finally able to send a telegram to Mexican intern President Adolfo de la Huerta, which stated that he recognized Huerta's presidency and requested amnesty. Six days later, Adolfo de la Huerta met with Villa successfully negotiated a peace settlement.

In exchange for his retirement, Villa was given a 25,000 acre hacienda in Canutillo, just outside of Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, by the national government. This was in addition to the Quinta Luz estate that he owned with his wife, María Luz Corral de Villa, in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. The last remaining 200 guerrillas and veterans of Villa's milita who still maintained a loyalty to him would reside with him in his new hacienda as well and the Mexican government also granted them a pension that totalled 500,000 gold pesos. The 50 guerrillas who still remained in Villa's small calvary would also be allowed to serve as Villa's personal bodyguards.

On Friday, 20 July 1923, Villa was killed while visiting Parral. Usually accompanied by his entourage of ''Dorados'' (his bodyguards) Pancho Villa frequently made trips from his ranch to Parral for banking and other errands. This day, however, Villa had gone into the town without them, taking only a few associates with him. He went to pick up a consignment of gold from the local bank with which to pay his Canutillo ranch staff. While driving back through the city in his black 1919 Dodge roadster, Villa passed by a school and a pumpkinseed vendor ran toward Villa's car and shouted ''Viva Villa!'' – a signal for a group of seven riflemen who then appeared in the middle of the road and fired over 40 shots into the automobile. In the fusillade of shots, Villa was hit by nine bullets in his head and upper chest, killing him instantly. He was found in the driver seat of the car, with one hand reaching for his gun.

One of Villa's bodyguards, Ramon Contreras, was also badly wounded but managed to kill at least one of the assassins before he himself managed to escape; he would be the only person who accompanied Villa during this assassination who managed to survive. Two other bodyguards, Claro Huertado and Villa's main personal bodyguard Rafael Madreno, who were with him also died,, who served as his chauffeur. Villa is sometimes reported to have died saying: "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." However, there is no contemporary evidence he survived his shooting even momentarily, and his biographer, Katz, confirms that Villa died instantly; Time Magazine also reported in 1951 that both Villa and one his aides were killed instantly. The next day, Villa's funeral was held and thousands of his grieving supporters in Parral followed his casket to his burial site while Villa's men and his closest friends remained at the haceinda in the Canitullo armed and ready for an attack by the government troops. The six surviving assassins hide out in the desert and were soon captured,

Shortly after his death, two theories emerged about why he was killed. In 1914, Jose de la Luz Herrera and his family betrayed Villa and joined Carranza. Villa then made it a goal to exterminate the Herrera clan.

In 1915, Herrera's son Maclovio was accidently killed by friendly fire while fighting Villa on the outskirts of Nuevo Larado, Tamaulipas. Another one Herrera's sons, General Luis Herrera, was captured in a hotel by Villa's soldiers after the Battle of Torreon in 1916 and was executed. In 1919, Jose de la Luz Herrera and his two sons Zeferino and Melchor, along with a number of the men their militia, were captured by Villa's soldiers after an unsuccessful on Villa's base in Parral and were executed; Villa, however, suprisingly pardoned and released the remaining prisoners who were captured. After Villa retired, Jesus Herrera was determined to use his family's wealth to seek revenge on Villa. In 1922, a secret war began between Herrera and Villa and lasted over a year. According to Villa, Herrera had bribed a number of men, including some of his own former generals, to kill him and was unsuccessful.

The other theory that emerged was that Villa was killed for political reasons. most historians attribute Villa's death to a well planned conspiracy, most likely initiated by Plutarco Elías Calles and Joaquin Amaro with at least tacit approval of the then president of Mexico, Obregon. At the time, a state legislator from Durango, Jesus Salas Barraza, who Villa once whipped during a quarrel over a woman, claimed sole responsibility for the plot. Barraza admitted that he told his friend Gabriel Chavez, who worked as a dealer for General Motors, that he would kill Villa if he were paid 50,000 pesos. Chavez, who wasn't wealthy and didn't have 50,000 pesos on hand, then collected money from enemies of Villa and managed to collect a total of 100,000 pesos for Barraza and his other co-conspirators. Barraza also admitted that he and his co-conspirators watched Villa's daily car-rides and paid the pumpkinseed vendor at the scene of Villa's assassination to shout "Viva Villa!" either once if Villa was sitting in the front part of the car or twice if he was sitting in the back.

