École hôtelière de Lausanne

The Lausanne Hotel School (French: École hôtelière de Lausanne, EHL) is a private hospitality school located in Lausanne, Switzerland.

History

Founded in 1893, EHL was the world's first trade-school to focus on hospitality education as well as the first hospitality school in Switzerland to be part of the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland HES-SO. By 1974, the school originally located down by the Leman Lake changed location to the Chalet à Gobet for expansion purposes. Nowadays, EHL welcomes some 2,000 students from 90 countries.

In 2007, it introduced a new selection process for its Bachelor and Diploma students. This means that after study of the application files, potential students are invited to a Selection Day on Campus. Selection Day is made up of a number of steps: three computer evaluation assessments, role-playing and a 45 minute interview. This process gives a better perception of the academic capacities as well as the motivation for the school and the hospitality professions of each candidate.

Le Cercle

Le Cercle is a foreign policy think-tank specialising in international security. Set up after World War II, the group has members from twenty-five countries and meets at least bi-annually, in Washington, D.C., United States.

The group's current chairman is Norman Lamont, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer.

History

At some point in the 1950s, Le Cercle was established by former French prime minister Antoine Pinay and French intelligence agent Jean Violet under the name Cercle Pinay.

In later years, the British took over the chairmanship of Le Cercle. Leading members included the ex-MI6 officer Anthony Cavendish, the British Tory MP Julian Amery. and Brian Crozier.

Alan Clark, the British Conservative MP and historian stated in his diaries that Le Cercle was funded by the CIA.

Le Cercle was mentioned in the early 1980s by Der Spiegel in Germany as a result of the controversy surrounding Franz Josef Strauß, one of the regular attendants of the Cercle. In the late 1990s, the Cercle received some attention after a scandal had broken out involving Jonathan Aitken, at the time chairman of Le Cercle. Members that were contacted by newspapers refused to answer any questions.

Cercle

Cercle is French for circle. It can refer to:

Cercles of Mali

A cercle is the second level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight régions and one capital district (Bamako); the régions are subdivided into 49 cercles. These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city.

During French colonial rule in Mali, a cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages. In 1887 the Cercle of Bafoulabé was the first cercle to be created in Mali. In most of former French West Africa, the term cercle was changed to Prefecture or Department after independence, but this was not done in Mali.

Some cercles (and the district) were, prior to the 1999 local government reorganisation, further divided into Arrondissements, especially in urban areas or the vast northern regions (such as Kidal), which consisted of a collection of Communes. Since these reforms, cercles are now directly subdivided into rural and urban communes, which in turn are divided in Quartiers (Quarters, or Villages and encampments in rural areas) which have elected councils at each level. There are 703 communes, 36 urban communes (including 6 in Bamako District) and 667 rural communes. The cercles are listed below.

Cercle (French colonial)

Cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration in French Colonial Africa that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages, and was instituted in France's African colonies from 1895 to 1946.

At the bottom of the European administration the "Cercle Commander" ("commandant de cercle") was subject to the authority of a District Commander, and the government of the colony above him, but was independent of the Military structure (outside of Military areas, e.g. modern Niger and Mauritania prior to the Second World War). Below the "Cercle Commander" was a series of African "Chefs de canton" and "Chefs du Village": "chiefs" appointed by the French and subject to removal by the Europeans. As well, the "Cercle Commander" made use of a large number of servants, employees, and African officers such as the "Gardes-de-cercle" police, any military units seconded to them by government authorities, and sub administrators such as the Precepteur du marché trade inspectors, etc.