Bedjaoui, Mohamed (1929– )
Algerian lawyer and diplomat. He chaired and co-chaired several United Nations
commissions (co-president of the UN Commission of Enquiry to Iran in 1980, vice-
president of the UN Council for Namibia 1979–82, and chair of the Group of 77,
1981–82) and was involved in many international law organizations. In February
1994 he was appointed president of the International Court of Justice.
He acted as legal adviser to the Gouvernement Provisoire de la République
Algérienne (GPRA) 1958–61, and was minister of justice 1964–70. He represented
Algeria both as ambassador and permanent representative to the UN until 1982.
Begin, Menachem (1913–1992)
Israeli politician. He was leader of the extremist Irgun Zvai Leumi organization in
Palestine from 1942 and prime minister of Israel 1977–83, as head of the right-wing
Likud party. Following strong encouragement from US president Jimmy Carter, he
entered into negotiations with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, which resulted in the
Camp David Agreements. He shared the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1978 with Anwar
Sadat for their efforts towards the Israel-Egypt peace treaty of 1979. In 1981 Begin
won a new term of office but his health was failing. The death of his wife in 1982 was
a grave blow, resulting in his retirement in September 1983. For the rest of his life he
was a virtual recluse.
Begin was born in Brest-Litovsk, Russia (now Brest, in Belarus), studied law in
Warsaw, and fled to the USSR in 1939. As leader of the Irgun group, he was
responsible in 1946 for a bomb attack at the King David Hotel, Jerusalem, which
killed over 100 people.
Belafonte, Harry (1927– )
born Harold George Belafonte,
US singer, actor, producer, and human rights activist. One of the most successful
black American performers in history, Belafonte's 'Banana Boat (Day-O)' (1957)
kickstarted a national craze for calypso music. His films include the drama Island in
the Sun (1957) and the crime thriller Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).
Belafonte spent most of the 1970s and 1980s as a tireless humanitarian. He was a
central figure of the 'USA for Africa' effort, singing on the 1986 single 'We Are the
World'. A year later, he replaced Danny Kaye as UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador.
Belafonte began performing with the American Negro Theater, while studying drama
at Erwin Piscator's famed Dramatic Workshop alongside the likes of Marlon Brando.
A singing role helped launch his recording career, which peaked in 1956 with the
release of Calypso, the first album to sell over 1 million copies.