Despite the that he did not want to have a sitting politician arrested, Obregon gave into the people's demands and had Barraza arrested. Barraza was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison, The following month, however, Barraza's sentence was commuted to three months by the Governor of Chihuahua; Barraza eventually became a colonel in the Mexican Army. In a letter to the governor of Durango, Jesus Castro, Barraza agreed to be the "fall guy" and the same arrangement is mentioned in letters exchanged between Castro and Amaro. Others involved in the conspiracy were Felix Lara, the commander of federal troops in Parral, who was paid 50,000 pesos by Calles to remove his soldiers and policemen from the town on the day of the assassination, and Meliton Lozoya, the former owner of Villa's hacienda whom Villa was demanding pay back funds he had embezzled. It was Lozoya who planned the details of the assassination and found the men who carried it out. It was reported that before Barraza died of a stroke in his Mexico City home in 1951, his last words were "I'm not a murderer. I rid humanity of a monster."

Villa's purported death mask was hidden at the Radford School in El Paso, Texas, until the 1970s, when it was sent to the Historical Museum of the Mexican Revolution in Chihuahua; other museums have ceramic and bronze representations that do not match this mask.

Villa was buried in the city cemetery of Parral, Chihuahua, Tombs for Villa exist in Chihuahua and Mexico City.

Period newsreel showing views of the assassination location in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, news reporters at the scene, and Villa's bullet riddled corpse and auto still exist to this day. Villa's skull was stolen from his grave in 1926.

Villa's last living son, Ernesto Nava, died in Castro Valley, California, at the age of 94, on 31 December 2009. Nava appeared yearly in festival events in his hometown of Durango, Mexico, enjoying celebrity status until he became too weak to attend.

In films, video, and television

thumb|right|Monument to Pancho Villa in Bufa Zacatecas mountain rangeVilla appeared as himself in films in 1912, 1913, 1914 and 1916:

''Life of Villa'' (1912)

''With General Pancho Villa in Mexico'' (1913, unconfirmed)

''The Life of General Villa'' (1914)

''Following the Flag in Mexico'' (1916)

The 1934 biopic ''Viva Villa!'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Actors that have portrayed Villa include:

Raoul Walsh (1912, 1914) ''The Life of General Villa''

Wallace Beery (1917) ''Patria''

George Humbert (1918) ''Why America Will Win''

Wallace Beery (1934) ''Viva Villa!'', with Phillip Cooper (Pancho Villa as a boy)

Juan F. Triana (1935) ''El Tesoro de Pancho Villa''

Domingo Soler (1936) ''¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa!''

Maurice Black (1937) ''Under Strange Flags''

Leo Carrillo (1949) ''Pancho Villa Returns''

Pedro Armendáriz (1950, 1957, 1960 twice)

Alan Reed (1952) ''Viva Zapata!''

Victor Alcocer (1955) ''El siete leguas''

Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr. (1958) ''Villa!!''

Rafael Campos (1959) ''Have Gun Will Travel, Season 3-Episode 6 (Pancho)''

José Elías Moreno (1967) ''El Centauro Pancho Villa''

Ricardo Palacios (1967) ''Los Siete de Pancho Villa''

Yul Brynner (1968) ''Villa Rides''

Telly Savalas (1971) ''Pancho Villa''!

