THE CAMPAIGN: This contest pits a longtime minister against the chief of a scandal-ridden school board.

Andrei Gromyko, the longtime foreign minister, proposed Gorbachev as a candidate for the General Secretaryship.

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's longtime prime minister and now senior minister, was the most articulate spokesman for Asian values simply because he ran the most efficient authoritarian state.

The seemingly closed chapter was reopened this month with a new book by Ali Alatas, the former longtime foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations.

Nicholas Levett, a native of Petworth and fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, was longtime minister of St John the Baptist.

Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, the longtime interior minister and one of the surviving sons of the founding monarch, denies that Saudi Arabia faces a particular problem.

Atzo Nicolai, the longtime minister for government reform and kingdom relations, attends every Good Friday - a working day in the Netherlands - along with almost a dozen colleagues from the cabinet.

The barb was clearly aimed at Mr. Gore, who has had a prominent role in managing relations with Russia and reached numerous agreements with the longtime prime minister.

Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's longtime prime minister, quit and began to ally himself more solidly with the growing anti-Syrian opposition.

Zhou Enlai, the longtime prime minister, has remained an iconic figure nearly 30 years after his death in part because his good looks inspired rapture in women and men alike, including foreign visitors.