JANUARY 22 2001 VOL. 157 NO. 3

Milestones
BY PENNY CAMPBELL

DIED. PAUL VANDEN BOEYNANTS, 81, controversial former Prime Minister of Belgium who was later disgraced in a tax-fraud scandal; in Aalst, Belgium. A former butcher, Vanden Boeynants served two terms as Prime Minister, from 1966-68 and 1978-79, and was Defense Minister from '72 to '79. Convicted of tax fraud in 1986, he was described by the judge as an "inveterate swindler" and received a suspended three-year prison sentence.

DIED. CHARLES HELOU, 87, former President of Lebanon; in Zalka, north of Beirut. A former journalist who entered government in 1951, Helou was President from 1964-70. He brought about the 1969 Cairo agreement that gave Palestinian fighters territory in southern Lebanon from which to launch attacks on Israel, leading ultimately to Tel Aviv's invasion a decade later and, indirectly, to Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

INDICTED. BILJANA PLAVSIC, 70, former Bosnian Serb President, on charges including genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1992-95 war, at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; in The Hague. A former ally of notorious Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, Plavsic succeeded him as President in 1996, but lost in the election two years later. The first woman and most senior Bosnian Serb politician to face the court, she surrendered voluntarily and has pleaded not guilty.

RETIRED. FELIX SAVON, 33, Cuban boxing legend who is one of only three men to win triple Olympic gold medals in the sport; in Havana. A record six-time world amateur heavyweight champion, Savón won the last of three consecutive Olympic titles in Sydney last year. Forced to retire because boxers can't compete as international amateurs after age 34, Savón--who has turned down many lucrative offers to go professional--will coach Cuba's national boxing team.

SENTENCED. EDWIN EDWARDS, 73, flamboyant former Democratic Governor of the American state of Louisiana, to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for extorting payoffs from businessmen applying for riverboat casino licenses; in Baton Rouge, U.S. The four-term Governor, convicted last May, was continually tainted by the smell of scandal, being acquitted three times of corruption and fraud charges.

RESIGNED. YOICHIRO KAIZAKI, 67, as chief executive of Bridgestone Corp., following the mass recall of millions of tires made by U.S. subsidiary Firestone; in Tokyo. The tough-talking Kaizaki had been under pressure to quit because his initial denial that the tires were faulty undermined the company's damage-control efforts. Defiant to the end, he said his resignation did not mean he was taking responsibility for the recall.

APPOINTED. EDUARDO AREVALO LACS, 50, general and former armed forces Chief of Staff, as Guatemalan Defense Minister, in an apparent attempt by President Alfonso Portillo to placate the military; in Guatemala City. Discontent within the armed forces with Arevalo Lacs' predecessor, General Juan de Dios Estrada, had sparked rumors of a military coup. Arevalo Lacs, on the other hand, has been linked by human rights groups to atrocities committed during the country's 36-year civil war, which ended in 1996.

TIME CAPSULE

When George W. Bush moves into the White House at the end of the week, it's a good bet that he will be able to find his way upstairs to the living quarters more easily than JIMMY CARTER, did after his inauguration 24 years ago.

"For some, the high point was Jimmy Carter's unexpected thank-you to Gerald Ford 'for all he has done to heal our land.' For others, it was Carter's unprecedented stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House after he was sworn in. . . A remarkable political journey—one that led in only two years from the red clay fields of south Georgia to America's highest office—was at an end. . . Few seemed less awed by the transformation than Carter himself. With [his family] in tow, he strolled like a tourist up the driveway to his new home. 'Where do I live?' he asked White House Chief Usher Rex Scouten. Scouten promptly led the family upstairs to the presidential quarters that had only that morning been vacated by the Fords."
--Time, Jan. 31, 1977