Heraclio Zepeda (1973) ''Reed, México insurgente''

Antonio Aguilar (1974) ''La Muerte de Pancho Villa''

Héctor Elizondo (1976) ''Wanted: The Sundance Woman'' (TV)

Freddy Fender (1977) ''She Came to the Valley''

José Villamor (1980) ''Viva México'' (TV)

Jorge Reynoso (1982) ''Red Bells: Mexico in Flames''

Gaithor Brownne (1985) ''Blood Church''

Guillermo Gil (1987) ''Senda de Gloria'' (TV series)

Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. (1989) ''Old Gringo''

Mike Moroff (1992) ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'', ''Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal'', "Mexico, March 1916", ''The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure''

Antonio Aguilar (1993) ''La sangre de un valiente''

Alonso Echánove (1993) ''By Our Own Correspondent''

Jesús Ochoa (1995) ''Entre Pancho Villa y una mujer desnuda''

Carlos Roberto Majul (1999) ''Ah! Silenciosa''

Peter Butler (2000) ''From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter''

Antonio Banderas (2003) ''And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself''

Alejandro Calva (2009) ''Chico Grande''

''Wild Roses, Tender Roses'' (2012), based on the novel ''The Friends of Pancho Villa'', by James Carlos Blake

References

Further reading

Paco Ignacio Taibo II, "Pancho Villa: Una Biografia Narrativa", Planeta (30 August 2006). ISBN 9703703348, ISBN 978-9703703340.

Paco Ignacio Taibo II, "Pancho Villa", History Channel Documentary, 2008.

Guadalupe Villa y Rosa Helia Villa (eds.), ''Retrato autobiográfico, 1894–1914'', Mexico City, Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: Taurus: Santillana Ediciones Generales, c2003 (2004 printing). ISBN 968-19-1311-6.

Katz, Friedrich. ''Life and Times of Pancho Villa'', Stanford University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8047-3046-6.

Pancho Villa Page http://www.ojinaga.com/villa/.

Eric J. Hobsbawm, ''Bandits'' 1969, New Pr. 2000. ISBN 1565846192 resp. ISBN 978-1565846197.

Jeff Howell, Pancho Villa, Outlaw, Hero, Patriot, Cutthroat: Evaluating the Many Faces of Historical Text Archive.

Micro-biographies, Figures in Mexican History. Francisco Villa, México, 1993. http://www.elbalero.gob.mx/kids/history/html/rev/biovilla.html, 1993.

External links

Statue of Pancho Villa, the Mexican Revolutionary Leader in Tucson, Arizona, United States

Encyclopædia Britannica, Pancho Villa

Photos of Villa and the Mexican Revolution – some graphic images, and some also in the book ''The Wind That Swept Mexico''.

Camp Furlong and Columbus, New Mexico – 1916

Documentary about Pancho Villa

Category:People of the Mexican Revolution Category:19th-century Mexican people Category:Folk saints Category:Governors of Chihuahua Category:Mexican generals Category:Mexican rebels Category:Mexican outlaws Category:People from Durango Category:Deaths by firearm in Mexico Category:1878 births Category:1923 deaths Category:Mexican revolutionaries Category:People murdered in Mexico Category:Mexican folklore Category:Unsolved murders in Mexico Category:Mexican guerrillas

ar:بانشو فيا az:Panço Vilya bs:Pancho Villa bg:Панчо Виля ca:Pancho Villa cs:Pancho Villa da:Pancho Villa de:Pancho Villa el:Πάντσο Βίλα es:Pancho Villa eo:Francisco Villa eu:Pancho Villa fr:Pancho Villa gl:Pancho Villa ko:판초 비야 hr:Pancho Villa os:Вилья, Панчо it:Pancho Villa he:פנצ'ו וייה nl:Pancho Villa ja:パンチョ・ビリャ no:Pancho Villa pl:Pancho Villa pt:Pancho Villa ro:Pancho Villa qu:Pancho Villa ru:Панчо Вилья sl:Pancho Villa sr:Панчо Виља fi:Pancho Villa sv:Pancho Villa tr:Pancho Villa war:Pancho Villa

Name	Ali Bongo Ondimba
Office	President of Gabon
Term start	16 October 2009
Primeminister	Paul Biyoghé Mba
Predecessor	Rose Francine Rogombé (Acting)
Birth date
Birth place	Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa (now Congo-Brazzaville)
Party	PDG
Alma mater	University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne
Religion	Islam
Spouse	Sylvia Bongo Ondimba }}

Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo on February 9, 1959) is a Gabonese politician who has been President of Gabon since October 2009.

