Germany:
As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation,
Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political,
and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the
country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th
century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied
powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the
advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the
western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German
Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key
Western economic and security organizations, the EC and NATO, while
the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw
Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed
for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended
considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to
western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU
countries formed a common European currency, the euro.
Ghana:
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold
Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the
first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long
series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in
1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution,
restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry
RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in
1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a
third term in 2000. He was succeeded by John KUFUOR.
Gibraltar:
Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great
Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison
was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a 1967 referendum,
Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to
remain a British dependency.
Glorioso Islands:
A French possession since 1892, the Glorioso
Islands are composed of two lushly vegetated islands (Ile Glorieuse
and Ile du Lys) and three rock islets. A military garrison operates
a weather and radio station on Ile Glorieuse.
Greece:
Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in
1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half
of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and
territories with Greek-speaking populations. Following the defeat of
communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military
dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and
forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. Democratic
elections in 1974 and a referendum created a parliamentary republic
and abolished the monarchy; Greece joined the European Community or
EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992).
Greenland:
The world's largest island, about 84% ice-capped,
Greenland was granted self-government in 1978 by the Danish
parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark
continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs.
Grenada:
One of the smallest independent countries in the western
hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19
October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and
those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the
ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections
were reinstituted the following year.
Guadeloupe:
Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The
island of Saint-Martin is divided with the Netherlands (whose
southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the
Netherlands Antilles).
Guam:
Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the
Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The
military installation on the island is one of the most strategically
important US bases in the Pacific.
Guatemala:
Guatemala was freed of Spanish colonial rule in 1821.
During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety
of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla
war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally
ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more than 100,000
people and had created some 1 million refugees.