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Politics and government

22,256 articles

First International

The First International (International Working Men's Association, IWMA), founded in London on 28 September 1864 and dissolved in 1876, was the first international working-class organization, uniting unions and socialist groups; it split over the Marx–Bakunin conflict between centralism and federalism.

First Johnson ministry

First Johnson ministry: UK Conservative government formed 24 July 2019 under Boris Johnson after May's resignation; purged 17-19 cabinet ministers, promised Brexit by 31 October, lost the prorogation case, and governed as a minority until the December 2019 election.

First Lady of the United States

First Lady of the United States: the White House hostess, usually the president's wife, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump; an unofficial but staffed office shaped by each holder.

First Lord of the Admiralty

The First Lord of the Admiralty, also known as the President of the Board of Admiralty, was the British minister heading the Royal Navy until 1964.

First Lord of the Treasury

The First Lord of the Treasury is the senior Lords Commissioner of the Treasury, an office held by convention by the UK Prime Minister and based at 10 Downing Street.

First Mexican Empire

First Mexican Empire (Imperio Mexicano), 1821–1823: constitutional monarchy founded on the Plan de Iguala and Treaties of Córdoba, ruled by Agustín I (Agustín de Iturbide), collapsed March 1823, replaced by the 1824 federal republic.

First Mexican Republic

First Mexican Republic (Primera República Federal), 1824-1835: Mexico's first federal republican government under the 1824 Constitution, 19 states, Guadalupe Victoria first president, ended by the centralist Siete Leyes.

First Minister of Scotland

First Minister of Scotland: head of the devolved Scottish Government, created by the Scotland Act 1998, nominated by MSPs and appointed by the Monarch. Current holder John Swinney; official residence Bute House, Edinburgh.

First Modi ministry

First Modi ministry: the Indian Union Council of Ministers under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, May 2014 to 30 May 2019, BJP-led NDA majority government known for demonetization, GST, Make in India, and the 'maximum governance, minimum government' slogan.

First Nehru ministry

First Nehru ministry: the inaugural Cabinet of independent India, sworn in 15 August 1947 under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, with Patel as deputy, Ambedkar as Law Minister, and Shanmukham Chetty as first Finance Minister.

First Nigerian Republic

The First Nigerian Republic was Nigeria's parliamentary federal state from independence in 1960, a republic from 1963, led by Balewa and Azikiwe until the January 1966 military coup ended civilian rule.

First Party System

First Party System: first era of US national party competition, roughly 1796–1824, pitting the Federalists (Hamilton, Adams) against the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson, Madison), ending with Federalist collapse and the Era of Good Feelings.

First Paz Estenssoro government

The first Paz Estenssoro government, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement's administration of Bolivia from 1952 to 1956, nationalized the tin mines, established universal suffrage, and decreed agrarian reform.

First Philippine Republic

First Philippine Republic (República Filipina, Malolos Republic): Asia's first democratic republic, inaugurated January 23, 1899 at Barasoain Church under President Emilio Aguinaldo with the Malolos Constitution; it ended in 1901 during the Philippine-American War.

First Quarter Storm

The First Quarter Storm (Sigwa ng Unang Sangkapat) was a wave of student, labor, and peasant protests against President Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines from January to March 1970.

First Secretary of State

First Secretary of State: senior UK Cabinet post created 16 July 1962 for R.A. Butler under Macmillan, denoting seniority over other secretaries of state; distinct from deputy prime minister; current holder Louise Haigh (2026).

First-past-the-post voting

First-past-the-post voting, also called single-member plurality voting, elects the candidate with the most votes in each single-seat constituency; used for the UK House of Commons, Canada, and India, it tends toward two-party systems and disproportional seat-vote outcomes.

Fiscal conservatism

Fiscal conservatism, also called traditional economic conservatism or classical liberal economics, is a philosophy favoring limited spending, low taxes, balanced budgets, free trade, and modest regulation, rooted in Smith, Ricardo, Friedman, and Stigler and peaking politically under Thatcher, Reagan, and Kohl.

Fishbowl (conversation)

Fishbowl conversation: a facilitation method with a small inner circle discussing a topic while a larger outer circle observes; open (empty-chair, audience joins) or closed forms, rooted in the T-group movement.

Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (和平共处五项原则) are state-to-state norms proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1953 and affirmed in the 1954 China-India and China-Burma joint statements: sovereignty respect, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful coexistence.

Five Star Movement

Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle, M5S), Italian anti-establishment populist party founded by Beppe Grillo in 2009; known for the Rousseau direct-democracy platform, a 32.7% peak vote, and governments under Giuseppe Conte (2018–2021).

FiveThirtyEight

FiveThirtyEight (538) is a data-journalism site founded by Nate Silver in 2008, covering poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports; known for pollster ratings, polling averages, and election forecasts under NYT, ESPN, then ABC News.

Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA): UK statute setting five-year terms and first-Thursday-in-May elections, with two-thirds or no-confidence routes to early elections; used in 2017 and 2019, repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022.

Flag of Afghanistan

Flag of Afghanistan: changed at least 18 times in a century; black emirate banner, 1928 black-red-green tricolor, communist red flag, and the white Shahada banner the Taliban restored in August 2021, while the 2004 tricolor persists internationally.

Flag of Angola

National flag of Angola (Bandeira Nacional), adopted 11 November 1975 at independence: red-over-black horizontal bicolor with a yellow half gear, machete, and five-pointed star; based on the MPLA party flag.

Flag of Armenia

Flag of Armenia: horizontal red-blue-orange tricolor with 1:2 ratio, defined by the 2006 flag law and constitutional Article 13; first raised 1 August 1918, readopted 1990.

Flag of Bangladesh

Flag of Bangladesh: national flag, a red disc offset toward the hoist on a green 10:6 field, defined by Constitution Article 4(2) and the 1972 Flag Rules; adopted 17 January 1972 after the map-bearing 1971 war flag was simplified.

Flag of Bhutan

Flag of Bhutan, the Thunder Dragon flag: a diagonal yellow-over-orange bicolour with a white Druk dragon clutching jewels, first used in 1949, changed to orange lower field and adopted in 1969, now constitutionally prescribed.

Flag of Bolivia

Flag of Bolivia (Bandera de Bolivia): horizontal red-yellow-green tricolour, official since 1851 under Belzu, regulated by DS 241 of 2009 at 15:22 proportions, with state and military variants, plus the co-official Qullasuyu wiphala.

Flag of China

Flag of China, the Five-star Red Flag (五星红旗): red 3:2 flag with one large and four small yellow stars, designed by Zeng Liansong, adopted 27 September 1949, governed by the National Flag Law of 1990 as amended in 2020.