Bongo is the son of Omar Bongo, who was President of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. During his father's presidency, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1991 and represented Bongoville as a Deputy in the National Assembly from 1991 to 1999; subsequently he was Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009. He is a Vice-President of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) and was the PDG's candidate in the August 2009 presidential election, which followed his father's death. According to official results, he won the election with 42% of the vote.

Early life and political career

Bongo was born in Brazzaville as the son of Albert-Bernard Bongo (later Omar Bongo Ondimba) and Josephine Kama (later Patience Dabany). Being conceived 18 months before Albert-Bernard's marriage, he is widely rumoured to be Bongo's adopted son, a claim that he dismisses. After studying law, he entered politics, joining the PDG in 1981; he was elected to the PDG Central Committee at the party's Third Extraordinary Congress in March 1983. Subsequently he was his father's Personal Representative to the PDG and in that capacity he entered the PDG Political Bureau in 1984. He was then elected to the Political Bureau at an ordinary party congress in September 1986.

Bongo held the post of High Personal Representative of the President of the Republic from 1987 to 1989. In 1989, his father appointed him to the government as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, replacing Martin Bongo. He was considered a reformist within the ruling PDG in the early 1990s. In the 1990 parliamentary election (the first election after the introduction of multiparty politics), he was elected to the National Assembly as a PDG candidate in Haut-Ogooué Province. After two years as Foreign Minister, a 1991 constitutional amendment setting a minimum age of 35 for ministers resulted in his departure from the government.

Following his departure from the government, Bongo took up his seat as a Deputy in the National Assembly in 1991. In February 1992, he organized a visit by American pop singer Michael Jackson to Gabon.

Bongo became President of the Higher Council of Islamic Affairs of Gabon (''Conseil supérieur des affaires islamiques du Gabon'', CSAIG) in 1996. Prior to the December 1996 parliamentary election, a supporter of Defense Minister Idriss Ngari challenged Bongo for the PDG nomination to his parliamentary seat, but Bongo was successful in winning the nomination and retaining the seat. In surviving that challenge, he benefited from the assistance of his maternal uncle Jean-Boniface Assélé, one of his key political allies. After over seven years as a Deputy, Bongo was appointed to the government as Minister of National Defense on January 25, 1999.

In the December 2001 parliamentary election, Bongo was elected to the National Assembly as a PDG candidate in Haut-Ogooué Province. At the PDG's Eighth Ordinary Congress in July 2003, he was elected as a Vice-President of the PDG. During the 2005 presidential election, he worked on his father's re-election campaign as Coordinator-General of Youth. Following that election, he was promoted to the rank of Minister of State on January 21, 2006, while retaining the defense portfolio.

Bongo was re-elected to the National Assembly in the December 2006 parliamentary election as a PDG candidate in Haut-Ogooué Province. He retained his post as Minister of State for National Defense after that election, although he was subsequently reduced to the rank of ordinary Minister on December 28, 2007. At the PDG's Ninth Ordinary Congress in September 2008, he was re-elected as a Vice-President of the PDG.

Succession

Omar Bongo died at a Spanish hospital on 8 June 2009. Ali Bongo appeared on television that night to call "for calm and serenity of heart and reverence to preserve the unity and peace so dear to our late father".

Having been appointed to key positions by his father, it was widely considered likely that he would emerge as his father's successor following the latter's death in June 2009. Some press reports predicted a power struggle, however, suggesting that a "fierce rivalry" exists between Bongo and his sister Pascaline, who was Director of the Presidential Cabinet. The degree of support for Ali Bongo within the PDG leadership was also questioned in the press, and it was argued that many Gabonese "see him as a spoilt child, born in Congo-Brazzaville, brought up in France, hardly able to speak indigenous languages and with the appearance of a hip hop star".

Bongo was one of ten candidates who submitted applications to become the PDG's candidate in the early presidential election, scheduled for 30 August 2009. PDG Deputy Secretary-General Angel Ondo announced on 16 July that the party leadership had chosen Bongo by consensus as the PDG candidate, although this decision still needed to be formally confirmed at a party congress. An extraordinary PDG congress accordingly designated Bongo as the party's candidate on 19 July. On that occasion, he thanked delegates for their choice, saying he was "aware of the legitimate concerns" of the people; he vowed to battle corruption and "redistribute the proceeds of economic growth" as President.

Despite standing as a presidential candidate, Bongo was retained as Minister of Defense in the government appointed on 22 July 2009. Rogombé urged calm and called for the candidates to be "worthy" of the votes they would receive. The opposition strongly protested Bongo's continued inclusion in the government. After Interim President Rose Francine Rogombé said that Bongo would be replaced so that all candidates would be on an equal footing for the election, Interior Minister Jean-François Ndongou was appointed to take over from Bongo as Minister of Defense in an interim capacity when the election campaign officially began on 15 August 2009.

A few days after the election on 30 August 2009, it was announced that he had won the election with 42% of the vote, and that result was promptly confirmed by the Constitutional Court. The opposition rejected the official results, and riots broke out in Gabon's second city, Port-Gentil. In response to allegations of fraud, the Constitutional Court conducted a recount before again declaring Bongo with winner with 41.79% of the vote on 12 October 2009; he was then sworn in as President on 16 October. Various African presidents were present for the ceremony. Bongo expressed a commitment to justice and the fight against corruption at the ceremony and said that fast action was needed to "give back confidence and promote the emergence of new hope". He also alluded to his father's governing philosophy of preserving stability through regional, tribal, and political balance in the allocation of power, while also stressing that "excellence, competence and work" were even more important than "geographical and political considerations". Later in the day, he announced the reappointment of Paul Biyoghe Mba as Prime Minister; he made the announcement personally "to underline the importance of this moment". According to Bongo, Biyoghe Mba had the necessary experience and managerial competence "to lead us through the next stage", and he said work would start "immediately". The composition of Biyoghe Mba's new government was announced on 17 October; it was reduced to only 30 ministers, thereby fulfilling Bongo's campaign promise to reduce the size of the government and thereby reduce expenses. The government was also mostly composed of new faces, including many technocrats, although a few key ministers, such as Paul Toungui (Foreign Minister), Jean-François Ndongou (Interior Minister), and Laure Olga Gondjout (Communications Minister), retained their posts.

Family

Ali Bongo's first wife is American Inge Lynn Collins Bongo, from Los Angeles, California. His second wife, Sylvia Najma Valentin, is the daughter of Édouard Valentin. Édouard's wife Evelyne works in the secretariat of the Presidency, and Édouard is ''Chargé des affaires sociales'' at the Gabonese Employers Confederation (Confédération patronale gabonaise'', CPG).

He has four children, a daughter, Malika Bongo Ondimba, and three sons, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Jalil Bongo Valentin and Bilal Bongo, whom he and Sylvia adopted in 2002.. Bongo is a keen sportsman, competing for Gabon in the Discus during his youth. He has also played in several minor African snooker tournaments.

See also

André Mba Obame

References

External links

Official site of Ali Bongo

2004 photograph of Ali Bongo (''People's Daily'')

GABON: Who will succeed Omar Bongo?, IRIN News, 11 February 2005

|years=1989–1991}} |-

Category:1959 births Category:Current national leaders Category:Foreign Ministers of Gabon Category:Gabonese Democratic Party politicians Category:Gabonese lawyers Category:Converts to Islam from Christianity Category:Gabonese Muslims Category:Living people Category:People from Brazzaville Category:Presidents of Gabon

ar:علي بونغو أونديمبا br:Ali Bongo Ondimba bg:Али Бонго de:Ali-Ben Bongo Ondimba et:Ali Bongo Ondimba el:Αλί Μπεν Μπόνγκο es:Ali Bongo eo:Ali Bongo Ondimba fr:Ali Bongo ko:알리 봉고 온딤바 ka:ალი ბონგო ონდიმბა sw:Ali Bongo Ondimba ku:Ali Bongo Ondimba lb:Ali Bongo nl:Ali Bongo ja:アリー・ボンゴ・オンディンバ no:Ali Bongo Ondimba pl:Ali Bongo Ondimba pt:Ali Bongo ru:Бонго Ондимба, Али бен fi:Ali Bongo Ondimba sv:Ali Bongo tr:Ali Bongo Ondimba yo:Ali Bongo Ondimba